Lux et Veritas

Chapter 10: New

Author: Knowhere

Rating: R

Disclaimer: The idea, concept, and other miscellaneous belong to me. The first text message does not belong to me, it's in a book and I liked the sound of it. The Peabody Museum is not my creation, it's a real building and used as a reference for this chapter.

AN: Starts where C9: Affinity left off. Thanks for reading! Enjoy and please review.

A note about the story: Please understand the full ramifications of this story and its label as an AU. It is an Alternate Universe story in which characters retain the same face and perhaps some of the personality traits, but much of their lives, situations, and everything around them are up for change and fair ground for my artistic license. Please leave most preconceived notions of them aside. Read this as a story in itself where you follow this new world that I've created under very different origins. Therefore, these characters are very likely to be "out of character." Their different behaviors are according to this story's summary. Many base qualities of Jess and Rory are the same, but for the sake of this story and of something new and different much has been altered to make this story work. Please keep that in mind when you're reading so that you can fully enjoy and understand the story as a whole. Thank you.

Summary: Very AU. A more relaxed college freshman Rory meets a more confident adult Jess for the first time. Different backgrounds, attitudes, and behaviors for the both of them. Literati.

---

Cool air hits my skin and I can feel goose bumps appear on my exposed side. Opening my eyes to the dark, I try to sit up to grab the covers. Realizing that they're not scrunched up at the foot of the bed, I feel her squirming against my movements. She's lying on top of my arm that's holding her close to my body, and I hear her mumble as I look over the edge of the bed for my comforter. I pull my upper body away from her to reach down and pull up the blankets that have fallen during our previous activities.

"Jess?"

I turn my head to see her sitting up, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm. "Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." I whisper and I quickly gather the rest of the blankets.

She lies back down on her side to watch me and one of her arms stretches out to me. "Come back." She grins.

Placing the comforter over her, I go back to my place on the bed and I join her. She pulls me in and I tuck her body into mine. Her head rests on my sternum and I put my chin on top of her head. She kisses my Adam's apple and I swallow, feeling her going up to stroke my chest. My hand comes up from the growing burrow of warmth to wrap the sheet around her shoulder blades that peek through the top. My fingers find their way to her hair and I comb through the tangles. She sighs against me.

"What time is it?" Her mumble barely comes across to my ears as she fidgets under the covers.

I look over. "Damn, it's almost six. I need to get up for class soon."

Her head comes up and looks in the same direction. "Right, class. Yeah, I should get back to my dorm to change."

"You're leaving?"

She laughs at my reaction. "You just said it yourself. We both have class today, one of which includes your English discussion later this morning. And I can't very well show up wearing something that I was obviously wearing the day before." She sits up and drags the blanket with her.

"Then wear my clothes." I'm still lying down and I run my hand up her arm.

She leans over to me and kisses me. "Like that would be a good idea," she scoffs, "I'll just wear your clothes to your class and so I can have something to make me think about you more in an inappropriate setting."

I chuckle at her sarcasm. "Works for me."

"This sucks. I don't wanna leave." Her childish pout appears.

I get impatient and I pull her down to rest against me. She turns her head to the side. I try to make light of the situation. "The end of the semester is just a week away."

She nods against my chest. "Yeah I know."

We stay still and I can just hear the seconds slip away around us. Her body is warm on top of mine and I run my hand down from her lower waist down to her thigh. She makes a content noise and her mouth descends on my arm and kisses the muscle that has tightened on contact. I sigh and bring my head up, effectively throwing her off balance and I sit up on the bed. I rub my forehead and I look back, "Sorry, I have to get ready."

"No, that's fine. I understand."

I swing my legs over the side of the bed to stand and I catch sight of my boxers that are halfway underneath my bed. I slip them on and go to turn on the light. Suddenly remembering that she's still in my bed I stop. "What time do you need to get back? Do you want to stay and get some more sleep?"

She's begun to gather her clothes and she pauses in the midst of clutching her jeans against her chest. It doesn't quite cover her completely and I groan thinking that there are certainly better scenarios of the morning after our first time than the both of us having to rush off to class.

She actually looks a bit surprised. "I just thought you would want me to get going, since you're getting ready and all."

My brows furrow together, "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. I thought that's just how things go."

I chuckle. "You can stay here as long as you'd like. Just 'cause I need to leave, doesn't mean you need to too."

"Well, I need to shower and I have class at a quarter 'til eight. So I better get going."

I flip on the light. "Shower?"

"Uh huh." She's zipping up her jeans.

"Well, then…" I cross the room in several quick strides to catch her off guard and I lift her into my arms. She yelps in surprise and wraps her legs around my waist.

"What are you doing?" She exclaims in excitement.

"Let's go take that shower." I carry her through the room to the bathroom and I hold her up by her thighs as she grabs onto my shoulders.

