All of Me
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I own Jess and this story. I keep hoping that I'll own the handsome Mr. Stu Bennett very soon. But I know that it's highly unlikely. I'm still borderline delusional, though.
A/N: I'm so happy that I'm getting a positive reaction from everyone. You guys are awesome, and I hope you enjoy what's going to be happening! Love you guys XoXoXo
Jess was determined to stay as far away from Stu as she possibly could. Spending too much time near him could risk irreparably hurting her relationship with Jon. And that was the absolute last thing that she wanted to do. Fighting with him on-screen wasn't really helping the situation either, as each look in his direction got her hormones pumping like crazy. Part of her was wishing that she had never met that handsome British man. She was completely hooked on him, regardless of how hard she tried not to be.
Not to mention that after their brief exchange at dinner the other night, Jess found it even harder for her to stay away. Stu felt it, too. She wasn't crazy. But in her heart, Jess truly felt so much for Jon. She had spent the last four years with such a loving man, so it wasn't much of a surprise that she would still wasn't her relationship to last. At the same time, it didn't eliminate her lust and cravings for Stu. Not in the least.
The female member of The Shield had trouble sleeping and had decided to take a walk to the indoor hotel pool. She wore a black Gucci Crystal-Embellished Triangle Bikini underneath her white Heidi Klein Seville Cotton-Voile Kaftan. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head.
Luckily the entire pool area was empty. She took her towel, cover-up, and flip flops and placed them on one of the lounge chairs. She slowly stepped into the pool, down the steps, before opting to sit on one of them.
Jess allowed herself to relax and not let the turmoil in her head and heart ruin this time. Time to herself was rare these days. She spent enough time stressing herself out over her feelings. She didn't need to do that now, too.
"Fancy meeting you here," the all-too familiar voice of Stu Bennett filled her ears. Jess was unsure if she was annoyed by his presence or excited by it. She hoped it was just annoyance. She didn't need any more problems.
She turned and looked at the hard body of the British man clad in a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black swim trunks. "Hey Stu."
He pulled off his shirt and tossed it over with Jess's clothes, before stepping in the pool next to her and sitting down. Her peripheral vision made her away of how incredible he looked in just his swim trunks.
"So, what brings you here?" she asked him, looking straight ahead at the water in front of her, knowing that being a few mere inches away from him would not be particularly good move for her at this point.
"Honestly?"
"No, lie to me. Yes, honestly. Besides, I'm really just making small talk."
He ignored her wiseass comment. "Well, I saw you coming in here when I left the gym a few minutes ago," he admitted to her. "So, I changed quickly, and I came down here so that I could see you."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I want to be around you."
"Stu, we're both in serious relationships with other people. Good people. We really can't be doing this. This is so wrong. You shouldn't be following me anywhere," she scolded him, knowing that she was having the same mental and emotional conflict, as he. He just didn't resist it nearly as much as she did.
"So, you think we're just supposed to ignore this?"
"There's nothing to ignore."
"You're so full of it. That's rubbish and you know it."
"No. We feel things when we're around each other. That just means that we shouldn't ever be around each other. We're both in long-term relationships with really good people who don't deserve to be lied to or hurt. We cannot be doing this. If we were single, sure. What the hell? But that isn't the case," she spoke.
"That doesn't mean we should just ignore what we feel for each other."
"Yes, it does. You love Tori. I love Jon. Those two people are exactly why we should ignore this."
"But there's something that we both feel. These feelings are really strong, too, and you know it. We both know it. You wouldn't be so adamant about ignoring it, if you didn't think this was real. You can't deny that."
"That doesn't make it right or okay."
"Are you even going to look at me?" he asked, feeling himself becoming more and more frustrated with her.
"No," she simply responded.
"Jess," he spoke, scooting closer to the object of his affection. "Jess, you can't tell me that you don't enjoy this at all. You can't tell me that you don't feel any excitement in being around me. You love it when I'm near you. You can't resist me."
"I'm trying my hardest to be a good girlfriend to Jon and not just whore myself out to you," Jess snapped, turning and glaring at him. Of course, she immediately regretted looking at him. She felt her willpower start to crack, as she stared into his eyes.
Stu lifted his hand and combed his fingers through her hair, bringing his hand to the back of her head, slowly pulling her towards him. As their noses barely touched an a jolt of electricity coursed through their bodies, and both Jess and Stu felt a range of emotions in that instant, before Jess pulled away from him.
"Listen, Stu, you make me feel a lot of things that I like, but I really can't do this to Jon. I love him so much, and we have spent four years together already. I can't go around, behind his back, kissing his co-worker. That isn't right, and I don't want to do that to him," she softly spoke, wanting nothing more than to feel Stu's lips on hers.
"I know that it's wrong, but you know that all of this stuff that's going on between us is much too strong for us to just let it go and not even see if it's real," he told her, his voice soft and words dripping with sincerity.
Jess turned her head away from him, her hands resting underneath the water on the step that she was sitting on. He placed his hand next to hers, using his pinkie to interlock with hers. "Why are you doing this?" she whispered. "I'm just trying to make my relationship work. This, between us, is just a hiccup. That's all."
"You know you don't believe that," he refuted. "You want to know what this is between us. Since the day that we met, we've had this incredibly strong chemistry. We can't just let that go without knowing what's really there."
"Stu, I can't do this to Jon," she insisted. "I know what you're saying, and I agree with you. But I really can't do this to him. He's such a good man. He doesn't deserve that from me. He deserves to be able to trust me."
"But we both deserve to know what's going on here."
Jess shook her head and stood up. "I can't. I'm really sorry, Stu." She proceeded to stand up and walk out of the pool. He quickly followed behind her. She grabbed her towel off of her chair and dried herself off.
He stood next to Jessica, taking in every inch of her body that was only clad in a bikini. "Jessica…"
She stopped and turned to face him, irritation scrawled all over her face. "What, Stu?" He hesitated for a moment before pulling the brunette beauty into his arms and pressing his lips against hers.
Mentally, Jess kept telling herself to pull away and get away from him. But her lust and desire for the Brit had her paralyzed. She wrapped her arms around him and found herself feeling things that she had never felt before.
Stu finally pulled back, leaving the two completely breathless. "I need you," he spoke, breaking the tense silence.
"Oh my God," she whispered, bringing her hand to her lips.
"Jess, we can't just ignore what we feel for each other."
"I really have to go now," she spoke, hastily grabbing her belongings and leaving the indoor pool room.
Stu sat on the lounge chair and put his head in his hands. He knew that this wasn't a good situation, but he also knew that he couldn't just ignore his feelings for Jess. He would not do that. If the two of them were supposed to be together, he saw no reason for them to just ignore it. And after they shared that kiss, he was even more confident in his feelings. It was undeniable that the two had something very special between them.
Stu just needed Jess to get onboard with him and explore exactly what this was.
