Thanks for the reviews! And sorry for the wait. Had some writer's block issues, but thanks for being patient :)
Enjoy!
They talked for hours about everything. No holding back or using metaphors to describe how they felt. Complete honesty. It was like a humungous weight had been lifted from Jackson and April's shoulders. They could look at each other in the eye without assuming one was lying to the other. Their feelings were out in the open. There was no reason to hide them anymore.
Every problem that had once gotten in the way was discussed. Her current beliefs about premarital sex, his ability to be sensitive to her feelings and vice versa. They even predicted how Catherine would possibly react to them being back together. Marriage wasn't an option yet. They hadn't considered themselves a dating couple when they were sleeping together and both agreed to do it right. He wanted to take her out to dinner, surprise her with flowers for no particular reason, be a gentleman to his girlfriend.
Lack of communication had led to their downfall. They refused to make that mistake again. If either of them had a problem, they promised to talk about it.
The last time they shared a bed, it was after another round of sex that was typically followed by one of April's guilt-filled rants. And it wasn't like they actually slept in the bed. Not much cuddling happened. The routine used to be undress, sex, redress, return to work. Hardly screamed romantic.
Jackson's eyes slowly fluttered open as he awoke from his sleep. One arm was draped around April's waist, while she lay curled up against his side and continued to snooze away. Her forearm rested on top of his abdomen and her hand lightly clenched his t-shirt. He smiled as he watched her sleep for a minute, letting it all sink in. If this was how his mornings would be from now on, he could die a happy man.
He moved aside strands of her hair that covered her face and gently kissed the top of her head. It was enough to arouse her from her sleep. She snuggled closer to him, the tip of her nose brushing against his neck.
"Good morning, beautiful," the plastic surgeon happily murmured.
"Mmm… good morning," she softly moaned, smiling as she rubbed Jackson's chest through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. Sleeping beside him felt amazing with his muscular arms keeping her close the entire night. "What time is it?"
Jackson briefly peered at the clock on his bedside table. "It's twenty after eight. Even on our day off, we can't sleep in," he jokingly said. He faced April again and ran his hand up and down her side. "Did you sleep well? I wasn't smothering you?"
The redhead chuckled and shook her head. "You didn't smother me at all." She grinned as she peppered kisses along his jaw line. The previous night mainly consisted of talking and not much else. She was thankful they finally had a deep and meaningful conversation and while they agreed to hold off on sex until their first official date, some teasing in the morning wasn't breaking the rules.
"What do you think you're doing?" he playfully scolded her.
"I missed kissing you," she innocently replied, moving down to his neck. "Do you not want me to kiss you?"
He shut his eyes, trying to fight his urges. However, the soft touch of April's lips were driving him insane. And it didn't help that she wore one of his Harvard t-shirts to sleep in. It was the first shirt she had pulled out from his drawer and in his opinion, she looked incredibly hot in crimson. Far better than Yale blue, he thought.
Her hand was roaming down towards sensitive territory. He was aware of the fact that she knew exactly what she was doing to him. Seeing the trauma surgeon with another man had been painful enough, but actually being with her and knowing she was purposely torturing him felt worse.
Jackson opened his eyes just as April's hand reached the waistband of his boxers. He immediately stopped her and groaned. "You're killing me, you know that?"
In one swift maneuver, the pretty boy flipped her over onto her back and pressed his hands on the mattress to hold himself above her. "I figured you'd enjoy it," she insisted, smirking at him as she bit down on her lower lip.
"I'm not even gonna talk anymore," he declared before lowering himself to kiss her.
Jackson hungrily took April's lips, while she grasped the back of his head and returned the kiss. It took all of their will power not to pounce on each other the previous night. For once, he restrained himself, but he made no promises he would behave in the morning. She clearly hadn't either. He moved away from her lips, kissing his way down to her neck as he slipped a hand underneath her shirt.
She squirmed beneath him, pushing his hand down just as he was about to reach her breast. "Wait, wait, wait."
He lifted his head to look back at her. "What's wrong?"
"I like what you're doing. I really do, but…" April breathlessly brushed aside hair from her forehead, then she cupped Jackson's cheeks and smiled. "…not yet. I know you want to and trust me, so do I. Date night, remember?"
"When is date night?" he questioned curiously.
"Umm… tonight?"
"Tonight would be perfect," he immediately agreed. The sooner their first date happened, the better. It didn't matter to him anymore that his brain was thinking like a sex driven 16-year old. He just wanted all of her, especially now that he did have her. "Remember to wear something sexy."