She leans to kiss my neck and she makes me stumble. I reach the bathroom and I put her on the sink, where she's eyelevel with me. My hands slide up from her waist to right beside her breasts and I lean into her for a proper kiss. I'm careful to note that I haven't brushed my teeth, but as I feel her dig her fingers into my shoulders I open my mouth to kiss her harder. She pushes against my chest and my hands go down to undo her jeans. I pull back and I watch her hop off the counter to shimmy her way out of them. She comes to tug at the elastic of my boxers and I smirk at her as she bites her lip in anticipation. I pull them down and take her hand to lead her to the shower.

The warm stream of water is a wonderful sensation on my skin and she pulls me towards her. I just stop for a second to stare at her body that seems to practically glow. I nudge her head to the side and she tilts her head back to wet her hair. I squirt a dollop of my shampoo to lather in her brown locks. She whimpers against the feeling of my fingers on her scalp and her hands have come to grip hard at my waist. As I lean her back to rinse it off I freeze, feeling her fingers on me. She gives me a feather like touch and then follows it with a confident stroke down and I bend down to catch her lips under the spray of my showerhead. She doesn't let go and I flick my tongue against her in time with the movements of her hands. I'm suddenly extremely close and I wrench my mouth from hers to pull my body away, "Oh god."

She giggles and it vibrates off the glass doors of my shower.

I look at her with wet hair hanging around her shoulders and her hands resting now on my hips. "Oh, you think it's funny, huh?"

"Kinda." She tries to stop her laughing but it comes out of her again in a sputter.

"Well." I bend down once more to suck at the wet skin of the bottom of her neck and her laughter dies down completely. I'm biting at her too, but I make sure that it's not too high on her neck. My hand reaches up for her breast and I roll a nipple between my fingers. She's holding onto me with one hand on my neck and the other on the arm that's supporting her.

"Jess..." I don't stop to look at her but I can feel her head moving back to rest against the shower wall. I move our bodies closer to the direct path of the running water so that she doesn't get a chill. The hand that I've been using to support her has come to wrap around her lower back and my fingers span out to touch as much of her as possible.

I move the hand that has been teasing her breast to run down the length of her body. I reach her abdomen and she cries out as I press a finger against her while I continue to travel lower still. My head bends down to latch onto her breast as I abandon her neck and take my time stoking her slowly. Her nails are digging into my skin and she pitches forward first to rest her head against me and then suddenly to bite down hard on my clavicle. I smile against her and I move up to kiss her on the mouth. She finds me quickly and her left leg comes up to curl around my waist. I add another finger into her and her leg tightens around me. She kisses me hard but she's leaning too much against me. I remove my hand and use both arms to support our combined weight. I'm beginning to realize that I can't take much more of this, and I pull back to catch my breath. My chest heaves against her and she looks wide-eyed at me.

"Shit. We've got to get out of the shower, Rory."

She grins but doesn't move as I twist around to turn off the shower. Her one leg is still tight around me and she raises her eyebrow as she brings the other leg up as well. I'm carrying her again and as we step out of the shower I nod my head to her in the direction of my towel. She grabs it and uses a corner to dry my face with it. "You're all wet."

I'm moving as fast as I can from the bathroom to my bedroom and she's beginning to slip from my grasp. "So are you." My wet hair is sticking to my forehead and hers is dripping on my chest.

She tightens her legs around me and I move against her in the opposite direction. Her head tumbles back and I note in amazement as she groans, "God that feels good."

In this early morning, she's turning out to be quite the sultry siren. I love it. I'm loosing my grip on her so I sit her down at the foot of my bed. She lets go of my waist, only to climb up to reach into my nightstand. She comes back to kneel on the bed and it brings her just below eyelevel. I go to kiss her and my body just relaxes against her for the moment. She sighs into my exploration and leans back to bring me on top of her on the bed. Her hand strokes me again and I feel her rolling the condom against my skin. She grips me and squeezes only to run both her hands down my length. I thrust against her open palm and almost loose my balance.

I rest my body's weight against hers and her knee bends up next to me, while her other leg comes up to circle my waist. Not needing to waste anymore time, I push up with my forearms and watch her reaction as I enter her. One hand goes to hold her moving hips while the other makes sure that I keep some weight off her body. I slow down her movements to drag out the feeling and she bucks against my hips. She whimpers and removes her leg from around my waist. Instead, she bends both knees and I bring them gently up towards her chest. She suddenly throws her head back and it arches her body into mine, creating a new sensation as the angle differs. She moves her legs once more to rest with her feet flat against the bed and I move into her again, my hands reaching behind her back to support her weight. I try to pull up but her head lolls back, hair skimming the top of my sheet. I moan loudly as I begin to feel her clench around me. Determined to make the end explosive, I sit up detaching my mouth from her breast and watch her face as I add my finger into her as well, all the while continuing to push harder.

