Homecoming
WIDEOUT MASTERLIST
Series: WIDEOUT (chpt ix)
Note: This is the last official chapter before the epilogue. Once again, thank you @braidedchallah for proofreading! Hopefully this chapter mends y’all’s hearts just a lil bit. Meet NFL!Thomas. :)
Word Count: 13.8k (longest I’ll probably ever write, wow)
Pairing: NFL Player!Thomas Jefferson x Engineering Student!Reader
Warnings: cursing. light smut. nfl!thomas being hot af.
Summary: An unexpected reunion occurs.
Tags: @coololdsoulpoetlove @wreakhavoconmacroissantdiggs @lilangeldevil006 @pana-ce-a @merrahonthawall @katierpblogg @thespianbooks @a-hopeless-fan @uniquelystarchildthedragon @wcreech @sabbrriiinnaa @imperial-martian @harpersmariano @icanneverbesatisfied @underthewillowtreerycb @i-know-i-can @astralaffairs @braidedchallah @krisslee18
You don’t see Thomas Jefferson for another three and a half years.
Well, even then you don’t see him in person — just on your phone screen.
One cold day in mid-February (after you return back home from a long day at your internship), you receive a text message from Erik that contains nothing but a link to a YouTube video. Originally, you shrug it off, thinking that it’ll just be another cute cat video that he occasionally sends out of the blue. When you click on the link, however, it takes you to a video titled, “Thomas Jefferson wins NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.”
At seeing his name again after years of living without him, your stomach drops and your heartbeat picks up slightly. You’ve always assumed that he’d make it to the NFL, but you’ve never actually checked into it. After all, at this point, he’s only 22 years old, so you’d figured that he’d have to finish school before he enters the draft. Then again, you have next to zero clue as to how the NFL works, so he’s definitely proven you wrong.
You press play on the video and see him stand up from his seat to walk towards the main stage. You’ve got to admit, it’s weird seeing him after so long, even if it’s just through your phone screen.
Thomas stands on stage in a sleek maroon suit, his hair braided back and his facial hair neatly trimmed. He looks great (as always) and he seems genuinely happy as he stands up on stage and accepts the award from the host.
“I know this sounds cliche or generic, but y’all I sincerely mean every word I’m about to say.” He says, stepping closer to the podium. “I’d like to thank everybody who’s supported me from the beginning. Mom, Dad, my best friend James, Coach Washington, Coach Michaels, the entire Vikings coaching staff along with the rest of my teammates — thank you all.” Thomas shifts and pauses for a moment before he continues.
“There’s one more person I’d like to thank personally, but I’m not going to mention her by name. I don’t know if you’re watching this, but if you are… thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Thank you for teaching me how to move forward and strive for greatness. For teaching me kindness and generosity. This one’s for you… you know who you are.”
You have trouble falling asleep that night. You lay awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering how things would be if you two had decided to stay together. You still miss him, even though it’s been almost four years. Seeing his face again, hearing his voice… even if it’s just through video… it hurts.
The night goes by and after consuming a rather copious amount of alcohol with your roommate (something the two of you do to unwind on Friday nights), you begin to feel hopeful and a bit confident. You log into Facebook to send him a direct message (you would text him, but you’ve both gotten new numbers over the years, therefore causing you to lose contact with one another), and congratulate him. You make sure to tell him that you’re proud of him, you ask him how he’s doing, and most importantly, you tell him that you miss him.
But Thomas has never been one to use Facebook, so while you had known that initially, you still can’t help but feel at least a little bit sad when he doesn’t reply or acknowledge. At all.
Like all hazy, drunken nights in college pass, this one does, too. And you don’t sulk in your residual heartbreak longer than a few days where Thomas Jefferson’s name lingers in the back of your mind. You force yourself to move past it — to move past him once more. While you know you’ll probably never fully get over him completely, you can certainly force your mind to focus on other things, so that’s exactly what you do — like you’ve already done numerous times throughout your college career.
You focus on school, you focus on your internship, and you focus on your new friends. You also focus on old friends like Maria and Ellie who had moved to the LA area during your junior year to attend USC (UCLA’s rival school)… traitors.
Maria’s studying film and Ellie’s going to their nursing school, and while you all sometimes have friendly beef about your school rivalry, you’re honestly just happy to have them back in your life after two and a half years of leaving your life in New York behind.
Over time, you heal from your breakup with Thomas, especially now that you are used to life without him. You’ve moved well past the high school stage in your life and now you’re ready to graduate college soon. Sure, there are still times where you think about him and all of the ‘what if’ scenarios, but all in all, you stay strong. You become the version of yourself you’ve always dreamed of being… and just as you and Thomas had both predicted when you agreed to move on from each other in order to achieve your dreams, you both do exactly that. You achieve.
Oh boy, do you achieve.
During your Freshman year and after countless discussions with your academic advisor, you decide to do a five-year program within the School of Engineering — doing so will earn you a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering that will then put you in a great position to get a job after you graduate. UCLA’s engineering program is known for being extremely competitive, but you’ve had zero trouble making it to the Dean’s List every semester since you’ve been a student.
That doesn’t mean that your classes aren’t challenging.
It is now the middle of July and even though you should be enjoying your summer break, you are taking two summer classes in order to lessen your workload for the upcoming Fall semester. The problem with taking six credits in the summer is that it stacks up against your (thankfully paid) internship. Things aren’t easy in the slightest, but because you enjoy your job and what you’re studying, the workload isn’t as taxing on you as it would probably be to somebody else.
However, because of these demanding classes, you find yourself constantly studying and doing homework, more so now than ever. While you study at home in your apartment for the most part, you find yourself wanting to do your work in a different environment for a change.
You’ve been to the campus library hundreds of times throughout your time as a UCLA student, and while you would normally go there, you decide that you want an environment where it’s not silent, but lively for once.
It’s not too long before you find yourself sitting in a corner at a small coffee shop in Downtown LA — what’s a better place to study than somewhere with good coffee and free wifi?
You’re there for a few hours, looking over your notes for the biomechanical engineering class you are taking. You have a midterm in about a week, so you need to work on familiarizing yourself with the material beforehand — especially when you have a project due for your other class the night before the exam.
The bell on the door to the cafe sounds as someone enters, but you don’t look up, keeping your attention on your laptop screen. People have been constantly in and out of this place since it’s one of the more popular coffee shops in the city (rightly so, because their coffee is amazing).
You find yourself subconsciously listening to the environment around you as you read over your bullet points again and again.
“Oh… oh my gosh, I-I’m such a big fan, TJ. You’re my favorite player.” You hear the voice of what sounds like a little kid say towards the front of the shop.
Someone laughs… and somehow it sounds familiar?
“Oh, word? Thanks, little man.”
That voice makes you freeze in your seat… you’ve definitely heard it before, but it’s been years since you’ve heard it in person. There’s no way that it’s who you think it is. Absolutely no chance… right?
The kid rambles on. “I’m so happy you got traded to the Rams. We could really use a wideout like you.”
“Yeah? Me too, buddy.” The voice pauses for a second before dropping to a mock whisper. “Between you and me, I like LA much more than Minnesota.”
“Really?”
“For sure. The weather’s so much nicer.”
The little boy laughs excitedly. “C-Can I get a picture with you?”
“Yeah, of course, I gotchu.”
You finally shift your gaze from your laptop to the front of the coffee shop and when you see who it is, your heart just about stops.
A tall man with curly hair stands there with his back to you, posing with what looks like a fan in front of a phone for a picture. After the picture is taken by presumably the kid’s mother, the little boy thanks him shyly.
That is definitely Thomas Jefferson. It has to be. You are absolutely sure of it.
“No problem. What’s your name?” Thomas asks, leaning down to make eye-contact with the boy.
“Noah.”
“Nice to meet you, Noah.” The NFL star daps him up. “Have a great rest of your day, okay?”
The boy smiles and nods before he heads out of the store with his mom.
After that, Thomas finally turns around to stand in line to order a coffee and when you finally see him face your direction, your breath catches in your throat. Even though you’d seen him in that YouTube video months ago, seeing him in the flesh is an entirely different experience. He looks down at his phone as he waits, oblivious of you watching him from your table.
