Chapter 16

"This doesn't even look edible," Luke said, poking at his food with his fork. Something that fairly resembled some sort of bread caved in, and he put his fork back down, looking at Lorelai.

She picked up her own fork and sniffed the food on it. Putting on a brave face, she put it in her mouth. Her eyes grew wide and she brought her napkin to her mouth, spitting out the food. Her face turned a not-so-lovely shade of green.

"That was--"

"Not good?"

"Very not good."

Luke stood up and Lorelai followed. He tossed some dollar bills on the table and they left.

Lorelai once more suggested Al's Pancake World as they headed out to the car.

"Fine," Luke agreed, slipping behind the wheel.

'A real gentleman,' Lorelai thought, rolling her eyes as she opened the passenger side door.

Luke drove to Al's Pancake World and parked. They got out and Lorelai had a weird sense of déjà vu as they walked into the restaurant and were seated.

"So," Lorelai said, opening her menu.

"So."

"This is nice."

"You said that earlier."

"I know. I'm just starting up the conversation, though. Work with me here, Luke."

He grunted in response, opening his own menu.

"So this is Luke Danes on a date," Lorelai mused, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Uh..."

"Don't get all squirmy, I was just teasing," Lorelai laughed. "So what do you think Rory and Jess are up to?"

"I don't know, but I hope they're not killing each other."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad..."

"I had to make them go upstairs."

"Hm. Rory didn't say it was that bad."

Luke just nodded. Lorelai sat there thoughtfully for a minute. Then the waiter came and they gave their orders.

"Luke?" Lorelai asked as the waiter walked off.

"Yeah."

"How come we haven't gone out before?"

Luke nearly choked on his drink. He coughed and set the glass back down on the table. "I don't know."

Lorelai smiled at him, and he found himself smiling back.

"Time to switch," Rory announced.

Jess handed her his book and she gave him hers. They had been switching books back and forth about every ten minutes or so, for the past hour. It was hard to follow, because they were reading from where the other one left off, but it was interesting.

"Did someone die?" Rory cried. "Who died!"

Jess laughed. "The son died."

"Aw."

Jess shut his book and looked at her, his eyes fixed on hers.

Rory's face grew hot and she laughed nervously. "What?" she demanded.

"You really thought I had a girlfriend?" he wanted to know.

"Please can we talk about something else?"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he leaned over and kissed her. This time she didn't resist. She kissed him back and gave him a hug, pulling him even closer. Her heart was racing, and she felt like she was floating. She was experiencing so many different emotions, she couldn't think straight.

All she knew was that this time, it didn't feel strange being in his arms. She felt protected, as she would be for many days to come.

"Can we go back to the diner for coffee?" Lorelai asked as she and Luke left Al's Pancake World.

"Too much coffee can kill you, you know."

"I'll take my chances."

"And it rots your teeth, turns them yellow, and gives you bad breath," he said matter-of-factly.

"Are you saying I have bad breath?" Lorelai demanded.

Luke's face turned pink, but thankfully the night's darkness hid it well. "What? No, I--"

"Yes you were, don't try to take it back. You think I have bad breath. Rotten yellow teeth with bad breath. You're such a charmer, Luke."

He couldn't tell if she was joking or not, so he glanced at her and was relieved to see her smiling. He grinned back and pulled up to the diner.

The two of them got out and Luke went over and unlocked the door. He opened it and went inside, turning on the lights. Lorelai passed him and headed straight to a stool in front of the counter. Luke slid behind the counter and started the coffee.

"Tonight wasn't so bad, was it?"

Luke looked up. "No, it wasn't," he answered.

"Maybe we could do something again next week. You know, for a change of scenery again," she added with a shrug.

Luke nodded, nearly dropping the coffeepot in his hands as he walked back over.

Lorelai grinned, watching him pour her coffee.

"Luke, how come you never asked me out?" she wanted to know, searching for a real answer this time.

He swallowed, averting his gaze. Lorelai lowered her head so he had to look at her. He reluctantly looked her in the eye and she waited for an answer.

"I didn't know you wanted me to," he said finally.

Lorelai sighed, smiling at him. This time he didn't smile back. He was looking at her intensely, and she wondered if he was about to kiss her. It sure looked like it. He looked unsure, though. Like he didn't know whether to press his luck or not.

In the end, Luke finally tore his eyes away.

"I should get you home."

Lorelai, slightly disappointed, nodded. "Right."

They got in Luke's car and headed for the Gilmore house.

Lorelai walked into the diner the next morning, casually glancing around. The place was nearly empty. One person sat at a table by the window, reading the newspaper, and another person sat at the counter. Luke glanced up and caught her eye. He flashed her a half-smile as she walked over.

"Hey Luke."

"Hey."

"Can I get some coffee?"

"That stuff'll kill you one of these days."

"At least I'll die happy," Lorelai replied.

Luke grabbed the coffeepot and filled a cup with coffee, pushing it over to her.

"Enjoy."

"I will," she smiled.

Miss Patty came into the diner just then and greeted everyone.

"Hey Patty," Lorelai replied.

"Lorelai, darling, where's Rory?"

"Oh, she and Jess left earlier. I think they're sitting on the bridge."

"Jess? But didn't those two--"

"They made up, Patty."

"Oh, well good."

Lorelai nodded. She turned back to Luke as Miss Patty sat down.

"Luke, something you said last night bothered me."

"What did I say?"

"Well, when I asked you how come you never asked me out, you said you didn't know I wanted you to."

"Yeah..."

"If I hadn't asked you out first, would you have said anything to me?"

Luke swallowed and took a deep breath before answered. "Eventually," he told her.

"Really?" she looked somewhat surprised by his answer.

He nodded, walking around the counter to give Miss Patty some coffee. He didn't notice how blatantly she was staring at them.

Luke walked back over to Lorelai and she stood up.

"Luke, there was something else..."

"Which is?" Luke leaned over and set the coffeepot on the counter, giving her his full attention.

Before he even had a chance to process what was happening, Lorelai leaned over and kissed him. She pulled back a few seconds later and looked at him, but he leaned forward and kissed her again. He wrapped his hands around her waist, and Lorelai's hands floated up to his neck, pulling him closer.

Just a few feet away, Miss Patty sat with her jaw dropped. Once she recovered from the initial shock, she took out her cell phone and started rapidly dialing everyone in town she knew. Soon there was a crowd in front of Luke's diner, everyone peering through the window.

Lorelai and Luke, oblivious to the one-act play they were starring in, were still locked in each other's embrace. They pulled apart and Lorelai leaned against him, watching all her friends watch them from outside the diner.

Luke grunted and started to move to do something about the crowd, but Lorelai pulled him back and they got lost in each other's eyes again. They were, once again, the only ones in the room.

They kissed again, and cheers were heard all around. The whole town, it seemed, had pressed themselves up against the window to get a better look. Their cheers and whistles were almost deafening, but Lorelai and Luke hardly noticed. They were lost in their own little world.