The Philadelphian Escape

Jess had just been talking to his colleagues - just some professional bante. He had just told Matthew to go get himself another beer and relax as the man had been a little uptight all evening, when he turned and noticed a familiar, but even more gorgeous slim figure than he remembered, walking through the door.

"Well, isn't this a day of surprises?" Jess asked, having not expected to see Rory at his place of business.

"I didn't RSVP, sorry!" Rory apologized, humbly. She hadn't known she was coming, dressed just in the same as she'd set out that morning for school - wearing a simple pair of dark low-waist jeans, a tightly-fitted blazer and a white low cut top underneath. It was sexy, but understated - something she wore on most days. After all, she'd just a few hours ago decided she was coming at all. She'd told herself this was just a friendly visit, seeing the place Jess had talked so passionately about, but underneath it was nothing but. She was tempting faith, it was payback for Logan sleeping with almost the entire wedding party when they were taking a break - even if she didn't quite admit it to herself. It was playing with fire.

"Ah.., this isn't a RSVP type thing. Showing up's cool," Jess replied, nonchalantly.

Rory had never really seen Jess looking this handsome before. Sure his leather biker-jacket styled bad boy look that he'd had in high school was hot, but this was new. He'd never really been the type to dress up - jeans or army-style jackets being more of his type of thing, but here he stood dressed in a dark corduroy blazer, a white t-shirt with Joseph Szabo's famous photo of the girl with a cigarette underneath. Jess was always witty and intelligent with his T-shirt choices - Rory thought.

Jess looked good, really good. Confident. Grown up - much less like the guy who once slept in his car out of stupid pride on a cold night. Much more like someone who was actually successful, someone who'd actually made something out of himself. And it showed in his confidence too.

"Good thing. So this is Truncheon Books?" Rory asked, glancing around.

"Yeah. This is Truncheon," Jess replied, desperately wanting to really know what she was doing there.

Jess had had a crush on Rory since he'd met her, he'd loved her for longer than he'd himself known it, and after breaking her heart with his disastrous disappearance act, feeling like he really had no other options at the time, he'd still continued to pine after her. Jess had thought he was good enough for her when he'd finally gone to beg for a second chance at her dorm, nearly two years ago now. But he knew better - he hadn't been ready then either. He'd seen her some six months ago too, but he'd hardly recognized her then - living in her grandparents' pool house, dating a guy with a Porsche, taking time off from Yale and having joined the D.A.R. That really hadn't been the Rory he knew. But since then he'd heard from Luke she was back on track, and being here was definitely a promising start.

"I like it. It makes me feel like I instantly want to create something," Rory commented, adding, "Give me a pen! Give me a brush!" theatrically as she looked around noting all the bookshelves and paintings.

"Luke!" Rory noted suddenly with surprise.

"Yeah, there's a definite 'Jess Mariano, this is your life' vibe here today," Jess noted as they walked over to Luke and April, Luke's daughter.

They exchanged a few words with Luke and April, Rory meeting April for the first time. It was awkward - the whole thing with her mother seeing Luke, and Luke having delayed telling her mother about having found out he had a 12-year-kid, who was now standing right in front of Rory. But that was another story.

The evening continued peacefully, Jess getting pulled away by several fellow authors and editors, and there were even a few independent magazines inquiring into Jess' book and some other contacts that the Truncheon did business with whom he had to deal with. Jess showed Rory around a bit, speaking about what they did and introduced her to a couple of people. But as he was once again pulled away, he knew that he wouldn't really have to entertain Rory - if she was there, she was there. Jess knew that Rory was perfectly content in a room full of books, besides he couldn't allow himself to quite believe that Rory was there to actually want something more from him than to just show her support. It seemed too good to be true.

The night was drawing to an end and there were just a couple of people left in the room, most people heading out to the Cedar Bar Redux.

"Yeah, maybe. You know, go on ahead. I'll catch up," Jess called after his friends who had just asked if he was coming too. He was quite surprised to see Rory still around - as expected she was sitting on an ottoman reading Jess' book.

With that thought the last guest exited the event space as well, and he simply nodded in the guest's direction, the door chime announcing their departure a second later.