Thomas wears a pair of dark sunglasses even though he’s indoors. His hair is longer and his facial hair, though perfectly trimmed and groomed, is slightly thicker than it was since you’d last seen him. He’s more muscular than you remember and that’s saying something — he’s definitely bulked up since high school.
His defined biceps bulge out of the sleeves of his tight white t-shirt. The simple shirt (though branded with the Louis Vuitton logo) is paired with light-washed skinny jeans and while the outfit seems effortless, it does wonders on his figure and looks extremely fashionable. He looks built and extremely handsome.
He has two golden necklaces around his neck — one with a pendant shaped like the number ‘14’ and the other one is just a plain (though you know it’s expensive) gold chain. The golden Rolex around his left wrist really completes the look.
But despite the fact that some of his features have slightly matured, he still looks like the Thomas Jefferson you used to know… except now he’s a fully grown man.
“Thomas Jefferson?” You finally find the courage to speak up after a minute or two of ogling.
Thomas perks up at the sound of his name being called and turns his head in your direction, probably thinking it’s just another fan recognizing him. He does a double take when he sees you sitting there, smiling at him.
“Thomas, hey.” You grin, slowly closing your laptop. “It’s been a while.”
“Y/N?” He asks incredulously, putting his phone in his pocket before he removes his sunglasses. Coffee is now long forgotten as his lips twist up into a small smile. “Holy shit, it is you.”
You grin at each other as Thomas steps out of line to make his way over to you. As he gets closer, you catch a glimpse of some inked letters on his left hand, but you can’t make out what it says. Thomas has tattoos now? What else has changed?
You desperately try to sneak a glance at his left hand to see if his ring finger displays a metal band. Your stomach drops when you find one… but you relax when you realize that it’s on his index finger instead.
Good. So he hasn’t moved on and gotten engaged or married. You both are only 22, but you never know these days; being cautious isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Look at you!” You smile up at him, biting your lip as you look him up and down. “You grew up, Tommy.”
Thomas cracks a grin at the old nickname which causes your heart to beat rapidly in your chest, but you play it cool.
“No, seriously.” You continue. “I’m pretty sure you’ve gotten taller since I last saw you.”
He definitely has… by, at least, another inch or two. Back in high school, he was already tall as it is, but now the height difference between you two is more significant and he towers over you more than before.
“Just a little bit.” Thomas laughs and it’s breathtaking. God, it’s so good to hear it again. “You look beautiful, though. As always. Jesus, how long has it been since I’ve seen you? Four years? Three and a half?”
You nod, smiling at him. “Close to four, I think.”
Yep. Four years since the two of you broke up. Four years since Thomas watched you leave. The realization of that settles between you two and silence stretches out. Thomas breaks it by clearing his throat.
“So, uh… how’ve you been? Is this seat taken?” He asks, pointing to the seat across from you.
“Nah, it’s all yours if you want it.” You shake your head, gesturing for him to sit down. He does, and you follow suit. “I’m doing okay. Still in school to get my Masters’, so I’ve been really busy lately, but I’m managing.”
This is such a crazy feeling — finally reuniting with him… but you love it and it’s giving you butterflies and you wouldn’t change it for the world.
“Masters? Damn, okay, Y/N, I see you.” Thomas comments, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
“What about you? What are you doing in LA?”
He leans back in his seat as he gets comfortable. “Well, I uh… I’m good. Still playing football. I’m in the NFL now, actually.”
“Congrats.” You cut in, giving him a smile, even though you’ve known this news already. “Knew you could do it. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.” He grins back brightly before he continues, “I got drafted to the Vikings out in Minnesota after my Third Year at UVA, but I demanded a trade towards the end of the season after having a sort of a fallout with their front office. Just wasn’t workin’ out for me out there, so a few weeks ago they finally settled on a deal and… I got sent here to the Rams.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” You say with a frown. “Not at the fact that you got traded here.” No, you are very happy about that, actually. “You just deserve better, T. Sorry you had to go through that.”
He sighs, bringing a hand up to rub the scruff on his chin. “Yeah, I mean, I didn’t have beef with my teammates or anything — and the fans were great to me — but the higher ups were just sayin’ some stuff that I didn’t agree with. Don’t wanna get too much into it, but I guess I just wasn’t a good fit.”
“You didn’t let that get to you during the season, though, right? I heard you won Rookie of the Year.”
Thomas’ eyebrows shoot up in shock and he lets out a small chuckle as he speaks in a playful tone. “Offensive ROY, yeah. You keepin’ your tabs on me, Y/L/N?” He crosses his arms as he gives you an expectant look, a grin planted on his face.
“Maybe.” You shrug, giving him a small smile. “Erik sent me your acceptance speech a couple months ago.”
“Oh shit, you actually saw that?” He asks, eyes widening as he slightly leans forward.
You nod before you respond. “Yeah. I tried to message you on Facebook afterwards and you never replied, but I really don’t blame you."
He cringes and gives you an apologetic look. "I stopped using Facebook because I forgot my password and I just never bothered to change it. You could've DMed me on Insta, though. I’m more active there."
You raise an eyebrow and let out a laugh. "You mean slide into the DMs of your Instagram with 3.7 million followers? Yeah, you totally would have seen it and replied. God, why didn't I think of that?"
“I would have answered.” He simply says with a shrug.
You give him a pointed look. “You sure about that? You’re telling me that you answer your DMs on a daily basis? I know you’re a popular dude. You probably get thirst DMs and people asking for money all the time. How would you have seen my message?”
"Alright, alright, I get it. Simmer, sweetheart." Thomas laughs, rolling his eyes (and boy does that stir up the butterflies in your stomach once again). “Well, then I’m real glad we both decided to get coffee today. It’s been way too long and… I’ve really missed you, Y/N.”
“Me too, T.” You smile bashfully at each other for a few seconds before you break eye contact and ask him another question. “So, how are you liking LA so far?”
“LA’s great, I love it. Perfect weather. Beaches. Lot’s of great opportunities for endorsements.” He says, letting out a small chuckle. “I’ve only been here for two weeks, but my agent’s got me workin’ on some pretty cool things already. Since we’re in the offseason right now, it’s the best time to take advantage of my free time.”
“Your ‘agent’? Wow, fancy.” You comment with a grin and he just shrugs, still smiling at you. “What endorsements have you been working on? Are you allowed to say?”
“Well, I just came from a meeting for Nike, actually. We’re finalizing a deal for a partnership. And on Monday I had a photoshoot for Calvin Klein which was real fun.”
Thomas shooting for Calvin Klein? Now, that’s something you wanna see…
“That’s so crazy, T! You’re doing so many great things right now, I’m really happy that you’re getting your time to shine.” You smile sweetly at him — it’s genuine, but you can’t help but feel a bit melancholic because you wish you had been there with him along the way to his success. “I uh…” You lock your gaze with his. “I’m so proud of you, Thomas. Seriously, I am. You said you wanted to make it to the NFL when we were in high school and look at you now… you made it.”
Thomas smiles softly at you and it makes your stomach flip. “Thanks, Y/N. That means a lot, really.” His voice is soft and genuinely grateful. He clears his throat before he continues, propelling the conversation forward. “So, uh, what about you? Tell me everything you’ve done over the past four years.”
“Nothing too crazy, to be honest.” You look away from him to bashfully fiddle with your fingers under the table. Your nerves are slightly getting to you. “It’s just been four years of studying and taking tests.”
“Nah… I don’t buy that.” Thomas says, shaking his head at you. He still knows how to get you to talk, huh. “C’mon, sweetheart, brag about yourself. Don’t hold back.” He teases, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.
“Seriously?” You raise an eyebrow at him.
“Straight up.” He says with a cheeky grin before he rests his chin in his hands, giving you his full, undivided attention. “I wanna hear everything.”
“Everything, huh?” You echo with the slightest smile, causing Thomas to nod.
So, you begin to talk about exactly that: everything.
You tell him about how you switched to a five-year program to get your Master’s in Biomedical Engineering. You rave about your time in LA and how you’ve adjusted over the years. You lightly (very lightly) brag about your internship and how you’ve made the Dean’s List every semester (he says he’s not surprised).
