A/N: Follows "Evolving" but should stand alone. Title from Fall Out Boy.

Turn Off the Lights and Turn Off the Shyness

Two months. That was how long Jess had been dating Lester without him even attempting to get into her bed. Sure, they kissed. They kissed a lot. Jess liked kissing Lester, especially when the heavy weight of him pressed her down onto the sofa, their legs tangling together, and she could run her hands up his back underneath his shirt.

The problem was that inevitably Lester would pull away and fix his clothes and make some excuse, and then later, when she was alone again, Jess would have to touch herself and rely on her imagination, pretending it was Lester's fingers and not her own.

It was frustrating. And Jess knew that if she was feeling unsatisfied, then Lester sure as hell was.

So that Friday night after dinner when Lester started to lean in for a goodnight kiss, Jess leaned away. "Do you want to come in?"

Lester blinked. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's late, and..."

"It's hardly late. It's ten, it's Friday, and we both have the day off tomorrow. Come in, we'll have some wine." Jess forestalled any further protesting by simply grabbing Lester's hand and tugging him into her flat.

"I suppose I can stay a short while, if it would please you," he relented, and Jess bit back her smile. It was amazing how easy it was to get him to do what she wanted as long as he was able to retain the tiniest illusion that he was actually still in charge.

Lester had been in Jess' flat before, though he had never made it as far as the bedroom, which was what she hoped to remedy tonight. He followed in her footsteps to the kitchen where she asked, "Do you have a preference as to the wine?"

"Your choice." Lester watched as Jess settled upon a Pinot Noir that her mother had left her on her last visit. "To think I once considered that you might be teetotal," he said, taking in the rack of wine bottles.

Jess grinned at him and popped the cork. "You had a lot of misconceptions about me."

"Considering you thought I was an ogre, I think we both did."

"I never-" Jess caught the faint curving at the corners of his mouth that meant he was deliberately making fun. "Supposing I did think you were rather more odious than you turned out to be, it was clearly your own fault." She passed Lester a glass of wine and then walked to the sofa by the TV.

"Yes, my fault, of course. Isn't it always?"

"In this case, it certainly was. You were… You were an arsehole when I started at the ARC."

Lester choked on his wine. "Was I indeed? An arsehole? My, that's harsh."

"It's no more than you deserve," Jess said and couldn't keep a straight face any longer, dissolving into giggles. Lester smiled back at her and stretched his arm along the back of the sofa in invitation, so Jess curled snugly into him and said, "Becker used to stand up for you."

"What? Becker?"

"Mmm. He was quite offended on your behalf when I slighted your character."

"How… interesting," Lester mused, and Jess could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

"Don't you dare use it against him," Jess said and pinched his thigh. "It was very sweet."

"I wouldn't dream of it. How devious you seem to think I am."

No, it was Jess who was planning on being devious tonight and she decided it was time to get started. Jess placed her glass to the side and then relieved Lester of his. She scooted closer to him and kissed the side of his face, then the corner of his mouth.

"Miss Parker," Lester said with some amusement. "Did you have an ulterior motive when you invited me in? Were you planning on plying me with alcohol and taking advantage of me?"

"No one takes advantage of you unless you want them to." Jess moved into Lester's lap, a knee on either side of his hips and her dress riding up her thighs. "I think you want me to," she whispered against his lips.

Lester made no further protest and let Jess kiss him, the kisses quickly turning deep and heated. Jess licked into Lester's mouth and tasted the wine overlaying a tiny hint of mint, like he'd popped a breath mint after dinner. Lester slid his hands up Jess' thighs, rucking her dress up even higher, and gripped her bum.

Jess almost reflexively bit into Lester's lip, warm heat coiling inside her. This was unexpectedly forward for Lester and she was almost surprised at the intense feeling of want that spiked in her. She could feel his own desire and, emboldened, rolled her hips forward and down.

Lester gasped against her mouth and then drew his hands back, pulling away. "Jess, wait, we shouldn't..."

