It was the perfect temperature outside. A steamy summer day had given way to a warm night. She leaned sat parallel to the porch steps, her back against the railing, looking up at the stars. After some time, surely she would be able to handle another dose of emotional drama.
"Hey," she heard someone mumble. She turned her head, set her coffee mug down, and noticed Jess ambling towards her. He was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved black shirt, looking as amazing as ever.
Rory's stomach did a little flip. "Hey yourself," she answered back.
"How did things go with 'The Beav'?" he asked her.
"How did you…"
"I saw him leave here right after you," he explained. With a hint of aggressiveness, he asked, "You didn't get back together with him, did you? I thought he was married."
"He is… married." Rory shrugged, looking down at her hands. She wasn't sure why she was telling Jess all of this, but she couldn't hold back. "He wanted to have sex with me and I wouldn't let him. He got mad." She shrugged as if it was no big deal.
"Are you kidding? What a jerk," Jess growled.
"Might I remind you that you once did the same thing to me?" she teased.
"Oh, come on, that was ages ago," he argued, apparently taking her seriously.
"It's okay. I was joking." Rory wasn't sure why, but talking to Jess was making her smile. "So are you going to tell me why you're here?"
He sat down next to her, facing the opposite direction. Their hips lightly touched. He rested back on his hands. "I did it all wrong," Jess said softly.
"What?" Rory asked.
"Coming to you like that, telling you that you had to come away with me." He paused for a moment, and she looked intently into his dark eyes. "I thought about it, and one of the things I love most about you is that you go to Yale. I don't want to be the guy who takes that all away from you."
"Jess…" she began, unsure of what to say.
"Don't speak, Rory." Jess pulled one of his knees up and rested an elbow on it, leaning forward. "I may have been wrong to try to take you from Yale, but everything else I said was true. I do want to be with you. And I do know that we are meant to be together." He reached his hand up and curled a curtain of her hair behind her ear. "I think you know it too."
Her heart beat a little faster. "Jess, I – I loved you. I really did. But you left. Twice. I can't just let it all go, and fall for you again, and then have you leave me. It hurts too much."
"I know I screwed up in the past. But I've changed, I swear. I know how to make relationships work now, I know how to communicate. The book taught me."
"The book?" Rory looked at him like he was crazy. The book? What on earth was he talking about? She may have been wrong, but she thought she noticed him squirming a little.
"Just – never mind. Forget I said anything. It doesn't matter." Their gazes locked, and Jess breathed in deeply, as if mustering strength. He took her hand and wound his fingers around hers. "Rory… I love you. We belong together. Just… please. I'll move back here, I'll move to Yale with you, it doesn't matter to me, we can make it work. Just give me another chance. I won't let you down this time. I swear." His eyes pleaded.
Rory's heart surged unexpectedly. She remembered their first kiss, at Sookie's wedding nearly two years ago. There he was, just standing there, unexpectedly. She had stared at that handsome, smart, intriguing boy who had worked his way into her heart. She had risked so much for months, knowing that she needed to stay away from him, but helplessly growing closer, even traveling all the way to New York because she had to see him.
"I came back," he'd told her when she had asked why he was there, his face showing no emotion.
"Why?" she had wondered, secretly hoping that he came back for her.
"Wanted to," he had answered coolly, noncommitally, but at the same time reassuring Rory that she was, indeed, the reason. Her heart had surged, and she had lunged at him, kissing him, despite all of her better judgement.
In the present, all of the intense chemistry and the simultaneous joy and panic that had spread through her came rushing back.
"What are you smiling about?" he wondered, a curious half-smile on his own face.
"You," she answered simply. Here she was again, the same chemistry pulling in. But now, she realized, things were different. There was nothing in the way, no boyfriend to tug at her conscience. At the same time, she knew she was not powerless. Her mind was clearer, after years of conflict with Jess, and she was sure that if she really didn't want to kiss him, she could probably get up and walk away.
But she didn't get up. In that moment, she hesitated, staring into his eyes, then closed hers, leaned forward, and kissed Jess. Rather than her earlier kiss of the night, however, Rory surrendered all thought and became lost in the passion and intensity. He put his arms around her and pulled her close.
