Lorelai pulled up outside the inn and parked the car in one of the many allotted spaces. She picked up the coffee and finished the dregs of it then put it back into the cup holder and climbed out. She smoothed down the front of her skirt and blouse, grabbed her bag and hurried into the inn.
At the reception she was greeted by a surly French man who brought her through to an office in the back. Without offering her a drink or informing her when the interview would begin he left the room and closed the door behind him. She looked around the room at the tasteful décor, the familial style pictures of the staff, the small desk only big enough for a computer with two leather arm chairs either side making this seem less like an office and more like a home. Lorelai felt herself relaxing and breathing a little easier when the door opened. She turned to see a middle aged woman walk in with a wide inviting smile. Lorelai stood up and stuck out her hand.
"Oh! So formal! I'm Mia, the owner."
"Lorelai, prospective employee!"
Mia chuckled and waved Lorelai back into her seat. "So you just arrived in town?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm late I was signing papers for a new place to live."
"Oh? You found something already?" Mia said excitedly.
"Yeah it's a small house on Cherry St."
"Lovely! Well you know there is room and board here for senior staff members if they need it."
"Yeah you mentioned that on the phone call, but I prefer not to live in house."
"Oh I understand that I'm the very same. You need a change of scenery in the evenings." Lorelai nodded. "So you've decided to give our little inn a chance?"
"I think it's more like you decided to let me have a chance with your inn!"
"Not at all, you are saving me from having to sell it. I just can't keep up with it anymore, and with my daughter having moved down to Florida, I just want to be down there, spending more time with the family."
"Understandable of course."
"So you mentioned you were from this county?"
"Yeah I grew up in Hartford. My parents still live there."
"Ah it's nice to have an extended family close by."
"Mmhmm," Lorelai said noncommittally but Mia didn't miss it.
"C'mon, let me show you around the place."
They walked around the inn and Mia introduced her to all the staff. They walked the grounds around the small lake in the sun and back into the inn just before lunch. Mia led her over to a table in the center of the dining room and they sat.
"Sookie is our head chef. She will join us for lunch."
Before Lorelai could respond Sookie came charging in with a tall tray of small sandwiches and desserts.
"Oh wow!"
"High tea!" Sookie exclaimed excitedly and she clapped her hands as she sat down. "This will bring people to the inn in droves!" Sookie shook hands with Lorelai and sat down as another waiter brought in tea. "So how do you like Stars Hollow?"
"Well the whole seventeen hours I've lived here have been eventful!"
"Oh?"
"I've been running around trying to get a place to live, managed to sign papers for a place on Cherry St."
"Oh I love that street, with all the cherry blossoms!"
"Then I had a run in with some stranger who was roaring at me for parking too close to his truck."
"Who?"
"I didn't catch his name."
"Let me guess…" Mia said with a smile. "Tall guy?" Lorelai nodded. "Flannel shirt?" She nodded again and looked over at Sookie who giggled.
"Black baseball cap? Backwards baseball cap?"
"Yeah, who is this guy?" Lorelai looked between them both as she asked.
"Surly expression?"
"Scruffy almost beard?"
"Beautiful smile?"
"Amazing eyes?"
"Oh the lashes too!"
"And his ass…wonderful, wonderful ass!" Sookie was laughing now without trying to hold it back.
"Ok…who is this guy you are talking about?"
"Luke Danes. He owns the diner in town."
"Owns it?"
"Yeah, owns it, runs it, lives above it. It's basically his life."
"Apart from Ellie," Mia corrected.
"His wife?" Lorelai asked carefully.
"No, his kid."
"Oh, he's a single dad?"
"Yeah." Mia reached out and took a selection of sandwiches onto her plate. "Terrible shame what happened there."
Not wanting to pry Lorelai restrained her almost uncontrollable urge to ask them to continue, but it seemed Sookie had no such need for it.
"They were dating I think about a year when she got pregnant?"
"She was all wrong for him!" Sookie said as she took a sandwich and bit into it. "She was a travel photographer."
"Nature, it was nature photographer."
"Whatever, she was never going to stay in our town for very long."
"About a month after she had the baby, she up and left," Mia's voice lowered as she continued with the taboo subject. "Luke was out of town for the day, when he got back, she was gone. The baby was in the crèche."
"She left Luke and the baby behind? And never came back?"
"She comes and goes actually. I think she had been back about 4 times since Ellie was born."
"She has stayed here on a few of those occasions too." Mia leaned forward when she spoke, as if the information she was sharing was confidential. "Not at the apartment."
"What age is Ellie?" Lorelai asked, storing all the info they shared for later inspection.
