January 9th, 1984
6.38 PM
Straub Hayden was irritated. In fact, he was very irritated. With his son, for being a fool and because of that, grounded, and with his wife, for insisting they attend this party and therefore having to bring the said son to the gathering. The three of them had been traveling in silence the entire ride to the Gilmore House.
"Well, at least being grounded in the Hayden household includes chauffeur service to see my girlfriend," Chris said when the car pulled up on the driveway. Straub caught Christopher's gaze in the rearview mirror. He was not amused.
"Let me make myself very clear—you are not attending this gathering for pleasure, Christopher. We're bringing you along tonight because leaving you unsupervised is out of the question. Who knows what you might decide is a good idea next?"
"Now, you listen to your father, Christopher," Francine filled in.
Straub put the car in park and turned to face Chris.
"You have done many reckless things in your life, one more disappointing than the other, but this time you will have to understand the seriousness of your actions."
"Come on, dad, it's not like I planned to crash the car. It was just an accident."
"I know you, Christopher, and I know that is not true. That 'accident' could have cost you and Lorelai your lives. You're free to waste your own life, but I will have no son of mine risking the life of another fine man's daughter."
Straub pulled the key out of the engine.
"Get out, now."
He slammed the car door shut. Chris took a deep, steadying breath before following his parents up the walkway to the Gilmore's front door.
Emily greeted them at the door.
"Francine, Straub, welcome. We're so glad you could make it. And hello, Christopher. I suppose I should be happy to see you are still in one piece, but I must say I'm a bit uncertain. Please, Bridget, take their coats."
Francine removed her coat and handed it to the maid. She lowered her voice a little and turned to Emily:
"We had to bring him, I hope you understand that leaving him unattended at home unfortunately is not an option right now."
Emily blinked.
"Very well. Just make sure he doesn't accidentally crash anything."
"Good evening, Straub." Richard had come to the door and shook Straub's hand. "Welcome. How are you?"
"Very well, Dick, very well. And you?"
"I'm just fine, thank you, Straub."
They smiled politely at each other. Then Richard's gaze traveled to Chris.
"Christopher."
"Yes, hello, Mr. Gilmore. Good evening."
Chris extended his hand and Richard shook it, reluctantly.
"Son, I have to say you're always welcome in out house, but –"
"Richard, do I have to remind you this is a party?" Emily had raised an eyebrow at him. "Believe me, we will address the matter, but this is not the time and place."
Straub nodded.
"I agree with you, Emily, this is not the right time. We'll leave it here; I just wanted to say that Francie and I are deeply regretful for the trouble our son has caused. Christopher is very well aware of the severity of his actions."
Chris cleared his throat a few times before starting to speak.
"I truly am sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore. I realize how much worse things could have been." Richard turned to Chris.
"I know you are sorry, Christopher, but it hardly amends the recklessness of your actions. Both our families have been put in a very uncomfortable position because of this folly, and you and Lorelai could have been seriously hurt."
Lorelai peeked out behind Richard.
"Come on, dad, you know it wasn't just Chris. I was there too. We're both to blame."
Richard let out a long sigh.
"I know very well you were involved, Lorelai, only God knows what you were doing in that car before it crashed. But this isn't about assigning blame, it's about understanding the consequences of your actions. None of you are adults yet, when you turn twenty-one you are welcome to crash all the cars you like, but up until then, Straub and I are responsible for your safety. And your car insurance."
An hour later, Chris put his charm to test.
"And there I was, face-to-face with the most fearsome creature in all of Connecticut–"
He waved animatedly, and stared at each one of the elderly ladies that had gathered around him to listen to the made-up bear fighting tale. Lorelai gave him thumbs up and slid diagonally over the floor towards the bar where she had her eyes settled on a tequila bottle. She grabbed it and hid it under her swelling skirt. There was something beneficial with ball gowns, one had to admit that. She turned her head to signal Chris, but all of a sudden, there was Emily Gilmore's unmistakable voice slicing through the din.
"Lorelai, there you are! I must introduce you to the Donahues. Their son is just back from Yale –"
Lorelai caught Chris' gaze. She mouthed 'derail' and Chris ramped up his charm, his story reaching a crescendo that conveniently required a physical demonstration, drawing the crowd's – and more importantly, Emily's – attention away from Lorelai's position. Perfect diversion, Hayden. She ducked behind a nearby sofa, sliding over the floor and stopped by the wall with a thud.
Chris wrapped up his tale, excused himself from the group and nonchalantly made his way to the sofa, flopping down behind it next to Lorelai.
"Face-to-face with a fearsome creature, huh? Was it as terrifying as facing my mom on a mission?" she said, patting his head. "Good boy, though."
Chris peeked over the sofa to ensure they were still unnoticed.
"Well, I think your mom would definitely put up a fight against the wild bears of Connecticut."
Lorelai peeked out, too.
"Let's get out of here before she realizes I'm not schmoozing the Yale prodigy."
They rose from their hiding spot and skidded over the floor towards the entrance.
"Come on, we have to bring coats."
"Why?"
"You'll see. It's Emily Gilmore's latest move."
They went upstairs to Lorelai's room but upon reaching it, Chris came to a halt.
"Uh, Lorelai? The door is gone?"
"Yup. Told you, mom's reached new heights."
"She took your door?"
"She took my door."
They entered her doorless room, and Lorelai went to open the windows to climb out onto the balcony.
"Ah, I see."
Chris put on his coat.
"Looks like it's gonna be an open air party."
He climbed out after her. The night was pitch-black and cloudy, with a freezing wind blowing. Lorelai took a deep breath.
"I smell snow."
"You always smell snow this time of year."
Chris smiled at her and opened the bottle, pouring the tequila into shot glasses.
