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Lorelai and Rory plop down at their favorite table at Luke's. “I'm sorry, hon. I really am.” Lorelai had watched as Rory grew more sullen and glum as they walked across town. She isn't sure if the heartbreak on her daughter's face after her phone call with Chris or the current manifestation of disappointment and dejection is worse.
“Mom, you've mercilessly mocked this since the moment I told you about it. It's fine. I'll tell grandma that I'm not going to be a lady of society.”
“I only mock because I love!” Lorelai insists. “If this is important to you, we'll figure it out.”
“How? Dad's in California.” Rory says listlessly.
“I'm sorry, kiddo. You deserve to have your dad at all your events. You do.” Lorelai knew Rory was about the most well-adjusted kid she could ask for, but would it kill Chris to be occasionally present in his daughter's life? “Maybe I'll pull a Victor/Victoria,” she suggests. “Or ooh, a Tootsie!”
“Excuse me?” In their plotting, they hadn't noticed Luke appear at their table.
“Tootsie!” Lorelai declares as she looks up at Luke who looks both begrudging and confused. “Not to be confused with my aunt Totsy who comes in for a hug and tends to get a little handsy.”
“Wait. Your aunt was in Tootsie? With Bill Murray?”
“You've seen Tootsie?”
“Who's totsy?” Luke asks Rory, clearly lost in the conversation.
“Mom's relative,” she supplies.
“And she feels you up at parties?” He grimaces.
“What can I say? It's a nice change from my parents' disparagement.”
“Sure,” Luke replies distractedly. “What will you have?”
“Hey.” Lorelai nudges Rory as Luke's walking back to the kitchen. “You could ask Luke.”
“What?” Rory glances around to make sure he's out of ear shot and then back at her mother, eyes wide. “No way! He would never agree to do it and if he did, he would rant the whole time about how it isn't an environmentally friendly event or something. I'll just ask Grandpa.”
“And have me look like I'm married to my father? Slow down there, Freud.”
“Mom.” Rory says in a tone that indicated Lorelai is being unreasonable.
“He would do it, Rory. You know he would.”
“Yeah, but that doesn't mean I should ask! It's too much. He has to wear a tux. There's no way Luke owns a suit, much less a tux.”
Lorelai decides not to tell Rory that she knows for a fact that Luke owns a suit. (Because she bought it for him.) Her brain is momentarily distracted by the thought of Luke in a tux. “Do you want me to slip him a bribe or something? Honestly, hon, he would be glad to do it. I promise.”
“I would be glad to do what?” Again, they are so absorbed in their conversation they hadn't noticed Luke approach their table with their chili cheese fries.
Rory shoots Lorelai an icy glare, which she pointedly ignores. “Rory needs a dad for a day. Well, an evening.”
“Mom!” Rory hides her head in her hands, unable to watch the train wreck unfold.
His eyes shift from Lorelai to Rory, his curiosity piqued. “Is it for a school thing? I'm happy to help.”
“It's not a school thing.” Rory is still unable to meet Luke's gaze, but if she's going to do this, she has to. “It's for my grandmother. She really wants me to come out and I told her I would do it, but I need an escort and a presenter—that would be you.”
“She wants you to come out?” Luke asks, again confused about the choice of words.
“Out to society,” Lorelai clarifies.
Luke's eyes widen slightly but to his credit, he doesn't hesitate. “I'd be honored, Rory. Really.”
“Are you sure?” Rory's face lifts hopefully, her blue eyes fully focused on Luke now. Lorelai knew Luke wouldn't say no to that face. “Because it's really, really okay if you don't want to...”
“I'll be there.” He insists, glancing over at Lorelai in time to see her mouth 'Thank you.'
After finishing her fries, Rory runs out to catch Lane before bible study and Luke comes back to the table. “Honestly, you're my hero.” Lorelai tells him, smiling.
“It's not a problem. I meant what I said. Happy to do it.” Sometimes Lorelai wants to pry the coffee pot out of his hand and beat him over the head with it to make him see how big a deal everything he does for them really is.
“That's good because you're about to hate me.”
“I figured there would be a few things...okay, several things I wouldn't be happy about.”
