‘And that’s what you’ll wear now.’
And that is what Lorelai wore. Which is why when Grayson arrived, dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt, she felt foolish.
‘You look nice,’ Grayson said, smiling down at her.
‘Thanks. You too,’ Lorelai said, her cheeks growing hot.
‘The place I wanted to take you to is just up Shaftesbury Avenue. Shall we?’
Lorelai nodded, and tried to calm her nerves.This is not a date. This is not a date. This is not a date.
They started walking, and made polite conversation until Grayson led her down a road that was all too familiar.
‘Ta da!’ he said, spreading his arms wide with a flourish.
‘Angel’s Diner?’
‘Yeah! I love this place! And they do brunch until twelvethirty. Is that… is this not OK?’ Grayson rubbed the back of his head and peered in through the window, rethinking his choice.
‘It’s great!’ Lorelai said too brightly. ‘It’s just amusing.’
‘Amusing? Do explain before the embarrassment really has time to set in.’
‘This is where Joanie works. When she’s not working at The Duchess.’
‘Oh, right. So you don’t want to eat here?’
‘No, it’s fine,’ Lorelai reassured him. ‘I’ve never actually eaten here. Joanie banned me because she has to wear a pink wig, a silver miniskirt and serve food on roller skates. For some strange reason she thinks that’s embarrassing!’
Grayson laughed and opened the door for her. Lorelai stepped inside and immediately fell in love with the place. It had everything a classic American diner should have. The jukebox in the corner was blasting out ‘Jailhouse Rock’, the spinning dessert cases were filled with huge wedges of lemon meringue pie, and Lorelai watched the pink-wigged wait staff rolling by on their skates. Joanie was going to get an earful about keeping this place from her.
‘This looks just like the Frosty Palace fromGrease,’ Lorelai said, as they slid into a booth by the window.
‘Greaseis a great movie. Such a classic.’
‘Yeah, it is. I love it and always will, but I have an issue with the final message. Isn’t it saying that you’ll only find love if you change everything about yourself and become a completely different person?’ Lorelai pulled a menu from the stand. ‘I don’t think I’ll be squeezing myself into a catsuit or taking up smoking anytime soon, just to please a man.’
‘And there was me singing “You’re The One That I Want” at the top of my lungs at the last singalong without a care in the world!’
‘Youcame to theGreasesingalong?’ Lorelai eyed him over the top of her menu.
His lips twisted into a cheeky smile. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘you always seem surprised by me. Is there a preconceived version of me in your head that’s feeding you false information?’
The truth was that Lorelai fought so hard to push thoughts of Grayson away that she didn’t let herself think too deeply about the kind of person he was. That was a daydreaming rabbit hole she wouldn’t allow herself to fall into. So it was a surprise each time he revealed a bit more about himself. A very pleasant one.
‘No…’ She lifted her menu a little higher between them.
‘There is! You’ve already decided what movies I like, what I watch on the telly, whether I prefer beer over wine, what I like to do on the weekends.’
‘I haven’t! It’s safer for me not to think about you at all!’
Grayson went very still. ‘Safer?’
Lorelai’s heart was hammering. What did she say that for? ‘I, um, that’s not I meant. It’s just that…’ Her voice trailed off. She couldn’t think of anything that would explain away her comment.
‘Lorelai.’ Hearing her name on Grayson’s lips was an arrow straight to her heart. He reached over and pushed the menu down so he could see her face. ‘Why is thinking about me unsafe for you?’
‘It was a bad choice of words.’ Lorelai’s voice was too high. ‘Sorry! Shall we order? What are you going to have? Hmmm? Everything looks so good!’
