Chapter 2

"Rory's here!" Lorelai cried, jumping up as her daughter's car pulled into the driveway.

Luke stood up as Lorelai ran to the front door and threw it open. She met Rory half way, and they threw their arms around each other.

"I missed you so much," Lorelai gushed.

"Great. Me too. Mind letting go a little?"

Lorelai shook her head, pulling back. She held Rory at arm's length and studied her face.

"You moving back?"

"Do we have to go through this every weekend?"

"Yes. And you missed it last weekend, so I'll be asking again later. Oh, look, Luke finally made it out here. Luke, we want coffee..."

"So?" he replied. He smiled at Rory. "Hey Rory."

"Hey Luke!" She gave him a hug, and he awkwardly placed a hand on her back, hugging her back. "God, I missed you guys."

"We missed you, too, hun."

"Yeah. It's good to see you, Rory," Luke added. "Sorry, but I have to get back to the diner. I just came to say hi."

"You did not," Rory teased.

"What?"

"You came to see Mom."

Luke's face turned pink. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You and I both know Mom would have dragged me to the diner as soon as I got back, and you could have said hi then."

"Rory, leave Luke alone."

Luke sighed in relief.

"I mean, can he help it if he's so in love with me, he can't wait until then? After all, I am--"

"I'm leaving now," Luke interrupted, his face now bright red.

Lorelai and Rory laughed, following him to the diner. Much to Luke's relief, however, the girls soon lost interest in teasing him and started catching up on the week's events.

"So are you going?"

"Yeah, I guess," Rory replied. She rubbed her temples. "I almost told him no."

"Aw, hun, you really need to forget about Jess. It was five years ago, just let it go," Lorelai said lightly.

"I know. Believe me, I've tried. I just never got closure."

"I don't know if I should tell you this, but...he feels the same way you do."

"What do you mean?"

"Jess still calls Luke. Luke says he talks about you a lot. He asks about you."

Rory's jaw dropped. "But...why didn't you tell me this before?" she cried.

"I don't know. I was sort of hoping you would just forget about him and move on."

"It wasn't that easy with him, Mom."

"I know," Lorelai sighed.

"Wait. Luke...he didn't tell Jess where I live now, did he?"

"No. He told him you moved from Cambridge, though."

"Oh. And he still lives in Bridgeport?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, he moved too...I think."

"Where?"

"I don't remember," Lorelai lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." Rory let it drop. "I'm kind of tired. I'm going to bed, okay? I'll be in a better mood tomorrow, I promise."

"Alright. Night, hun."

"Night," Rory echoed, disappearing into her old bedroom.

"So let me get this straight. You want me and Sarah to come with you on your date?"

"Double date."

"Right, double date." Jess made a face. "I don't know, man. Sarah and I--"

"Are you talking about me again?" a voice called.

Jess and Shea both looked up as Sarah Miller walked over. She grabbed Jess's hands and pulled him down to her for a kiss.

Shea rolled his eyes and Jess glanced at him. "Yeah," he told Sarah. "Shea wants us to go on his date with him."

"He finally got someone to agree to go out with him? That's great! Count me in!"

"Hey. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but it's not like I'm some big ugly loser or something. In fact, in high school I was quite the heartbreaker."

"Yeah. What happened?" Jess asked.

Sarah's hands flew to her face and she stifled a laugh.

"That hurts, man," Shea responded, an injured look on his face.

Actually, it wasn't so hard to think of Shea as the 'heartbreaker' type. After all, being born and raised in southern California did have its advantages. He had short, spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, perfectly tanned skin, and a good build. Not too much muscles, not too scrawny. If you could picture such a guy. It was hard to believe that he rarely went on dates. He just found it hard...meeting new people. If he could just date his friends, well, then he'd be set. That's why he needed Jess and Sarah there.

"You know we're joking. If Sarah's in, I'm in."

"Awesome! It's on Tuesday."

"Oh no...Tuesday?" Sarah's face fell.

"Yeah, why?"

"I have a competition on Tuesday."

Sarah was a dancer. She belonged to some organization or other, and frequently went to competitions and what not. Jess didn't really know much about it--dancing wasn't exactly 'his thing'.

"Skip it."

Sarah gave Shea a dirty look. "I cannot skip the competition," she snapped.

"Woah, simmer down. I was joking."

Sarah thought about it. "Well, actually...my competition is early, so I could come...just a little late. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Shea shrugged. Sarah reached over and messed up his hair.

"Okay, well I just came by to see if you guys wanted to accompany me to lunch. I'm starved."

"Food!" Shea cried.

Sarah laughed, linking her arms through each of the boys' and leading the way outside. Jess flipped the 'Out to lunch' sign as they left.

