A/N: This was the winner of last week's poll! It had 7 votes! Don't forget to vote for this weeks poll! It's up now! I'll be closing it on Friday again. So hurry up and vote. Let me which one shot to post next. The poll is on my profile. Check it out!
Happy reading!
angellwings
Love Soon
By angellwings
You can cross the line whenever you want to,
I'm calling it love soon.
Close your mind and waste some time if you have to,
I'm calling it love soon.
It's not about you now,
It's what we are.
-John Mayer, "Love Soon"
Caitlyn stretched across her couch and rested her head on Jason's thigh. Jason's calloused fingers ran through her hair absently as he turned his attention to the movie that was playing. Caitlyn sighed happily.
"So, when do you guys go back out on tour?"
Jason glanced at her briefly and ran a hand through his curls before he answered her. "In a couple of weeks."
Caitlyn bit her bottom lip and sat up. "I see. Short hiatus this time, then."
She leaned her back against the opposite arm rest from Jason's and then stretched out her legs again. Her socked feet just barely pressed against his leg. Two weeks wasn't a lot of time. Especially considering she hadn't seen him in a month and a half. Two weeks wasn't going to be enough time for them to talk about and get over the awkward thing that happen the last time they saw each other.
"Yes, which means we'd better take advantage of it. Don't you think?" He said as he gulped nervously.
"I—I guess so," Caitlyn said hesitantly. She really didn't want to talk about what happened a month and a half ago. She really just wanted to pretend it didn't happen and keep things the way they were.
"So, we should probably talk about that kiss—"
"Jas-on," Caitlyn whined. "Can't we just not talk about it? We'll just pretend it didn't happen, and then nothing has to get awkward or change and we can just keep everything exactly how it is now."
Jason's brow furrowed. "Pretend it didn't happen? Do you really want that?"
"Don't you?" Caitlyn asked. "I mean it will only lead to us questioning what we feel for each other and then things will get complicated and confusing, and then you'll leave again. And I'll be stuck here for two months wondering what in the hell we're doing while you perform to sold out stadiums every night. I'm not sure I can handle that, Jase."
Jason sighed sadly. "I didn't think about that. I just…I don't want to forget. I liked it, Caity. I really liked kissing you."
"Jase," She whined. "We can't do this."
"Why not?" Jason asked as he lifted her feet into his lap and scooted closer to her.
She gulped and leaned away from him. He had a pretty firm hold on her legs so she couldn't swing them off the couch and walk away. She looked away and didn't answer him. She couldn't. She didn't honestly have a reason why they couldn't. Not a good one anyway. All she had was her fear. The fear that she would scare Jason away like she had every other guy she'd dated.
His hand reached out and turned her face toward his. "Caity. Answer me."
"When we break up it will make everything awkward. Us, the group, everything. We can't risk that."
"Who says we're gonna break up?" Jason asked.
"Have you dated someone and not broken up with them?" Caitlyn asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Well, no, but one relationship is bound to stick, Caity, and that relationship could be ours. You don't know for sure that we'll break up," Jason told her with a small smile.
"But what if we do, Jason? What then?"
"I don't think there's a point to worrying about things that may or may not happen," He told her. "Live in the moment, and just let yourself be happy."
She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "I don't know, Jase."
He sighed and shrugged. "Fine, fight it if you want, but it will happen eventually."
Her brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"
"That means that you already know you're falling for me. If you weren't falling for me then you wouldn't be so worried about the possibility of us breaking up. You're going to be in love with me soon, Caity. So, take all the time you need to adjust. I already know I'm in love with you so I've got plenty of time to wait," Jason told her with a lop-sided smile and a nod. "I'll be around whenever you decide you're ready."
She stared at him in shock for several minutes. Eventually he pushed her legs off of his lap and stood. He turned to give her a questioning look. "I think I want some tea. Do you want some?"
She blinked at him. "Tea? You're asking me if I want tea?"
"So…you don't want tea?"
"You can not admit that you love me and then just move on like nothing happened," Caitlyn told him as she stood and then walked over to him.
"Why not? That's what you did after we kissed," Jason said with a furrowed brow.
"But—that…that was a kiss, Jase. That's different. You just said—you just said that you love me!"
"And you're not ready to say it back so there's really no point to linger on it. You know how I feel, I know how you feel and now we've got it out of the way," Jason told her with a smile.
"You know, most guys would be furious right now. Seriously, if Matt had told me he loved me and I hadn't said it back he would've been in an absolute rage," Caitlyn told him. "Aren't you even the slightest bit upset with me?"
"I thought we agreed a long time ago that Matt was an idiot?" Jason asked her with a quirked eyebrow.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "We did, but that wasn't my point. Yell at me or something! Stop being so damn nice!"
He gave her an amused look. "I'm not going to yell at you. There would be no point to that."
Caitlyn growled and smacked his arm. "You are so frustrating! How am I supposed to keep myself from falling for you if you keep being so patient and—and amazing!"
