Summary: After your daughters get the safe version of Jessie’s second date with you, the private memory tells the rest. Teasing gives way to long-delayed want, vulnerability, and Jessie finally choosing to stay.
Warnings: G!P content. Penetrative Sex. Oral (R receiving). Squirting. Unprotected sex. Multiple orgasms. Service Top Jessie. Reader finally gets the sex she deserves.
A/N: Smut is finally here. And if you know my work, you know that if it takes me this long to get to the smut - it's lengthy! Series is here.
"Oh my God. Finally," Harper said, entirely exasperated, but wearing a smile nonetheless. "Please tell me you actually texted Mom when you got home."
"Of course," Jessie responded, not disguising a look of mild offense.
"Not 'of course', clearly," Harper retorted. "You guys just told us about you politely ghosting Mom for like a month."
"Yeah, well," Jessie started, stumbling slightly as she looked up at the ceiling in harmless annoyance, "I learned my lesson."
“Took you long enough, Momma," Ky remarked with an eyeroll before cracking a smug smirk. "And an arcade? You guys are such dorks.”
“Your mom loves those kinds of games. And I was being a good sport," Jessie argued pointedly.
You rolled your eyes affectionately. “You were very serious about ticket optimization.”
“I’m a serious person,” Jessie replied dryly without missing a beat.
“I don’t think I’m related to you two,” Ky said with a faint sigh.
You gave her a look. “Kylen. You’re a copy of your Momma. The math brain, the football, the refusing to let foods touch on your plate-”
“My hair’s lighter,” Ky said.
“Compelling evidence,” Jessie said wryly.
Ky folded her arms. “Fine. But you won’t catch me pining for some girl for over a year and going all heart-eyes because she smiled at a keychain.”
Jessie’s smile turned wicked. “So the three stores you went to for Kelly’s record were…?”
Ky’s face went pink. “Not relevant.”
“Very relevant,” you said.
You held back a grin and peered over to see a delighted and wicked smile cross Jessie's face.
“Sorry to break it to you, kid. You are not nearly as casual as you think you are. You notice things, Ky. You remember them. You make them matter." Jessie leaned in and spoke conspiratorially. "I know that move.”
By now, Ky was very much blushing. She blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes. Jessie sat back and smiled fondly at her daughter.
“Thankfully, you got your mom’s communication skills, so you’ll probably frustrate people less than I did.”
"Anyway," Ky went on pointedly. "So, then what, second date?"
"Oh," you said, settling back in to your and Jessie's story. "Yeah, a second date."
"Okay. So what'd you do? How'd it go?" Harper asked.
You looked around briefly. "Um, we went to the zoo. Grabbed coffee afterwards and wandered Powell's." You made a point of not looking at Jessie and shrugged. "It was...nice."
"Wow. And now you're married with two kids," Harper responded exaggeratedly. She cracked a smirk. "Fairytales do happen."
"Yeah, you're welcome," Jessie deadpanned.
"Still can't believe you ghosted Mom," Harper went on, laughing incredulously.
Jessie made a face, but there was no real defense in it. "Not my best moments."
"Don't worry. You haven't let Mom out of your sight since," Harper teased further before laughing anew. "If Mom ever went missing, they wouldn’t need a search party. They’d just send you, and you’d somehow find her in under twenty minutes.”
"Why am I going missing? What are you plotting?" You asked as you narrowed your eyes at your daughter. She mimicked your look and posture.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she quipped and you both laughed.
"Okay. Time to clean up," you said as you rose from the table and the others did, too.
"Yeah, Momma, you took so long to finally ask Mom out that I'm late meeting Kelly and Isla," Ky mock complained as she tidied up.
"I need to go over to Sam's to finish our project," Harper said as she turned to both of you. "I can go, right?"
"Yes, you know the rules. Take your phone. Be home by curfew," Jessie replied.
"I'll drive you," Ky offered as she closed the dishwasher.
"Yay! Thank you!" Harper said, delighted, clapping her hands and Ky gave an affectionate, but facetiously annoyed look.
The girls took off upstairs to get ready and it wasn't long before they came down in a rush of noise. Shortly after, they were headed out the door shouting their goodbyes.
"Okay, be safe you two. See you later," you said as they were leaving.
As soon as the door slammed shut, the house was immediately quiet with you sipping tea and Jessie nursing a glass of water beside you at the kitchen counter.
"Well, that was a journey," Jessie commented, glancing towards the now-empty hallway.
"That's one word for it," you joked.
Jessie turned towards you with a hint of a grin.
"And what - you didn’t want to tell them about how our second date ended?”
You protested and swatted her arm lightly. She laughed and feigned defense.
“No,” you asserted through gritted teeth and a hidden grin as you continued to poke at her. "That didn't quite seem appropriate." Jessie was still laughing and making a show of trying to dodge you.
She kept grinning even after you stopped poking at her, pleased with herself in that way that still made you want to kiss the look off her face all these years later.
"That was a fun night, wasn't it?" You said as you nudged her knee under the counter.
Jessie's grin turned mischievous. "That's one word for it," she echoed.
--------
Flashback
"Do you think you have enough books about [y/favourite topic]?" Jessie said with a flat tone and a teasing smile as you reread the back cover of the book you'd chosen earlier that evening.
"No," you retorted easily. "Never. And you're one to talk. How many books can you have about transportation?" you teased as you grabbed her newly acquired book out of her hands and snuggled back into the couch cushions a bit further.
"Hey," Jessie complained but the renewed smile on her face assured you she was anything but annoyed. “Transportation and urban planning matter," she asserted haughtily.
"Once you hang up your boots you'll have a grand future in traffic mitigation," you said with a sidelong glance.
Jessie made a face at you and went to grab her book back. You held on and wrestled against one another, both of you laughing at the ridiculousness of this.
That said, the proximity was a welcome outcome and you enjoyed it a bit too much. Somewhere in the back of your mind you were aware of how unreal this was. A few weeks ago, Jessie was nearly non-existent in your life. Now, here she was on your couch, end of date two - both of you laughing giddily together and playfighting over some silly book.
Jessie was clearly letting you pretend this was an even match, but eventually gave a slightly harder tug, pulling you with the book.
"Hey, not fair, you're stronger than me," you pouted and she laughed, relenting slightly.
You'd held hands earlier in the day at the zoo, stood pressed up against each other in the narrow aisles of the bookstore, but what you were missing was a kiss.
Frankly, you were having an embarrassing amount of difficulty not thinking about the kiss she'd given you at the door during your previous date. You'd envisioned a kiss from her too many times, but there was something about it - the intensity maybe - that still managed to catch you off-guard.
Touch between you two had always had some kind of tension. But since that date, the charge felt very different. Inviting. Like you were standing on the precipice.
And you wanted more of it.
You studied her for a moment. You couldn't overpower her, but, maybe a little distraction could get you the win.
You leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She stilled almost instantly before turning only her head toward you.
You bit back a laugh and simply stared back, trying not to look smug.
"That's cheating," she eventually breathed in a mixture of mock indignation and undisguised appreciation.
"Oh, well, I won't do it again," you offered innocently. Again, you had to stifle a laugh as she opened and closed her mouth in nonverbal protest.
"Well - I - I mean, you can-" She eventually stammered.
"No, it's okay, I won't do it again," you teased.
She looked adorably offended. A beat passed.
"I want you to do it again," she expressed, surprising you with her assertiveness.
And honestly, that did something for you. You didn't have a rebuttal. You simply leaned forward and laid a much slower, lingering kiss to her cheek again.
You cleared your throat as you sat back, trying to regain your composure. You gave a small lift of your chin.
"Okay. I'm glad you're not bothered," you said with a subtle lilt in your voice.
"Far from it," she said, giving you an open smile now as her cheeks turned crimson.
She lowered her gaze for a moment before returning to meet yours.
"I, um, I've been wanting to kiss you all day. So...," she trailed off, giving a vague shrug of her shoulder.
"Is that so?" You asked, allowing a small laugh as your chest filled with warmth. "Well...I'm right here."
She digested your challenge for a moment, but her eyes didn't break from yours as she reached out to grab the book you now fully held and set it on the coffee table. She shifted forward, closing what little space was left between you and you tried to ignore how your breath quickened as she leaned in.
Your eyes closed as her lips met yours and her hand came, warm and steady, to the side of your neck. Her thumb rested against your jaw, grazing gently in small, subtle motions.
It was really just a peck, but the touch of her hand and the look in her eyes as she drew back had you thinking anything but polite thoughts.
You began to lean back in and she met you readily, this time in an open kiss that had you diligently trying to swallow a soft noise that threatened to escape your throat.
You shifted to a better angle and wrapped your arms around the back of her neck. She placed her other hand softly on your knee and stubbornly kept it there as you continued to kiss.
Maybe you should've been embarrassed at how quickly you could feel yourself starting to ache, but right now, all you could think was this is the woman you'd been wanting for over a year. She'd been like a dream since you'd agreed to a date - no more ambiguity, no more hiding.
Instead, there was focus, earnestness. Intensity.
It was a lot. But quite frankly, you were loving this new side of her.
And right now, you desperately needed her to move her hand higher.
You deepened the kiss. She deepened it, too.
You ran your thumb softly up and down the nape of her neck. She let out the faintest sound at that and your core honest to God pulsed at that. You let out a faint moan in return and she tightened her grip on your knee as her other hand still caressed your face.
You shifted slightly, not only because it was difficult to sit still, but you hoped to subtly encourage her hands to explore.
She did no such thing.
Eventually, you reached down and grabbed her hand gently. She nearly pulled away, but you gave a soft tug and she moved with you until you laid her hand on your upper thigh.
She broke the kiss and she looked at you, a faintly crooked smile on her face as realization set in.
She kissed you again with renewed fervour and this time her hand caressed your leg, wandering, kneading into your thigh in time with your kisses.
Another subtle moan escaped you and she broke off the kiss to lower her head and begin kissing your neck. The gasp you let out next was not so subtle as you let your hands roam over her.
"Is this okay?" She asked between kisses, warm breath against your skin and sending a shiver through you.
"Very," you responded, suddenly aware of how breathless you sounded.
Encouraged, she latched onto your neck and sucked lightly as her hand now wandered further and gripped your ass through your jeans.
You were nearly on top of her now, grinding rather blatantly, but by her reactions she didn't seem to mind in the least.
Fuck it.
You shifted, swinging your leg over her and now settling fully in her lap. In this position, you could feel the obvious bulge in her pants.
"Oh shit," she breathed, though her hands remained on you and her mouth at your neck. "I'm sorry."
You opened your eyes, blinking momentarily in confusion.
"What?" You asked in a breath as you gently shifted on top of her.
"For, um," she trailed off, no longer kissing you and you reset yourself enough to look down at her, shifting your hands to rest atop her shoulders. She glanced down purposefully at her pants and it took you a moment to register her meaning.
You cracked a smile and captured her lips in another kiss.
"You don't need to be sorry at all," you insisted as you began to gently grind against her firm but restrained length through her clothes once more.
She exhaled a slow, heavy breath as she brought both hands to your ass and gripped firmly; appreciatively.
"Holy shit," she said.
"You can tell me to stop," you told her as you ran your fingers through her hair and she let her head fall back, eyes closed with a small groan.
"Mm mm," she voiced in negation before righting herself and latching back onto your neck with renewed focus. This time she began to flex her hips, rocking up to meet your movements and you practically melted into her embrace.
"You can tell me to stop too," she said.
You couldn't help but let out a breathy laugh. The offer was absurd given how needy you were already.
"That's kind of the last thing I want," you admitted, hedging even with that statement.
Her hands started to sneak up under your shirt, just a thumb at first, before your continued gyrations encouraged her to explore more fully.
Growing impatient, you reached down and took off your shirt.
For the slightest second you felt a shred of uncertainty, until she looked at you in complete wonder and her hands immediately began to softly knead your breasts through your bra.
"You are so gorgeous," she told you unequivocally.
You gave her a relieved smile that quickly turned teasing. Your hand snuck under her shirt and you tugged at the fabric. "I can't be the only one getting undressed."
She obliged and soon you were both taking off clothes. Actions hurried, but steady, until your underwear and her boxer briefs remained the only barriers between you.
"Are you sure about this?" She asked between kisses, needy and breathless.
"Very," you said resolutely. "Are you?"
She nodded against you. "Very."
"You don't need to feel rushed," she went on, hands still enjoying discovering your body. "I'm totally fine waiting."
You let out a huff somewhere between amusement and frustration. The statement was kind of funny when she was straining through her boxer briefs, rolling her hips up into you and nudging blatantly at your entrance the way she was. And ridiculous when you were soaked through your underwear with need.
You didn't speak right away. Instead, you worked on slipping out of your underwear while breaking the kiss as little as you could. You laced your fingers with hers and guided her hand between your legs, allowing her to feel for herself just how much you wanted this.
"Does it seem like I want to wait?" You asked.
The groan was out of her mouth before you'd even finished your sentence. You smiled into the kiss and tugged at the band of her underwear.
"Your turn," you said flirtatiously.
"Holy fuck you're amazing," she said as you climbed off of her long enough for her to shimmy out of them. You couldn't help the way you bit your lower lip at seeing her cock spring up.
She looked at you and held an arm out, beckoning you to climb into her lap again. You needed no further encouragement.
You lined her up with your entrance - a smirk tugging at your mouth when she gasped at the contact, her head falling back - when she spoke up.
"Should we go to the bedroom?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed together in concern that was so adorable. You kissed her deeply.
"I want you now," you said as you gently sank down onto her.
You cursed simultaneously, her fingers digging into you as you enveloped her in your heat, and while you gripped her shoulders tight.
You'd been waiting for this for way too long.
"Are you okay?" She asked gently as she opened her eyes once more and sought your gaze. You nodded rapidly.
"I'm good. Just adjusting," you said as you slowly lifted yourself up and sank back down. Your jaw grew slack at the sensation, but a small grin took over at how her eyes slammed shut under your motions.
"T-take your time. I want you to be comfortable," she said as she forced her eyes open and her hands, intentionally or not, began to roam up and down your waist. Her eyes now raked over you. "Jesus Christ, you're tight," she said as she let out another measured exhale. "You feel amazing."
You leaned down and kissed her, barely holding back your moan as she gripped your hips, helping to move you at the pace you were setting.
Against your will, you let out a small laugh. She pulled back and looked up at you in question. You shook your head.
"Sorry. I'm just so wet," you laughed again at the sounds that made your excitement impossible to hide. "It's kind of embarrassing."
She puffed out her cheeks with a breath and her gaze fell to where you were riding her cock. She shook her head in wonder and dug her thumbs into the creases between your hips and thighs, massaging you there.
"Fuck no," she told you adamantly. "How wet you are and the way you sound is outrageously sexy."
A slow smile crossed your face and you wrapped your arms around her again and rolled your hips into her with greater intention.
Okay. The woman who only a couple months ago could blush and stammer simply giving you a compliment - just told you how wet you were and how it sounded was sexy.
The surprises - amazing surprises - kept coming.
You smiled.
"You can move, you know," you told her lightly. She frowned up at you in question. She eventually clued in and gave a small shake of her head.
"No. You can set the pace," she said.
"I know," you returned. "But I want you to move with me."
She studied you for a moment as you continued to lift your hips, your warmth gripping her tightly until just her tip remained, before you sank back down, allowing her to fill you once more.
Her eyes stayed on you as her hands went around your thighs and under your legs and she rolled her hips up as you dropped down onto her, the extra force and the angle of her cock sending a whole new sensation through you. Your mouth fell open with a gasp.
"Are you okay?" She asked. You nodded with a near whine.
"Yes. I'm very okay. That felt really good," you told her and she merely nodded, eyes still trained on you as she met your hips again. Another small gasp escaped you and it seemed to be the affirmation she needed.
Soon she was fucking you from underneath, her strong hands gripping and lifting you up and down on her cock.
"Oh my God," you said as you let your head fall against hers, anchoring yourself as the sounds of her thrusts and your arousal filled the living room.
You kept clutching her tighter, gasping and unable to hold back your moans. She moved one hand from your leg and wrapped her arm securely around you instead, pulling you close.
"I want you," you said between breaths.
"You have me," she said against you with absolute certainty, not skipping a beat. She kissed your chest.
Maybe it was just everything all combined; you couldn't say your mind was functioning at full capacity at the moment. Everything was overwhelming in the best way.
"Stop," you found yourself saying in a wispy breath.
She paused, head snapping upright to look at you and even in your haze you could see the alarm bells going off in her mind.
You laughed and shook your head.
"No, no. Sorry," you insisted. "Stop being so charming is what I meant." You laughed again and she visibly relaxed. "I really want you. So keep fucking me. Please."
She took a moment to process your words, ultimately relaxing further until a wicked grin you didn't anticipate crossed her face.
A brief squeal escaped you as Jessie suddenly flipped you, pinning you beneath her on the cushions. You stared up at her in both wonderment and surprise and she grinned down at you as she gave a purposeful thrust. All laughter in you dissipated into a shameless moan as your head fell slack against the couch.
When you lifted your head back up to look at her, she was still grinning and now entirely lit up. Your heart raced.
She reached over and tossed the back cushions off of the couch to give you two some more space. She shifted you both further into the center with sure hands and you couldn't resist letting your own hands wander across her while she did so.
With you now securely positioned, she buried her head in your neck and kissed you anew, drawing a heady gasp out of you and your core pulsed around her hard cock.
“I thought about this,” she admitted against your neck, voice rough. “More than I should have. You. Here. On this couch.”
“Holy fuck,” was all you could murmur. You hooked your ankles around the back of her firm calves and raked your legs up hers in desperation, opening wider for her.
She moaned and lifted her head to kiss you on the lips again as she rolled her hips against you skillfully.
"You have no idea how much I've wanted you."
You were on such a high from the absurdity that the shy and timid Jessie you knew, who could barely hug you at times, was pinning you to these cushions and fucking you into the couch. That said, it just spurred you on.
You pushed a hand between you two, her lifting herself slightly to give you room and you wrapped two fingers around the base of her cock to play with her.
"I think I can tell," you said.
Jessie’s jaw dropped before an appreciative huff fell from her lips. She gave a delirious grin and kissed you again.
“You’re incredible. More incredible than I even imagined," she said as she started driving her hips more firmly into you, her playfulness turning intense again.
You let out a whimpering moan as she fucked you, letting your head fall back against the cushions once more.
"Do you like the way I spread my legs for you?" You asked.
Jessie’s hips stuttered and she let her forehead rest against yours. “Jesus Christ.”
She released a breathy laugh as her hand came up to tenderly tuck your hair behind your ear as she regained her rhythm.
”What am I going to do with you?” She asked in adoring disbelief. You chuckled.
“I think-” your words were disrupted by an involuntary, shuddering moan as she quickened her pace subtly. “I think,” you started again, a lust-drunk smile crossing your lips, “you’ve got it figured out.”
She didn't say anything as her thumb caressed your cheekbone and she kissed you again. You moaned in response and your fingers curled into her skin.
She bit your bottom lip, her hips now pumping into you with strong, steady digging motions that had your head falling limp, mouth agape as your cries get lost in your throat.
You inhaled sharply as the tightening sensation that had been building between your legs finally peaked. You stiffened underneath her and gripped her desperately as a breathy whimper fell from your lips.
"Oh fuck," she said as you pulsed, your walls massaging her tightly and pulling her over the edge with you. A low grunt rumbled from her chest as she stiffened over you, her back arching over and enveloping you in her embrace as she buried herself deeply inside of you with a few final strokes.
"Oh my God," you panted as you brought a hand absently to your face. Disbelief fell over you at what had transpired so rapidly and intensely between you.
For a few seconds, neither of you moved. Jessie’s forehead rested near your shoulder, her breathing uneven against your skin, and the reality of it settled over you with a force that had nothing to do with the fading ache between your legs.
"Wow," you eventually continued with a blissed out smile and Jessie propped herself up on her forearms. You frowned at her expression.
"Sorry," she said. Your frown deepened, perplexed. "I don't think that was very long."
You gave her a dubious look and spoke, still a little breathless. "I can't say I was watching the clock."
She gave a slight nod of acceptance, but went on. "I know, but I was a little...pent up."
You relented with an appreciative smirk. "Well, I'd say that worked in my favour. And I don't care how long it was. It was amazing," you told her resolutely.
She reluctantly accepted, a small blush now forming on her face.
"You were the amazing one," she insisted.
You rolled your eyes. "Okay, sure."
She sat up enough to see the ring of cum at the base of her cock and how it started to drip out of you. You glanced down, seeing what she was so transfixed by and it drew a latent pulse out of you.
“Fuck,” she laughed as she snatched the blanket off the back of the couch and lifted your hips, her softened cock still inside you, and laid it out as best she could under you one-handed.
She looked down again and the sight alone started causing her to swell once more.
“This looks amazing,” she said.
“What - your cum spilling out of me?” You asked with wicked casualness.
She blew out a steady breath as your words sent a jolt through her. She drew her hips slowly back, just the tip of her growing cock nestled inside of you now.
“Mm,” she couldn’t help but voice as her cock continued to harden. “Jesus, you are so sexy.”
She stared down between you, her pupils blown as she began to slowly rock her hips into you. Suddenly, she shook her head and looked up to your face.
"We don't have to go again," she said earnestly. "We can stop, or take a break. Whatever you want.”
You shook your head affectionately at her. All this questioning could've gotten annoying, but the fact that she cared so much about your comfort, even when her desire was simmering almost aggressively just below the surface, made you love her more.
You reached down and began stroking her cock with your hand. Her head fell back and a low moan escaped her.
"I'm very happy to go again," you assured her.
"I want to..." she paused, blinking rapidly as you continued to tease her with your hand. She cleared her throat, eyes now shifting as she searched for the words, "be with you properly."
You paused and gave her a curious look. She nodded to the bedroom.
"Besides, there's more room there," she added.
"So polite," you said wryly as you scooted back and got up.
You led her to the bedroom by her hand. You climbed up and laid out on your back again, pulling her with you, giggling quietly as she let herself be guided on top of you and between your legs.
You pulled her down by the back of her neck, your lips brushing against hers. "You can just say you want to fuck me in my bed," you whispered. "I wouldn't be offended."
“It’s not vanilla?” She asked with a teasing smirk.
“No,” you answered honestly. “It’s the most comfortable. For sure.” You gave her a soft kiss before going on. “But. For the record. If you were pent up, well, me too. Right now, I’m more interested in you just taking me. The where isn’t so important.”
A slow grin crossed Jessie's face as she gave you an appreciative look of warning.
"You like playing with fire, don't you?" She asked as she ran her fingers through your folds. She moaned low in her throat at the arousal she found there.
Before you could conjure up some witty retort, she shuffled back on the bed and laid down with her head between your legs and she wrapped her arms under your thighs.
Your jaw fell slightly at the action and she simply smiled up at you looking much too pleased with herself already.
She kissed the inside of your thigh and you subconsciously bit your lower lip.
"I've thought about this too," she said as she nestled herself further up between your legs.
You couldn't take your eyes off of her.
With no hesitation, she closed her eyes and ran her tongue teasingly around the outside of your lips.
"Oh shit," you murmured as you pressed your fingers into the tops of your thighs in anticipation.
Jessie looked entirely content, head nuzzled between your thighs as she slowly licked up and down your slit. She took her time to explore and savour, giving a full lap at your entrance, her tongue dragging slow and firm up from there to your clit and ending with a teasing flick.
"Oh shit, Jess," you repeated, and she chuckled faintly before continuing her ministrations.
She licked and sucked at you, trying various things and adjusting until she'd found the right rhythm, right pressure, right technique.
You realized, distantly, that this was not a new Jessie at all. This was the same focus, the same careful intensity, finally turned loose.
She sucked your clit and lapped at you in a way that had your toes curling into the sheets and your hands palming at them just the same.
And she didn't come up for air. You'd had girlfriends who'd gone down on you in the past, obviously, but Jessie Fleming had proven herself to be an eater.
She devoured you relentlessly as you panted and bucked into her face. She reached up with one hand and laced her fingers with yours, calmly caressing the back of your hand with her thumb as though to soothe you from the intense pleasure she was eliciting between your legs.
Her other hand kneaded into your thigh in the same rhythm she tongue fucked you, before slipping a digit, then two, inside you, drawing a shuddering moan from you.
She set a slow, even pace that matched the rhythms of her mouth, and she curled her fingers up against your walls, gentle but firm.
And all the while, she simply followed your hips wherever you writhed, unfazed and steady.
When your orgasm hit, your legs locking around her head as your core spasmed, you felt an intense rush between your legs that you hadn't experienced before. A cry fell from your lips and you dug your fingers into her forearms in a way that had to be painful, but you couldn't stop yourself.
When you finally fell back to the bed, your body suddenly drained and limp, your chest rose and fell dramatically as you tried to catch your breath.
It took a moment to gather up the energy to open your eyes. You blinked several times before looking down at her.
You immediately saw the red, angry crescent-shaped marks on her arms.
"Oh my God," you breathed in near horror. You sat up, "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," she told you, a wide grin on her face as she sat up too.
You looked down again and saw the evidence of the rush you'd felt earlier, a pool of wetness on the sheets. Your jaw dropped as you slowly looked up at her to see her trying to subtly wipe her chin.
"Oh...my gosh," you said. "I-oh my God," you stammered. "I've never done that before. I'm so sorry," you said, now truly horrified.
"Hey, hey," she said, clearly seeing you panic as she reached out to caress your arm. She moved in and kissed your cheek. "You have no reason to apologize. At all."
You shook your head and buried your face behind your hands.
"Baby," she said softly, and you dropped your hands enough to look at her wide-eyed. She'd never called you that before.
She was blushing madly now, but she held steady. "Baby," she repeated, "Please don't feel bad. I loved it."
You gave her a doubtful, but admittedly hopeful look. She nodded insistently. "Honestly. I-I think it's incredible. And, hey, I'm just sad I wasn't able to clean up more of it for you."
Your eyes went wide again and a delayed laugh left your lips. You softened.
"This goes to the grave, Jessie," you warned her, though she'd managed to make you smile despite this new discovery about what your body could do.
She held up a hand. "Scout's honour."
You studied her for a few moments and her mouth twitched into a hint of a smug smirk.
You gasped. "Jess," you accused, scandalized.
"What?" She asked with poorly feigned innocence and a laugh. She held up both hands in defense.
"You know," you said through near-gritted teeth as you shoved her shoulder lightly. She laughed and grinned brightly at you now. "You are way too happy with yourself."
"I like making my girl happy," she said matter-of-factly as she failed to rid herself of her cheeky smile.
Your mouth opened anew though you tried to hold back your hopeful intrigue.
"Your girl?" You asked.
She blushed, bravado quickly stripping away, but she didn't waver.
"If you'd like to be," she said. "I'd like you to be."
You stared at her for a few prolonged moments as a smile tugged impossibly at your face. You narrowed your eyes at her.
"Weren't you horribly avoidant a few weeks ago?"
She laughed, but didn't break your gaze. "And miserable. Yes."
You rubbed your face with both hands and groaned as you finally allowed yourself to smile.
"What are you going to do with me? What am I going to do with you," you echoed her earlier sentiment.
This was a much bigger conversation. One you really wanted to have.
But perhaps not when you two were so…distracted.
You glanced down with a newly teasing grin at her cock that was very much at full attention after servicing you.
"I, however, think I know what I want to do with that," you said with a nod to her arousal.
She blushed, gaze drifting down before lifting her head quickly to look at you again.
You pulled her with you as you moved up the bed and laid back. She grinned as she settled herself between your legs, her hand palming your thigh firmly, her touch warm and grounding.
She knelt up for a moment to run her fingers through your slick folds once more and she rubbed your cum along her cock, and even having the audacity to stare you down as she pumped her fist up and down her length.
You simply shook your head at her, highly amused and enticed by this side of her.
She nestled the head of her cock at your entrance and shifted her hips slowly forward. You felt the wide head slip past your entrance and soon her length filled you.
"Mm," she nearly groaned, biting her lips together as she watched her cock sink inside you. "You are so tight." She blew out a breath, steadying herself. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to this."
You were about to tease her about being presumptuous when she quickly started to establish a rhythm, rolling her hips to dig into you in such a way that a gasp immediately got stuck in your throat.
She leaned forward on her hands, balancing herself over you and she picked up her pace, her knees and feet barely touching the bed as she repeatedly drew her hips back and rolled them forward fluidly to thrust deeply and firmly into you.
"Holy shit," you breathed as you gripped her wrists as a way to anchor yourself.
"You'll tell me if it's too much, right?" She asked above you.
You nodded rapidly, but couldn't form any words as she fucked you harder.
