Summary: Their hands were nearly touching again, and this time Rory seriously considered twining her fingers into his. I never held hands with a boy who isn't Dean, she thought ruefully, and it wasn't until she saw the curious expression on Jess' face that she realized she said it out loud. A 'missing moment' from Teach Me Tonight.
Notes:Written entirely during a (very long and boring) day at work; one of many ideas rolling around in my brain and only the first to actually come into being. I own nothing that could possibly be tied to Gilmore Girls. Reviews are love.

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Interlaced

"Turn right," said Rory with a small smile, and suddenly the night was young and her heart was racing and Jess smiled, infuriatingly and knowingly, as he turned the wheel.

She rolled down the window and slid her elbow over the edge, resting her head on her arm. She breathed deeply. Jess was driving so slowly.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Memorizing," she said simply. She paused, bit her lip, and slanted her eyes in his direction. His strong, long-fingered hand rested casually between his seat and hers and if she moved her fingers one inch, maybe two, they'd be touching. She curled her toes instinctively; the thought of touching him did something to her and she couldn't stand it because after all, she had a boyfriend who loved her, who she loved back.

Well, didn't she?

Realizing suddenly that Jess was waiting for an explanation, any explanation, she blushed and crossed her left hand firmly across her body.

"Nights like this don't usually last very long."

Out of the corner of her eye, Jess frowned. She could sense that he was still confused but did not know what else to say.

They were almost at the bridge; Rory could smell the water. Jess lightly brushed her arm with his fingertips, startling her out of her dreamy daze. She looked at him with wide eyes; his face was backlit by the moon and she could only make out the hard lines of his jaw and cheekbones and the soft curve of his mouth. Instinctively, she crossed her legs. Very tightly.

"D'you want to stop for a few minutes?" he asked.

"Yes," said Rory.

A slow smile spread across his face and he pulled over to the side of the road. He looked at Rory as he turned off the engine. "Okay."

Before she could even fumble with the buckle long enough to take her seatbelt off, Jess had hopped out of the car and jogged over to the passenger's side to open the door for her.

"How chivalrous," she said brightly, but she did not take the hand he offered, instead opting to hold onto the car itself. Everything smelled green; they were surrounded by all things fresh and new. Jess inclined his head toward the bridge and they walked there in comfortable silence, settling down across from each other.

"I have a secret to tell you," Rory said without preamble. Jess raised his eyebrows. "It's about you." The eyebrows disappeared into his dark mess of hair and she giggled, enjoying his clear (but inexplicable) discomfort. "See, your liking this bridge means you like something in Stars Hollow. You officially cannot say you hate this town anymore. Your secret's out, man. I know things."

He rolled his eyes with a smirk, fingering a small, fallen twig. He leaned in so that he was less than twelve inches from her face and locked eyes with her. "I have a secret for you, Rory." She bit her lip. "I like more than one thing in this town."

She smiled. "See! Stars Hollow's not so bad. How many?"

"Just one."

"What is it?"

He leaned back, holding a finger to his lips. "That's the secret," he whispered. "Shhh."

Rory shook her head, grinning wryly. "Just when I think I'm getting somewhere with you, Mariano," she said. They looked at each other, reverting back to silence. Below them, gentle waves lapped against the shore and the wooden posts holding up the bridge. Rory shivered. Without saying a word, Jess took off his jacket and scooted closer to her to wrap it around her shoulders.

She glanced up at him, surprised. "Thank you, Jess."

His eyes flashed to hers, brushing off her thanks. "I was warm anyway," he said. "Hey…what time is your mom expecting you?"

She shrugged and checked her watch; it was almost 8. "I told her I'd be home early, which I suppose means by 9:30 or so. Why?"

He shook his head. "No reason."

Suddenly he stood up, brushed off his pants, and began walking towards the land.

"Where are you going?" asked Rory, turning to watch him. He disappeared for a brief moment before coming back into view carrying a small bundle of rocks and twigs.

"Ever play 'I Never'?"

She eyed him curiously. "No. Should I have?"

Jess smirked, sat down, and released the rocks and twigs. "Well, you're about to. It's usually a drinking game, but since clearly there will be no consumption of alcohol tonight, we're going to toss these into the water instead." She looked intrigued, so he went on. "One of us has to say something we've never done, like go skinny-dipping or have sex, and if the other person has done that, they toss one of these into the water, and then we switch off and the other person says something they've never done. Get it?"

Rory nodded.

"It's easy," he assured her. "The whole point is that we find out more about each other."

She smiled. "I like that. Okay, you start."

He smirked again, his big eyes both amused and kind; it sent a disconcerting chill through her small body. "Okay. Gimme a sec. I never…smoked pot."

"Really?" she asked, genuinely and happily surprised.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Not my thing. Your turn."

She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, thinking. "I never took a trip on an airplane."

Jess looked only vaguely surprised and did not throw anything. "I never met a Hemingway book I didn't like."

Rory scrunched up her nose and grabbed the biggest rock in the pile. "I never read boring garbage for fun." She plopped it into the water, looking satisfied.

He laughed. "He's truly not the monster you make him out to be," he protested, but she would have none of it. In a so-there voice, he added, "I never refused to give anyone a second chance." That made Rory smile.

Her rock was teeny this time, barely making a ripple as it dropped into the water. "Just Hemingway," she said by way of clarification. She pulled her arms into the sleeves of Jess' jacket and nearly sent herself over the bridge for wondering when the topic of the game was going to turn sexual. It had to at some point, didn't it?

"I never knew my dad. Not really," she said, her voice low.

Jess threw a twig, and they gazed at each other in a moment of solidarity and…something else, something Rory couldn't place. She practically saw the bond between them strengthen.

