X-X-X-X-X ::: Chapter 10: Rooftop Confessions
The days passed as everyone settled into their lives in California. Kevin and Jess finally got married after a couple years, Nick and Miley were engaged to be married in a couple months, and Liv and Joe...
"Lucy! I'm home!"...well, Liv and Joe were the same as always.
"I thought I got to be Ricky?" Joe whined again from where he was waiting for Olivia. He was sprawled across the couch in her apartment, looking as if he was quite bored.
"Well if you're the one sitting here all day doing nothing while I'm out working-"
"Hey, I did my work today!" he interrupted as she set her stuff down in the kitchen. "I've only been here for five minutes." he promised.
Olivia kicked her shoes off, walking over and laying down beside him, snuggling with him. "Well...whatever." she said as he wrapped an arm around her.
"Long day?" he asked, rubbing small circles on her upper arm as she intertwined her legs with his.
"Yes. Oh, that reminds me, the boring people I work with are having a boring dinner party tomorrow and I have to go. Will you pretend to be my spouse?" she asked.
"You just spent an entire day with these people - that meeting ran really late by the way. And why do I have to pretend to be your spouse?" he replied.
"Well it wouldn't have taken so long if I could've done my presention and been able to listen without someone sending me raunchy text messages." she said. "And they said that spouses were invited, but I didn't want to ask if boyfriends were okay cause I was just ready to get out of there...so I decided it was." she explained.
"They were not raunchy! And that sounds good to me." he replied.
"I believe that at one point a lap dance was mentioned." she said shortly.
"Ok, so they might have been a little frisky, but certainly not raunchy." he defended himself. "Now, would you like to go out to dinner or experience my excellent culinary skills again?"
"I think I'm still digesting the last experience with your culinary skills." Olivia said, smiling. "Besides, I picked up some cookies from Jackie's bakery."
"Cookies?!" Joe asked, rolling off the couch and running into the kitchen. Olivia stayed on the couch, rolling her eyes at his childlike tendencies.
"Just leave a couple for me..." she called to him, sitting up and stretching. He came back in, collapsing next to her with a cookie in one hand and the box in the other.
"Have a bite." he said with his mouth full, offering her his half-eaten snickerdoodle. She reached over and bit off half of it before leaning against him again. He nearly inhaled the cookie and went to dust off the cinnamon sugar that still clung to his finger tips.
"No wait! That's my favorite part!" she said, taking his hand and licking the excess sugar off.
"You know, if you weren't you I would think this is totally disgusting." he said, laughing.
"Whatever. It's been a long day and we're not going to be wasting the cinnamon goodness!" she said.
"Oh, yea, I see. So you wouldn't mind if I did this." he said, licking the side of her face lightly.
"Ew!" she said, rubbing her cheek on her sleeve. "My licking has purpose! You're just making fun of me now!"
"My licking had purpose too." he said, holding her by her shoulders so she couldn't move and kissing her slowly.
"Nu uh, your kisses will have no effect on me!" she said, reaching for the cookies and trying to grab one.
"Don't be so sure." Joe said borderline seductively, placing slow kisses down her neck.
"Not...gonna work..." Olivia whispered, her self control clearly waning. Joe moved painfully slow down her neck, each kiss light and deliberate. Just as he gave her collar bone a little nip, she cried "aw, screw it!" and pulled his lips back up to hers. He lowered her down on the couch, gently lowering himself on top of her and kissing her soundly. He supported himself with one arm, the other ghosting over her hip and waist. He smiled as her abs tightened - she was ticklish!
"No, no, we have to stop now." she said, laughing as he tickled her again.
"Oh, c'mon now, don't do this to me." Joe said, kissing her again. She smiled.
"Seriously, tickle fights lead to sex!" she said, squirming since he was still tickling her.
"Do not!" he insisted, refusing to let her go.
"How about we go get dinner instead?" she offered, knowing that Joe always had trouble focusing on anything when food was part of the equation. He stopped and began to seriously think about which would be better, giving Liv the opportunity to shimmy out from under him.