Seeing Rory hang around like this, seeming in no hurry to head back to New Haven, Jess was getting a hunch that this wasn't just a friendly visit. Why would she stick around this long? Everyone else was gone! Could she really be...?

Jess pulled another ottoman closer to Rory's, intentionally setting it perhaps a couple of inches closer than someone who was simply a friend would. Maybe this was his chance? He sure as hell wasn't going to waste it!

"You know, you don't have to read it again," Jess said and took a seat, facing her.

"I know I don't," Rory replied, letting the book fall to her lap. She pretty much knew the book by heart, having read it already a few times before tonight.

"God, there are so many things I would change in it," Jess sighed.

"Like what?" she inquired, and changed her positioning a little so that she was now facing him, their knees almost touching. She could feel tension in the air, the same one that they'd always had. It was the perfect distraction.

"I'd keep the back cover. Everything else goes," Jess exclaimed, gesturing with his hand how he just wanted to throw it out.

"You know why I love your book?" Rory said, with a slight glimmer in her eyes.

Jess could get lost in those bright blue eyes for hours, but this was not that time. This needed to be precise, calculated - it was his chance.

"Why?" he asked, as if challenging her. He leaned in just a little, making the distance between them even smaller. She had to sense that tension too, right?

"It doesn't remind me of anything. It's not a rip-off. It's just you," Rory said. She still liked to think she knew the real him. It was probably half true. He'd grown a lot too.

For years Rory had been the only person to get anything about him. She'd never gotten everything, nobody had - he probably still didn't. But she was the one that had gotten the closest. For years she had been the only person he'd liked when he didn't like people in general. Period.

"High praise, Miss Yale editor," Jess teased, having looked up what she'd been up to quite recently, and bumped his fist against Rory's knee to break some of that ice. This was classical flirting 1-0-1: get close, talk in a deep, sensual voice, create physical contact, get even closer...

Saying that he had been proud to find out that she was back at Yale, would've been an understatement. And for what had happened in November, he'd long gone forgiven her, not that any of it had even been her fault at all. He believed she was allowed to trail off and make mistakes just like he'd made them - that blonde dick at Yale included.

"Yeah, well, I don't get to write as much as I would like. I... mostly assigning and motivating, hand-holding, and rewriting," she explained humbly. She doubted Luke had told him, so she was actually a little moved that he knew about that.

"Yeah, and you love it, every minute of it. Come on, tell me you don't," he demanded with a smug smile and leaned in a little more. He knew her.

"I do, I do love it. It's exciting," she replied, modestly.

God, she had a beautiful, understated, smile - Jess thought. He wanted to taste those lips so bad again.

"Yeah, you look happier than when I saw you last," Jess noted. He just had to say it. He could only hope it meant what he wanted it to mean.

"I am," she replied, smilingly. In a lot of ways she was, unless in those ways that she wasn't. She hadn't broken up with Logan, she was just incredibly mad at him. Logan was in Costa Rica doing his crazy stunts with the Stooges, and she was here, scraping at an old regret. Playing with fire. But then again maybe this was exactly where she was supposed to be - maybe things didn't have to be the way they were with Logan. They'd never even really had a proper chance with Jess, not back then. Hell - they'd never even had sex!

There it was, that smile again.

"So you fixed everything?" Jess asked, desperately hoping she would say that the jerk with the Porsche was gone, that she wasn't living with her grandmother, that she'd gotten out of the D.A.R.

"Yeah, everything's fixed," Rory fibbed. Yale was fixed. The rest was messy, unresolved but with every second she was spending in that room with Jess, this new and improved Jess, things were becoming a whole lot clearer. She just wanted to feel good, wanted and prioritized.

Rory knew Jess had still recently had feelings for her, and today was just confirming that knowledge - she wasn't oblivious to his advances - the slight flirt that he knew how to do so well. The way he spoke to her, that tone of his, god, that smile... she was a goner the minute she stepped inside this room. The fire she'd been playing with was getting out of hand.

"I'm glad you're here," Jess said in a low tone, and leaned even more, resting his elbows on his knees. If she didn't want this to go any further, she'd object, move away, stand up... anything, but she didn't. Her lips were so kissable right there.