"Baby?" She asked. At this you opened your eyes, finally locking your gaze with hers.
The expression she wore as she looked down at you, thrusting into you, was entirely unfair and you had to swallow before you spoke.
"Yes," you told her.
She gave you a small smile and leaned down to kiss you gently, such a contrast from the way her hips were bouncing off of you in sharp, precise motions.
You had to break off the kiss, your head falling back as a cry of pleasure fell from your lips.
She rested her head against your cheek and she panted in your ear as you dug your fingers into her ribcage and dragged them down towards her hips.
"You are so gorgeous," she breathed as she kissed your cheek. "I care about you so much," she said.
You couldn't conjure up a response, surprising yourself with how you even managed to simply nod your head against her as she drove her hips into you.
You palmed at her desperately as your pleasure began to mount once more. Even moans of desire now died in your throat as you panted and gasped shamelessly beneath her with your legs spread wide for her.
Clipped moans started to catch in her throat and you felt her muscles starting to tense up over you. Her hand came to the back of your neck and she buried her face into the crook of your neck as she came with a low groan, pushing herself up the bed and into you, shifting you up the bed with her.
A ragged moan fell from her lips as she rutted into you again, her fingers gripping the back of your neck tighter as you spasmed around her cock as she filled you.
As your highs faded, she let herself collapse partially on top of you, her head resting on your shoulder. She absently drew small circles on your other shoulder as you saw her body rise and fall with her heavy breaths, her skin glistening with sweat from her efforts.
You laid there together in comfortable silence for several moments. You nearly had to laugh at how at home you felt in her embrace.
This was absolutely crazy.
You played with her hair and kissed the top of her head, drawing out a soft chuckle.
Shortly after, she lifted her head to look down at you in faint concern.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
You gave a tired huff of a laugh and met her gaze.
"Yes. I am extremely okay," you assured her. You gave her a nod of your chin. "How are you?"
Despite how vigorously and confidently she'd been fucking you a few minutes ago, she now bit back a sheepish smile. You suspected that if her cheeks weren't already flush from exertion, she'd be back to her blushing self. Her gaze flit away as she contemplated her answer.
"I'm...really good," she said simply with an understated smile that betrayed the brightness in her eyes.
"Okay," you accepted with a tender smile.
"Here," she said as she rose from her spot. Your hand followed her departing form before you realized it, but she returned shortly after. She cleaned you up with almost unbearable care, brought you water, and climbed back into bed.
She laid on her back and gently guided you into her arms. You naturally tucked your head under her chin and she tilted her chin down, laying a soft kiss on your crown. Your cheeks began to ache as your smile lingered.
The two of you laid cuddled together like that for several moments. You trailed your fingers along her bicep as your mind wandered.
"Are you staying?" You finally asked.
You felt her turn her head to look down at you.
"Oh, well, I-"
"I had a great time. Don't get me wrong," you interjected, still tracing random designs on her skin. You finished your thought, voice low and small. "I'm just wondering if you're going to get scared and leave."
"What? No," she said immediately, shifting in a way that urged you to look at her. You met her gaze, seeing the clear concern on her face. Still, you shrugged nonchalantly despite the ghost of worry in your chest.
"I'm just wondering," you repeated.
“No. I would never do that to you," she went on with certainty.
“You can’t say ‘never’,” you said gently, “because you did leave.”
She paused for a moment, absorbing your words. Guilt flashed across her face but she turned further towards you and spoke with that same steadiness.
“Not anymore.” She let it sit. “I crossed the line I kept stopping myself at. I’m not going anywhere now. Not unless you want me to.”
She took a breath and allowed a faint smile to cross her lips. Her gaze fell away momentarily.
“I like you…an awful lot, Y/N,” she said with a soft laugh. “More than I know what to do with.”
You swallowed as your heartbeat echoed strongly in your ears.
“I’m afraid now that you’ve slept with me, I’m even more painfully attached,” she offered wryly; a confession more than a joke.
You let out a near watery laugh.
“Serious?” You asked, propping yourself up to meet her.
She seemed to contemplate whether she should deny - evade - or not, but she held your gaze and nodded. “I am.”
You relaxed back into her embrace.
“Well, good. The feeling is mutual.” You kissed her shoulder. “And you don’t need to know right now - what to do with your feelings. I just hope you’ll keep sharing them with me.”
Jessie kissed the top of your head and pulled you in. “Thanks. I'll keep trying. I promise." She paused, as if catching herself before the old instinct to swallow the truth could win. "You make me really happy.”
You let out a gentle, content sigh and wrapped your arm around her waist, giving her a soft squeeze.
“Then stay.”
She pulled you closer.
"I will."
You bit back a smile as your chest fluttered at her claim.
“You know,” you murmured, dragging your fingers lazily over her stomach, “for someone who wanted me as badly as you apparently did, you’re still very polite.”
Jessie gave a quiet, embarrassed laugh. “I’m trying not to be too much.”
“Jess.” You lifted your head enough to look at her. “I like you when you're a little too much.”
Her expression shifted.
“So if you want me,” you said, softer now, “let me know.”
unpopular opinion probably but I actually like that ao3 doesn’t let people take back their kudos.
unlike social media platforms (which ao3 is not) where people unlike stuff whenever they think or find out the original posters’ moral compass doesn’t perfectly align with their own’s or whatever, and “likes” can be taken back at any time, ao3 treats kudos as something sacred. once you give it, it’s the author’s to keep forever.
Best part is if someone deletes their account, the kudos remains, and it just gets swapped over to a guest kudos instead. The body is gone but the love remains.
I love your sydcarmy fic recs. Do you have any new or recent ones you've been loving?
😈 (tysm for giving me a reason to make another fic rec list on this fine afternoon)
I’ve got a couple! as we near the end of the hiatus it’s been a little slow but we still got gold for days in that tag! here’s a small bit that’s been amazing lately:
General Audiences
Bubbles by Amiera (@amieraisposting)
Teen and Up
like the color when the spring is born by emilybrontay (@emilybrontay) (single parent AU)
Be My Secondhand by sashafiercer (@sashafiercest) (soulmate AU)
a curious token (would the talkers be talking?) by puzzlepuppy (me 🤙🏽)
Hide and Seek by oxymercuration
the mark of a lover is patience through time by 924inlegend
you put me on (and said I was your favorite by novelsandnoodles (@youkindofblowmeaway)
Bear Cubs (Part One) by mila_milax (@milamilamilax)
Mature
Summer Breeze (Makes Me Feel Fine) by shewalksoverme (@shewalksoverm3)
soul meets body by turbulenthandholding (@turbulenthandholding) (soulmate AU)
I Don’t Sleep, I Dream by anxietycroissant (@anxietycroissant)
Explicit
Blue by Anonymous
Good Things by IsletsOfLangerhans
Warmest Part of the Winter by OysterKnife (@purposechef)
Those Innocent Eyes by Ceselle1024 (@ambeauty)
a soft place to land by flantattoo
as always whether or not you are on this list as a writer, you’re fucking baller, I love you, and I hope you never stop 💛
Summary: Jessie’s your girlfriend - there’s no ring, no grand promises, no ironed out plan. But an innocent mistake leads you to discover that Jessie is alarmingly comfortable with the idea of you as her wife.
“Fleming. Jessie,” Jessie replied, reaching for her ID and credit card.
“Ah, yes.” The clerk’s expression brightened as he found the reservation. “Congratulations to the happy couple!”
Jessie frowned slightly and glanced at you out of the corner of her eye.
“Oh. Um, thank you.”
“Of course. Thank you for choosing our resort to celebrate such a momentous milestone. You’re booked into our honeymoon suite, and the concierge will be happy to assist with any activities. Breakfast room service is also included each morning as part of the package.”
Your head snapped toward Jessie. She managed only the briefest glance back.
Honeymoon?
“I’ll just need your ID and a credit card,” the clerk prompted.
Jessie remained motionless until you nudged her with your elbow.
“Right. Here.” She placed them on the counter, then turned subtly toward you and mouthed an apology, colour already climbing into her ears.
You and Jessie had been together for a while and sure, you'd talked about the future, but nothing as explicit as marriage.
This was supposed to be an off-season getaway.
Apparently, it was now your honeymoon.
Jessie drew a breath. “I think there’s been-”
“So, where did you two get married?” the clerk asked, still typing.
Jessie startled. Her mouth opened, but no discernible sound emerged. A beat passed.
“On the coast,” you supplied with an easy smile. “Lots of friends and family.”
Jessie’s eyes shot toward you while the rest of her remained perfectly still.
The clerk continued cheerfully through the check-in process, seemingly oblivious to Jessie’s crisis. Once you had your keys and were safely away from the counter, she released a lengthy breath.
You looked at her, amusement already tugging at your mouth.
"You know, normally there's a proposal. An engagement. A wedding," you teased. "Then, a honeymoon."
“I don’t know what happened.” Jessie asserted as she retrieved her phone and pulled up the confirmation email. “See? Couples getaway package.”
You took out your own phone and found the resort listing.
“For newlyweds looking to celebrate the next chapter of their journey,” you read, pointing to the sentence buried in the description.
Jessie took your phone and scrutinized it.
"That should've been front and center! Why would they put that in the middle of a huge block of text? That's just poor marketing," she disputed, her cheeks burning hot once more.
She glanced down at the description again in a vain attempt to defend herself. "I mean, I guess I was rushing when I actually booked it," she murmured. "I researched it! I swear. You know I would. But when I actually booked it we were between buses and-"
"Jess, don't worry," you assured her easily.
"I'll talk to the receptionist again. I'll get them to change it," she said resolutely as she withdrew her attention from your phone and stood righteously.
"If that's what you want," you responded slowly, tilting your head and speaking lightly. "I mean, breakfast in bed. Massage. Hydrotherapy. Special dinners. Probably an awesome suite. Those all sound pretty decent to me."
She looked at you wordlessly in that way she did when she was running a million thoughts through her head at once. You waited patiently.
“You’re actually okay with this?”
"Are you okay? You seem bothered," you returned. She made a face briefly, but quickly reset.
"I just don't like being caught off guard," she explained. You acquiesced with a nod.
She looked at you more carefully. “So, you really don’t mind?”
You glanced down and lifted her hand, examining the fitness ring she wore. Then you removed the simple ring you wore on your own right hand and slipped it onto your left ring finger.
"I can pretend to be newlyweds," you declared nonchalantly.
A crooked smile appeared on her face. You held up your newly adorned hand for her to see.
"My wife wanted to keep the ring simple. She knows what I like."
She laughed before a quiet smile settled on her face.
"Is that so?" She asked, her voice softer than you expected.
"Mhm," you said as you rest your left hand on her cheek and kissed her sweetly. “Now, let’s go see the honeymoon suite.”
-----
Once you were all settled in, you decided to grab a late lunch together at one of the restaurants. You approached the host stand and gave them your room number.
"Ah, Mrs. and Mrs. Fleming," the host greeted.
The title threw you off kilter and your hand automatically came up to the back of your neck as you rocked up on the balls of your feet. You found yourself blurting out, "Oh. That's new," in a voice that was a bit more breathless and less controlled than you were used to.
You were oddly amused and excited to play along with this whole charade, but to hear something that explicit affected you in a way you hadn't expected.
To your surprise, Jessie smirked at you, not a hint of a blush on her face. The host started to head into the restaurant and Jessie had to hold out her hand for you to prompt you to move.
"Come on, Mrs. Fleming," she said before immediately making a face. "Oh no. That's my mother. Nope." She shook her head adamantly though she led you through. "We'll workshop that."
Now seated at the table, menus in hand, you felt compelled to speak.
"For the record," you started cautiously, remaining rather focused on the menu before you with only a fleeting glance her way, "I didn't entirely mind the title."
You bit your lips together and continued to pointedly read through the wine selection as you felt her eyes on you.
"Mrs. Fleming?"
"Mm," you voiced noncommittally. You allowed your gaze to flick over to her when she released a soft chuckle, her attention now back on her own menu.
"Okay. We'll take it under consideration."
You tried to ignore the faint buzz inside your head at her expression and relaxed response.
You two chatted about what you wanted to order and the server came back.
"What can I grab you two for drinks?" They asked.
"I'll have the imperial," Jessie said. "And my wife will have the rosé."
There was a notable thump in your chest at the action. The server swiftly departed and Jessie gave you an unexpected wink as she set the menu down.
"Too much?" She asked, a cheeky smirk still pulling at her lips.
"Nope," you responded, voice tighter and higher than you envisioned. You ignored the warmth in your face and waved her off. "That was fine."
And the days continued as such. Where you thought Jessie would've been flustered, bashful - and totally adorable - while you teased and played with this whole concept, she'd flipped the anticipated dynamic on its head.
She moved through the week and conversations with an easy, embodied confidence.
"How'd you two meet?"
Before you were able to formulate a random, funny story, Jessie shared your real one.
“How'd you know she was the one?”
You choked lightly on your drink. Jessie did not. Rather, she gave an easy response like it was a normal, everyday thing to discuss.
Like she’d thought about it before.
Like she knew it and felt it.
And more than once:
"You two are such a sweet couple."
Likely prompted by Jessie wordlessly pulling out your chair for you, handing you her sweater when you were chilled or simply standing with a hand at home on the small of your back.
And instead of being shy, allergic-to-public-attention Jessie, she smiled quietly. Squeezed your hand. Stood closer. Shoulders squared and proud.
And let's not forget when she idly played with the ring that remained strategically on your finger.
And worse, the sly smile she tried to conceal whenever you'd get flustered or affected in response.
You’d spent the first couple of days wondering how Jessie was pulling this off.
By now though, you wondered whether she was pulling anything off at all.
"What does my wife want to do this evening?" She asked with her fingers set at the base of a cocktail glass, relaxed in her seat across from you at one of the bars. Her arm was propped on the back of the chair and her leg bent, ankle resting across her knee, and looking far too good.
“You’re getting awfully comfortable with this,” you murmured as you took a sip of your drink and narrowed your eyes playfully at her.
Jessie glanced over, maddeningly composed. “With being married to you?”
“With pretending.”
Her mouth curved. “Right.”
And then she looked away, leaving you to deal with whatever that was supposed to mean.
You huffed, though a smile pulled at your lips.
"Well, I'm not interested in the show that's on tonight, and I won't force you to go dancing two nights in a row. I don't know, really. What I wanted to do today was snorkeling and that's what we did," you relayed with a shrug that quickly devolved into a scrutinizing look as she gave you a wicked grin.
"What?" You went on.
"Nothing. Just reminiscing about snorkeling," she said innocently though her shit-eating grin was anything but.
"Uh huh," you said flatly as you took a slow sip of your drink and held her gaze. "Could you possibly be thinking about how you so unnecessarily carried me in your arms?"
She shrugged, smiling brightly and tilting her chin up further, entirely undeterred.
"You said you didn't like walking with the fins on. It was my wifely duty to carry you to the water," she justified before her eyes drifted down your body noticeably. "And an excuse to touch you while you were in that bikini may have inspired me as well."
You laughed at her ridiculousness, though the thought of her hands on you was distracting. You stared at her a moment, her skin sunkissed and dewy as she smiled sweetly at you.
"What are we going to do when we go back to the real world? No more roleplaying as happily married newlyweds," you said in a teasing voice.
She released a near-pouting breath through her nose as she held your gaze.
"I know. Where's the fun in that?" She asked.
"I mean, the newlywed sex is pretty hot. Gonna miss that," you said with feigned regret, enjoying the way her jaw shifted at your comment.
"You know. If you like being married to me so much, all you have to do is ask," you said cheekily, pulling a smirk out of her.
"Okay," she said with that steady confidence around this topic that had caught you so off guard. Then, before you could think too much about it, she regarded you with a hungry look up and down. "I'll think about it."
Your eyes fell to her lap. She wore linen pants and though they were roomy, they failed to conceal the faint bulge beginning to form between her legs.
"Looks like you might be thinking of something else first," you remarked, raising your eyebrows pointedly.
She blew out a steady breath and looked away momentarily with a pleased expression. "What can I say. This is doing something for me," she said simply.
"Yeah? The idea of putting a ring on my finger and making me yours for real sound good?" You asked as you leaned forward and ran a hand up her thigh. You delighted in how the muscle under your palm twitched and she readjusted in her seat to try to better hide her growing erection.
"You better quit it," she warned with little bite and you simply smiled at her.
"Why do I feel like you're not serious," you said.
She lifted her head to look at the ceiling for a prolonged moment, lips pressed tightly together with a concealed grin. She dropped her head to look at you again, newly focused.
"If you don't want me to take you to our room and fuck you all over that suite, then you better quit it," she said.
Your core pulsed at her words and you shifted uncomfortably in your seat, pressing your legs tightly together.
You drained your drink and nodded to her.
"Finish up," you instructed. She flashed you a grin.
"The only place I'm finishing is in you," she quipped.
You reached out and smacked her arm, drawing a bright laugh out of her as she did as she was told and drained her drink.
She rose from her seat with a bit of a groan and a strategically placed arm.
"Now let's hurry up before you get security called on me," she muttered as she wrapped her free arm around your waist and ushered you out.
By the time you were fiddling with the room key, Jessie was pressed against your back, both arms wrapped possessively around your waist. She rocked her restrained hardness against your ass with no apparent concern about prying eyes.
“Jesus, Jess. At least let me open the door.”
Your reprimand lost some credibility when you deliberately ground back into her.
“No one’s looking,” she murmured against your shoulder.
You finally got the door open and stumbled inside together. Jessie barely gave it time to shut before spinning you around and pressing you gently against the wall, her mouth finding yours.
“You should know better than to work me up like that.”
She caught your leg and hooked it around her hip, pushing the hem of your dress higher. Her now-very-prominent bulge pressed between your legs, drawing a faint gasp from you.
"I just mentioned sex. The rest was all your doing," you jokingly reprimanded.
"Yes. In that dress. With that look on your face. And while I was already thinking about you half-naked in a swimsuit. Very irresponsible of you," she tsked in return.
"Irresponsible would've been giving you a hand job in the ocean like I wanted to," you remarked as your hand came to her sculpted ass and encouraged her to press her hips further into you.
"Fuck," she groaned and bit your lower lip, giving it a tug. She gave a pronounced roll of her hips and your fingers dug deeper into her ass. She chuckled and brought a hand up to your underwear, running two fingers along the already damp fabric.
"Mm, baby," she moaned. "I can already feel how wet you are." She drew her fingers across your covered slit, circling slowly your clit before pushing along the definition of your lips again towards where you were quickly soaking your panties.
You couldn't help how you freely dropped yourself into her hand and rocked against the pressure she was providing. She tilted her head and began to lay slow, teasing kisses along your neck.
"I have such a needy wife," she whispered against your sensitive skin, sending more sensations through you.
"You seem pretty happy about it," you returned with a breathy laugh. She moaned low in approval and caught your hand, pressing it against the front of her pants. Her cock was rigid beneath your palm, straining against the linen.
"Is this proof enough?" She asked as she ground her hips into your cupped palm.
"You're such a tease," you told her as you curled your hand around her through the fabric and gave her a loose smile.
She pushed your underwear aside and slid her fingers through the wetness waiting there. The new touch stole whatever response you had prepared. Jessie watched your face as she circled your entrance, gathering your arousal before dragging it slowly through your folds and over your clit.
Your head tipped back against the wall.
"I think you know that's not true," she said in a calm voice and smiled. "My baby is so wet for me."
She kissed along your neck as one finger eased inside you. You inhaled sharply and tightened your leg around her hip, encouraging her deeper. A second finger followed, stretching you with a slow care that starkly contrasted with the hunger in her expression.
"This pussy feels so incredible," she told you as she lifted her head and kissed the corner of your open mouth, her thumb settling over your clit. The rhythm she found was unhurried but exact, every stroke drawing a little more of your composure away.
You managed to open your eyes. She was studying you with the same focused satisfaction she had worn all week whenever someone called you her wife.
"Baby girl," she whispered against your mouth, "you're dripping in my palm already."
Through your pleasure, you managed a small huff of amusement. You cracked your eyes open to see her consuming you with a look.
"Are you complaining?" You asked.
"Never," she said easily with a shake of her head. She kissed you tenderly before withdrawing her fingers from you slowly.
You made an involuntary sound of protest.
“Your leg’s starting to shake,” she said. “Let’s give it a rest.”
Before you could answer, Jessie hoisted you into her arms. Your legs wrapped around her automatically as she carried you toward the nearby table.
You laughed, still breathless. “You’ve really committed to carrying me around this week.”
“Wifely duty. Remember?”
She set you on the edge and pulled your underwear down your legs, tossing them aside. Her palms travelled slowly back up, taking the hem of your dress with them.
Jessie dropped to her knees.
"God, I love your smell," she said as she kissed the inside of one thigh then the other.
She was dangerously close to your wetness and you didn't even realize you were holding your breath as you looked down at her in anticipation.
"How do you feel about wearing a dress with no panties tomorrow, hm?" She asked as her tongue slipped lightly along the edge of you.
Your entire body jolted.
"You're wild," you dismissed.
"Daytime Jessie can't be held responsible for whatever Horny, Nighttime Jessie says and wants," she said as she traced the tip of her tongue up between your slick lips and back down.
"Daytime Jessie can be pretty horny, too," you pointed out.
Rather than argue, she gave you one long lick from your entrance to your clit.
Your laugh broke into a gasp.
She did it again, slower this time, her hands spreading your thighs as her mouth settled fully against you. The teasing disappeared. Jessie sealed her lips around your clit and sucked, her tongue working in a steady rhythm that had your fingers scrambling for purchase against the table.
Your hips began to move and buck towards her mouth subconsciously and Jessie followed every movement. When you lifted into her, she held you closer. When your thighs tightened around her head, she seemed only more determined to remain there.
It wasn't long before you were certain you were dripping onto the table despite how she lapped at your entrance from time to time, swallowing your juices.
The pressure gathered low and fast, sharpened by the sight of your dress draped over her head and the thought of how pleased she probably looked beneath it, devouring her supposed wife on the table of your honeymoon suite.
You pulled the hem of your dress back and dug your hands into her hair.
She moaned in response and smiled into you, only burying her face impossibly deeper into you.
As your breath caught in a high whimper and your legs clamped around her head, you came hard against her mouth. You gripped her hair, certainly painfully, in your fist but she didn't waver. Her mouth stayed on you and her tongue worked you steadily as another small gasp escaped you and another wave of pleasure went through your body.
Only when the sensation became unbearable did you push weakly at her head.
Jessie emerged looking thoroughly delighted with herself.
“Fuck,” you breathed, reclining on your hands and nearly knocking over the lamp behind you.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, eyes still fixed between your legs.
You were still recovering when she gathered you into her arms again.
"Come on, Princess," she said with thinly veiled amusement as she carried you over to the bed.
Your head was clearing as she laid you out on your back and nudged your legs apart with her knees as she settled herself between them. Her cock remained painfully constrained beneath her pants, the shape of it impossible to ignore.
She noticed exactly where you were looking.
With maddening deliberation, she stroked herself through the fabric, making a real show of it.
"What do you want, baby?" She asked as she continued to massage herself through the fabric, her gaze hungry and trained on you.
"I want my wife to fuck me," you told her unequivocally.
Her mouth curved in a satisfied smirk as she stepped off the bed long enough to remove her clothes. You nearly moaned with a rush of desire as her cock sprang up as she pushed her boxer briefs down her legs.
She climbed back onto the bed and knelt wide between your legs, spreading them further. She reached down, rubbing you and coating her fingers with the mix of your cum and her saliva that remained there.
You bit your lip as she proceeded to close her fist around her cock and began rubbing your juices along her length.
Your need grew as she gave you a wink while she pumped her hand over the sensitive head of her cock several times, subtly flexing her thighs and hips into her fist.
Her gaze shifted and fixed on your entrance where you were surely starting to drip once more. She grabbed your left hand, making a point of rubbing the ring that had remained a mainstay on your finger this week before placing your hand on her hard cock.
You hummed in approval as both your chest warmed with emotion and your core ached at the action.
You stroked her several times, spreading your arousal along her length. Jessie’s breath faltered, her hips giving an involuntary push into your grip.
She looked down with a salacious smile as you nestled her tip at your slick entrance and you urged her forward with a lift of your hips.
She needed no further encouragement and simply grasped your hips, holding you in place as she gently drove her hips forward, slipping inside you with little resistance given how worked up you were.
The stretch stole the breath from your lungs. She entered you slowly, hands anchoring your hips as your body opened around her. Once she was fully inside, she held still, both of you basking in the feeling.
“Mmph,” she huffed through her nose. “God, you’re tight.”
She shifted her hips, starting to draw back and you both moaned at the sensation.
"Mm, fuck. You are so amazing I might have to actually make you my wife," she said through gritted teeth as she watched with intense focus at how your tight lips gripped her cock as she moved in and out of you.
Her words hit you and your fingers curled into her and you dug the back of your head into the pillow.
“I’m going to start believing you soon,” you said as you struggled to keep your voice steady.
She pushed her hips back into you with that digging thrust, her cock filling you up so well. She pumped in and out of you a few times and you’d hardly realized she hadn’t responded until she finally spoke.
“Maybe you should.”
You tilted your head forward, eyes locking on her to find her staring down at you with that look that made you feel undeniably at the center of her attention, but remarkably exposed.
It felt electric, yet…safe.
You grabbed her wrist and tugged at her. A goofy grin crossed her face as she let herself collapse forward. Your hand immediately came to her face and you collided in a heated kiss.
You wrapped your arms around her and she quickened her pace, movements firm and deep.
“And if I like it?” You asked breathlessly.
She reached down and laced her fingers with yours.
“Then,” she started between breaths, sweat beading along her forehead, “maybe I actually buy you a ring. Make it official. Make you mine.”
“Shit,” you groaned, your hips lifting off the bed as you writhed beneath her as want coursed through your body. “This shouldn’t be so hot.”
She cracked a grin.
“Yet it is,” she stated decisively. “I like other people knowing. And I like the way ‘my wife’ sounds when it comes to you.”
You nearly winced as the pressure inside you built to the point of rupture. You were absolutely dripping wet for her and the sounds filling your suite with every thrust made it undeniable.
“I love it.” You nearly moaned the declaration.
She growled in clear appreciation and you barely registered the way her jaw clenched in concentration.
She held steady for the few strokes you needed before a whimper got caught in your throat and your body went from restless to trembling beneath her, your nails digging hard into her skin as you came.
“Ah, fuck,” she hissed as your walls gripped her tightly. She drove into you with a few, final hard strokes before she released a taut breath and her jaw dropped as she began to shoot ropes of cum deep inside you.
She let out a clipped exhale, eyebrows knitted together in a mix of intense focus and relief as she remained buried as deep as your hips would allow while her cock twitched inside you, spilling every last drop of her seed.
When she relaxed, her body nearly collapsing on top of you, you simply laid there, her cum overflowing and leaking out of you onto the sheets below.
As you two recovered, you gradually realized she was idly playing with your ring.
“Sure you gotta take it off after we leave?” She asked with a huff of a laugh, her face still tucked into the curve of your neck.
“People may start asking questions if I don’t," you replied with a chuckle of your own.
She exhaled in a gruff pout.
“I know. I’ll miss it. People assuming I’m your wife. And I have to say I’m very into this domestic, possessive side of you,” you remarked.
“Stop. You’ll make me hard again,” she half-heartedly complained as her hips already began to shift restlessly between your legs.
“You owe me a proper ring someday,” you teased further. “And imagine how good actual honeymoon sex will be.”
She let out a low groan while her hips flexed instinctively as she started to grow hard inside you.
