AN: Sorry for the wait! Thank you for all the reviews. The long AN is at my blog. I responded to individual reviews there. Let me know what you think!
Thanks to Rikki for her help. Without her help, this chapter would still be half finished.
Chapter 13
Lucas waited. He waited for two days for her to come back. Yet she still hadn't returned. He paced the floor the entire first night, waiting. He knew this was her way of dealing with things, but damnit, she shouldn't run from him!
When she still hadn't returned the night after the party he went looking for her. He went to Brooke's, knowing that Rory and Brooke were good friends. That was when he found out she was spending the day with Logan. That piece of information was a blow. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. They kissed and she ran to him. She ran to her boyfriend.
That night he continued to wait for her. Finally, his exhausted body found a restless sleep as he lay on the sofa, knowing that no matter what happened their friendship would never quite be the same as it was before that short kiss. He could no longer deny what he wanted. He would no longer deny what he wanted.
He heard the door creak open sometime after dawn and he opened his eyes immediately. It wasn't like he was getting any real sleep anyway. Lucas stayed perfectly still, listening as her soft footsteps brought her closer to him.
Rory continued to tip-toe to her room, trying not to wake Lucas as he lay on the couch. She left Logan's early that morning, after getting little sleep. Nothing happened between them, as she was exhausted and confused, but her mind was too jumbled for her to truly enjoy any rest.
She was almost out of the living room. 'Whew… no confrontation before coffee. That's always a good thing.'
"So you're back." His voice cut into her thoughts, halting her nearly soundless steps.
'Damn. Coffee is needed.' She slowly turned around, letting out a long breath. "Hey."
Lucas scoffed. "Hey." He mocked, his expression unreadable.
"Um, about before… I…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"You ran away. You kissed me, and you ran away." He finished for her, now standing. He walked the few steps to her. Anger was radiating off of him.
"You're my best friend… I just," Rory paused, taking a deep breath. "I didn't want to make things weird."
Lucas let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, and running away and not talking to me for two days isn't weird. Way to be normal there, Rory."
She looked down, not meeting his heated gaze.
"So, tell me, where were you the past two days?" He knew the answer. He just wanted to see how she responded.
"With Brooke." Rory softly answered, biting her lip.
"And Logan." He finished for her.
Surprise flickered in her eyes and she looked up at him in shock. "How did you-"
"I went to Brooke's to find you."
"He's my boyfriend, I needed to talk to him."
"And I'm your best friend, but I suppose that doesn't matter, does it?" He shook his head angrily. "Cause you wouldn't want your boyfriend to be upset."
"Don't do this!" She shouted, almost pleading.
"Don't do what? Don't be pissed because you ran to Logan after you kissed me? God Rory, you went out of your way to avoid him this past week, but the second you kiss me, you're done avoiding him. What the hell do you want?"
"Nothing. I don't want anything." She insisted, fighting back tears. "Besides, I can talk to my boyfriend if I want to!"
"Did you?" He crossed his arms, waiting for her answer. "Did you talk to him? Did you tell him you kissed me?"
They fought over the years. They would disagree and be mad. But that rarely lasted longer than a few minutes. They were never mean to each other. Screaming matches weren't the norm for them. This, this was different. He knew it, she knew. Everything was different.
"No." She whispered, turning her back to him to walk to her room. Away from the questions. Away from the yelling. Away from him.
Lucas grabbed her arm, effectively halting her movements. "Damn it Rory, don't run away from me." He hissed. He wasn't about to let her walk away again and leave him to wonder what hell was happening.
"What did you expect me to do? I was scared!" Rory cried, defending herself as she spun around to meet his gaze.
"Don't fucking give me that! Run away from whoever you want, but damn it, don't run away from me!" He roared at her.
He took a deep breath. "You've always, always ran to me whenever something was wrong. Never in your life have you ever ran away from me." He backed up. "I can't do this anymore. I can't. I know what I want. I want you. Find me when you know what you want."
With that Lucas was out the door, leaving a stunned Rory. He just walked out on her.