"Shouldn't what?" Hardly believing her own daring, Jess reached down between them and pressed her hand against the hardness of Lester's cock, gripped it through his trousers. "You're a liar if you say you don't want this."

"Oh, Christ, Jess." Lester tipped his head back and closed his eyes and Jess could see his Adam's apple bob in his throat as he swallowed. "Wanting is certainly not the problem," he said as he opened his eyes again.

"Then what is?"

"I just don't want... I don't want you to feel rushed, I don't want to push you into anything you don't want."

"Do I look like I don't want this?"

Lester smiled faintly and let his hands rest lightly on Jess' waist. "I thought slow would be the best way to go."

"And that's incredibly sweet. I don't want you to think I don't appreciate you thinking about me but honestly, this is never going to work unless you stop treating me like a little girl." Jess paused and stayed quiet until she could put her thoughts in order, until she could say what she wanted the way she wanted to. "Think for a moment that I'm someone else. Just imagine that everything is exactly the same except that I'm fifteen years older. Would we still be having this conversation?"

She could tell by Lester's expression that he was giving her words careful consideration. "No," he said finally. "I would have shagged you weeks ago."

"Okay then," Jess said, satisfied. She got up off the sofa and held her hand out to Lester. "James Lester, please come into my bedroom and shag me."

He took her hand and stood up. "How could I possibly refuse?" he said, and Jess quite liked what she could see in his eyes.

Jess led him downstairs and into her bedroom and then things got a little awkward. They were going to have sex. It had seemed so much easier and more straightforward when they'd been making out on the sofa, but the deliberateness of leading a man into her bedroom was… Well, it was awkward.

She watched Lester look around the room and felt a flutter of embarrassment at the amount of pink in her bedroom that was soon eclipsed by nervousness. She wanted this but she was afraid she wouldn't be very good, she was afraid Lester would be disappointed. Jess had had boyfriends but she'd only ever slept with one of them, meaning that both her experience and her confidence were rather lacking.

So Jess did the sensible thing and kissed Lester again. He was still and startled for a moment before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her flush against him. Yes, this was so much better. When they were snogging, Jess found that she was far less inclined to think. Thinking was not a good thing at the moment.

Lester's fingers found the zip at the back of her dress and pulled it down. He slid the straps down her shoulders and Jess stepped out of the dress entirely, kicking it to the side without any concern.

Lester was gazing at her with desire heavy in his eyes and Jess was too turned on to even be embarrassed. She stepped backwards towards her bed until the backs of her legs hit the mattress, then she sat down and scooted to the centre. "Aren't you going to join me?"

Blinking like he was reclaiming his senses, Lester moved quickly to settle over her and Jess tugged at his tie to bring him closer, pulling his mouth to hers. Ties were useful things. So were braces, she'd discovered.

"It doesn't seem quite fair that you're still wearing all your clothes," she told him and helpfully undid the knot of his tie, sliding it out from his collar and tossing it onto the ground.

Lester's eyes flickered to the side and Jess almost laughed at him. "Relax! I'm sure it will survive."

"You're lucky you look so tempting at the moment and my brain doesn't appear to be working properly," he said as he started unbuttoning his shirt.

Jess did giggle then and gently pushed his hands away. "Let me," she insisted because, God, how many times had she thought about doing this? She slipped each button between the loops to slowly reveal Lester's pale skin, the sparse hair and his lightly muscled chest.

"I think you have a thing for my clothes," Lester said, amused.

"Maybe I just have a thing for you out of your clothes," she countered, but she knew she was blushing. So what if she liked the suits? They were nice. He looked nice in them. Especially his bum.

But, oh, damn, his bum looked even better now when he was leaning over the side of the bed to deposit his shirt and trousers (very neatly folded) onto the floor, the thin silk of his underwear stretching. Jess couldn't resist a swat, which earned her an offended, "Hands!"

Jess smirked at him. "My hands are going to be getting much friskier than that so you'd best get used to it."

