A/N: Thanks to those who take the time to review. Yes, I know, that was kind of a cliffhanger at the end of the previous chapter, but to have Rory's POV and then Jess' POV in one chapter was going to get so long, I thought it was better to split it. So, now, finally, here we see Jess waiting in the diner for CoffeeGirl84, and you can see what happens next... ;)

(for disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 8

She wasn't coming. Checking his watch every two minutes like a complete moron meant Jess knew CoffeeGirl84 was now almost an hour late for their arranged meeting, which told him she absolutely wasn't going to show, and yet, he was still waiting. In his head, he just kept on making excuses for her.

Maybe she had the time wrong, or maybe her watch stopped. Perhaps she couldn't get a cab, or the cab she got broke down on the way over. She could have had an emergency, she might just have got her days mixed up and forgot. Of course, the most obvious reason for her not being there was that she just didn't want to be. She had changed her mind and didn't actually want to meet him after all.

Jess wasn't sure he could blame her. Meeting people you only knew online could be dangerous, especially for women, he supposed. It was why they had agreed to meet in a very public place, somewhere they both knew well and everything. They arranged a signal too, that they would both bring a copy of Ginsberg's Howl, so that they could easily identify each other in the crowd. He had been sat there with the stupid book in the corner of his table for almost two hours now and though more than one person had noticed, and one even asked him about it, none of them were her.

"Give it up, man, she's just not coming," he muttered to himself, hand going into his pocket to retrieve some money to pay for the stone-cold coffee sat before him on the table.

It was while he was rifling around for whatever loose change he had in his pants that somebody spoke to him. Jess' heart leapt, sure it had to be her, until suddenly he looked up and his heart sank right back to his boots and further.

"Huh. Of course, you're here," he said, rolling his eyes at the sight of Rory Gilmore. "Because tonight couldn't get any worse," he added softly, sure she couldn't have heard him, but of course, because his luck was just so great, she did.

"Is it really so awful seeing me?"

Seeing her? No, Jess had to be honest, the sight of her wasn't really awful at all. As if she needed him to tell her she was beautiful. He was pretty sure she already knew, and if she didn't, doubtless the blond dick that was her boyfriend and her boss told her plenty. Not to mention the staff that those rich types tended to have, both domestically and at the company office, all just falling over themselves to be subservient and grovelling. The thought of it made Jess want to be sick on the spot, not that he needed any help in the nausea department. He was already feeling bad enough over being stood up tonight by the one person he thought he could rely on.

"You know you really pick your moments to show up?" he told Rory, shaking his head as he finally managed to find enough money to pay his meagre bill. "What do you have, some kind of 'he's down and primed for kicking' radar?"

When he looked up at her then he saw what seemed to be genuine pain cross her face. He felt like a heel. Who knew the rich and powerful even had feelings to hurt?

"Hey, I just came in here to... It's a diner, I think my reasons are pretty self-explanatory," she told him, arms folded defensively across her chest.

"So, I guess seeing me and getting the opportunity to gloat was just a bonus, huh?" he countered with a look, immediately regretting it.

After all, as much as the company she worked for was ruining his own business, as much as she was a big part of the reason why Truncheon was going under, it wasn't as if she was personally attacking him on purpose. It certainly wasn't her fault that his date hadn't shown up tonight. She wasn't the one proving that this person he had put so much faith him wasn't worth the effort, just like so many before her.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, moving to get up.

When his hand fell on his book, ready to pick it up and go, he realised it wouldn't leave the table. Rory's hand was on it too. He hadn't even noticed she had got that close, but there she was, something like a sad smile playing at her lips as she stared down at where their fingers were almost touching on the front cover of Howl.

"I love this book," she said, even as she retracted her hand. "Uh, I mean, I've read it a few times. Have you?"

"I've read it enough."

Looking at her then, it made him wonder, just for a second, but the thought left his mind just as quickly as it came in. There was no way.

"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt your re-read then," said Rory, turning as if to walk towards the counter and order something.

"You didn't," he told her, unsure why he was bothering, but unable to stop himself somehow. "I wasn't re-reading it," he admitted, when she glanced back. "It was... I was waiting for somebody, but she didn't show."

"Oh. I'm sorry," she said again, looking almost guilty enough that he felt bad for her instead of himself.

That was so damn stupid, given what she was doing to his life right now. Okay, so it was the company she worked for, but it was all the same. Without Huntzberger Inc, the business that not only paid her checks but also spawned the man she shared a bed with, Truncheon wouldn't be slowly sliding down the drain. It didn't really matter if Rory worked there or not. If not her, then some other big-shot would be ending his short-lived career as co-owner of a small but decent bookstore and publishing house. Somehow, that didn't make Jess feel much better about it all.

"It's not your fault I got stood up."

"It's just my fault that your business is going under," she countered. "At least, that's how you see it."

"Oh, is that how I see it?" he asked her, shaking his head. "Trust me, you don't know how I see anything. You don't know what I think and I couldn't begin to explain it to you."

He moved to go, but never made it one step. Rory blocked his path, her expression having hardened now, her blue eyes like steel.

"Hey, I was actually trying to be nice. You don't have to-"

"Don't have to what?" he cut in without hesitation. "Don't have to hate the company that's putting me out of business? Don't have to stand up for myself against 'the man' even if he happens to come in prettier packaging than usual? Well, guess what, Rory Gilmore? I am going to stand up. I am willing to go into battle for what's mine, and you can do whatever you want, but Truncheon isn't going down without a fight!"

