Jess and Odette - First Meeting

So this story is a long one, probably not for everyone for that same reason. There's a lot of build up to get to action. But I do believe it needs some background to understand the possibility of this seemingly unlikely coupling.

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Jess and Odette - First Meeting

Jess' head throbbed a little, needing a glass of water but he felt reluctant to move from the warmth of the bed. As his eyes peeked around the room, unwilling to fully open, he found himself in a bedroom that was clearly feminine just by the pile of throw pillows that now were tossed around the room,not really being able to make out a lot of details this time of night. It was still dark outside, and he really hadn't meant to sleep over.

A naked back lay besides him, her spine showing as it curved, her knees pulled up, the blanket slightly draped over her hips. He closed his eyes, for just a few minutes, trying to recall what had led him there.

It had been a long day at the office for both Jess and Logan, forming a game plan for future developments of Truncheon, now owned by the Huntzberger Publishing Group, including the possible expansion to New York in the coming months. He'd grown accustomed to his business-self, the role he was supposed to carry more and more in recent years - finding the perfect balance between his own style and what was acceptable by the corporate world. But in a way, it felt somehow age appropriate to him, like this was him growing up, and whether that came though writing another book or wearing suits and dress-shirts and controlling his behavior, it didn't really matter - he still knew how to be true to himself. If he wanted something more from his life, moving forward this was the way to do it.

Jess didn't really understand why Logan had insisted on bringing him over for dinner. Sure, it was nice of him to take him to dinner, like he often did with business associates himself, and he'd told him that Rory was going to be there, without specifying the context. But that raised a whole other round of questions - why on earth would this guy want the three of them at the same table? The last time, though it was over a decade ago, hadn't exactly gone that well. It was putting it mildly that he didn't have a very high opinion of the guy on a personal level. Logan Huntzberger was an excellent businessman and for that he put up with him, not that he had a choice with the ownership change. He had nothing against seeing Rory of course, it had been a while since he'd seen her face to face. But the whole thing just seemed odd, like it wasn't casual, but like he was bringing him to see her on purpose.

"Hey!" Rory greeted Jess as him and Logan stepped through the front door of a Greenwich village red-brick townhouse. The house was something along the lines he'd expected from a Huntzberger - antique furniture pieces and large original paintings already catching his eye on the walls.

The kiss that Rory gave Logan next clarified at least some of the context, which he had already assumed. But surely this wasn't just about rubbing that in. Years had passed, Rory and Jess were friends, colleagues - they'd had their moment and that was something in the past.

"Hi," Jess replied, adding, "Good to see you, you look... better," honestly. Rory had looked a little lost when he'd seen her at Luke's wedding - sad and defeated. But he hadn't dared to ask about it, feeling like it wasn't his place. Now she looked like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and he couldn't help but to wonder how much of that was Logan's doing. If that really was the case, the man did deserve some respect.

"Hello," another woman greeted Jess, and for someone he was seeing for the first time, rather familiarly. The slim figure of a blonde woman, with an intoxicatingly vibrant fragrance, invaded his space, and before he had any hope to react, had laid small pecks of kisses on both of his cheeks, leaving a faint trace of her warmth on his face. He was a little taken aback by that boldness, however the motion seemed nothing in particular to the woman in question.

"Jess, this is Odette, Odette, this is Jess," Logan introduced the two.

Jess nodded in return, observing her. She wore a yellow eyelet blouse along with tight fitting blue pants, finished off by a fierce pair of heels.

"Odette is a friend of ours. And publicly she's Logan's wife...for the time being. But actually I am," Rory explained, hesitantly, as if afraid of Jess' judgement.

That sentence made Jess almost cough.

"Huh," Jess replied, raising his eyebrows slightly in surprise. This sounded crazier than some telenovela. Rory - married? Married to Logan? Bringing him here did make a little bit more sense now, come to think of it, if they'd wanted to announce this. But this whole arrangement was unusual to say the least. But before he had the chance to respond, Logan jumped in.

"I know it's weird, but I assure you - it's very temporary. Don't worry we haven't gone mormon or anything," Logan explained, laughingly, almost apologetically. He really didn't owe Jess an explanation, but it made Jess feel a little special that he would think that.

