6 - Greek Ribs With Longing On the Side

"I wish you could come with me," Andy said, her face buried into the crook of her boyfriend's neck. Her arms were encircled around him, the blonde clinging to him like it was the last time they'd ever see each other. She was like this right before her last tour, as well as the one before that and so on. Marty found it adorable, despite the fact it meant he wouldn't see her for weeks to come.

"So do I," Marty agreed, embracing her as the roadies were buzzing around in preparation for the first leg of their twenty-one city tour. "But things are picking up at work and that brand new townhouse we bought won't pay for itself."

"I know, I just hate leaving you for weeks on end, chasing after my dream while you plug away at the office to pay for eveything," Andy lamented before wiping her eyes, chuckling at herself. "God, I'm so sorry, I can be such a girl sometimes!"

"Really?" He joked, smiling at her. "I hadn't noticed!"

"You're an ass," she grinned, slapping his hip.

"I'm going to miss you so much," he said, turning serious.

"Ditto," she agreed before pressing her lips against his in a searing kiss.

"I love you, Andrea Marie Walker," he whispered when they parted, letting her out of his embrace.

"I love you, too, Martin Alexander Harrison," Andy returned with a sad smile, turning to board the bus. She rested her hand against the metal frame of its door, as though in deep thought before facing him again. "Don't shut yourself off from the world while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'll try not to," he promised.

"I mean it, Marty," she intoned.

"I'll be fine, Andy," he assured.

"If you get bored and can't get a hold of me, why not call that Yale friend of yours to hang out?" Andy suggested, then bounded up the steps without waiting for a reply. The doors hissed shut behind her, followed by the bus shifting loudly into gear before it lumbered away.

A few days later, Marty found himself doing exactly what Andy had told him not to do. He'd retreated into his shell, only leaving the house for work and the occasional grocery run. It was a sad state to be in, but Marty really didn't want to bug his girlfriend. That just left him with her suggestion of hanging out with Rory. The problem with this was the fact that he had no way of contacting her. It was too late in the day to call the Tribune, and he doubted that they'd give out the home number of an employee to some stranger anyway. He could call Lexie and see if she had Rory's number, but that would require him to actually speak with the infuriatingly annoying girl. She'd probably just hang up on him, claiming to be too busy with whatever the hell it was a band manager does to help him. Or worse yet, she'd get the misguided idea that he was planning to cheat on Andy. He shook his head before reaching for the cordless, deciding to take a chance by simply asking the operator, when the phone began ringing.

"Hello," he answered, holding the receiver to his ear.

"Please tell me I've got the right number," a familiar voice begged from the other end.

"Rory?" Marty asked in surprise.

"Marty?" Rory returned, then sighed in relief. "Okay, good. I thought I had misdialed again."

"This is weird, I was just going to ask the operator if there was a Rory Gilmore in the tri-county area," he mused aloud.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I got the number from Lexie before you did that, especially since I'm listed under my full name," she chuckled.

"Right, I almost forgot that Rory's a nickname," he replied, then added in his usual deadpan. "Though I still don't know how you get Rory from Lorelai."

"Speaking of girls with boyish nicknames, would Andy be there?" Rory segued.

"No, she just left on tour a few days ago," he sighed without meaning to, then glanced at a nearby calender for the date. "Her and the guys would be somewhere in upstate New York about now."

"Sorry, didn't mean to bum you out," she apologized.

"It's fine, I just miss her," he replied, shaking his head at himself. "Anyhow, what's up?"

"My editor wants me to do a follow up interview with Andy, but he also wants her bandmates involved somehow," Rory told him, then added. "And Lexie suggested that I call Andy and schedule it with her considering how angry she got last time, but she didn't tell me that Andy had already left on the tour."

"Some band manager she is," Marty muttered, earning a laugh from the girl on the line. "If you want, I can pass it on to her when she calls me tomorrow. How does that sound to you?"

"That sounds great actually, Marty," she said, then stopped when a beep interupted the conversation. "Hold on, I got a call."

"Okay," he said, then waited a moment or so before Rory returned.

"That was our favorite band manager just now, telling me that Andy's left on tour and that she, as in Lexie, is just on her way to meet the band in Buffalo," she said with an ironic sigh.

"Quite the brain trust that Lexie," he chuckled.

"Have you eaten yet?" Rory asked out of the blue.

"Um, no, I haven't. Why?"

"Well, I was just going to head over to Sutton's Bistro for dinner and I was wondering if you'd like to come with?"

"Sure, why not? It saves me from having to actually cook, at least."

"Cool, then it's a date," she chirped, then quickly corrected herself. "I mean, it's not a date, just two old friends eating out."

"Dirty," he joked.

"Ungh, just meet me there in a half hour," she groaned, no doubt beet red in embarressment. "You know where it is, right?"

"Yeah, I've been there before, so I'll see you then," he confirmed before hanging up the phone. Marty got up from his chair and headed upstairs to change into something more casual, since it would be rude to show up still dressed in his work clothes. When he was done, Marty gave himself a quick once over in the mirror and shrugged in acceptance, deciding that his blue jeans and Yale sweatshirt were perfectly acceptable attire for a quiet dinner with a friend. Grabbing his keys and wallet from the nightstand and pocketing them, Marty calmly headed down the stairs. He slid his coat on and walked out the door, locking it behind him before meandering down the street in the direction of Sutton's Bistro. He decided to take his time and walk there instead of taking the bus, because he somehow knew that Rory would, in all likelihood, be late getting there anyway. He glanced up at the sky as snow began to fall, catching his attention for a moment.

"Should've brought my scarf," he smirked ruefully before continuing onwards.

Think I'll try the Greek ribs, Marty thought in passing, hands shoved into his coat pockets whilst he walked. Andy seemed to like them the last time we ate there.

Thanks for reading!