And slowly but surely, although you’d felt slightly shy before, it feels like everything’s falling back into place. Like you’ve come back home after a long time traveling and everything feels somewhat foreign yet so familiar at the same time. This sense of homecoming fills an emptiness inside yourself that you hadn’t even realized was there until now.
After you finish explaining everything you’ve done over the past four years (except the very few unsuccessful dates you’d gone on), Thomas gives you a pointed yet playful look.
“See? Told you it wasn’t just four years of takin’ tests and studyin’.” He says in a matter-of-fact tone.
You roll your eyes and shrug with a small grin tugging at your lips. “I guess you were right. Just didn’t think you’d wanna hear about my engineering student lifestyle.”
“I mean, you lost me at that bio— what was it? Bio…”
“Biomechanical engineering.” You cut in for him with a hint of a smirk pulling at your lips.
“Yeah, that. Not gonna lie, sweetheart, everything you were sayin’ about that biomechanical project flew right over my head.”
He says it so bluntly that you immediately release a soft laugh, which causes him to smile in turn. “I mean, you did want me to tell you everything, didn’t you? You could have said something, though, and I would’ve glazed over it.”
Thomas shrugs, looking down briefly to fiddle with the ring on his finger before he looks back at you. “If I’m bein’ completely honest, I just wanted to hear you talk for a little while. There’s this thing you used to do with your hands when you get super passionate about somethin’ and I just wanted to see if you still did it.”
Your eyebrows raise and you feel the temperature in the room rise. “Oh? Do I?”
Thomas smirks, licking his lips. “Yup, and it’s still hella cute.”
You can’t help but smile at him for a second before you shyly look away. As you look over his shoulder, you see someone pointing their phone camera in your direction, trying to be discrete but failing miserably. Your eyes shift between Thomas’ face and the girl behind him a few times before he finally notices that your attention is directed elsewhere.
You let out a soft chuckle after you focus on him once more and notice his confused expression. With a teasing voice, you speak up. “Seems like you’ve got another fan wanting your attention.”
He turns, looking over his shoulder and waves at the girl. She puts down her phone and smiles shyly at him before waving back.
“You should go say hi.”
Thomas looks back at you. “Are you sure? I don’t wanna make it seem like I’m not all present.”
“No, it’s cool, Thom. Comes with the job, right?”
“Yeah. I’m still not used to all this, to be honest.” He gives you a sheepish grin before he continues. “Alright, sweetheart. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
“I won’t.” You laugh.
Then, Thomas gets up and approaches the girl and her friend and asks how they’re doing. He’s very sweet and respectful with them as they ask for a picture with him. He nods with his signature grin and then they pose for a selfie. You notice that one of the girls gets a little too close to him, but you can’t be one to judge or get jealous. At the moment, he’s not your boyfriend anymore, so you can’t claim him as yours.
After they finish, you watch him as he walks back to you. You steal another glance at the two fans and lift an eyebrow as you see the fan continue to snap photos from her spot in the line at the front of the shop despite already getting a picture with Thomas. You overhear one of them say, ‘he’s so hot,’ and it causes you to let out a small laugh.
Thomas notices your amused expression as he sits back down in his seat and his brows furrow once more. “What?”
You grin, shaking your head at him. “Nothing. Those girls were all over you, T, and you didn’t even notice.”
“Oh, I noticed. Just didn’t pay them any mind. Happens all the time.” He says nonchalantly before he continues, catching your gaze and putting on a small smirk. “What, you jealous?”
You shake your head quickly. “Nah, you wish.”
You wish? What kind of comeback is that? You inwardly cringe at your response, but Thomas just grins at you in return.
“Hey, do you wanna get out of here?” He asks, biting his lip, causing your eyes to flicker down for a quick second. You hope he doesn’t notice. If he does, then he gives you no indication of it. “We can go someplace more private so that we’re not like being recorded or interrupted or anything.”
“Where do you have in mind?” You tilt your head curiously.
“The place I’m stayin’ at isn't too far. The drive shouldn’t be long, even in LA traffic.” He chuckles, bringing a hand to smooth back his curls. “Plus, I should probably get back to Dakota. Don’t want her bein’ by herself for too long; she hates it when I’m gone for more than a few hours.”
And just like that, you feel your stomach drop and your heart go along with it.
Dakota… of course. Of course he has a girlfriend. Why wouldn’t he? He’s got everything a woman could possibly want — the looks, the money, the confident and charming, yet sweet persona… it makes complete sense that he’s moved on from you. After all, it has been four long years of being apart.
You look down, ashamed that you’d thought otherwise… that you’d still have a chance with him after all this time.
“...I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Thomas.”
“What do you mean?” He asks innocently, sending you a charming smile. “What’s the harm in catching up with an old friend?”
You hesitate. “There is none, but…”
“...but?” He tilts his head, waiting for an answer as you struggle to come up with one.
“I’m not an old friend.”
“You’re not?”
“We were more than that, T, you know that.”
He shrugs, nodding, wordlessly letting you know that you’re right.
Why is he acting so clueless? He has a girlfriend. Shouldn’t he back off and agree with you about the fact that bringing his ex over isn’t a good idea? And also… why was he openly flirting with you earlier?
You speak again, trying to spell it out for him. “I don’t think your girlfriend would be cool with me going over to your place.”
Thomas’ eyebrows furrow in confusion as he slightly shakes his head at you. “What’re you talkin’ about?”
“Dakota? Isn’t she your girlfriend?”
“Oh.” Realization finally comes across his face. Thomas’ grin widens before he lets out a breathy laugh. “No, Kota’s not my girl. Well, she is, but not like that…”
Oh, so he’s not even putting a label on his relationship with this girl named Dakota? That honestly surprises you. Thomas has never seemed like the fuckboy type, despite his cocky and charismatic personality. He was so quick to put a label on you two when you first started dating. You know that he respects women, but you would have never thought that he’d just brush a girl off (especially one who’s apparently staying at his place) in order to get back with his ex.
Then again, four years can change someone. As easy as it is to believe that he’d have many flings (I mean just look at him), you’re surprised that he’s come to this. Is he still the Thomas you know? Maybe the NFL has changed him after all.
Thomas chuckles at your confused expression as your thoughts run wild. An amused smirk pulls at his lips before he speaks slowly. “Sweetheart… Dakota’s my dog.”
“Oh.” You say simply, immediate regret and guilt etched in your face. You suddenly feel so stupid to have even assumed so much at basically nothing. You can’t really blame yourself for being overly wary, but for this instance, you feel like your brain is overthinking things too much. “Oops. I’m… I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean to assume, but I just figured…”
“That I moved on after our breakup?” Thomas lifts an eyebrow before he shrugs slightly. “Understandable, but no, not quite.” He chuckles sadly, looking away for a second. “I mean, I’ve tried dating around, but nothin’ serious.”
Nothing like what you two had. A beat passes and you two sit in silence.
“You know, I still can’t get over this one ex.” He continues quietly, fiddling with his ring on his index finger. “She still has a few things of mine and I don’t think I’ll be able to get them back.”
“Oh, yeah?” You eye him as you decide to play coy. “Who? And what’d she take from you?”
“Oh, it was just some girl from high school.” He waves you off teasingly and you roll your eyes. “For starters, she stole one of my favorite hoodies. Actually, I think it was my favorite. So many memories with that thing and I haven’t seen it in years now. She probably threw it away.”
“Nah, I’m pretty sure she still has it.” You give him a soft smile. “It’s hidden away in a closet somewhere, but she still has it.”
“Well, that’s good to know.” He replies, reciprocating your grin.
“And, for the record… you gave her that hoodie. She didn’t ‘steal’ it from you.”
“Guess you’re right.” He chuckles before he continues. “You know? She also stole my heart and I haven’t gotten it back yet. I don’t think I ever will.”
“You poor baby.”
“I know, right? Appreciate the sympathy, sweetheart, really.” He drags out dramatically with a large sigh. “You wanna know what else she took from me?”
You narrow your eyes at him curiously. “What, T?”
“My virginity.”
You quickly look around you, worried that someone overheard what he said. After all, he just had fans recording him from afar. “Thomas!”