"She just turned 14. I baked a cake for her birthday last week."
"14?" Lorelai almost choked. "He did not seem old enough to have a 14 year old kid."
"Oh they dated young. I think he was 19 or maybe 20 when they had her."
"Wow!" Lorelai bit into another sandwich and tried to recall the memory of her encounter with the stranger and put it together with all the information she had just been told. "And they never married?"
"No," Mia said with a sorrowful smile. "I heard he asked her when he found out she was pregnant but she turned him down."
"Oh…" Lorelai responded and looked away for a moment as if to give the moment the weight it deserved.
"So Luke lives with Ellie above the diner and pretty much every woman in Stars Hollow is waiting for the signal."
"The signal?"
"His signal to let us know when he is ready and available."
"Oh right, like the bat signal." Lorelai chuckled.
"Yeah," Sookie said, chuckling and covering her mouth. "But instead of the shape of a bat, it would be the shape of his-"
"Sookie!" Mia swatted her arm with a shocked look that melted into a smile and the three of them giggled.
They ate lunch and finished the desserts then Sookie returned to the kitchen to help with the rest of the lunch orders. Mia walked Lorelai back out to her car and surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug before she climbed in.
"I knew I was going to be right about you," she whispered as she hugged her. "You will look after this place, the way it deserves to be looked after."
"I'll do my best." Lorelai smiled and climbed into her car.
"So how about ten am tomorrow and we'll start going over everything."
"Great. I can't wait to get started."
"Go, go home, get settled in and I'll see you in the morning."
Mia waved as she turned and went back into the Inn as Lorelai drove back into town. She delivered the notarized papers to the real estate office and picked up the keys to her new home. But before she even went to the house she drove to her parents, packed her car with all the stuff she could fit and couldn't do without then hurried home. She left her stuff in the Jeep and hurried into the front door. She walked from room to room, admiring it all in the new light of ownership then one by one carried all the bags and boxes into the living room. She brought linen and a suitcase of clothing up to her room and made the bed. She unpacked some of the clothes and admired them in her wardrobe. A thrill of delight coursed through her, snagged only by the ever present worry of having signed her first mortgage.
Back in the living room she started to tackle the boxes of DVDs but only managed to get halfway through when her hunger pangs became too powerful to ignore. She strolled into the kitchen, checked the boxes of food she had but other than dry pasta and various condiments there was nothing edible. An image flashed into her mind of the handsome diner owner and she wondered if he was still open. She glanced at the clock on the wall and thought any diner worth its salt would be open just after six.
She grabbed her coat and went out the back door to walk around the wrap around porch and by the time she was crossing the lawn towards her Jeep she had decided to walk and take advantage of the cool night. She strolled easily, the urge to see this stranger not as strong as her urge to enjoy her new surroundings. The people she passed on the street smiled and some even greeted her with a wave as if she had been a long standing citizen of this small town. She passed the grocery store and made a mental note to get some milk and cereal on the way home then as she walked by the diner she was delighted to see the lights on and a few customers inside.
She walked to the front door and looked up at the bells above the door that announced her arrival. She looked around the room, wondering where to sit. There was an empty table in the middle of the room, another by the window and the counter was completely free. She eyed them all up and decided on the table near the window where she could watch the whole room and not be taken by surprise. She slipped into the chair and hung her jacket on the back of it then picked up the menu and studied its contents. She hadn't quite decided on what to get when his booming voice and thundering footsteps came from across the room.
"This isn't fair!"
"Fair? Ha!" Luke pushed passed the curtain and into the diner then grabbed a rag and wiped the counter aggressively. "Forget fair, you are now living a life of the most unfair treatment you've yet to experience." Lorelai watched curiously over the rim of her menu, as a young teen came out from the curtain and stood at the end of the counter with her hands on her hips. "Straight home after school, upstairs to do your homework, evening shifts here in the diner and no more trips to the mall."
"But Dad!" the girl pleaded and Lorelai couldn't help but smile as she recognized that tone from her own pleadings to her parents.
"No buts!" he turned to her and pointed towards the stairs. "Get back up there right now, do some homework, study, whatever, just get out of my sight."
"You're so unfair!" She roared and she turned on her heel and raced back up the steps, thundering on every step and slamming a door behind her making Lorelai chuckle. She looked around the room but the other patrons of the diner didn't seem to notice the ruckus so she presumed this was a fairly regular sight in the diner.
Luke grabbed the coffee pot and walked around the room refilling coffee then noticed a new customer sitting by the window. He walked over and left the coffee pot on the table then snatched the order book from the front of his jeans and poised his pen ready to take her order.
"What can I get you?"