She pushed herself up onto her hands and looked down at you, equal parts affection and threat in her expression.
director's commentary on rhaenyra's relationships with mysaria, daemon and harwin in particular please! i love that you haven't downplayed any of them but that they each have a lot of importance for rhaenyra...also alicent's view of rhaenyra in these relationships
objectively the best place to think about archaeology au is while on excavation, so it was astute of u to send this the morning of! now that im back and covered in soil i would be DELIGHTED to talk about this. below the cut. because im incapable of shutting up. spoilers i guesssss for daemon/mysaria mention. but not really. its dealt with in chapter 6 which will be written one day in the distant future. you can read chapter 5 here though ahah <3
i was talking with the humble and magnanimous havenmere (tennis au mention) recently about rhaenyra's male love interests in arch au, wrt the wonderful rachel-berry's kinsey scale, which i struggled to place rhaenyra on but eventually went with a low 5 because harwin, daemon and criston (in arch au) all play a part in big emotions or events for rhaenyra rather than being a consistent string of heterosexual attraction. HOWEVER i am incredibly aware of the kinsey scale not being an appropriate metric to measure sexuality especially in this instance where i consider rhaenyra to be homosexual both ways. im also aware that the post is a bit obviously bc i partook. anyway. similarly with mysaria, where rhaenyra kind of attached onto the people that accompanied an epiphany of sorts. going to start with daemon because he's. i guess the beginning.
so this will become clearer later on, but it's already been shown from alicent's pov that rhaenyra's entrance into. like. sexuality but also pleasure and hedonism more generally was explicitly facilitated by daemon. the looming power dynamic of daemon occupying both a familial role and a sexual role kind of the gives the whole thing a bit of a patriarchially masculine twist, where daemon introduces rhaenyra to the realm of adult sexuality like he's teaching her to shoot or drink or gamble like a relative might a younger boy. at the same time hes taking advantage of her as a young girl because the visit to the brothels was (obviously) of a sexual nature and hes intending to break her in as it were for his own gain. now from rhaenyras point of view, her very first experience with pleasure and specifically transactional pleasure is at daemons side, by his design, in the places where hes most comfortable. because she looks up to him (his devil-may-care attitude his attractiveness, his accomplishments), and because shes a sheltered sixteen year old girl who just figured out what horny is, this becomes a world that is desirable, among the many other things she admires about daemon. violence, appetite, wealth, ownserhsip all become attractive to rhaenyra because of daemons portrayal of them and daemon is not just a model he is part of rhaenyra following this introduction, he is a founding point of her sexuality. he is a sexual comfort, which is what he wanted and what he achieved. FURTHERMORE as rhaenyra gets older and loses her mother as a stable parental figure and begins to wrestle with her sexuality and gender identity and the way theyre entwined, daemons allure grows even further, especially despite or because of viserys' insistence that daemon is a bad influence. so rhaenyra tries to treat pleasure the same way daemon does, the way that men do in this kind of period/society (pinch of salt here. because this is fantasy 1930s westeros. so these are loose comparisons). hence an entryway for rhaenyra to explore lesbianism from a specific type of masculine perspective that she inherits from daemon. her admiration of (and desire towards) him doesnt stop at admiration. eventually she wants to dress like a man (him) and 'act' like a man (him), but the only place she's permitted really to do this, and not even quite this, is the gay/lesbian scene, (facilitated by laenor but thats another 3000 word post on sexuality and identity and incest) ENTER
mysaria. mysaria is older and experienced and therefore embodying a role that rhaenyra covets and admires in her attraction to women. however mysaria is femme so if we position her opposed to daemon for a moment, rhaenyra is more interested in her as a partner than as a teacher. mysaria also used to be with daemon a lot during her time as a sex worker (which rhaenyra finds out later and which becomes a part of her rhaenyra complex which is so delicious to me) and so to her when she first starts seeing rhaenyra it seems sort of like a natural progression. theyre similar so both attracted to her. which she is not comfortable with but is interested in using. now rhaenyra is kind of self-deprecatingly aware following her fight at essie's that mysaria can and will get something from her and because rhaenyra's so desperate to be liked/loved, this ends up as a reason for the way mysaria treats her - mysaria doesn't actually even like her, so there's no reason for her to pick up the phone when rhaenyra calls if shes already got everything she needs (never specified because rhaenyra doesnt actually know what mysaria wants/is trying to get from her). it's not because she's angry or upset its because she has an excuse to move on. unfortunately for this unhappy pair, mysaria actually does like rhaenyra. its actually true that mysaria finds rhaenyra "charming, bullheaded" or whatever the fuck i wrote. but mysaria is also aware that rhaenyra is literal political wildfire and it is genuinely dangerous to associate with her, which rhaenyra knows on some level but doesnt quite clock because again. shes so desperate to be loved. (empty castle, absent father, dead mother, emotionally unavailable cousins, mean little brother who also wants to be loved). i dont think theres a chance for mysaria and rhaenyra to be together and be happy because its not possible for rhaenyra to understand, at least in this relationship at this time, that the world doesnt revolve around her. but they do make a cute butch/femme pair tbh
saved harwin for last because he's the least...intense. in a manner of speaking. my backstory is that harwin and rhaenyra were introduced through viserys and lyonel's parliamentary acquaintance kind of in an attempt to get rhaenyra interested in politics and legacy like viserys is. and to steer her away from an increasing dependence on a life of politically inadvisable pleasure-seeking. doesnt go to plan because they both like each other a little too much and they start doing it freaky style. honestly i think viserys shouldve seen that coming because at that point he wasnt even convinced rhaenyra was a lesbian. so the relationship begins at a point of mutual, heterosexual attraction, which rhaenyra is familiar with. or so they THINK. now im a bisexual harwin truther because i keep reading fics where hes an absolute queen so we will see evidence of this as we progress. i think we can agree, anon, that harwin strong is classically masculine in pretty much every way. now consider the passage where i wrote about rhaenyra wanting to climb inside him and live there so he can never ever leave her. sane and normal thing to think. at this point, theyve been sleeping together for i think six years and hes okay with (enjoys, in fact) her crossdressing. positioning daemon as the feral, bacchanalian type of masculinity that rhaenyra thinks of in terms of his attraction to women, harwins personality and attitude especially towards rhaenyra is gentler and a little more kindred. we are seeing bi4bi levels rising. and this is where 'homosexual both ways' comes in again. rhaenyra, like with daemon, doesnt want to just be with harwin, she wants to be him. not instead of, as well. if she could inhabit his body and his position in society, up to and after he joins the army, she would. and over six years of being with him, she feels like she is a part of him and that she deserves to have him stay with her instead of him going off to join the army and leaving her behind forever. this is the kind of transactional attitude i was thinking about, but its less an economic aspect to sex than it is like. a deal with the devil kind of thing. like now that weve done this we're joined. which while stemming from daemon's deliberately exhibited exploitation of sex workers i ALSO think comes from alicent's influence early on, as a kind of religious moral purity thing, sex is for a married couple only because its what consummates their bond etc.
which brings us Neatly to alicent. now we're aware that alicent regards daemon with a perfectly reasonable amount of suspicion and at base level, believes that daemon corrupted rhaenyra when she was young and thats why rhaenyra turned out this way. obviously daemon is a great influence in rhaenyra's life but hes not literally the devil who swayed rhaenyra from the path of righteousness. but i think alicent thinks in terms of a mathematical kind of religiousness, because shes logical and clever but shes also devout. so daemon she believes is responsible for what she sees as rhaenyras adult faults - lust, hedonism, recklessness, rudeness. it's black-and-white fault and blame. and upon her return to dragonstone, her obsession with needing rhaenyra to understand her turns from 'i could have/should have saved her' to 'i can still fix her', ESPECIALLY when daemon is absent. alicent has made daemon her foil due to jealousy disguised as concern. moving on. alicent has no idea who mysaria is, but when she begins to learn about rhaenyras...activities at kings landing (through the gossip of the servants because while the upper class all seem to be in on one big joke regarding homosexuality, see Laena making veiled inferences, the servants are happy enough to speak their mind when alicent deigns to come down to their level, becomes a labourer and positions herself opposite the extravagance of the family) she is picturing some sort of shadowy lesbian dalliance that she cant quite bring herself to examine in any sort of detail. there is, once again, a Devil. there is seduction and sin in the places rhaenyra goes to - but that hasnt yet taken form in a person. unbeknownst to alicent, she has lain that blame almost entirely on mysaria. which is funny because mysaria IS using rhaenyra but not for purposes of seduction. thats just a bonus. or not. see above. lastly, harwin. he is not the devil. but he does have rhaenyras positive attention during the first few months of the story, unlike alicent. she cant consciously fault him for that, especially because hes kind and interesting and would probably be a good match for rhaenyra if alicent was unbiased and objective and if the two of them werent having unmarried sex. so if everything was different i guess. anyway, she regards him as beneath rhaenyra because 1. everyone except alicent is beneath rhaenyra 2. he likes her and hes not afraid to show it (alicent is afraid to show it -> envy) 3. he's attracted to rhaenyra even though she dresses like That so there must be something wrong with him. bidar going crazy. but like homophobically. so harwin is nice and all. but hes not right for rhaenyra. what IS right for rhaenyra is running away with alicent and living on a island somewhere where they can be alone so theres no one to corrupt rhaenyra (read: take her attention away from alicent) what i suppose im trying to say it that alicent is so blinded by jealousy disguised as moral superiority that shes incapable of judging any of these relationships with any kind of objectivity. good for her. somebody sedate me.
Summary: Jessie takes you on the date you’d wanted for longer than you cared to admit. One filled with the ease you missed, old hurt, new clarity, and the kind of kiss that makes pretending impossible.
Warnings: Lingering angst. Emotional repair.
A/N: A fluff-break from the angst. Rest of the series is here.
Jessie put the car in park and suddenly the ease that had gradually settled in during your drive faded with the quieting of the motor.
“Okay, here we are,” she announced, a newly stiff smile on her face as she turned to you.
“Okay,” you returned, a near smirk on your lips despite yourself.
You two sat for a moment before you went to reach for the door.
“Oh,” Jessie spoke up, stalling your movement. You looked to her curiously. She seemed nervous, but she went on. “Uh, this is for you.”
She reached into the driver’s side pocket and retrieved an envelope, handing it to you with both hands.
You looked between her and the card for a moment, one eyebrow threatening to rise in question. You tentatively took it from her and turned it over in your hand, seeing your name neatly handwritten on the front.
“You can open it now if you want. Or later,” she explained, quickly tucking her hair behind her ears.
You responded by pushing your thumb under the flap of the envelope and opening it. You tugged out the card and a small smile pulled at your cheeks upon seeing a cute illustration of two koalas on the front with the caption “Koala-ty time” below.
You were just flipping it open when she began to speak in a bit of a rush.
"I wasn't sure if this was date-like enough. I know it's not a candle-lit dinner or a romantic walk along the river. So, I wanted to be clear.”
You heard her, but you were equally focused on what she’d written inside.
“Y/N, I’m excited for our first date. It’s long overdue, but I'm grateful for the chance to do this properly. Finally. — Jessie”
The warm feeling in your chest came back before you could stop it. You had fought hard to starve it out over the past few weeks, and for a while you had almost succeeded. But now Jessie was sitting beside you, nervous and earnest and explicit in a way she had never been before, handing you a card because she wanted you to know - without guessing, without reading between the lines - that this was a date.
Clarity.
At last.
After hearing her out, the behaviours that left you wondering, left you aching, held a different meaning.
It did not erase the hurt. It did not excuse the silence. But it changed things.
You tempered your smile as you tucked the card back in its envelope. You started speaking as you did so and looked up.
“Well, candlelit dinners aren’t really my thing. And walks along the river are more of a spring or summer thing,” you reasoned. Her apprehension faded as the corner of her mouth twitched into a concealed smile. “Besides, I told you to surprise me.”
“You did,” she affirmed. She frowned seriously. “Those, and other things, didn’t seem quite right.”
You relented enough to let a teasing smile show through.
“Yeah? I mean, if me whooping you in arcade games is what you envisioned for a first date, happy to oblige.”
Her expression brightened and you could see her relax. “You’re talking a pretty big game. We’ll see who wins.”
As you two approached the establishment, Jessie took a couple of quick steps ahead and opened the door for you with shoulders squared and a small, but certain smile. You smiled back as you moved past her and she fell into step with you again.
Now inside, a roar of light and sound swallowed you both - flashing screens, chiming machines and excited chatter ricocheting off the walls.
“Uh, over here,” Jessie said, having to speak a bit louder to be heard over everything. You followed as she led you in and procured play cards for each of you.
She handed you yours with a subtle tilt of her chin upwards and a smile.
“Thank you,” you said as you accepted it.
“Anytime,” she returned easily until her expression shifted entirely, suddenly second-guessing herself. “Or, uh, whenever.”
You let out a short involuntary, but fond laugh.
“You’re good, Jess,” you said as you took a few steps past her, touching her arm fleetingly as you did so and surprising yourself with the action.
You carried on purposefully as she came up next to you once more with a quiet smile.
“Okay. So. Where do you want to start?”
You weaved your way through the crowds and machines together, taking everything in and seeing what was available.
Jessie was explaining an entire thought process around peak times versus low times when you pointed to a couple of open skeeball lanes.
Cards tapped and skeeballs racked into place, you both began. You threw a couple, one good, one not so good. You glanced over to see Jessie lining up a shot with almost comical focus before releasing and watching its trajectory with much the same intensity.
You had to chuckle in amusement as you resumed your game.
Soon, you were nearing the end of your available balls and you glanced over to see Jessie still far too serious and with a few still remaining.
You hesitated for only a moment before casting caution aside, leaning down, and snatching a ball out of her rack. You tossed it up your lane and bit back a laugh as, in your periphery, Jessie shot upright, her head snapping toward you, jaw dropped.
You simply snickered quietly and went to reach for your remaining ball when suddenly Jessie shot in front of you and grabbed it.
You outright gasped, somehow scandalized that she’d return the favour. You didn’t even realize that you’d reached out and were now gripping her arm in protest, both of you laughing.
You drew back your hands and she straightened, returning to her spot. You subconsciously cleared your throat, feeling heat on your cheeks as she stood there holding the ball. You couldn’t quite confirm if she was actually blushing or it was just the lighting.
"Um, sorry," you said quickly. She shook her head.
"No, it's fine," she said as she returned her attention to the ball, studying it for a moment before quickly throwing it up her lane and scoring 5,000 points.
“Show off,” you said flatly, trying to ignore the heat burning on your face.
"You're still warming up," Jessie said as she threw her last ball up the lane, her final score absolutely annihilating yours. You couldn't help but laugh.
“So, um, what’s next?” You asked, nerves still a little heightened as you began stepping away.
You were so distracted you nearly careened into a small group that was rushing past. The only thing that stopped you was Jessie’s hand coming lightly to the small of your back and gently guiding you a half-step to the side. It was there for only a second - warm, steady, careful - before she seemed to realize what she’d done and let it fall away.
Still, your skin remained warm as if her palm had stayed there.
Jessie glanced at you, ears faintly pink. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” you said, a little too quickly.
Her smile went small, relieved, and the two of you kept walking.
You made your way through a series of games, settling into a groove together. And, though you weren't surprised, Jessie was taking credit-to-ticket ratios very seriously, quickly locating which games had the highest payout versus less optimal ones.
Which, frankly, worked well for you. It just so happened to be frustratingly endearing.
Not everything was about tickets though. You taunted her into playing some old school fighting game with you, much to her chagrin.
"You're just button mashing!" She complained loudly over the din of the arcade.
"Yeah, and I'm kicking your ass," you replied with an open smirk as you continued your non-tactical button-mashing approach and K.O.'d her character a few moments later.
She released a growl of frustration and you shifted your weight, nudging her lightly with your shoulder, not holding back the shit-eating grin you wore.
"Again," she deadpanned as she tapped her card for both of you to start another round.
"Your funeral," you said and you choked back a laugh at the look she shot you in your periphery.
Eventually, you made your way to a soccer simulator game where you had to kick a tethered ball to 'score' on the keeper or hit targets to earn points.
You stepped aside completely, leaning casually against a nearby pole and gesturing for her to go ahead.
"You'll rack up the tickets on this one, for sure. Can't help but feel like it's nearly cheating," you teased.
She stepped up wordlessly, but with a hint of a cocky smirk. The game counted down and she stepped back, readying herself exactly as she would've for a penalty or free kick.
With an exhale, she closed the space between her and the ball with two sure strides and sent the ball careening in with a loud bang.
You both watched the screen and you stifled a laugh as it showed her missing the target.
"What," she said, clearly affronted and glaring at the screen. She set up for another shot, some of her frustration showing in her movements as she set the ball.
She shot you a cursory glance, a stern frown on her face as she readied. You held up a hand in innocence and she huffed before taking a steadying breath. She kicked the ball decisively once more. Another miss.
"Oh my God," she said in near dismay and outrage. "This thing is broken," she went on in protest, turning to face you and pointing at the machine accusingly.
She was so adorable.
You simply shrugged. "Never mind. Maybe it's not cheating," you said with great seriousness that caused her jaw to drop.
You finally broke down in laughter at the expression on her face and you found yourself closing the space between you two, turning her by the shoulder and ushering her away.
You two took this as an opportunity to take a break. You grabbed a table while she ordered a couple of drinks.
While she was at the counter ordering, you sat at the table and watched her with a faint smile until you caught yourself. You shifted on the stool as the more conscious part of your mind took over once more.
"Here you go," she said warmly as she found you and set your drink in front of you and hopped up onto her stool.
"Thanks," you said, offering a small smile that was vastly different from the ones you'd worn not even 10 minutes ago.
"Hey, look," she said as she peered over your shoulder. "Someone's just wailing on that hammer one. It's about technique, not strength," she remarked with a short laugh.
"Oh, yeah," you said as you dutifully glanced over your shoulder and gave her a nod and another faint smile.
You could feel her gaze shift and hone in. She watched you for a moment or two before she spoke up again.
"Um, do you need anything?" She asked, a slight, but keen frown on her face. "Do you want some food or anything? I can-"
You shook your head 'no' as you examined the condensation on your glass and she quieted. You lifted your head to look at her and smiled. A closed-lipped smile, but one nonetheless.
"It's fine, Jess. I'm having a good time," you explained, before giving a thin laugh. "That's kind of the issue."
Jessie frowned. “Oh. Um. I’m sorry. Did I do something?”
“No.” You smiled faintly down at your drink. “I just forgot. That I’m still mad at you.”
Jessie’s expression softened, guilt flickering there without taking over. “Okay,” she said. “You’re allowed to be. And I understand why.”
You looked up at her for that.
She did not try to explain it away. She didn't panic and take it as an excuse to leave. She just stayed where she was.
"Thanks," you responded, taking a sip of your drink and watching her. She nodded.
"Of course. And, again, if you want to talk through anything more - I'm here," she assured you calmly before tilting her head and frowning. "Well, I mean, if I'm not physically here, I'll be available. If you know what I mean."
You couldn't help but chuckle and gave her a couple of nods.
"Yes, Jess. I get it," you said, allowing some hint of fondness to show through. "Thank you."
You took a small breath, allowing yourself to reset.
"So. How does it feel to be an NWSL champion?" You asked anew. You nearly frowned when she didn't light up the way you expected her to. Instead, she gave a soft, but wistful smile.
"It's good," she said with assuredness, despite the look she wore. Her eyes remained on you while she seemed to contemplate something further.
"It really is good," she repeated, her gaze now dropping to the table before meeting yours again. "But, it's not quite what I envisioned. My own doing. I just - I really wanted to call you that night."
You blinked, surprised at her confession. You were brought back to that evening, staring at your phone and the feeling of longing and disappointment.
"I- yeah," you haltingly agreed. You softened. "I wish you would've called, too."
Quiet fell over you two as the energy and noise continued on around you. She sighed.
"That's not the only time I wanted to call. Or text. But yeah," she fiddled with her glass and continued, "that night isn't what it could've been. Because I didn't share it with you, in some way."
She sat up straight again and went on quietly.
"I don’t say that because it makes anything better. I know I’m the reason it happened. I just don’t want you to think it was easy for me to stay away.”
You looked down at your drink.
“I kept seeing things I wanted to send you,” she added. “Articles. Weird signs. Funny menu descriptions. Stuff you would’ve had opinions about.”
She paused, then reached for her phone with a small, embarrassed frown.
“Actually. There was this mug.”
You blinked. “A mug?”
“A very bad mug.”
Despite yourself, your mouth twitched.
Jessie turned the phone toward you.
“Oh,” you said immediately. “It's hideous.”
Jessie’s face softened with helpless fondness. “I know.”
The words landed more gently than they should have.
You looked from the picture back to her. “You took a photo of a mug I would hate.”
Jessie tucked her hair behind her ear, suddenly shy again. “Yeah.”
“But you didn’t send it.”
Her smile faded at the edges. “No.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I shouldn’t.” A beat. “Because I thought wanting to talk to you wasn’t a good enough reason to make things harder for you.”
Your gaze dropped back to the phone.
“It would’ve made me laugh,” you said quietly.
Jessie swallowed. “I know. I’m sorry.”
You held her gaze for a second longer, then shook your head, fond despite yourself.
“You’re ridiculous.”
She blinked. “For taking the picture?”
“For bothering to take the picture and still not sending it.”
Her expression softened, guilty and amused all at once. “Fair.” A beat passed and she cracked a faint smirk. "I won't tell you about the others, then."
You let out a disbelieving, but somehow warm laugh and looked up at the ceiling. You dropped your gaze back to her with a shake of your head.
"You're very frustrating, Jessie Fleming," you remarked.
"I know," she accepted with an absent scratch at the back of her neck. "I'm trying. Or rather - trying not to be," she went on with a far too endearing, crooked smile.
You exhaled and pushed your drink aside as you slid off your stool. “Come on. Let’s go put your overthinking skills to use and rack up some more tickets.”
Jessie huffed a quiet, relieved laugh and stood, stepping around the table. After a small hesitation, she held out her hand to you.
You looked at it, then at her.
Then you took it, lacing your fingers with hers.
You had to ignore the lump that formed in your throat as she gave your hand a gentle squeeze and the look she wore.
You were almost embarrassed at the way your pulse hadn't quite recovered as you two weaved through the bustle. She gave the softest tug as she navigated you around a particularly rambunctious group and you couldn't quite swallow the smile that formed on your face.
"Now these are a total rip off," she commented as she began to lead you two past a few crane machines lined up next to one another. You stopped dead in your tracks, causing her to nearly stumble, but she whipped around and came back next to you with a curious frown.
"That is so cute," you said as you pointed to a stuffed axolotl among all the other toys.
"Oh," she said simply, suddenly changing her tune as she peered into the bin, looking at it from various angles. You laughed and she gave you a half-hearted glare before dropping your hand to tap her card.
You couldn't help but miss her hand almost immediately.
Your cheeks hurt as you watched her lean in towards the plexiglass and frown with concentration as she meticulously moved the crane over the plushie one tiny adjustment at a time.
"Five seconds left," you warned her as she continued to fiddle with the placement. She huffed and simply frowned deeper.
With a musical tone, the claw descended into the pit of toys, stretching over the axolotl before closing up - shifting the toy slightly, but failing to capture it.
"Ugh," she complained as she swiftly leaned down to tap her card again.
She tried two more times, once lifting the toy an inch before the claw rudely dropped it back into the pile.
"Here, let me try," you said as you stepped in closer, gently pushing her aside with your shoulder and hips. You felt her eyes on you and you glanced over to see a tinge of pink on her cheeks as she diverted her gaze towards the game.
You positioned the claw above and sent it down. Your eyes widened as the claw closed around the toy and lifted it into the air.
"No way," she said as you gasped as the toy was carried precariously through the air over to the drop. She leaned into you as you both watched and you brought a hand up to her arm, clutching her in anticipation until the plushie was dropped into the chute.
You both cheered, jostling against each other as you did, but neither of you pulled immediately away this time.
Eventually, you leaned down and retrieved the axolotl and displayed it proudly.
"Whoa, great job," she said, smiling at you. "The crane game is clearly your calling."
You blew a raspberry and gave her a fondly chiding look. "You loosened it for me."
You two carried on, exploring and playing through remaining games and returning to your favourites.
You were somehow better at shooting games. Jessie was alarmingly good at whack-a-mole and humorously affronted by any machine that fed balls too slowly. You were both terrible at basketball, which Jessie insisted was fine because the ticket-to-credit ratio was abysmal.
By the time you reached the prize counter, you both had accumulated a pretty decent amount of tickets.
"Thanks to your ticket generation strategy," you'd told her. She shrugged it off, but still looked rather pleased.
"I just did the math," she'd dismissed.
Tickets cashed in, Jessie returned with a small enamel keychain resting in her palm: a tiny arcade cabinet with a pixelated heart on the screen, one you’d smiled at earlier without thinking much of it.
You stood before her and playfully narrowed your eyes at her, hands remaining behind your back.
"Is this an official date prize? Or a friendship prize?"
"Date prize. Definitely a date prize," she affirmed without skipping a beat.
"Then I accept," you said with a growing smile. "Thank you."
You tried not to grin as she rocked up onto the balls of her feet and nearly preened.
With your tickets spent and prizes in hand, you two left the arcade, stepping out into the night air. You laughed at the sudden quiet as the doors closed behind you.
"Just a little more peaceful out here," you joked.
"Yeah, sorry," she said as she scratched behind her ear. You turned to her with a slight frown.
"Don't be sorry. I had a very good time," you told her with far less internal conflict than earlier in the evening.
"Yeah?" She asked, trying not to look too pleased or hopeful. You had to smile.
"Yeah." A beat passed and you gave her a look. "Don't make me regret it."
She stood there, calm and steady.
"I won't."
She held your hand again as she walked you to the car.
When she parked in front of your building, you pressed your palms against your pants as nerves - different this time - started to settle in again.
"Can I walk you to your door?" She asked.
"Sure," you said with a laugh.
You walked together to the front door of your building and came to a stop, turning to stand in front of one another.
"Um, thanks for tonight," Jessie said as you could see her own nerves creeping back in. She fidgeted slightly, her gaze wandering a bit before landing on you again. "I know it was far from a given. So, I really appreciate you giving me this chance."
You nodded. "Well. Thanks for being clear with me. Eventually," you said, now somehow able to say it with a teasing smirk.
"Better late than never?" She asked facetiously with a faint grimace, hands lifting in a faint, guilty shrug.
"You're lucky you're cute," you retorted and Jessie’s face did something wonderfully unguarded - surprise first, then wonder she clearly had no idea how to hide. You couldn't help but feel an exciting pull in your chest at her reaction. It emboldened you.
"Now. Jessie, if I asked you to kiss me, would you?"
She blinked several times, shock overtaking the pleased flush still lingering on her face.
"What?" She asked before quickly correcting herself. "Yeah. Yes, I would."
You nodded calmly and smiled, quietly pleased. She stood in front of you, staring at your lips then up at your eyes.
"Oh- now? A-are you sure?"
Instead of being hurt or irritated by her hesitation, you were endeared. Now that you knew where she stood, her awkwardness and her caution didn't read as rejection anymore.
"Oh my gosh," you muttered fondly as you reached out and pulled her in by her shirt. Your lips met hers, warm and soft, and you couldn’t help smiling into the kiss as her hands came to rest on your waist.
You pulled back, breaking the kiss to look at her. Her eyes were slow to open and she looked dazed in the best way. A slow, crooked smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she stared at you.
"Was that okay?" You asked, less joking this time, genuinely not wanting her to be uncomfortable.
Her response was to wrap her arms securely around your waist and pull you into another kiss. More confident; deeper this time.
When she eventually broke off the kiss, you were very much the one who was now dazed. Nearly breathless.
After more than a year of wanting her, you had finally kissed her. And then she had kissed you back like that.
And, well, it was quite the kiss.
"More than okay," she replied.
"Hm?" You asked, blinking a few times in confusion. She cracked a smirk.
"You asked if it was okay. The kiss," she said easily. If you weren't mistaken, there may have been a cheeky glint in her eye.
"Right," you said quickly, disregarding your blush and tucking your hair behind your ear. "Pretty decent first date, Fleming," you tried to deflect, striving to appear composed and certainly not weak in the knees after a simple kiss from her.
You strongly suspected you were failing.
"I'll take that," she said softly, her arms still around your waist.
You were very aware of how she - intentionally or not - thumbed the back of your hips through your shirt. If she kept that up you'd be thinking about a lot more than a kiss soon.
"So, if you're interested - and you don't have to answer now - I'd love to take you on a second date," she said, her eyes shifting from your eyes to your lips and back again and her voice in a tone you were sure you hadn’t heard from her before.
You swallowed involuntarily, grazing your thumb up and down the back of her neck. You let your impulses take over and you leaned in, kissing her again. She met you readily, wrapping her arms a touch tighter around you.
You could easily feel the heat on your cheeks when you pulled back and your thoughts went dangerously astray upon seeing the way she looked at you.
You cleared your throat.
"I think your chances are pretty good for a second date," you told her.
Her look transformed into a slow, open smile. You gave her a chaste kiss.
"Night, Jess. Text me later," you said softly. She initiated a chaste kiss of her own.
Summary: After weeks of absence, Jessie asks for one conversation that could either change everything or prove that she came back too late.
Warnings: Angst. Emotional hurt/comfort.
A/N: Jessie POV. Rest of the series is here.
“Hi. I know this is a lot to ask, and you don’t have to say yes. But would you be willing to talk in person? I owe you more honesty than I gave you, and I’d like to apologize properly.”
Jessie’s heartbeat echoed in her chest as the message sent and nested into the conversation above. She released a slow, steady breath in an effort to calm her nerves.