“What? It’s the truth.”
“You’re so blunt about it, jeez. What if someone’s listening?”
“Let them.” He shrugs nonchalantly, pursing his lips.
You give him a pointed look that causes Thomas to grin widely (the one that makes the edges of his eyes crinkle). He chuckles and clears his throat before he continues, going back to the original subject at hand. “But seriously, though. You’re welcome to come over and meet Kota — I have a feeling she’ll love you. That way we can catch up but, like… without people pointing their phones in our direction.”
You smile at him, but hesitate. Is this really a good idea? Meeting up with your ex who you took forever to get over?
Yes. It is. You’ve spent so long without him and to finally have him right in front of you… you’re not going to let an opportunity like this pass you.
When you don’t respond right away, Thomas speaks again. “Unless your boyfriend’s not cool with it and you were tryin’ to let me off easy.”
You purse your lips, trying to hide your smile and you decide that you’re going to mess with him. Thomas waits in anticipation and you send him a ‘guilty’ simper (as guilty as you can make it seem).
“Caught me.”
He swallows as his eyes widen as his face drops. “Wait, really? Shit, I-I’m so sorry, Y/N, why didn’t you just tell me? I hope I wasn’t—”
You laugh and wave him off. “I’m just kidding, T.” You meet his gaze and bite your lip, amused at his sputtering reaction. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I just wanted to see you squirm.”
He narrows his eyes at you. “You really haven’t changed, have you?”
“I guess not.” You shrug. “Man, I’ve missed messing with you. It’s been way too long, Thom.”
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “You almost broke my heart just now, you know that? Hope you’re sorry.”
You give him another guilty grin (except this time it’s real) and apologize, but it sounds more like a question than a straight up apology. “I’m sorry...?”
He eyes you for a second and purses his lips before he speaks coolly. “I’ll let you off the hook this time, Y/N, but just know that next time there’ll be consequences. Dunno what they’ll be, but just beware.” His eyes narrow once again before he speaks in a challenging, yet playful tone. “Tread lightly, sweetheart.”
You laugh and grin brightly at him. You’ve missed him and his goofy antics. “Noted. Can I make it up to you by accepting your offer?”
He pretends to think about it. “That’s a good start, I guess.”
You roll your eyes before you start to pack up your things, stuffing your notebooks and laptop into your backpack. After you finish, you turn to look over at him to catch him staring at you with a small smile. The way he’s looking at you causes your pulse to quicken.
“You ready?” You ask him with a raised eyebrow.
He nods slowly after a few seconds and starts to stand up from his seat. “Yeah, let’s go. My car’s in a parking garage up the street.”
You follow him out of the coffee shop and towards the parking garage (which isn’t far at all), making small talk along the way. You shake your head when you finally approach an expensive-looking Bentley. It’s a deep red color, but the paint job is matted instead of a normal shiny metallic shine, which lets you know that he’d definitely gotten it custom made.
“You’ve truly outdone yourself this time, Jefferson.” You laugh, sneaking a glance at him as he walks to open the passengers’ door for you, just like old times. You get into the car and Thomas leans forward slightly to rest his hand on the top of the doorway with his other hand still on the door as he looks down at you with an eyebrow raised. “What happened to the Mustang?”
He shrugs and you force yourself to not openly admire the taut muscles in his forearm as he uses it to support his body weight. “It’s still at my parents’ place in New York. I took it down with me to school in Virginia, but once I got to the league, I upgraded.”
‘Upgrading’ is an interesting way to put it. The Mustang was just as nice as this one, in your opinion.
“Been thinkin’ about getting it shipped out here, though. Lotta good memories with that car. I miss it.” Thomas continues, sounding a bit deep in thought.
You agree; that car held some great memories for you, too. It was one of the staples in your relationship — always present. Thomas and you spent a lot of time in that car whether it was just driving from place to place, hanging out after a game, or… other things.
Both you and Thomas seem to snap out of your thoughts at the same time and he clears his throat. He leans back to stand up straight. “We should get goin’ before traffic gets really bad.”
“It’s always bad.” You laugh.
“You know what I mean.” He rolls his eyes with a lazy grin before he shuts your door and moves to the driver’s seat.
On the ride to his place, you two talk about family and friends. Thomas’ parents still live in New York and will probably stay there for the next year or two until Thomas’ rookie contract expires. Then, they’re going to move wherever Thomas signs.
Aaron gave up football after high school and now he’s planning on going to law school. Thomas says that he hasn’t talked to him all that much since you all graduated.
James is still playing college football after having walked onto his university’s team. Apparently, they’d played against each other in college a couple of times, which was good for them to see each other. Thankfully, they’re both offensive players so they didn’t have to face off against one another on the field. He’s actually getting ready to declare for the NFL Draft in a few months — he decided to stay in school another season to increase his chances. You hope that he gets drafted so that Thomas can live out his dream in the NFL with his childhood best friend, even if they’re not on the same team.
You fill Thomas in on your family who is doing great in Miami and loving the lifestyle down there. Erik, after graduating college, got a job in Miami close to where your parents live. He met a girl at a bar one night and they fell in love and got married a year afterwards. Now he has a 2-year-old and another on the way.
You tell him about Maria and Ellie joining you in LA. You explain how they betrayed you and chose to go to USC instead of UCLA and Thomas laughs about it with you. You fill him in on the news you had discovered just a few days prior: Maria proposed to Ellie last week and now they’re engaged. He’s ecstatic for them and tells you to let them know his congratulations.
After around 30 minutes, you guys finally arrive at Thomas’ place, and it’s just as beautiful as you’d expected. Its modern architecture makes it stand out to you as you pull into his driveway. He says that it’s a temporary home until he finds something more permanent within the next month or so.
Thomas unlocks his front door and as soon as he walks in, he’s met by a fluffy, hyper canine who’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the sight of her owner.
“Hi, baby girl. Did you miss me?” Thomas coos with a grin as Dakota sidles up to him and rubs herself on his shins. He gives her a few pets before he walks further into his home and ushers you in.
As soon as Dakota notices you, she grows even more energetic and lets out a few barks, panting loudly in between. They’re not hostile, just excited little yips. She runs up to you and rears up on her hind legs to greet you, but Thomas is quick to scold her.
“Kota, down.” He says in a stern voice and the furry animal obeys and backs down immediately. She drops into a sit and her tail wags uncontrollably, clearly unable to contain her happiness. “Good girl.” Thomas praises, scratching her behind her ears.
“What breed is she?”
“Golden Retriever/German Shepherd mix. At least that’s what the shelter told me.” Thomas looks up at you with a small smile and gestures for you to pet her. “She’s a little wild, but she’s a good dog, I promise.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that. I mean, she has you as her owner.” You grin and reach your hand out towards the big puppy. Dakota sniffs your hand before she licks your arm and she leans into your touch as you stroke the soft, golden fur on her head. She really is the definition of a beautiful dog. “Hi there. Nice to meet you, Dakota.” You say in a baby voice to the excited furry creature.
Thomas stands to the side as he admires the interaction. Dakota moves to fully rub herself on your hand so that you can pet her entire body. You laugh when she sits herself between your legs. You continue to stroke her fur before you look up at Thomas who’s grinning at you with his arms crossed.
“See? Told you she’d love you.” He remarks.
“Watch out, Jefferson, I think she may have a new favorite now.” You smirk with a playful glint in your eyes. “She can’t get enough of me.” You continue, glancing down at the big ball of fluff wedged between your shins. “Right, Dakota?”
Now it’s Thomas’ turn to smirk. “You sure? ‘Cause all I have to do is say the magic word.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Kota, you wanna go on a walk?” He says in a higher-pitched voice, making eye contact with his dog. Immediately, her ears perk up and she freezes in place before she lets out a bark. “Yeah? Let’s go.”
Then, Dakota zooms out from her spot between your legs and circles around Thomas as he goes to grab the harness and leash hanging next to the front door.
Thomas’ confident smile is still planted on his face as you fake pout at the fact that she remained loyal to him. You note that his relationship and bond that he has with his puppy is extremely cute, though. “Wanna come?” He asks, nodding his head towards the door. “Won’t take too long.”
