The Thrill of the Chase

twenty five

A week later Robert was standing in Rory's dorm waiting for her to finish getting ready.

"Rory, come on, you look fine, I don't want to be late," he said looking at his watch.

"I'm coming," she said, walking out of her room in a burgundy wrap dress, while slipping her feet into black heels. "See, ready!"

"I do see, you look gorgeous." Robert said as he looked her up and down, pulling her into his arms. "I like this dress. It seems like it will be easy to take off."

"We will have to see how tonight goes, before you worry about how hard my dress is to take off, mister." Rory said, as she pulled herself out of his arms and walked towards the door. "You coming?"

"You are such a tease." Robert stated as he walked over to join her.

"Not teasing when I plan on following through," Rory replied, with a smirk giving him a kiss on the cheek, as they walked out of her dorm room hand in hand.

As they got closer to the Gilmore house, Rory could feel Robert's nerves growing more, until they were almost palpable by the time they pulled into the drive.

"Relax, Grandma's bark is a lot worse than her bite. And you are going in there with a bigger advantage than any other boyfriend she has ever met. Jess met her with a black eye! You can imagine how that dinner went."

"A black eye? How? I have a feeling I will need to get that story out of you later on." Robert answered, looking at her quizzically.

"Yep, I'll tell you later. Now come on, it's best not to be late to these things," Rory said, leaning over to press a quick kiss against his lips before climbing out of the prius.

"Hi I'm Rory, and this is Robert," Rory said as she greeted the maid who actually opened the door for a change.

"Hello Miss, they are waiting in the parlor for you." The maid said, keeping her eyes on the floor in fear.

"Thank you," Robert said, nodding at the maid, as he grasped Rory's hand to walk with her into the room.

"Hi Grandma, Grandpa. May I introduce you again to Robert Goldman? Robert, you remember my grandparents."

"Of course, Mr Gilmore," Robert said, walking over to Richard and shaking his hand. "Mrs Gilmore, nice to see you again," Robert said, leaning over to kiss Emily's cheek.

"Lovely to see you again, young man, drinks?" Richard asked, gesturing to his drink cart.

"I'll have a soda water Grandpa," Rory chirped.

"And a scotch on the rocks for me please, sir." Robert said, sitting beside Rory on the loveseat. He wasn't sure from the layout of the room, if there were always this many loveseats in the parlor or if they were waiting for a few more people.

"We are just waiting for a few more people to arrive. How was the drive?" Emily said, with an innocent smile on her face.

"The drive was good, thanks Grandpa." Rory answered her grandmother, while accepting her drink from her grandfather. Just as she was about to ask who they were waiting on, she heard voices in the entryway. Roberts hand tightened around hers as he heard the voices, which she was talking to mean that he recognised them.

"Marissa, Malcolm, how lovely to see you!" Emily exclaimed, jumping up from her position to greet the new arrivals, giving them both kisses on their cheeks in greeting, while Richard waited behind her to also greet them.

Robert stood then pulling Rory with him, he quickly whispered an apology in her ear. "Mom, Dad! What a surprise to see you here," he said, walking over to greet his mother with a kiss, and shake his father's hand.