Her trip home had started a reckoning, forcing Jessie to pull apart the careful logic she’d built around her choices - and around everything she had chosen not to do.
She’d talked with her parents a bit more, and even select confidants - Janine, Sam.
They understood the life. That was the uncomfortable part. They understood travel, absences, injuries, the strange guilt of asking someone to build around a calendar that never belonged entirely to you. And still, neither of them seemed to arrive at the same conclusion Jessie had.
It was helpful, but still, she huffed dismissively at their advice:
Just chill out.
It’s not like you’re asking her to marry you.
You’re acting like you’ve left her to raise imaginary kids all by herself.
That’s life. You just figure it out.
Sure. Yeah. It was that simple. What was there to worry about?
She was just built different. But, her approach wasn’t the valiant, noble path she’d once envisioned.
She was at a crossroads. She could stay quiet and call it respect until there was nothing left between you but the silence she'd made. Or she could finally tell you the truth and accept whatever you chose to do with it.
So. Now, she had to wait. Like she’d made you do for her so many times. Not only the past several weeks, but on and off throughout your friendship.
Relationship.
And she’d let you suffer alone.
She’d worked so hard to protect you. And under her watch, all of her intricate care transformed into something damaging and hurtful.
She wasn’t sure she deserved your forgiveness. You’d done nothing to earn the hurt she’d dealt you. But if Jessie was good at one thing, it was doing the work in front of her. This time, though, the work was not convincing you. It was telling the truth and accepting what came after.
If you’d let her.
She said ‘goodbye’ to her parents, killed time at the airport, and was settling into her seat on the plane by the time you texted back.
“I don’t understand. You’ve barely spoken to me for weeks, and now you want to talk in person? What changed?”
She took a steadying breath as she formulated her response.
“I know. I’m sorry. I thought staying away was the right thing to do. But you were right. I was making a decision for both of us and that wasn’t fair. You didn’t deserve that.”
She was partway through a podcast, doing her best to distract herself when you replied.
“I don’t know if I have it in me to do this again.”
Her heart sank. She’d drained you of your warmth and generosity.
A piece of her, the part she was most comfortable with, immediately threw up a cautionary flag. This attempt to explain herself was threatening to hurt you.
Abort. Stop being selfish.
She had to be conscientious and firm with herself.
No. Hiding was selfish. Keeping you in the dark was selfish.
“I understand. And I’m really sorry. I’m not trying to pull you back into the same thing.”
“You’ve said what you needed to say. You made your decision clear. In more ways than one by now.”
That familiar twisting in her chest sprang to life.
"I didn’t say what I needed to say. I acted like I did, but I didn’t, and that’s part of the problem. I won’t push. But if you’re ever willing, I’d like to tell you the truth. What I should've said before. Then it’s up to you what you want to do."
Several minutes passed before a new text came through.
“I don’t know. I’m having trouble trusting this.”
Her throat constricted with emotion. She hated that she’d done this to you.
“I can understand that. If you’d be willing to hear me out, that’s all I’m asking for. But I’ll respect whatever you choose.”
She was retrieving her bag from the carousel back in Portland when her phone buzzed in her hand.
“Okay. I can listen. But that’s all I’m promising.”
The smile that broke out across her face with a breath of relief was entirely involuntary. Her bag dropped down off the ramp and rolled past her as she typed out a reply that she had to downplay.
“Thank you. I really appreciate that. Truly.”
She saw you typing and remained still, waiting patiently.
“K. I’m free on Tuesday for a bit after work. We can meet for coffee at Point at 7.”
She typed her response as her bag made a second lap on the carousel.
“Perfect. I’ll see you there.”
—————
“Are we still on for coffee?”
Jessie frowned, disappointment filling her chest.
The juxtaposition was jarring. Jessie had spent the day thinking about nearly nothing but coffee with you. In fact, as your text came through she was about 20 minutes into fiddling with her look. Hair up? Hair down. Toque? No toque. Green button up? Or grey crewneck.
And here you were wondering if she was going to bail.
“Of course. If you’re still available.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
Jessie made sure she was early. If you were already worried about whether she’d show up or not, she didn’t want you to get there and wonder.
She was seated at an open table, alert and waiting. Most times, she’d be focused on trying to appear casual. Occupied. Like she wasn’t blatantly early or waiting.
Tonight, she didn’t care to pretend.
Her breath literally caught in her throat as she saw you appear in the doorway and enter. She forced a hard swallow as her eyes remained locked on you as you tentatively scanned the interior of the coffee shop. As your gaze neared, her hand shot up and she found herself offering a too-eager smile as she straightened in her seat.
Your eyes met hers and you paused, blinking for a moment. Her wide smile faltered as you watched her neutrally. Her nerves were starting to fire when your mouth shifted into a fleeting, tight-lipped smile and you weaved your way over.
Her heart raced as you approached. It’d been so long since she’d seen you. She was so grateful to see you again.
Her pictures of you didn’t do you justice.
She could feel her chest rise and fall as she tried to remain steady. You gave another brief, polite smile as you came to stand next to the table.
“Hi,” she greeted. Too friendly. Too light for what this was. She abruptly stood to match you. “Hi,” she repeated.
“Hi,” you returned.
“Um. Can I get you a coffee? What would you like?” She asked, eyebrows high on her forehead.
“I’ll get my own,” you responded evenly, expression still neutral.
“Oh yeah,” Jessie accepted easily, her gaze dropping momentarily before she looked back with a soft smile. “I’ll hold the table.”
You seemed to study her for just a fraction of a second before giving a single nod and angling away with an “Okay.”
Jessie’s leg bounced rapidly as she waited, now allowing herself to look at the menu on her phone. She stilled her movements as you returned.
She noticed that you got your coffee to go. She tried not to dwell on it.
When she returned a few minutes later with her own drink, you fidgeted slightly in your seat before reclining into it and resting your hands in your lap with a look to her.
Guess that was her cue.
She rubbed the back of her neck for a moment before righting herself.
“Thanks. For meeting me,” she said. Her knee started to bounce again and she stilled it immediately. “I know you didn’t have to, but I really appreciate it.”
You gave her another thin, almost humourless smile, with a faint lift of your shoulder.
“I said I’d listen,” you clarified. She gave a few quick nods.
“I know. Thank you,” she repeated.
“I have to say I was surprised to hear from you,” you said carefully as you intently turned your coffee cup.
“I know,” Jessie accepted quietly. She swallowed. “I- I disappeared. And I shouldn’t have.”
You watched her, your stillness making it clear that you were expecting more.
"I told myself I was giving you space. And I think part of me believed it - that that's what was right."
You continued to observe her carefully.
She had to make the leap.
"But the truth is, I- I just didn't know what to do," she ventured, fumbling slightly. Her attention shifted between your watchful stare and at her cup as she continued to work up her courage and recall the words she'd run through so many times now.
"The truth is," she started again, "is that I can't do things halfway. With you." She let the statement sit and took the opportunity to breathe. "I told you I couldn't commit to more. And, I didn't know how to be anything less with you."
Your expression shifted subtly. Surprise, maybe. Or maybe she was only hopeful enough to see it before you masked it again.
She took it as a crumb of encouragement and carried on.
"And so," she took another quick breath, "I left. And I told myself I was protecting you. Not recreating...what we had...but," a weak chuckle escaped her, "I was actually just-" Her eyes scanned the table before settling on you. Her posture softened at the sight of you. "-terrified."
At this, you openly frowned. You opened your mouth to speak and your words were slow to come out.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I've let a lot of things stand in the way of or distort how I actually feel. About you. Us."
She let the word sit.
"I know you were just asking about a date. But, I couldn't help but think about-" she backpedaled slightly, feeling heat rush to her face, "-a whole life."
She shook her head and went on quickly.
"I know that's too intense. I'm often too intense. But I-I just couldn't think about becoming more with you without thinking about the scale of what it would ask of you. Not just now, but, in the future." She held up a hand preemptively. "I know that's crazy. And so presumptuous. And I really didn't mean it that way - but I just couldn't think of things lightly."
She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, the tension expelling from her body as she did so. When she spoke, her voice was soft.
"I'm not casual about you."
She sounded stripped bare by it and she didn't want to be. She sat there with her shoulders rounded and hands tucked between her knees.
"I know this is a lot."
You sat up straighter in your chair and took a visible breath. Jessie waited and tried to ignore the incessant thumping in her chest.
"That was...yes, a lot," you admitted tentatively. You softened. "But, I don't - I don't know. I need to process."
Jessie nodded and tried to give you a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, of course," she said. "I, yeah, disappeared, and now I've come back and totally just dumped on you." She finished with an effortful laugh.
You turned your coffee cup idly again, scrutinizing it as you did so, before lifting your gaze to her once more. A faint frown lingered on your face.
"I-" you started before taking a moment. "So you were terrified of...a life? Together?"
Jessie felt heat crawling up her neck again and she scratched at her temple.
"Well, I mean, that sounds extreme. I know a date doesn't mean a life. Or that you were thinking anything like that with me - which is totally okay," she babbled, her gaze settling on the lighting fixtures around the room before returning to you.
"I was terrified of what a relationship with me would ask of you, and cost you. I know you said you heard me on my life - and to be honest - I still stand by my concerns around the demands of it. But," she said pointedly, "you are right. I should've been honest about what I was actually feeling, and then let you decide."
You exhaled heavily and took a sip of your drink as you contemplated. You set it back down and studied the sleeve of the cup again.
"Okay," you suddenly said decisively as you locked eyes with her. "So tell me. What about your life - and what you think it would cost me - scares you."
Her posture straightened to attention, as if suddenly called upon in class. She'd gone over this hundreds of times in her head, so why did the words suddenly feel stuck in her throat?
"Sure," she eventually said. "I mean, you see some of it now. How often I'm gone. The changes in my schedule. I miss important things - and little things, those matter too - no matter how much I want the opposite."
"The demands of my routines; recovery," she went on. "And, frankly, the ups and downs that come with competitions and performances. I'd be bringing that home; affecting us and inadvertently asking you to bend around my needs even if I don't want that."
"Never mind injuries. I've been really lucky so far, but - that may very well not always be the case. I've seen what it asks of partners. Physically and emotionally."
She took an unsteady breath.
"And future. Well. If we became serious-" she paused, "-I'm terrified of what you may sacrifice. Not because you'd have to, but because you're generous, and you're caring, and I just...yeah. I know, it's not fair to make that leap, but - you're asking what I had in mind and this is it.
"If we were together and I needed to transfer teams, I just- I would hate to be the one who you either wasted time and affection on only for it to end. Or worse, for you to give up your life here to support me."
She felt jittery, eyes now staring blankly at the table as she racked her mind. There was more to say, but she looked up to meet your steady gaze instead.
"That's, uh, enough for now," she said slowly. "That's pretty much the gist."
You blinked a couple of times.
"Okay...there's a lot to unpack here," you said. The faint laugh you gave surprised her and it prompted a watery laugh from her. She found herself sniffling and she quickly sat up and wiped her face.
"Sorry," she offered with a weak laugh.
"No," you said oddly unbothered as you nearly cocked your head at her. You contemplated before speaking. "I mean, after the past month, this is-" you paused, "better."
Jessie blinked back the last of the tears that threatened to fall as the corner of her mouth twitched with the hint of a hopeful smile. She composed herself, not wanting to get ahead of things.
"I don't know where to begin," you eventually said as you absently scratched at your jaw. You frowned in time.
"Why didn't you just tell me these things before?" You questioned, some exasperation bled into your voice.
Jessie released a shaky breath. "I don't have an excuse. Nothing good anyway," she said as she leaned forward, arms on her knees. "It was never about not wanting you. I think - if anything, it was about wanting too much." She sat up again and rubbed her ear before she finally forced herself to meet your gaze again.
"But you didn't even give it a chance," you said, the latent hurt evident in your voice and causing her stomach to drop in shame. "You wouldn't even let us talk about it."
"I know," she admitted quietly. "I was wrong to just decide on your behalf. I wasn't thinking of it that way at the time, I thought it was the right thing to do - to care about you by 'sparing' you what my life might ask of you. But it was wrong to not have an honest conversation and let you choose."
"That's right," you agreed unflinching. "It was selfish of you to let me guess for months, and then to just take any choice away from me in the end. And," you went on, "your reasons are strangely self-centered."
Jessie couldn't help but frown subtly. Self-centered?
You must've clocked her confusion because you folded your arms against yourself and gave an amused huff.
"Yes, Jessie. Self-centered."
The statement probably would've worried her more, but the faint smirk at the corner of your mouth dulled her concern.
"Yes. I get it. Your life demands a lot. It's not typical. It's rigid, but also unpredictable. Maybe I don't get all of it, but I'm not oblivious either. If you haven't noticed, our lives actually became pretty intertwined-" a flash of hurt crossed your face "-so I've been inside a lot of it already. And it didn't hinder things. You hindered things."
You sat up, dormant aggravation seeming to fuel you. "I never had a problem with you missing things or being away. I wasn't bothered by or afraid of your moods. I just," you paused, swallowing briefly, "I wanted in. You wanted to get away."
Jessie released a sad sigh. "I didn't. I know my actions didn't show that, but I didn't actually want to disappear. I just never wanted to burden you."
"Well if that's what you still think, then we have a problem," you said unwavering.
"No," she relented gently. "I need to trust that you'd tell me if it ever got to be too much."
You nodded silently as you dropped your gaze, eyes now wet. You inhaled sharply.
"Anyway. What I was trying to say. It's weirdly arrogant to think that your life is the only one that may have demands. Who's to say I might not find an opportunity elsewhere that would - if we were ever together - ask us to move? And. I don't know, maybe this is simplistic, but contracts are a year or a few years; there are ways to navigate. And, heaven forbid, I could get sick, or injured, too."
She swallowed around the lump that promptly formed in her throat and dropped her chin to her chest briefly before lifting her eyes to yours. She nodded.
"You're right," she confessed. "That's true. And I'm sorry."
You blew out an uneven exhale between your lips and toyed with your cup again. You both sat wordlessly at the table while bustle and noise carried on around you.
"So what now? What does this all mean?" You asked, suddenly looking tired.
She rubbed her palms together as she readied to speak.
“I want you. Not halfway. Not when it's convenient. I want to try. And I know it should maybe just be fun and easy - I shouldn't think ahead; just see where things go. But I can’t think like that. I don’t look at you and see just a date on the weekend. I see - I see a life. Choices. Milestones."
She took a quiet, steadying breath.
"So. I want to try. I want to be with you. Commit to you - properly. But if you're interested in that, I need to know you understand what a life with me would actually involve. I just need to know that you won't feel like I've not been forthcoming, that I've promised something I can't truly deliver."
You frowned and let out a sigh, softening. "You seem to think you're the only one who thinks ahead, but I take things seriously too. So. It's not talks like this that scare me. Believe it or not, I've thought about a lot of this, too. What scares me is not being allowed to understand where your head's at. Being iced out of decisions."
Another breath. "And quite frankly, even though we weren't together, you showed up more and were more caring and attentive than, yeah, probably any actual girlfriend of mine. So, some of your argument is bullshit."
You took a moment.
"If it becomes 'our' life. Then you need to act like it. Shared understanding. Shared decisions. We're still our own people, and I need you to respect me. Actually respect me. You can't make choices for me."
She felt the weight of your words and nodded her understanding. And maybe she shouldn't feel a spark of hope deep in her chest, but it burned behind her ribs regardless.
"I agree. I won’t make decisions for you and call it respect again," she told you. She took a sip of her drink, the cup still largely full and the coffee cooling fast. She set it down with a questioning look. "You've - thought about the future?" She braved.
You exhaled and shifted slightly in your seat. "Yes."
Jessie waited, but you didn't offer more. Her stomach twisted around as doubt filled her system, but she continued.
"I know this is leaping way too far ahead. But it's one of the things I really want to be transparent about," she said. Her face started to warm as she prepped her words. "You've said you want kids. I do too. So, if we made it, and, you know, it's like, way in the future. I just want to be transparent about what a family together would require."
She paused to gauge your reaction and you sat patiently for her to continue. Her cheeks felt blazing hot, but she forged on.
"As much as I would want to be around for everything. Truly. I think I'd be," she trailed off, a goofy smile crossing her face for a split second before resetting. "Anyway. Reality is, I'd be away. A lot. And I know that's far from fair. But truth is, a lot would fall on my partner...you." She inhaled, chest rising. "I'd do whatever I can to make up for it when I'm back, but...I just wouldn't want you to feel cheated out of the family experience or life you wanted."
You watched her quietly, expression even.
"We're a long ways off from a proper date," you said a bit wryly. "But. I repeat. I've thought about the future, too, Jessie."
Your words set in and, somehow, a smile snuck up on her and she tried to stifle it as she dipped her head.
"Okay," she said softly.
She took another breath, a strange blend of energy and nerves rushing through her.
"I think that's all I have to say right now," she went on. "I'm incredibly sorry for the way I hurt you. And how I made you question yourself. And for leaving. You deserved to know the truth. I'd like to take you out on a date - an actual date - like I should've done a long time ago. And then keep showing you, if you’ll let me, that I’m not going to run from this again."
"You said you'd listen, and you have - so, thank you," she went on. "I don't need you to answer anything right now. You can take whatever time you need. And I'll answer any other questions you have."
You were quiet for long enough that Jessie had to remind herself not to fill the space.
Finally, you looked down at the coffee cup between your hands.
“I had to start getting over you,” you said, voice quieter now. “I don’t know if you understand that.”
Jessie’s chest tightened.
“I do,” she said, though the words felt too small. “I know why. And I’m sorry.”
You nodded once, not quite accepting it, but not rejecting it either.
Another silence passed.
"I want time to think first," you said gently.
"Of course," Jessie agreed, despite the way her stomach flipped. "Absolutely."
You gave a quick smile of thanks as you pushed your chair out. You looked at her a moment before standing. She reciprocated and soon the two of you were outside.
The night air was cold enough that you wrapped your arms around yourself.
"Thanks again for meeting me. And listening," Jessie said. You nodded.
"Yeah. And, thanks, for - you know - reaching out," you said.
For one wild, selfish second, Jessie wanted to ask if she could walk you home. Or hug you. Or do anything that would make the night feel less like simply watching you leave.
She did none of that.
"Good night."
"Good night, Y/N."
----------
“One date."
Jessie went very still as she read your text over a bowl of granola and yogurt.
The three dots appeared before she could remember how to breathe.
“An actual one. No almost-date. No pretending it’s something else. No deciding halfway through that you’re protecting me by leaving.”
Jessie dropped her spoon into the bowl with a clang and typed a reply.
"Yes. Of course. And no, I won't do that."
“And I’m not promising I’m not still angry.”
“I know.”
“Or that I trust you yet.”
“I know. That's very understandable."
“Okay. One date.”
A smile crossed Jessie's face before she could stop it, fragile and disbelieving.
"Okay. I'd really like that. Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet haha."
Jessie let out a wet huff of a laugh.
"Okay, I'll try not to. And we can figure out details whenever you’re ready."
She set the phone down on the table and stared at it for a long moment.
okay with mel like imagine emotional!r like i mean everytime they have sex she cries (obv the good kind) but it ends up turning mel on sm because she likes that reader is being emotionally vulnerable with her!! -🤓
✉️ mel would loooveeee an emotional gf oh my days the eyes you just opened for me, nonie! would honestly make it so much easier for her to express her own emotions because, yes, let's cry together & cuddle & vent to each other! wowowow genius, thank youuuuu love youuuu <3 enjoy
demure! crybaby!reader, implications of depression & some sad doctor stuff, mentions of Amber & pittfest, dacriphillya (mostly mel just loving you being emotional w her), scissoring, strap usage (r!receiving), mentions of fingering (r!receiving), mentions of oral (mel!receiving), clit play, praise kink!, lowkey possessive!mel wc 1.6k 18+ MEN & MDNI
Sometimes, Mel wondered if you had any emotion left for yourself.
A rare feat, as she had learned and been informed over the years, was to keep in close contact with one's feelings in the medical field. Hospitals were like shower drains that waited for the tears to fall, taking the opportunity to pull them down, down, down until you had nothing left to give. There wasn’t a department that could be spared from it. It was why there was a phone number and email address for a board-sponsored EAP at the end of every weekly update. Why, even with that resource, many figured it was better to just sit and accept that you were never going to feel normal again after seeing so many people torn apart in ways you hadn’t even pictured. Why 45% of doctors didn’t get said therapy, and why it was better to bottle things up and not feel them. Because it was easier.
Mel didn’t want to be that way.
And she worked hard not to become that way. She liked it whenever her co-workers would tell her how insane it was that she still had so much empathy. A strange thing to think, she figured, but she understood why they believed that. It was hard not to let herself fall into despair, but she had learned that letting the emotions course through her–taking a moment to work through them and accept that she was sad or upset or happy or frustrated–let her keep those precious pieces of herself. Learned it from you.
You cried three times that first shift Mel had at the PTMC.
For Amber. When Mel had sought you out, her own eyes teary, after speaking to Amber’s little sister. Right before you went home after the mass casualty.
Mel had thought it looked exhausting.
And she learned about your reputation–sweet resident who was too young and too soft for a place like the ED. Collins thought you weren’t gonna last a week until she took you under her wing. Robby had to tone things back when he gave you feedback out of fear that you would burst into tears if he spoke too harshly. Even Santos put a pause on her usual crudeness when you would bound around her.
Crybaby, was what she nicknamed you.
Mel thought it was cruel.
You just felt things deeply. That was your strength. People focused on when you would cry after a failed procedure, after losing someone who had a family and a life, but it was what made you human. They didn’t focus on how determined you would get when working. How you got so overjoyed with positive results that sometimes you would bounce up and down a little. How you would flare up like an angry cat when someone got too brave with one of your patients. How warm you got when it was just you and Mel.
Mel noticed, though. Mel noticed everything about you.
You cried the first time she had sex with you.
Arms wrapped around her so tightly that Mel thought her struggling to breathe was because of the way you were clinging to her (it wasn’t–your cunt just felt so good it made her forget how to get air in her lungs). Big eyes staring up at her, barely blinking away from her face, as tears rolled down your cheeks as Mel had rolled her clit against your own. Tiny hiccups had escaped your swollen lips, skin warm as your nails dug into her ribs. Felt like you were trying to get to her own heart, with how you spilled yours for her.
Normally, Mel would’ve been worried. Would’ve stopped all movements and put five feet between you before she could make things worse, like she was so good at doing. But things were different with you. She knew how to handle you. Knew what you could get like and, honestly, she would’ve been worried if you didn’t cry.
Because the way you expressed your emotions for others was how you communicated them for yourself.
It was how you showed her how much being intimate with her meant to you, your silent way of saying ‘I love you’ when you were too blissed out to actually get the words free. It was trust handed to Mel that made her feel needed in a way she had never felt before. And she was obsessed.
A small, strangled gasp leaves you when Mel notches the head of the strap against your hole–clenching, needy. Probably still a little sensitive from her fingers, but Mel was nothing if not determined and meticulous, making sure you were going to get that emotional closeness you both craved with as minimal pain as possible. Your cheeks are still flushed from how long you’d spent between her own legs as well. The thought made her own clit throb as she slowly began to push inside of you, eyes stuck on the way your mouth falls open in little whimpers as your eyes flutter. Lashes not thick with tears.
As she bottoms out, Mel leans over you so her front is pressed against yours, nipples brushing as your clit nuzzles against the base of her strap, making your thighs tremble around her hips. Face close enough to yours so she could press her lips right to your cheek.
“Mel,” you breathe after a moment, squirming under her just enough so she can hear how slick you are around her cock. She doesn’t move. It’s not intentional, not meant to be teasing–just her freezing so she can take you in. So near and adhering to her like you were afraid that if you let go of her, she would disappear. Her lips against your face as you whine under her, hips bucking up to at least try and grind your engorged clit on her to get some friction. Some more pleasure to add to the satisfying weight deep inside of your pussy. “Mel–”
The repetition of her name, the slightly whiny tone at the end, makes her snap out of the daze, pulling away enough only to press her forehead against yours.
“Sorry,” she whispers, hands pressed in the comforter on either side of you. “You just– I can’t believe you’re real sometimes.” Her tone is soft, barely above a breath as she finally draws her hips back just enough to have you gasping and trembling again. The slow draw against your walls probably being enough to stimulate those sensitive spots. If it weren’t for the fact that she knew your body so well, Mel would still be able to tell from the way your eyes fill with tears.
“That feels– perfect,” you praise, voice shaky as your hands move to knead at her shoulders, back arching so you can rock up against her hips. Give her some pleasure as well from the friction her pussy gets from fucking you slow and deep. Her favorite way. “Oh my god–”
“Shh, shh, you’re okay,” Mel manages, barely able to get the words out from the heat curling through her. One of her hands slips between your legs, pointer and middle finger moving to press against that bundle of nerves. Give you every little bit of pleasure that your body could handle before those small tears would escape from your eyes. Exactly what she wants. She knows it subconsciously–wants that level of faith that you’ve never failed to give her before. “Can you cry for me?”
A moan is leaving your lips, eyes fluttering shut, and eyebrows pinching together as you buck up against her in a particularly rough thrust that makes Mel’s own movements stutter. It’s the end of her steadiness for the night, the next movement of her hips uneven in rhythm as she tries to focus on angling the strap to focus on those spots that would have you creaming around her.
“People don’t– Ask me to cry,” you whimper, voice thin as you peek your eyes back open, half-lidded. Watery. Mel rubs your clit just slightly. Sees the way it makes your breath hitch, and the next second, it has the first set of tears falling over your waterline. “Usually tells me to stop,” you whine as your arms scramble to encircle her shoulders, mouth pressing up to hers. You’re close, Mel can hear it in your voice.
“I love it,” she whispers, her own brows pinching together as she rolls your clit between her fingers just right. Right enough to have you trembling and sucking her cock into your pussy as you silently let the tears fall. Strangely, it feels therapeutic. “I love you. Anything you want to give to me– I’ll take it.”
You keen quietly, nails dragging over her shoulders harsh enough that Mel knows you’ll want to put lotion over her back once you’re done.
“I’m the one who gets you like this,” she whines, mostly to herself. Too far gone in your body. In the way you make her feel. “S’for me–”
“I love you,” you repeat to her, her words falling on deaf ears. You’re panting softly, continuing to fuck up against her and make tiny sparks of pleasure dance along her spine as she presses her mouth to yours. Nudges your nose with hers. “Y’so good to me, Mel. Fuck me s’good.” Her hips stutter again, brain lighting up at the praise and at the fact that you’re telling her how good she is for you. How good she is at making you cry around her cock. The thought is too much, her fingers dancing over your pussy faster as she practically falls onto you, hips drilling into your cunt in a way that has you squealing. A few warning gasps of her name as you press your palms against her back.
Mel wondered if you had any emotion left for yourself, because you just loved to give it to her.
You cum when Mel turns her head, tongue darting out to clean one of the tears from your skin.
Cheers were still erupting from her teammates as they finally retreated to the locker room, yells of celebration bouncing off the walls and feeding the energy around her.
Jessie wore a smile on her face and even forced a skip into her step as she bounded in with the team, but it was anything but effortless.
Another bottle of champagne came out, cork popped and liquor sprayed as her teammates started taking pictures of themselves and others, displaying their medals proudly.
She somehow found herself standing still as the room moved around her.
"Jessie!"
The practiced smile immediately spread across her face as her name registered and she perked up, returning the cheer Liv initiated. As soon as the moment passed, she practically felt the energy drain out of her, her shoulders rounding out.
She retreated to her cubby, against her better judgement, and retrieved her phone.
Messages from her parents. Her siblings. Former teammates. Friends.
You.
Her breath caught in her throat against her will and her thumb hovered over your name. She tapped the notification.
“Congratulations!! You played really hard. I’m really happy for you. Please pass along my congrats to everyone. Mac’s really gonna be feeling it tomorrow after some of those dives haha.”
Her throat constricted and she blinked hard a few times.
She mindlessly scrolled up in your conversation and she felt the ache immediately as she saw her replies.
She saw what wasn't there. Inside jokes, pictures she'd send, reading and watching recommendations.
She wanted to tell you how horrible the pillows were. You would've hated the coffee here. The sunset was beautiful. She wanted to tell you...too much.
And now that the match was behind her - her first Championship win - she should be experiencing one of the thrills of her life. Instead, she felt this hollow ache inside.
She wanted to send you some stupid selfie where she was smiling too awkwardly, too eagerly with a goofy thumbs up that always made you laugh. She wanted to joke about Mac. Hell, if she was being really honest, she wanted to find the least rowdy corner and FaceTime you. Hear your voice. See the way the corner of your eyes softened when you smiled at her.