You agree and then you two are on your away outside with Dakota respectfully trotting next to Thomas. She stops occasionally to sniff something here and there, but for the most part she’s stuck to her owner’s side.
It’s peaceful out. The weather is beautiful (there’s not one cloud in the sky) and as you walk you get to see more of Thomas’ neighborhood. Each house is nice in its own unique way. Dakota does her business, but you and Thomas decide to continue your leisurely stroll, elongating the walk so that you can once again catch each other up on your lives.
You ask him if he remembers your secret handshake. He does and both of you attempt it, still executing it perfectly. It brings back good memories of high school when times were so much simpler.
You two continue to talk as you walk.
“You know…” Thomas trails off. “I had to take a chemistry class during Third Year and let me tell you, it was not the same without you.”
You send him a small smile while lifting an eyebrow. “How so?”
Thomas and you walk closely to one another and your shoulder grazes his. It’s the first time you’ve touched each other in four years, and while it’s only slight contact, it makes you feel extremely warm inside. You both silently welcome the contact, neither of you moving away.
“Okay, so like… imagine our teacher in high school, but older and way more bitchy. Except she doesn’t care about her students and I’m pretty sure she rigged the entire class so that everyone fails.”
You let out a breathy laugh. “Did you fail?”
He shrugs and you turn to him when he doesn’t answer.
“Really? After everything I taught you?” You ask incredulously, though you’re taking a page from Thomas’ book and acting overly dramatic.
“‘M sorry, Y/N. Truly.” He chuckles, looking down for a second. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t fail technically.”
You eye him curiously. “What do you mean ‘technically’?”
“I may or may not have dropped it halfway through the semester…”
“Really? You know, honestly that doesn’t surprise me.”
“What? It wasn’t my fault! And it was my last semester before leaving to enter the draft so it’s not like I absolutely needed the credit.”
“Fair enough.” You shrug.
“Still, though, I wish you were there… with me.” He says softly and the two of you stop walking to look at each other.
A moment of silence passes before you respond softly, giving him a small smile. “Yeah, me too, T.”
A corner of his lips quirks up as you two stare longingly, unspoken words evident in each other’s eyes.
The moment is ruined by none other than Dakota who barks at a nearby squirrel, causing both you and Thomas to jump at the abrupt sound. You don’t realize you’ve been drifting towards each other until, suddenly, Dakota pulls on her leash to go after the small woodland creature and Thomas stumbles into you.
“Shit, my bad.” Thomas voices quickly, bringing his free hand to grab your arm to steady you. Your bodies are extremely close in proximity, just inches apart. You both freeze for a second, realizing just how close you are to one another.
You don’t realize that your fingers have woven themselves into the soft material of his t-shirt to retain your balance. And just like that, your breath catches in your throat. This is the closest you’ve been to him since you broke up.
You finally come back to your senses, heart beating quickly and uncontrollably, and force yourself to let go of his shirt and drop your hands. You mutter an apology and look away shyly, so you miss the way Thomas’ eyes flicker down to your lips for a split second.
Dakota barks again, snarling at the little creature who scurries up a tree nearby. Thomas sighs before he turns to attempt to control his dog. “Dakota, no.” He says in a commanding tone before softening his voice. “Girl, we talked about this. Squirrels are our friends.” He speaks to her like she understands his every word.
And so it seems, she does. Dakota whimpers and sits down, ears flattening back as she bows her head slightly. Thomas let’s go of you to move away (much to your dismay) and pets her.
“I know. It’s alright, Kota, you still learnin’.” He says, scratching her behind her ears.
With Kota finally calmed down, Thomas turns to you and nods his head towards the direction of his house. “Ready to head back?”
⋆﹥━━━━━━━ ♛ ━━━━━━━﹤⋆
When you get back, Thomas offers you anything from his kitchen, but you decline, not feeling hungry or thirsty at the moment. You take a seat on one of the couches in Thomas’ living room and Dakota follows you, jumping onto the cushion next to you and curling up to rest after her long walk.
“Okay, so random question.” You say when Thomas walks into the room.
“Shoot.” Thom says, sitting on the couch next to you before he eyes Dakota who’s sleeping by your side. “Traitor…” He mumbles under his breath.
You smile slightly before you ask your question. “What does the tattoo on your hand say? I caught a glimpse of it earlier but I couldn’t see it clearly.”
“Oh, this one?” He asks, reaching his left hand out to show you the inked letters that run from his middle finger down to the top of his hand. You nod and he continues. “It says ‘different’.”
Your hand twitches with the urge to ghost your fingers down the letters, but you restrain yourself. “Different…” You echo quietly.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s pretty self explanatory. I don’t fit into the norm. I stand out on the field and off. I’m a different breed. I play on a different caliber. I hold myself to different standards. I’m just built different.”
“That makes sense.” You say, grinning. “It’s so you.”
Thomas chuckles. “I sure hope so. I mean, that shit’s on my body forever, so…”
You laugh, busying yourself with petting Dakota’s soft, golden fur. “I’ll be honest, T, I didn’t think you’d be the type to get tattoos.”
“Me neither.” He admits, causing you to look up at him. “Then, in college, a buddy of mine knew a guy, so I figured why not. I got addicted.”
Your eyebrows furrow, confused as you glance at his arms and visible skin. You don’t see any others. “Doesn’t look like you have that many.”
“Oh, I have a lot more.” Thomas laughs outwardly. “You wanna see?”
“Depends on where they are…” You reply slowly.
He smirks, then goes to stand up. His hands drop to his belt and he works on undoing it.
“What the fuck? I didn’t mean it like that, T.” Your eyes widen as you put your hand out in front of you to stop him. “Where are these damn tattoos?” He looks up innocently.
“My leg. These are skinny jeans. Can’t roll them up.”
“Oh.” You say simply, cheeks burning, and he looks at you with an eyebrow slightly raised, waiting for you to continue. “Then put some fucking shorts on or something, I don’t know.”
He shrugs before he continues to undo his belt. “I’ve done photoshoots in less clothing, sweetheart. Plus, it’s nothing you haven’t already seen.”
“Thomas, seriously don’t.” You’re dead serious and Thomas knows not to mess with you when your voice takes on that tone.
“Alright, alright fine.” He puts his hands up in mock surrender with a short laugh. “I’ll put some shorts on.”
“Thank you.”
“I mean, I have compression shorts on… wasn’t gonna strip naked anyway. Not unless you asked.” He mumbles, starting to make his way out of the room. “I’ll be right back.”
You sigh, feeling like the temperature has risen in the room, as you look down at a snoozing Dakota. She must be exhausted from the walk. You sift your fingers through her fur once more before you murmur, “your dad is a crazy man sometimes, I swear.”
As you wait, you glance around the room and note the nice interior design. You know for a fact that Thomas had nothing to do with it because there’s nothing that marks the place as distinctly his. No jerseys on the walls, no photos, no filled bookcases… just plain decor probably fulfilled by the landlords. It makes sense since he’s just renting for now, though.
It’s a really nice place, however, with everything he could possibly need. There’s a glass door that leads out to the backyard where there’s a pool and perfectly trimmed grass behind it. You’re sure that Dakota’s had a blast running around back there and swimming in the water.
Thomas comes back a couple minutes later in a pair of white cotton shorts. “Better?” He asks when he walks through the doorway and your eyes widen in shock when you see the sleeve of tattoos that covers his lower limb. His left leg doesn’t have any ink on it, but his right leg is the complete opposite.
Your eyes trail down to his thighs and calves as he walks, the muscles flexing with every step until he stops a few feet away from you.
“You good, sweetheart?” Thomas asks and you lift your gaze up to meet his. He smirks at you with a raised eyebrow and you blink, finally being brought back to reality.
“Uh, yeah. I just… I’m surprised, that’s all.”
And slightly turned on, but you push that to the back of your mind.
“You weren’t kidding when you said you got addicted, huh.” You speak again, biting your lip, when Thomas takes a seat next to you and you can finally see some of the artwork up close.
“Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot over the past couple of years.”
Your eyes study the ink on his leg until they land on one specific tattoo that peeks out of the edge of his shorts. “What’s this one?” You ask, pointing to the one you targeted. Thomas lifts up his shorts slightly to reveal it in full.