I watch in delight as she screams against me and she comes up to grip my neck. Her arms are encircling my upper body and she tightens her body, bringing me closer to my own orgasm. She's starting to relax under me and I move forward for a final thrust against her. Her body clamps down on me and I fly over the edge with a groan that's loud against the silent room.

I roll off of her and she stays still as I remove myself. There's a single tear on her cheek and I reach for her face with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She sniffles. "Really, nothing's wrong."

I lean forward to touch her, leaving my hand against her cheek. "You sure?"

"Yes, really." She smiles. "I don't know why." She kisses me, chaste and sweet.

I nod and smile too. "Sorry you didn't get to finish your shower." I tease.

Her smile is full-blown. "That was way better than any shower." She giggles.

I chuckle as well, "Ditto."

Her head turns to the clock. "Come on, you'll be late."

She gets up with me and I turn to grab a fresh pair of boxers from my dresser. I peek around and smirk as I see her walking awkwardly to pick up her clothes once more. I reach for the first shirt that comes to hand and as I button it I ask, "Can I see you tonight?"

"You're asking for a date?" She sounds amused and I see her combing her hair with her fingers.

"Yeah." I button my jeans and grab my bottle of gel that I've left on my nightstand from the other morning. "I was thinking, take-out and a movie, here."

"Pop-corn and candy too?" I see her face poking up through the opening of her sweatshirt.

"Sure." I grin.

"Okay, that sounds great."

"Seven?"

She nods and begins to walk out of my room. I leave the gel on the bed and jog to catch up with her. She turns her head around and grins at me, but doesn't slow down until she reaches my front door. I place my hand on the door to stop her from opening it just yet, and I lean towards her with my whole body. She kisses me quickly and adds; "I'll see you later."

I back up and close the door behind her retreating figure that's disappearing down the hallway. I look over and see that Adso is sitting next to his bowl with his tail wagging and I dig into the pantry for his bag of food. Crouching down I fill his bowl, "Looks like we'll have a visitor tonight." He nudges my hand out of the way as he goes for his breakfast. I ruffle his ears. "Yeah, I like her."

---

I notice the snow drifts as I walk the short distance to campus. With my travel mug full of coffee in one hand, I take my phone out of my coat pocket in the other. Selecting her number, I text her quickly.

Gorgeous morning, Morning Gorgeous.

I cross the street and the wind howls around the pedestrians. Taking a sip of my coffee, I join the crowd of student walking around from their early classes. I dodge the oncoming bodies and duck into the building. I pass by the breakfast cart and wait in line for a muffin. My stomach is growling and I smile to myself as I feel my weary body for the first time since she's left my apartment. Looking over the shoulder of the girl in front of me, I'm impatient for these four people to just hurry up and order. My phone buzzes and I flip it open.

Totally starving--- you're to blame. Extremely tired and sore, also your fault.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grinning like an idiot. Exhaling in a huff, I listen to the girl in front order practically everything on the menu. I shift my weight from one leg to the next as I contemplate blueberry versus cranberry. The girl is still rambling about the temperature she wants her custom drink and I hit the reply button on my phone.

Will make it up to you with large pizza. But plan on being tired and worn-out again. Might just have to stay up all night.

The breakfast guy is trying to get my attention and I apologize and quickly point to the muffin I want. I pay with a five-dollar bill and leave the change in the fishbowl for a tip. Walking away I roll my eyes at myself for being in such a good mood. I'm approaching the doorway of my first class and I take my usual seat in the back. I'm about to silence my phone when I see I have a message alert.

Dirty.

I duck down so that no one can see my smile. I save her text.

---

They file in slowly and I watch from my position at the front of the class. My eyes are purposely blank, but I'm staring at the door, waiting for her to come through. I glance at the watch and see that it's exactly eleven and I stand up to start. From the corner of my eye I see her slip in from the door at the rear of the classroom and take a seat. She smiles shyly only to keep her head down so that she won't attract attention.

"Alright, your finals are next week and I know you are all busy. So here are the review questions I'm supposed to hand out to you. They were given to me by your professor so read them carefully, as I suspect these topics will be your essays. Take them and study. You can stay and discuss the questions with each other or you can leave. But don't forget to check your syllabus for the final schedule time. Be there early that morning." I disperse the stack of papers that I had just photocopied moments earlier. "Good luck on your finals."

She's staying in her seat, watching everybody else leave the classroom. I'm leaning against the front of my desk, watching her. The last student has cleared the room and the door closes softly after him. She's picking up her backpack and the binder that she tucked her study guide into. Walking up to me, she smiles. "Got some time until your next class?"

I nod. "Yeah, come on. I'll buy you lunch."

"Why thank you Mister Mariano." Her voice has taken on a southern drawl. She sounded like a Midwestern beauty queen.

