Chapter 14

She couldn't stomachher food, let alone being in the house by herself after that. She grabbed her keys and left, pulling out of the driveway with no clear destination in mind.

She'd kissed both of them. In one day.

Kissing her boyfriend…or whatever Jay was…made sense. But kissing the boy-next-door who'd been her best friend for a decade? That wasn't supposed to happen, and yet here she was. And her heart was broken because of it.

Rory pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store, parked her car in a dark corner, and screamed at the top of her lungs. How dare he do this to her. If Calvin hadn't put all these ideas in her head, she probably wouldn't be here right now. She would have kept her cool and not chased him out the door. She would have stayed woefully oblivious to what it felt like to kiss Tyler Chapman, what it was like having his hands on her, listening to the satisfied murmur climb up his throat.

She hopped out of the car and slammed the door. She needed to talk to someone, but going to Melanie's wasn't an option right now. If she did, she would probably end up punching Calvin in the throat for instigating the living hell her day had turned into.

Rory stepped into Post Road Market, pulling her hood over her head so no one would recognize her. Not like she would run into too many people though—the place was virtually empty. Everyone was likely home enjoying Thanksgiving dinner. But she was here…and on the hunt for the one other person she could count on to be scowling somewhere.

This time, she wasn't stocking shelves. She found Jess at the bakery, piping frosting on a purple cake, her eyebrows knitted tightly together in concentration, a pair of massive headphones perched on her head.

Rory stepped into Jess's line of sight and waved her arms. Jess looked up from the cake and pulled her headphones from her ears. She narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Spending my pathetic Thanksgiving at the Post Road Market, you?"

Her face softened, but only slightly. "You look like shit."

Rory wiped at a wet strand of hair sticking to her face. "Thanks, you're too kind."

Jess quickly finished piping her cake, then slid it into the glass display case between them before washing her hands. "You eat yet?"

She shook her head, watching Jess as she removed her denim apron and hung it up on a hook next to the bakery's entrance. She tipped her head in Rory's direction, cueing her to follow as they weaved through the store. Jess started grabbing random items off shelves, then pointed to a fridge stocked with drinks. "Pick something out."

She obeyed, grabbing a lemonade and then following her to an empty table next to the bakery. They sat, Jess placing her items in front of them—pasta salad, wings, rolls, and two slices of chocolate cake.

"Happy Thanksgiving," Jess mumbled, handing Rory a fork.

She smirked. "Such a lovely way to spend it."

Jess shoved a forkful of pasta salad in her mouth. "Trust me, I'd rather be here than anywhere else."

Rory took a timid bite of a wing, realizing she didn't know anything about Jess besides the fact that she lived with her boyfriend and that she was 22, the oldest out of all the Scoopers.

"Gabi working?" Jess asked.

"Yup."

Jess nodded, the two of them eating in silence for a beat. She wasn't big on words, and the stillness made Rory massively uncomfortable. She soon realized that Jess was probably giving her the space to talk.

She sighed. "I kissed him."

"Jay?"

"Well, I guess, yeah," she replied. "And…and Tyler."

Jess froze mid-bite, staring at her. "Wow."

She sucked in a breath. "That's all you got?"

Jess looked back down at the food, taking another bite.

Rory couldn't bear the excruciating silence. "Please say something," she whispered.

"I don't have much context to work with here, Gilmore."

"Don't call me that."

Jess put down her fork, leaning back against her chair and crossing her arms. "Alright, fine. Only if you tell me what's going on."

So she explained everything. From making up with Tyler earlier that month to him dating Zoe and her being with Jay, then the constant fighting…and the eventual kiss in her backyard.

To her surprise, Jess actually chuckled, a small smirk curling up her right cheek as she opened up one of the cake containers. "Sounds complicated."

"Complicated is an understatement," Rory grumbled.

"But I'm kind of curious…why come to me? Why not Melanie?"