She wanted to ask you when she could see you next.
But that was an impossibility now.
She'd taken enough from you. Now, she had to be fair to you. And that meant she couldn't recreate the familiarity and the intimacy she'd indulged in before. That's how she put you in this situation in the first place and she refused to do it again.
So:
“Thank you, Y/N. Means a lot. And I will. Yeah, haha, she killed it tonight.”
She didn't want to be cold. She didn't want you to think you weren't important to her. But she had to be careful.
Riotous chanting started up again behind her, bringing her back to the moment. Right, there was a celebration to be had.
She just wanted to share the moment with you.
She was quiet on the flight back, grateful for the excuse to say that the party the night before took it out of her.
And the days dragged on. And they were exhausting.
She thought she'd been disciplined before, but this required a new level of conscientiousness.
There were reminders of you everywhere. A new feature coffee at a local shop that she wanted to tell you about. A pop-up market you two would've liked. An interesting article to share with you. A funny post. A wry observation.
She looked at her calendar and saw the pockets she used to keep free for you; little sacred slivers of time she held so dear. Now, she tried to fill them to dull the ache.
And worse, the upcoming stretch she was looking forward to sharing with you. An actual break where she could try to make up for lost time.
Now, it was just an unfinished road trip itinerary she'd mapped out with too much care, too much hope, to keep pretending it meant nothing.
Restaurants with dishes you'd like. A cool bookstore you'd love both. The scenic route planned with plenty of options for pictures. Hike options depending on whether you were feeling energized or drained and tired. Playlists for different moods, including artists and genres you'd enjoy. Hotels saved, but not booked.
In its place, a "I hope your week's been going well" text would have to do.
By the time she was boarding a flight home to her parents' place for the holidays, your name had fallen down the series of threads in her messages to the point where she had to scroll to your conversation.
Even now, it hurt to not reach out and she missed you terribly.
When she walked through the arrival doors she was greeted by her dad with a boisterous wave.
"Hey Dad," she said with a smile as she let him envelop her in a big hug.
"Hey Kiddo," he said as he rocked her from side to side, eliciting a grumble from her. He merely laughed. "Hey," he continued as he drew back enough to look at her, "you're lucky I didn't have a big, fully decorated sign - 'NWSL Champion Jessie Fleming'."
She rolled her eyes heavily. "Oh my God, Dad."
"See? I knew better. Don't say I never did anything nice for you," he joked.
"Uh huh," she complained, a smile lingering on her face as they began their trek to the car.
"So...no company?" He ventured with an arched eyebrow and a sidelong glance.
"Hm?" She asked with a frown.
"Well. Your mom and I thought you might bring Y/N. We were starting to think we'd actually get to meet her," he relayed with a chuckle.
Something shifted inside her and all levity dissipated.
"No," she answered simply, finding it hard to even get that out. Belated, unjustified irritation swept over the ache that began to bloom. She frowned anew. "Why would she be here?" She asked sharper than intended.
Her dad didn't reply right away; instead they walked several steps before he answered, gentle and more serious this time.
"I was half joking, sweetie," he said. "She just sounded like someone important to you. So, if that were the case, of course we'd want to meet her." A beat. "Whenever you'd be ready though."
She kept her eyes trained forward and unnecessarily readjusted her backpack straps as they continued.
An acceptable time to respond came and went before she eventually spoke, voice low and more tentative than she'd like.
"We haven't really talked much lately," she confessed.
"Oh?" He said lightly as they reached the SUV and he popped the trunk. They pushed against one another as they idly competed for who would hoist her bag into the trunk. He gave her a pointed look and she relented with a performative sigh and another eyeroll as she let him grab the bag. "Any reason you haven't talked much?"
She released an exhale as she walked to the passenger seat and got in.
"I don't know," she eventually replied, sounding too much like a borderline petulant teenager. She took a corrective beat. "I, um, I don't know," she went on, tone shifting as she struggled to verbalize it. "I, uh, realized - I guess - that I was hurting her. Not intentionally of course, but, um, yeah. So I figured space would be better."
She felt her dad's eyes on her before he started the car.
"Oh. That sounds complicated," he said. He proceeded to drive. "Well, you have a good head on your shoulders. I know you wouldn't make a decision lightly. But you know that if you want to talk about any of this, we're here, right?"
"Yeah, I know," she accepted as she looked out the window at the familiar sights.
He took mercy on her throughout the rest of the drive back to her childhood home, switching topics and bringing some light and fun back into their conversation.
She'd mostly forgotten her discomfort by the time they were walking into the house and her mom came down the stairs with a big smile to welcome her.
"Oh my gosh! It's so good to see you, sweetie," she said warmly in Jessie's ear as they embraced tightly.
Then, she looked past Jessie to the door with a playful grin.
"What? No Y/N?"
Jessie's shoulders fell and she looked behind her to catch just a glimpse of her dad waving her mother off of the topic. She looked back to her mom to see her adjusting in real-time.
"Oh, um, I was just getting your room ready upstairs. It's all set for you," she deflected merrily.
Jessie released a defeated sigh with a tired look. She didn't want her parents to have to tread lightly around her. She gave a faint smile.
"Thanks, Mom. You didn't have to do that. I could've done it. But thank you," she said.
"I know, hun," her mom said, reaching out a hand to squeeze Jessie's arm. "Just happy to have you home."
It should've made her feel warm - loved - and it did, but it also hinted at her absences.
She smiled again at her mom. "Me too. 'Kay, I'm gonna go drop off my bag. I'll be back down."
It was great to be home again. She needed the break. And being with her family brought her an easiness and a peace that she'd found near impossible to replicate.
The closest, she couldn't help but compare, was what she'd begun to build with you.
In fact, there were countless times during her visit that her mind drifted to you. Things she wanted to tell you, moments she wished she could share.
She'd be lying if she hadn't pictured what it would've actually been like to bring you home and introduce you to her family.
She could see it - what you'd add during conversations, how you'd look sitting next to her or across from her at the dinner table, taking you on a walk around her neighbourhood, sharing stories. God - whatever her parents would choose to embarrass her with - they'd be so thrilled. She'd cringe and want to crawl into a hole, but deep down she mourned the absence of it.
Christmas day came and she sat in the living room as the evening wound down. Her parents and siblings were still chatting in the kitchen after they'd all cleaned up.
She held her phone in her hand and stared at the message that remained unsent.
"Merry Christmas, Y/N. I hope you're getting spoiled and having a great day."
She released a weary sigh and finally sent it. It wasn't nearly enough of what she wanted to say. From envisioning some version of a life where you'd be here with her - maybe not this exact time, but in the future - to some sad and insufficient text.
"You alright?"
She startled at the hand on her shoulder and the sudden interruption.
"Mom," she exclaimed, half in complaint.
"Sorry," her mom chuckled softly as she rounded the couch and took a seat in the armchair next to her. "You were pretty deep in thought."
"Yeah," she released with a heavy breath.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Her mom asked gently with a look to her phone.
Jessie averted her gaze to the phone as her jaw tightened. She nestled into her seat a bit more and swallowed to settle her nerves. She knew her mom would wait her out, so she had to reply.
"I don't know. I don't think there's much to say," she responded low as she locked her screen and tucked the phone into her pocket.
Her mom seemed to contemplate her statement before giving a faint shrug. "Maybe. But you have seemed...preoccupied. Not quite yourself," her mom observed carefully but with certainty.
Jessie raised her eyebrows with a tight-lipped smile. She eventually shrugged one shoulder. "I'm just tired, Mom."
She saw the way her mother exhaled through her nose silently and knew whe wasn't going to let it go. Her mom leaned in instead, resting her forearm against a crossed leg.
"Honey, we weren't trying to upset you the other day when we asked about her. We just thought, well, you talked about her a lot," she explained.
Jessie gave her a look before relenting.
"I know," she said quietly, turning her gaze to the knee of her pants and picking idly at the fabric.
"So, what happened?" Her mom inquired.
"Mom," she implored wearily.
"Honey, we just love you and want you to be happy. And we're here for you, you know."
She held her mom's gaze for a few, long seconds before giving in. She fiddled with the tassels of the pillow next to her.
"I told Dad. I hurt her. So, I'm giving her space," she relayed far more matter-of-factly than the situation deserved.
"Space from what?" Her mom asked.
Jessie gave her a beseeching look but answered, now pulling the pillow into her lap and picking at the embroidery on it. "From me, I guess."
“I know, honey,” her mom said gently. “But from what with you?”
Jessie looked down again, throat tightening around the answer.
“I let us get close in ways I wasn’t willing to name,” she said eventually. “I kept telling myself it was okay because I wasn’t saying anything. Like if I never called it anything, then I wasn’t promising anything.”
Her mom’s expression softened, but she didn’t interrupt.
Jessie picked harder at the embroidery. “But I think I still let her feel...special. And then I didn’t choose her.”
A quiet beat passed between them.
“Did you want to?” her mom asked.
Jessie’s eyes stung immediately, which was answer enough.
“That doesn’t really matter now.”
“I think it might.”
Jessie exhaled in an effort to steel herself. She sat up straight once more. "No," she dismissed. "It's not fair to her. And she said it couldn't be what it was, so, I'm respecting that."
Her mom's eyes narrowed just so and Jessie let herself fall into the back cushion as she braced for more.
"So, did she ask you for space? Or to stop being unclear?" Her mom probed lightly.
She hated when her mom asked the real question.
She set the pillow aside and clasped her hands loosely across her lap, sinking deeper into the couch.
"No...she didn't ask specifically for space. But I can't commit to more. So, space is the alternative," she reasoned.
"Well, is it that you don't want more?" Her mom ventured.
Jessie's head snapped up with a frown.
"No," she answer decisively. Defensively. She dropped her gaze once more, but her mom waited. "That's not the problem."
"Then what is?" Her mom asked.
Jessie let out a dry chortle and met her gaze.
"Mom. You know what my life's like. It just isn't fair to ask someone to fit into that. I ask people to understand the ups and downs and everything in between that my career requires and it doesn't end."
“You keep saying it wouldn’t be fair. But was it fair to let her care about you and then decide for her what she could handle?” Her mom countered. Jessie remained tight-lipped and her mom continued.
“Jessie," her mom started gently, "your life does ask a lot of the people who love you. You’re not wrong about that. But that doesn’t mean we would have wanted you to make yourself smaller in our lives so we wouldn’t miss you.”
Her eyes began to sting again immediately and her gaze flicked away urgently.
"I wouldn't ask that of her," she said quietly, her voice wavered.
"Honey, inviting someone to be part of your life isn't the same as trapping them. They can choose; eyes wide open," her mom corrected tenderly.
Jessie sniffled and she rolled her eyes irritated with herself.
"Why would I ask someone I care about to take on all of this?" She retorted. She hated how her voice was strained. "To put up with my absences. To have to navigate around my routines, recovery. God forbid, have to suffer through injuries with me. Put her in an impossible situation if I transfer teams. She could spend months or years building around me, only for it to go nowhere. Just wasted time and emotion. Or uproot her life because she thinks loving me means she should." She shook her head. "No."
"Honey, you're talking about this like it's already serious," her mom pointed out softly.
Jessie lowered her eyes and grew deeply interested in the stitching on the pillow again.
"I take her seriously," she said soberly. Her eyes stayed on the pillow before lifting to meet her mom's. "I wouldn't ask her to invest in me without thinking the consequences through.”
Her mom's expression turned so sad that Jessie had to look away.
"Does she know that? That you take her seriously?"
Jessie blinked back tears and swallowed around the lump in her throat.
“You’re asking an awful lot of questions,” she deflected. Her mother’s response was seamless.
“Because I love you.”
Her shoulders hitched briefly and she crossed her arms with another involuntary sniffle.
“Look, honey,” her mom started in softly. “You’ve always been so careful with other people’s emotions. And I love how much you care, but sometimes you carry too much on your own.”
Her mom waited until she looked up at her again.
“It’s not wrong to think that far ahead. And I know you’re trying to do the right thing. I do. And you can give her space if that’s what she needs. But you shouldn’t get to decide what she can handle and call that respect.”
“I am being respectful,” Jessie refuted sternly, hating how her voice cracked with emotion. Her mother’s empathetic expression didn’t waver as she calmly disagreed.
“Honey, I know you think you’re stepping back. But from here, it sounds a little like you’re still trying to decide the shape of this for both of you."
Jessie’s features fell at the tender accusation.
Your words came back to her then, sharp and immediate.
You don’t get to decide what I want or need.
She had heard you when you said it. Of course she had.
But she had to consider that perhaps she was merely listening to you instead of believing you.
She didn’t want to control you. Ever. She liked that you were independent. Smart. Your own person.
She just wanted to spare you the hardship of caring about her. Or worse, loving her.
But then why did her mom’s statement sit so heavy in her chest.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Both she and her mom looked in its direction, but neither spoke. Eventually, her mom rose and gave Jessie’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“Okay, I’ve said enough,” she said with a faint laugh. “Your sister’s itching to play Bananagram. Join us when you’re ready.”
Jessie offered her mom a fleeting look with a smile she knew wouldn’t even begin to fool her.
“Love you. Okay?” Her mom said before planting a kiss to the top of Jessie’s head.
She departed in that quiet, merciful way she had when she knew Jessie was at her limit. By the way Jessie’s reciprocation got lodged in her throat and was swallowed instead, her mom was absolutely correct.
Jessie sat motionless on the couch for several long moments before she found herself digging her phone out of her pocket. Her lip nearly trembled when she saw your name.
“Merry Christmas, Jess. Hope you’re having a good day with your family.”
Jessie stared at it.
It was kind. Thoughtful, even. Perfectly appropriate.
It gave her nothing to answer except the same careful nothing she had offered for weeks, before even that had turned into silence.
She typed:
“Thank you. You too.”
Stared at it.
Then she sent it before she could overthink herself into silence.
The message appeared beneath yours, neat and awful.
It was exactly the kind of thing she had been sending for weeks. Kind enough not to be cruel. Empty enough not to be honest.
She typed:
“I wish you were here.”
And deleted it almost as soon as she wrote it. Her eyes stung once more.
Her mother’s words lingered in her mind.
She wanted them to be wrong, but she feared they weren’t. She didn’t know what to do with that yet.
For the first time, Jessie couldn’t quite pretend that giving you space was the same thing as giving you a choice.
Summary: In the aftermath of the confrontation, you try to make sense of what was lost, what was never promised, and why Jessie’s careful distance hurts more than it should.
“I know, I know,” Jessie said, not hiding a wince as she held up both hands to urge them to simmer down.
“Please tell me you texted her after,” Ky said with undisguised judgement.
Jessie and you shared a brief look and you let her take it.
“I did. But not in a way that fixed anything or touched on what really needed to be said,” she relayed with a lingering hint of regret.
“Momma,” Harper said with renewed accusation.
“And who the Hell is Lena?” Ky went on looking rather sternly between both of you.
To her surprise, a wicked smirk crossed Jessie’s face and she gave a seamless retort. “She could’ve been your Momma.” The girls exclaimed in aghast and Jessie quickly spoke over them. “Now, if you’re done scolding, we’ll finish the story.”
————
Flashback
You sat on the edge of your couch staring blankly ahead as you tried to will yourself to get up and put on your shoes.
A heavy sigh escaped before you could stop it. You blindly patted the couch for your phone to check the time.
Another sigh. You should’ve left five minutes ago to make it on time to meet your friends for lunch. But truthfully, getting out of bed felt like a near miracle after the way you’d cried yourself into exhaustion last night. Sitting here, dressed, and on the couch was a win in itself.
You desperately wanted - needed - to talk to someone about last night’s confrontation with Jessie, but at the same time you couldn’t bear it. It was too raw. Too humiliating.
You should’ve just taken the signs for what they were. But you didn’t. And your friends, they’d been supportive for the most part during all of this, but you knew they were being polite. Generous. You felt how they wanted you to demand more of Jessie sooner, draw a boundary, but you kept giving her the benefit of the doubt.
You’d played a fool.
Before you knew it, your thumb flicked along the screen as if on autopilot to open up your conversation with Jessie.
The twisting sensation in your chest was immediate as you scanned the messages with no new text from her this morning.
8:47 PM: “I know you’re upset with me right now, but please text me to let me know you made it home safe.”
8:58 PM: “I know I don’t get to ask that of you. But I just want to know you’re okay. You don’t have to say anything beyond that.”
10:15 PM: “Okay. I understand. Well, I really hope you made it home safely. And I’m really sorry about tonight.”
10:19 PM: “I’m home.”
10:20 PM: “Okay, good. I’m glad. Thank you for letting me know. I really appreciate it.”
10:21 PM: “I imagine our talk doesn’t really set you up well for this, but I hope you have a good sleep.”
11:12 PM: “Okay. Good night, Y/N. Again, I’m really sorry for how things ended tonight. Take care. Sleep well.”
Your eyes began to sting yet again as you read. You were devastated, and yet you felt ashamed and ridiculous for being so hurt.
Bottom line, Jessie’d never called this more than friendship. She’d said the opposite, in fact. So you sitting here and feeling like you were going through a break-up was your own doing. You read into things you shouldn’t have and you got your feelings hurt.
It meant there was nothing official to mourn.
It meant you had no right to feel injured.
It meant she was fully within her rights to say she only wanted friendship.
And perhaps more importantly, you couldn’t begrudge her for not wanting more. Even if you, personally, felt like her actions leading up to this said otherwise.
And given your lack of replies, you also couldn’t feel rejected over her not reaching out this morning.
You hung your head in your hands for a prolonged moment. What a mess this had all become.
Dropping your hands back into your lap, you stared at the conversation again.
Your thumb hovered over the keyboard before you swiftly locked the screen altogether and shot to your feet. You strode over to your entryway, threw on your shoes decisively and walked out of your apartment.
Lunch was cathartic and brutal all at once. Half crying into your food in public was always a humbling experience.
Your friends were affronted on your behalf, self-righteous on your behalf, scathing on your behalf, and doing whatever they could to try to make you feel better.
“Want me to beat her ass?”
You blinked.
“Jessie,” your best friend clarified, as if there were any doubt.
Despite yourself, a laugh slipped out of you, thin and watery. “I know she’s small, but I’m pretty positive she’d beat your ass in a fight. I mean, she’d never lay a finger on you even if you were actively pummeling her, but still.”
Your friend snorted. “The stupid part is, if I tried to fight you for some unknown reason, she’d probably appear out of nowhere and end me for touching you.”
Another laugh shook out of you, worse than the first. Your lip trembled with it, and you tried to swallow around the lump rising in your throat.
“I don’t know anymore,” you said, voice thin. “But I guess it doesn’t matter either.”
They insisted on spending the day together, and you indulged a bit but eventually you were just so drained you had to retreat and face going home alone.
By the time you trudged through your front door and dropped your keys on the sideboard, your body felt heavy and hollow all at once.
You couldn’t help how your eyes moved across the apartment and memories of Jessie formed in every familiar place.
Cooking meals together in your kitchen. Puzzles and games together at the table. The way Jessie fell asleep on your couch. Her bags stored neatly by the door as she lingered in your apartment.
If there was nothing to grieve, then why did it feel like something was taken from you?
You opened your phone again. Still no text from Jessie.
Your face screwed up and you did your best to swallow the rising emotions.
Did she have nothing to say? Was she just - okay? While you were sitting here wrecked, was she just sailing through her day unbothered?
You scrolled up through the convo again quickly. Your friends told you not to text.
But you still had questions.
Besides, it was your turn to text - right?
“Hi. I’m not sure if you feel like there’s more to say after yesterday, but something’s been on my mind.”
You took a breath and tried not to let your dignity get in the way.
“When you said this wasn’t friendship. What did you mean?”
Mercifully, she replied quickly.
“Hi. I hope you slept okay. I’ll try to answer as best I can.”
A few moments passed.
“I think I got too comfortable in something I wasn’t ready to name. Or didn’t know how to name. That’s not an excuse.”
You frowned.
“So…you were just, what, stringing me along?”
“No. Not at all. I never wanted to do that to you. I was being selfish. I see that now.”
Your eyes burned once again and you wanted to type out a retort when the three dots popped up again. Then disappeared. Then reappeared.
“I think I told myself that because I wasn’t saying anything, then I wasn’t asking anything of you. I know that doesn’t really hold up now. I’m sorry.”
“So what did you want? I don’t understand how we-”
Your throat tightened as you deleted the word. It was incorrect.
“…how things ended up here.”
Again, the dots filled your screen before disappearing. Then, finally:
“I wanted more than I could give you. And I’m really sorry for hurting you.”
You sniffled, irritated with yourself, with her, with the entire situation.
She was talking, yet every answer brought new questions.
“I don’t understand. Because if you felt what I have, then I really don’t get it. I heard what you said about your life. I still don’t understand why that gets to be your decision alone.”
Her reply was swift this time.
“Because I’ve seen what it asks of people."
"And I can’t be the reason you settle for less.”
You stared at the message, frustration twisting into something more confused. She was talking like she had already carried this ten steps ahead, into some imagined life you had never been allowed to discuss with her.
“No. See. This isn’t fair. You don’t get to decide what I want or need.”
“Y/N, I’m sorry. I’m not in a position to be an equal partner in a relationship right now. I shouldn’t have acted otherwise.”
Your lip trembled and a small sob worked its way up your throat. You wiped angrily at the tears that had started to roll down your cheeks.
You couldn’t - and wouldn’t - keep arguing her into choosing you. She’d made her decision clear. Even if you couldn’t quite reconcile it with everything that had come before.
“Well, I can’t keep talking to you the way we were.”
“I know. I understand.”
The reply was quick.
Uncontested.
Accepted too easily.
Of course she understood. Jessie always understood the version of care that required her to leave.
You released a shaky breath.
“It’s not that we can’t be friends. I don’t know. It just can’t be what it was.”
“I hear you.”
“I’m really sorry for the problems this has caused. I really do want you to be happy.”
Then why are you leaving me before even giving us a chance?
Your stomach sank as you sent a reply.
“Thanks. You too, Jess.”
That night there was no goodnight text. No article link. No check-in of some kind. No shared jokes. No continuation.
The next day ticked on just the same.
The following day you knew she was flying out for the Championship game. You lasted until mid-afternoon before you gave in.
“Hi. Hope your flight goes smoothly and prep goes well for the game.”
No updates from the airport. No photo from the plane. No commentary about silly teammate antics or clueless travellers.
Just an eventual:
“Hi! Thank you very much. Flight went well. We’re all just resting up before training tomorrow. Hope your week is going well.”
You frowned at your phone. The message was friendly enough. Perfectly civil. But it was flat. It wasn’t Jessie.
Not the real her anyway.
You reached even if you shouldn’t have.
“Glad the flight went well. Hopefully training isn’t brutal tomorrow. With any luck, the hotel pillows are less hostile this time.”
“Haha, thanks. Here’s hoping. Hope you have a good night.”
And just like that, the door closed. You stared at the screen in latent surprise.
It was lead-up to the Championship game, you reminded yourself. She was preoccupied. Rightfully so.
But she didn’t text the next day either. No text over coffee in the morning. No text during break. Before bed.
Then match day.
You told yourself you wouldn’t watch. But who were you kidding. You tried to distract yourself, but you kept tuning back in.
You saw glimpses of her during warm-ups. You saw her, of course, during the match. Such a conflicting mess of ache and pride filled you as you watched her, fighting for every moment on the ball, running hard up and down the pitch, trying to create chances, kill momentum for the opposition.
She wasn’t always successful, but she tried. She really tried. And that’s what you loved about her. Her effort. Not the output.
She probably still didn’t understand that.
Or care.
When the final whistle blew and the Thorns won, you were ecstatic. Tears sprang to your eyes and you knew it was more than just the win.
You texted her.
“Congratulations!! You played really hard. I’m really happy for you. Please pass along my congrats to everyone. Mac’s really gonna be feeling it tomorrow after some of those dives haha.”
The night wore on. You didn’t expect a reply right away. She was celebrating, as she should be. In fact, you hoped she allowed herself to indulge a bit.
It was late when she finally responded.
“Thank you, Y/N. Means a lot. And I will. Yeah, haha, she killed it tonight.”
A few moment later.
“Thanks for watching.”
“Of course. I was rooting for you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. Have a good night.”
Another closed door. No shared celebration. No FaceTime. No poorly lit locker room party pics.
Then with the Championship behind and off-season upon her, it was harder for you to make convenient excuses. Sure, an international window was coming up, but she'd break for holidays soon. You two had even started planning a road trip together for the start of her break.
From her silence, you guessed that was off the table.
Neither of you brought it up again.
You texted partway through the following week to check-in. See how she was recovering. She was perfectly polite, formal, and nothing more.
You had asked for it not to be as it was.
Jessie, as always, listened carefully.
You had not expected it to feel so much like absence.
You stared at her most recent “Hope your week’s been going well” and you had nothing else to say.
Summary: Jessie makes up for a missed moment with a beautiful evening. When the night takes an unexpected turn, she admits just enough to break your heart, and not enough to choose you.
Warnings: Angst. Language.
A/N: Rest of the series is here.
“Um. Did I miss the memo?” You asked as you got in Jessie's car and closed the door with a mildly scrutinizing look.
“What?” She asked, the confusion plain on her face.
“Do I need to go get changed? You’re dressed up. Where are we going?” You explained.
Jessie looked down at herself. She wore a long sleeved button-up dress shirt with black pants and her hair was neatly styled, her waves controlled and in check.
“Oh. No, it’s just, you know - a celebration, so I didn’t want to look like I just rolled out of bed,” she explained with a frown and a tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks. She redirected her attention.
“And no, you definitely don’t need to change. You look great,” she said simply.
“Are you sure?” You asked in lingering disbelief. You weren’t dressed super casual, but you would’ve worn something different if you’d known it was something more formal. “You haven’t told me yet where we’re going for dinner. You’re not setting me up to get turned away at the front because of a dress code are you?” You half-joked.
“You won’t. You look good. Don’t worry,” she repeated reassuringly as she gave you a steady look.
You exhaled. “Okay,” you relented. “This is all very mysterious,” you facetiously complained as you buckled your seatbelt and she began to drive. She chuckled.
“I wasn’t trying to be mysterious. I just wanted to take care of the logistics. You’ve had a busy couple of weeks,” she went on. “Which. Again. I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there for your party last week. I would’ve been there if I could - but it was a playoff game and-”
“Jess,” you cut her off calmly. “It’s totally fine. It was just celebratory drinks. Nothing major. And I would never ask you to skip an important game. Or any game. Especially for something like that.”
“No,” she countered with equal measure. “It is a big deal. You’ve worked really hard for this promotion. And it’s important to celebrate that.” A beat passed and she kept her eyes trained on the road. “And you.”
You gave in some as you studied her profile for a prolonged second. You faced forward towards the traffic ahead.
“Thank you. I know you would’ve been there if you were available. It’s okay that you weren’t. Truly. And hey, now you’re taking me out for dinner - so that’s even more of a to-do than the original thing.”
She waved her hand in dismissal.
“It’s not a big deal,” she maintained. “I mean - your promotion is. But this isn’t. Least I could do.”
You had to stop yourself from audibly sighing. Instead, you said, “Well, thank you. Dinner is nice.”
You chatted and caught up on your way across town until you were parked. Jessie led the way as you walked.
“Wait,” you said, talking over her as you caught sight of a particular restaurant as it came into view. “Where did you get reservations for?”
You glanced over at her and she was biting back what looked to be a very pleased smile.
“You mentioned you wanted to try it out,” she said simply, an almost imperceptible bounce in her step as she continued to look ahead.
“Uh, and it takes like a month at least to get in,” you said in a flat, borderline accusatory tone as you leaned in to stare hard at her. She blissfully ignored you.
“Well. There’s a reason we’re going at 5,” she chuckled. “There’s not a lot available at a later time.”
“Still,” you said. She shrugged.
“I was checking for cancellations. Luckily something came up,” she explained nonchalantly.
“Well, thank you. Again. Geez. You didn’t have to plan anything like this. I would’ve been fine just going wherever,” you said.
She finally looked at you with an almost dubious arch of her eyebrow.
“Stop. I was happy to do it,” she insisted.
She moved a few paces in front of you and opened the restaurant door, stepping aside and holding it.
She returned to your side and approached the host.
“Hi there. Do you have a reservation with us today?” The host asked.
“Yes. Under Fleming for two,” she answered as she placed her hands in her pockets.
As the host checked, it gave you a chance to properly - and discretely - take a look at Jessie. She looked good. And different. You weren’t imagining it - she was dressed up. You’d never seen that shirt or the pants, and the shoes only once when she had to attend an award event.
