11 - Insert Awkwardness Here, Redux
"I honestly don't know what to expect from tonight," Rory admitted to her mother over the phone, frowning at the three dresses hanging from the closet door. "And that's what's impeding me from making a choice on what to wear."
"If you'd just got a webcam like I suggested, you could do a little fashion show for me," Lorelai told her.
"That, or I could make a few bucks on the side as a web model," Rory snorted before coming up with an idea. "Oh, wait! Why don't I use the camera on my cell, then send the pics to you that way?"
"I knew that Ivy League education would come in handy one day," her mother laughed.
"Ha, ha, mother," the younger Gilmore said, rolling her eyes despite the fact that Lorelai couldn't see her.
"Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady," Lorelai playfully chided, then added. "Should I hang up my landline while we do this?"
"Yeah, text me your answer afterward, then I'll phone you after the ball and tell you how it went," Rory agreed.
"Sounds like a plan, Kiddo. Love you, and have fun!"
"Thanks, and I love you, too," Rory replied before hanging up her cordless, placing it down on her nightstand. She then picked up her cell and proceeded to change into the nearest dress, which was a black cocktail dress with spagetti straps. It was simple, but elegant. She stood in front of her full length mirror and snapped the picture, then did the same with the other two dresses. The first of the remaining pair was a shimmering white dress with black and silver flowers sewn into it, which sparkled when the light hit them at a certain angle. The dress also hugged her slim frame in just the right places. It gave Rory the illusion of having more curves than she actually possessed, which was what she loved most about it. The last of the three dresses was the slinky lavender number Lorelai had made for her bridesmaids, saying that Rory (as well as her other bridemaids, who had been Sookie and Liz) should have something nice to wear for more than that one occassion. Like the previous dress, this one hugged her figure in the right places, except it had spagetti straps similiar to the first one. The best of both worlds, one could say.
A few minutes after finishing her little fashion play, her mother texted her reply.
[the white one looks best. add those black & white bead necklaces Gigi made u for xmas. luv mom.]
Rory smiled and sent her thanks, then proceeded to get ready since she had less than one hour before Marty was supposed to pick her up. She had just finished applying her make-up when the door buzzer went off, signalling Marty's arrival. He's a little early, she noticed, glancing at the clock on her way to the intercom. She shrugged it off and pressed the button to let him into the building, then returned to the bedroom where she'd left the beaded necklaces her mother had mentioned in her text. With the many beads in place around her neck, she grabbed her bag from the nightstand and headed to meet Marty at the door.
"You're early," Rory declared, opening the door to find that it wasn't Marty standing there. Oh, crap!
"Hey, Rory, what's up?" Jess smirked at her, looking her up and down with an approving eye. "Nice glass beads. They really compliment that dress."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Rory asked with a confused frown.
"Promoting my new book, I'm sure I sent you an e-mail a few days ago," he answered, then motioned to her with his chin. "So why are you all dressed up?"
"Mayor's Inaugural Ball," she replied, then jumped at the buzzer going off again. "Excuse me, I gotta get that."
"Can I come inside?" Jess asked from the doorway.
"Yeah, sure," she waved over her shoulder, while hitting the button for a solid two seconds. "But just for a second because I'm heading out, as you can see."
"Is that your date?"
"Is that your business?"
"Okay, touchy subject," Jess deduced, quirking an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, Jess," she sighed, pressing fingertips to forehead. "You just showed up at a weird time, is all."
"It's a gift," he joked, shrugging.
"I'd look into getting that exchanged, if I were you," Rory rolled her eyes, walking past him to open the door. "If this turns out to be Logan or Dean, I'm going to freaking lose it and go on a killing spree."
"What?" Jess asked, obviously confused by the statement.
"Nevermind," she sighed, then opened the door to find the proper, expected person standing in front of her. "Oh, good, it's you!"
"Uh, nice to see you, too," Marty greeted with a chuckled, stepping inside only to stop at the sight of Rory's unexpected guest. "Oh, hello!"
"Hey, man," Jess nodded, sardonicly adding. "Just so you know, you may have saved several people from getting killed by Rory here."
"Cool, always wanted to be a hero," the other man deadpanned.
"Ignore him, he's insane," Rory told the taller of the two.
Marty frowned at her remark. "Okay..."
"You're not going to introduce us?" Jess suddenly asked, feigning indignation.
"Marty, this is my cousin, Jess," Rory introduced, then turned to her ex-boyfriend standing near her mantle. "Jess, this is Marty."
"Nice to meet you," Marty greeted, holding his hand out.
Jess glanced at the extended hand for a second, then looked between Rory and Marty before gripping it. "Good to meet you, too, Marty."
"Jess..." Rory began, preparing to tell Jess to back off. She really didn't like the way he hesitated on the handshake.
"Well, I guess I should let you guys go to the Ball that Rory mentioned earlier," Jess said quickly, cutting Rory off and shooting her a knowing grin. "I just stopped by, unannounced, to see if Rory wanted to hang out with her cousin Jess while he's in town. Didn't know she already had plans. Probably should've phoned ahead, huh?"
"Rory's actually doing me a huge favor by coming along," Marty informed him, unintentionally cutting Rory off as well. "Anyway, we should get going since it's taking place at the Hilton and we're already pushing it on time as it is."
"Well, I'm off to the nearest Motel 8 for the next few days," the still smirking writer nodded after a short awkward silence, then amiably clapped Marty's shoulder. "You take good care of my cousin tonight, okay, buddy?"
"Sure," the taller of the two men nodded.
And with that, Jess Mariano was gone again, leaving Rory and Marty in another awkward silence.
"He wasn't really your cousin, was he?" Marty asked all of a sudden, sounding as though he already knew the answer to that.
"Let's just go," Rory sighed, grabbing her coat from the closet before ushering him out the door.
That was a fun scene to write.