Lorelai watched the happy couple dance with a smile on her face, as Luke suddenly approached her.

"Hey! I wondered where you'd been."

"Sorry. I'll tell you later. Jess …" Luke rolled his eyes. "He's complicated."

"He sounds it. Your food's probably cold, would you like to get fresh food from your diner?"

"Sure. Or we could –," He nodded his head towards all the dancing couples.

"Could … what?" Lorelai hoped that this was what he was insinuating.

Luke took a deep breath. "You wanna dance?"

"Really?" Lorelai grinned. "You said before you don't dance."

"What can I say, I'm a compulsive liar." He smiled back at her. "So – dance?"

"Okay, sure. Yeah."

Lorelai took his hand.

It was the first real contact they shared, before that they hadn't touched. At all.

It was like an electric sensation was suddenly going through her body, setting her mind on fire, making her nerves tingle with excitement and desire.

And when he pulled her close and looked her in the eye, she was done for.

She looked beautiful, enchanting, enticing. All those adjectives that would describe a siren or a goddess. The goddess that was Lorelai, a temptress dancing with him under a starlit sky, smiling at him like she was actually enjoying these weird swaying moves that could certainly not count as dancing. At the same time, she looked nervous. Her eyes went up, down, up, down, from his eyes to an uncertain spot on his chest. It was as if she felt the need to look away, every time their eyes met. Luke wondered why that was and whether it was his fault.

But she didn't tell him to stop. She didn't run away. Instead she pulled him closer, making their lower bodies press together. It took all his self-control to make their close dancing not have an embarrassing effect on him.

At some point, she leaned against him.

A wonderful smell suddenly filled his nostrils – flowery and peachy at the same time. He inhaled the scent of her hair and closed his eyes.

He would have given everything to be able to kiss her right now.

"You can actually dance," he heard her whisper in his ear, and the goosebumps erupting all over his body were only overshadowed by the shiver creeping down his spine, as if someone had placed an ice cube on his neck.

"Hmm," he replied. Gently he ran his hand up and down her back, caressing her soft skin. He could feel goosebumps on her skin, too, which made him unbelievably happy.

And as she kept breathing into his ear, he suddenly noticed something: Her breathing got faster, flatter and somewhat higher.

He pulled back to look at her, and his breath got caught in his lung seeing her dark eyes and the expression of longing on her face. It was hard to stay sane like that.

He cleared his throat. "Wanna get out of here?"

She only nodded.

After that intense dance that had left her soaking wet, Lorelai expected him to invite her up and was surprised as he didn't walk up to the diner's door but to her car instead.

"Thanks for coming here tonight," he said gently. "I really enjoyed myself. And your company."

"Likewise, Luke," she mumbled back. And then she was quiet, which came close to a miracle, even she had to admit that.

"So, uhm – good night," he mumbled.

Instinctively, Lorelai grabbed his arm. "Hey, I thought – I thought we could continue upstairs. You know."

"That's not a good idea, Lorelai."

He sounded gentle, and after the first wave of hurt and disappointment that washed over her, she nodded. "I get what you're saying."

"Do you really?"

"I'm guessing because we don't really know each other? Because we've just agreed on being friends first?"

"That, and – I really like you." He sighed. "I want this to be more than an affair."

"It wouldn't be an affair, Chris and I are getting a divorce. Really, we are. We already talked about it."

"Fine, then I want this to be more than a hookup."

"It is more, Luke. Believe me. You're more than a hookup." She intensified her grip on his arm. "Luke. I really like you, too."

"Then please understand why I can't invite you in. I want this to be special. This thing between us, whatever it is, Lorelai – I'm in. I'm all in, and if I bring you upstairs, I'll get stressed. I don't want to rush this, I rushed it with Nicole and it didn't go well. I don't want this to happen to us. I like you too much and I want to wait to make it worth a while."

"Luke …" Lorelai stepped forward to wrap her arms around him. "Of course I understand. I feel the same. I just thought this is what you wanted."

"You are what I want. And yes, I would love to invite you up. But it doesn't feel right, not yet. I think what's between us is real, so let's not rush it."

Lorelai nodded. "Alright. Yeah, you're right. And I agree with you." Gently she pressed her lips on his cheek. "Good night, Luke."

"Good night, Lorelai," he breathed, and she kissed him again, his lips this time. But only for a second.

"I'll call you," she whispered, before getting in her car.

"I can't believe you still haven't fucked him."

"You don't get it." Lorelai propped her head on her hands while watching her husband prepare breakfast. "He might be the one."

"Naomi is the one for me, and I had sex with her after I knew her a week."

"Well, it just started different for you. You slept with her right away but fell in love with her over time. I fell in love with him right away, I don't want to sleep with him and ruin it immediately."

"Why do you think sleeping with him would ruin it?"

"I don't know." She sighed loudly. "It happens for some reason. Remember Alex? He just stopped calling."

"His loss."

"Maybe. Anyhow, I can't stop thinking about Luke. I want to visit him again, but I'm scared to seem clingy and fuck it up before it really started."

Chris snorted, not impressed. "I can't believe he doesn't kiss the floor you walk on. He should be glad that you like him and just take what he gets."

"You're an asshole, Chris." Lorelai rolled her eyes. "We mutually decided on taking this slow. Just look where not going slow has brought you and I."

"Yes, but we were fifteen. It was 20 fucking years ago, and I daresay we are grown-ups now."

"Ugh. No grown-up calls themselves a grown-up."

"Well, I do. Deal with it."