Lorelai lowered the menu and looked up at him with a soft concerned smile. When she didn't speak he looked up and his face registered a flash of shock then recognition as he looked at her.
"It's you!" he exclaimed.
"And it's you."
"What are you doing here?"
"I heard you exchange food and coffee for currency?" she said as she gestured around the room.
"Yeah, sorry I meant…sorry." Clearly flustered he tried to focus on the task at hand and she couldn't help the shiver of delight at his discomfort. "What can I get for you?" he asked again as he hitched up his jeans and poised his pen again to take her order.
"Cheeseburger and fries."
He arched an eyebrow at her and couldn't help but let his eyes travel down her slim figure. "And something to drink?"
"The richest, darkest, bitterest coffee you can muster, mister!"
Luke reached out and turned one of the mugs over on the table then filled it with coffee from the pot then placed it down in front of her. "I'll be right back with your dinner." He walked away as she sipped the coffee and he smiled when he heard her sigh and moan "Oh yeah!" when she swallowed the coffee.
Luke stood in front of the grill and tended to her burger. He was still ruffled over the fight with Ellie but he couldn't help but admit the thrill he got at seeing the woman sitting there in his diner. Her lack of shock was also very telling, as he realized she had expected him to be there, which meant she either asked about him or someone flat out told her and that made his smile spread a little wider. He chanced a look out through the arch to see her glancing around his diner with a wistful smile. He felt a wave of pride wash through him and he turned his attention back to her dinner. Soon it was ready to be plated up, he added cheese, lettuce, a slice of tomato and a dab of mayo. He spooned on some fries and a couple of extra onion rings then carried it out to her and placed it onto the table in front of her.
"Oh this looks great."
"Enjoy." He said and he turned back to focus on his counter. He counted through his receipts, took payment from the last few customers then bussed the plates away into the kitchen. He decided to wash them later on and came back out to the front of the diner to count through the receipts again that didn't need counting.
"So…best coffee in town?" she said as she polished off her burger and started working on her fries.
"Yeah."
"It's good I'll give you that but calling it the best in town isn't really much of an accolade in a small one horse town like this." Luke bristled at her words and let his hands rest flat on the counter as he looked at her with squinted eyes. "I mean if you were to say best in the county, best in the state… best in the east coast, maybe that would be something worth bragging about…but best in town?"
"You want a refill?"
"Yes!" She held out her cup for him and he grabbed the pot and strode over to her in easy long steps. He took the cup from her and poured the coffee in then passed it to her with a thin smile. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome." He walked back to the counter, placed the pot on the heater and turned back to face the room only to see her now sitting on a counter stool, her plate of fries in one hand and coffee in the other.
"Something wrong with your table?"
"No." she looked at him defiantly as she spoke, as if daring him to question her again. She put her plate and mug on the counter and settled herself into the stool then folded one arm in front of her and idly ate her fries as she watched him.
"How did your job interview go?" he asked surprising her with this question.
"Really well." She answered then shrugged and smiled a little. "It wasn't really a job interview…"
"Oh, it was just an excuse eh? To make me feel sorry for you after you left me blocked in on the street?"
"No, it was a meeting with a new employer. I just moved here."
"And already you have managed to con your way out of a parking ticket, and into a free refill?" he said as he gestured at her coffee with his chin.
"Con? I was just gone for 5 minutes. It's not my fault you left your truck parked so close to that tree!"
"I had to, I was taking supplies out of the back, and I needed the extra room. I didn't expect someone to park right up behind me like that."
"Well I guess we've both learned something here today then!" Luke shook his head with a frown and grabbed his rag to wipe the counter down. "So…this has been wonderful!" she said with an over jovial voice and she spun off the stool and went back to the table she was sitting at to grab her purse. "If I had known that the owner of the diner was going to be such delightful company I might have made it in here for lunch instead of waiting for dinner!"
She ruffled through her purse to grab money and placed it on the counter. He rolled his eyes at her theatrics and reached out to take her hand and give her back the money but she pulled her hand away and turned to leave.
"Hey, I'm sorry…" he came around the corner of the counter and reached her before she could open the door. He was reluctant to grab her and turn her to face him so instead he put his hand on the door and closed it in front of her. "Sorry, I'm an ass, come back, finish your coffee."
"My free refill you mean?".
Luke chuckled. "Yeah, your free refill, in fact I'll freshen it up for you."
"Okay, well I can't refuse that." She turned to him and smiled brightly and he felt it tug at something in his chest. He coughed lightly to clear his throat, hitched his jeans and scratched the back of his neck as he walked back to the counter. He moved her used cup aside, and grabbed a fresh one from the shelf behind him, then poured her a fresh coffee and placed it in front of her.