"I never had a threesome," he said after a minute, completely ruining whatever semblance of a moment they'd just had. Rory's eyes widened, and he laughed again. "I didn't think you had, but I needed to be sure. I mean, think about it. You, Dean, and Lane…come on."

"That's disgusting," she said flatly. "You are…unbelievable."

Jess shifted his weight and stretched out his legs. "Sorry," he said sincerely. "I didn't mean to gross you out."

Rory fingered the zipper pull on his jacket and briefly met his eyes. "Yes you did."

He scratched his neck. "Okay, yes I did, but I am sorry."

She smiled a tiny smile. Their hands were nearly touching again, and this time Rory seriously considered twining her fingers into his. I never held hands with a boy who isn't Dean, she thought ruefully, and it wasn't until she saw the curious expression on Jess' face that she realized she said it out loud. She blushed furiously.

Not taking his eyes off of her, he inched around until he was sitting beside her and gently interlaced their fingers. The area between her legs grew very hot.

"There," he said softly. Rory thought she smiled, but then again she was currently paralyzed from the brain down, so she couldn't be sure.

"I never wanted to look out for anyone but myself," he admitted, and Rory used her free hand to throw a twig overboard.

"I never had sex," she said, her voice practically inaudible. Jess tossed a rock, but never took his eyes off of Rory. Every part of her went into sensory overdrive, tingling, blushing, and heating up like she was about to break down. The air was completely still; even the water had stopped moving. Everything around them teemed with anticipation.

"I never had sex that meant anything," Jess said.

Rory stayed put. "I never want to leave Stars Hollow forever," she said, desperately pleading to turn away from the sexual conversation that she had wanted not five minutes ago.

He did not move; she frowned in disbelief. "Now that I can't believe."

Jess pursed his lips, clenching his jaw as tightly as he could. "I'm quite the enigma, aren't I," he said.

She tilted her head and stared at him for a long minute. He was watching her so intently and his brown eyes bore into her blue ones as if he were trying to tell her something he couldn't bear to say aloud. They were still holding hands, and as though he'd only just remembered that himself, Jess began rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. She shivered at his touch.

"It's not the town that has me refraining from chucking a rock," he said in a voice that implied secrets. Rory drew in a deep, long breath, her eyes widening.

"Your turn," she breathed. In the back of her mind, her cautious self swiftly raised a red flag. What are you doing, Gilmore? it asked. Think about Dean! But she paid that voice no mind; she was going, going, gone as Jess squeezed her delicate hand and she lightly knocked her knee against his, completely on purpose; she could feel the heat from his body and her stomach refused to settle down.

"I never liked reading as much as I do now that I've got me a book club buddy," he said. She didn't budge, as she figured he knew she wouldn't.

"I never…uh…" Rory bit her lip, strapped for any ideas she might want to share with Jess. "Um, I never…I never…knew about this bridge until you came to town."

Jess smirked. "Huh. So I am good for something."

She smiled at him the way she had a few months earlier, when he'd won her basket (and her company) and she still didn't quite know what to make of him.

The wind shifted all of a sudden, gently blowing her hair away from her face, and he moved even closer so that their thighs touched as well as their knees.

It was all in relative innocence, and yet it left her with a hungry feeling where she'd never had many feelings at all before. She dipped her head forward slightly and suddenly she could smell him; he smelled like a mixture of clean soap, laundry detergent, cigarettes, and a warm, smoky, boyish scent that was purely and indescribably Jess. It made her feel very girlish and wobbly. With her free hand, she unconsciously grabbed a strand of hair and started twirling it. Her heart was pounding. This couldn't be right, and yet…

Jess tilted his head and smiled; he reached across the both of them to plant his hand on the other side of her body to steady himself, leaned in, and – softly, cautiously – kissed her.

As soon as his lips touched hers she realized that somewhere, she'd known he would do that. Even so, she sat frozen for a moment; every part of her tingled and throbbed and she didn't quite know what to do. And then, as she felt him start to pull away, she realized she wanted his lips on hers and timidly kissed him back.

He smiled against her mouth and brought a hand up to her face, running it through her silky hair. Rory nearly fell over and moved her hand back to balance, snaking her free hand around Jess' waist, drawing him in even closer. His expert lips kissed a line from her mouth to her neck and she breathed heavily, afraid to open her eyes for fear both that this was all a dream…and that it was real.

When their lips touched again, something in Rory snapped. Her eyes were shocked open, wide and wild, and she pulled away from him as quickly as though he were on fire, burning her with every touch.

"Oh my god," she whimpered. She stood up, covering her now-horrified face with her hands. "Oh my god. Jess, I…I'm so…"

He stood up, too. She wanted to think he looked like he understood, but really, she wasn't so sure. "Rory. Don't apologize."

"It's just…I have a boyfriend," she said softly, uncomfortably. The words didn't sound right on her lips anymore.

Jess clenched and unclenched his jaw. "I know. This…whatever, Rory. You know where I stand. It's up to you."

She frowned and slowly crossed her arms, rubbing them to keep them warm. "I don't know what to say," she admitted, daring a glance at him. Their eyes locked and she found she could not, would not, look away. This was all too intense for one night. Things were never this confusing with Dean.

Jess sighed. "Let's get you home."

Silently, they walked back to the car and drove away from the bridge. They were both preoccupied within their own heads, and Rory, distracted as she was, didn't remember to put her seatbelt on. She prayed he wasn't angry with her. What could she do? For better or for worse (For better, she thought firmly), Dean was still her boyfriend and kissing another boy – especially this boy, who made her forget her own name every time their eyes met – was wrong. Wasn't it?

Suddenly, the car swerved. "Shit!" Jess said under his breath. "I think I—"

And then, CRASH.