She huffed. "Calvin."

Jess hummed, as if in agreement with Rory's decision to stay away. "He giving you shit?"

"Kind of," she explained. "He basically thinks Jay and I won't last."

"And after tonight, do you think he's wrong?"

She rolled her eyes before placing her forehead on the table. "No," she admitted.

"You have to break off whatever this is with him."

"But I've wanted this…wanted him for so long," she whispered.

"Clearly it's not what you want, though."

She heaved out a sigh, everything feeling heavy. Nothing made sense. Maybe she was just doomed to that kind of fate—pining for something she couldn't have. Waiting for the people around her to choose her instead of something—or someone—else.

Her thoughts drifted to her father. She wondered for the hundredth time how Fred Barry was spending his Thanksgiving. Was she cursed to always have poor relationships because of him? Because she'd become accustomed to longing for things out of reach?

And if so, was this whole thing with Tyler just a trick of the mind? Did she actually like him, or was she just afraid of losing him?

"Now this is a very sad excuse for a Thanksgiving meal," said an amused voice next to them.

Rory looked up to find Kevin standing there. His shoulder-length honey-brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and the beginning of some sort of tattoo was peeking out from the neckline of his sweatshirt. She didn't really know Kevin that well, other than the fact that he owned the bike shop in town and was friends with Calvin.

She watched Jess roll her eyes. "What do you want?"

"I just missed your sunshiny disposition, my dear Jessica," Kevin replied, a playful grin on his face.

Jess looked ruffled at Kevin's use of her full name and the way he was goading her.

"Why aren't you in Vermont with all the other Birkenstock-wearing, Bernie Sanders–worshiping hippies?" Jess asked him.

"You mean my family? So kind of you to think of them," he said, a big grin still plastered on his face as he crossed his arms. "Unfortunately, I couldn't make the drive up to Burlington this year. I committed to making one of the floats for the Festival of Lights, and I'm a bit in over my head."

"Sounds about right," Jess jabbed.

Kevin chuckled, looking over at Rory. "She has so much faith in me."

She was loving the way Kevin razzed her friend, and how much feistiness she gave back.

"You say yes and overcommit way too often," Jess said bluntly. "And you're losing money because of it."

"But it's for charity!"

She crossed her arms. "And how much of your own money have you sunk into this project?"

Kevin frowned. "You sound just like Calvin."

"He is in business school now; you should listen to him."

Kevin kept on smiling, putting his hands on his hips. "Please tell me how this conversation went from your sad Thanksgiving dinner to my terrible business decisions."

Rory pointed to Jess. "Blame her."

Kevin looked amused, but if she wasn't mistaken, she caught a gleam of sadness in his expression before he asked Jess his next question. "Why aren't you with him?"

Jess shrugged, eyes back on her cake as she pierced it with her fork. "He's with them tonight."

"And he really didn't take you?"

Jess glared at him, her expression looking like a silent plea for him to shut his mouth. The two of them held eye contact for an unnerving moment until Kevin eventually caved.

"Well, ladies, enjoy your dinner," he said, heading deeper into the market.

Rory watched as Jess silently ate her cake, avoiding her eyes.

"Jess," she said eventually. "What were you guys talking about?"

"None of your damn business," she growled.

"You told me I could come to you with all of my crap. I could be that for you…if you need it."

Jess glared up at her. "I don't need it."

"Was he talking about your boyfriend? Who is he with?"

"Buzz off, Rory. I'm not here to talk about my shit life. Just yours."

She whistled. "Wow, you are mad."

Jess started collecting the containers and forks before them.

"Jess," Rory pleaded, watching as she stood and threw away the trash. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried."

Jess turned around, pointing a shaking finger in her direction. "Listen, kid. I told you I would be here for you, and for some freaking odd reason, I'm okay with it. But my life is off-limits. You got it?"

She just nodded, remaining in her seat as Jess escaped behind the bakery counter.