Disclaimer: As I'm sure you all know, The Mediator series belongs to the wonderful Meg Cabot. I'm just half in love with Jesse.
Rating: T - Just to be safe.
Summary: One-shot. Suze POV. Jesse gives Suze a small gift to show his commitment to her. Set after Twilight.
A/N: I am so sorry if anyone thought I had dropped off the face of the earth as I have not updated in so long! If you haven't been on my profile to see my message there then I'll give you a quick recap for my absence - got married, currently buying a house, working 2 jobs, have a terminally ill mum and had life give me a swift kick around recently. But I've been writing other story ideas down in the mean time and itching to get back to 'Finding What Is Lost'. I don't give up on unfinished stories and actually have more I want to write involving Suze and Jesse. So I won't be gone forever. As soon as I'm settled in my house and my computer is up and running again I'll be updating. But thank you so much for sticking with me and the messages, reviews and alerts I'm still getting on my stories. I hope this little ditty will keep you going. Please excuse my Suze voice, I haven't written many of her. :) Have fun and please review. Much love! x
Committed
Drumming my manicured fingers against my jean clad thigh I sighed and glanced up and down the corridor in front of Jesse's new apartment door restless.
I'd knocked a few seconds before, but no one ever said I was the most patient person in the world. I guess that's no wonder I've gotten in so much trouble with Father D since arriving in Carmel, with my punch first, ask questions later philosophy with dealing with those pesky ghosts.
Although, not all ghosts are bad I guess.
Especially if you happen to fall in love with one and miraculously manage to bring his soulless body back to the future from the past and thus have said loving present ghost get sucked back into said soulless body and come back to life.
Which is, you know, totally crazy.
And totally true.
Stopping my finger drum beat I reached up and flicked my long soft hair - thank you, California! - back over my shoulder and basked in how crazy my life is. Especially considering a few months ago I was complaining and crying and pretty much raging at the universe for the sucky life I was given, after falling madly and crazily in love with a ghost. A ghost I was in a relationship with that was never going to go anywhere, no matter how much I didn't want to admit that to myself.
Yeah, I'm big into denial too.
But now? Well now I'm all about smiles and laughing and enjoying having something so normal I never thought I would get the chance to have.
Which is why when Jesse finally opened his apartment door to me a few seconds later, his mind blowing grin that greeted me, was just as quickly taken over by confusion; I could just imagine him wondering, 'What's she done now?' after seeing my smirk I knew was plastered to my nicely tanned face.
Hey, I'm allowed to smirk at last!
I got the guy.
And not just any guy, but the sexiest, most swoon-worthy guy.
And I deserve it, damn it.
"Good evening, Susannah," Jesse said, reaching out for my hand, choosing to ignore the grin still stuck to my face and gently pulling me in through the door. "You look, beautiful." I looked down at my basic outfit of jeans and jersey top, not seeing anything special, but flushing with excitement and love anyway. He's taken to telling me I look beautiful even if I've got tears running down my face or an ugly bruise from a not so nice ghost. But the craziest thing is, I actually believe him. That he really means it.
"Hey," I gushed back quickly, going up on tip toes to meet his lips halfway, one hand gripping on to his shoulder for support and the other resting on his chest. Jesse kisses always make my knees go a little weak, even after months of making out with him on a daily basis. His male scent drifted around me, pulling me in as much as his warm hand on my back was. My body pressing against the length of his - feeling his hard muscles turning me to mush in his arms. His warms and soft lips captured mine in gentle, fleeting kisses; driving me insane. He knows just the right way to make me sigh and tremble.
Opening my mouth to him, his tongue teased mine deliciously. My hands clutched on to him tighter, my head spinning with all my senses going off like fireworks in my head, chest and stomach. God, the guy drove me wild with love for him!
I could feel the moment he started to reign in his own emotions and temptations, his hands that had been moving down my back to slide under my top pulled away, making goose bumps break out where the cool air touched my hot skin. His kisses slowed and turned gentle again, pecking my bruised and swollen lips. Finally, he stopped kissing me completely, his hot ragged breaths blowing against my face where he rested his head against mine. "Querida," He murmured his voice rough and deep.
You wouldn't have guessed we'd only seen each other the day before.
Getting my breathing back under control I let go of his shirt balled in my hands and smoothed it back over his chest, using it as an excuse to get a feel of the hard muscle under the fabric. Yep, definitely a lucky girl.
"Missed me much?" I quipped, pulling away from him completely so I could focus and concentrate.