It’s a tattoo of the Carbon tile from the periodic table.
You gasp softly and let out a small laugh. “No…” You trail off, tracing the letter ‘C’ with your index finger. You don’t realize you’re doing it until a few seconds later. “You didn’t…”
Thomas shivers at your touch (you grin inwardly at the fact that you still have that effect on him) before he responds with a slightly nervous laugh. “I did.”
You withdraw your touch and you sit back in your seat, crossing your arms. “Tell me, Thomas Jefferson, why the fuck do you have Carbon tattooed on your thigh forever?”
“Take a wild guess, sweetheart.” He says with a grin.
“I mean the atomic number and mass are here, so the only logical explanation is that you got it tatted so that you could remember it? Wow, you went through all that to cheat on a test for a class you dropped back in college? Damn, T.”
“Funny.” Thomas deadpans, narrowing his eyes slightly.
You just laugh. “Seriously, though, why?”
“You really don’t know?”
You shake your head. The only other possibility would be… no… he wouldn’t have done that… right?
“All the ink you see on my thigh here is a part of my story so far. This was my dad’s football number; this is mine.” He says, pointing to an inked ‘XXV’ and ‘XIV’ respectively. “I have a raven for my mom because she’s a big fan of Poe’s work. The NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty are pretty self explanatory.”
You’d listen to him talk about his tattoos all night if he wanted to. You’ve missed hearing his voice.
Then, he traces over inked words that say, ‘I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose.’ “This is a quote from Don Quixote, one of my—”
“—favorite books.” You both say at the same time, causing his brows to raise in slight surprise, but he seems proud simultaneously.
“I remember,” you grin at him, biting your lip. “You made me read it senior year and you quizzed me on almost every chapter. I remember you being obsessed with that quote.”
“Yeah.” He replies softly, letting out a small laugh. You two stare at each other for another beat or two until he clears his throat and continues. “Yeah, um.” His nervous laugh is music to your ears as he struggles to remember where he left off. “Where was I?”
“Your tattoos tell a story. Your story.” You say, unconsciously licking your lips as you watch him with amused eyes. “And I wanna know why you got Carbon tatted on your thigh.”
“Right…” He trails off, eyes flickering to your lips for a split second before returning to focus on the tattoos on his leg. He smiles as he traces over the carbon symbol once again. “This one’s actually one of the first tats I got… and — although it looks pretty cheesy and simple — it’s real special.”
“Oh, yeah?” Your lips quirk up into another small smile.
“I got this one because of you.”
And suddenly, you’re at a loss for words. You’re the reason he got that tattoo… but why?
“You’re kidding.” You say, breathless and taken off guard. It’s Thomas’ turn to give you an amused expression.
“I’m not.” He responds simply with a shrug.
“Why?” You ask, searching his eyes for an answer. They don’t give you one, but they’re warm as they gaze into yours.
“I think you know the answer to that question, Y/N.” Thomas says, his voice soft.
You shake your head, eyebrows still slightly furrowed in confusion.
“Well, I got it as sort of a symbol for our relationship in high school. Remember the first day of Chem tutoring back in Junior year? The first time we ever hung out together? You asked me questions about Carbon to see how dumb I was.”
“No, no I understand the reference now. How could I forget? But… why get permanently inked for me?” You stand up, unable to stay in a seated position anymore. “Thomas, we were broken up. We… we— there was guarantee that we would ever—”
“Our relationship meant too much for me to not include it somewhere. It didn’t matter if we were broken up or if I never saw you again, Y/N. It’s a part of my story and it’s helped shape me into the man I am today.”
And suddenly you feel… well, to be honest, you don’t really know how to feel.
You are enamored that he would do such a thing, but at the same time, this information makes you feel upset at yourself.
You feel like you didn’t try hard enough during the last months of your relationship and during your time apart. Now you’re seeing that post-breakup, Thomas has coped and moved on in his life by marking himself with a symbol of your relationship, eternalizing it. And three and a half years after your breakup, he’d thanked you in his acceptance speech for an award he had won all by himself.
Thomas has clearly chosen to cherish your memories instead of push them away.
How have you coped? You’ve coped, for the longest time, by doing the opposite. You’ve tried to get your mind off of him, trying to forget his voice so that the residual memories didn’t hurt you as much as they should have (you failed, clearly). Over time, though, you had forgotten what his touch felt like, and instead of feeling depressed about it, you were relieved. Not because you didn’t love him anymore (no, your love for him — you’d come to this conclusion after two years of being apart — would never fade), but because you were finally numb from the pain of being without him.
You feel like you should have been there for him; you feel that you should have stayed together.
Where were you when he was working his ass off in college? Just a call away, but did you pick up the phone and even try? No. Were you there to cheer him up after a bad game? No. Were you there with him to celebrate him getting chosen in the draft? Nope.
Suddenly, you don’t just feel like you didn’t try hard enough… you know it. And it’s eating away at you.
You feel like you don’t deserve him.
“Can I say one more thing?” Thomas asks softly, noticing your change in demeanor. You’ve become distant and he’s definitely noticed. You turn to him, pursing your lips before you nod.
Thomas’ gaze is firm as he watches you. You feel naked under his stare, like he can see right past whatever’s clouding your mind.
“I’m still in love with you, Y/N.” His voice is confident like he’s stating a fact. “All these years have passed and I still feel the same way about you. Nothing’s changed since we ended things.”
This isn’t necessarily news to you, but that doesn’t stop your heart from beating fast when you actually hear the words come out of his mouth. “I… I know, T.”
His head tilts slightly to the side. “You know?”
“I… Well, I-I figured.” You shrug slightly before one of your hands moves to subconsciously rub your arm.
He chuckles and stands up from his spot on the couch before he shakes his head, looking down for a second before he glances up at you. He bites his lip in amusement. “My heart eyes for you are that obvious, huh.”
“No… well, y-yeah. Maybe. I-I don’t know, Thom, I just…” You begin to ramble as you break eye contact.
Thomas smirks at your sudden nervousness, aware of the effect he has on you. You’re clearly trying to evade, but Thomas is aware of the slight shift in power that leans towards his direction. He chooses his next words carefully as he wants to draw a clear answer from you.
“Don’t you feel the same way?”
Thomas is intimidating, but not in a threatening way that scares you or puts you off. You clearly feel comfortable around him and you want to be around him, touching him, laughing with him, having conversations with him… It’s just the idea of him that has your mind in a conflicting position.
Of course you still love him. And truthfully, despite spending four years apart, a lot about him hasn’t really changed. He’s still the same goofy boy who loves Futurama, he’s still the same boy who geeks out about classical literature that you never had much of an interest in, and apparently he’s still the same boy who stole your heart and kept it with him for four years.
So, to have him back, right here, right now, right in front of you has you beyond thrilled… but while his personality hasn’t changed, his social image has drastically.
He’s no longer Thomas Jefferson, the popular kid on the varsity football team. Now, he’s Thomas Jefferson — a top wide receiver in the National Football League who plays for the Los Angeles Rams, won offensive rookie of the year, has 3.7 million followers on Instagram and a brand deal with Nike at only 22 years old.
He’s achieved his dream just like he said he would all those years ago. You feel nothing but pride and happiness, seeing him succeed like he has.
But that voice in the back of your mind still lingers. He has everything he could possibly want now, and while you two had agreed to break things off in order for that to happen, you can’t help but feel insecure about barging back into his life when everything is so perfect. You could just see the gossip magazine headline now: Rams Star Thomas Jefferson Gets Back Together with Ex-Girlfriend After He Starts Making Millions.
Honestly, you couldn’t care less about it all — the fame, the money, the brand deals, the media — because, at the end of the day, all you want is him. But you know that you can’t go further into anything with him without bringing up your thoughts. You just don’t know how to bring it up to him without feeling slightly embarrassed at the fact that you’re even thinking this way.
So, instead, you make a stupid attempt to change the subject.
“You know,” you laugh nervously, running a hand through your hair as you distance yourself from him. “You haven’t given me a tour of this place yet. We should do that.”
“Nah. You’re not gettin’ outta this one, sweetheart.” Thomas smirks as he steps forward, causing you to back away. ”I really want you to answer my question.”