I stand up, but resist reaching for her hand. I hold open the door and make a small bow. "After you, Miss."

She curtseys. "Such a gentleman."

She passes by me and I hang back a moment to check her out from behind. I lengthen my stride to catch up with her and my hand goes to her lower back as we walk down the empty hallway.

---

I hand her the tuna sandwich and I plop down next to her on the abandoned bench. "Here you go."

"Yum." The wrapper crinkles in her hands and she takes a big bite. "Wow, this is good."

"I eat at this place at least twice a week. Their sandwiches are the best. The roast beef here," I gesture to the one in my hand, "is what I usually get." I take a bite. "It's like a hidden secret on campus."

I watch her turn her head towards me and smile as she silently eats her food.

Noticing that she's just listening, I continue, "People generally eat in the cafeteria and those who do eat somewhere else either flock to the fast food places off campus, or they hit the vending machines for a snack."

"Uh huh."

"But what they don't know is that these little food carts are amazing. I had a muffin this morning at the cart next to the Peabody Museum building." I take a bite and my tongue darts out to catch a bit of mayo on the corner of my mouth.

She scoots close to me and our knees touch. "Thanks for taking me here."

I smile, "You're welcome." I bump her knee. We eat in silence and I just watch the occasional person pass by us. There are not too many students lingering outside since it's so cold and the cup of coco that I'm holding between my knees is steaming hot.

I look over at her and to enjoy the view. Her hair is down around her shoulders and the wind picks it up occasionally, blowing it around her face. Her hand comes up repeatedly to brush it away and she bites down on her mitten to take it off so that she can use her bare fingers to tuck hair behind her ears.

I take a sip from my cup. "I like your hair like that."

She smiles from around a curtain of bangs. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. With the wind blowing it all around, it makes it look like someone's had their way with you." I grin wolfishly at her.

"Funny you bring it up." She leans towards me and pulls on the collar of both her coat and her sweater. The junction of her shoulder to her neck now has a hickey. I run a finger down her neck and I circle the spot I was attached to early this morning. She sighs at the feeling of my cool finger and she releases her hold on the collars.

I lean back against the bench and rub my hand across the bridge of my nose.

"I kinda like it." She startles me out of my silence.

"That might be the first time anyone actually said they liked the aftermath of a hickey." I smirk.

"Well it brings back good memories."

I glance over for another look. Her sweater is covering it up but I can picture it clearly in my mind. "I'll say."

---

I rush to answer the doorbell and I swing the door open. "Hi."

"Hi." Her backpack begins to slip from her shoulder and I reach over the threshold to take it from her.

"Here let me get that for you."

"Thanks." She comes in and I drop her bag by the door.

Kicking the door shut with my foot, I free up my hands to grab her body into mine. I lean down to catch her lips and she's surprised. One hand lands on my chest while the other one goes for my waist. Her fingers mingle with my belt loops and I tug her closer to my body. She shifts her weight and fits herself into my body. I haven't kissed her since this morning and I'm desperate to taste her. She bunches my shirt in her hands and my chest heaves against her and I pull back momentarily to take a deep breath.

She giggles, loudly. "Why, hello again."

"Hello." I chuckle. "Come 'ere, you."

I wet my lips and kiss her again. She pushes her tongue against mine and I walk both of us back towards the couch. I sit down on the arm on the couch and I move my hands from her face to her back and I pull on her t-shirt. She straddles my lap and we fall back onto the sofa. She falls higher above me and I kiss her exposed neck. Suddenly I want more skin and I draw her shirt off her body and I absently throw it over my shoulder.

"You know, I didn't come over just for this." She gestures at the space between us that is quickly diminishing.

"Yeah right, you're totally just using me for my body." I smirk.

She kisses me quickly and pulls back immediately. "Aw, that's a horrible thing to say. Here, we'll just stop and have a conversation so that you'll know I'm interested in your mind as well." She looks down at me from her vantage point on my lap.

I rest my head for a moment and I bring up my hands to the bare skin at her waist. I know she's kidding but I give into her joke just as well. "Well if you insist." I run my hands up towards her breasts but my fingers are barely touching.

She squirms at my tentative touch. "Maybe later." She bites her lower lip and her eyes lazily drift shut. "It would be a shame to stop what you're doing and waste your efforts."

I bend up and kiss the space between her breasts. "Yeah, shame."

Giggling, she wiggles down my body so that we're face to face again and she smiles broadly at me. She's got a handful of my shirt in her fist and I reach back for her bra clasp. Lying on top of me she jerks her hips and my arms go down to move with her after I unhook her bra. One strap slides off her shoulder and I sit up, bringing her with me. She takes it off herself and her knees squeeze against me as she tosses her bra on the coffee table. Gasping at the feel of my crisp cotton shirt against her bare chest, she kisses the side of my neck. I tilt my head away from her to offer more room as she begins to lick and suckle near the same spot that I had given her a hickey. I sigh contently with her in my lap, and I just hold her for a minute.

