The Incredible Rising Lorelai

By Gigi

Author’s Note: This takes place after Lorelai sinks into Luke, crying in The Incredible Sinking Lorelai’s

A/N 2: Lorelai’s POV. Lorelai and Jason are not together in this

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to ASP and the WB.

A/N: This is MY version of Luke and Lorelai’s first real date. No Sniffy’s Tavern or Paul Thomas Anderson or anything.

Emerging into the foyer while draping a metallic silver shawl over my arms to conceal the bruises, I scan the place for Luke. Nope, he’s not here. He probably told me to come fifteen minutes before I actually had to, just like he did when I borrowed his truck when Rory first started Yale.

(Whistle: one of those Hot Mama whistles) What the? I turn around to see about five guys checking me out from their seats in the dining room. They wouldn’t be doing that if they knew I was gonna gain about fifty pounds in a month or two. They definitely wouldn’t be checking me out or whistling at me if they knew I was pregnant. I smirk to myself, and one of the guys, taking my smile as encouragement, gets up and walks over to me.

“Hey, I’m Brad,” he flashes a smile at me. Those have got to be the whitest teeth I have ever seen. He either whitens them everyday, or he’s a prude for dental hygiene. My guess is the former. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Lorelai. I own this inn. I don’t remember a Brad on the guest list for this weekend,” I hint. Brad flips his perfect head of hair toward the dining room. I must admit, he is hot.

“I’m having dinner with my brother,” Brad puts his hands in the pockets of his black slacks.

“And I’m assuming that those guys are also relatives?” I gesture to the other 4 guys who are still ogling me. Ah, it’s good to be hot. Um, I said that so humbly!

“Yeah, my brother, Kirk, is staying here—” Oh, my god. This is just too good to be true.

“Oh, my god! You’re that Brad? Brad Gleason?” I ask, a huge smile breaking onto my face. Brad misreads it and thinks I am turned on by this or something. Oh contraire.

“Yes, I am.” Brad’s voice drops down into what would be a sexy voice if I didn’t know his last name.

“AHAHAHAHAHA!” I break out into giggle fits. “You’re the guy Lulu dumped for Kirk?” I manage to get out, fighting another imminent fit of laughter when he nods his head. That’s just too much. There I stand, in the foyer with an extremely attractive guy in front of me, and I am laughing like a maniac.

“Lorelai?” Luke comes out from the reception area to see me hunched over with my face in my hands, shaking with laughter. “What’s so funny?” I look up, and my smile becomes wider yet. Leaning onto him I continue laughing hysterically. When I have composed myself somewhat, I introduce them.

“Brad, this is Luke Danes, my boyfriend. Luke, this is Brad Gleason, Kirk’s brother.” I say, bubbling with laughter.

“Nice to meet you, Brad,” Luke shakes Brad’s hand. “I’m sorry, but Lorelai and I have to go, now. Say hi to Kirk and Lulu for me!” Yay! He’s figured it out! Luke puts his arm around my shoulders, and, after I snake my arm around his waist, he leads us outside.

“Ah!” I gasp, seeing a white stretch limousine pull up in front of me. Luke walks up to the door and opens it for me.

“After you,” he smiles, his eyes twinkling with happiness. I drop my gaze and smile, walking over and sliding into the limo.

Inside, there are tube lights going all the way down to the connecting window, which is conveniently closed. On a mini-table, attached to the wall, there lie two wine glasses and a chilled bottle of grape juice resting in an ice bucket.

“Oh…” I trail off. There is an engraving on the ice bucket. It says: Luke & Lorelai – The Keeper of the Coffee & the Consumer of the Coffee and my heart. If it was written by anybody else, say it was Christopher, it would just be cheesy, but this is possibly one of the sweetest things Luke has ever done for me, and there is a long list of sweet favors he’s granted me over these past years. Dirty!

“Grape juice?” Luke offers once we’re on the road. I nod shyly. God, Luke has some power over me to render me speechless. “To us,” he toasts.

“To us!” I chant, clink-ing my glass with his and taking a small sip, blushing. Letting my shawl drop from my shoulders, I allow Luke to soak in the outfit I chose to wear tonight.

