Time After Time - A Gilmore Girls Fanfic #1

Chapter 17

"Jess," Rory said as soon as they broke apart.

Jess stilled, her face cradled in his hands, and waited for the other shoe to drop. But this time, he didn't see a trace of regret on her face. All he saw, as he looked down on her, was a woman with flushed cheeks and bright eyes.

"So, just to be clear, you're not saying no, right?" she asked.

"Let me clarify," he said with a chuckle and captured her mouth again to erase any doubt in her mind. He deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her flush to his body, the contact making him groan. But before things veered beyond his control, he managed to pull away. "Rory," he said, tilting his forehead to hers. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... we should stop."

She nodded, breathing hard. "We should."

He swallowed, pressing his thumb to her bottom lip. "We really should."

"In a minute," she said a moment before she hooked a hand around the back of his head and dragged him down for another searing kiss. He went under willingly, diving again and again, until his lungs burned for air.

Finally, after what seemed like forever and the blink of an eye, they surfaced.

"I should take you home," he said, trying to catch his breath.

She blinked up at him with a dazed look in her eyes. "Okay."

"Come here," he said, beckoning her closer with a finger. He slid one hand around to the back of her head and the other to the small of her back, and he kissed her again, slowly this time, like a man savoring an incredibly rare glass of wine.

When he was through, she opened her eyes and gazed up at him with a dreamy smile on her face. He badly wanted to kiss her again (and again and again and again) but it took everything he had to turn away and grab the picnic basket off the bench. "Let's get you home," he said, even if it was the last thing he wanted.

"It may appear like I'm coming willingly, but let it be known this is under protest," Rory said, reaching for his hand.

"Duly noted," he said and the pair made their way down the gazebo and through the square in comfortable silence.

"So I heard back from my realtor," she said after some time.

"Yeah?"

"My offer was approved."

"Congrats. You're a homeowner now," he said, nudging her with his shoulder.

She shook her head, disbelief wrinkling her features. "Yeah," she said, shaking her head. "It sounds so grown-up."

"Soon you'll be in es-ca-row," Jess said with a grin.

She let out a nervous laugh. "It feels like everything is happening so fast, even though I know I'm late in the game. By this age, my mother had already bought her own house, raised a teenage daughter, and had a stable a career." She paused, looking off into the darkness. "But the thing I have to keep reminding myself is that I'm not my mother. I'm writing my own story here."

He stopped on the sidewalk, struck with an idea. "So let's go see it. The place where your story will be written."

Her eyes grew wide. "Right now?"

"No time like the present."

She stopped, turning her gaze to the west. For one second he thought she'd say no, but then she closed her eyes and lifted her face up to the night sky. "Smell that?" she asked.

"What? I don't smell anything."

"Snow."

He snickered. "You and Lorelai are not all that different, you know that?"