You and Thomas have been tiptoeing around each other all day, being cautious to make sure that you’re both on the same page. It seems as though now, Thomas is tired of being careful. He’s confident of his feelings for you and now he’s finally making his move.
You don’t respond. Instead, you continue your tread backwards until your back hits the wall and you have nowhere else to go. He has you trapped, verbally and physically.
“Oh, so you gon’ give me the silent treatment now, huh.” He cocks his head lazily before he licks his lips and looks you up and down. His eyes are calculating as if he can see right through you. “Admit it, Y/N. You’re still in love with me.”
“Thomas…”
“Don’t deny it.” He says, his voice confident, but deep. “It’s been years, but girl…” He lets out a low chuckle, moving closer until he’s right up against you before he whispers, “I still know you like the back of my hand.”
He brings his arm up above your head so he can brace himself and move even closer. You can feel the body heat radiating off him (or maybe it’s your body flushing from being so close to him again after it being so long).
“C’mon, just say it. You know you want to.” He grins, leaning down so that his face is inches away from yours. His fingers lightly trace your jaw, creating a trail of fire in their wake. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
Your breath hitches at his soft, yet commanding tone and you finally glance up into his intense gaze. You know that the second you and Thomas Jefferson lock eyes, he can read you like an open book. While he’d seemed to be sure about it before, now the truth is entirely evident.
Thomas knows.
He’s immediately met with the full understanding that you still have feelings for him, and it causes the corner of his mouth to quirk up as he leans closer.
“I knew it.”
You’re under his trance. Whether it’s his familiar scent filling your senses or his firm hold on your chin or the fact your body is trapped between his and the wall… you’re so tempted to kiss him.
It’s been so long and you’ve missed him and his touch and he’s right there. He’s so close to you and he’s grinning now, waiting for you to give into temptation because he knows the effect he has on you.
However, that voice in the back of your head lingers and you know that before you let anything happen, you have to get the way you feel out of your system… but he’s so damn intoxicating and irresistible and it borderline infuriates you.
You let out a small nervous laugh and try to bashfully look away, but Thomas’ fingers on your chin hold you there. Thomas' hooded gaze flickers down to your lips. “Thom…” You whisper, your hand subconsciously coming up to wrap around his strong forearm. With the initial intent to pull his hand from holding your face, your resolve crumbles as soon as your fingers touch his skin. Then, his hand shifts from holding your chin to softly cup your cheek.
You’ve never known Thomas Jefferson to be a patient man. He’s always gone out of his way to get what he wants, and right now is no exception. He waits no longer for you to make your move and, instead, he makes his, leaning forward with the intent to press his lips to yours, only they meet the pad of your thumb instead.
“No, no. Thomas, wait.” You whisper, moving your thumb from his mouth as he pulls back slightly at the contact. Your hand shifts to hold his stubble-ridden jaw gently.
Thomas’ eyebrows furrow, concerned as he looks down at you. His voice is husky when he speaks. “What’s wrong?”
“I…” You take in a deep breath before you look up to let him know that you truly mean your next words. “You’re right. I’m still madly in love with you, T.”
He smiles broadly at the confession before he lets out a small chuckle. “No… really? I would have never thought…” He murmurs playfully before he begins to lean in to kiss you once more, but again you try and stop him.
“Thomas, hold on.” You gently push at his chest and he finally stops, halting at your touch like you’ve cast a spell on him.
“Y/N…” He replies in a low voice, slowly dropping his forehead to lean against yours. “Stop teasin’ me.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not doing it on purpose, T, I swear.” You say with a quiet laugh, your thumb softly caressing his cheek. “I just need to get something off my chest, okay?”
“Mhm.” Thomas hums, seemingly not convinced that you’re not intentionally teasing him. Nonetheless, he listens to you and pulls away, withdrawing his hands from you in order to give you the space you need to speak. Your hands drop from his face as he steps back. “The floor is yours, sweetheart.”
You breathe in deeply once more before you begin to speak.
“I… I don’t want you to think that the only reason I want you is because you’re all big and successful now. I know we broke up back then because our lives were going in different directions. We both decided it was the best decision at the time, and we both knew that if it was meant to be then it was meant to be.” You pause to gauge his reaction. His eyebrows are furrowed, his gaze soft as he lingers on your every word.
“Thomas… I really hope you know that I still love you… not because of this,” you gesture to the house around you, “or this,” you put a hand on his bicep, “but because of this.” Finally, you rest your hand on his chest above his heart.
“My pecs?”
“Oh my god, no. Your heart, you dork.”
“Oh.”
“Moment ruined.”
You sigh but keep your hand resting above his heart, unmoving as you wait for him to respond. It feels good to finally tell him how you feel (despite Thomas’ goofy remarks shifting the serious tone of the conversation). He stays quiet for a few moments and you watch him briefly look up to the ceiling for a second as he thinks.
“...Well, I mean, you’ve gotta admit at least a little bit of your love for me is because of this.” He says in a nonchalant tone before he lightly flexes one of his biceps.
“Thomas…” You trail off, releasing another sigh as you withdraw your hand from him. “I’m trying to be serious, but you’re making this extremely difficult.”
Before your hand gets too far, Thomas grabs it and brings it right back to where it was on his chest, only this time, his hand rests on top of yours, holding it there. The gesture makes your heartbeat quicken.
“Y/N…” His soft brown eyes bore into yours and his expression is sincere before he says his next words. “...Do you have any idea how much work I’ve put into my body? Give me some credit here.”
And just when you thought he was actually going to take things seriously…
You look away, letting your arm go limp, but Thomas’ grip on you is firm and he keeps your hand where it is on his chest. You continue to speak and let him know what’s on your mind. “I don’t want you to think I’m a gold digger or anything—”
His facial expression changes into one of concern. “I would never think that of you.” Thomas interjects, but you keep going.
“—because I’ve really missed you, Thom. Ever since we broke up, I haven’t fully been the same. Maybe we should take things slow to build up trust because it’s been so long. I’ll understand if you want to—”
“Bab—” He cuts himself off. “Sweetheart, relax. You’re rambling.”
“Sorry.” You mutter, looking to the floor.
Thomas takes a step closer to you, once again increasing the proximity between your bodies. His hand tilts your chin to look up at him before he moves it to press against the wall above your head, once again trapping you.
“I never once thought that you were only in this for anythin’ but me. We’ve been apart for four years, Y/N. I’ve missed you more than anything. When I said I still loved you, I meant that shit. You’re not a fuckin’ gold digger and that never once crossed my mind, so stop psyching yourself out, okay?”
You hold his gaze and nod, a sense of relief finally washing over your body. Satisfied with your wordless response, Thomas continues on.
“If you want to take things slow and build up trust like you said, I’m down to do that, but if I’m being completely honest, I really, really want to kiss you right now. You’re cautious and that’s okay. That’s incredibly thoughtful of you, actually, which really just has me fallin’ in love with you all over again, but I get it.”
His words make you grin and your heart swell in your chest. As each second passes by, the more you want to just hold him close to you and never let go. Oh, how you’ve missed this man.
“Our lives are so different from what they were in high school. So, if I have to, I’ll wait. We don’t have to continue where we left off. I’m fine with backtracking if that’s what you need, Y/N. Just give me the word and I’ll back off. I’ll wait another year if I have to. It’ll be hard, but I’ll do it. I just… I’ve really fucking missed you and now that I finally have you here right in front of me, after all these years, I—”
You slowly bring your free hand up to cup his cheek and pull his face towards you before you finally press your lips to his. It’s an extremely effective way to cut him off.
It’s soft and slow and chaste, yet at the same time feels like a breath of fresh air. The long-awaited kiss awakens the butterflies in your stomach for what seems like the thousandth time that day. Pent up emotions and wanting and waiting are all poured into it as things finally fall back into place.
Kissing him is the perfect homecoming.
You grin and let out a small laugh when you pull away. Thomas’ grip loosens from your hand on his chest, but you keep it there anyway before you softly murmur, “Now you’re the one rambling, T.”