He chuckled. "That's sort of the point."
She glared at him. "Well, it's not fair! You're pulling moves that I don't have the defenses to fight off!"
Jason laughed lightly and tapped her nose playfully. "You figured out my plan."
Caitlyn froze as his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her against him. She bit her bottom lip and gulped as he leaned toward her slowly. She urgently broke his hold and squirmed out of his arms. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the door. "Let's go out!"
His brow furrowed in confusion as she sprinted toward the front door. "Um, what?"
"I'm hungry. Let's go out..side. I meant, let's go outside," She said with a nervous gulp.
"But I don't want to go out," Jason whined. "I only have two weeks here and I'd rather spend them with you in private, Caity."
"Well, tough luck, Curly. I want diner food," Caitlyn said with a huff as she jerked open the door and yanked him through it. He closed the door behind them and then tugged back on her arm. She stumbled backward and collided with his chest.
He smirked slowly at her. "Hi."
She huffed and once again tried to squirm away from him, but he held her tightly this time. "Ja-son!"
"Caity, you know you want to kiss me again," Jason said as he continued to smirk.
She swallowed thickly and rubbed her eyes. His brow furrowed again when he realized she was extremely close to crying. He even saw her chin quiver ever so slightly. He pulled his arms away from her as if she'd burned him and backed away quickly. She stared down at the carpet in the hallway outside of her apartment and didn't dare look up at him.
"Caitlyn," Jason said softly. "I—I'm sorry. Please don't cry."
"I'm not going to cry," She said unconvincingly. "I don't cry."
"Maybe I should just go home. You probably need time without me…to think. Right?" Jason asked sadly. "I don't want to be the one responsible for making you cry."
She chuckled dryly. "It's a little too late for that, Jase. You don't think I've cried at least once in the entire six weeks you've been gone?"
"What?" He asked in surprise. "Why? Why would you cry?"
She shook her head and leaned against her apartment door. "Lots of reasons. I—I miss you when you're gone and then…well, I screwed up our friendship permanently with that kiss. Nothing's ever going to be the same again, and all because I got caught up in the moment and kissed you."
"That doesn't have to be a bad thing," Jason told her. "Sometimes change can be good. But I—I don't want to hurt you Caitlyn, and if the idea of change hurts you that much then…we'll pretend it didn't happen. You can…forget what I said tonight and we can go back to just being friends. I won't remind you that we kissed or—or that I said I loved you. I promise."
Jason swallowed thickly and leaned against the door with her. She risked a look at him. He looked crushed. Great, now she really was going to cry. "You would do that for me?"
"Caity," Jason said quietly. "I would do anything for you."
His back awkwardly slammed against the corner of the door frame and he winced as Caitlyn suddenly threw herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly. He gulped and returned the embrace. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and kept it there for several minutes. She pulled back finally and looked him in the eyes. "Don't do that, Jason. Don't pretend you don't have feelings for me. That would kill you, and I don't want that. I—I love you. I do. I'm just…scared. I've pushed every guy that I've ever been with away, and I don't want to do that to you. I don't want to lose you."
Jason smiled affectionately at her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "There's one big difference between me and all those other guys."
Caitlyn's brow furrowed. "And what's that?"
"They were all big wimps," Jason said with a smirk. "I'm not afraid to fight for you. Even if that means I have to fight you. Trust me, Caity, I'm not going to let you push me away. Ever."
Caitlyn bit her bottom lip and smiled slowly at him. "Promise?"
He nodded. "Promise."
Caitlyn suddenly crushed his lips with hers and Jason instinctively held her tighter. One arm wrapped around her waist while his other arm looped around her back. The hand that was on her back traveled upward slowly until it rested on her neck and his fingers could dip into her hair. She moaned softly as her lips parted and his tongue met hers. She was kissing him urgently, but Jason slowed her down with short, slow, and teasing kisses. She whined and Jason chuckled.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "We have plenty of time, Caity. Slow down."
"Plenty of time? We only have two weeks."
"No," He said with a smirk and a shake of his head. "We have the rest of our lives. Trust me, I'm not letting you go anytime soon. We can take our time and enjoy this, Caitlyn. Don't rush it."
She smiled warmly at him and nodded. "Okay, you're right."
He winked at her. "I'm always right."
She rolled her eyes and laughed softly. "Wow. You know I was going to ask if you and Shane were actually related, but I think you just answered that for me."
"Is that going to be a problem for you?" Jason asked with a grin.
"I don't know," She said slyly. "Kiss me again and we'll find out."
He smirked and leaned in to kiss her one more time. It was a soft lingering kiss that led to Caitlyn digging her fingers into Jason's curls. He pulled back slowly and gave her a curious glance. "Verdict?"
"As long as you keep kissing me like that and you buy me good food I don't think we'll have any problems. Deal?" Caitlyn asked with a bright smile.
He chuckled and nodded. "Deal."
"Good," She said as she pulled out of his arms and laced her fingers through his. "Now take me out for diner food."
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am."