“Are you sure you don't want to sit down?” Her smile is extra sweet.
Luke pulls out a chair and sits, arms crossed over his chest. “Give me the bad news. What do I have to wear?”
“A tux.”
“Ah, geez.” Luke adjusts his baseball cap.
“But listen, since you're doing this as a favor to Rory, I'm happy to pay for a rental. All you have to do is show up for a fitting. One fitting.”
Lorelai recognizes the little lip curl he does when he's about to give in to one of her demands. “Fine,” he sighs. “What else?”
“Dean is going to be Rory's escort.” She can see Luke start to object, so she simply holds up a hand. “Hey, this is Rory's day. It's who she picked and I will not have you creating a scene. Do you understand?”
“I'm not five, Lorelai.”
“Uh, if I recall correctly you once had Dean in a headlock outside of this very establishment.”
“That was after he dumped Rory!” There it was, the familiar lilt of a patented Luke rant. “Of course I put him in a headlock. He's lucky that's all I did to him!”
Seven years ago when she first stepped into the diner, she would have never imagined the grumpy man in flannel would turn out to have the biggest heart. “You're a good guy, Luke Danes.”
He looks over his shoulder to see if any of the other customers are paying attention and then gives her a quick grin. “Yeah, well, don't go spreading that around. I've got a reputation to uphold.”
“Secret's safe with me,” she promises, squeezing his shoulder as she gets to her feet. “I should get going. Thank you again.”
“It's no big deal,” he says again.
“Really, Luke.” She stresses.
“You're welcome.”
*
Luke insists on bringing over some food to the dance studio for Rory and Dean, so Lorelai follows him over. They find Rory and Dean struggling with their dance, Miss Patty trying to gently correct them.
“I brought some food,” Luke offers.
“Great,” Dean sighs. “I could use a break.”
“Okay,” Rory says reluctantly. “But after we eat, right back at it, okay? We have to know this by Saturday.”
Before Lorelai knows what she's doing, she takes Luke's arm and tugs him towards the dance floor. “Dean, watch me. I'll be the man.”
“What are you doing?” Luke demands.
“Showing Dean how to lead.”
He jerks his arm out of her grasp. “I know how to lead, Lorelai.”
Miss Patty speaks up. “It's true, dear. When Luke brought Liz to dance class, we always found a use for him.”
Her mouth drops open in disbelief and delight. “You took dancing lessons?”
“Patty, do not start. I did not take dance.” Both Dean and Rory are tight lipped, desperately trying to fight off giggles.
“You so totally did!” Lorelai bounces on the balls of her feet, pointing at Luke. She wasn't sure what was more unbelievable: that Luke knew how to dance or that he could lead.
“Shut up and come here.”
“Mean!” She shoots back, making a face at him, but then his hand is slipping into hers and there's a spark between them as his warm palm touches hers. She feels it and looks up at him, but she doesn't have time to read his expression because his other hand settles easily at her waist, almost as if his hand is familiar with the curve of her waist, as if he's done this a thousand times before.
Catching her glance, he lets out a beleaguered sigh. “Stop smirking at me.” She puts her hand on his shoulder and tries to ignore the flutter in her stomach. They haven't even taken a step yet.
“Patty, the music.” Lorelai reminds her.
“Of course.” Patty sounds startled. “Was just enjoying the view.”
Luke is surprisingly sure on his feet but more disconcerting is the intensity of his gaze. It makes Lorelai's breath catch in her chest. She wonders if he has always looked at her this way. The song suddenly seems much longer than when she was watching Rory and Dean, but at the same time, not long enough. When the music fades out, Lorelai finds herself struggling to speak. Luke's hand is warm on her waist and now she can't take her eyes off him.
“That's how you lead,” Patty says suggestively, effectively breaking the spell as Luke steps back and makes some excuse about needing to get back to the diner. Lorelai watches as he crosses the town square at a brisk pace, her heart still racing.
*
She spots Luke across the room, looking debonair in his tux. He keeps fiddling with his bow tie and Lorelai imagines herself adjusting it, her fingers lingering and Luke's intense eyes on hers. Standing there all clean shaven, with no scruff to distract, Lorelai finds herself noticing his mouth and lips, wondering what it would be like to-- “Lorelai.” She jumps, startled by her mother's voice.