The two of you stare at each other for a moment in silence, letting the moment sink in. Then, right when you think he’s frozen in place, Thomas leans forward again to capture your lips with his. Your arms immediately move to wrap around his shoulders and one of your hands slides into his curls while the other holds onto the back of his neck. Thomas grabs your face in his hands as he kisses you passionately, pressing you back against the wall to minimize the distance between your bodies.
Thomas pulls back with a bright smile, but your hold on him doesn’t let him go far. “This is familiar, huh.” He murmurs, releasing a breathy laugh.
“Stop talking.” You whisper with shallow breaths as you grin widely against him before you pull his mouth to yours once again. You two can’t get enough of each other. Four years of being without each other has led you two to this moment and each kiss you share mends your broken hearts, making them whole once again.
Thomas brings one hand to one side of your neck to firmly hold you in place as his lips trail down the curve of your jaw to press hot, open-mouthed kisses to the other side of your neck. You can feel his mouth form a smile against you as you tilt your head to give him more access. He takes the opportunity to bite down, causing you to gasp sharply, before he soothes it over with his tongue.
He pulls back to admire the mark he’d put on you and a cocky smirk appears on his face. It widens when he catches your entranced expression.
“Come on, let’s go.” Thomas says in a deep, husky voice as his hands move down to your waist, pulling you against him and away from the wall.
“What?” You ask, out of breath. “Where?”
“Imma give you that tour you said you wanted.” He answers before he drops his voice to a whisper. “But I’m showin’ you the bedroom first.”
You return his grin before you eye his dog, still laying on the couch, none the wiser. “What about Kota?”
“Shh, baby, she’ll be fine. Let her take her post-walk nap.” He murmurs, guiding you out of his living room and towards the bedroom.
Thomas shuts the door behind him so that you two don’t get interrupted by a certain furry friend. You waste no more time after he turns to you as you grab a fistful of his shirt to pull him towards you so you can crash your mouths together once again in a heated kiss full of intimate promises.
Thomas grins against your lips, amused at your eagerness. He decides to pull away, chuckling lowly when your lips chase his. And while you seem disappointed from his withdrawal, you don’t protest when you see him reach to pull off his shirt.
He’s built like a greek god; his chest and abs are perfectly sculpted. In a way, Thomas is an artist for shaping and training his body the way he has. He wasn’t kidding before when he said he’d worked hard on it.
You admire the way his muscles ripple as he picks you up by the backs of your thighs and walks towards his bed. Thomas drops you onto the mattress and climbs on top to hover over you, his chains hanging in the distance between your bodies, before he kisses you once more. He softly nips at your bottom lip with his teeth, causing a small moan to escape you. It comes out muffled against him as you let your hands roam his torso, leaving goosebumps in their trail as Thomas shivers at your touch.
“Fuck, Y/N, I missed you.” Thomas pants with a low voice as he pulls away to catch his breath. He lowers his head to lean his forehead against yours. “I’ve missed this.”
“I know.” You whisper breathlessly. “Me too, Thomas.”
His warm fingers leave trails of fire as they move down to your hips where his thumbs sneak under the fabric of your shirt to gently rub against your bare skin. Shortly after, he removes your shirt and, as soon as the piece of clothing is gone, he ducks down to press heated kisses to your collarbone. You sigh in content as you hold his head to your upper body.
You and Thomas don’t take your time undressing each other, but your hurried movements don’t make the moment any less special. He teases you when you remove his shorts by commenting something along the lines of ‘oh, now, you’re cool with my pants comin’ off,’ to which you respond with a muttered, ‘shut up.’
The two of you get lost in each other as you bare yourselves to one another. You get caught up in your own little world, your own bubble, where nothing else matters except for you and him. This is what you’ve both been waiting years for; you’ve both longed for the moment where you showcase your love for one another through your actions.
Light whimpers and moans escape from both of your throats, but the sounds are muffled against each other’s mouths. Thomas’ body slots perfectly between your legs as he rocks his bare hips slowly against yours, awaking a building sense of pleasure in the pit of your stomach. With your legs wrapped around his hips to bring your bodies as close as possible, your pants and mewls increase in volume as Thomas pulls away from your lips to lean his forehead against your shoulder, letting out his own soft moans against your skin.
The sounds he makes pushes you closer and closer to the edge.
As fingers clench silk sheets and whispers of sweet nothings are uttered, he sends you to a high that you’ve only ever felt when you’re with him. He is your drug and you’re addicted to him. You simply can’t get enough of his touch, his kisses, his words, and how good he makes you feel, physically and emotionally.
Breathy ‘I love you’s are emitted from each of your lips over and over again as you send each other to a state of pure bliss that has both your and his legs trembling from the euphoric pleasure.
You and Thomas breathe heavily as you come down from your highs, sharing one more kiss that holds promise and truth to your feelings about one another. Thomas rolls his body off of yours, but doesn’t keep his hands off of you. He wraps an arm around your torso to pull you against him as he lays his head on the pillow next to you.
The two of you stay there for some time as your breathing slowly returns to normal, warm bodies still cuddled close. At one point, you bury your face in Thomas’ chest and he hugs you close to him, a hand buried in your hair and cradling the back of your head. Your fingers trace random patterns as they ghost along the side of his waist.
The silence between you is mutual and comfortable, however, Thomas decides to break it after a few minutes.
“This isn’t gonna be easy.” Thomas murmurs, resting his chin on the top of your head. You take a moment to appreciate its low, gravelly tone. “We’re both busy people. And with me traveling on a weekly basis once the season starts...”
“I know…” You whisper, taking a moment to pause before you increase your volume so that he can hear your unfaltering tone. “But I don’t care, T. I want to be with you. We’ll make this work.”
“Yeah?” His voice rumbles against you and from its tone, you can tell that he’s smiling.
“Yeah.” You grin before you pull back to gaze into his soft brown eyes. “You’re back in my life now and I’m not letting you go.” You tighten your arms around him as if to prove a point.
His smile brightens. “Never ever?”
“Never ever.” You confirm with a laugh.
“Ay, I’m cool with that.” He chuckles in response before he leans in to peck you on the lips. When Thomas pulls back he gives you a quizzical look. “Wait, but what about practice and game days? Might be a little awkward with you huggin’ on me in the locker room, don’t you think?”
You roll your eyes and he grins.
“I’m tryin’ to be funny, sweetheart. This is where you’re supposed to laugh, you know.”
You raise your eyebrows and give him a small smile before you retort, “I would have if it was actually funny.”
His mouth drops in mock shock. “You are such a meanie.”
“Listen, I’m just telling you the truth, T. Sorry you’re not vibing with my honesty.”
It’s Thomas’ turn to roll his eyes and you find it sexy. “Well, fuck you too, then, I guess.” He mumbles
“You just did.” Your response causes him to crack a smile.
And the two of you fall into another silence, letting your thoughts run wild. After a few minutes, you speak up, asking a question that’s just come to fruition.
“Hey, Thom?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I ask you a serious question?”
“Go for it, baby.”
“Once your contract expires next year, are you gonna move back home and sign with the Giants?” You ask, glancing up to meet his gaze.
He answers quickly and confidently. “Nah, I don’t think so.”
Your eyebrows furrow. “I thought you wanted to play for New York. You don’t wanna go back?”
He grins, bringing a hand up to swipe his thumb along the expanse of your cheek. “If you would’ve asked me that in high school, I would’ve been all for it. But right now, I think my priorities lie somewhere else.” He murmurs softly, his warm and soft eyes roaming your face. “There’s somethin’ special about LA. Not entirely sure about what it is,” There’s a teasing lilt to his voice that implies sarcasm, “but… I think I wanna stay.”
“What about continuing your father’s legacy? Playing for the Giants?”
“I want to create my own legacy…” He says, smiling down at you. He tucks a stand of hair behind your ear. “With you, Y/N.”
Your heart swells and your eyes well up with tears. After all these years of being apart… he’s choosing you. And in turn, you’ve chosen him, too.
“I love you, Thomas.” You whisper, your hand reaching up to cup his cheek. “So much.”
“I know.” He replies quietly, leaning into your touch before he presses his forehead to yours. “I’m so excited to be in your life again, baby.”
After all, the universe has made it entirely clear that the two of you are meant to be.