Rory's mouth opened and closed twice, but no words came out. Jess wanted to be proud of himself for flummoxing her like that, but truth be told, it wasn't his finest moment. He was being angry and mean with a woman who wasn't entirely to blame for the mood he was in. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, she was maybe responsible for 5% of his anger, with the Huntzbergers themselves taking the larger part, and most of the rest being down to the woman he had actually hoped to meet tonight.

"Are you really this mad about your store closing?" Rory called behind him. "Or am I just getting both barrels because your date didn't show?"

His hand was on the door, he could just walk out, but her parting shot meant he couldn't quite bring himself to go. Besides, it was freaky that she seemed to have read his mind, knowing somehow that being stood up was bothering him more than anything else right now.

"You don't know anything about me!" Jess called over his shoulder, pressing on out of the door then.

Whether he was surprised or not by Rory following him into the street, he couldn't have said for sure. The weirdest part was, he almost felt like he might have been disappointed if she hadn't bothered to give chase.

"Do you really think you know so much about me either? Because you don't, Jess Mariano. You really don't."

Again, he knew it would be smarter to keep on walking, to leave Rory Gilmore and this whole night far behind him, but he couldn't. Jess could fight when he had to, but in pointless situations like these, where there would never be a winner, he knew it was better to leave well enough alone. God only knew why he couldn't take his own good advice when it came to her. He really wished that he could, but he couldn't.

"I know everything I need to know about you," he said, rounding on her, pointing an angry finger that made her eyes widen just a little. "You don't think I've met a million people just like you? The rich and elite who get their jobs through who they know, not what they know. God, I can smell the narcissism from here!"

"You're wrong!" she shot back at him.

It was possible she looked hurt again, but in the half-light of the darkening street, he didn't have to see it, tried not to think about it.

"And even if you were right, how do you know the woman you were waiting for is any different? You obviously never met before, or you wouldn't need your signal book. What if she turned out to be just like me?"

"Hey, she is nothing like you," he told her firmly. "The woman I was waiting for, she has integrity. She has compassion and kindness, a brain the size of Mars and a heart that's even bigger."

"But she didn't show up," Rory told him, shaking her head. "What does that mean?"

"It means she has a good reason not to be here," he said definitely. "You know how I know that? Because she's everything you're not."

With that said, Jess did turn around and walk away, determined that he would say no more, that he wouldn't even look back again. Still, he kept an ear open, half-expecting retaliation from Rory, to hear her running after him to keep the verbal battle going. When he turned the next corner, he waited a few beats, glanced back to take one last look, but there was nobody there.

It was relief to get home and find the apartment empty. The note on the table letting him know Francie had to take a sudden trip to Chicago was crumbled up and tossed in the trash in a second. He didn't care and, right in that moment, Jess couldn't even find it in himself to feel guilty about the fact. It wasn't as if he was being unfaithful. Not really. Hell, the woman he was waiting on tonight didn't even show up, and even if she had... He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought.

Throwing himself down onto the couch, he pulled the computer into his lap and switched on. Waiting through the start-up, his hand tapped on the edge of the laptop, showing the tension that was running around in him still. Rory Gilmore hadn't helped tonight, but it wasn't really her fault. Jess knew he would be plenty wound up without her help, just wondering on what happened to CoffeeGirl84.

He could be mad at her for standing him up, but like he told Rory, she had to have a good excuse. There was probably a perfectly logical explanation, which was why he was logging on to see if there was an email waiting for him.

He was sure it would be there, a message saying she was sorry but she had to work late, or there was a family emergency, or she got into an accident maybe. He hoped not on the last one, of course, but there had to be something and it had to be pretty major to keep her away, he was certain of that.

Finally, his inbox was in front of him and Jess wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry when he realised there was no email. Nothing from CoffeeGirl84. No explanation, no excuse, no apology. He refreshed the page twice, but nothing changed. Jess knew it wasn't going to, but he had to try. Third time lucky, maybe? No, still nothing. She hadn't shown up and she hadn't emailed either.

Jess tossed the laptop onto the empty cushion beside him and covered his face with his hands, a frustrated growl escaping his throat. He was such an idiot and he knew it too. What the hell did he think he was doing anyway? Having this secret online relationship behind his girlfriend's back. Agreeing to go meet this mystery woman. Feeling genuinely hurt when she didn't actually appear. Why would she? Jess was well aware that she may not even be a she, that she may not be in New York, that the whole thing could be a giant scam or a cruel joke. It could be, and yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to believe it.

Reaching for the computer once again, Jess went to the folder of saved emails that he and CoffeeGirl84 had exchanged. All the conversations, the happy things, the sad things. Her advice to him when he was worried about Truncheon, their ridiculous back-and-forths about books and movies, that seemed so important at the time. What did it all amount to, really? A friendship of a kind, perhaps, but nothing real, nothing concrete. Hell, he didn't even know her name.

Going back to the inbox, he hoped rather than believed he would get lucky this time. That in the little while he had spent reminiscing, wondering, self-flagellating, she might have sent him some message or other. Of course, there was still nothing there.

There was a moment when Jess thought about emailing her, asking what happened, why she didn't show up and what was going on. In the end, he thought better of it. Desperation wasn't a good look on anybody. Maybe it was better just to let it go.

Yeah, because it was just that easy!

To Be Continued...