The Thrill of the Chase

twenty seven

"Come on Rory, let me take you out for supper tonight. You have been way too stressed about finals. Just one night off then tomorrow morning I will get up early and even drive to Luke's to get you a quart of his coffee to study with. Please?" Robert stated down the phone.

Rory could imagine him trying to give her the puppy dog eyes. She looked around her room, she had books strewn everywhere, she had been up since 6am, double checking her notes for all her classes, she wanted to make sure they were correct so she wasn't studying the wrong information.

"If I go tonight will you let me study uninterrupted tomorrow?"

"Yep, scouts honor."

"Were you ever a scout?" she asked skeptically.

"No, I was not wilderness material as a kid," he replied honestly with a laugh.

"Okay, I give. I will see you at seven?"

"Yeah seven, see you later." And with that he was gone off the phone quickly, Robert had already learned not to keep her from studying for too long.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Rory shouted, as she ran to the door after hearing the second knock. "Come on in," she said to Robert, turning quickly and walking back towards her room, "I just need 2 more minutes to find my shoes."

Robert just leaned against the edge of the couch, he knew it was best to just let her do her thing and reap the rewards of how hot she would look. After a few minutes Rory reappeared, looking less flustered and a lot more put together. She was wearing a black dress, with black heels, and her hair was down, falling softly in waves down her back.

"You look gorgeous, are you ready to go?" Robert asked, standing up and walking towards her. He pulled her into his arms for a kiss.

"Yes, I'm ready," she said, pulling back from the kiss. "You look pretty edible yourself."

"This old thing? Glad you like it," Robert replied teasingly. He was in a charcoal suit, with just an open necked white shirt. "Now come on, we have reservations to keep," Robert gave her hand a tug pulling her towards the door. "It's warm out. I don't think you will need a jacket." He added as he watched her eyes flit to the coat rack, before coming to the same conclusion.

"If I'm cold later I'm stealing yours," Rory said, looking at him sternly.

"Yes ma'am," Robert quipped, giving her a mock salute, causing her to laugh out loud at his antics.

"Come on buster, you were worried about those reservations," she said, still laughing as she led him across the quad. "Town car?" she queried, as they got closer to the parking lot.

"Yes, I hope that's okay? I wanted to have wine with dinner, and be able to relax without worrying about taxis and designated drivers."

"No, it's fine. It makes sense. Plus it's not like you exploit them mercilessly like some of your friends. Robert you don't have to be scared to show your more society side around me. I'm more used to being around things like that than I seem." Rory reassured him, squeezing his arm.

"I hope you are okay with French food for a little change?" Robert asked, once they were in the car and driving.

"That sounds good. Grandma had a French maid once who made the best palmiers. I was sad when that one was fired." Rory said, with a wistful tone in her voice.

"We had a French chef too for a while growing up but macarons were her thing. That's why I love them so much," Robert replied. "Here we are," he added as the car slowed to a stop and he quickly jumped out, turning and reaching his hand in to help Rory emerge from the car with her modesty intact.