"Why, Miss Parker," Lester gasped, pretending to be scandalised. It probably would have been more convincing if he hadn't been lying on top of her in his underwear.

And it would definitely have been more convincing if he hadn't then sucked a wet kiss into the side of Jess' neck, hot and dirty and making warmth start to pool in Jess' belly. She sighed as he pressed his mouth to her skin, traveling down her chest with small bites and licks. In one jarring motion he half-lifted her off the bed, unclasping her bra with one hand and getting rid of it, making her marvel that he was stronger than he looked. And also that he had clever hands that she was surely going to appreciate.

Of course, then his face disappeared into her breasts and Jess stopped thinking very much at all.

He was so good with his mouth. And his hands. Lester made the other boys Jess had fooled around with look like just that - boys.

Lester slowly moved down Jess' body until he was settled between her legs, nudging them apart. He smiled cheekily at her and she had an instant to figure out what he was about to do before he said, "Up," and Jess immediately complied, letting Lester drag her panties down her thighs.

"If only it was this easy to get you to do what I tell you at work." He pressed her knee gently down to the side and Jess felt ridiculously exposed, so wet she thought she could actually smell it, and then Lester was licking right into her. She shuddered.

Obviously Jess knew in theory that people did this, but she'd never experienced it. She couldn't tell really what he was doing, except that it mostly felt incredible but on occasion it didn't do much for her at all. Lester seemed to have no trouble figuring out what worked and what didn't and Jess started to get the idea that she sounded like a bad actress in a porn film, moaning and talking gibberish.

But with Lester making her feel like she was coming completely undone, Jess decided she really, really didn't care what she sounded like.

She was shaking, tremors building up inside her and she grabbed at Lester's hair. She was mewling, she could hear herself, and she thought she might burst except it just wasn't enough and then suddenly it was. Jess sobbed and fisted her hands into the sheets as the waves of pressure churned through her and out, her body going completely limp.

Her nerve endings were tingling and she was too sensitive all over, making her tug at Lester's hair again. "Stop, stop," she managed to say, her voice shaky. "It's too much."

Lester pushed his way back up and stroked her face, running his fingers through the sweaty strands of her hair. "Sorry."

"Don't… don't apologise. Really, don't apologise for that."

He chuckled and kissed her. His mouth tasted a little strange and then Jess realised it was because she was tasting herself on him. She thought she probably should have been grossed out by it but it was sort of… hot.

"It will be better when I get more of an idea what you like," Lester told her. "Practice makes perfect and all that."

"You mean you can improve on that?" Jess asked, feeling almost dazed. "Oh God. Please, practice all you like." Like every day. Could they do this every day? Was that slutty? Or possibly selfish? She didn't care.

Lester laughed again and kissed her on the cheek. "You're really very cute."

Jess felt herself blushing. 'Cute' wasn't exactly the impression she wanted her boyfriend to have of her. "You must think I'm so silly."

"I don't. I think you're young and I'm enjoying that fact immensely."

"You are?"

"Certainly. I love having the opportunity to show you new things. And honestly, your reactions are quite flattering."

"I'm so happy I can give your ego a boost."

"I'm glad you feel that way as I do require it of all my girlfriends."

Jess trailed her hand down Lester's chest, feeling him shiver. "And I imagine you also require some form of reciprocation." His hard cock was pressing against her leg, damp through his underwear. It gave her a strange sensation of power to know that he was that aroused from going down on her.

But to her surprise, Lester started to look uncomfortable, taking a deep breath as his eyes flickered away from her.

Jess frowned. Not that she was an expert or anything, but it seemed to her a man should be more eager for the actual sex than that. Did he think she was a virgin or something? She didn't want to ask. "I don't think you've got the point of this. I didn't mean, please, James, give me the best orgasm of my life so then I can kick you out afterwards." She pushed him back and he moved easily, rolling away from her and onto his back. Jess straddled him, resting her hands on his chest. "I meant, please, James, make love to me."

