A/N: So, someone gave me the suggestion of writing a collection of one-shots. I thought it was a wonderful suggestion and here we are! This is connected to the first one-shot but takes place several years later. I hope you enjoy it!
21
The next time she sees him is on her twenty first birthday. She is at a local bar with a group of friends, on her way to a pleasant buzz, when she spots him on the other side of the bar with several other guys. He is wearing his usual ensemble of black and she recognizes the shirt from all those years back at McKinley. The jacket is different. Still leather, though.
"Holy shit," Wendy slurs beside her. "It's that guy, Rach!"
Rachel and Wendy had met while they worked at the same café and while their employments had diverged into different directions, their friendship stayed right on course. Wendy was one of the few not from McKinley who knew about Jesse.
The few friends that she had kept from New Directions follow Wendy's gaze and Mercedes whips her head toward Rachel and says, "We're leaving, Rachel. This is your birthday and you shouldn't have to deal with that dirt."
"I'm fine," Rachel says.
"I see he hasn't broken out of monochromatic colors," Kurt sniffs. "Shame."
"I really am fine," Rachel says. "Besides, we've talked since everything and we are fine."
She thinks of their previous conversation at that café and wonders if there is still an Alison. She remembers that it has been three years, though, and she doubts that there still is. There is probably a Tracy, now. Or an Amber.
She didn't notice Kurt leave but he is suddenly beside her with a shot glass that had not been in his hand before. He pushes it toward her and says, "Nothing a little Smirnoff can't fix, sweetie."
Rachel's eyes are on Jesse before she kicks her head back and takes down the shot. It burns her throat and sends her into a coughing spasm that is enough to the draw the attention of a few around her. It is also enough to draw the attention of one Jesse St James and as she regains her breath she sees him rise from his seat for a better look.
"Drats," she murmurs. It is a word that her sober self would never use but her intoxicated self likes quite a bit. She repeats it several times as Jesse recognizes her and makes her way toward them. It is like out of one of those cartoon movies where all the action stops as the villain approaches. No one moves an inch until he is right in front of them, offering Kurt a friendly nod and Mercedes a charming smile.
"Don't even try," Mercedes warns. "Our girl is here to have a good time and you are not going to ruin it."
"I have not intention to," Jesse says, his voice sounding like pure crystal to Rachels's ears. Mercedes plants her hands on her hips and says, "Oh, really?"
"Today is my birthday," Rachel tells him, ignoring the looks from all but Wendy who really is more insightful than her older friends at times like these. "So you have be nice to me."
Jesse smiles. "That's fair." There is a pause while Rachel smiles and the others frown (minus Wendy who is watching with interest). Jesse jumps back into action and says, "Let me buy you a drink. It is your birthday, after all."
"Okay." She watches him walk away, already hearing the chiding from her New Directions cohorts. Mercedes is the most vocal but it is Wendy that she really hears as she asks, "Think he's still with that girl?"
"What girl?" Kurt asks, his nose for gossip picking up on the thread immediately. "He's seeing someone? Then what is he doing buying you a drink?"
"When I ran into him at that café that I worked at he had a girlfriend," Rachel explains. As an afterthough she adds, "An Allison, actually."
"Terrible name," Kurt decides. "Go on."
"That's it. He had an Allison."
"Well, he better not have one now if he is buying you a drink," Mercedes says. "But he probably does. Boys are no good pigs." She casts a glance at Kurt. "No offense."
"Oh, none taken."
"He's coming back," Wendy says suddenly, telling them all to shush. They all listen too well and the group is completely silent when Jesse reaches them. He looks around oddly and asks, "Did I miss something?"
"What did you get me?" Rachel chirps.
"A Shirley Temple," he says with a grin. "I thought you would like it."
She takes it from him and after a sip says, "And you were right. Oh! There's even a cherry in it!"
He laughs, nodding his head. "Yes, there are usually cherries in Shirley Temples."
Rachel cocks her head to the side and teases, "And here I was thinking you asked for one just for me."
He holds up his hands and answers, "I can't take credit for it, unfortunately. So, I actually wanted to ask you if you would like to do karaoke with me tonight. You know, for old time's sake? It starts at midnight."
Rachel never in her life turned down a chance to sing in public and standing in the bar on her 21st birthday, she is not about to start. She smiles up at him and says, "Only if I get to pick the song."
"Whatever you like."
"Deal," she chirps.
"Well, I probably should get back to my friends. You guys can join us if you want."
"We're actually waiting for a few more people," Wendy tells him. Kurt and Mercedes looks at her oddly, wondering who she was talking about. Jesse misses these looks and says, "Oh, okay, well Rachel, I'll find you when it's close to midnight."
"See you then."
Jesse walks away and Mercedes asks, "Who are we waiting for?"
"No one," Wendy says. "Rachel can't look desperate, though."
"No I can't," Rachel agrees. Wendy grins at her clearly drunk friend and says, "Make him wait until midnight."
Mercedes nods her head appreciatively. "I have to hand it to you girl. You're pretty smart with this stuff."
"I've had more experience than I care admit." She looks over at Rachel who is staring longingly at Jesse's table and says, "Rachel, this won't work if you stare at him like he was your lost puppy."