"Thanks," she said with a sweet smile as she used both hands to lift it to her lips and take a sip. She closed her eyes over and sighed as the tension rolled off her shoulders and puddled on the floor beneath her.
"So where did you move to?"
"I just bought a house on Cherry St?"
"Oh the one with the porch?"
"Yeah, you know it?"
"A bit. Mrs Henderson wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"I used to help her out with repairs and stuff. She wasn't really able to clean those gutters herself."
"Oh good to know. Nice to have a handyman who knows the place!"
"Sure it's nothing your husband…" Luke let his eyes flick to her left hand and noted it was ringless, "or boyfriend couldn't do."
"Smooth." She said with a small laugh before she took another sip of his coffee. "This coffee really is amazing. What's in it?"
"I'll never tell."
"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that." She said with a waggle in her eyebrows that made him blush and look away. Lorelai smiled wider at his reaction but gave him the respite he wanted when he turned away. "So I'm Lorelai." She stuck out her hand to shake and he looked down at it blankly for a moment then slowly reached out and took it in a tight grip.
"Luke."
"Of Luke's." she said with a little squeeze of his hand.
"Yeah, of Luke's." He glanced down at their joined hands.
"Best coffee in town." She slid her hand out of his, lifted her coffee again to her lips and looked up to see him watching her.
"Best on the east coast," he corrected her and he tore his eyes off her to focus on something else, anything else.
Lorelai chuckled. "So have you lived here all your life?"
Luke frowned and looked up at her. "Yeah. Went to school across the street," he said with a nod towards the high school over on the other side of the square. "This place used to be my dad's hardware store, but I turned it into a diner instead."
"Why a diner?"
"Why not?"
"I…I guess there isn't really a response to that." She sipped her coffee and looked at him as he flicked through his receipts again. "And that was your daughter?" she nodded towards the curtain.
"Yeah," he glanced up at her to see if he could gauge her reaction to his having a kid but her face was free of disdain and seemed to only reflect her curiosity. "Ellie. Currently at the delightful age of 14."
"Oh 14…I remember that year. Good luck with that."
"Just that year or the next 5?"
Lorelai chuckled, "Well for me it was that year, as well as the next 5 and probably the 2 or 3 before I turned 14."
"Oh god…" Luke shook his head and his lips cracked a smile as he turned back to her. "Well I've been lucky, she's a great kid. It's just the last few weeks really. I'm hoping it's a phase. But then…what the hell do I know. I've never been a 14 year old girl."
"Shopping. Shopping and boys. And music. Oh and makeup. Yeah…that's it." She smiled at him as she reeled off the list again. "Shopping, boys, music, make up. Oh and discos."
"Oh god." She watched him visibly pale and reached out to squeeze his arm with an understanding smile.
"Don't worry, I'm sure she won't be as crazy as I was. I mean, how many football games does the team win over there?" she asked as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the school he had pointed out.
"Not many," he said with a frown both at the words she was speaking as well as the sensation of her fingers gripping his arm.
"Well then! Fewer wins, fewer celebrations, fewer chances to be caught under the bleachers!"
"Oh god, stop, please, just stop talking!" he covered his face with his hands, leaned back against the counter behind him and her fingers slipped off him. Lorelai chuckled and felt a pang of empathy for him.
"Well I better go. Sounds like you have a bit of a night ahead of you," she said with a nod towards the curtain. She took her jacket off the stool beside her and slipped it on. He came around to the front of the counter and walked her to the door. He held it open and stepped out onto the steps with her. Again he hitched his jeans up and she smiled at the gesture, recognizing it as a nervous tick.
"Thanks for dinner. It was lovely. And definitely the best cup of coffee on the East Coast."
"Any time."
"Goodnight Luke." She reached the bottom of the steps and turned to look up at him.
"Goodnight Lorelai." He smiled at her as she walked away and when she walked down the street towards the grocery store she looked back at him, he offered her a half wave as he turned to go back into the diner and she smiled in response and hurried home.
Luke closed the diner and switched off the lights then stood at the bottom of the stairs and took a deep breath. He didn't want to put off talking to Ellie any more. He pushed open the door but found the kitchen and dining area empty. He took a steely breath and walked over to her door and knocked lightly, but he was greeted with only silence.