"Well, as long as it works for you and everyone is happy, who am I to say anything," Jess noted smugly, shrugging with his words. They were all adults after all, surely they knew what they were doing. For a moment he glanced at Rory to register her state of mind in this, and there was nothing he could see in her face that would say that she wasn't okay with this arrangement.

"Come on," Rory led him towards the living room. The room was long but narrow, the windows looking out into the street, but shaded by majestic olive green velvet curtains. He was a little surprised at the selection of art in the room - first of all, there was a lot of it but everything seemed to be curated - spotlights placed in the right places. They were minimalistic nudes, abstracts, photos of buildings and patterns and the largest, taking up almost the entire height of the room - a complex piece of string art in black and white. Clearly the place had character. But he didn't particularly recognize the eclectic style he knew to be along Rory's taste. Maybe she'd changed too?

"You want a drink, Jess?" Logan asked, as Jess took a seat in the armchair closest to the window. Rory sat across from him onto the couch.

"Scotch, neat," Jess replied. The evening was too weird to handle sober, already the thought of that burn in his throat relaxed him a little.

"Odette? Rory?" Logan asked, as he poured Jess's drink and handed it to him.

"Thanks, man," he replied, taking a large sip.

"I'll just grab a La Croix," Odette said, walking over to the cabinet herself. Definitely French - Jess thought based on that 'cr' pronunciation. Jess watched a pair of fine heeled legs step confidently across the room towards the bar fridge - definitely a pleasant sight.

"Maybe a spritzer for me," Rory replied.

"Coming right up," Logan said, as he was pouring himself a scotch as well.

"It's a nice place you've got here," Jess commented, as he looked around the tastefully decorated room, with the art on the walls being the main spectacle.

"It's Odette's, we're moving soon," Rory replied to his surprise.

"Nowhere far I hope," Jess replied, casually.

"Upper West Side," Logan replied, returning with Rory's drink to sit next to her. There was notable chemistry between the two, their bodies adjusting accordingly to the other's position, almost organically. Huntzberger may have been a jackass in college, but he certainly had something that worked for Rory, even Jess could see that.

"So you're an editor, as I've understood, Jess?" Odette asked, sitting at the armchair closest to him, legs crossed parallelly.

"Among other things," he replied.

"What would those other things be?" Odette inquired further. She had gone without attending social events for a month now, trying to keep a low profile, and while she hadn't really admitted it to herself, she kind of missed the socializing, and she appreciated the company.

"I write," Jess stated, feeling proud of himself but wanting to remain humble. He'd written five short novels, all a little dark and melancholic, nordic noir, but more about the angst than the violence.

"And he manages a publishing house," Logan added, acknowledging how well Jess truly had done for himself, leaving the HPG out of it for now. Truncheon was doing fairly well on it's own, it was mostly just the original owners who had wanted an out to try their hand at some other ventures and caved when his father had made them a decent offer.

"Also true," Jess confirmed, his low tone humming as he mused. He didn't feel like the deserved a lot of credit for that, he was never trained to do any of that. All he knew was what he'd picked up from Chris and Matthew, managing it was hardly what he would've called it, even though that's what his new title claimed he did.

"I'll go and get us some snacks," Rory said, as she rose and headed towards the kitchen.

"And you guys went to high school together?" Odette inquired, as if piecing together the information. She'd learned already from Rory that she knew him from back then, before the guys had gotten there, but she was curious to what that actually had entailed. Rory had seemed a little nervous and she'd wondered why. Jess' opinion of what she was doing seemed to matter a little too much to Rory if he just was a nobody.

"Not exactly," Jess replied, "we just lived in the same town, a very small town," Jess emphasized. "Different high schools," he added, recalling momentarily the craziness of Stars Hollow. He didn't want to linger on the fact that there had been more, it didn't seem relevant on this occasion.

"So what's it like to grow up in a small town? All I've ever really known are big cities," Odette continued, as Rory returned, offering everyone pepperoncini deviled eggs and avocado endive cups with salsa.

Jess had almost expected Rory to carry the conversation, being the one in the room that actually knew him, but there were a lot of things in this evening that he hadn't expected.