"That's what I thought." she said as she began to unbutton her top, walking towards her room. "Let me go change real quick."
"Nu uh!" Joe said indignantly. "You can't tell me we 'have to stop' and then just take your clothes off!"
"This is my house and I can take my clothes off whenever I want to!" she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Besides, it's not like my swim suit isn't more revealing than this..." she trailed off, going to go change out of her business attire.
"Not fair...I always get in trouble for wandering around without clothes..." Joe muttered to himself, waiting for Olivia. She emerged a few moments later, dressed down with jeans and a plain v-neck shirt, her blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail.
"Ready?" she asked, grabbing her purse.
"I was born ready!" he said, jumping up from the couch. She laughed, intertwining their hands as they left the apartment and entered the balmy evening air.
"So how's the new record coming?" she asked, the sun beginning to set as they sat down outside their favorite cafe, which was conveniently placed within walking distance of Olivia's apartment.
"Coming along pretty well, but we've got a good half of it to write and record before we can go into post production and all that boring stuff." he replied.
"Aw, your poor fans are going to die without having their Jonas for so long!" she said, supporting her head on her hand.
"Eh, they can deal." Joe said, waving a hand. "Personally, I think it's hard enough to write everything and record and all without having to deal with the tour and everything, but Kevin estimates that it'll be like a year and a half before we're back on the road again."
"Well that sounds like you'll be able to stick around for a little bit then!" Liv said happily.
Joe laughed. "Not like it does any good if someone's working all the time..."
"I know." Liv sighed, her mood suddenly dropping a little bit. "But as soon as I get myself established in the company and people freakin' realize that just because I'm blonde it does not mean that I'm stupid, then we'll be good to go." she said cynically. "It's gotten to the point that I'm considering dying my hair, just to see if it makes a difference."
"No!" Joe said, a little too quickly. "Please don't ever ever ever dye your hair."
Liv perked an eyebrow. "Ok?" she asked. "Can I ask why?"
Joe shrugged. "I just like it blonde, that's all. You know, the color your mother gave you." he said.
She gave a half smile. "Good enough for me." she said, just as her phone started ringing. She checked the caller ID, rolling her eyes and putting the phone away.
"Work?" Joe asked. "You should probably take it."
"Nah. As far as they're concerned, I'm in a very important meeting right now." she said, smiling. "If it's really super important, then they'll-" she was interrupted by the phone going off again.
"Call again?" he asked, having to laugh a little bit - he couldn't help it if she was so cute when she was frustrated. She sighed angrily at the phone. "Just take it, it's probably something huge they need you to fix because they're all to old and middle aged and men to figure it out."
She gave him an apologetic smile. "I'll just be a second." she said, answering the phone and turning away. "This better be freakin' important..." she said, clearly not very happy about being called.
Joe played with his food, knowing that she was probably going to be called away. He didn't really have a problem with it, cause it didn't happen very often. Only once in a long while would a dinner or some other date be interrupted by the old fogies that seemed to make everything ten times harder for Liv. Where did he have room to get ticked anyway? Being a rock star called him away much more than he liked, which was easier when she was in school and could miss a few days. But now with her work and his work, things just clashed sometimes. But he just loved her so much...
"I'm so so sorry, Joe." she said tiredly. "I'd explain if it weren't completely ridiculous, but..."
"It's cool, Kevin and Nick were talking about running over a few riffs tonight anyway." Joe said, noticing that she suddenly looked a lot more tired than usual. "Hey, you ok?"
"Huh? Oh, yea, I'm fine." she said, shaking her head.
"You sure? I mean, you look flippin' exhausted." he observed. "Have you been sleeping enough and such?"
"Do I ever?" she asked rhetorically. "Just been a few too many late nights in a row with work, plus helping Miley with planning her wedding and everything...But it's all good. I'm fine." she said, getting up. Joe followed her lead, hiding the fact that he was reminded that his younger brother was getting married to Yoko-freaking-Ono.