April playfully groaned. "And I was hoping I could finally wear my new overalls and straw hat for the occasion," she sarcastically replied, eliciting a laugh from Jackson.
"Is it wrong of me to start fantasizing about you as the farmer's dirty daughter?" the plastic surgeon suggestively asked. She smacked his shoulder in response, making him laugh again. "You brought up the farm attire first. Can you blame me? I mean, if all you're wearing are overalls and nothing else…"
"Jackson, you know that's not what I meant!" She giggled as she pushed him off of her and climbed out of bed. "I'm going to use the bathroom and then make some breakfast – if you have any food in your fridge."
Watching April stretch her arms above her head, Jackson immediately took notice of the light pink panties peeking out from underneath his Harvard t-shirt. He smugly grinned as his eyes slowly scanned her legs and backside. She was no longer the mousy woman he met during their intern year. And he most certainly never expected to fall in love with her back then.
The redhead glanced back at him and he sheepishly grabbed a pillow to hide his face like a child who had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. She simply laughed as she walked into his bathroom.
After freshening up, she left the bedroom to cook breakfast for the both of them. Jackson spent a few minutes in the bathroom before he joined her in the kitchen. "Oh, so I got a text from Libby and she wants me to take her and Kimmie to the Space Needle after lunch. Want to come?" she enthusiastically questioned, turning away from the stove to look at her boyfriend. He stood beside her wearing nothing but his boxers after having removed the t-shirt he wore to sleep. "Really, Jackson?"
He briefly gazed down at his bare torso, then he smirked at her. "What? Don't pretend you've never seen me like this before."
"I know what you're trying to do," she accusingly said and lightly slapped his chest with the spatula in her hand. "Would you like your eggs scrambled or sunny side up?"
"Scrambled, please." Jackson leaned back against the kitchen counter as he watched April make breakfast. "Did I already tell you that you look incredibly hot in my Harvard shirt?"
"Are you joining my sisters and I or not? I need to buy tickets." the trauma surgeon reverted back to the original topic. "Think of it as a warm up for our date tonight. I mean, I'm not exactly sure how it would be a warm up since my sisters will be with us, but at least we'll be spending the entire day together."
"Of course I'll go." He stood behind her, placing his hands on her hips as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Why would I want to spend the majority of my day without you? I've done that for far too long."
April smiled as Jackson nuzzled his nose against her neck. The man knew how to sweet talk his way into anything, but she reminded herself that if he continued to throw sappy comments at her, she would never be able to leave his apartment. She gently nudged his stomach with her elbow. "Okay, you're on timeout until I finish breakfast," she humorously replied and pointed at the couch. "Sit there and wait for me."
"Fine, fine," he groaned, pulling away from her. "I'll be good."
Jackson followed April's instructions, slumping down onto the couch like he had been punished. But even from the living room, he watched her stand by the stove as she softly hummed a tune to herself. He couldn't help but continue to stare at her. At least now, he could get away with the creepy staring thing he loved to do.
"Okay, Libby said she and Kimmie would be waiting for us in front of the hotel," April noted after reading the latest text message from her older sister. She and Jackson were on their way to pick the other two Kepners up and the latter opted to drive them. "You're not nervous, are you?"
"No. Why would I be? I already met them," he calmly answered, smiling at the redhead. Deep down, though, Jackson felt slightly nervous about seeing her sisters again. Meeting the family as April's barely a day old boyfriend would be different. He hoped they hadn't preferred Ryan over him, not that their opinions topped hers. Still, he would rather feel welcome than like an outcast. "You think they'll grill me even more because I'm with you now?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so. My sisters just love to talk a lot, so I hope you won't feel overwhelmed."
He softly chuckled. Their first meeting had already included intimidating questions. "I'll be alright. Both of them seem pretty cool to me. If they weren't talking bad about me before, then I'm optimistic."
April pointed at the window as she spotted her sisters standing by the curb. "There they are," she chirped, waving at the two women when they saw her as well. Jackson temporarily parked, so they could get into the car. "Hey, I brought Jackson. Is that okay?"
Libby smirked as the pretty boy turned around and greeted them. "Sure, but what about Ryan?"
"Oh, umm… we- well, I broke up with him yesterday," she replied, forcing a laugh. "But we agreed to stay friends. No hard feelings… sort of. Anyway, I am dating Jackson now. Last night, we talked about everything and we know how we feel about each other, so no more confusion."
Kimmie clapped her hands together and placed them underneath her chin. "Aww, you're in love!" she gushed. "We figured his feelings were much deeper than he let on and even though you refused to openly admit it to us during the cruise, we totally knew you loved him too."
"Took ya long enough," Libby scoffed.