"I grew up here actually, Stars Hollow was an attempt to alienate me from an undesirable crowd," he replied, surprising Odette. He'd been hanging out with some sketchy people, drinking, skipping school, had a few run-ins with the police even but nothing too dangerous. He eyed at the selection Rory was offering.

"Deviled eggs - really Rory?" he smirked, glancing over the tray, taking one anyway.

"What did I miss?" Odette asked, feeling lost by that last comment.

"I don't know what he's talking about," Rory tried to play innocent, but clearly she was a little amused by that comment. She took her seat next to Logan again.

"I have no proof of course but I'm pretty sure this sweet innocent woman devil-egged my car with her mother once," Jess elaborated, with a crooked smile.

"Interesting choice of ammo, Ace," Logan said, along with a smug smile.

"Did you deserve it?" Odette asked directly, sounding amused. Clearly the relationship between Rory and Jess had been an interesting one.

Jess chuckled at the somewhat blunt question. "I probably did," he noted smugly, taking another sip of his drink.

"Jess actually told me that he's considering moving back to the City once we expand Trunchedon," Logan revealed.

"That's great," Rory reacted excitedly, having just swallowed a small sip of her spritzer. She liked the idea of having friends around, now that they too were set on staying.

"I might be more of the Brooklyn kind of guy though, but we'll see," Jess added, recalling the neighbourhood he'd once lived in. He liked simpler things, prestigious neighborhoods were not his thing.

The conversation continued on light yet interesting topics, talking a little about the work they were doing, Jess' writing, Rory's study plans and Odette's line of work which had been PR. One drink soon turned into another, and at some point Rory headed to the kitchen to check on the food.

It was about two minutes later, when a loud crash of glass resonated from the kitchen along with a painful sounding moan.

"Ace, you alright there?" Logan asked loudly, standing up abruptly to go inspect the situation. The two others followed his lead.

By the time the others reached the kitchen, Rory was already up and running cold water over her hand, the tray of noodles spread all over the floor, the oven door broken.

"I'm sorry, the tray slipped," Rory said, apologetically. It was clear that whatever situation her hand was in, it was painful by the way she was grimacing.

"Did you burn yourself?" Logan asked, stepping closer to take a look. "That doesn't look good, Ace," he said worriedly a second later.

"Oh, I'm sure it's fine," Rory replied, experiencing the adrenaline rush.

"Odette, did you have any of that burn spray?" Logan asked.

Odette searched a few cabinets and handed him the spray bottle, and continued to turn off the oven as she stepped carefully trying not to slip on the food or glass.

"I think we should have you checked out," Logan suggested. "Odette, do you mind ordering the car and getting Rory's purse and phone," he added.

Odette complied willingly, wanting to help out.

"I'm sure there's no need, I'll be fine," Rory continued, not wanting to ruin the evening. It was classic Rory to apologize for getting hurt - she was being ridiculous.

"How big is the burn? If it's larger than the size of the hand, you should definitely have it looked at," Jess noted, stepping closer to inspect. He cringed at the sight, it really didn't look pretty. The burn was large, covering most of the side of her hand going halfway up to her forearm.

"You see," Logan chided.

"The car will be here in two minutes," Odette called from the adjacent room, continuing to gather up Rory's things. Besides the purse and phone, she grabbed her jacket and one of her pashminas and was tying it onto her purse.

"Come one, let's get you ready," Jess took the lead, shaking the burn spray. "Have you got any cling film anywhere?" he asked, recalling taking a first aid course a while back that had suggested that.

"In that drawer over there," Rory managed to say, through her teeth, as the burn was beginning to hurt now.

Jess sprayed her arm with the burn spray while Logan carefully wrapped it in cling film.

"I'm sorry about the food," Rory said as Logan led her towards the exit.

"Hey, this is New York, I doubt I'll starve," Jess called after her. He just felt bad for her, knowing from experience, burns hurt like hell, he was just surprised she'd been this calm about it.

"I should probably clear this up," Odette sighed, beginning to gather up the mess from the kitchen floor, as the two left. Clearly she wasn't the kind woman who was afraid to get her hands a little dirty, despite the initial image she'd left with some of her stories about her former life in Paris, earning some of Jess' respect already.