"To our very own balcony party, the best kind of party because no one else is allowed," he toasted. Lorelai raised her first glass.
"To being grounded! May our sentences be short!"
"And our parents' memories shorter."
Chris gulped down the tequila, shook his head a little, grimaced and leaned against the balcony railing, looking out into the night.
"So, have your parents drafted up a release date for you yet, or are we looking at a life sentence here?"
Lorelai sighed, took a breath and downed her shot.
"Oh, you know, the usual 'until we can trust you again' spiel. So, in other words, see you in the next decade."
Chris huffed.
"Yeah, my folks are planning to turn me into a model citizen by the end of this. I'll be so well-behaved, I'll start ironing my socks."
"Maybe you can iron mine while you're at it. I'll be too busy not attending any social events for the foreseeable future. Another one, please."
Chris handed her another shot.
"We're gonna miss out on Mike's birthday next week. Heard it was going to be really cool," he said, clinked her empty glass and swallowed his number three.
Lorelai sighed.
"Yep. I guess we'll just have to throw another two people party on this balcony."
"It's kind of ironic, isn't it? Feels like we've spent half our relationship on this balcony. Either one of us is grounded, or both, or we're sneaking around, trying not to get caught."
Lorelai turned to look at him.
"You're totally right! This balcony has seen more of our relationship than any movie theater or diner in town. It's like our own little refuge, but also our prison."
Chris reached for Lorelai's hand, and while giving it a gently squeeze, he downed another shot.
"When we're finally ungrounded, in four years or so, we should avoid balconies for a while. You know, go on a balcony detox."
Lorelai grinned.
"A balcony detox sounds like a good idea. But you know, despite everything, I'm glad we had this place. It's ours, in a way no other place is. It's where we've had our best talks."
"Yeah. And some other best things, if I'm not mistaken."
Lorelai laughed. Chris tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, watching her. He really had the sweetest smile. She gulped down another shot.
"Lorelai? Christopher? Are you out here?" The unmistakable sound of Emily Gilmore's voice edged closer to the balcony.
"Quick, duck!"
Lorelai yanked Chris down beside her behind an inadequately sized planter.
"Last Easter déjà vu," Chris whispered, his breath warm – and very close – against Lorelai's ear. She could have sworn he did that on purpose.
"Higher stakes, fewer chocolate bunnies," Lorelai whispered back, trying to have a look to make sure her mother was not coming their way. As Lorelai saw Emily getting dangerously close to the window, Chris pulled her closer and tugged gently at her earlobe with his teeth. Oh, come on, stop that. They could hear Emily moving about the room.
"I could have sworn I heard voices. Must be the wind."
She turned and left the room, shouting for Lorelai down the corridor instead.
Once sure they were alone again, Chris and Lorelai dared to peek over the rim of their makeshift barricade, the coast clear at last.
"Well, that was a close call."
Chris breathed in her ear. He stood first, offering Lorelai a hand to help her up, but instead, he scooped her in his arms.
"Hello there."
"Good evening." She rose on tiptoes to kiss his nose. "How are we feeling this very night?" She continued giving him little kisses, slowly trailing over his cheek, lips and down to his neck. He shivered as her lips left a wet, cold trail. When she reached his earlobe and pulled it into her mouth, she caused him to involuntarily buck his hips at her. She grinned a little, unbuttoned his thick wool coat and snuck her hands inside, around his waist, untucking his shirt from his pants, and let her cold hands run over his back. He shivered. She started to pull at his bowtie with her teeth, slowly untying it.
He grinned at her, reached over and downed another shot.
"Well, this is pleasant. A personal undresser."
Lorelai just smiled at him and when she had pulled his bowtie off of him, he couldn't resist any longer. He gripped her wrists and pinned her up against the wall with one arm, kissing her, opening her coat and letting his free hand find her breasts, nipples hard under his fingers. She moaned and kissed him back and grind against his leg, untangling her hands and started to pull at his pants, unbuckling them with one hand, the other buried in his hair. He held her even tighter, kissing her, thrusting hard against her hand, wanting to feel it around him.
When she pulled him out of his underwear, he moaned into her mouth. He yanked her skirt up around her waist, ripped off her stockings and panties and she lifted a knee to rest on his hip. His fingers trailed over her folds. God, she was wet. She pulled at him, urging him closer, pushed away his hand, wanting him inside. She positioned him between her legs. He hesitated a little.
"You sure?"
"Never been more sure, come on, get inside Chris, dying here!"
"Yeah, jeez, give me a second to figure this out," He tried to figure out how to hold her hips. "There's ice everywhere, I have to –"
He finally managed to get a good grip and lifted her up, held her against the wall, and she straddled him, hooking her legs around his hips.
"Wow, this is something, huh?" His lips were millimeters from hers and she felt his breath linger over her mouth. "Hot, I'd say."
She nodded and pulled at him, eagering him on. He slowly pushed inside. Her eyes rolled back in her head.
"Oh my god, this was new, you're, you're hitting something unexpected there."
"Unexpectedly good?"
"Definitely."
She closed her eyes and felt snowflakes land on her face while he slowly moved in and out of her. All of a sudden, he hit an especially good spot and she moaned and cramped, squeezing him harder. That, and her face, her voice, her legs around his waist, the tequila, the snowfall, became too much for him. He came, hard. And let out a gritted groan, thrust a few more times, nuzzled his nose into her neck.
"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly, "I was surprised. You were too good!"
"Well, right back at ya. Lifting me up like that hit uncharted territories."
He buffed at her nose with his.
"I love you," he said.
She kissed him.
"I love you, too."
They remained in their embrace for a while, then he pulled out and they started to put their clothes together again.
"We should get back in before anyone gets a serious frostbite."
"Let me just fix my lipstick."