-GG-OTH-
Rory sat on the couch unsure what her next move should be. She knew things would never, ever be the same between her and Lucas again. He told her to find him when she knew what she wanted. What did she want?
She complained about needing space away from Logan. She was supposed to be figuring their relationship out. Shaking her head Rory realized that no matter what way she looked at it they wouldn't be together much longer. She wasn't willing to jeopardize her relationship with Lorelai for him. His family hated her. It just wasn't going to work out.
By Logan following her to Tree Hill he simply prolonged things. And he started to strain her relationship with Lucas. Lucas… the one person she could always rely on. The person she felt safest with. The person she wished was with her on the couch at that moment, holding her.
She noticed different things about him so far this summer than she had before. She always knew he was cute, but she never really looked at him as anything other than her best friend. At least, not until recently. She noticed the way his blonde hair glimmered in the sunlight. She noticed the way his blue eyes lit up when he laughed. She noticed how toned he was from hours of basketball. She was noticing him as a man instead of a friend. Somehow, Rory didn't think that was such a bad thing.
Then she kissed him. The kiss scared her. It honestly, totally, completely scared her. It wasn't a long make out session. There were no tongues. It was short. But in that short kiss she felt more than she ever had with anyone ever before. No ones kisses compared. No ones kisses had ever knocked her world off its axis. Lucas was her best friend. She wasn't supposed to be thinking these things. So she ran.
"God," Rory groaned, holding her head in her hands. She really screwed up. Why did she stay away for two days? She shouldn't be scared of Lucas, or of her feelings for him. He would never hurt her. Even now, as angry as he was, he was giving her the upper hand. Whatever happened would be her decision. With that thought in mind she stood up and headed for the door.
She knew what she wanted and she was going to go after it. She was going to go after him.
-OTH-GG-
Rory walked into the gym a few hours later. Once she left Lucas' house she stopped by the café to have some coffee. She needed to stop and reflect. She needed to calm her nerves. She needed to figure out what the hell she was doing. She realized that before she said anything to Lucas she needed to talk to Logan. She needed to set things straight and send him on his way. She called him, left him voicemails, dropped by the place he was staying. He was no where to be found.
Finally, she gave up looking for Logan. She knew that if she didn't take care of things with Lucas soon it would be too late. The Logan situation would just have to wait.
She stopped by the basket ball court first just in case he went there. She knew everything about him. Over the years she learned that when he got so angry, so pissed, he needed to release his aggression in some way. He chose physical activity.
Lucas would punish his body with grueling workouts to get his mind off his problems. When he would finally leave the gym or the court he would be so exhausted that as soon as his head hit his pillow he was out. It was his way of dealing. That was how she knew he would be at the gym.
She walked up to the counter, seeing a familiar looking guy there.
"Hey, is Lucas here?" She asked, vaguely remembering him as a friend of Lucas'.
The dark haired guy nodded. "Yeah, he's been here for a while actually. He's in the locker room, and I'm closing up. He has the key; you can wait for him if you want. I need to go though."
"Thanks." She smiled, slowly making her way over to the locker rooms. She stood outside, waiting for several minutes. Her nerves were getting the better of her. What would he say? What was she going to say? What if he didn't really want her? 'What if's' were consuming her, driving her crazy.
Rory began to turn around to leave the gym. She wasn't so sure anymore. Halting her movements she took a deep breath and turned back around, barging into the men's locker room where the guy said Lucas could be found.
She stomped into the room, thoughts fleeing her mind. This was it. She was going to talk to him and get things together now. She wasn't paying attention to the fact that she was walking in on her best friend in a locker room. She was just going for what she wanted.
"We need to talk. Now." She insisted, her tone rushed, firm. It left no room for argument.
"Uh…?" Lucas stood there, in front of her, wearing only a white towel around his waist as he reached for his clothes. His skin was glistening wet from a shower, his hair sticking up in every which direction.
Rory's jaw dropped. She felt her face heat up, but she couldn't look away. She allowed her eyes to trail appreciatively up his body, taking in his rock hard abs and well defined muscles. Sure, she had seen him in only boxers before, but this was different. This was intimate. Her gaze finally reached his face, where her eyes connected with his. Her face flamed. He had just caught her blatantly checking him out.