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"Ready?"

Rory shook her head to be rid of the memory. She took a deep breath, regarding her mother thoughtfully.

"Can we go to Al's Pancake World instead?" she asked.

"Hun, Jess isn't here...there's no reason to stay away from Luke's. Unless you really wanted to go to Al's, which of course is fine."

Rory sighed. "You're right. I guess I've just been a little dopey lately because of the pills I've been taking."

"Yeah, for the headaches I've been getting lately."

"God, Ror, you almost gave Mommy a heart attack," Lorelai cried, her hand to her chest. "Are you okay?" Her voice was full of concern, but her face showed relief.

"Yeah. Just headaches, nothing serious."

"If you're sure..." Lorelai trailed off.

"I am."

"Alright then. Luke's it is?"

"Luke's it is," Rory confirmed.

"Do you really want to do this?"

"Do what?" Sarah responded, pressing some buttons on the treadmill she was on to make it go faster.

"Go on this double date thing," Jess responded.

"Why not? It'll be fun."

"But you have a competition, and you'll probably be tired right after it, and--"

"Are you trying to get me to not go? Do you have a crush on the mystery girl?" Sarah teased.

"No, I'm just thinking about you. God forbid," Jess said sarcastically.

"I want to go. I'll just be a little late, that's all. Hey, did you see the girl yet?"

"Nope. Taylor said she came in while I was in the back."

"Guess it'll just be a surprise, then, huh?"

"Guess so," Jess replied, groaning slightly as he lifted the weights in his hands with deadened arms. "That's it, I'm done," he said, his breath coming in short gasps.

Sarah pressed a few more buttons on the treadmill and it stopped. "Me too."

They left the gym and headed back to Jess's apartment.

"Did he ever tell us why he wanted us to come?" Jess asked.

Sarah thought back to their earlier conversation with Shea. "No," she answered after a moment, "I don't think he did. That's strange. Maybe he's shy around her and needs us around to make him feel comfortable."

"Maybe. But what about the girl? Why would she want us around, too?"

"For the same reasons."

"Okay." Jess yawned. He was tired, and he didn't want to argue, so he let it drop.

"Are you sure you have to leave on Sunday?"

Rory glanced at her mother. "Can you please just let it go, so we can start having fun?"

"You're not having fun yet? Where's Luke--he's a barrel of laughs..."

Rory grinned, spotting Luke behind the counter arguing with Taylor. "I'll tell you what. You stop pressuring me to move back, and I'll..." She pretended to think about it. "I'll stay for a few more days. Until Tuesday."

"Deal!"

Laughing, Rory called to Luke that she needed more coffee. "It's not going to pour itself, Luke."

He walked over. "Nice to have you back, Rory. You're becoming more and more like your mother every time I see you."

"And that's bad?" Lorelai demanded.

He smiled. "Not all bad," he answered, pouring them coffee and walking off.

Rory playfully nudged her mother. "What's been going on with you and Luke?"

Lorelai shrugged. "He and I...we go out sometimes."

"Get out."

"Nothing special, just dinner. And sometimes a movie. Nothing romantic."

"Dinner and a movie are romantic," Rory replied, a grin on her face.

"Whatever."

"So do you like him, or is dating him just something to pass the time?"

"Do I like Luke?" Lorelai repeated. She thought about it. "Yeah, I guess so. But like I said, we only go out once in awhile. We weren't exactly dating. We just dated."

"Oh wow...this is great. Does Miss Patty know?"

"Hun, no one can keep a secret in this town. Especially from Patty. Everyone knows everything."

"How come you didn't tell me this before?" Rory asked curiously.

"Well, it shouldn't be anything new. You know Babette and Miss Patty can't keep a--"

"No, I mean you and Luke."

"Oh. Like I said, it's nothing serious," Lorelai said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Have you kissed him?" Rory wanted to know, laughing.

"No."

"Did you want to kiss him?"

Just as Lorelai was about to answer, Luke walked over. "Did you want anything else?"

"No thanks, Luke."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He frowned.

"You don't want to know. Hurry, run away!" Lorelai exclaimed.

He shook his head, walking off. Lorelai and Rory exchanged looks and burst out laughing.

A feeling of déjà vu came over Rory, and she gasped.

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She thought some more, but figured it would probably be better if she just did it. If she thought about it too much, she knew she'd chicken out. So she pressed her pen to the paper and began to write.

Rory set down her pen and read over her letter. Satisfied, and maybe a little scared and nervous, she folded the letter and stuck it inside the front cover of one of her favorite books for safe-keeping. Then she placed the book on her bookshelf. Looking over her shoulder one last time, she walked out of her room and went to find her mother.

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