"Lib, you didn't know the complete story," April retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Well, whose fault is that? We tried to pry the details out of you, but you kept almost everything tightlipped except for the part about how Jackson rejected you. Then, you were bawling and moaning, 'Jackson doesn't love me', more than once," she recalled.
"Libby," the trauma surgeon sternly said through gritted teeth. Of all things her sister could use to embarrass her in front of Jackson, she chose the worst one in her mind. April briefly glanced at him and he appeared to be fighting back a smile as he drove. She furrowed her eyebrows at Libby, who simply shrugged.
Her younger sister snickered before she asked, "So how many times have you two been to the Space Needle?"
"Not often, to be honest. We don't get a lot of down time to tour," Jackson politely answered and lightly nudged April's arm. "Intern year was the worst, remember? We literally had no life, so I never actually visited the Space Needle until midway through our second year. I'd say I've been there four times since I moved here."
"What about you, April?"
"Umm…" Fidgeting with her seatbelt, April bit down on her lower lip. "I actually haven't been inside at all."
Kimmie let out a laugh. "Are you serious? You've lived here for almost a decade and you've never gone to the most iconic landmark in Seattle?" she questioned in disbelief. "Where the hell have you been?"
The agitated redhead turned her head to look back at her sisters. "The elevator freaks me out, okay?" she snapped. "C'mon, you two know heights aren't my favorite thing either. One look outside of the window as it ascends to the top and I'll faint."
"You know, you could just not look," Libby teasingly suggested and tapped the back of Jackson's seat. "And hey, you've got him to block your view. He'll make sure you can't see a thing."
Jackson grasped April's hand and gently squeezed it. "Yeah, don't worry about it. You'll be fine," he assured her. There were a few seconds of silence, then he asked, "Really? You've never been to the top? I could've sworn you, me, Charles and Reed went together."
"Clearly, you forgot about how I chickened out and you three left me behind," she responded in monotone and pursed her lips. "Somehow, it's turned into Pick On April Day, which used to be almost every day on the farm."
"Don't get all pouty," Libby dismissively replied. "How about we talk about something fun? Like… now that you two are dating, will you be doing more dating things? And I mean, besides sex."
Jackson noticed April remained unamused by her sisters' teasing and decided to answer for them. "Well, we're having dinner tonight for our first official date." He smiled at the woman sitting beside him. "I made reservations at that Italian restaurant you wanted to try."
"The one on Pike or Pine?" she asked curiously.
He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel when they stopped at a light. "I'm fairly positive it's one of those. Whichever one is supposed to be romantic and stuff."
"Buy her flowers," Kimmie coughed, drawing a suspicious look from Jackson. She brightly grinned back at him. "I'm sorry. Something seems to be stuck in my throat. Like a thorn from a rose."
"You are so not slick," Libby chuckled.
April softly smiled. "I like roses."
Jackson kissed the back of her hand. "Then, I will buy you roses before I pick you up."
When they arrived at the Space Needle, April could feel her heart pounding faster as they inched closer to the elevators. Her palms were clammy, forcing herself to continuously dry them against her jeans. But Jackson promised to block her view and he did exactly that. He stood behind her, wrapping his arms over her shoulders as they rode the elevator to the top. She eventually calmed down considering she enjoyed cuddling with him. Libby and Kimmie didn't hesitate to tease them, to their sister's dismay.
They spent fifteen minutes at the observation deck snapping pictures and taking in the panoramic view of Seattle. Libby made sure to take as many photos as she could of April and her new-old boyfriend to show off to their parents when she returned to Ohio. She could see on the redhead's face that she was sincerely happy. And the shallow side of her was proud that April snagged herself a good looking man.
While her sisters were distracted taking pictures of each other, Jackson decided to use the opportunity to separate themselves from them. "Let's go before they see us," he whispered into April's ear.
"Go where?" April stared at him confused as he took her hand and dragged her away from Libby and Kimmie. "Jackson, where are we going? And slow down a bit. You're gonna make me trip."
"On our way to the deck, I saw this closet that we could sneak into-"
His other half suddenly gasped. "What? No! This- this is a public place with cameras." She huffed when he ignored her protests and continued to walk. "Jackson, my sisters will be looking for us any minute now."
"Which is why we only have a short amount of time to be alone together," the plastics man pointed out, stopping in front of a supply closet. He casually scanned their surroundings before opening the door and leading her inside. Flipping on the light switch, Jackson placed his hands against April's lower back and kissed her lips. "Just five minutes, I promise."