"Uh… mmm… sorry. I was just…" She stammered, words evading her.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Ogling me?" He finished for her, a smirk planted firmly on his face.
"I'll just…" She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the door.
Lucas walked towards her, grabbing her arm before she could leave. Her skin tingled where he touched her. She felt her breathing hitch. When he finally spoke, looking deep into her eyes, his voice was husky.
"Rory, what are you doing here?"
She paused, suddenly feeling scared and unsure. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"Rory," He said again, stepping closer to her. "Why are you here?"
"You told me to come." She quietly said, unable to think as his presence sent her senses in over drive. The smell of his soap, the feel of his wet hand on her arm, the sight of him before her: They were all driving her crazy, making her want to do things she shouldn't.
He flashed her a confused look.
"You, you told me to come find you when I decided what I wanted." She explained, licking her lips, finding the simple act of breathing had suddenly become difficult as she watched a droplet of water trail down his stomach, vanishing in the towel around his waist.
It was his turn to be unsure. His heart thudded so loudly he was sure she could hear it. "And what is it you want?" He whispered the question, afraid of her answer.
She bravely met his eyes. Rory knew this was it. The turning point. Nothing would be the same.
"You."
He blinked. She said it so softly at first he thought he had imagined it. When he saw the vulnerable look on her face he realized he hadn't imagined it at all.
"Me?" He asked, stepping as close to her as possible.
"Yes. You." She nodded, her throat dry and eyes wide. She was so scared. She never felt this feeling of dread before in her entire life. What if he didn't want her? What if he didn't feel the same? What if she just ruined a life long friendship? What if-
"You have no idea how glad I am that you said that." He replied, pulling her hips to his and crashing their lips together in a bone- melting kiss.
Rory felt everything float away. There were no worries. There were no thoughts. There was no Logan. It didn't matter that they were in a locker room. The only thing she was aware of at that moment was Lucas.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back every bit as passionately as he kissed her. His hands began to roam her body, trying desperately to bring her as close as possible.
She shuddered slightly when his lips made contact with her neck, making her gasp slightly.
Her hands touched his shoulders, his back, up and down she rubbed, not able to touch enough of him. This wasn't enough for her… she wanted more. She wanted him. All of him.
She pushed him back to a locker, unable to keep her urges to herself. Her hands worshiped the surfaces of his body as they ran up and down his still wet chest. His mouth sought hers and he trapped her in a kiss, their tongues dueling.
He wasted no time in removing her shirt as he spun her around to the locker, so he was pinning her. Lucas briefly caught her eyes with his. Blue met blue. He wanted her. God, did he ever want her. But he had to be sure.
"Ror," He gasped, using all his strength to keep from taking her right then.
She looked back at him, seeing the question in his eyes. Rory half smiled, "I'm positive." She reassured him, lifting her hand to stroke his face as she gave him a sweet kiss.
Lucas had all the reassurance he needed. As sweet as the kiss started it quickly built, until neither of them could form a coherent thought.
"Please," She gasped, as he rid her of her jeans and underwear. She wrapped her legs around his waist, losing herself in him. Her hands dropped to his towel, where she slowly undid it. There were no clothes. No more barriers. Just them.
He dipped his head to her breasts, where his mouth played, fueling the fire in her even more.
"Lucas…" She cried, gripping his shoulders tighter as her nails dug in.
He groaned, lifting his mouth to hers where he smothered her lips in a kiss, taking her breath away as he swiftly entered her, making her forget everything.
As he thrust in and out of her, her back slammed into the locker behind her, but she gave it no mind. All that existed in that moment was Lucas, there, with her; in her.
She screamed out her release as he tumbled over the edge with her. Together. They stayed there, panting, just looking at each other.
"Are you?" He asked, concerned.
"I'm fine. I'm perfect." She assured him, laying her head on his shoulder.
He nodded, walking her over to a bench and laying down, pulling her on top of him, exhausted.
She laid her head on his chest, a slow smiled curving on her lips. She just had sex with her best friend, but unlike after their kiss, she wasn't going to run. Not anymore.