Chuckling he followed me over to the couch and stood staring down at me speculatively. "I have something to show you before we leave," Jesse replied eventually, ignoring my question. Instantly curious, even if I'm not the biggest fan of surprise show and tells - because not so recently they've involved me walking around a shadowland because of Paul Slater - I sat up from where I'd lounged back against the cushions and raised my perfectly manicured eyebrows. Jesse chuckled again at my expression and took my hand to pull me back up off the couch. "Come."
I bit down on my sarcastic remark that I clearly didn't have much of a choice as he had my hand and was pulling me anyway; but let's face it, I would follow Jesse to hell and back if he asked me too. Which I guess, I kind of have if you want to split hairs about time travelling and shadowlands.
But he's so worth it.
He took me the short distance to his bedroom, just off the kitchen/diner and next to the bathroom, my curiosity peaking higher and higher. Usually his bedroom is strictly off limits to me, because it's, 'inappropriate' for me to be in there. We both know it's because he doesn't trust his own temptations being somewhere so, 'intimate'. I really wish sometimes he would just throw away those old traditions and values he was born, killed and reborn with. But then again, I guess he wouldn't be my Jesse without them, even if I am frustrated with our lack of getting past second base. I am a hormone driven women you know! I have needs too . . .
I was so caught up in the crazy rambling thoughts in my head I hadn't noticed we'd stopped beside Jesse's chest of drawers. Or that he was patiently waiting for my inner dialogue to stop before I could focus on what he wanted to show me.
"Sorry," I mumbled, flushing a little and biting my lower lip to stop the blush from getting out of control at being caught out having an inner dialogue with myself. I let my lip go when I saw his eyes darken and stare at my lips. "What did you want to show me?" I asked, arching an eyebrow again, wondering if he was going to show me that he'd color co-ordinated his entire sock drawer or something. It's such a Jesse thing to do, I almost laughed out loud.
"I want to show you this, Susannah," Jesse smiled shyly, reaching forward to pull open the top drawer. For a split second I really thought he was going to show me his socks! But when he pulled the drawer open fully I realized I was staring down in to a completely empty drawer. There was nothing in there. Zip. Nada. I looked back up at Jesse, knowing I was staring at him with my blankest expression. I rattled through my memories trying to remember if there was some other significance for his empty drawer he'd told me about but I hadn't took in because I was too busy staring at his perfect, full lips while he was talking.
Wrenching my gaze away from said lips, I tried to smile as if I knew what he was looking part smug and part nervous about.
"It's a drawer, Jesse," I pointed out obviously, trying to sound encouraging and not the tiniest bit sarcastic.
Nodding, Jesse smiled wider, the nervous tilt to his lips completely gone now and replaced with more enthusiasm. "Yes Susannah," he replied, equally as encouraging but pulling it off smoother than I did. "It is a drawer . . . It is your drawer." Squeezing my hand he was still holding, Jesse once again patiently waited for me to catch on.
A drawer.
Jesse was smiling at me, because he was offering me an empty drawer.
In his bedroom.
In his apartment.
And then I got it.
Gasping my hands flew to my mouth in shock and looked comically from the still open empty drawer to Jesse's face and back again, and again, and again. I felt tears spring to my eyes but blinked rapidly chasing them away. I mean, hello?! The significance of this alone was huge! Massive even! Jesse de Silva, the man of my dreams, the love of my life and the guy who died in the 1850's where they didn't believe in sex before marriage or anything else equally sinful, had taken the next step on the commitment ladder with me, by offering me a space - albeit a tiny one - in his apartment! Somewhere for me to keep anything of mine, whether its clothes, make-up, jewellery, whatever, it didn't matter. What mattered was Jesse was expanding his safety net of us and I was going to cry.
'I have a drawer!' my mind screamed at me. I have another show of commitment!
And that storage place was in his bedroom . . . which meant . . .
Yes!
Laughing I threw my arms up and around Jesse's neck, knowing he would catch me and kissed him hard; trying past the laughing and squirming in his arms how happy it made me that he'd given me a drawer. Every girls dream; because it meant the guy was serious and wanted her to stay over and have a piece of her in his home. I kissed him again and again until I couldn't stop laughing so just buried my head in his neck, thanking him again and again. All he did was chuckle, kiss and hold me just as tightly.
Yep, I Suze Simon, have finally got some normalcy in my life for the first time ever.
And I have a drawer.
. . . Yes!