She really found it difficult to turn down his advances. It was much more complicated in the past when neither of them knew what their relationship meant and the enormous amount of guilt she felt every time they had sex hadn't helped. Now that she knew what she wanted, it was easier to succumb to his flirtations and kisses. In the back of her mind, though, she remained paranoid over getting caught by a security guard.
But dammit, he was such a fine kisser. One hand was lightly clutching the back of her neck, the other moved down south and grabbed her ass. April wondered how they would be able to behave themselves during their date if they already acted like horny teenagers during a freaking day trip with her sisters.
"Okay, okay. It's been five minutes," she bashfully stated, pulling away from him to adjust her hair. "My sisters are definitely searching for us now. I bet they even asked somebody at the information kiosk to shout out our names on the PA system."
"You're just paranoid." Jackson softly laughed as he slowly opened the door. "They probably didn't even mind that we snuck away for a few minutes. You know what? I'm sure they didn't notice we were gone."
Both surgeons froze when they were greeted by Libby and Kimmie's mischievous grins after stepping out of the closet. April's cheeks immediately turned beet red and she partially hid her face behind Jackson's shoulder. How in the hell did they know where they went?
"Oh, you frisky rascals," the oldest Kepner girl playfully teased them.
Kimmie covered her mouth as she giggled. "Imagine if Mom and Dad were here."
Libby approached the couple, tugging April away from the pretty boy. "Jackson, how about you go take a walk and… cool down? We'd like our sister to accompany us to the ladies' restroom."
"I-I I don't need to use the restroom," April insisted, but it didn't matter what she said because both of her sisters sandwiched her and escorted her to the nearest women's restroom. The first restroom they found was surprisingly empty, so her older sister locked the door for privacy. "What are you doing?"
"First rule of sneaking away – don't let the people you're trying to hide from see you leave," Kimmie noted, sharing a laugh with Libby. She threw her arm over the trauma surgeon's shoulders and smiled gleefully. "We had no idea you were that type of person now."
"What do you mean?" she fearfully asked.
"The type who's willing to have sex anywhere you please!"
April waved her arms with wide eyes. "Whoa, whoa! Jackson and I weren't- he just wanted to makeout. It's been so long since we- well, he's kind of impatient. Actually, nevermind. It's awkward talking about this with you two."
She folded her arms and ducked her head in embarrassment. Sex was hardly a topic she discussed with her sisters. They could talk about anything else except that. She had been a late bloomer, so whenever they used to bring up sex she always felt out of place and uncomfortable.
"Ah, so it was Jackson's idea? That man completely kisses the ground you walk on, it's adorable. And you've grown up so much," Libby cheerfully replied. She could still remember the days when staring at fully clothed boys was a major issue for her younger sister. "I mean, look at you. In high school, you could barely mumble a word to a boy. Now you've made one into your own sexual bitch."
"That is not what he is!" April angrily responded, glaring at her sisters as they laughed at her. "I'm not in love with him because of his performance in bed. Why do you keep making fun of me? Do you not like Jackson?"
Kimmie sighed as she patted the redhead's shoulder. "Oh, Apes. We make fun of you because you make it easy. You should know that by now. Also, Jackson seems perfect for you. He cares about you in the way a man who loves you should." She playfully fanned herself. "And those freaking eyes…"
"Do you think Mom and Dad would approve?"
"Oh, that won't be a problem," Libby confidently answered and smiled. "Regardless of the rough patch you two went through, the guy's been your best friend for years. Mom's a sucker for that kind of love story."
"And if they don't, just tell them to look at Jackson's eyes. They'll be hypnotized for life," Kimmie suggested, chuckling after April slapped her arm. "What?"
"What is it with you and his eyes?"
"They're so gorgeous it should be illegal!" She watched the trauma surgeon unlock the door and leave the restroom, forcing her and Libby to follow her. "It's unfair, I tell ya!"
Being separated for a few hours had been almost unbearable for Jackson. Their dinner reservations were set for 7:30 PM, which gave April more than enough time to get ready for their date. He wanted their night to be flawless, so he wore everything that he considered was his best attire. Dress shirt, pants, shoes… underwear. Even the cologne mattered to him. Enough to draw her in, but not too much that she's required to breathe through her mouth because the scent was too powerful.
On his way to her apartment, the plastic surgeon stopped by the flower shop to buy a dozen roses. Jackson was tempted to purchase a box of chocolates for later, but he thought he may be trying too hard to impress her. It wasn't like he was going on a first date with a woman he just met. Truthfully, the box of chocolates were too cliché for him.
But it was their first real date after all. He simply wanted everything to go well – and finish with a night full of hot sex.
