8. Let the Games Begin

Complete story — includes the ending

In the aftermath of the Dance Marathon, Kirk parades around Stars Hollow with the trophy until someone steals it, while Lorelai and Rory painfully inch their way towards Luke's. After Lorelai tells Luke about Rory and Jess, he breaks up their first kiss as a couple and lays down some ground rules. Lorelai and Rory reluctantly agree to accept Richard's invitation to accompany him and Emily to his Whiffenpoof reunion at Yale. While there, he springs a surprise admissions interview on Rory. Lorelai is angry Richard is pressuring Rory to go to Yale, and Rory is upset she could not properly prepare. Back from New Haven, Lorelai and Rory head for Luke's, and Jess and Rory finally get to have their first kisses. Rory visits Dean to apologize and tell him she really did not want to hurt him and she wants him to know she really loved him, no matter how things ended between them. Late at night, Lorelai and Rory each curl up with some bedtime reading -- the Yale brochure.