"Ellie?" he called out then knocked again. "Ellie. I'm sorry, can we talk?" Still nothing. He knocked again and reached for the handle to push the door open. "Hey honey, I'm coming in…" when he opened the door he expected to see her asleep on her bed. He yearned for those days when he caught her sleeping, her glasses crooked on her face, her science book resting on her chest and her night light still on. But instead he saw an empty room. "Ellie?!" he called out, louder this time. He stepped into the room and looked behind the door, then stormed across the apartment over to his own room but as expected it was empty. He checked the bathroom then stood in the middle of the kitchen his hands on his hips, fuming.
He grabbed his keys off the kitchen table and raced out of the apartment.
"I'll kill her," he muttered as he stormed through the diner and onto the street. He looked up and down, unsure of where to check first. Then spotted Lane's house and hurried over to it. He took the porch steps in twos and threes then banged on the door. He didn't have to bang again as he heard hurried footsteps approaching. Lane opened the door and looked at him eyes wide with shock.
"Um, Mr Danes?"
"Is she here Lane?"
"Who?"
"Ellie…is she here?"
"No she left, um-"
"I know she wasn't here earlier. I know she was at the mall."
"Oh, um…"
"Is she here now?"
"No, no she's not."
"Lane?"
"I promise, she's not." Lane looked guilty enough that Luke believed her and he stepped back onto the porch.
"Any idea where she might be?"
"No, she went to the mall with Tim Winters, but he is going to Florida with his family this evening, hence the trek to the mall."
"Okay Lane, will you call me if you hear from her?"
"Yes, of course."
Luke stepped off her porch and walked back towards the diner. His anger quickly fading into fear as he realized he had no idea where his 14 year old daughter was at 9 o'clock on a Tuesday night. His heart was hammering in his chest. His brain was fuzzy with the need to figure out where she was. So much so that he didn't look where he was going as he walked and when Lorelai came out of the grocery store with her paper bag in hand he walked right into her causing her to drop her bag and spill its contents all over the sidewalk. She yelled out as he careened into her, and he grasped her arms to stop her from falling. He pulled her against him and tried to keep his own balance.
"Oh god…I'm so sorry…" he said.
He looked down at her in his arms crushed to his chest but the fear that was coursing through his body halted any thoughts that started to form about her lips. He pushed her back from him and bent down to pick up her things.
"Wow you guys have a full service community in this town huh!"
"Sorry?" he looked up at her as he continued to pick up her groceries, noting how much of it was frozen dinners for one, microwavable foods and cereals.
"Cook me dinner, mug me on the street. Full service!"
He stood and picked up her bag and passed it to her without ceremony, muttered another apology and hurried back towards the diner.
"Hey, Luke…" she called after him but when he didn't turn around she jogged to catch up with him as he stood at the door to the diner fumbling for the key. "Hey, what's goin' on?"
"Ellie is gone."
"Gone where?"
"I don't know!" he pushed the door open and walked into the diner where he started to pace. Lorelai came in behind him, laid her groceries on the table behind the door and stood aside to watch him pace. "She must have jumped out the window."
"Jumped?"
"There is a tree there, big branches…" he said absently as he continued to walk.
"So where do you think she might have gone?"
"I don't know!" he roared. "If I knew that I wouldn't be standing here going out of my mind!" he was shouting now. His hands were clenched on top of his head and she stepped in to break his pace.
"Hey, relax…we're going to find her. She is going to be ok." She took his arms, pulled them down off his head and guided him back to sit on a stool. He braced his hands on his knees and hung his head low to take a few deep breaths. Lorelai rested her hands onto his shoulders, gripped him tightly and tried to help him calm down.
When he sat up abruptly she found herself leaning towards him, still holding his shoulders and stepping closer to him and ended up standing between his outstretched his legs. "So, um, you guys had a fight?"
"Yeah, she was supposed to be hanging out at her friend's house. But I was in town this afternoon running some errands and I ran into her at the mall, with a boy."
Lorelai stifled the urge to smile. "So you…asked her quietly to come home?" she said hopefully and squeezed his shoulders.
"No. Not quite."
"Oh no."
"I'm pretty sure I made an ass out of her, and me, and the punk she was with."
"So you dragged her home and fought."
"Yeah, pretty much. Then earlier I went upstairs to apologize to her," he said and glanced up at her when she squeezed his shoulders again. "But she was gone. I've checked Lane's house, where she was supposed to be hanging out but she's not there."
"So what about other friends?"
"She doesn't really have any other friends, up until a few weeks ago she was really focused on school, Lane is her best friend."
"And what about the…um, the punk she was with today?" Lorelai asked.
"Lane said he is gone on vacation."
"So ok if she is not at a friend's house, where else would she hang out?"
"The library."
"At 9pm?"
"The bookstore movie theater!" he exclaimed and he jumped up off the stool. Lorelai snatched her hands back and stepped away from him as he ended up standing a little too close.