After a while – it could have been minutes or hours, Rory really had no idea – she pulled back slighty.
Jess sighed. "What?"
"Jess, I just want you to know… I love you too," she said earnestly. It had grown too strong to deny.
He grinned and ran his fingers through her hair. "Well, I'm glad you told me, but I sort of had a hunch."
"Oh you did?" she teased.
"Oh yeah." He gazed at her lovingly for a moment, then leaned in for another kiss.
"Rory? Are you… oh my God." As Rory looked at the front doorway of the inn, she saw her mother stop dead in her tracks.
"Um… I suppose I should take care of this," Rory mumbled to Jess.
"Great," he muttered. "This will go well."
Rory stood up, hastily smoothed her dress and hair, and walked over to her mother, who dragged her just inside the doorway. "So, uh… what was going on there?" Lorelai wondered, accusation apparent in her voice.
"Mom, I know you don't like Jess, but I'm… still in love with him," Rory said tentatively.
Lorelai sighed. "Wow. Okay. Too much romance for you in one night."
"I couldn't agree more," Rory conceded. "But Jess is… he's… he seems different now. I know you don't believe me, but I can tell that he is."
"Hmm… I wonder if it has anything to do with that book," Lorelai pondered.
"He did mention a book," Rory recalled.
"I saw Jess with this cheesy self-help book at Liz's wedding," Lorelai gossiped.
Rory looked at her incredulously. "Jess on Dr. Phil? That does not seem right."
"I know," Lorelai laughed. "I still have a hard time believing that Jess is different."
"It is hard to believe," Rory admitted, "But he's here, isn't he? He didn't just drive off after saying 'I love you' this time."
"Wow, he said he loved you and didn't run away? This is big," Lorelai joked.
"I just really need you to back me up on this," Rory begged.
Lorelai sighed. "Alright. If you really want to risk going through it all again, well, it's you're decision. I mean, at least he's not married, right?" she teased, nudging her daughter in the ribs.
Rory glared at her mom.
"I'm sorry. You're right, it's not funny," Lorelai snapped into a complete deadpan facial expression, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Their verbal tennis match ended when Lorelai saw a certain man lurking nearby. "Um, I guess I'll… I just have to…" She couldn't think of a worthy excuse, so she just scowled at her smirking daughter and then hustled off to speak to Luke.
Rory walked back out to Jess, who was now standing on the porch. "It's going to be alright," she told him. "I think my mom's going to be okay with it. Or at least, she'll pretend to be."
"Well, then I'm just going to have to prove that I'm more reliable, now won't I?" As Jess spoke, he stepped closer and took Rory in his arms.
"I guess you will, mister," she grinned.
Jess kissed her slowly… then faster… then much faster. Things grew more and more heated, until he broke away and said, "We better stop. I'm guessing that your mom wouldn't want us to do it right here on the inn's porch, what do you think?"
Rory laughed. "Probably not." She shuddered slightly. "Besides, after tonight, I don't want to think about that for a long time."
"Ah, yes. I can see why. But… let me know when you are ready to think about it," he grinned.
"Oh, I will," she said playfully. "Actually, I've already done a lot of thinking."
"Oh, you have?" Jess gave her another intense kiss. It made Rory's mind spin.
"And there will be more thinking… but tonight, I better get to bed. I don't want my mom coming out here again."
He kissed her on the cheek. "Alright. I guess I'll go sleep at Luke's apartment… something tells me that Uncle Luke may be wanting that room all to himself tonight."
Rory wrinkled her nose. "Ew. I can't picture my mom and Luke…"
Jess shrugged. "It freaks me out a little too."
Rory laughed. After a moment, she said, "So… are you coming back here for breakfast tomorrow morning?"
Jess pulled her close for one last lingering kiss. "I'll be here," he said softly. After gazing at her for a long moment, he turned and walked off.
Rory watched his black-clad body until it disappeared, feeling elated. She had Jess. And this time, she was confident, he wasn't going anywhere.