I unbutton her jeans but I can't slide them off her legs because she's still perched upon me. I quickly shift my weight to flip her over and her breasts gently bounce with our change in position. My head bends down to kiss them quickly and I sit back on my heels and pull on her jeans. I laugh as I see her go for my shirt and I stand up to toe off my shoes. I hurriedly strip off my jeans and I climb back onto the couch next to her in my boxers. I lay down on my side and my arms wrap around her bare skin. She sighs into my kiss and her hand reaches for the waistband. Her hand brushes against me and my eyes roll into the back of my head. "Ugh, Rory…"

Her face is buried in the crook of my neck once more, but she's not kissing my neck this time. I feel her breathe in deeply and she mumbles against my skin, "I can't seem to get enough of you."

Our bodies still and I just hold her close to me. "Me neither." I kiss her forehead.

She nudges her nose against mine and I just enjoy the close proximity. The moment has died down and it swirls the passion around us, just waiting to be found again. My hand traces a path down from her arm to her waist, and she shifts against the tickling sensation. I kiss her closed eyelids and then the tip of her nose. She moves up to catch my lips in her own and I use my arms to bring her as close as I can. I urge my leg to rest between hers, making her moan on contact. With just thin material between us, I let her feel the weight of my desire against her and I break the kiss as I feel her writhe against me. She's circling her hips to mine clockwise, and I move my hands to slow her down. Breaking our kiss, she pulls back to look down at our hips and her hands come to rest on my chest as I let her feel the difference of moving counter-clockwise.

I can feel the pressure building slowly in the pit of my stomach and I kiss her hard as I grind into her. She grins up at me but pulls back so that I can't feel her against the part of my body that's aching. My eyes squeeze shut and I groan in complaint. She moves to sit up on me and I smile, waiting to see what she has in mind. I'm lying flat on my back now, and my hand goes up to her sitting form to play with her hair. She had pulled it in a ponytail since I last saw her at lunch and I find the elastic to free her. I tug gently, and her hair falls down around her shoulders.

She smiles knowingly at me and her hands come to rest against my abs to support herself. She scoots forward to trap me between our bodies and she pushes forward gently, but surely. I release her hair from my fingers and I grip both her shoulders. My hands run down her body once more and I just trace the top of her underwear. She's wearing something that looks like it should belong on a little boy, and I vaguely think of a time where I wore briefs like that. I raise my eyebrow at her and I pull down on her underwear as much as I can. She hops off the couch to remove them and they land next to her bra. I look at them on the coffee table and smirk at her as she climbs back on me.

I reach for her to pull her back down, but she refuses and leans her weight away from me so that she's still sitting with her bended knees to my side. I cup a hand around her left breast and she leans into me. My thumb presses against a nipple and it hardens to my touch. I smile and she bends down to kiss me. I let go of her breast and slide both palms up her curved back, finally finding their resting spot in her hair. My hands slide back down as she lazily ends the kiss and sits back up again. I bend my knees too, and she has no choice but to scoot forward into my lap and I intimately brush against her. She whimpers at the feeling and my hands go to her hips, waiting. She nods, but pulls from my kiss to ask, "Jess?"

I breathe in deeply in response, and jerk my head in the direction of my discarded jeans. "Pocket." I grunt out in reply.

Leaning over the couch to pick up my pants, she's no longer touching me and I surprise her by gently inserting a finger. She freezes while digging in my back pocket, "Oh god."

I chuckle and I stroke her harder as I feel her bucking against my hand. She comes to fully sit on me again, but leans back to give herself enough room to put the condom on me. I'm lost in the feeling of her around my finger, and I almost jerk in surprise as I feel her stroke up and back down again with a tight fist. I close my eyes in response and I remove my hand. My head is suddenly too heavy to lift up and I let it drop back against the arm of the couch. With my eyes closed, I can feel her lifting up gently only to come down on me swiftly. My body clenches at the feeling of being inside of her again and I force my eyes open.

In this new position, I'm able to see the whole length of her body on top of me, and my hands go to her pelvis to move with her. I lift my body up in time with hers and her breasts slightly bounce at the movements. I sit up to take the right one in my mouth and I groan into her as she moves down on me harder. I stop her movements and take my hands to guide her hips, rocking in time with her. I'm not getting enough pressure with her just on top of me, and I sit up to urge her backwards to halfway lean against the arm of the couch. On my knees, I take over, and I trust harder as the position now brings more stress against me.

Below me, she grips my forearm and breathlessly chokes out, "Jess…I can't… can't catch my breath."