“Geez, Mom, you scared me.”
Emily is surveying the room and squints slightly when she sees Luke. “Is that the diner man?”
“His name is Luke, Mom.”
“He cleans up rather well, doesn't he? I hope he understands how important this night is, if he--”
“He knows. He's as nervous as Rory.”
“I wish he would stop fiddling with his tie.”
“Be nice. He is doing a huge favor for Rory. He didn't have to be here. Give him some credit.”
“Are you two sleeping together?”
“Mom, please.”
“Well, I don't understand why he's here instead of Christopher.”
“He cares about Rory. He's been more of a father to her than Chris.” Letting out a sigh, Lorelai leaves her mother behind, walking towards Luke, who looks up when she's halfway across the room, a grin pulling at his cheeks, his eyes not so subtly raking over her body, taking her in.
“You look amazing.” He tells her when she stops in front of him.
She smiles, nervously touching her ponytail. “You look great. Very 007.”
“Sean Connery or Roger Moore?”
“Mmm, I was thinking Pierce Brosnan.”
“Those movies are terrible.”
“But he's very handsome.” Luke looks pleased but doesn't reply. “You want a drink?” he asks.
“Should you really be imbibing? What if you trip on the stairs?”
“I'm drinking cranberry juice.”
“Smart. I'll have a vodka martini with a twist, please,” she tells the bartender. “Thank you again for doing this. It's a really big deal, Luke.”
“You're welcome. Hey, did I get the bow tie right? It feels weird.”
Lorelai takes a step closer, her fingers reaching around his neck to make sure it isn't twisted in the back. “It seems fine,” she tells him. “Do you want me to re-tie it?”
“No, that's okay.” Lorelai feels slightly disappointed that she no longer has an excuse to have her hands on him. As she smooths the shoulders of his jacket, his eyes catch hers. “Lorelai, I--”
“Luke, we--” They both start and then both stop, laughing at their timing. The bartender brings her drink and she takes a sip, hoping it will shore up her nerves. “Are your parents here yet?” he asks, completely changing the subject.
“I saw my mother. They're probably off torturing the help.” After Lorelai finishes her martini, she asks Luke for the time. He shrugs. “You can't wear a watch with this thing. Cufflinks.”
“Let's go check on Rory. You have to line up upstairs anyway.” As they Lorelai is taking the first stair, she's surprised to feel Luke's hand land gently at the small of her back. Lorelai slips into the room where the girls are changing while Luke waits outside. “Got everything, hon?”
Rory nods. “Have you seen Dean?”
“No, but I'll go ask Luke where he is.”
“I'll come with you. Besides, I can't believe Luke is wearing a tux. How does he look?”
“He looks...” Lorelai trails off.
“That good, huh?” Rory teases.
“Be careful or I'll rip your dress.”
“You think Luke is cute.” Rory teases in a sing song voice.
“Rory, I swear--” As they emerge out into the hall, Rory launches herself at someone and it takes a minute for Lorelai's brain to catch up.
“Dad! What are you doing here?”
“I decided I couldn't miss your big day.” He nods at Lorelai. “Hey, Lor.”
“Uh, hi. Chris, wow.” She sees Luke lurking further down the hall, a hurt look on his face. “Rory already has someone to present her.”
“I'm sure Richard will be fine with me taking over.”
“It's not Grandpa,” Rory explains. “It's Luke."
“The diner guy?” Chris says, surprised. Lorelai glowers at him as she waves Luke over. “Luke, this is Christopher. Chris, this is Luke.”
“I'm Rory's dad.” Chris states as he steps forward to shake Luke's hand.
“Yeah, I know,” Luke nods. “Nice to meet you.”
Lorelai couldn't even think of a joke to break the tension but then her father appeared. “There you all are. Christopher, my boy, how are you? I didn't think we were seeing you tonight.”
“I flew out to surprise the girls.” Luke was standing next to her and she feels him tense up when Chris says “the girls.”