"Oh, right," Rachel says, snapping her attention back to her group. "I need of focus now. More shots!"
ST BERRY-ST BERRY-ST BERRY
"It's time," Rachel says to Jesse, only standing a bit taller than his seated form and he smiles easily at her and asks, "Time for what?"
"It is nearly twelve. We need to be the first to sing."
"Why?"
"The bar," she states obviously.
"Hm, the setting of it?"
"Of course," she says, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Come on, I have found the perfect song."
"What is it?" he asks, getting up to follow her over to the mic stand. She doesn't answer, instead leaning toward the DJ-whom Jesse notices takes an indulgent glance at her modest cleavage-and says, "Fire by Springteen, please."
"Springsteen?" Jesse asks with interest. "I would think he was too common for you."
"This song is addictive," she tells him, almost confidentially as she leans toward him. "Trust me, you will be humming it all night."
He doesn't say anything but the little smile that he shoots her is enough to send a chill all the way down to her baby toe. They take their spots around the lone microphone and Rachel feels her hips begin to move at the first note. She feels free in a way that she had rarely felt before and she hears Jesse chuckle above her. She looks up as if to say "what?" and he tells her, "You're really getting in the spirit of Springsteen, huh?"
She smiles up at him and responds with the first lyric.
I'm driving in you car, you turn on the radio
You're pulling me close, I just say no
I say I don't like it, but you know I'm a liar
'Cause when we kiss, oohhh, fire
She finds herself glancing at his lips as he licks them slowly before beginning to sing. A distinct throb between her legs surprises her as he sings;
Late at night, I'm takin you home
You say you won't stay, you say you wanna be alone
You say you don't love me, girl you can't hide your desire
'Cause when we kiss, ooohh, fire
Their eyes met as their voices mingle and intersect.
You had a hold on me, right from the start
A grip so tight I couldn't tear it apart
My nerves all jumpin' actin' like a fool
Your kisses they burn, but my heart stays cool
He reaches forward and his fingertips brush her side as they both launch into the last verse. There is no longer an audience. There is no Mercedes, Kurt, and Wendy. There is no anything. Only them, their eyes hungrily taking in the other as they sing, "Fireeee."
The song ends and both of them are breathing heavily, their eyes tearing away from each other as the sound of applause naturally pulls them from their revelry. Jesse nods his head while Rachel actually executes a curtsy. He laughs and takes her arm, leading her away from the microphones. His arm snakes around her waist and she lets herself be pulled closer. She can feel her friends watching but finds that she really doesn't care as she throws her arms around him. She doesn't want them anymore. All she wants is him. All she has ever wanted is him.
"I missed that," she mumbles against his shoulder.
"What? Bruce Springsteen?"
She laughs and hits his shoulder. "No, Jesse, us singing together."
"We're a perfect match," he tells her. "Musically speaking, our voices go very well together."
She looks up at him seriously and says, "I like to think it's more than just our voices."
His smile seems melancholy as he tells her, "Let's not talk about this now. It's your birthday, remember?"
She nods her head. "But we will, though? Won't we?"
He thinks of how he is leaving for New York in the morning. He is only at the bar because his friends had insisted on staging a Bon Vayage party. He knows he can't tell her. Several years have passed since their last meeting and he would have thought that time had softened her effect on him but the look of hope in her eye as she gazes up at him hits too close to home and he cannot rupture that hope. Instead he rubs her side and says, "Of course, we will."
She smiles, content, and says, "We should combine our friends. We can make it a big party for me!"
He laughs at her childlike enthusiasm and agrees, "Yes, wonderful idea."
She claps her hands together and follows him over to his table, exuberantly telling the other that they should join her friends. It is her birthday after all, she tells him, so they have to comply. Liquor is liquor to Jesse's friends so they agree without so much as a blink and follow Rachel and Jesse over to her friends. Together the group wines and dines and by the time the bar is closing everyone is properly trashed and acting as if they had known each other from infancy. As they slip out of the bar Mercedes grabs onto Rachel's arm and says, "You can kiss him but nothing more."
Rachel grins.
Wendy is waiting for her in a cab and she stands just outside the door with Jesse, saying her final goodbye. He looks like a dream standing above her and she wishes and wishes for him to lean down and kiss her. That is all she wants.
A birthday kiss.
He stalls, going through all the usual well wishes and I'll-be-seeing-yous until she finally reaches up for his neck and tugs his mouth down to hers. It doesn't take much to convince him past that. His lips move against hers and his arms wind around her waist in a way that can only be described as possessive. She pulls away and her lips are shining from his and with her eyes boring into his she lightly says, "Don't be a stranger now."
He leans down and steals one last kiss. "Happy Birthday, Rachel."
He helps her into the cab and closes the door. He notices that she turns in the cab as it drives away, wiggling her fingers in a sort of wave. He hardly breathes until the car turns, his lips drooping into a frown as he thought to himself, "I will never see her again."
A/N: I know...a bit sad. But don't worry, they will meet again! It is sort of the point of this entire thing. haha Leave me a review and let me know what you'd like to see next. I'd love suggestions!