Jess crouched down to help her, shoveling the still warm dish to the trash using a slotted ladle of some sort, while she wiped up the rest of the sauce with some paper towels.

"Maybe we should order some food, or just go and buy some takeaway?" Odette suggested, realizing that the food, now in the trach, had been their dinner. She was left alone with the guest who was probably also starving.

The situation was a little awkward even despite her offer to still get some food. He'd known her, what - an hour? But finishing up helping her clear the floor bought him some time. Jess washed his hands.

"I could just get out of your hair...," he began, not wanting to be a burden.

"No, I mean not unless you would rather...," Odette hesitated. "I'm hungry, I mean I wouldn't mind getting something," she added.

Jess shrugged, his hands tucked into his pockets, feeling a little amused by the awkwardness, casting a humble crooked smile at her.

"You know what, let's go someplace. I haven't been out nearly as much as I'd like, I'm just not much for going out to eat on my own usually. Let's just go and walk, see what looks good," Odette suggested, taking the lead. While she had some friends in the city, they also had husbands or wives and kids back home, which didn't exactly make them available for frequent outings.

"Sure," he nodded, feeling curious. He certainly didn't mind the company, it was not like he had any better plans than finding some bar and pulling out another Kerouac. She didn't seem like bad company, she was even pleasant to the eye, but there was little he knew about her besides the Huntzberger association. Going someplace provided at least some distraction if the conversation were to lag.

"I'll just go grab my jacket," Odette suggested, heading upstairs.

He pulled out his phone, readying himself for a lengthy wait - she seemed that kind of a woman, whose 'I'll go grab my jacket' meant an entire wardrobe change.

Well, he wasn't completely wrong. She indeed returned having changed her 4 inch heels to a pair of grey ankle boots, and she wore a tight fitting grey leather jacket, shoving a silk scarf into her small cross-body purse, but it had barely taken her three-four minutes.

"Ready to go?" he asked, pushing himself straight from having leaned against the living room doorway. The least he would've expected from this evening was a date-like feeling, yet the situation seemed to have a similar effect.

She nodded, grabbing her keys from the bowl in the foyer. They stepped out and she locked the door behind them.

"So, are you new to New York? You said you were from a big city. But I assume Europe?" Jess spoke as they strolled down the street. The weather wasn't terribly warm, but at least there was a bit of lingering sunshine and a slight smell of spring in the air.

"Paris, London, but I've been here a bunch of times. Never had my own place here though, so it's a little different this time," Odette explained.

"You plan on sticking around?" Jess asked.

"I am. Honestly, if I can avoid going back home altogether, I'll probably do that," she admitted, leaving Jess with a hint that there was a longer story there.

"Huh," he commented. "What's so bad about home, if you don't mind me asking? You wanted for tax fraud or something?" he asked curiously, trying to lighten the mood with his comment.

Odette gave it a moment of thought, deciding how to put it. "I guess it's a final plea for independence" she exhaled, not really wanting to discuss that.

He could sense that he'd hit a cord, but being unsure whether he should apologize or not, he decided to just distract her.

"So this place looks kind of good," he gestured towards a minimalistic, slightly posh, Italian restaurant.

"It feels a little restrictive, I wouldn't mind something more casual actually," she replied, surprising him. He might not have been the likes of Logan Hunzberger but he could buy them dinner in any place they chose. He was no longer a writer self distributing his novels, but that mental state was sometimes difficult to shake, especially when the woman in question owned a Greenwich Village townhouse which was probably just a small fraction of her net worth.

"Casual is my middle name," he smirked, adding, "I know just the place," realizing this situation was not really one where he needed to impress her. Sure, the woman had a certain something about her, perhaps it was just the fact that she seemed somehow unobtainable that he really felt like he had absolutely nothing to lose by grabbing her by her word, and just relax.

It took them perhaps ten minutes, past the Houston Street playground, and a couple of galleries and boutiques, along with some casual discussion about their surroundings. It was a street where you'd not really expect to find a casual place to grab a bite, but he'd been there a while ago. He just hoped the place was still there.