She cleaned up very nicely.
You immediately and inaudibly cleared your throat as soon as the thought entered your mind.
“-okay, right this way,” the host announced as he picked up menus.
As you were seated, you looked around. You couldn’t help but become suddenly aware of how intimate the restaurant felt. It was trendy in that fashionably low-lit way with tables that made you feel very close to whoever you sat across from.
Jessie handed you the drink menu.
“Do you want to share a bottle? They have halves, too,” she asked. “Or if you want a cocktail, go ahead. Whatever you like.”
You busied yourself by looking at the various wine options and tried not to think too much on the offer.
“Um. Sure, yeah,” you answered as you tried to focus. “Wine sounds nice.”
Over the course of dinner, you ordered and shared appetizers. Stole bites of food off each other’s mains. Decided to split dessert since you were both stuffed but thought the panna cotta sounded delicious.
You talked. You laughed. You lingered.
It was easy being with her like this. So easy you could forget everything surrounding you two; ignore the nature of the undercurrent. It felt so natural to share this evening together and you couldn’t help but smile.
It felt…it felt like a date.
Wishful thinking rearing its ugly head again.
You sighed inwardly as the bill arrived and the glimmer and glow of the dinner began to fade.
Friends shared wine. Friends shared food. They laughed and smiled over dinner as they caught up. They talked. They bantered.
But so did dates.
You clenched your jaw and had to remind yourself to relax.
“Ready?” Jessie asked as she put her wallet away. You smiled and rose from the table.
“You didn’t have to pay,” you said as you walked out together.
“I wanted to.”
“Well. I’ll get you back. Whenever playoffs wrap, dinner’s on me,” you returned with a teasing smile. She shot you a facetiously withering glare.
“This isn’t a quid pro quo. I missed your event. And I hated missing it. So, just let me take you out for a nice dinner; celebrate you,” she said in such a plain, decisive way that it threw you off kilter.
She gave you the faintest smirk. Cheeky, even. “A simple ‘thank you’ would suffice.”
Your jaw dropped a touch and she tossed her head back with a laugh. You reached out and shoved her playfully, a grin drawing across your face.
“You’re awfully pleased with yourself, aren’t you,” you laughed and she beamed at you in return. You gave a gentle shake of your head. “And ‘thank you’.”
“See?” She asked with a complacent smirk. “Not so difficult.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Well, thanks for being a good sport about it,” Jessie went on, her teasing fading away. “I know you dont like people making a fuss over you. But, yeah, you deserve to be,” her words slowed as she waved a hand aimlessly in the air as she thought, “yeah. Celebrated.”
“Thanks Jess,” you said, warmth settling deeper in your chest.
A moment passed, Jessie tucking her hands into her pockets again after brushing her hair behind her ears. She rocked up onto the balls of her feet, eyes focused across the street before shifting back to you.
“Do you have to go home?” She asked.
“No,” you said with a near laugh. The corners of her eyes creased with a smile.
“Can I interest you in a post-dinner coffee?” She asked.
You returned her smile before giving a single nod. “Sure. If you insist,” you said, with a rogue lilt in your voice.
The corner of her mouth turned up. “I do.”
You two began a leisurely walk towards a coffee shop a few blocks over. You chatted easily. Conversation flowing the way it often did with you.
You blatantly tried to ignore how her shoulder bumped against yours now and then. And surely it was in your head that her eyes lingered on you when she thought you weren’t looking.
“Y/N!”
A frown fell upon your face as your attention was drawn ahead. You squinted faintly upon seeing someone approaching with a wave.
“Oh, my gosh, hi,” you greeted with a laugh as you recognized your coworker.
“Fancy seeing you outside of our natural habitat,” she joked as she came to a stop in front of you. “I was just at Tonto,” she said as she held up the coffee in her hand.
“Oh, funny, that’s where we’re headed,” you returned as you looked to Jessie who’d stepped a bit away to make room for your colleague. You felt a faint tension mounting in your chest. “Jess, this is Lena. Lena, this is Jessie.”
Lena held out her free hand. “Hey, nice to meet you. Y/N and I work together,” she gave you a teasing glance. “She makes our monthly progress meetings about as bearable as they can be.”
You hated to admit that you watched more intently than you should’ve as Jessie held Lena’s gaze and shook her hand with a small smile.
“Nice to meet you.”
“I highly recommend the honey oat latte,” Lena continued, returning her attention to you and holding up her beverage once more. “And don’t worry - they use the ‘good’ oat milk here,” she laughed.
“Thank God for small mercies,” you deadpanned good-naturedly.
“Well, I won’t keep you two, but I’ve gotta ask since I didn’t catch you earlier. What’d you think of Leroy in that meeting this morning?”
You cracked a smirk and rolled your eyes. “He loves to hear himself talk.” You weren’t going to say more, but Lena waited you out expectantly, a knowing glint in her eye. You chuckled. “I think he could benefit from…expanding his sources on the topic.”
“Right? What’s the point of having a committee if you don’t lean on them,” she returned.
“A carefully curated committee,” you couldn’t help but slyly remark.
Lena grinned. “I can always trust your observations.”
You chuckled but gave a humble, brief eyeroll and looked to Jessie who was still quietly listening. You were about to say a goodbye when Lena spoke again.
“Last week’s party was a lot of fun,” she said. “We should grab a drink together soon after work. Maybe after the development workshop on Wednesday? There’s this great place on 6th we could check out.”
Your eyes nearly flicked over to Jessie, but you held your gaze steady and offered a small smile. “Yeah, maybe,” you said lightly, but made an apologetic face anyway. “Those things tend to drain me, but let’s chat next week.”
“Sure,” she said with another easy smile. “Have a good night,” she said warmly before turning to Jessie. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you, too,” Jessie said with a quick smile.
“Hey, if you try that honey oat latte, let me know what you think,” Lena called over her shoulder with a wave as she left.
“Kay. See ya,” you said. A breath subtly left your lungs as she departed down the street and it was just you and Jessie again.
“Sorry about that,” you offered a beat later with a faint laugh as you faced Jessie. She smiled politely.
“No problem,” she said with a shrug. “She’s nice.”
“Yeah, she is,” you said, trying to rid any hint of discomfort in your voice. You began to usher the two of you back toward the coffee shop, feeling like standing still was increasingly unbearable.
Jessie stepped forward again and grabbed the door for you. A small wave of relief went through you. You smiled at her in thanks.
Yet, conversation grew quiet.
“What are you going to get?” you eventually asked her.
“Americano,” she replied. A moment passed. “Are you going to try the honey oat latte?”
You glanced at the menu. “Maybe. It does sound good.”
“You should,” Jessie said, a little too brightly. Your eyes narrowed slightly, but you let it pass.
The line moved forward.
“She seems nice,” Jessie repeated.
“Lena?” You asked.
Jessie nodded. “Yeah. It’s good, having someone around who understands your work stuff, your life. The rhythms of it.”
A frown pulled at your face. “Sure. She’s a good work friend.”
Jessie shrugged, gaze fixed ahead. “She asked you for drinks.”
“People get drinks with coworkers.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “I’m just saying.”
Tension tightened in your chest. “I’m not particularly interested.”
Jessie’s jaw shifted, almost too small to notice. You wanted her to drop this, but she seemed determine to carry on.
“Why not?” she asked, too casual. “She’s cute.”
Your head snapped towards her and she met your gaze for a prolonged second, her expression unreadable, before turning away as the line moved again.
“I-” you began to stammer before you got yourself under control. You spoke plainly. “I don’t like her that way.”
Jessie gave another infuriating shrug.
“Why not? She seems smart. She respects your intelligence.”
You stared at her. "So?"
“I don't know,” Jessie said, quieter now. "You work together. Your days already cross over in some way.”
You frowned in disbelief. That was a pretty sad basis for attraction.
“Next!”
Your response died as you were called up to order. Jessie stepped forward and ordered for both of you.
“I can get mine,” you interjected, too slowly realizing what she was doing.
“Too late,” she said, giving you a tight-lipped smile as she tapped for both orders.
Your throat tightened as you stepped aside to wait. You opened your mouth to continue your rebuttal when she spoke first.
“You should go,” Jessie said, and the new seriousness in her voice turned your aggravation into a heavy pit in your stomach. “It could be nice. You deserve someone who can meet you where you are.”
Suddenly, the safe anger that had sparked in you became a pang of hurt radiating sharply through your chest.
You felt compelled to retort with a sharp remark of some kind, but instead the lump in your throat kept any words buried.
Your mind and emotions were going haywire and you tried not to swallow too obviously as you worked desperately to not let your composure slip.
She suddenly had nothing to say either. Instead, she stood with her hands tucked back into her pockets and a stare set on the coffee machine.
Tension pulled tight through your body.
Don’t make a scene.
Don’t read into things.
Don’t get your feelings hurt.
…Too late.
You blinked hard a few times and you involuntarily ground your teeth together as your order was called. You both stepped forward and grabbed your respective cups.
Your movements felt foreign and your fingers were borderline jittery as you fumbled with your lid a moment.
“Here, let-”
“I’m fine,” you cut her off with a measured tone you were rather proud of considering how you felt on the verge of shambles inside.
Your feet led you outside, barely aware that Jessie was following. You released a heavy, quick breath as you stepped into the fresh air.
You idly picked at the sleeve of your cup and an empty laugh soon worked its way up your throat as you maneuvered away from the crowds.
“What are we doing?”
You felt her eyes on you and you willed yourself to face her. She wore a thin frown of confusion.
“Drinking coffee?” She answered, a high inflection in her voice that was punctuated with a faint huff of a laugh.
“No,” you said firmly, holding her gaze and praying that the stinging behind your eyes was imagined and not a telltale sign of what was to come.
You swallowed.
“You and me. What are we doing?” You said.
A delayed, forced smile flashed across her face before it dropped out of existence and she glanced away.
“I don’t- I don’t know what you’re asking,” she said.
Your face nearly crumpled, but you held on to the final shreds of your composure. You took a silent breath.
“I told you I’m not interested in Lena. Yet you’re pushing me to go out with her,” you stated. You were tempted to go on, over elaborate, but you let it sit.
Her gaze flickered and she held out a hand in defense.
“I just don’t want you to miss out if she’s someone who would be good for you,” she said. Her voice started off light, but it thinned toward the end.
Your chest ached.
“I don’t understand how you’re making that leap,” you said. “We work together. We get along. That’s it.”
Jessie’s jaw tightened.
“I’m just saying,” she replied quietly, “If her life fits into yours...that matters.”
“Jess.”
Your exasperation faded almost as soon as it appeared, leaving something heavier behind.
You should stop. You really should.
“Jess,” you started anew, planting your feet firmly as if that would carry you through this terrible idea. “Tell me. If I were to ask you out - on a proper date - would you say ‘yes’?”
You commanded yourself to not look away. Her eyes widened just so and her back and shoulders straightened. She took too long to answer and you paid as little attention as possible to the growing pain inside your chest.
“I,” she started, voice soft. Coddling. She swallowed and then spoke with the gentlest voice. “I can’t.”
Your stomach dropped hard and your grip tightened around your coffee cup.
“I’m sorr-”
“Then what are we doing,” you repeated your earlier question with renewed intensity.
Everything you'd been bottling up and rehashing over and over in your head for months on end finally had an outlet.
“Then why do nights like tonight feel like a date to me. Then why do the days we spend together, even when we’re doing nothing, we feel like partners and not like friends.”
“I know you said I’m your friend,” you went on, the force and conviction now gone from your voice. You sounded small and you wished you didn't. “But then why doesn’t it feel that way to me.”
Whatever air she’d put on earlier had fully dissipated as she stood before you looking nearly ashen. The sadness in her eyes only hurt you more. It looked like pity.
“Y/N.” Your name came out as a pleading breath. “I-” she stammered, “please understand.”
You folded an arm against yourself and tried pathetically to look casual and not like this was piercing you to the core.
“I haven’t been trying to mislead you,” she went on, eyes searching the ground for answers. “I just. I can’t commit to anything - or anyone - right now.”
Your eyes narrowed in both hurt and confusion.
“I know you haven’t said anything,” you said, your voice starting to fray. “You’ve been very careful not to say anything. And that’s what makes me feel crazy, because technically, sure, you haven’t crossed a line.”
You took a breath that did not steady you.
“But you text me all the time. You remember everything. You show up whenever you can. You go out of your way for me. We have routines, Jessie. We have rhythms. I’ve gotten used to having you in my life, and I like it. I like you.”
Her face went still.
“And sometimes I think you like me too. Until you get cold. Until something happens, and you disappear, and then you come back so sweet and earnest that I forget how much it hurt.”
She hung her head and tugged distractedly at the hem of her shirt. When she looked up, her eyes glistened with tears.
“I didn’t want for this to happen,” she said with underlying dejection. Now she let out a humourless laugh as she gestured with a hand helplessly. “I thought I could...," she trailed off with a defeated sigh. "I don't know."
Your jaw tightened so much your teeth hurt.
“I care about you,” she declared in a breathy tone. “I really do. Which is why I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me how?” You asked, trying to feign unbothered curiosity, but your voice betrayed you.
“Like this,” she said, her own voice taut. “Y/N,” she said in near exasperation, “my life isn’t something anyone can build a solid and fair relationship around.”
You frowned sharply and she forged on.
“I’m gone all the time. And even when things are structured, it changes constantly. I miss things that matter. Football takes up so much of me that when I’m lacking or underperforming, I’m hard to be around. And even when things are good, I’m exhausted. I can’t show up the way someone deserves.
“It’s just - it’s too much,” she finished with resigned finality. “I wish things were different.”
The tears you’d successfully fought off earlier were now making themselves impossible to deny.
“I’m confused,” you managed to say. “Those are already things you and I navigate, and it hasn’t stopped us from becoming close.”
“Yes they have,” she countered with a perplexed frown.
“Only because you let them,” you sparred.
“No. That’s not fair,” she argued.
“No, what’s not fair is you deciding what matters and what doesn’t for me. I don’t care that you have to reschedule things or might miss things. It happens. And I don't need you to be 'on' for me. I just - I want you. Not what you can do for me." You took a breath. "I care about you disappearing. I don’t like not knowing what to expect from you and trying to interpret every little detail to read between the lines.”
If she had an immediate rebuttal, she seemed to swallow it. She released an inaudible sigh.
"It's just not fair to ask someone to bend their life around mine."
"It's not fair to make choices for other people," you said, trying to hold your posture, but your shoulders felt heavy. "And if 'someone' is actually me - I don't view it that way. I see your life - I see what it requires; I've been, in my opinion, living in it for over a year. Your schedule and career are not the sacrifice."
She took a steadying breath through her nose, setting her shoulders back. You could see there was so much going on inside her head, her mouth pulled into a thin, taut line. Eventually, she gave a faint shake of her head. "I'm sorry."
The words felt so insufficient and left you hollow. Your lip threatened to tremble and you forged on, your control waning.
“If this is about last week, or not being 'good company', or any of the times your schedule got in the way - I’m telling you, that isn’t what hurts me.”
“Well it hurts me,” she returned soberly.
Her statement sent you reeling. She held your gaze firm while you tried to formulate a response. A moment passed and her shoulders gave. Her stern expression turned pleading. “What we have right now is good. It’s working-”
“It’s not for me," you interjected and her face fell.
You sniffled and she softened further, which somehow made everything hurt more. You knew you were on the edge, there was already a lot you couldn't take back, but the next step was irreversible.
"I can't keep living in this in-between. You act like I matter to you - like I'm special to you - but I need you to say or do more," you said, your voice dipping before you steadied yourself again. "This, isn't friendship to me. So, if friends is all you actually want...well...," you trailed off, unable to finish.
She stared at you, her eyes shimmering and you eventually had to look away.
"You are special to me," she said, her confession barely above a whisper. Her gaze fell to the ground and she clasped her hands in front of her. "I don't want to stand in your way..." She tapered off and forced herself to look up at you again. "I'm really sorry. I truly never meant to hurt you. I...I won't be selfish anymore."
You let out a pained, wet laugh. "What the fuck does that mean?" You asked incredulously.
She inhaled deeply, holding the breath in her lungs for a moment before speaking. "It means you're right. This isn't friendship. I won't-" her eyes flicked away and back, "I won't blur lines anymore for my own benefit."
Some self-protective instinct in you tried to look offended rather than hurt. She was giving up. She didn't even try to fight for you. In fact, she'd rather you be with someone else.
And here you were nearly begging her to choose you.
"So, a date is off the table," you said wryly as you tried to recover with a watery laugh.
Jessie didn't laugh. She just looked at you like you were a wounded animal who deserved charity.
"I'm sorry," she repeated solemnly.
You sniffled once more and wiped quickly at a tear that began to roll down your cheek.
"Okay, well. I guess that's that, then," you said, trying to sound very dignified.
"Y/N," she said imploringly and you took an involuntary step back.
"It's fine," you remarked with a breeziness that fooled neither of you. "You feel how you feel." You shrugged and the lump in your throat constricted.
"Please," she beseeched quietly, like she wasn't the one who could change the answer.
You shrugged sharply and toed at the ground briefly before setting your gaze on a nearby set of trees. "It's on me for letting it go so long," you said self-punishingly. "If you'd wanted more, you would've been clear - I just," your voice gave out momentarily, "was susceptible to wishful thinking."
"It's not your fault," she urged oh so gently and your features collapsed.
"It's fine," you insisted, you voice straining and tears starting to flow. "I'm gonna go."
You started walking away and she walked after you.
"Let me drive you home-"
"No." You rounded on her, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Stop. Stop acting like you care."
It wasn't fair to say, but right now you didn't care to be fair. She began to protest and you talked over her.
"No. You can stop taking care of me now. I'm not yours to worry about." It hurt more than you could admit to say those words. The self-righteous anger that held your body tall faded and your sank into yourself with a breath. "I'll get home myself."
──── ଓ synopsis: you're fixated by her, observing every step she takes, every breath — haunting her like a ghost. she's mesmerized by you, keeping stolen pictures of you on her walls. what would happen if you found out about the mutual obsession?
warnings: mutual obsession, dark romance, stalking, following, smut, blood pact, murder, reader cries all the time, female reader, afab reader
wc: 5k
YOU ARE MY REVERIE
You exhale hard, seeing your breath in the cold air. You’re hiding your hands in your pockets, the oversized hoodie swallowing you entirely.
You watch from afar as she lazily draws small patterns in the corners of her notebook instead of paying attention to the class; she always does that. You click your tongue. She shouldn’t be doing that; she will have trouble in the exam.
Depending on the angle you look, you can see your reflection on the thick glass window - between the line of trees, your hair covering your sides like a cascade of water, your face cold as ice for standing in the cold for so long.
Of course it is a strange fascination - but what can you do about it? People are usually mesmerized by colorful butterflies, blossoming flowers. But you, oh lord, you are fascinated by her. Ellie Williams.
The tall, slim woman that is your reverie. You need her with your whole being. Need her in your soul.
Footsteps are muffled by the snow as they make their way towards you. You’re surprised when someone touches your shoulder.
You turn around quickly, not scared of being caught in the act, no. Scared of losing your precious time with distractions, distractions that keep you apart from her.
“Are you okay?” your friend Isis questions, touching your shoulder. She's your only friend, the only person you ever allowed to really know you. “You've been standing here for ten minutes straight.”
You shrugged, not looking forward to answering her.
You turn around to your previous position, staring back at Ellie. To your surprise, she's staring back. Her gaze is scary, deep and precise. As if she's seeing inside you, seeing past your obsession.
Isis slips her hand into your cold ones. “You should talk to her,” she says. She probably notices your unhealthy fixation, but thankfully she never mentioned it. But if she ever did, you wouldn't mind admitting it.
When the classes are over and Isis leaves you to go to her dorm, you follow Ellie around.
First, she says bye to Jesse. Then, she walks to her favorite café; you know it's her favorite because you've followed her before — it's part of your routine — and she always comes here after class to study.
She doesn't look behind her as she walks, she never does. As if she's oblivious or as if she just feels you and doesn't feel the need to check if you're still there.
As always, she sits at the last table by the window; pulling out her notebook and starting to write on it.
As usual, you stay outside, standing like a ghost while staring fixed at her. When you check your phone and see that it's been thirty minutes since you're standing, you feel your legs are tired — you also see the ten missed calls from Jenna, your ex. But you ignore that because no matter how much you ignore her, she never accepted the end.
Jenna was your first obsession, but it sure wasn't as intense as the one for Ellie. What you feel for Ellie is real true love.
You must have been standing for about two hours since you observed Ellie during her class. So for the first time, you decide to enter the cafeteria. It's a bold move, but your legs are about to give up. And between going home to rest them, or sitting across from her to keep observing, you choose the latter.
The bell rings above your head as you enter the place. The noise doesn't catch Ellie's attention. You feel glad and disappointed at the same time.
You put your backpack in the chair by your side, pulling your laptop from it and opening it. Maybe you should be more careful with the staring — i mean, what would you do if she confronted you? Probably take off her clothes and lick all of her body.
You stay like this for about an hour, stealing glances from over your laptop while pretending to do something on it. The truth is, it isn't even turned on.
You scrunch your face when she tears a sheet from the notebook before putting it inside her bag.
You turn your face towards your laptop when she gets up to leave, but your eyes are still on her.
She's walking towards you. Your heart starts pounding inside your chest. You fumble to try to turn your device on, but she's already in front of you.
Ellie doesn't even look at your face. She just leaves a paper on your table before leaving the place.
Is a drawing of you from earlier, standing outside the café and staring at her. How didn't you notice it? How didn't you notice she was staring back at you?
In the corner of the paper is written I see you. You share my reverie.
YOU SHARE MY LONELINESS
That night, you follow your routine: dressed in a pair of oversized sweats, you leave your dorm to see her.
But instead of going outside the building to stare at her from her window, you move on your feet and find yourself in front of her dorm door.
You stand like that — staring at the old wood door — for a couple of minutes. An hour.
At some point, you notice a shadow coming from the inside of the room. You can see it through the gap between the floor and the door.
It's her.
She stands on the other side of the door, breathing hard in expectation. You stay like this — the door being the only thing separating you two, the only thing making you lonely — for thirty minutes.
Until you hear the door lock. Your eyes get wide, your breath gets caught in your throat. A snake moves inside your stomach, getting tangled up in your organs.
She unlocked the door for you. She's waiting.
But you do nothing. You don't move. You just stare; feeling the snake inside you hold tight onto your heart.
Your hand tickles with the desire of opening the door. You breath in hard and move your hand, grabbing the doorknob and feeling the cold surface against your soft hands.
You imagine what would happen if you opened it. What would she say? What would you say? What would happen?
You're not ready for this. You're not ready for the confrontation, so you bring down your hand and leave.
On the other side of the door, Ellie can feel your absence. The moth in her stomach drowns on her hydrochloric acid.
She sighs, blinking several times before focusing on the red lighting of her room.
Your face occupies all of her walls; your calm semblance while you sleep; your focused face while you study; your mesmerized gaze while you stare at her.
She has pictures of it all. She needs to have all of your gazes captured forever. Ellie needs to feel your gaze while she sleeps. It's the only way she can comfortably relax fully.
So when she doesn't have your live eyes on her, at least she has the captured ones.
The next morning, Jesse doesn't leave his dorm, apparently he got a cold; it left Ellie alone. Isis has extra classes; you're alone as well.
You sit in the cafeteria with your hands in your hoodie pockets, staring blankly at the empty table. You rethink all that happened last night, all the feelings and emotions you felt by knowing she acknowledged your presence.
The mere thought of Ellie noticing you makes a shiver run down your spine.
What will happen next? Will she confront you? Will she get mad and curse at you? What would you do if she did so?
Your thoughts are interrupted by a cup of hot coffee slipping in front of you. You blink twice, refocusing your eyes at the hot drink. It has a single droplet of milk — just the way you like it.
You look across the table; there she is. Sitting in front of you and carving holes in your face with her piercing gaze.
She blinks. Then a soft smile forms on her lips.
“Will you share my loneliness?”
You don't pay attention to the words. You're too focused on the way her lips move, forming the words.
“Excuse me?”
Her laugh is visible in the air because of the cold temperature. She's not making fun of you, is a genuine laugh.
“Like the song?” she says, but you don't smile at her “I just thought that… I'm here all alone, and you're also here all alone. Maybe we could share our loneliness? What do you think about it?”
Isn't she going to mention all that has happened previously? The drawing with the note, the stolen and dangerous glances that she caught. None of that?
You're not sure you can play this game as well as her. You might get caught.
“I should go.” you say, grabbing your bag and leaving as fast as you can.
You don't like to be forced out of your comfort zone, and you were pretty comfortable with appreciating her from afar. She should not have talked to you, she ruined everything.
YOU ARE MY DREAM COME TRUE
In the middle of aerodynamics class you receive a text message from Isis. It says: I need your help, meet me behind the campus cafe.
That’s weird. Isis is always so focused on studying, why would she disturb your studying?
Either way, you grab your things and leave the classroom — you need to try to be good to the only person that cares about you; even though you don’t really care that much. You’re not being cruel, come on; you do care about Isis, but not as much as you care about Ellie. No one will ever compare to Ellie.
You make your way to the back of the cafeteria, distracted by how your boots sink into the snow. The muffled noise it makes relaxes you from tension you didn't know you had over your shoulders.
Before you turn to reach the back of the café, a hand comes from the service bathroom and pulls you inside. The person presses your body against theirs — one hand around your torso, holding you in place and the other pressed against your mouth, stopping you from screaming.
Your breath gets caught in your throat. Your lungs burn. You start kicking and screaming. But it's no use; the person holding you is much taller and stronger.
The more you try to escape, the more tight they hold you.
When you notice your efforts are useless, you can feel the tears burning the back of your throat, threatening to fall down your cold face.
A sob escapes you before the person finally softens their grip.
“Shh it's okay baby. There's no need to cry. I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry”
Ellie gets in front of you with a worried face while she cleans your face from the tears.
Your face contorts in confusion the moment you see her. Did you become the prey?
“How did you know I was here?” you asked, hands coming up your face to clean the left tears.
Your voice is trembling, not because of what just happened. But because you're finally talking to her. She makes you nervous.
Ellie smiles softly at you. The kind of smile you give to something you adore.
“I texted you” she says as a matter of fact.
You get even more confused. “No you didn't. Isis-” you words stop there.
Where is Isis?
As if she can see the question inside your head, she answers “I stole her phone”
You're afraid she can hear how loud your heart is pounding inside your chest. The snake inside you holds your heart tightly.
“I want– I need you to pose for me.” she says excited, eyes shining as they stare deep inside your soul.
“What?”
“I've been trying to paint you for so long– maybe a year. But it never gets quite correct. Something in your eyes. I've been following you around since I started it, so I could get all the angles right. But no matter how close I get, my memory or my camera lens never catches what is missing.” she says it all while gesturing with her hands.
You stare blankly at her. You blink once, twice. You close your eyes for five seconds, then open them. She’s still here. She’s real.
“I want to crawl into your skin like a poison parasite”
She doesn’t blink. She presses her back against the wall and crosses her arms. Ellie squints her eyes at you, waiting. She knows how you feel about her — she can feel it — but seeing it herself is something much better.
“I will let you” she smiles, her fangs creeping past her lips “if you let me paint you.”
You nod. “Okay. You can paint me” you don’t even need to think about it. Letting her paint you means more time closer to her — but this time, you'll be able to feel her warmth.
You can see the sparkle in her green eyes. You have a feeling that she’d make you agree no matter what, but seeing you accepting her so easily, made something inside her burn in the best way possible.
She stands on her feet before shaking her head, as if checking if she's still here. “Alright” she murmurs against her breath.
Her eyes are back at you. For one, two, three, four seconds.
“You're beautiful” she says lowly, like she's talking to herself.
“Thank you” you say out of breath, getting high on her presence.
She reaches behind her, grabbing something while her other hand grabs yours. She puts the thing inside your hand. It's a key.
“You can enter my room anytime you want.” she holds your hand closed. She's so close that you can feel her breath on your cheek. “Our painting sessions will be at seven pm, but you can get there earlier if you want”
You just nod, too stunned by her beauty to be able to form coherent words.
“I need you to use your words.”
You swallow hard. “It's okay. I'll be there”
With a smile, she kisses the side of your mouth and leaves like nothing ever happened. Like your dream didn't just come true.
Your obsession finally noticed you. And now, nothing could stop you from swallowing her entirely.
YOU'RE MORE THAN LIFE TO ME
You spent the whole day looking forward to this moment, and now that you’re ready, you can’t find it in you to move.