“You look…words can’t describe how beautiful you look,” Luke states, breathless.

“Well, I think you did a pretty good job there, coffee boy,” I quip, earning a smile from Luke. Finishing off the glass of juice, I deposit the glass in the holder as Luke does the same. Luke reaches for my hand, but I take it away. Instead, I shift so my back is facing him and lean onto him, my head resting on his shoulder. Then I grab Luke’s hand and intertwine my fingers with his. We sit like that in a comfortable silence until we feel the limousine slow to a stop. Looking out the window, I see nothing but trees. Sitting up, I turn to face Luke. “Where are we?”

Luke steps out of the limo and offers his hand. “Shall we?” I just now notice what Luke is wearing: a black formal, almost tuxedo-like, suit with a black shirt and a red rose tucked into the pocket. Taking his hand, I step out onto the soft ground.

“Ah!” I yelp as I stumble, my heel sinking into the ground.

“Lorelai!” Luke yells as he catches me.

“Haha, I probably shouldn’t have worn stilettos tonight!” I laugh into Luke’s jacket.

“It’s okay. I didn’t actually tell you what I had planned. Anyway, follow me please,” Luke takes my hand in his and leads me across a clearing.

In the middle of the circular clearing, there sits a table for two. In the center of the small round table, a single yellow rose rests in a straight glass vase. Two covered dishes lay on either side of the table. The only illumination is a single candle and the moonlight.

Yellow roses mean eternal love, I think upon seeing the rose. Sookie told me that, and thank God she did.

Taking my seat, I smile up at Luke, who is standing by my chair. “This is lovely, Luke.” My heart swells with love for this perfect man standing next to me.

“I’m glad you think so,” Luke smiles back, wearing just as silly a grin I am wearing as he leans down to kiss me. Turning slightly in my chair, I wrap my arm around his neck as we automatically start making out like…well, like we always do. Pulling back, looking slightly flushed, Luke turns and walks away from me. It isn’t until I start to hear the soft romantic music that I realize I spent the last fifteen seconds admiring Luke’s butt. Like I said when the Independence Inn burned down, he’s got an exceptionally good butt!

“God, what smells so good?” I ask, after Luke walks by me, kisses me, and takes his seat.

“Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and apple cider. You can pretend it's champagne,” Luke smiles at me. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.

“But you don’t like champagne,” I point out. I recall him telling me that sometime last night.

“Ah, this is special champagne. It’s sparkly. It makes all the difference!” Luke plays along.

“Oh, really? How?” I lean forward, folding my arms in front of me on the table.

“As long as I pretend its sparkling apple cider, which it is, I’m good.” Luke flashes me another smile, and, leaning across the table, we lean in for another kiss. Nope, that’s never going to get old either. “So, ready to eat?”

For the next half hour, we eat the delicious meal Luke prepared and chat comfortably, as if we’ve been dating for four months, and not just a few short weeks. But it was all over too soon. Instead of leaving the table, we sit in a comfortable silence just staring at each other. Cheesy, I know, but it is weird; a good weird. I don’t ever get bored just watching Luke. Hell, I can throw out my TV and just watch Luke, and I would be just as entertained!

The music changes suddenly from a wordless beat song to Drops of Jupiter by Train. Luke offers me his hand, his eyes conveying more than a simple “Would you like to dance?”

Now that she’s back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there’s time to change, hey, hey

Looking into his eyes and nowhere else, I take his hand and let him lead me from my seat closer to the music source, which happens to be a stereo.

Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey

I take Luke’s hand in mine as my other one goes to rest on his shoulder. Unlike the first time we danced, we’re starting off extremely close together.

Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated

Our eyes lock as we dance around the clearing. His eyes say more than words could say. Shy, I drop my gaze and rest my head on Luke’s shoulder.

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there

We dance for what seems like an eternity; an eternity I would like to rewind and replay for the rest of my life…

A/N: Okay, so that's chapter 20! it didn't take too long to update! I know it sounds like it's over, but it's not! i promise! Read and review! The more reviews i get, the faster i whip out another chapter!