"Well take an early night one of these days, kay? Don't want my muffin to get sick!" he said as if he were talking to a small child. She rolled her eyes, but had to smile.
"I can't make any promises." she said before giving him a kiss. "I love you."
"Love you too." he replied, and they went separate directions.
As the days passed by, Joe could tell that all the things going on in Liv's life were really starting to take a toll on her, but she didn't let up on anything. They still hung out, and she still seemed to be her vibrant self, so Joe let it slide for a while.
"Ooooh, is this a present for me?" he said one day, trying to look through the pink paper of a Victoria's Secret bag. Liv slapped his hand away, smirking.
"No, that is not for you or me - that's my secret wedding present for Miley." she said. Joe jumped a few feet away from the bag, suddenly not near as interested.
"Ew. Nevermind." he said, barely containing a smile. However, when he looked over, she didn't look amused. In fact, she looked depressed or something.
"Speaking of Miley," she said quietly, finally looking at him. "I heard that you told her that you didn't want her to marry Nick?"
Joe's heart started beating quicker - oh crap, he'd really done it this time. He refused to look her in the eyes, suddenly finding his shoes much more interesting. She sighed, seeing that his silence implied guiltiness.
"I'm so sorry," he said suddenly. "It's just...she left him once, and I couldn't bear to see Nick have to go through that if she did it again." he explained, rushed.
"But there's got to be more to it." Liv said, shaking her head. "Joe, I mean, the girl feels as if you absolutely hate her."
"Well I can't help it if she's Yoko-freaking-Ono!(1)" he said in an effort to explain himself.
"That's what this is about?" Liv asked, taken aback. "You're afraid that she's going to break everything up between you all?"
"Well...yea. I mean, Nick would do absolutely anything for her. What's to stop her from asking him to just quit his life with us and run off?" he said bitterly. Liv sighed again.
"Joe, but you know he would do anything for you and Kevin as well. He loves you two just as much as he loves her - it's just a different kind of love, that's all." she explained. "You can't just do that to her though. I'm having difficulty believing you would."
Joe's heart started beating quicker again as a fear settled into the pits of his heart. He began feverishly begging in his head, Please don't break up with me, please don't break up with me...
"I just want to take care of Nick, that's all." he said pitifully.
"I know, I know you do - but you need to grow up a little bit. You can't just burst out with things...like this." she said reproachfully, but not forcefully. She sat down on the couch, and he immediately lowered himself beside her, still fearful.
"I'm sorry, I just don't know what came over me..." he offered, trying to patch things up before it all unraveled at the seams.
"Yea, I know. But you see this side of yourself? The side that's around me, the sweet and caring person, the Joe that's understanding? You need to show that to everyone, cause Miley is really not feeling good about it. As of right now, you're not invited to the wedding. Do you realize how awful that would be if you weren't there to see your brother get married?" she said, grasping his hand.
"I'll talk to her, I'll let her know what's going on and I'll apologize and everything." he said urgently, looking into her eyes, trying to read her mind.
"Darn right you will!" she said, offering a half smile. They stayed silent for a moment.
"So...are we ok? You're not mad at me, are you?" Joe asked meekly. She looked down, sighing for what seemed like the millionth time.
"I'm not mad, per say...I guess I'm just disappointed in you." she said, shrugging. She turned to him, her blue eyes staring insensely. "Why do you always ask that?"
"Ask what?"
"Something along those lines - after we've had a discussion or an argument, you always ask if we're ok."
"I guess..." he stopped, trying to formulate his response. "I guess I'm always afraid that every time I screw up, that that's going to be it. You know, like the straw that breaks the camel's back? And I don't want to break your back, cause I love you and I can't picture my life without you...the thought just kind of scares me, I guess." he mumbled, looking back to the floor. She reached over and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers in his.
"I'm a pretty tough camel," she said, looking at him. "but I don't want to have to handle much more, okay?"
