April 2013
Standing outside his locker for his midday wardrobe adjustment, Jeff taps one finger against his chin in consideration of the garment hanging inside. It's a tricky decision because he always looks so damn good in everything. Really, it's a curse.
"The gray one, definitely the gray," Annie says out of nowhere, smile playful, her fingers anchored around the straps of her backpack. "The blue just isn't working."
"Hmm. I'm not sure about that," Jeff tells her, leaning up against the lockers beside his own. "We both know what happens when I wear the blue shirt, don't we?"
"That was one time and you were just as impatient to get the shirt off as I was. Besides, I sewed the buttons back on," she says, and slides her hand along the strip of buttons down his chest. "It looks as good as new. The same can't be said about my..." She glances around the hallway before whispering, "Panties. You still owe me a new pair."
"But Annie, you were just as impatient to get the panties off as I was."
"Well, then, I guess we're at an impasse."
His head shakes softly. "Dammit, we just can't agree on anything."
"I know," she agrees. "How are we even still together? It's illogical."
"Completely."
Jeff can't fight the grin anymore and allows it to span his cheeks until they hurt, his pulse quickening as Annie matches it, beam for beam.
"Come here," he murmurs.
She treads closer until he can feel her breasts pressing against his chest, the view from his height more than pleasing. Her backpack falls to the floor with a thud once he pushes it off her shoulders, his hands eager to explore the dip of her waist and the slight curve of her hips and ass.
She's wearing one of her tiny floral skirts today and he's honestly been struggling to keep his hands to himself for the better part of the morning, needing to touch that strip of skin where the hem of her skirt hits her thighs. His hands and felt desperate with it.
"Hi," Annie whispers, meeting his eye intently.
Jeff brushes some hair away from her face, unable to take his eyes off her as he tugs on a loose curl and lets it spring back. "Hey."
"Kiss me."
"Would you look at that? We agree on something."
He smiles as he ducks down and she stretches up, their lips meeting halfway. Soon everything slips beyond the awareness of glossy lips and hot tongues and the feel of Annie's hair soft beneath his fingertips. Annie hums with pleasure, that same low throated moan she makes when she's turned on, but thoughts of quick routes to storage closets are shaken by a loud and stilted cough, and they both freeze with recognition.
Wrenching his mouth away, Jeff looks along the hallway, though his head snaps back quickly.
"Crap. Shirley's giving me the level five evil death stare again. Bazinga, Annie, bazinga!"
Annie rolls her eyes, discreetly trying to thumb away his kiss from her mouth. "You can't use our safe word to save you from being looked at, Jeff. I don't think it works like that."
"Excuse me but I think if anyone could kill someone by looking at them, it'd be Shirley. And you, probably, because you're pretty committed in everything you do." Jeff clears his throat once, twice, three times. "Seriously, Annie, my throat feels really tight. It's like her hands are mentally squeezing the life out of me."
"Oh, don't be so ridiculous. That's just anxiety."
She watches as he rubs his neck and throat like there's something caught there, follows his line of sight to where Shirley disappeared along the hallway, and huffs an annoyed breath.
"I've had enough of this," she says. "I'll talk to her."
"No, if anyone talks to Shirley, it should be me," Jeff insists, even though he'd rather not. "That's probably the reason she's so mad because I didn't confide in her. That and, you know, I'm defiling the youngest member of our group. I'm basically screwed on all levels."
Sliding her hands into the back pockets of his jeans, Annie cups his ass and tugs his body flush against hers so they're standing snugly, hip to hip.
"But Jeff, I want you to defile me," she says on a whispery breath, and giggles at his expression.
"You're turning me on when I'm about to go talk to Shirley? Seriously?"
Chang…Leonard…Pierce…Chang…
"You're too easy," Annie teases with a smile. "Look, I've got to go. Annie Kim will steal my front seat if I don't hurry to class."
"But what do I say to Shirley? How do I even begin to handle this?"
"Tell her what we talked about last week. Tell her the truth. You're her friend and you're Jeff Winger. You can Winger your way out of this. I believe in you."
Jeff rolls his head to one side, expression unconvinced. "Inspiring, Annie. Really."
"I know, right? I'll see you at lunch."
With a quick kiss to his lips, Annie dips to grab her backpack before running through the students swarming the hallway trying to get to class, leaving Jeff alone, flooded by her lingering scent and filled with anxiety.