I stop for a moment and rest my forehead against hers. My eyes close tightly and I open them again to find her mouth parted to gulp in air. I gently move to sweep some hair off her forehead, and I kiss her very slowly as I leave my hand cupped around her ear. I smile and pull back to ask, "Okay?"

She nods once and wraps her legs tightly around my waist, only to arch her back to intensify the feeling. I sit back on my ankles, and she grabs the arm of the sofa behind her for leverage. I swiftly thrust into her and she clenches her inner muscles around me. It's all too much for me to hold back, and I increase the pace and moan loudly against her. With the third thrust, I can feel her coming close and I lift her hips off the couch in hopes of bringing her off the edge. I hear her call out my name and I let go, feeling the wave of release wash through her and coming in contact with my own. She becomes rigid beneath me and clenches her muscles, only to relax the following moment with a sigh.

Knowing that my body will be too heavy for her to support, I quickly shift our weight and I bring her on top to rest. Her head goes sideways on my chest, and her arm hangs off the edge of the couch. All of our legs can't fit, and I let one of mine slip down to rest my foot flat against the floor. I cradle her upper body against mine, running my free hand leisurely up and down her exposed back. She moves to trace her finger on my chest, and I shift my head on the couch to watch its path.

"Jess?" She's whispering.

"Yeah?"

She picks up her head and looks at me with her chin right below my collarbone. "Can I tell you something?"

I comb my left hand through her hair. "Uh huh."

She lays her head back down and breaks eye contact. "I think," she's whispering so lightly that I have to strain to hear her, "I think I love you."

My hand stops its movement in her hair, and I freeze. I hold my breath and my entire body tenses. "Huh."

She finally looks at me again and replies, "Yeah."

I sit up, effectively bringing her with me and I smile. My hand wanders from her hair to hold the side of my face, and she leans into my palm. She's biting her lower lip and I bend down to kiss her. She doesn't respond, and I gently ease out of the kiss. I look up to see that her eyes are welling up, and my thumb brushes the apples of her cheeks. "I think I love you too."

She sputters out a laugh and her tears fall down her face. I angle in to kiss her once more and she reacts immediately. She's holding my face in her tiny hands, but doesn't kiss me for long. Pulling back, her own hands go to wipe her face and she returns my smile.

She shivers and I reach down to scoop up my shirt. I hand it to her with a smile and I watch her do each button with concentration. The arms are too long for her and she leans back on the couch and snuggles into my shirt. She draws her knees up to her chest and hugs her shins against her body. I pick up my boxers and jeans and I stand to put them on.

Turning around I lean over to her for a kiss, "Pizza?"

"Yes, please."

I see her looking at me from the couch and I walk over to the kitchen counter to grab the phone. I rifle through one of the drawers for the number of the pizza place around the corner and I dial quickly. Ordering a large pizza with everything, I look over to find her wiggling her hips into her underwear. I smirk and almost don't hear the guy on the other end tell me that the food will arrive in twenty to twenty-five minutes. I toss the phone back on the counter, and I make my way back to the couch. She holds out her hand to me from her place on the sofa and I take it in my own warm palm. I sit next to her and she leans her head on my shoulder. My arm comes up to wrap around her back and I close my eyes for a minute.

She takes her head off my shoulder to look up and ask, "Didn't you invite me over for a movie?"

I smirk. "Yeah, but you were quite distracting."

She grins into my shoulder. "That good, huh?"

I grin like an absolute fool, and I don't mind that she can actually see me. "Yes." I shift uncomfortably next to her. With everything that has come to pass between us, I don't understand why I'm embarrassed to admit that.

She's biting down hard on her lip and she raises one eyebrow delicately.

Feeling that she's appearing way too proper after I've made such a declaration, I lean forward to whisper against her ear, "Fucking best." I nibble on her earlobe, and I move her hair away gently to kiss her behind the shell of her ear.

She shivers into my arms and flushes immediately. "Well then." Her hands gestures about as she continues. "You shouldn't have kissed me like that if you were planning on just watching a movie."

I chuckle. "I couldn't help it; I hadn't seen you since this morning and I didn't get the chance to kiss you at lunch." I grin wolfishly at her and I quickly move my body's weight against hers, making her topple over to lay back down on the couch again with me on top.

She shrieks in surprise, and just watches me from below as I undo the first couple buttons of my shirt that she's wearing. I open the shirt just enough so that one of her shoulders can slip through and the top swell of her breasts can be seen. I nuzzle the crook of her neck and I take my time memorizing exactly what she smells like after sex. Her skin tastes salty from the sweat, and I trace a tongue down the neck muscles.

She sighs and moves her hips slightly to the left, to lock with mine. She's tugging on my waist, and I let her feel the rest of my weight against her. Gentle hands explore the skin above the waist of my jeans, and I rest up on my bended elbows next to her face.