You stare at your reflection in the mirror: the usual oversized hoodie and sweats covering your body from the cold and plus making you incredibly comfortable.
Your phone beeps with a message from Jenna. It reads “please, talk to me”. You roll your eyes and throw the phone on your bed.
You grab the single key Ellie gave you and stare at it. She’s finally at the palm of your hand.
You walk until you find her dorm; you stare at the number on top of the door, counting seconds for your courage to surface.
You insert the key in the lock and swallow before turning it to the side and unlocking it. When you open the door, Ellie is sitting on her desk, back to you.
You have to blink twice to adjust your eyes to the red lighting. But when you do, your breath is stolen from your chest as you get aware of your surroundings.
The walls are full of images of you; sleeping, eating, showering, studying, laughing, crying. There are so many pictures that you can't see the wall under it.
Has she observed you this whole time?
Tears form in your eyes and you're not sure of the reason behind them. Happiness? Fear? Confusion?
Ellie turns around to face you. She observes your reaction carefully, scared of it. She fidgets with her fingers and moves her eyes to the floor, expecting you to scream at her — call her a sick pervert, a disgusting stalker.
But to her surprise, a smile emerges from your tears. You look insane, but so, so beautiful.
“I watch you too.” you say with a happy laugh “I like to watch you sleep, watch the light break through your eyes.”
Ellie's smile is so big that it looks like her mouth will stay like that forever. You wouldn't mind it.
She gets up and walks towards you, holding your face with both hands and staring directly at your eyes.
“I love you. I have never loved anyone or anything as much as I love you.”
She loves you, she loves you, she loves you, she loves you, she loves you.
You smile and hold her hand, pushing your cheek against her warmth and closing your eyes.
“I love you too. But I need you to prove it to me.” your smile fades and her face contorts in confusion “Prove me that your insides are red like mine”
Ellie nods, mesmerized by the look in your eyes.
“How do you want me to do that?”
You look around the room searching for something sharp until your eyes fixate into a switchblade.
Ellie's eyes follow yours until she looks at the same thing. She looks at you and then at the blade again. Then, she walks towards it and hands it to you.
Your eyes shine with yearn and love.
You hold the blade with one hand and her hand with the other. Your thumb grazes the palm of her hand while you stare at it.
“Do you trust me?” you ask, inching the sharpie and shiny surface to her pallid skin.
She nods, shaking her head with absolute certainty. “With my whole being.”
“So breathe in for me, and close your eyes.”
She shakes her head no. And you look confused.
“I want to see it.”
“Fine.”
You massage the soft skin with your thumb before precisely pressing the blade against her skin — a single droplet of blood forms and you watch it fall to the floor.
While Ellie is distracted by that, you push it deeper and slide it to the side.
Ellie groans in pain and holds your wrist with her free hand, urging you to stop. But she doesn't dare to say a word. She trusts you, she said that before.
A line of blood starts to drip onto the floor and you watch it mesmerized. Ellie does as well.
She steals the blade from your hand and uses her bleeding one to hold your hand. She doesn't let you think before mirroring your actions into yourself. You hiss in pain, tears falling down your eyes.
“It's okay. Don't cry, baby” she kisses your forehead, whispering praises into the air “You did so good for me, such a brave girl.”
You sob watching your soft skin open and bleeding.
You hold your bleeding hands together, mixing your bloods. The sliced flesh rubs together and a sob escapes you both.
“Now we are one” she says, smiling insanely at you.
“You're more than life to me, Ellie.”
“I know.” it's what she says before holding your face with her bloody hand and finally kissing you.
It's like a black hole swallows you and you're out of this world. She kisses you like the world was ending and this was your last seconds on earth.
She kisses you like her life depends on it. It's not a gentle kiss, it's deep — not rushed, but deep and intense.
When you separate to catch your breath, her pupils are dilated, red at the sight. Her face has the imprint of your bloody hand and it only makes her more beautiful.
Blood means love. The red means I love you.
Before she knows it, you're pulling her closer and kissing her again, feverously. This time it is rushed, messy, nasty. You can feel the metallic taste on her tongue.
Ellie doesn't waste time tearing apart your clothes to get it out of the way. Her mouth never leaves you, now a mess of saliva and blood on your neck.
You mirror her actions, helping her to take off her band t-shirt and her sweats. She smiles when she sees you're wearing nothing under your hoodie.
“You look beautiful,” she says before latching her mouth to your chest, sucking hard until the red becomes white.
You moan in pleasure — pleasure for finally having her, pleasure for finally having her on you.
“Ellie”
“That's it, say my name like a scripture
She takes you to her bed and takes off your pants, pushing your panties down your thighs, watching the way a string of your wetness connects to the cotton. She licks your skin and leaves love bites on her way.
She inhales, deep and slow, like she's smelling the most intense perfume.
“Ellie, please” you whine, head lolled to the side and eyes half lidded.
She smiles against your skin.
“Please what?”
You grab her auburn locks and guide her head to where you need her.
“Please eat me”
“I'll fucking devour you.”
Her lips suck your clit like she's sucking the life out of you, the sound that leaves your mouth is guttural.
She licks you, her tongue exploring your sticky folds while she gets high on your taste.
One of her hands is holding your legs open for her own pleasure, and the other comes to your face and she taps your lips, ordering you to open them.
You do.
“Suck them” and of course you do what she tells you to do.
Before you know it, she's working you open with two of her fingers, slow and patient, letting you adjust to the stretch before she ruins you.
Her pace is fast, the skin against skin making a disgusting noise because of your wetness. It only makes your moans louder.
“Ellie I'm so close”
She smiles, mouth still on you.
“Make a mess of my face, baby”
And that's exactly what you do.
Your orgasm is the most intense you have ever had. The room goes from red to white in a fraction of time, you're not sure if you're still alive; the feeling is too numbing to let you care about it though.
You feel Ellie's body weight leave the bed, but you don't pay it any mind until you feel something touching your still dripping cunt.
You jolt, gasping while half sitting, using your arms to give you leverage.
The black silicon sits heavily between her hips. Your mouth opens in awe.
“Shh, it's okay, pretty girl. I'll just have some fun, all you need to do is lay down and look pretty for me. Yeah?” she says sweetly, lips forming a condescending pout.
Ellie wet her lips while focused on the beautiful sight between your legs. She guides her cock slowly to collect the wetness from between your folds. You can feel yourself throbbing against it.
She slowly stretches you, shushing you when your groans start to look painfully. “You're doing great, I'm almost done”
Actually, she's not.
“I'll make this easy for you baby, gonna get all the way in”
You whine, already fuck out, head against the pillow. “No,” you drag out the syllable “It'll hur–ow!” the sound that comes out of your mouth is a mix of pleasure and pain.
It burns like she's ripping you apart.
“That's it, can feel me real deep, baby?”
You nod, face scrunched while you try to process if you're feeling pain or pleasure. It's the latter.
She moves slowly but deep, moving her hips to a steady pace until you fully adjust to her. When she angles just right, she sees the look on your face, the sound leaving your mouth, she knows she just hit the right place.
She gets off just by the way you're moaning her name, a babbling mess under her body.
“Faster” you mumble, eyes glassy with desire
She pouts “Want me to go faster, baby?” you shake your head yes, feeling your body shakes with her movements.
It doesn't take long until your reaching your high again, but it doesn't make Ellie stop. She only stops when she finishes herself.
HEAVEN AND HEAVEN ALONE CAN TAKE YOUR LOVE FROM ME
When you leave your last class of the day, you're side by side with Ellie — giggling and chatting, bandaged hands brushing each other.
But to your surprise, Jenna is waiting for you. Standing in the middle of the way, hands on her front jeans pockets, red hair falling to her shoulders, making a bubble out of gum.
She stares at you and Ellie with an offended expression, like you own her something. In her head, you do.
Your face drops when you see her, not wanting her to bother your moment with Ellie.
“What are you doing here?” you ask, offended.
She makes another bubble with her gum. Acting nonchalant.
“So this is your new toy?” she asks, crossing her arms and pressing her snickers harder against the ground.
Ellie holds your hand, staring directly into Jenna's eyes. She doesn't blink, doesn't flinch.
“It is none of your business, just leave me alone” you say trying to walk past her, but she holds your arm.
“Baby, I forgive you. I don't care, just come back to me”
Ellie turns to her, face red and brows scrunched.
“‘The fuck did you just call her?” she pulls you from Jenna's grip, letting you behind herself as she gets closer to your ex.
Jenna laughs.
“Want me to spell it? B-a-b—” Before she could finish it, Ellie punched her in the face.
It all happened so fast that you didn't have time to react — not that you'd have done anything to stop her.
Jenna falls to the snowy ground with the impact, hands coming up to cup her face.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Ellie kneels next to her, a sick grin on her face.
“Don't ever call her that again, or you'll end up with more than just a broken nose.” is the last thing she says before getting up and spitting on Jenna.
“You're not her ‘baby’, you're fucking mine” Ellie says kissing the corner of your mouth while you giggle, holding her hand and walking away.
One month has gone by and you haven't heard from Jenna ever since, and you're thankful for that.
You've been so busy with finals that you're hardly spending time with Ellie, having small to no free time to stalk her around.
You notice she's busy as well, always late, phone out of signal, disappearing for a couple of hours. You let it slip, she's already yours, what bad could happen?
You're lying to yourself, you can't let it slip. You can't risk losing her to somebody else. The mere idea of Ellie kissing another girl makes your stomach hurt, the image of you pushing a blade onto her heart forms in your head.
You would never hurt Ellie, you could never — she's the love of your life. But you couldn’t let her escape, so if killing her were the only option, that's what you'd have to do.
Later that night, you call her to come over, but surprisingly, she's busy with some paper work. You can feel the lie dripping from her voice. You just tell her it's okay, that you can see each other some other day.
But of course it is not okay. She's yours. Some paper work should never be more important than you. So you leave your dorm and hide in the shadows of the trees as you watch her leave her building.
She walks for an hour and a half, not looking behind once. You follow her of course, until she reaches the desert woods near the highway.
What is she doing here?
Thankfully, the soft snow muffles your steps. But you have the feeling that Ellie is so lost in her thoughts that even if you made a noise, she wouldn't notice.
You can see a cabin in the middle of the white forest, it looks abandoned and Ellie is walking towards it.
The perfect place to meet with a lover.
You hold tight onto the knife sitting in your hoodie pocket — you don't want to do this, but it's not your fault. It's hers.
You hide behind a tree when she opens the cabin door and enters the place. A single yellow light escapes through the window and paints the snow yellow.
There's tears running down your face, not sad tears, rage ones. Rage for having to do this, rage for how stupid she is.
How could she be so fucking dumb? How'd she dare to do such a thing? But it's okay, you'll not lose her, she'll live in your heart forever. You'll drink her blood to make sure she lives inside you.
A gunshot cuts your thoughts. Your eyes grow wide, scared of what she might have done.
Without giving it a second thought, you run towards the cabin, open its door and stumble on your feet when you see the amount of blood staining the wood floor.
There's so much blood that it makes its way to the door and starts dripping into the snow outside.
You freeze looking at it. Tears still running down your cold cheeks.
Ellie emerges from a room, face splattered in blood, a white rose bouquet in her hands. The roses are dipped in blood, it paints them beautifully.
You search for any injury in her, but you don't find any.
She smiles devilishly at you.
“I knew you'd follow me. You can take the knife out of your pocket, it's not what you think baby.”
You incline your face, looking at her with doubt. You take the knife out of your pocket and throw it on the floor.
“I actually feel offended that you imagine I'd do something so dirty. You're my destiny, y/n. I could never change that.”
Her words calms you down, you can see the truth past them.
The metallic smell reminds you of the red mess on the floor, coming from the room she just emerged from.
You gently push past her and enter it.
Jenna sits in the middle of the room, drowning in her own pool of blood, the life long taken from her eyes.
“I thought I'd show you some of my love,” Ellie comes behind you, offering you the bouquet.
Your eyes shine mesmerized, mesmerized by the proof of her love.
You look at her, at the shine in her dilated pupils, how they look at you.
She's right. You two are destiny. And your insides are red.
it took so much effort to write this! pls treat her well!
Summary: You and Jessie have a loving marriage, two precocious, but great teens; but this life and this romance was hard-earned. At one point, loving, doting-wife Jessie, was avoidant, non-committal, but oh-so-sweet Jessie. You and Jessie share your origin story with your daughters.
Warnings: None.
A/N: Well, y'all. I'm attempting another multi-chapter fic. ✨ Future angst ✨ Kids are named "Ky" and "Harper" though it's a totally different universe from Still Yours. I just didn't want to come up with new names! Oh. And eventual smut.
"I just can't believe she's falling for it. Like, this hot and cold bullshit is getting old. Just move on."
"Language," you said with a look from across the kitchen table at your daughter, Ky. You had to steady your expression and stifle a laugh at the briefly defiant, but relenting, eyeroll the teen gave you.
You heard a faint snicker from next to you and you held your gaze on Ky as you swung your knee out and nudged Jessie hard enough to jostle her, only drawing a fuller laugh out of her now.
The teen directly across from you, with freckles that had become more and more pronounced over the years to the point where she was a near-spitting image of Jessie, gave you a self-impressed look.
"Momma thinks I'm funny," she said haughtily.
"That makes one of us," Harper quipped before chuckling into her bowl at her own remark.
"Shut up!"
"It was a joke!"
"Girls," Jessie cut in as she held out her hands for silence. "Please." Their comments quieted and then died as they both quietly pouted. Jessie smiled sweetly at them, well aware it would probably irritate them. "Thank you. And Ky, yes, watch your language, please. At least while we're enjoying a dinner together."
Ky rolled her eyes dramatically as she folded her arms against herself with a huff.
"No fair. You always side with Mom," she pouted.
Jessie leaned in with another smile. "She's my wife. The mother of my darling children-" she grinned when they both fussed over the comment "-of course I'm going to side with her."
"Thanks, babe," you said as you leaned your shoulder into her and she turned to give you a peck on the cheek.
"Gross. If we can't swear at the table, then you guys shouldn't get to be gross at the table either," Harper objected.
"We're adults. We're married-" you started.
"-Happily married," Jessie interjected pointedly, a finger in the air. You snickered and placed your hand on her thigh as you looked to your children with a quietly pleased smile.
"Right. Happily married," you confirmed with a pointed, sidelong glance to Jessie that was met with the woman sitting up proudly at the declaration. You looked back to Harper and Ky. "Would you rather your parents be arguing day in and day out?"
They rolled their eyes yet again.
"No," Harper said in a way that made it seem like it pained her to say it.
"Okay," you said with a light shrug. "So a little affection between your parents isn't so bad, now is it," you teased.
"Anyway," Ky responded pointedly, drawing the word out with a look to both Jessie and you. "As I was saying, it's stupid that Thalia is putting up with Reese's mixed messages. Like, if he actually liked her, it would be clear. She wouldn't have to guess."
You sat across from your daughter as you absorbed her words. She wasn't wrong. In fact, you were glad that she was so self-possessed and had those expectations.
However. Sometimes. Things are complicated.
You hesitated for a couple of moments as you internally debated and it was long enough for her to frown at you in question. You released a faint sigh and offered a subtle shrug.
"True. And I am very proud that that's how you feel and how you think." You paused to take a quick breath as you gathered your thoughts. "But, sometimes, there's more to it."
Ky arched an eyebrow and shot Harper a questioning look the other teen shared.
"I'm not saying you should put up with being strung along, and certainly not indefinitely," you protested preemptively, "but sometimes it's not as simple as it seems."
Ky gave you a scrutinizing look.
"It's a situationship. You're telling me you'd tell her to stick around?" She challenged.
"No, I wouldn't," you responded primly as you tilted your head up at them, now feeling on trial in front of your children. "But. That would make me a bit of a hypocrite. I mean, your momma had me in one."
"WHAT!?" Both girls blurt out, both leaning in simultaneously against the table and staring between you and Jessie wide-eyed.
"Well, hold on-" Jessie interjected, sitting forward quickly and giving you a bewildered look before looking intermittently at the kids with a frazzled smile probably meant to diffuse things.
"Wait - what," Harper reiterated, craned forward and looking at both of you with such disbelief. "Momma-" She pointed at Jessie as if to verify we were all talking about the same person, "Momma had you in a situationship?" Her tone finished high in confusion as her brows knit together.
"No-"
"Yeah."
Silence fell over the kitchen table as you and Jessie looked to one another. She looked mortified and affronted and you actually couldn't help but let out a short laugh.
God, how things had changed.
There was a time where just the thought of Jessie nearly had you tears. Now here you were, so many years later, her ring on your finger such a mainstay that you could hardly remember a time it wasn't yours; your two teens sitting across from you; and Jessie herself - older, more settled, more herself - giving you the most helpless, puppy-eyes at your proclamation.
Despite there being a period where you didn't even know if you two would speak again, here you were, a warm, loving family - and you could even laugh about it now.
You held Jessie's stare, trying not to laugh further.
"Babe," you said knowingly. She wilted.
"It's not what it sounds like," Jessie half-pouted, half-protested as her hands fell into her lap and her shoulders rounded out in defeat.
"It kinda is," you couldn't help but tease as you propped your elbow on the table and rest your chin in your hand with a playful look her way.
"Oh my God," Jessie complained with an exasperated sigh and a dramatic roll of her head from one side to the other.
"Wait. Wait. You guys still haven't explained anything," Ky spoke up, holding out her hands to get your and Jessie's attention.
"Yeah this is crazy," Harper said. "Momma's obsessed with Mom. Like, it's embarrassing."
"Yeah, we always tell you you're embarrassing yourself, Momma," Ky piled on.
Jessie rolled her eyes, cheeks flaring red by now as she fidgeted. She gave an irritated look towards her daughters' ribbing, but it was evident she was still sheepish and aghast by this whole conversation.
"Don't be mean," you mildly chided the girls as you leaned over and wrapped your arms around Jessie, who audibly let out a pouting huff and half-collapsed into your embrace. "Your Momma's grown up a lot," you said, unable to entirely hold back your laugh. The girls' expressions and Jessie's reactions were just too amusing.
"Oh my gosh," Jessie complained as she pulled away petulantly and shot you a look of betrayal. "For the record," she held up her hand in defiance, "this is all a lot more nuanced than it's sounding right now."
"Right," you nodded with false seriousness. You looked to the girls. "Like your Momma breaking up with me - well, guess there was nothing to officially break up because she just refused to acknowledge things or make a real move - but basically ghosted me. Got super formal on me, distant, and then quickly went no contact."
Jessie groaned and hung her head in her hands. The girls' jaws dropped and Harper's hand shot out to Ky's shoulder as if to brace herself.
You couldn't help but delight in the chaos around you. You wrapped your arms around Jessie again and kissed her hair. "I'm sorry, baby. I can't resist."
"I'm sorry," she mumbled as she leaned into you with another huffing sigh.
"I don't get it. I'm having trouble reconciling. Like, you," Ky gestured to Jessie who had sunk into her seat with both mortification and resignation, "who - again - embarrassingly, will follow Mom around at events. Tag along with her on the most boring errands because she 'might need company'. Look to her first for her reaction when you crack a lame joke. Or are watching her like a hawk to see if she needs anything. Momma - bringer of Mom's perfect drink, sweaters, whatever. You," she paused as if to process further, "ghosted her?"
Jessie eventually let out a sigh of defeat and removed herself from your embrace to brace her arms on the table to look the girls in their eyes.
"...I guess."
The girls erupted, talking loudly over one another to the point where none of it was legible.
You signaled for the girls to quiet and you spoke.
"This is funny and harmless because we all know where things landed. Your Momma is the absolute sweetest and I - and each of us - can count on her for absolutely anything and we all know that. She has more than made up for some of that...angst...from the past," you offered and Jessie gratefully took your hand in hers, giving it a kiss.
Your expression remained steady, but the corner of your mouth twitched as you went on.
"She just happened to, at one point, be a kind, sweet, earnest and deeply noncommittal jock who once upon a time broke my heart."
The room erupted once more and Jessie looked at you partially wounded and partially like she just wanted to collapse in your arms for reprieve. You squeezed her hand and she pouted, letting her head fall to your shoulder.
"Okay, come on," Harper protested. "You have to tell us everything now."
"What? I thought we were gross," you challenged with a self-satisfied smile.
"You are. You absolutely are," Harper countered without the slightest flinch. "But we need to know."
"Oh, so now your parents are interesting," you teased as you turned your head enough to kiss the top of Jessie's head.
"Well. Maybe," Ky hedged with a playful smirk. "We thought Momma was just a love-sick, down bad wife. I mean, one night you can casually mention a particular pastry you liked, and next morning Momma's up before everyone, running across town to get you that specific one. I literally can't imagine her playing it cool with you and not texting you back or whatever."
"Believe it," you laughed. "And hey, yes, Momma is extremely generous and sweet, but that extends to you two as well. She may be getting me a chocolate croissant, but she's getting you those little macarons you like and you those fruit tarts. So don't complain."
"No macarons and fruit tarts for you two," Jessie sulked with a facetious frown at her girls. She lifted her head and gave you a look. "And, quite frankly, not sure I want to get you your croissant either."
You laughed and kissed her cheek.
"We've been a little merciless. Well...me anyway. I'm sorry, baby." You still chuckled further as you squeezed her arm.
She made a comical face and looked up at the ceiling with a quiet exhale through her nose.
"Fine," she said flatly as she shifted her gaze to the girls. We'll tell you."
A/N: Let me know what you think! I was going to go full-on angst, but I invite feedback!
Summary: You and Jessie are friends. But more and more, you wonder how something so sweet can feel so uncertain, and why Jessie keeps reaching for you only to retreat.
Warnings: Slight angst.
A/N: The story continues. Part one here.
"Fine. We'll tell you."
"Really?" Harper asked in hopeful disbelief as she sat forward eagerly.
Jessie shot her daughter a look and exhaled wearily already.
"Don't make me regret this," she said and you stifled a laugh next to her.
"I don't know, Momma. Sounds like this is your opportunity to set the record straight," Ky offered cheekily, drawing a slight grimace out of Jessie.
"Sure,” Jessie said flatly with a lingering frown. “Or incriminate myself further. Who knows.”
"It's okay, babe. We're all fine now," you assured her, though you still wore a hint of a teasing smile.
"Thankfully," Jessie continued in the same tone, slouching further in her chair and planting her feet firmly on the ground, arms crossed.
"Hey yeah, we haven't talked about that in so long - where do you think you'd be if we didn't get together?" You asked with bright curiosity, and immediately had to swallow a snort of a laugh at the bewildered and tired look Jessie gave you.
"Right. A talk for another time," you relented and she gave you an affectionate eyeroll before grabbing your hand and pulling it onto her lap. You smiled, your eyes lingering on her for an extra moment before you cleared your throat subtly and looked back to the girls.
"Okay," you started anew. "Where to begin..."
------
Flashback
You sat at your coffee table and ignored the faint tightness in your chest as you subtly looked over your shoulder towards your front door. Your eyes fell to Jessie's bags that were neatly lined up against the wall, ready to go.
Your eyes panned towards the clock and that familiar pull in the pit of your stomach started up again.
You turned back to face Jessie and all of the tension that had started to fester inside of you settled almost immediately. She sat hunched over the table, resting her chin between her thumb and forefinger and wore the most serious, adorable frown on her face as she scrutinized the puzzle in front of you both.
It took you a moment longer than it should've for you to find your words.
"Not that I'm trying to get rid of you, but don't you need to be leaving? Your flight's at 2:20, right?"
Jessie's frown deepened momentarily before she looked up at you doe eyed.
"Hm?" Her expression cleared and she glanced down at her watch. She studied it for a couple of seconds before giving a shrug. "Mm, it's okay. Security won't be too bad."
You frowned, unconvinced. She used to give herself more of a buffer. And Jessie was someone who didn't like to be late or have to rush.
"You sure? I mean, it's nice that you got to stop by this morning, but I don't want you to be late," you offered. She simply returned her attention to the puzzle pieces she'd arranged neatly in front of her.
"It's okay. I'm not worried," she said casually before picking up a piece and setting into place. She lit up and looked immediately to you with a bright smile. "Got one."
You laughed. "Well I'm glad one of us is having luck."
"It's not luck," she said as she scanned the pieces before her.
"Right. Miss Methodical. Miss I-like-math-and-systems.”
"It's called 'focus',” she remarked deliberately with a hint of a smirk.
"Ah, of course. A foreign concept to me,” you quipped.
Her eyes continued to scan the puzzle and she replied. “I mean, considering how many pieces you placed today…possibly.”
“Wow,” you said, mockingly affronted. “So we’re keeping count now.”
“I’m just tracking progress,” she refuted simply with a wry glance your way. Her eyes snapped back down as soon as they locked with yours, missing your smile at the banter.
“Uh huh. And here I am - distracting you."
Jessie sat up a bit straighter though her eyes didn't leave the puzzle. The edges of her mouth tightened just so and she fidgeted momentarily before clearing her throat.
"I don't mind," she said after a moment passed, tone simple and light. Her eyes still didn’t leave the table as she picked up a piece and held it overtop, but with no clear plan for placement.
A small twinge went through you before you rallied. You smirked and reached out to give her a playful nudge on the shoulder.
"You're supposed to say I'm not distracting," you teased.
A cheeky smile crossed her face and she finally looked up at you, relinquishing the piece back to the others. "Well either way, it clearly hasn't stalled my progress, so..."
You gave her a scandalized look, hand to your chest. She chuckled.
"Wow. The disrespect," you remarked, smile growing at seeing her own.
Her smile quieted as she sat back in her chair and placed her hands on her thighs. She exhaled and checked her watch once more.
"I guess you're right. Not exactly giving myself a lot of leeway," she relented.
She sighed once more and stood, grabbing her empty glass and reaching for yours but pausing, turning towards you, “Are you done?”
“Oh. Yeah,” you responded after a moment’s delay and she grabbed your glass and headed to the dishwasher. “Hey. I could’ve done that,” you told her.
She shrugged as she placed the glassware into the top rack and spoke casually, “No problem. Least I can do.”
You gave her a withering look. “We’ve been over this. Just relax. I don't need you to do anything. You-” you nearly stumbled over your words, the lack of definition leaving the options too open-ended, “can make yourself at home.”
“And I’d clean up after myself at home, too,” Jessie said decisively as she walked back over. “I don’t want to impose,” she tacked on in a somewhat exaggerated way. She was probably trying to deflect with humour, but you didn’t fully believe the air of sarcasm.
“You’re not imposing,” you corrected calmly, seeking her gaze, but she’d started arranging all of the stray puzzle pieces strategically on the roll-up mat, eyes set on the task at hand.
You let out a faint chuckle, allowing the corner of your mouth to turn up subtly. “Believe it or not, if I thought you were a pain or didn’t like you, I wouldn’t invite you over.”
She rewarded you with a soft chuckle as she began to carefully roll up the mat.
Your pulse began to quicken as your mind debated back and forth before you forced your concerns aside and simply spoke.
“I want you here.”
Her movements stilled so briefly that by the time you blinked she’d continued. You wondered if you imagined it.
What you didn’t have to wonder about? Her lack of acknowledgment beyond a tight-lipped smile and a cursory glance.
Your stomach twisted faintly as you tried not to fidget or think too much. You distractedly began tidying up other things as she set the cleaned up puzzle aside in its usual spot.
"You can't work on it until I'm back,” she said as she finally turned to you with a teasing smirk.
The coiling inside of you relaxed some.
"No touching the puzzle. Got it. I know the rules," you agreed as you held up a hand in innocence.
She paused, her smirk fading and her shoulders dropped a touch. You could visibly see her suddenly - unnecessarily - second-guessing herself. "I mean, well, it's yours, and it's your place, so - you're obviously allowed to do whatever you want. But-"
You held up a hand again with a laugh. "Jess. We're good. You're my puzzle partner - I'm not touching it until you're back. I won't even be tempted," you assured her jokingly. Warmth flared in your chest at the relieved look that crossed her face. One you could tell she was at least partially trying to hide.
You two began to walk to the door together, your shoulders brushing briefly as you entered the hall. You felt the need to speak.
"And a reminder - you bought that puzzle. So, it's actually yours."
"Well, it lives here, and possession is nine-tenths of the law, so," she trailed off as she slipped on her shoes and reached for her backpack.
"Honestly," you half-glowered, half-pleaded as she swung the bag over her shoulder. She looked back in a mix of confusion and concern. You glanced down to her shoes. "It's none of my business. But. I would feel better if you tied your shoes."
She stared at you wordlessly for a moment before the corner of her mouth turned up in a lopsided grin.
"Okay, mom," she said flatly though she leaned down and tied her laces with no further protest.