Once the crowd around him has thinned to a level he can deal with, Jeff glances at his watch.
He doesn't have a class right now and his free period is usually an hour he spends with Shirley, sharing gossip over cups of coffee before everyone else arrives for lunch. But the last couple of weeks have been noticeably different.
Before he can talk himself out of it, Jeff slams his locker shut with a metal clunk of finality and heads to the cafeteria.
Sure enough, Shirley's hovering by the line at the coffee machine as usual, staring at the Dean with a mixture of confusion and disgust as he hops between the tables. He's wearing a soft pink bunny costume with oversized ears and a small basket hooked over the crook of his arm as he hands out flyers for the Easter 'Hop' dance.
"Jeffrey!" The Dean lights up, delighted at the sight of him. "Will you be 'hopping' on over to our -"
"Not now, Dean."
Jeff pushes the disheartened look on Craig's face to the back of his mind and wanders over to Shirley, his footsteps cautious of the fate that awaits him.
Shirley seems to have noticed him as she's gripping her purse tightly and looking around with feigned interest of everything but his face.
"So…" Jeff comes to a halt and stuffs his hands into his jean pockets. "I missed you at Señor Kevin's last week. I gotta say, I haven't been stood up in quite some time. Oh wait. I've never been stood up. Ever. Congratulations on being my first. I feel like I should buy you something to celebrate. How about some rope to strangle me with? Or a knife to cut off my balls?"
"Jeffrey!"
"Oh, I'm sorry Shirley. Was that inappropriate? Inaccurate? Because I don't think so."
Shirley fusses with the zip of her purse, trying not to look at him still. "I'm sorry but I was busy. I have three children and a husband and -"
"A huge problem with me and Annie. I get it." He scrubs a palm down the scruff of his jaw. "Look, I'm sorry I never told you about us. I was wrong to hide it from you."
"Mmmhmm."
"But we just…wanted time on our own, you know, to see if we could work together… as a…couple."
Jeff winces, the words feeling awkward in his mouth, and he wonders if she'll realize he's just repeating Annie verbatim. He sighs heavily at her non response.
"Shirley, you're just gonna have to let this one go," he tells her finally. "I'm with Annie and that's not going to change."
"I can see that, Jeffrey. It doesn't mean I have to like it."
"True. But you accept things about your friends, even the stuff you don't like it. Because, let's face it, I could say plenty about Andre and the fact that you took him back after everything he did to you and all the pain he caused. Hey, let's call Britta! I'm sure she'd love the chance to unleash everything she feels about your husband. But we don't because we care about you and if he's what you want, then who are we to say any different? Your relationship is none of our business."
"And Annie's what you want?" Shirley asks him firmly, instantly. "You're not just doing this to satisfy your curiosity or scratch an itch?"
"Do you really think I'd be in this if I didn't want to be? Come on Shirley. Really? You know me."
She hitches her purse strap higher on her shoulder. "I don't want to see her get hurt."
"That's what this is about?"
"You know I'm all about the sisterhood, Jeffrey."
Jeff exhales heavily, feeling tired all of a sudden. "Look, I think if anyone was going to get hurt, it'd be me." At the sound of her tiny gasp his eyes widen in a panic and he hurries to add, "Don't tell anyone I said that."
Hands clasped together against her chest, she watches him silently and Jeff's pulse quickens with every passing minute.
"Oh, Jeffrey! You love her?"
He fingers the collar of his shirt, uncomfortable suddenly, and realizes Annie had a point. This blue shirt just wasn't working. It actually feels pretty suffocating right now.
"Yes," he admits, begrudgingly. "But can we change the subject now because you're making me uncomfortable and that's saying something because we're in the presence of the Dean."
"Okay." Shirley pulls him down for a hug, one hand patting his back softly. When they pull apart, she searches his face with interest. "Are you happy Jeffrey?"
"Yeah… I…" He nods dazedly, as though he's only just figured it out because the truth is no one's ever actually asked him that before, not once, and the feeling sort of bursts warm inside him. "I really am."
"That's nice."
"So…" He studies her cautiously for a moment. "Are we good?"
"It will take a little getting used to but yes. Don't think this is an invitation to start doing ungodly things in front of me. No one wants to see that."