He walked around her and started to walk out of the diner but she was tight on his heels. "I gotta see this theater!" She said as she followed him closely and they raced up the street. Luke walked in and ignored the tall skinny man who called out to him for a ticket. He pushed the door open and saw some strange black and white movie he didn't recognize on the screen and instead scanned the half empty room for his daughter. Lorelai stood at the back of the room and watched as he looked around frantically. He spotted her lounging across a long red couch and bent down by her head. Her tear stained face was too much and his fear and anger was replaced by a fresh wave of relief.
"Ellie…I'm sorry." He whispered and without another word she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for a tight hug. Luke sat back on his haunches and pulled her onto his lap for a full hug. "I'm sorry."
"No Dad, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied."
"Let's get home and talk about this."
Ellie nodded mutely. She climbed off his lap and grabbed her coat from the back of the couch. They walked back through the cinema with their hands connected and Lorelai walked with them out onto the street.
"So um thanks," he muttered, glancing up at her but quickly looking back to his feet.
"No problem," Lorelai said carefully, trying not to study his daughter and instead slipping into work mode. "All part of the service."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." She waved her hand at them and stepped back off the sidewalk towards her home. "See you around."
Luke nodded and both he and Ellie watched her leave. She could feel their eyes on her as she walked away and tried to keep her eyes forward and not fall over.
"Who was that?" Ellie asked as Luke turned and started to walk with her towards the diner.
"New member of our community."
"She's cute," Ellie said as she squeezed his hand.
"Don't change the subject." He pushed the door to the diner open and allowed her to enter first and she crossed over to take the stool he had sat in in panic only a few moments ago. "What the hell Ellie?"
"I'm sorry Dad."
"What's going on with us?" he pulled a chair out from the table and sat down in front of her, his elbows braced on his knees and his hands wringing in front of him.
"I just…I was just so mad!" she said
"So you ran away?"
"God Dad, don't be so dramatic, I went to the movies."
"Without telling me."
"Well that was kind of the point."
"And you lied to me about where you were going earlier. You made Lane lie to me." Ellie blushed under his scrutiny. "Ellie, we can't go on like this. I need to be able to trust you."
"I know."
"And to do that, I need you to be honest with me."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Yeah Dad, I do." Ellie looked up at him and her tear filled eyes melted his heart. "I'm sorry."
"So…" Luke sat back into his chair. "Who is this guy?"
"Daaaaad!" Ellie covered her face with both hands.
"C'mon, if there is a guy whom you like well enough to sneak off to the mall, I want to know a little bit more about him!"
"It doesn't matter, he probably won't ever talk to me again after that show you put on in the mall. Pretty sure none of the guys will ever talk to me again."
"Good." Luke muttered and he looked at her with a crooked smile.
"God dad, do you want me to live here forever? Single?"
"Yes! At least until you are about 40!"
"40?" she laughed and swatted his shoulder.
"Let's be serious for a moment." Luke sat forward again and she knew his tone had changed and another mortifying father daughter chat was about to occur. "You're 14. You're too young for dates."
"Dad I'm 14."
"Yeah, exactly." He took a deep breath and tried to focus his thoughts. "If there is a guy you like, and this guy you like asks you out and you want to go, then you need to come and talk to me. We'll talk about it. I want to meet him. And we can decide together what's right for you. Agreed?"
"Ok. Agreed."
"But the minute you lie to me, the next time you sneak off then this deal is off."
"Okay." She smiled shyly and looked away.
"And tomorrow I'm going to talk to Kirk and I'm going to tell him you are banned from the theater for the next two weeks."
"Dad! No! The Hitchcock festival is on this weekend!"
Luke laughed softly and he stood up and pulled her into a hug. "You thought you weren't grounded anymore? Oh honey, that's so cute." He stroked her back. "School, home, study, diner, bed."
He felt her take a deep breath and hug him tighter. "Okay."
"Starting now." He released her from the hug and pushed her towards the curtain. "I'm going to clean up down here, I want you up in bed by the time I get up there."
Ellie rolled her eyes but smiled at him before she went up. Luke turned back to the diner and started his clean up routine. He pulled the chairs up onto the tables letting the evening replay out before him and listened to their conversation over and over. He let the swell of pride widen his chest and broaden his shoulders as he got to the last table to lift the chairs up only to see the bag of groceries Lorelai had left behind. He checked his watch and realized it wasn't too late to make a house call. He hurried up to the apartment and found Ellie lying on the couch watching TV.
"I thought I told you to go to bed."
"It's an educational documentary!" she implored as she pointed at the TV. Luke looked around the arch where the TV was nestled in a corner with a shelf of books and saw she was watching ghostbusters.