"I'm glad I'm here." She's trying to come up to kiss me, but I can tell it's hard since I'm effectively trapping her from the stomach down, and I bend down to meet her halfway. I let her take over the pace of the kiss and I just enjoy the moment, feeling her explore my mouth. Her kiss is tender and she licks my bottom lip to get me to open up. I comply and she tangles our tongues together, making the kiss increasingly hotter.

Her hands move down from my back to the front of my jeans, and I smirk against her lips as I feel her trying to undo the top button of my pants. She pulls back suddenly and I lift my head as I hear knocking on the door. I kiss her swiftly on the forehead and smile, "I'll be right back. Don't move."

She settles into the couch and I walk towards the door, reaching for my wallet. Not finding it in my back pocket, I remember that I had left it on my dresser as I came home this afternoon. "Rory? Can you do me a favor? My wallet's sitting right on top of the dresser." My hand is on the doorknob and Adso has reappeared out of nowhere to sit on the doormat, waiting for me to open the door.

"Yeah, I'll go get it." Her bare feet pad across the room and she disappears into my bedroom. I glance back at her retreating form to notice with a smirk that my dress shirt comes down to skim the tops of her thighs, covering just enough to make me want to see more.

Knowing that she'll be out any moment, I open the door. However, I'm not greeted by the sight of a teenage boy coming to deliver my pizza. Instead my father is standing there with a grin, "Hiya Son." He crosses the threshold. "I was just in the neighborhood, thought I'd drop by." He comes forward to hug me and my arms stay still at my side, shocked. His mouth is full and he brings up his hand to ask, "Did you know they still sell these hotdogs at those little carts? God, these are good." He takes a bite.

"This is an adorable picture of Adso." My head whips around as I see Rory walking out of the bedroom with my wallet in one hand and a framed picture of my dog that I keep in the other. She comes to a halt right outside my bedroom and blushes at being caught by my dad.

As someone who rarely lets it show that he's caught off guard, he doesn't miss a beat and waves. "Hey, nice to see you again."

Her arms cross nervously in front of her chest. "Hi Mr. Mariano."

"Nah please, that's my father. Its just Jimmy." Leave it to my dad to be charming even under these circumstances.

"Okay," She smiles and gestures in the direction of my room, "I'll just leave you guys alone then." I smile back at her in apology and she cocks her head to let me know where she'll be. The door closes softly behind her, and I turn back to my grinning dad.

"Nice." He nods his head and winks at me. "I take it she's the one who had you all hot and bothered on Thanksgiving."

I smirk. "What are you doing here Dad?"

"Oh, changing the subject, she must be something special."

I relent. "She's someone special." I correct his phrasing, emphasizing on the fact that she's a person and not a thing.

His mouth hangs open a bit like a fish, and he shakes his head back and forth. "I don't believe it," He clips me on the shoulder and I almost stumble back at the force, "my little Jessie is in love."

"Ah come on, Dad." I break the eye contact and make a face at his revelation.

"You are, aren't you?"

Knowing that he won't stop until I admit it, my hands come up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Yes."

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day. Hey, lets go celebrate. Take you for a drink." He's so excited that I laugh.

"Um Dad, you do remember that she's in my bedroom waiting, right?" I jog his memory.

"Oh right." He looks at the closed door. "Right." He gives me a suggestive smile. "And you certainly don't want to leave her alone. 'Atta boy."

I make a face at where this conversation is headed. "Okay Dad, stop before it gets creepy."

He laughs. "Hey before I forget, I came here to tell you that your mom and I are going away for a week and she asked if you would just drop by and check on the place a couple of times and water her new indoor plants."

"You're kidding, right?"
"Hell, do I ever kid when it comes to your mom telling you to do stuff?"

I sigh. "When are you leaving?"

"Next weekend."

"Fine. I'll do it." I roll my eyes. "You came all this way to tell me that? Why didn't you just call me?"

"I had dinner near here with a potential client. He was a Yale-y and chose the location. Horribly stuffy dinner. That's why I needed to stop by the campus for that hotdog. And I came by to see my favorite son."

"I'm your only son."

"That we know of." He chuckles at his own awful joke.

Someone's at the door again, and I suspect it's the pizza delivery guy that I was expecting. My dad goes to open it himself. "Here, keep the change." He hands me the pizza, and slips his wallet back into his coat.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem." He bends down to pet Adso. "Okay, I'll get outta here. Sure you can't wait for me to go."

I ignore his egging on. "See ya Dad."

"Later Son." He's about to close the door behind him, but pokes his head back around. "Oh, and you're going to want to bring your girl around for dinner soon, 'cause once your mother catches wind of this, she won't wait."

"Whoa, whoa, wait." I pull back on the door. "You can't tell Mom; not yet."

He makes a face and whines, "Why not? You know I hate keeping stuff like this to myself."