They share a smile, soft and kind of goofy, and Shirley gives him a quick consenting nod that finally unleashes the tightness in his throat, like he can breathe easy again.
"You get the coffee," she says. "I'll get our seats."
It's the first thing Jeff does when he reaches his car – flip down the sun visor to stare at the business card tucked there, the one Annie gave him for Christmas. He traces the lettering again, the way he did all those months ago, and feels a frisson of excitement at all the possibilities now. The potential.
Unable to wipe the grin off his face, he switches on the radio and pulls out of the parking lot in downtown Denver, thumbs tapping the wheel with every beat. Not even the heavy rush-hour traffic en route to Greendale can kill his good mood. He feels like singing until his lungs empty and his ears bleed. He'd probably even hug Leonard if he was around.
There is only one person he wants to share his mood with and he finally knocks on her apartment door thirty minutes later.
"IT'S OPEN!"
Jeff wanders inside finding Annie alone, sitting cross-legged in one of the recliners with a bowl of popcorn perched in her lap.
"Annie, what have I told you? When you're alone you can't just say "it's open" without checking who it is first. In this neighborhood I could have been an axe murderer or something."
"Psssh. I knew it was you," she dismisses, her hand a careless flutter. "Besides, I lived above Dildopolis and had to deal with Spaghetti on a daily basis for years. I can handle myself. I have a gun, Jeff. Now shush!"
Jeff moves to the spare recliner, touching Annie's hair softly as he passes. "You own a gun? Why am I just finding out about this? Did you ever need to use it?"
Annie huffs, making an exaggerated show of pressing pause on the remote, and the screen freezes on Nathan Fillion's face. "Jeff, I love you but seriously? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something here?"
"No," he chuckles. "Middle of what?"
"Castle. I'm using my study break to catch up because the guys never let me watch it. Something about heartache over Firefly and a grieving process and it being too soon to watch Captain Malcolm Reynolds in anything else? I don't know. The point is, this is the only chance I'll get to watch it."
"But I'm here now and I look so good and you haven't even noticed," Jeff whines a little, though he's smiling.
Annie finally looks at him properly in his dark blue suit, the matching navy tie. "You do look smart."
"Just smart?"
"I would say handsome but you'd just accuse me of stating the obvious."
"That's true," he laughs softly, drawing her hand up to his mouth for a kiss, his thumb brushing delicate circles over the same spot.
Annie smiles tenderly as she weaves their fingers together. "Is there a particular reason you came over here looking good enough to eat?" she asks.
Jeff grins at that, the way he always does when anyone compliments him but especially Annie.
"I just got back from my meeting with Ted," he says.
"What? When? Why?"
"There are five W's, Annie. You missed two."
"Jeff!" Annie shoves the bowl of popcorn on the floor, ignoring the tumble of puffed kernels and their bid for escape, and turns to face him, smacking his arm lightly. "You didn't tell me you were meeting Ted!"
"I didn't want to say anything in case it fell apart." He studies their linked hands as he swirls soft patterns there with his fingertip. "I didn't tell anyone this but it wasn't guaranteed that I'd go back to Ted's firm after graduation."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I only made a deal with the Colorado state bar, not with Ted. So I think he was testing me with the consultancy job and it looks like I passed, what with carrying Alan's weight last summer. I think my old acquittal rate helped too."
"So…" Annie examines the edge of the recliner where her fingers pinch and pull the fabric. "You won't be going out of state to a new firm?"
It feels ridiculous for his heart to race at the sound of hope in her voice but he's come to learn how much Annie's love for him really matters, how important it is that she wants him around. When their eyes finally meet, he unleashes the smile he's been holding since he walked inside.
"All being well, I should be back at the firm by September. I've just got to, you know, graduate and retake the bar exam in July to get my license. But if I do that, I'm in."
"Oh my god, Jeff!" she squeals, tugging on his tie to lure him to her lips.
Annie's delight is contagious because Jeff can't stop grinning and they smile against each other's mouth and laugh through every kiss.
"I knew you could do it," she says, and the pride in her voice is unmistakable. "Let's go out to celebrate!"
"What's this? Annie Edison wilfully interrupts her study schedule?"
"Well, we all need a break and this news needs toasting!"