"Educational?" Ellie shrugged with a crooked smile. "Look, I have to go out for a few minutes. One of my customers left a bag of groceries behind, so I'm going to drop it round."
"Was it that cute woman you were chatting with at the theater?"
"There are frozen items in it, I won't be long." She laughed at his obvious attempt to ignore her question and waved when he walked out.
Luke scooped the groceries up in one hand and pulled the door behind him to lock with the other. He went to his truck and drove to her house as fast as the speed limits would allow. When he got there he noticed every light in the house was on and shook his head. He approached her porch cautiously and knocked lightly. From the other side of the door he could hear loud rock music playing and someone singing along off key. He knocked again, this time louder and called out her name. But still he could only hear the music. He looked in the living room window but couldn't see her. He walked around the wrap around porch and got to her back door where he knocked again. This time he was met with the sudden silence of the music being switched off. He took that as his cue and knocked again.
"Hello?" came her cautious call.
"Lorelai, it's me. Um, it's Luke!" he added, as if only then realizing that she had only met him this morning and probably didn't recognize his voice yet. Yet. Hell, he thought, would she even remember his name?
"Luke?" her worried tone made him only then realize how strange it was that he was now standing on her porch and he started to back away.
"Um, you left your groceries at the diner. I was just dropping them by. I'll leave them here on the porch and take off."
He backed away and left the bag on the seat on the porch and was walking around the corner when he heard the back door open.
"Hey, Luke, wait…" she called out to him and he popped his head back around the side of the house to see her leaning out of her back door. "Come in." she stepped back into her house and he followed, taking the groceries back off the chair as he passed it. He stood just inside her back door and looked around the kitchen. It was littered with boxes, paper and packing peanuts. The stereo was on the stove and she was clearly flustered and out of breath. She looked amazing. She had lost her shoes somewhere along the way and was brushing her hair back into place to try and give it some semblance of order but her unruly curls just bounced back.
"Unpacking?" he asked as he looked at the disarray around them.
"Kinda…" she swept the peanuts off the table into a cloud around her and delighted as they fell around her like chunky snowflakes.
Luke smiled and watched her with a perplexed frown on his face. She was like nothing he had ever met. He put the groceries onto the table and started to put them away for want of something to do before he did something he would regret. Well, something she might regret. He was pretty sure he wouldn't regret it.
"How is Ellie?" she asked suddenly.
"Older than I want her to be."
"Boys?"
"Yeah."
"Wow, tough one."
"We'll be okay though," he said as he finished putting her fridge and freezer items away and turned back to the bag. "Where should I put these?"
She stepped closer to him and looked into the bag. "Oh! Mallomars!" She snatched the packet out of the bag and opened them immediately. "Thank you!" she bit into one and he watched as she devoured it.
"You have the strangest eating habits for someone who…"
"Someone who what?" she asked and she eyed him shrewdly.
"For someone who looks like you."
"What do you mean looks like me?!" she challenged him.
"You know damn well what I mean." He fixed his jeans, scratched his neck beneath the bill of his cap but when he looked back up at her she was smiling broadly and watching him as she bit into another chocolate treat. "So, um, I better get back to Ellie. Make sure she hasn't run off to follow the Grateful Dead tour or whomever is popular now."
Lorelai thought briefly about blocking his path and making him squirm for a little longer but thought that this mysterious diner guy she had met only that day might run further if she pressed him harder. So she stepped aside a silent gesture of allowing him to leave and followed him out to the front door. He pulled it open and stood on the porch for a second then turned around and cast a half smile at her.
"See you tomorrow," he said and he waved then walked away.
Lorelai watched him climb into his truck. He glanced at her again as he reversed out of her drive and she was sure he was watching her in the rear view mirror when he took off. Finally when she couldn't see him anymore she stepped back into the house and closed the door.
Luke gripped the steering wheel tighter, and tried to focus on the road ahead. He could tell her eyes were on him and even after he turned onto the main road it still felt like she was watching. With those bluer than blue eyes. Shimmering when she smiled, the slight blush on her cheeks when he walked in her back door as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. He rubbed his face with one hand and shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts as he parked the truck then climbed out and hurried into the diner. He finished cleaning, kept his mind on the task then switched off the lights and climbed the stairs wearily to his apartment.
He found Ellie asleep on the couch so he went over to switch off the TV then gently roused her enough to walk her into her room and lay her on the bed. He pulled off her shoes and draped the duvet over her then left and closed the door behind him. He cast a cursory glance around the kitchen but decided to leave the few dishes until the next day and instead went into his room. He closed the door, and started to strip as he went into his ensuite compact bathroom. He flicked on the shower and went to the sink to brush his teeth as he waited for the water to heat up. After spitting and rinsing his mouth out he stepped into the hot powerful spray and only then did he let himself remember his day.