A part of him wanted to kick himself for constantly thinking about sex. It had been agonizing enough that Libby and Kimmie purposely clung onto April like a leech post-makeout session to torture him. They were likely being overprotective sisters, he thought. Then again, he sensed they liked him since neither sister had given him one dirty look during their time together. That was definitely a good sign.
Prior to knocking on April's door, Jackson unbuttoned the first three buttons of his white dress shirt. Holding the bouquet of roses in one hand, he placed the other against the doorway trying to act suave for when she opened the door for him. He quickly shook his head and stood upright.
"No, that's stupid," he muttered to himself and took a deep breath. "Just act cool. She's probably nervous too, but don't make a fool of yourself."
Finally, he gently knocked on the door and hid the roses behind his back. The redhead answered the door wearing a black strapless dress, one that showed off her shoulders, her legs… her cleavage. April's hair was partially pulled up and the red lipstick had always been a turn on for him, but his eyes refused to leave the main attraction. That freaking cleavage. He blamed the dress.
Strapless and tight.
"Jackson?" she called out, interrupting his perverted thoughts. April choked back a laugh when her boyfriend dropped the bouquet and scrambled to pick it up. "Everything alright? I mean, is this dress okay or should I change?"
"It's… nice," Jackson slowly responded. He cleared his throat after he caught himself staring at her cleavage again. Almost forgetting about the roses, he extended his arm out to her. "Oh, and here are your roses, my lady."
She smiled as she retrieved the bouquet from him. "Thank you. They're lovely. Let me just put these in a vase, then we can leave."
He quietly entered the apartment, closing the door behind him. Just watching April move around in her dress gave him horrible, yet delightful thoughts. But he reminded himself that there was a dinner reservation to fulfill and he felt like a douche for wanting to skip it altogether.
And while he considered himself to be a pervert at that moment, she developed her own set of dirty thoughts. April was glad Jackson had bought her roses because she needed a brief break from staring at him in his fancy clothes. The man looked amazingly handsome in anything, including his scrubs, but he knew how to dress up well. His cologne smelled wonderful too.
She covered herself with a coat and approached him with her purse. "We can leave now."
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," he timidly replied, interlocking their fingers together as he led her out of the apartment. Jackson was thankful April wore a coat over her dress. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on driving to the restaurant. He would have been too occupied taking numerous peeks at her cleavage.
"Are you hungry? Because I'm starving," the trauma surgeon inquired, while Jackson drove. "And you'll probably laugh at me for this, but I tried on at least fifteen different dresses for tonight. I had a hard time deciding what to wear."
"Trust me, you look very good," he murmured. "You chose wisely that's for sure."
April grinned widely back at him. "And you look very handsome. I can't believe we're on a real date," she excitedly said. "And it's not awkward at all. I honestly thought we would've pounced on each other the second we saw each other dressed up."
Jackson glanced at her curiously after he stopped at a light. "Really? Because to be honest, all I've been thinking about since I picked you up was removing that dress," he admitted and sighed. "I know. It's pathetic, but I can't help myself. You drive me insane, especially when you're wearing that."
"Oh, thank goodness." She rested her hand against her chest, letting out a sigh of relief. "I thought I was being ridiculous for thinking the same thoughts as you."
He tightly gripped the steering wheel, fighting the urge to turn the car around and drive back to her apartment. "Umm, how about we reschedule the dinner part of our date?"
The red light would be changing to green any second now. April gently bit down on her lower lip as she contemplated her decision. There was no use fighting it, she thought. They both knew how the date would end regardless if they had dinner or not. "Take me home," she impatiently blurted out. Jackson caught her off-guard when he made an illegal U-turn after the light turned green. "Jackson, don't kill us!"
"Sorry," he sheepishly replied.
They had only been about five minutes away from April's apartment when they agreed to change their plans. She swung the front door open before spinning around and kissing Jackson. He pushed her coat off of her shoulders, while she returned the favor.
"Some date, huh?" he mumbled against her lips, his hands reaching for the zipper on the back of her dress.
"Best date ever," she amusingly said in between kisses and began unbuttoning his shirt. April giggled as Jackson fumbled with her zipper and cursed under his breath when he failed to pull it down. "Don't rip this. It's fairly new."
He temporarily pulled away from her to remove his shirt, kicking his shoes off at the same time. "Did you staple yourself into this dress?" the pretty boy jokingly complained after he continued to have trouble with the zipper. "Ah, screw it. I'll break through eventually."
April squealed when Jackson lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom. Their date didn't go exactly the way they had planned, but she didn't mind just this once. The carnival had been waiting for her return and she couldn't contain her excitement anymore.