"What I'm saying is, oh so grown-up Chris, Luke is special to me and I don't want to fuck it up. Like with Max or Jason."

"Yeah, but Jason was the one to fuck it up in my opinion."

"No. No, Jason was ready to commit. I was the one who ran."

"Whatever. Now you've found the one or whatever, I say be clingy. Honestly, if we weren't married and I had met you in a bar, I would sleep next to the telephone so I wouldn't miss your call."

Lorelai didn't reply. Perhaps he was right. And she had told Luke she would call him, after all. So what if she just visited him?

Twenty minutes later she was on her way to Stars Hollow. Again.

"Crazy," she called over and over, "you're crazy, Lorelai Hayden. Crazy!"

She knew she was, crazy for Luke at least. And Luke was crazy for her, that much was clear as soon as she stepped into the diner.

"Lorelai!" he called, his eyes shining and his smile wide. Two steps and he was with her, hugging her. "I didn't expect you."

"Sorry. I missed you-r coffee."

"Nice save," he laughed before taking her hand and pulling her towards the counter. "Sit down, I just made a fresh pot."

"Ooo, nice!"

Lorelai was well aware that everyone in the diner was looking at her, but this time she didn't care. Once Luke and her could make their relationship – or whatever they had – official, they'd calm down. She knew they were just curious about her, and who could blame them? She was, after all, a mystery woman.

While Luke was with his back to her, his short employee suddenly came to stand before her.

"Hello, Lorelai, my name is Lane."

"Hi, Lane," said Lorelai, a bit perplexed at how direct she was.

"Would you like some pancakes? If you love Luke's coffee, you will want to marry his pancakes."

"Well, then I would like to have some pancakes, please. Thank you, Lane."

Lane vanished in the kitchen, and Luke turned around with her cup of coffee, laughing. "Lane is obsessed with you. I think she really wants me to be happy."

"Who exactly is she?"

"You could say she's a friend. I know her mother, well, everyone knows her mother." He spoke quieter, "she's running Kim's Antiques. Check it out later."

"Uhm – okay?"

"I gave her this job because she wants to buy a set of drums. Her mother isn't allowed to know of this, so don't mention anything."

"Huh. This town is getting more and more interesting."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! I love it actually. I have so many questions. Like – why the hell is there a huge window in your diner?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Taylor Doose really wanted a soda shop. But the window – I don't know. Maybe he likes spying on me."

"Ah. And who is Taylor Doose?"

Luke snorted. "How much time do you have?"

Lorelai took a sip of the coffee. "Mh – if you keep bringing me this heavenly coffee, I have all day for you, baby."

Luke smiled, before telling her about Taylor, Kirk, Mrs. Kim and other interesting characters of Stars Hollow. And after hearing all about them, Lorelai was so intrigued that she decided to take a walk and check out some of the places and people he'd spoken about for herself.

This was how she found herself on Maple Street a while later, and in front of a quite crappy looking house that was definitely not occupied.

She looked at it for a while, a long while actually, as she suddenly heard a screechy voice behind her.

"You okay, sugah?"

She turned around and watched a blonde, round woman waddling her way.

"Hi! Sorry, is this your house?"

"Ha! No, sugah, I live in that one." She pointed at the other house, that was right next to the crappy house. "Me and Morey and Apricot."

"Uh –?"

"My husband and our cat. Babette Dell." She extended her hand and Lorelai shook it.

"Lorelai Hayden."

"Wait – are ya Luke's new flame?"

"Wow, news travel really fast here," laughed Lorelai. "I suppose you could say I'm Luke's new flame, yes."

"Patty told me ya were beautiful but damn! She did not say how beautiful. Are ya thinking of moving here, sugah? This house could definitely need some makeover."

"I'm currently thinking," Lorelai replied. It was true, and she had enough money to renovate this house. "I really like this town."

"This town is special, yes. And I think ya will fit perfectly in here. This shack is pretty crappy though, but ya can always rip it out and build a new one. Ya have money, so that won't be a problem."

"Wait, who said I had money?"

"Dunno, I heard that somewhere. Someone said that money shoots right out of your –"

"That is simply not true. Who said that?"

"Maybe Kirk? I don't know. Your car is a bit of a giveaway, though."

Lorelai groaned. "Okay, uhm, Babette? I'm thinking about buying the crap shack, but please keep that to yourself. I will give you my number and if you ever see the realtor for this house lurking around, make them give me a call. Okay?"

"Sure, sugah."

Lorelai handed her a card of the Royal Hotel. "It's that number with the addition 14 after. This will lead them right into my office, and if I'm not there, it will go right to my phone. Please don't forget, alright?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, sure." Babette looked at the card for a moment, then raised her head up to her again. "Ya married?"

"Oh." Babette had seen the ring as she'd handed over the card. Lorelai had gotten so used to her wedding ring, that she didn't take it off anymore at all. Not even when she went out, she was too scared she'd lose it or forget to put it on for dinners with her parents. Her parents would notice right away if she didn't wear the ring anymore, and then she wouldn't hear the end of it. She wondered why Miss Patty had not mentioned that she was married, after all she'd been with her and Liz, as she told Liz she was married. That made her think, that probably even the biggest chatterbox in Stars Hollow had respect for at least some secrets. That, or Babette had only pretended to just have found out. "Yes, I'm still married. We're getting a divorce."

"Luke knows?"

"Luke knows."

"Well then." Babette smiled at her. "It would be great to call you my neighbour one day, Lorelai."