"You and Mom are like vultures. You'll pick her apart."

"Now, I very much deny that implication. I prefer to think of us as coyotes. Those vultures are very ugly." He chuckles.

"Be serious Dad, there's no way in hell I'm bring Rory home for dinner."

He huffs, "Well you just said you loved her, didn't you? You can't hide us forever."

"I can if I try." I scoff.

"Well, she's already met us at Thanksgiving so I assume the initial shock to be over."

"Yeah, but you guys weren't grilling her for information as my girlfriend."

He drops his interrogation for a moment. "Girlfriend, eh?" He sighs. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll keep this to myself until after we come home from Aspen. Then you'll bring her 'round for dinner and I'll make sure that your mother will keep her coyote instincts on a tight leash."

I sigh, knowing that I can't back out too much. "Alright, deal. But talk to mom about being nice."

"How do you know she won't be nice? You've never brought a girl home before."

"Yeah, but I know what she's like around my dates. Even on the disasters that she set me up on, she still turned around and pumped them for information."

"Okay, okay." He backs up towards the door once more. "I'm leaving, and I'll call you later." He smirks and there's a twinkle in his eye. "As you were…" He makes a flourish with his arm, and I close the door.

I grab the pizza along with two cans of soda and head back towards my bedroom. Knocking softly twice, I twist the knob to find her sitting on my bedspread. "Hey, sorry about that."

"S'okay."

I hand her the pizza and join her on the bed. I lean against the headboard and she turns around to face me.

"Everything okay?" Her mouth is full of pizza, and I take a piece for myself from the box between us.

"Yeah, he just dropped by to ask me to do him a favor. They're going to Aspen and I'm to water the plants while they're away."

She giggles. "Oh."

"And I suppose I should also warn you that your presence is requested for dinner at my house." I thump my head against the wood slightly and the dull noise vibrates around us.

"Dinner with your parents?" She sounds doubtful.

I glance over at her. "Well, I'll be there too."

She smiles nervously. "I know, but it's dinner with your parents."

"Yes, I know. Awful."

Her head droops and she tugs at the arms of the shirt. "Do you think they'll like me?" Her voice is soft.

"Hey now," I move closer to her, "they'll love you." I take her piece of pizza and toss it momentarily back into the open box. "Of course, it won't seem so at first, 'cause my mom will ask all about your life and my dad will probably make some horribly inappropriate joke, but once you laugh and answer their questions, you'll fit right in."

"You think?" Her hand comes to rest on my knee. "I don't exactly come from your neighborhood."

"Thank god for that," I scoff, "or I suspect you wouldn't think that pizza and soda on my bed is good enough."

She smiles and picks a pepperoni off a slice to munch on it. I watch her in comfortable silence. She's started eating again, and I pick up another slice as well. As I finish, I nudge her with my foot and pop open the tab of my Coke, "You want the last one?"

"Yes please." She nods and holds out her hand.

---

"Here you go." I hand her my toothbrush.

"Is this yours?"

"Yeah, but I figured it'd be okay. I don't have another one, and it's either mine or the old dingy one that I once used to brush crap from Adso's teeth."

She takes it from my outstretched hand. "Hm." I hang back, not exiting the bathroom quite yet to see her examine my toothbrush in her grasp.

"I promise I don't have cooties." I tease her.

"I know that." Her hand comes up to swat at my chest.

I give her a fake glare. "Well, then brush your teeth so that we can go to bed."

She doesn't respond to my joke, and nods happily to run the toothbrush under the water and squeeze a bit of Colgate on it. I leave her in the bathroom, listening to the sounds of water being splashed about, and I adjust the covers on my bed. I turn to the closet to dig out another pillow and quickly sniff it to make sure Adso hadn't been poking around my closet to fill up the time that I leave him alone. Deeming it satisfactory, I throw it next to mine.

I examine the bed, and I move to take off my watch. I turn to see her leaning on the door of the bathroom, watching me in my element. "Thanks for sharing."

"Welcome." I wait for her to pad the length of my room, her bare feet slapping softly on the wooden floor to face me from across my bed.

I nod silently down at the corner of the bedspread beneath her fingers and I pull back on the covers on my side as well. I climb in and extend my arm to her and as I feel her weight upon me, I curl her into my chest. With her head just below my chin, she speaks. "Finals are next week."

"Yeah I know, I have them too."

"It's going to be hectic with all the studying."

"Late nights and quickies?" I joke.

She kicks my leg under the sheets. "Not like what you're thinking. Dirty boy."

"So are you saying you won't have much time to come out and play?"

She sighs. "I doubt it."

"Well then, we'll just have to celebrate once you're out of your last class."

"You do still owe me a movie."

I look down at her beaming face. "You're right, I do." I hug her against me, tight. "Do you prefer a movie over what we just did?"

She giggles loudly. "I guess not."