“Well, my, my.” Richard looks like the cat who just ate the canary. “Emily will be thrilled you're here. Richard turns to Lorelai. “Lorelai, it's rude to not introduce me to your date.”
“Actually, Luke is here to present Rory.”
“My goodness, Luke!” Richard sounds shocked. “I didn't recognize you outside of your work uniform. It's nice to see you again.”
“Same here, sir.”
“I hope you understand that since Rory's father is here, he will present her.”
“I think that's up to Rory,” Lorelai speaks up. “Chris said he couldn't be here. We found someone else.”
“No, Chris will present her,” her father says stubbornly. “Don't be ridiculous.”
Lorelai starts to object but Luke puts a hand on her arm. “It's fine,” he murmurs.
“It's not fine,” she says, a little helplessly
“Christopher!” Emily arrives. “What a surprise!”
“I hope it's a good surprise.”
“It certainly is. A lovely one.”
“Rory, can I talk to you for a sec, hon?” Lorelai asks Rory. “Sorry to leave you in the lurch,” she apologizes to Luke.
“I'll be fine,” he replies even though he's still eyeing Chris warily.
Lorelai pulls Rory into one of the other rooms along the hallway. “Rory, I know you're excited about your dad showing up, but we asked Luke.”
“I know,” Rory glances down guiltily. “I have to decide, don't I?”
“Yeah, I'm afraid you do.”
“But Grandma and Grandpa.” Her eyes change from guilty to worried.
“They were fine with Luke until your dad showed up,” she soothes.
“Yeah,” Rory says uncertainly.
“Girls!” A voice announces. “You have five minutes. Then you need to be lined up alphabetically with your presenters!” Even from inside another room, Lorelai can hear the panicked gasps of 16 year olds who have already been primping for hours.
“You ready?” Lorelai asks.
Rory nods. When they return to the hallway, Emily seems to be lying in wait. She slips her arm around Rory and they walk back towards the group, Lorelai close behind. “Isn't it wonderful your dad is here to present you? Everything's perfect.”
“Yeah, Grandma,” Rory says. “About that. I think I should decide who gets to present me.”
Emily throws a withering stare at Lorelai. “You put her up to this, didn't you?”
“We thought Chris couldn't come. We made other plans. Luke means a lot to Rory, Mom. He means a lot to both of us!” She says, perhaps a little too loudly, but she sees Luke's eyes brighten.
“Mom's right. And this is my decision. And I decide... Dad, thank you so much for coming, especially all the way from California.” Lorelai could see Luke drop his chin to his chest. “But Luke said yes first and jumped through all the hoops without complaining. He should be the one to present me.” Luke's head snaps up as everyone turns to look at him. Lorelai puts a protective arm around her daughter.
“Rory!” Emily and Chris both object.
“What?” Luke asks, clearly as surprised as Lorelai by Rory's decision.
“Two minutes!” The hall was starting to get crowded with dads in tuxes.
"C'mere," Luke waves Rory over before he leads her a few feet down the hall. "I think you should have your dad present you."
Rory looks distraught. "But you're wearing a tux because of me and you taught Dean how to dance and you took time off from the diner."
"I know but he's here and that's important."
"Are you sure?" Rory looks up at him worriedly and he wants to reach out and assure her, but he isn't sure it's his place.
"I am."
"Thank you, Luke." She looks relieved and grateful all at once.
"And hey, you need any favors in the future, I'm here, okay?"
"I'll remember that," she beams, throwing her arms around him and giving him a squeeze. "Thanks," she says again. They both turn as they hear Lorelai's voice rising. "Mom?" Rory watches worriedly but Luke is already moving past her, arriving at her mother's side. She sees her mom crumple against him. For years, Rory has seen the way Luke looks at her mom and for the past week, her mom has been looking back at him in the same way. It's about time, she thinks before hurrying over to where her mom and Luke are standing.
*
Chris turns to look at her. "Lor, is she serious?"
"What did you expect, Chris? That you would show up and everything would be fine? Of course you did, that's what you always think. We have lives too, and people we love and we're not just sitting around waiting for you to show up!" Several of the tuxedoed dads were watching with interest. She realizes she's shaking and she wraps her arms around herself.