"Okay!" Joe said, simply relieved that it was all good. Well, most of it was good.
"Okay, so we're all going to Kevin's in a few days, are you going to talk to her then?"
"Yea, I'll talk to her."
"Alright, good. Cause I'll need you to be at that wedding - everyone's going to be all sickeningly sweet, and it's no fun to be around that when your own sweetheart is blacklisted." she said, her face showing some amusement. He smiled back, his heartbeat returning to normal.
A few days later, everyone was gathered at Kevin and Jess's house, awaiting some "news" that they had. Joe and Liv were late, as per usual, joining the others in the dining room a few minutes before the food was served. This solved a little bit of Joe's delimma for him - he didn't have to try and make awkward conversation around Miley while they were all waiting and such. After everyone had eaten, normal dinner chatter and such separating the two, Kevin stood up at the head of the table, Jess right beside him.
"Ok, so I had mom and dad and all of you come here because I - well, we - have something very special that we would like to tell you." he said, putting an arm around Jess and pausing for dramatic effect.
"Well?" Joe interrupted. "C'mon! Do you have a terminal illness, did you get a puppy, what?!"
"Shh," Liv said, shushing him - but she was struggling to contain a smile. "Be patient for once in your life, alright?"
Joe exaggeratedly zipped his lips, miming dropping the key down the front of Liv's shirt. She rolled her eyes, glad the attention had moved off of them.
"Well, what I was going to say before Joseph so characteristically interrupted us was," Kevin paused again, "we're having a baby!"
"WOO!" Joe yelled, giving his brother a high five. "Way to go, Kev!"
Everyone gathered around them, asking various questions and hugging the couple, everyone trying to get in a word edgewise. Kevin wisely decided that they should move to the living room, where the space was more open.
"Now's your chance." Liv said, squeezing Joe's hand before following the others into the living room. Soon, it was just Joe and Miley.
"Hey, Miley?" he asked hesitantly. She looked to him, her guard clearly up.
"Yes?" she asked shortly.
"Do you think I could talk to you real quick?" he asked. She looked at him, trying to determine his intentions.
"I suppose." she said, gathering the dishes in order to have something to do with her hands. Joe jumped onto the island, motioning for Miley to join him. She chose to lean against the sink opposite of him.
"Ok, so I've been wanting to talk to you for a while about this," he said, looking at his hands and playing with his ring. "but we both know that I can be pretty stubborn." he finished. She crossed her arms, nodding enthusiastically.
"It's just..." he struggled for words. "I'm really sorry, for everything. I've just been having problems with the idea of you and Nick getting married. I mean, Kevin got married a few months ago and is having a freakin' child, now you two are getting married and...I just feel like I'm a little lost in life, you know? We've always been a little competitive, and now I'm completely out of the race or something..."
She nodded again, her face softening slightly.
"I mean, I always thought I would get married before him," he continued, still looking at his hands. "cause I'm older and all. I suppose I'm just a little jealous, cause my life isn't all planned out. I have no idea what's going to happen between me and Liv - I mean, I know what I want to happen, but..." he paused. "You two just have everything so...so solid. And it's hard to see you guys have everything so put together when I'm just fumbling around in the dark."
"It'll all come together for you, Joe." Miley said, trying to comfort him. "Even if it's not with Liv, you'll catch up, so to speak. But I mean, no matter how bad you're feeling, you can't take it out on me."
Joe vaguely remembered Liv saying something kind of similar. "I know, I'm sorry. It just seems like you're the easiest target?" he offered, kind of half laughing.
Miley shrugged. "Yea, it's always been like that. But seriously, Joe, I'm running out of patience." she said bluntly.
"I know." he said, nodding fervently. "I'm really gonna work on it, for real. Plus, Nick kind of threatened to kill me, so living is always a good motivation..."
"He can be a little protective..." Miley said, laughing softly.
"And I can understand why - I do the same thing with Liv...it's what you do for the people you love." he said, more to himself than to Miley.
"You really love her, don't you?" she asked quietly.
