Saviour from the Past

Chapter 9

It wasn't long before summer break was coming to an end. Meaning it was time for Rory and Paris to move into their new apartment for senior year. Christopher had come to visit one Saturday and after one look around the neighborhood and their apartment, he had declared that he was renting them somewhere new for Senior year. This declaration had led to one hellish day of house hunting with Paris, as even after living together for almost three full years they had never had to actually pick where they were living; it was always just assigned to them, or in the case of the previous year Paris was already there before Rory joined her. The result was a two bed, two bathroom apartment in one of the nicer apartment buildings about ten minutes walk from campus. They had managed to find one where both bedrooms and bathrooms were off opposite sides of the living area, meaning that neither bedrooms shared any walls, so hopefully they wouldn't fight about noise from the other person while one of them was trying to sleep. Christopher had even persuaded them to allow him to hire movers to help, which was greatly appreciated by all the guys as they had not been looking forward to being drafted in to carry furniture down all the stairs.

"So are you looking forward to senior year?" Lorelai asked Paris, she was helping the girls put the finishing touches on the apartment, well pretending to help.

"Yes, I am. Although I haven't fully decided where I was to go next year so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'd like to try sitting the MCATs and the LSATs both to see how I do," Paris replied, looking very determined, while Rory avoided eye contact with her for fear of being dragged into a plan.

"That sounds like you will have quite the year ahead of you then. What about Doyle? Is he settling in?"

"Yes, he is liking it so far, although it's mainly grunt work so far but that's to be expected." Paris stated. Doyle had started a job as a junior copy editor at the Boston Globe at the start of the month, so he had just moved up there and was trying to settle in.

"I'm sure you will miss him though," Lorelai said, looking at the normally aloof Paris.

"Of course I will, but we should still manage to see each other a lot. And at least with Rory single I won't be alone, or subjected to watching another couple constantly."

"Hey! Leave me out of it," Rory exclaimed, looking offended.

"That's true," Lorelai said. "Rory you must be getting lonely, it's been a few months since Logan."

"Only a month since Jess though," Paris muttered.

Lorelai looked at Paris in shock, not sure if she had heard her daughter's friend clearly. Surely she would have heard about it if she had seen another guy.

"I'm sorry, I think I might need to get my ears checked. I could have sworn that Paris just said that you saw Jess?" Lorelai asked Rory, watching her carefully for any clues her reaction might provide.

"I told you about seeing Jess. I went to his publishing house's open house in Philadelphia last month. I didn't keep it a secret, you were at the table when Luke and I were discussing how great it looks, and how well he seems to be doing," Rory answered honestly.

"Yes, I remember all that. But it sounded like Paris was implying that something more happened."

"Mom, you know what Paris is like, she has been implying that there was something between Jess and I since junior year!" Rory said, exasperatedly. Paris released a huff in the background, muttering to herself again, it sounded vaguely like "I was right!"

"And she was right back then," Lorelai replied.

"Thank you!" Paris shouted.

"So is she right this time? Did you get back together with Jess?"

"No Mom, Jess and I aren't a couple." Rory said, turning away to put more books in her bookcase.

"But something happened?"

"Mom! No one else's Mom bugs their twenty one year old for details like this!"

"So you slept with Jess again, eh?"

"There was no again! It was the first time! You know I didn't sleep with him in High School!" Rory exclaimed, jumping up from where she had been crouched.

"Ha! But you did sleep with him this time?" Lorelai asked almost smugly.

"Fine, if you really must know, yes, yes I did. Happy now?" Rory almost shouted at her mother.

"Well, were you happy after?"

"Mom!"

"Just checking to see if any skills run in the family?" Lorelai asked with false innocence.

"Mom! That's disgusting!" Rory said, shaking her head vigorously as though she could erase the imagery that Lorelai's comment had provoked. "It was a one off, he is in Philadelphia, I am here. I told him I didn't want anything more before anything happened."

"Well of course he agreed to that! What man turns down a hot girl from a different city who traveled to him for no strings sex." Lorelai scoffed.

"In fairness to Jess, I think if I had said I wanted more, he would have agreed to that as well, which is why originally we weren't going to do anything at all," Rory said, feeling the need to defend Jess, aware that her mother always thought the worst of him.

"Then what happened?" Lorelai asked, looking at Rory, while Paris made a drinking gesture behind her friend. "You got drunk?"

Rory's face flushing was enough of an answer for her Mom.

"Oh kiddo, you really are my daughter." Lorelai said, pulling Rory in for a hug to show that there really were no hard feelings over the revelation.