"Hey." A calm voice says in her ear and she's so incredibly thankful that Luke is there. Rory looks wide-eyed at her parents. Without thinking, she leans against Luke, who puts an arm around her. "I told Rory her dad should be her presenter," Luke says steadily. Richard and Emily audibly exhale.
“Thank you,” Chris nods at him.
Rory looks at Lorelai worriedly. “Mom?”
Lorelai tries to straighten up, shifting her weight off of Luke, but his arm stays steadily around her, making sure she doesn't fall or faint. “If that's what you and Luke decided.” She tries to smile but she can feel it's thin and tired.
Rory nods. “We did.”
She touches her daughter's shoulder. “Good. You look beautiful, honey. Have fun.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Lorelai nods, looking over at Luke. “I will be.” She watches as Chris offers Rory his arm and they join the growing line of young women and dads.
“Thank you,” she tells Luke.
As always, he looks slightly uncomfortable when anyone thanks him, but he nods. “Rory should do this with her dad.”
“You're there for her way more often than he is.”
“It seemed like the right thing.” Again, he manages to shrug off her compliment. “Plus, now I get to watch with you.” She realizes that's exactly where she wants him, too. Being by her side, looking handsome in his tux, proud of Rory, and being a better dad than her daughter's biological father. Lorelai's fingers slip around his wrist, tugging him into one of the rooms off the hall. “What are you doing?” he demands.
“Shh.” She warns, not even knowing she was planning on kissing Luke until she's kissing Luke. His hand comes up to cup her cheek and he deepens the kiss. His other hand is warm on her waist. It takes her a moment to compose herself afterwards. “Wow,” she murmurs. “We should maybe try that again.” Luke chuckles but doesn't hesitate, kissing her again, his fingers tracing along her bare shoulders.
“This isn't just because of the tux, is it?” he asks.
“No,” she murmurs, laughing, her hand on the back of his neck. She wants to tell him it's because of everything, every single moment he has been big-hearted and selfless with them.
“I could easily stay here forever,” he says. “But let's not miss Rory.”
Lorelai agrees, slipping her hand into his as they leave the room.
*
Luke and Lorelai can't resist mocking during the fan dance, but they keep their voices low so Emily won't hear. Under the table, Luke lets his thumb stroke against Lorelai's knuckles and he glances over at her, trying for the millionth time that night to reconcile the events of the past couple hours which led them here, to her holding his hand under the table, to her kissing him and him kissing her back. He's honestly afraid after the night ends, everything will go back to the way it was, like a spell broken.
Even though the evening is for the girls, there's always music and dancing after the presentation. Emily watches as Dean asks Rory to dance but is more surprised when she sees Lorelai and the man from the diner rising from the table. "Where are you going?" she demands.
"We're going to make out in the coat closet," Lorelai rolls her eyes. "Where do you think, Mom? We're going to dance!" She watches as the diner man's hand settles at the small of her daughter's back and wonders how long this has been going on and if Lorelai will ever truly let her into her life. Chris is watching. He's been giving Lorelai longing looks all night, which she's been completely oblivious too, she's so wrapped up in the diner man. Honestly, the way that man looks at her is so lewd.
*
“This is the second time in less than a week that you've willingly danced. I'm starting to believe Patty's story about you taking lessons.” Lorelai eyes Luke warily, but she can't resist smiling.
Luke rolls his eyes. “You're insane.”
“You've known that since you met me.”
“Yeah, I have,” he admits with a smile. He squeezes her waist, still not quite believing this is happening. “Lorelai, I'm glad that...” He can feel himself blush, unable to finish his sentence. “But I feel like we should talk about this.”
“I know.” She gives him a slight nod. “But not tonight, okay? I just want...” She trails off as Rory and Dean dance over to them. “Hey, hon.” Lorelai greets her daughter. “How are things going?”
“Good, except my feet hurt.” Rory looks a little sheepish. “Can we go home soon?”
“Whenever you want, kiddo.” As the dance ends, Lorelai is hesitant to step away from Luke. He guides her over to the edge of the dance floor, not sure what to say to end the evening. As usual, Lorelai goes first. “I'm not sure about Rory, but I'm starving. The food at these things is never sufficient. Can we come by the diner when we get back?”