"A lot." he said.
Miley laughed, shaking her head. "When you first met her, I never thought it was going to last this long. And I wouldn't have said that you would've fallen this hard for her, or even have a relationship like this."
"You wanna know a secret?" Joe asked rhetorically. "I didn't think I could either. I mean, I had convinced myself like five million billion fufillion (2) times that she was going to dump me. But amazingly, she's stuck by the whole time."
"It's gonna work out for you, Joe." Miley assured him. "Don't worry."
Before Joe could respond, Nick walked into the kitchen, effectively breaking their serious conversation.
"I didn't hear screaming, so I took that as a good sign." he said. "Although I was afraid someone was being smothered with a dish towel or something."
"No, no bloodshed or anything." Miley said, greeting him with a kiss.
"Yea, we're all good. Anyway, I'll leave you to your woman - mine is probably wondering where I am." Joe said, hopping off the island.
"Actually, your woman is enjoying herself cause she doesn't have to babysit you!" Nick teased. Joe, ever the more mature older brother, stuck out his tongue.
"Oh, and for the record," Joe said, talking with Miley again. "I'm sorry for calling you Yoko-freaking-Ono."
Miley got a curious look on her face. "You never called me Yoko-freaking-Ono." she said.
"Oh. Nevermind then! Forget I said anything!" Joe responded, ducking out and going back into the living room with the others. Liv could see on his face that everything worked out well, and laced her fingers in his as he jumped into the baby conversation.
Later that night, Joe went back to Liv's apartment with her. It was a warm night, so they grabbed a couple drinks and headed up to the roof, feeling reminiscent of the New Year's all those years ago. They stood at the edge, resting their forearms on the wall that protected them from falling off.
"So?" she asked, looking at him. "How did it go?"
"We're good to go, I think." he said, looking out to the horizon. "I mean, she didn't kill me, so that's a good sign."
Liv laughed. "Yea, that's a pretty good sign there." she said. They fell silent, looking out together, their elbows the only part of their body touching.
"Do you think we'll ever get married?" Joe asked quietly, turning to Liv. She looked to him, a thoughtful look on her face.
"I'd like to think so." she responded, cocking her head to the side with a smile. Joe smiled back, his heart doing that odd cha cha slide-macarena combination.
"Me too." he responded.
"I don't think we're ready quite yet, but it's pretty darn close." Liv said, bumping him with her hip.
"Just promise me it won't be when we're like a hundred and twelve years old and I'm proposing off of my death bed." Joe said. He was excited beyond belief. He had been kind of playing with the thought of marriage with Liv, and he had to admit that he quite liked the idea. Actually saying out loud to her made it that much better.
A couple months later, after Miley and Nick's wedding had come, partied, and gone, Joe was wandering the house, looking for his mom. He knew in his heart that it was the right time, but a little bit of Mama Jonas advice could never hurt!
"Mommy!?" he called. "MOMMA!"
"What is it, Joseph?" Mrs. Jonas asked, rushing out of a room. Joe was suddenly a little nervous.
"Can I talk with you?" he asked. She looked at him oddly.
"Of course, hun, let's sit." she said, leading him over to the couch. "What's on your mind?"
"It's just...what do you think of Olivia?" he asked, stalling just a little bit.
Mrs. Jonas sighed - she so knew what was going on. "Honey, what are you really asking?"
"I guess...I mean, I want your approval for me to ask Liv to marry me." he said. Mrs. Jonas smiled.
"I think," she said slowly. "that Olivia would make an excellent addition to our family."
Joe breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, mom."
"No problem, dear." Mrs. Jonas said, patting her son's hand affectionately. Joe then went on to phase two of Operation: Wed Liv - he had to go talk to Linda, and the substitute of Liv's father, Tyler. Joe called Linda, basically having to make an appointment after assuring her that nothing was wrong with Olivia. He met her and Tyler at their home, which was still next door to Miley's dad.