The first thought that came to mind was the baby blue blouse she was wearing when he first laid eyes on her and how magnificent it was. It made her eyes seem even brighter though he was sure she was partially delighting in the torment he was feeling at being blocked in his parking spot. He remembered how the blouse was low cut enough for him to see the top curves of her breasts and when she moved to shuffle the papers she was holding he caught a glimpse of a black lace trimming on her bra. He felt his cock twitch in appreciation of the train of his thoughts and Luke chuckled. It had been a long time since he let himself think so vividly about someone. He was surprised he lasted throughout the day without embarrassing himself and ruining a perfectly good pair of jeans.
When she came into the diner for dinner he remembered her snug fitting jeans. The white and blue tee shirt she wore that showed her full breasts and slim waist. When she sat at the stool by his counter her tee rode up her back and her jeans curved around her ass and a gap appeared at the centre of the small of her back. He bussed the tables slowly, wondering what it would be like to slip his hand in that gap, cup his fingers around the cheek of her ass and gently run his fingers along the rim of her panties.
Luke felt his cock twitch and harden and he ran one hand down from his chest to grasp it lightly. He couldn't help the moan that escaped his lips as he stroked himself. He thought of her wild dark curly hair, the flushed look on her face when he went to her place, her red lips parting in a cheeky smile, as she took the treats out of the grocery bag, her arm brushing purposefully against his. Luke felt himself harden further and he tightened his grip as he stroked in faster motions. The warm water wrapped around him and as he looked down at himself he could almost see her kneeling before him, watching him with interest, her tongue came out to lick her lips then she brushed his hand aside and took him in her mouth in one motion.
"Ahhh!" Luke moaned and he planted one hand against the tiles to brace himself. She sucked him furiously, dragging the desire out of him with every movement of her head. He imagined her hair would be bouncing against his thighs, her hands would grip his ass, no his legs, maybe his cock, he wasn't sure, and at that very moment he didn't really care. He imagined her tongue circling the tip of his cock, pressing flat against the base of his cock, moving along him with each stroke then when he thought he couldn't take anymore, he imagined her humming while holding him in her mouth and that was finally his undoing.
He came hard and struggled to keep his voice down but couldn't stop his moans from reverberating against the shower walls. Even as he felt his climax receding he couldn't help the moans that escaped his lips. He looked down at his near flaccid cock in his own hand and let the bubble of laughter escape his throat. The sound came out strangled and breathless. He braced himself with both hands on the tiles as he tried to regain his composure, then soaped up and rinsed off before stepping out and grabbing a towel. He stood before the mirror and swiped the mist off it to see his own reflection. He ran his hand over his stubbled cheek but dismissed the idea of shaving. He ran his hand through his hair and thought about going to see Pete to get it cut then caught his own eyes and stared.
"Wow…haven't even known her 24 hours and already she has a starring role…smooth Luke, real smooth." He muttered then he pulled the towel from around his waist and used it to dry himself more thoroughly then tossed it over the shower rail and went into his room. He pulled on a clean pair of boxers and fell onto the mattress with a sigh. He tugged the duvet up to his waist and settled into his pillows and closed his eyes.
He tried to think about the tasks he had to do in the diner in the morning, the deliveries, scheduling, and the menu setup but when that didn't help he tried to think of when he'd be able to get away to get a haircut, how long the breakfast rush would last or if he would have to leave it until the lunch crush died down. But no matter what he tried to fill his head with, it always came back to her. Luke draped his arm over his face, buried it in the crook of his elbow and tried to banish her to the recess of his mind. But it just made her image brighter, stronger.
He rolled over onto his front, trapping his already semi erect penis against the mattress. Luke screwed his eyes shut and wondered if she was having as much trouble sleeping as he was. He chuckled at the thought and then wondered what she would make of his place, his apartment, his daughter, his bed, his small single bed that he had never, in the 13 years of living in this apartment, shared with anyone. He chuckled when he realized, not once had he passed a second thought to his bed. Luke felt his mattress shift as if she climbed in beside him, he would have to scoot over, they would have to lie on their sides, spooning or she would drape herself over him. Either one worked for him he decided, then before he could let himself follow those thoughts any further he abruptly sat up and pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes.
"Get it together…" he said with a derisive laugh. He dry washed his face and fell back onto the pillows only to spend the rest of the night tossing and turning in a fruitless effort to sleep.