“Of course.” He agrees, glad he's going to see her again. He wishes he could kiss her again, but he feels like Rory is watching, so he simply touches her elbow gently. “Thanks for tonight.”
Now it's her turn to blush and drop her eyes for a quick second before looking back up at him. “I'm the one who should be thanking you.” They hold each other's gaze for a long moment. Lorelai is sure both of them are grinning like idiots, but she doesn't care. “I'll see you back home,” she tells him before turning away. Home meaning Stars Hollow, but only after she says it does she realize how it sounds.
*
As the girls climb back into the Jeep, Rory reaches for her bag and pulls out her sneakers. Slipping off her heels, she lets out a groan. “Sorry, toes,” she apologizes, propping her leg up onto the seat so she can lace up her shoes.
“Besides learning the perils of high heels, did you have fun tonight?” Lorelai asks as she pulls out of the parking lot.
“It was fun, but definitely not what I expected. Some of the girls were talking about marrying their escorts, and I don't know, it made me realize how much some of these girls are going to miss out on. And weirdly, it made me understand why you didn't want to marry dad when you got pregnant.”
“Oh, hon,” Lorelai said sympathetically, unsure what to say to make her daughter feel better. “I'm glad your dad got to be there tonight, though.”
“Yeah, me too. Although I would have been happy if Luke presented me.” This comment makes Lorelai smile to herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches her daughter studying her. “Speaking of Luke, what's going on with you?”
Lorelai isn't sure how to respond to this either, so she plays dumb. “What do you mean what's going on?”
“Mom, come on.” When Lorelai doesn't reply right away, Rory tries another tact. “I've seen the way Luke looks at you. And tonight, maybe I'm wrong, but it seemed like you were looking at him that way too?” The way Rory's voice goes up into a question at the end kills her. Rory has always been observant, but she's surprised to hear her daughter has noticed how Luke looks at her, to hear how hopeful Rory sounds.
“I don't know.” She tries to downplay the events of the evening. It was only hours ago she realized she had feelings for Luke and she didn't know what that meant yet, exactly. She didn't want Rory to get her hopes up. “I guess this past week, I finally got it. I see how Luke has been there for us. And I want that for you.”
“I want that for you,” Rory replies. “If it's what you want.”
“I appreciate that. I do, but I have no idea what's going to happen there yet. Okay?” She was grateful for Rory's support. Everything tonight had happened so fast, she hadn't even thought about what her daughter would say if she started seeing Luke, but now she didn't have to wonder.
Rory nods. “I get it. But for the record, I'm in favor.”
Lorelai can't help but smile. “Good to know. For the record.”
*
Dean meets them at the diner. Lorelai is a little disappointed that by the time they arrive, Luke has already changed out of his tux and back into his usual flannel. She had visions of him standing in the diner, bow tie loosened. She keeps glancing over at him as they eat, trying to rectify this Luke—diner Luke—with the man she kissed tonight. She decides if he can kiss like that, it doesn't matter what he's wearing.
Lorelai eats her pie slowly, lingering, hoping that Rory and Dean will skip off to do something young, so she can have a moment alone with Luke. Her daughter must read her mind, because Rory suggests a walk and Dean offers to take her home. “I'll see you later?” she asks her mother before they go.
“Of course. I'll be home soon. Thanks, Dean.”
“You're welcome.” As soon as they're gone, her gaze flicks back to Luke, who looks up from whatever he's doing behind the counter.
She feels her skin prickle and a warm tingle in her stomach as his gaze meets hers. “Hey,” he says.
“Hi.”
He comes around the counter and starts to pull down the blinds, moving across the diner towards her, clicking the lock in the door as he passes. Lorelai stays in her seat, unsure what to do, but feeling the anticipation rise. Finally, he's standing in front of her. He offers her a hand and she takes it, pulling herself up before she leans into him, her arms around his shoulders, letting out a happy sigh. “You haven't changed your mind?” he asks.
“Not in the last hour, no.”
“Good.”
“Are you going to kiss me?” Lorelai asks expectantly.
“Was thinking about it.” He says, unable to hide his grin.
fin