"So, Joe, what did you need to see me for?" Linda asked, a bright/suspecting smile on her face. Tyler, who was now about twelve or so, simply sat and stared at Joe.
"I was wondering..." Joe began, then tried to switch and sound more grown up. "I mean, Mrs. Haddocks, I love Olivia more than I ever thought was possible to love someone, and I was hoping that you would give me your blessing for me to ask her to marry me." he said, all in one breath. He wasn't sure he quite made complete sense or that his grammar was completely correct, but Linda still got the message. She sighed, her eyes adopting a dreamy look as she stared beyond Joe and out the window.
"I remember when you first came here." she said as Tyler rolled his eyes. "You were coming to help Olivia run all her errands, remember?"
"Like it was five and a half minutes ago." Joe responded.
"I remember that I was so relieved that someone was going to be helping her out that day...we were still so disorganized and so much was going on...What I'm getting at, Joe, is that you have been there for her when I have been unable to, and helped her in ways that I can't and in ways that I'm not supposed to."
"...So is that a yes?" he asked, a little confused. Linda laughed.
"Yes, you have my blessing." she said. Joe grasped her hand.
"Thank you so much." he said. He was interrupted before he could continue.
"Hey! Isn't anyone going to ask me?" Tyler asked with a bit of attitude.
"Tyler, can I marry your sister?" Joe asked the boy. Tyler shrugged.
"Sure." he responded. Linda laughed again, shaking her head.
"Thank you for asking, Joe - it means a lot." she said. "Now, go propose to my daughter or I'll have to do it for you."
Joe smiled at the woman. "I'll jump on it then!" he said, shaking her hand once again and taking his leave. He was certainly very glad that Linda had given him her blessing - after all, he had bought the ring a few days before and he wasn't quite sure the return policy on it. He called Liv, setting up a date for that evening. He told her to dress nice, this was a "special occasion."
That evening, they met out on the boardwalk, Olivia dressed in a flowy white summer dress, Joe in his shirt and tie. Was she psychic, perhaps?
"So?" she asked after greeting him with a kiss.
"So what?" he responded with a smile. His insides were squirming.
"What's the special occasion?" she asked. He shrugged.
"I guess it's not really an occasion, per say." he said, and paused for a few minutes. "Did I ever tell you that no one really expected this?"
"Expected what?" she asked curiously.
"Us. Like seriously, I think Kevin and Nick were betting on how long it would take before I screwed everything up."
"But you didn't." Liv said happily, kissing him. "So where are you going with this?"
"Well..." he paused again, unsure where to go from here. "Do you realize where we are?"
She looked around her, and he could tell that she had an idea of where they were, but wasn't sure enough to answer. "Kind of..." she said.
Joe smiled brightly. "This is where we came on our Valentine's date." he said as they rested against the rails of the boardwalk. The sun was on it's decent, almost touching the horizon, which cast a golden glow on everything around them. She looked again and gasped, bursting into laughter.
"Oh my gosh, it is, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically. "Goodness, it looks so different in the daylight! But why would you want to come here?" she asked, looking at him oddly. "I mean, it's a beautiful spot and everything, but..."
"Well, this was where we had our first official date as boyfriend and girlfriend." Joe said. "And I guess it'll hold special significance in the future." OH he was good!
She cocked her head to the side, smiling. "Really? And what will it signify?"
"This." Joe said, reaching behind her head and kissing her passionately, trying to convey the entirety of his love in those few moments. When he pulled back, he looked strait into her brilliant blue eyes, which were sparkling in the setting sun, and dropped down to one knee. She covered her mouth with her hands as he pulled out the ring.
"Will you marry me?"
X-X-X-X-X
(1) - Word on the street is that the Beatles broke up because John Lennon married Yoko Ono.
(2) - From Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies. He asks for one million billion fufillion dollars.
hahhahahaha ok i'm sorry i'm leaving you hanging! but seriously, does anyone really not know what's going to happen? that's what i thought. as always, leave love and ideas of anything you want to see! peace out!