You felt heat rush up your neck to your cheeks. You held back an embarrassed groan.
Mom? Yeah. That's exactly how you wanted her to think of you.
"Yikes," you deadpanned. "Making sure you catch your flight. Making sure you tie your shoes. I'll tone it down," you finished with a slightly forced laugh. She gave you a small smile and a quick shrug after a moment’s contemplation.
"I don't mind," she said once more.
You did your best to muster up an easy smile, but managed nothing more than a closed-lipped one with wavering eye contact as you folded your arms against your chest.
"Okay. Well. Glad to know you won’t suffer a shoelace-related mishap.” You managed to joke and she chuckled softly.
You looked at one another for an extended moment and you filled the impending awkwardness with what felt logical.
“I hope you have a good flight.” You tried not to scrutinize the stiffness in your delivery.
She gave a nod and pushed her hands into her pockets. "Thanks," she said before giving a shrug, her gaze falling to the baseboards of your wall. “It’ll be fine.”
You two stood before each other, intermittently staring at the other to looking anywhere but at one another.
You deflated internally. Things always got weird before she left town. Some times more than others.
The energy between you that felt so calm and easy sometimes felt anything but. And it was like this more and more. It was like there was so much beneath the surface, so much to say, more to do, but neither of you had the guts to poke at whatever it was.
You’d known Jessie for, God, nearly a year now. You met through a friend of a friend. Hit it off one night at an event neither of you wanted to be at.
A couple of book and coffee recommendations had turned into a few follow-up texts. Those turned into idle, yet slow conversation. Into a tentative invite to a market. To more texts - deeper conversations, funnier conversations - to more hang outs.
More ease. More warmth.
To her suddenly being a near constant, somehow intertwined in your life. Cheerful or humorous morning texts, updates, good night texts. Seeing each other during her down time. Making a point of seeing you before hitting the road. Scheduling catch ups before she was back.
You loved it. You loved-
No. No. Not going there yet.
You guys were just friends.
And that was the issue.
It didn’t feel like friends. It didn’t feel casual. It didn’t feel light in the sense friendships do. So much of it felt like there was another layer, more weight, more meaning, behind it.
And yet, you’d never kissed. Never held hands. Did you sit too close to one another on the couch? Stand unnecessarily close to each other when you scrutinized something together at a store? Yes. Absolutely. Sometimes. At least in your humble opinion.
But anytime you thought you had boundaries figured out, she'd back off. Next time you hung out, hell, sometimes even 5 minutes later, she'd sit stiffly a foot apart from you. Or if you brushed against each other she'd practically recoil.
You just couldn't figure it out.
Never mind comparisons. She hugged her friends all the time. Leaned into them in pictures. Brushed against them when she was in a good mood and animated about something.
The truth was, she did those things a lot less with you.
And there was the fact that she’d never said a thing beyond friendship to you. Yes, you two bantered all the time, something you were inclined to read as flirtation sometimes, but she was dry and sarcastic with her teammates too.
Your stomach sank.
And this wasn’t like you. You weren’t used to feeling like this. Second-guessing. Conducting thesis-level analysis over the most mundane things. Pining.
"Hey, uh, I downloaded that book you told me about. I'll start reading it on the plane."
Her comment drew you out of your thoughts.
As much as you wanted to keep talking, the fact that she was running late hovered in the back of your mind.
“Oh,” you said, coming back to and allowing yourself a receptive smile. “Okay. Can’t wait for another one of Jessie’s Judgements.”
She scoffed with a playful eyeroll. “Well, your recommendations have rarely let me down, so…I think you’re safe.”
You wanted to build off of what she said, but, she should really go.
“Glad to hear it,” you accepted with a lingering smile before playfully tapping your wrist in gesture. "Time," you stated.
"Right," she nodded with a small laugh. She brought a hand up to her mouth and quietly cleared her throat as she seemed momentarily transfixed on the wall. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“And we’re still on for Sunday?” She asked, finally looking back at you, sounding nonchalant but with eyebrows raised.
You frowned briefly before your mind caught up. “Oh yeah. Of course.”
"Alright. Cool," she said as she idly rubbed the back of her neck, eyes still anywhere but yours before digging her hands back into her pockets. "Guess I better go." She mindlessly tapped the toe of her shoe against the rug. "I'll text."
You couldn't help but let out a breath of a laugh. It was all so awkward.
"Sounds good. Don't worry, okay? I know you're busy. If you can text, great, but it's all good," you reassured, not for the first time, with a small laugh. "We'll connect when you're back."
You saw her exhale through her nose, her shoulders relaxing and she soon straightened with a small smile.
"Kay. I'll see you later, then," she said. A brief second of indecision seems to take hold of you both before you simultaneously stepped forward into a hug.
Today, the hug lasted longer than it probably should have. When you finally pulled away, you strongly suspected your cheeks were flushed. Your only solace was that Jessie's cheeks seemed a bit redder than usual, too.
She remained rooted to her spot for a second longer, before swiftly grabbing her luggage and giving you a nod.
"Alright. Thanks again for letting me swing by-"
"Jess," you admonished with a laugh. It was so absurd. She gave a sheepish grin.
"-I'll see you Sunday."
She stepped through the door and gave you an adorable wave that you returned with a chuckle.
"Bye."
"Bye, Jess. Have a good flight."
When you closed the door behind her, you braced your hands against the door and exhaled as you leaned into it with your weight, your head eventually resting against it. You shook your head slowly.
You didn't understand how you could feel so charged and so drained all at once.
Before you could scrutinize too much, you made yourself take a deep breath and you busied yourself around the apartment to settle your nerves.
You checked your phone to see a missed text from your best friend. You responded.
"Hey. Sorry. Jess just left."
"Uh huh. I figured that's what was distracting you. So. Dare I ask. Any progress?"
Your shoulders rounded out as you felt yourself deflate.
"No."
You paused. Unsure of what else to say. You knew [y/best friend] was losing patience with this whole situation. To which you'd respond with, 'Imagine how I feel??’
"She was being weird and quiet again. Well, her version of weird and quiet lol."
"Surprise."
"Hey. Don't be mean."
"Sorry. You know I'm half joking. The whole thing's just mind boggling. This woman stocks your favourite drinks and snacks at her apartment, half-lives at your apartment now in her down time, is honest to God sweeter and more attentive than actual girlfriends or boyfriends I know, but won't define anything or be direct."
"I know. Believe me."
"She’s sweet. She's nice. Don't get me wrong. But she's a coward."
You frowned as a pang went through you upon reading the message. You felt protective of Jessie, and yet, it hurt.
"Or. You know. She’s just a really genuinely thoughtful and sweet person who doesn't like me as more than a friend. She develops deep friendships. And maybe that’s all this is. And I'm just reading into things like some narcissistic idiot."
"This is not that. And you are certainly not a narcissistic idiot in any sense. And the fact that she makes you even ponder that makes me want to dislike her."
"[Y/best friend's name]. Please. This is hard enough. I don't need you taking up arms on my behalf."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just been like a freakin' year and I don't like seeing my friend strung along. But I hear you! I'll let it go. For today lol."
You sighed. Were you being strung along? You didn't even know anymore.
Still. Throughout the rest of the day, you heard from Jessie.
"Made it through security. Shoes tied and everything."
"Also started the book. I’m saving judgment until chapter three, but so far you’re safe."
"I'm finally wrapped up for the day, just back in the hotel room getting ready for bed. How was your dinner?"
It was like that, you two texting back and forth when you could, over the next few days.
Until Sunday.
"Hey [Y/N]. I really hate to do this, but I need to cancel our plans for this afternoon. My flight's been delayed and it's looking like we'll miss our connection on top of that. I'll be lucky if I make it home today at all."
"I'm really sorry. I hate flaking out like this."
Your heart dropped a bit, but you mostly just felt badly that she was dealing with all of that. Of course it would've been nice to see her today, but there was always another time.
"Hey, no need to apologize. These things happen. And it's entirely out of your control. I highly doubt you want to spend your entire day in airports."
"I'm sorry you're dealing with all of those delays. That's gotta be frustrating. I trust Reilyn and co have plentiful games and such to keep you all occupied. Maybe this is the universe telling you to finish your crochet project 😂"
"Still."
"Haha. Yeah, we always find a way to stay occupied. Thanks for being understanding."
You frowned, slightly amused at your phone.
"It's honestly no problem, Jess. I understand travel complications."
"And hey, this is a good chance for me to run some errands I didn't get around to yesterday. If you do happen to make it home today and still want to hang out though, just shoot me a text."
You stared at the text after you sent it. Did it sound too desperate? She'd come over after late flights. So this wasn't weird, right?
"Thanks. I won't make you wait around for me though. We'll just see each other another time."
A brief pang went through your chest at the response, but you tried to not read into it. You chewed your bottom lip and texted again. Any inkling that you were being pathetic and over-available, was recrafted in your mind: you didn't like games. You liked being direct and clear, and - she was your friend...or something... - there shouldn't be a need for mental gymnastics.
"You mentioned that gallery opening later this week. Want to check that out?"
You stared at your phone waiting for the three little dots to come up again. You switched to another app as you waited. You switched back a while later - still nothing.
She was probably just busy. The team wrangled her into something or maybe there was an update about her flight.
With a sigh, you went on with your newly open day.
You hated how you practically felt your chest fill with anticipation any time your phone vibrated.
Eventually, it was her name on your screen.
"Maybe. I'm not really sure what my week is looking like right now. I don't want to say 'yes' if I'll just have to bail."
Your chest constricted faintly again. You almost started texting back right away, but your thumb stalled over the keyboard and you tucked your phone in your back pocket.
No games, huh? You scolded yourself internally and texted back sooner than you intended.
"All good. I know your schedule changes - I don't mind, honestly, mine does too, sometimes. Regardless, we'll play it by ear."
"Cool. Thanks."
Your stomach dipped at the minimal reply.
You put your phone away. Her message didn't exactly invite continued conversation, and quite frankly, you felt you'd put yourself out there enough today.
Eventually, you were winding down and getting ready for bed. You hadn't heard anything more from Jessie. No travel updates today, apparently.
You were lying in bed and gave in, checking Insta. You saw stories from Mac and few others. You opened them and that pit of disappointment in your stomach grew.
They'd gotten home a couple of hours ago. Meaning, Jessie was home and hadn't even texted you.
You closed your eyes and grit your teeth.
So what? She didn't owe you an update. Why should she keep you posted? You weren't her girlfriend.
You. Weren't. Her. Girlfriend.
You exhaled brusquely and turned onto your side, abruptly turning out the light on your nightstand and setting your phone down with a louder-than-necessary thud.
You needed to get some sleep. You'd feel better in the morning.
Except, when you woke up, you still didn't have a message from Jessie.
Which meant you had to admit - on some level - that without that, you didn't feel better.
She was being distant. Again.
You wouldn't say you waited all day for her to text, but in time, you eventually sent her a message.
"Hope you made it back okay."
"Hey. Yeah, thanks. Got in super late. Your day's been okay?"
It was better than nothing. But it was slow. And it was off. It wasn't like her usual texts to you.
The gallery opening came and went without further acknowledgement and before you knew it, you were seeing glimpses of Jessie on the admin account boarding another plane out of town for another game.
Summary: Jessie slips back into your life with an ease and sweetness that makes it hard not to hope. But when someone mistakes your closeness for something more, Jessie’s reaction makes her silence harder to ignore.
Warnings: Angst.
A/N: Part one and Part two.
Flashback
“Hey, thanks for letting me come over.”
You exhaled and cocked your head at Jessie. You couldn't help but give her a withering, but faintly affectionate look.
“Jess."
You left it at that, her already giving you an unfortunately adorable and apologetic expression. You exhaled quietly and stepped aside to let her come in. You leaned against the wall as she began taking off her shoes.
You hadn't seen her in a couple of weeks. Things cooled a bit between you two during that period, but she'd been reaching out more, warming again, recently. To the point of asking to see you once she got back from Chicago.
She'd given a vague apology - busy, travel, exhaustion - and maybe it was true. It would be fair, but it just felt off. You knew there were times she'd text you even if she was falling asleep, so to go so minimal - always polite though, always civil - felt like...felt like a loss.
Still, you'd missed her. And again, you had no right to be hurt or to expect more. Just friends - you had to keep reminding yourself.
"Uh, here," Jessie announced, drawing you from your thoughts.
She stood before you, back straight, chin up with a half-nervous smile as she held out a gift bag to you.
"Oh," you said as your eyes shifted from her to the bag and back again. You tentatively stepped forward and retrieved the bag from her. You weren't expecting anything.
She stood quietly, watching you, and you took it as a hint to open the bag. You took out the tissue paper standing out of the top of the bag and moved over to your kitchen counter to set it down. Jessie followed you wordlessly.
You peered into the bag and a smile automatically crossed your face. You glanced over your shoulder briefly at her and she flashed you a smile of her own before you reached into the bag and pulled out a few small boxes.
"Jess-"
"-I know you like the original kind, but they released new seasonals so I thought you might like to try those, too," Jessie talked over you.
You turned the boxes over in your hands to examine them and gave her a steady look, though the corner of your mouth tugged upward.
"This is really generous, Jess-"
She was already shaking her head with a comical frown. "They're just treats."
"Yeah, sure, but I know you're on a tight schedule and you didn't have to get me anything," you explained calmly. "This better not be a Spain situation," you went on as you narrowed your eyes playfully at her.
She shook her head again. "No, no. We were in that area anyway. It was nothing."
You stared at her a moment longer before relenting. "Okay. As long as it was convenient," you insisted with an emerging smile. She grinned.
"Of course. Anyway - yeah, uh, those are for you," she went on, her hands clasped behind her back now.
"Well - thank you -" you emphasized as you held her gaze, "this is very thoughtful and sweet. I really appreciate it."
She gave a dismissive shrug. "You're welcome. Glad they're the right ones. I saw them and thought you'd talked about them at some point, but couldn't really remember. But it was nothing, really."
"Well," you held up the boxes as evidence, "it is something." You finished with a soft laugh. "Have you ever tried these?"
"No."
You opened the box and held it out to her. She held up her hand in mild protest.
"They're yours. You don't have to share," she said.
You gave her another look and held out the box further with a chuckle. "I've got enough to share."
She eyed you suspiciously for another moment before retrieving one and taking a small bite. You watched her as she chewed. And chewed. And gave you a smile and a thumbs up that was not remotely convincing. You legitimately laughed.
"Jess. You don't have to pretend to like them just because I like them," you assured her with a fond look. She made a show of swallowing her bite and her smile turned humourously forced.
"They're delicious," she feigned and you laughed again.
"Hey, this works in my favour. These are hard to find. So - more for me," you said haughtily and she chuckled.
"Thanks again," you said as you reached out and you two embraced in a hug. You hardly noticed as you instinctively tucked your head against hers. It just felt - good - being with her again.
When the hug ended, you noted her step back and how her hands went behind her back once more. She seemed rather interested in the plant on your table and rocked up onto the balls of her feet before dropping back down.
You should keep your mouth shut, but you were finding it harder and harder to do so.
"Feel like we haven't really talked in ages," you said, keeping your tone light. "Which is funny, because I guess it hasn't really been," you backtracked with a faint laugh.
She'd looked at you as you spoke, but shifted her gaze away as she began to respond, her hand coming up to the back of her neck.
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that," she offered a bit slowly. "It's just been really hectic and intense lately."
She started into an extended explanation of training, team obligations, tournament preparation, fitness tests, and you eventually cut her off with what you hoped was a gentle smile.
"Hey, sorry, I wasn't trying to interrogate or anything. I know you're busy and you're juggling a lot. Things get intense for you - and that's totally fine," you offered a chuckle as you continued to reassure, "for the record, I have no problem with intense. I was just commenting. What I meant, I guess, was more like - it's good to see you again."
She exhaled inaudibly, her shoulders visibly relaxing and a slow smile formed on her face.
"Yeah, it's good to see you, too," she said. A beat passed and she went on. "So tell me, did you cave and work on the puzzle without me?"
It took you a second to map the shift in topic, but you released a laugh.
"How dare you accuse me of such moral weakness," you returned facetiously and her smile grew. You laughed once more and held out your arm in gesture towards to the table. "Shall we, then?"
Even if you went into today with lingering questions, maybe a desire to not be so open, as you sat next to her plugging away at the puzzle, catching up, joking again with one another, it was alarmingly easy to slip back into things with Jessie.
The afternoon carried on until the need for dinner was undeniable. After a quick discussion on what to eat, you collectively decided to walk to the nearby grocery store, pick up some ingredients and come back to cook together.
While at the grocery store, you two spontaneously decided it would be a good idea to bake blueberry muffins, which - by the time you were done dinner, done chatting, meant you were baking together at 8 o'clock at night.
And, of course, Jessie had to stay to taste test and to split the batch, and by then it was well into the night.
And yet, when you said goodbye to each other at the door, you still didn't want her to leave.
-------
"Hey, I saved you a seat. No rush - get here whenever you can."
You hardly noticed the soft smile on your face as you read Jessie's text. You replied.
"Thanks! I'm probably 10 min out. See you soon."
"Cool. We're in one of the rooms at the back. Take a right after you pass the host stand."
You followed Jessie's instructions once you entered the restaurant and made your way towards the room. You could hear boisterous, overlapping conversation and laughter as you approached the entryway.
You stepped in and were immediately spotted by the series of Jessie's teammates sitting with their back towards the wall. There were a couple of large tables in the room with Jessie's friends situated throughout. They waved at you cheerfully.
"Look who's here!"
Jessie had her back to the door, but immediately sat up straighter and turned towards the door. You locked eyes and she smiled broadly.
"Hey," she greeted as she reached to the chair next to her and pulled it out slightly. "Here."
"Thanks," you said as you approached, waving and saying 'hello' to the group along the way.
There was a pair you didn't recognize, but otherwise you knew everyone there.
And as you sat down, your mind pieced together that all of the people in attendance - coincidentally or not - happened to be couples.
Not you and Jessie though.
"So, how's your day been?"
Jessie's voice pulled you from you thoughts and you turned to her. You answered and the two of you shared a couple of quick updates before you were both drawn into larger conversation.
Eventually, a couple of servers came in, setting down various small plates across the tables. One server came up next to Jessie, setting down a plate.
"And you had the cauliflower bites over here, right?"
"Oh. Yeah. That'd be great," Jessie replied as she sat back to give the server room. "Thanks."
"I love those," you said as they were placed near you. Jessie wordlessly moved the dish closer to you with a concealed grin.
"Did you order those for me?" You asked with a scrutinizing look. She remained tight lipped and merely took a sip of her drink. "Jess," you admonished with less-than-successful seriousness before you nudged her with your shoulder. "That's sweet. Thank you."
"They're good," Jessie said casually with a shrug, though you caught the faint smirk on her lips.
The servers then started taking dinner orders and you shot Jessie a playfully wide-eyed look as you snatched up the menu. She laughed and leaned in, pointing to a couple of items.
"You might like these," she said before leaning in a touch more, enough that your arms were pressed against one another's, and pointed at another item. "There's also this if you don't like the other two. And, you know, the entire menu."
You had to admit your mind was a lot less on the menu and more focused on your proximity to her.
You were growing vaguely aware that you should speak sooner rather than later. You quietly cleared your throat and turned your head subtly to speak to her while others were giving their orders. She tilted her head in towards you to hear you better and you tried not to smile.
"What are you going to get?" You asked, reprimanding yourself mildly as you stumbled over your thoughts to get to that. She turned to speak closer to your ear, now, and you swallowed subconsciously.
"I think I'm just getting the gnocchi. You?"
You didn't put much thought into it, and truthfully, her recommendations sounded spot-on. You chose one of them and she pulled back with a smile.
With food eventually ordered, conversation began to flow once more. You felt a sweet tension in your chest and you couldn't resist smiling as you engaged with Jessie and her friends.
As the appetizers depleted and the group waited on dinner. People began to circulate around the room and chat with different folks. At some point, the pair you didn't recognize came and sat in the newly vacant seats across from you and Jessie.
They both extended their hands to you and introduced themselves and you did the same.
"It's been way too long since we've seen each other," Jessie said with a smile as she sat relaxed in her chair, hand casually wrapped around her drink. You tried not to think about how her knee brushed yours if either of you moved.
"I know! Sure you don't want to come play in the Bundesliga? You can play with us and Vanessa," Pernille said teasingly. Jessie laughed and you smiled naturally.
"You know, I'm good here," Jessie said with a smile you were trying hard not to stare at. She glanced your way.
You listened in as the three caught up, adding comments or questions in where appropriate. Eventually, attention turned to you.
"So, Fleming," Magda said, now leaning in conspiratorially as her eyes darted purposefully between Jessie and you. "Stop with all the mystery. Tell us everything. How long have you two been together? You know, Jessie's always been coy about dating, but-"
You were hardly processing the rest of what Magda was saying and instead could only really focus on your heart thumping loudly in your chest. You probably stared at her a moment too long already, but Jessie sitting up in her chair and moving her glass a few inches over on the table snapped you back into the moment.
"Oh," she started, with a smile moving into place a moment later as she released a small laugh and gave you a cursory glance. She frowned, eyes settling on her glass as she gave a couple of quick shakes of her head. "Oh, no, we're friends."
The sweetness that had been fluttering in your chest abruptly transformed into a sharp pain that twisted behind your ribs.
You felt your jaw tighten subconsciously and you did your best to not break your gaze or react. You swallowed again involuntarily and mustered up an expression you hoped looked easy and unbothered.
She let out another brief laugh and you two locked eyes for a fleeting moment before you both looked at Magda and Pernille.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Magda said, her expression - and Pernille's - showing obvious regret and embarrassment. "I just-"
"Don't worry about it," you interjected with a gracious smile as you ignored the lump that was forming in your throat. The more you all lingered on this, the more humiliating it felt and you weren't sure how much you could tolerate.
Some part of you was determined to assert your dignity and take ownership of the moment. You offered a gentle laugh and gestured pointedly to the couples around the table.
"I mean, fair assumption," you joked as you continued to smile at them.
Sparing any of them further, Pernille jumped in with a vaguely connected anecdote and eventually you felt your pulse calm. The ache in your chest and the knots in your stomach weren't as easy to settle though.
Dinner came and everyone returned to their seats. You mustered up a smile as Deyna and her partner sat down across from you once more. Not wishing to be further exposed, you started up conversation to eliminate any room for scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Jessie sat next to you, quiet and subdued. Her knee, that was brushed up against yours just minutes prior, no longer at risk of touching yours; same with her shoulder and arm. You valiantly banished the observations from your mind.
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but you swore you caught Jessie glancing at you out of the corner of her eye as everyone ate. Yet, she didn't say more than a word or two to you.
She still smiled, still responded when spoken to, but things were off now. Again, maybe you were reading into things, but to you, it felt like you could practically see the walls going up.
"How is it?" You asked as you glanced at her still half-full plate, Jessie pushing a piece of gnocchi around on the dish.
She seemed almost surprised, back straightening for a moment before her shoulders rounded out again and she absently pierced the piece with her fork.
"Yeah, it's good," she answered, though her eyes didn't leave the plate. It took her a moment before she glanced at you. Your chest twinged at the effort it seemed to take her to do it. "How's yours?"
"Fine," you responded, voice still friendly enough, though you felt suddenly deflated. You swallowed and looked to her briefly before adding. "The beets are really good."
You saw her try to smile and she glanced your way. "Good."
In time, the plates were cleared, more drinks were ordered and people began to disburse around the room again. You took the small opening you had.
"Hey," you said under your breath as you leaned toward her, albeit nothing like earlier this evening. She held her hands clasped firmly in her lap though she did tilt her head down in another way of indicating she was listening. You bit back a sigh. "Are you okay?"
A frown creased her forehead as she glanced your way. "Yeah. I'm good."
Frustration began to creep up within you, but you tried to tamp it down. She returned her attention to her near-empty drink.
"Is this about what Magda said earlier?"
Your heart beat heavy in your chest once again as the words left your mouth, but you held your eyes steady on her. Her head snapped towards you, that frown still on her face.
"What?" She asked, looking maybe offended - maybe just confused - and your stomach dropped. You pulled back slightly and her expression softened. "What?" She asked again, gentler. "No." Her gaze fell to the ground before returning to yours and away again. She shrugged and drained her drink. "I'm just kind of tired."
Your eyes remained on her as you struggled with what to do or say next. What to feel.
She solved it for you as she stood up out of her chair. She stretched, looking around the room.
"Ugh. I've been sitting for too long. I'm gonna run to the bathroom - I'll be back," she announced with a fleeting glance your way.
You watched her walk away, disappointment seeping throughout your body before you forced yourself to snap out of it.
Truthfully, you envisioned yourself just grabbing your things and leaving, but you refused to be chased out so abruptly or to draw attention to yourself in that way. Instead, you looked around the room and grabbed your glass before settling in across from Mac and Reilyn.
When Jessie returned, you refused to look her direction though you caught her looking your way before returning to her chair though that part of the table had mostly emptied out.
"So, how were your treats?"
"Hm?" You asked, eyebrows raised before giving a quick shake of your head. "Sorry, what?"
"How were your cross-city confections?" Mac asked with a mischievous grin.
"Uh..." You narrowed your eyes at her in consideration and she and Reilyn both laughed.
"You know, the boxes of treats that Jessie took two trains and a bus to get," Reilyn explained playfully matter-of-fact.
"Yeah, and nearly dislocated my elbow she snatched the bag away from me so quickly when I tried to grab a box," Mac laughed. "Then she pointedly ignored me the rest of the evening."
"Huh?" You asked, that low level ache in your torso replaced suddenly by confusion as you leaned in slightly. "She said you guys were already in that area."
"'Area'," Reilyn said sarcastically with air quotes. "City, sure."
You looked between them as you processed what they were sharing with you.
It should have made you feel special. An hour ago, it probably would have.
You reminded yourself to respond.
"Oh. Well, yeah, they were great," you managed with a smile.
Mac was still nearly doubled over in laughter about the whole thing before Reilyn waved her hands excitedly and launched into a new story.
You feigned following along, but your gaze drifted towards Jessie, catching her politely nodding as she listened to conversation at her table, but seemed distracted by the condensation on her glass and whatever was on her phone. You had to make sure not to let your eyes linger on her for too long.
So, now what. She - evidently - went very much out of her way to get those treats. And things were going good again. Hell, just an hour ago you two were nearly cuddled up together at the table, smiling and chatting and - it just felt right.
And now, she would hardly talk or look at you.
But it wasn't about the comment earlier. Evidently.
You made a point of trying to make the most of the evening, but you couldn't rid yourself of the heaviness that had descended upon things. You didn't want to be here. It wasn't about her friends - they were great - it was everything else.
Did she know it was couples only when she invited you? Or did she not know? Did something else about the night cause her to withdraw? Was it the question? Or was she really just tired? She went halfway across Chicago to get you some silly snacks you liked. Maybe there was something else she wanted to do in that area - she liked taking photos, she liked checking out random places - who knows. Did it mean anything?
You circulated the room. Jessie did too, to a lesser degree, but at no point did she come over to you.
You felt drained all over again.
Once it was socially acceptable to leave, you graciously excused yourself from your current conversation, said your goodbyes and went to gather up your things.
"You're leaving?"
You nearly paused upon hearing Jessie's voice behind you. You finished gathering your things and turned to face her. She was standing casually with her hands in her pockets.
"Yeah. It's been a long day," you said, offering a thin, but polite smile.
She looked away the way she did when she was thinking. She shrugged a shoulder idly. "Do you want me to-"
"No," you cut her off gently. "I'm okay. Stay. Have fun," you finished lightly, trying to control your breath.
She quieted and gave a couple of small nods, gaze falling to the floor.
"Okay. Well. Text me when you get home," she said, returning her eyes to yours. You held steady and gave a nod.
"Yep. Sounds good," you accepted. You side-stepped her. "Night."
You caught her turning to keep her eyes on you as you walked on.
"Night."
------
You were getting ready to get into bed and still hadn't texted Jessie. You didn't see the point in rushing.
Your phone lit up.
"Home safe?"
"Yeah. Sorry. Just been settling in."
"No need to apologize. Glad you made it home safe."
You sighed and locked your phone, setting it on your nightstand as you got under the blankets. Your body felt heavy and you rubbed your eyes.
Your phone buzzed again.
"Thanks for coming tonight."
You watched as the three dots lit up in sequence on your screen. You waited.
"Sorry if anything was awkward tonight."
Seriously?
You huffed in disbelief. You wanted to lock your phone and toss it on the bed. Sometimes you weren't sure what was worse. Her apologies or her silence.
Your thoughts and feelings clashed back and forth and you eventually responded.