"Yeah, me too," Rory replied. For the first time in weeks she felt like she was somewhere she actually wanted to be, she was doing something for her. She was sick of being hurt, she just wanted to feel better.

He approached her even more and as if no time at all had passed, no misunderstandings or miscommunications, no hurt, no confusion - his lips tasted hers, letting his tongue gently stroke the insides of her lips before reaching towards to taste her sweet tongue. He could feel her kissing back, while hesitating a little, and he took her elbow in his palm to steady her, assure her that this was okay.

He could sense her hesitate for a moment. The hesitation was guilt, naturally, but Jess didn't know that.

"Is this good? You okay?" he asked in a whisper, just an inch from her.

"Uh-uh," Rory replied, her cheeks already looking a little flustered, and pushed all other distracting thoughts that had caused her to hesitate aside.

"You want to go upstairs? I have a small studio up there," Jess suggested, not wasting any time. He'd dreamed years of this. He wasn't going to attempt faith by talking about this much longer - he didn't have that much confidence in his communication skills.

"Any hope you have something to drink up there?" Rory asked, feeling like she needed to ease her nerves if she was really going to do this. She'd had a glass of wine earlier and water, but she needed something stronger.

"I'm sure we can find something for you," Jess assured and kissed her again, allowing that deeply sensual hungry kiss to keep the fire going.

He took her hand, and after locking the door of the store and hitting the master switch which turned off the lights after them, he led her upstairs to the third floor, the dimly lit stairway light illuminating their way up the squeaky wooden staircase.

"This is the place," Jess replied humbly, as he switched on the lights, as they reached the third floor.

It wasn't much, but a significant step upwards from the shithole he'd lived in in New York with four other guys. Thankfully Rory had never seen that place.

Two walls of the one-room apartment were exposed brick, the other two painted in plain white. There was a small 1980s style kitchen on one wall, but it had a small stainless steel fridge. A slightly worn down but decent leather couch was positioned with its back against one wall and a queen size mattress, propped onto a couple of transport pallets, stood by the other wall. Books created a long line along the floor, clearly Jess hadn't not yet gotten around to getting a proper bookcase which he desperately needed. The furniture seemed to be bits and pieces he'd scavengered, but it all looked clean and sturdy. The place looked like him - a little mismatched but cozy.

"It's nice," Rory commented, looking around, feeling nervous.

"Now, how about that drink?" he asked, and walked over to the kitchen. Opening the fridge he asked, "Beer?" only then realizing that they'd served beer downstairs. Surely if she'd wanted a beer, she would've had that there. "Or something stronger?" he pulled out a bottle of tequila from one of the cabinets.

"Stronger would be good right about now," Rory replied, feeling giggly in her nervousness. She desperately wanted to numb her brain so she wouldn't overthink this. She wanted to lose herself.

Surprisingly enough Jess actually had proper shot glasses, and he filled two and offered to sprinkle some salt onto Rory's hand along with it. There was no lime, the lonely banana in the fruit basket on the counter was making that abundantly clear.

They shot back a shot each, the liquid burning in their throats.

"You want another?" Jess asked, seeing something he'd never really seen in Rory before - as she held up her glass to him. Well - he hadn't even really seen Rory drunk before, not tequila-drunk.

Rory nodded and he poured her another glass. It wasn't her first time befriending the tequila bottle.

After she'd blown out a high-pitched, "Huh", having needed that drink. She felt the warmth of the alcohol run through her veins, making her feel like her skin was on fire. In a good way.

Jess was getting a feeling that something was up - Rory was the kind of person that wanted to talk, but right now as her lips had just crashed into his again, spoke of something else.

Jess was powerless at her hands - he'd waited too long for this. It felt like the finale - finale of something years in the making. It was his chance, whatever that meant. He would scold himself for the rest of his life if he stopped to talk now. Talking had never been their strong suit - too much could go wrong.

While the fierce kiss continued, barely giving each other air to breathe, he tucked his hand into the back pockets of Rory's jeans and pulled her pelvis flush up against him. She clung to his neck, her fingers intertwining into the back of his dark hair. Her touch against his scalp was intoxicating.