Lester brushed the tips of his fingers lightly up her sides. "I didn't even bring a condom."

"What, you mean all men don't actually keep a condom in their wallet at all times?" She grinned.

"I didn't want to presume," Lester said loftily.

"Then it's lucky for you that I very much did presume," Jess said, leaning over to reach into the drawer of her bedside table. The movement pressed his cock against her thigh and Lester groaned in the back of his throat. Triumphantly Jess retrieved a foil packet out of the box and waved it in front of Lester's face, purposely wriggling against him.

But then Jess had the breath knocked out of her as Lester flipped their positions, pushing her down into the mattress, his face hovering just above hers. "You're cheeky, aren't you?" he murmured.

"Better teach me a lesson," she said, lifting her hips up and spreading her legs a little. It was a bit embarrassing how aroused she was by the thought. Maybe in the future they could try some games.

Lester swore under his breath and got out of his underwear impressively fast.

Oh, yes, Jess thought. Lester would definitely go for the games.

She rolled the condom onto his erection and looked at Lester through her eyelashes, her nerves returning and making her stomach flutter, but she wanted this. She trusted him and she wanted him.

"Jessica," Lester said and kissed her, deep, wet kisses that did a lot to rid her of the butterflies.

Jess rubbed the smooth skin of his back and then gasped into his mouth as he slowly guided himself in. She felt stretched and full and tight, with the vague memory that this had hurt, once. She didn't think her boyfriend had been very good at it. She didn't think he'd cared much about whether Jess was enjoying it.

"Christ," Lester said, pausing. "Jess, is that okay? You've done this before, haven't you?"

"What? Yes!" She was blushing furiously. Could she really be that terrible that he could tell already?

But he kissed her again. "I'm sorry, it's just… Bloody hell, you're tight."

"Oh. Well… I might not have done it very often. Or very recently."

"Don't worry," Lester said, wanting to reassure her. "Don't worry about anything."

Lester rocked his hips, making the angle shift, and Jess rolled her pelvis up to meet him. They figured out a rhythm pretty quickly, sure thrusts that made Jess bite her lip to stop a repeat porn star performance. She drew her knees up higher and wrapped her legs around his waist, making Lester sink in a little deeper.

She felt the shifting of his muscles beneath his skin and heard the ragged panting of his breathing. He lifted one hand to circle a finger at her clit and Jess felt herself drawing closer to the edge again, the inexorable swell of tension. She cried out and pressed herself closer to him, aftershocks ringing throughout her body as Lester thrust into her a few more times, harder and faster than before.

He came with a low groan that he muffled into Jess' shoulder and she petted his hair gently, stroking down the back of his neck as he shuddered. She sincerely hoped that he felt as amazing as he'd made her feel.

"My old boyfriend never made me feel like that," Jess said and Lester huffed laughter into her skin.

It was almost disappointing when he pulled out and she lost that feeling of fullness, of closeness. He pressed one more kiss to her mouth before tying a knot in the condom and rolling away from her, tossing it into the bin.

And then he went up on his elbow, facing her. "Good?"

Jess smiled. "Perfect."

The skin around his eyes was crinkling in the way it did when he was genuinely happy. "I'm glad."

"Will you stay the night?" she asked, anxiously hoping both that he wouldn't think she was being clingy and also that he would want to stay. She didn't want things to be awkward now.

"If you want me to."

Which wasn't exactly the ringing endorsement she'd been going for, but Jess had got pretty good at reading Lester. She thought that was his way of deflecting attention from the fact that he had wanted her to ask. "I do."

"Then of course I'll stay." Lester moved onto his back and stretched his arm out, letting Jess curl up against him.

She snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes. "Will you make me breakfast in the morning?"

"Pushy," Lester said and smacked her lightly on her bottom. "But I suppose I'd better. I don't trust your cooking."

"I make a mean omelet," Jess insisted, yawning, and drifted off to sleep in Lester's comforting embrace.

End