She'd grown too since they'd dated - she was no longer a timid, inexperienced, little girl, she was a woman, her body's confidence in what she was doing demonstrating that she knew well what she was doing, her hips squeezing out all the air from between them. Oh, she could definitely feel how badly he wanted her now - Jess thought, his throbbing arousal letting itself be known.

Jess pulled back a little and observed her face - those bright blue eyes, her makeup that seemed so effortless, her reddened lips from their kiss, his light stubble having been a little rough on her delicate skin. He couldn't believe this was happening.

With that seductive crooked smile of his, he unbuttoned the three buttons holding her blazer together with his thumb and his index finger, keeping the tantalizing eye contact going. She licked her lips, grazing her lower lip with her teeth.

In some way it was a lot like their second kiss at the gas station - nervous, exciting - her rapid breathing was the same at least.

Rory's hands now slipped under his blazer, feeling his firm muscles, urging him to shed it. He didn't quite understand what her hurry was, but whatever it was - he wasn't going to stop her. He'd waited too long for this.

They shed their layers simultaneously, the open neckline of Rory's blouse proving too tempting not to do anything about it. He kissed her neck and left a trail of kisses onto her collarbone and between her valley of her breasts. Had they grown since he'd last been this close to them? - he wondered. It certainly looked like it, or perhaps it was the magic that tempting lace bra that was showing from his vantage point?

Rory's head tilted to one side, her silky brown hair falling over to the same side, and he swore he could hear a delicious weak moan leaving her lips, as she felt her blood pulsate on her artery on her neck as he kissed it.

His touch felt so good, his hands already having slipped under the hem of her top. Rory was lost in his touch, the tequila doing its added magic.

Rory couldn't fight it - it was all too tantalizing - and she pulled his chin back up and kissed him again, bruisingly, while she let her hands fidget down to his belt, swiftly unbuckling it. After the belt she continued onwards to the button and zipper, already feeling the firm bulge in his pants. She'd certainly felt that before, but she'd even touched it before. They hadn't done the deed but it didn't mean they'd done nothing - there had definitely been some experimentation with hands, and grinding hips, even if above at least one layer of clothing.

Jess pulled away from the kiss, and grabbed his shirt by its collar, pulling it over his head. The disappearance of the shirt exposed a firm, but not overly muscular, body. Rory's lips landed on his chest then, moving upwards to his neck and then lips. The whiff of her scent coming from her hair felt like the most powerful drug.

"Someone's overdressed," Jess murmured, biting his lip, suggesting she remove her top, as the kiss broke for a moment, the two panting for air.

The top was hastily removed, and his lips crashed onto the top of her breast again, enjoying the taste of her - she tasted salty, but with a hint of sweetness, something inherently her. No-one tasted like her.

It was then Rory reached into his pants and caused him to groan. This was a whole new Rory he was seeing. Confident, skillful and - oh, so good.

Ever since that one unfortunate house party, when he'd tried to go for her jeans button when she hadn't been ready, craving to get lost in her that night, he'd worried it was something she held against him. Every time he'd thought about having sex with her, that night had always been something he'd regretted, thinking that perhaps it had broken the trust between them. But she was showing all kinds of consent now, her tantalizing strokes along his rock hard member being a prime example.

Still, he wanted to show his best self this time, not daring to assume.

"May I?" Jess asked, in a low tone, as his fingers slipped down her bare stomach to her jeans button.

Rory smiled, not quite believing her ears. Was he really asking this? Now?

"Yes," Rory said. "I want this," she hummed into his ear, the hot air making him lose it. He'd never felt so aroused by anything than the sound of her voice, accompanied by the squeezing pressure in his groin that was caused by her delicate yet firm grip.

From there on things moved fast, stumbling somehow out of their jeans, and him out of his boxers, as they made their way towards the bed. Rory almost tripped onto the bed, having not quite seen the edge of the pallet while kissing.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," Rory brushed it off, "just a small scrape," she added, as she pulled him on top of her. The adrenaline rush was too great to feel anything but his body against hers.

His weight felt allconsuming on her body, his arousal pushing against the right spot even before they'd done anything more than kiss. Their hands explored their bodies - lean muscles, smooth skin, traces of their juices already escaping and the scent of her arousal filling his nostrils.