"I've taught you well," Jeff says with a grin but then he grows a little hesitant and serious for a second. "You're not going to cry are you?"
She smiles at him with shiny eyes. "I'm just so proud of you, Jeff. Oh my god, I could burst!"
"Please don't. This is my favorite suit."
Her hand flies out to thump his chest and Jeff uses the opportunity to tug her into his lap, needing her closer. It's a tight fit in the recliner but Annie adapts to the position quickly, one knee planted either side of his hips, palms flat against his chest.
"Listen." He holds her chin in a pinch, while his fingertips trace a soft line from her temple to cheekbone. "I couldn't have done it without your support, and I'm not just talking about stealing your double-spaced notes. Okay?"
Annie nods, a stray tear rolling down her cheek which Jeff quickly thumbs away. Pressing their foreheads together, they sit for a few minutes just staring and smiling, cross-eyed from their closeness until Annie pulls away, trailing her fingers down the length of his tie.
"Let me put on a fancy dress for my handsome soon-to-be-Lawyer boyfriend and we'll go out. I'll be five minutes."
She punctuates her promise with a smacking kiss to his lips and climbs off his lap, squealing and jumping in surprise when Jeff smacks her ass. She shoots him a naughty grin and hurries into her bedroom and Jeff spends a full minute grinning goofily at her door.
True to her word, Annie reappears five minutes later; a slick of gloss on rose-bud lips and a gold purse tucked under her arm. She's wearing a short red cocktail dress that Jeff knows would look great on his bedroom floor and he decides to make that his reward by the end of the night, his blood pumping harder at the thought.
"You look beautiful." Jeff smiles at her flushed cheeks and reaches for her hand. "Shall we?"
An hour later, Jeff sits in a dark booth in the same bar he frequented with Alan last June.
It's low-lighted and smoky and the leather seat squeaks as he stretches one arm along the back of the booth to get comfortable, his free hand playing with the last drop of scotch rolling around the glass.
Annie walks across from the bar then, and Jeff follows the sensual sway of her hips as she weaves between stools and tables. She's too busy watching her hazardous path on the floor and trying not to spill their drinks to notice the men around her and the way they're watching her, and Jeff can't help the flare of possessiveness and pride he feels at their obvious appreciation for his Annie.
His and only his.
"What are you smiling at?"
Annie slips back into the seat, shuffling closer to his body until they're pressed thigh against thigh. His arm falls from the back of the booth to cradle her shoulder and he can feel the warmth of her skin through his pants, so close but not close enough.
"Just congratulating myself," he says, and knocks back the rest of his drink.
"Aww, you should!" She strokes and pats his thigh softly. "You've worked really hard."
He huffs a laugh at that. "I've not worked hard at all, Annie. C'mon."
She swirls her straw around her drink, the action tinkling the ice cubes against the glass. "Okay, fair point. But for your minimal effort you will have a degree so you can finally be a lawyer for real. For that you should be proud, I guess."
"Oh, I am. But I was actually congratulating myself on my hot girlfriend. And while most guys here would love to take you home, it's my bed you'll be in tonight. Now that's reason enough to be proud."
"Ew. I'm not some prize, Jeff. You're lucky Britta's not here yet. She'd rant about all the things that were wrong with – wait, why isn't anyone else here yet?"
"I didn't text them," Jeff says with a shrug.
"But I thought you wanted to celebrate."
"That's exactly what I'm doing. See?" He wiggles his glass with one hand and squeezes her shoulder with the other. "Alcohol plus hot woman equals celebration. My kind of math."
Annie rolls her eyes and starts digging around in her purse. "I'll text them then. Everyone would want to celebrate this with you. It's a big deal."
Jeff grabs her wrist. "Can't a guy just spend some time with his girlfriend, alone? I've hardly seen you this week. There's something wrong when Castle gets a scheduled study break but I don't."
"Wait." Annie places her glass on the table with a clink and shuffles sideways, away from his embrace. "You're jealous? You're jealous of a TV character?"
"Psssh. No. I just think it's strange that you have a study break to drool over Castle but not me. That's not jealousy. That's just speculating. I'm speculating as to why Nathan whatever-his-name-is ranks higher than me."
Annie plays with one of his trademark smirks as she toys with his tie. "You want me to drool over you?"
"I don't know how you don't drool over me to be honest. Let's face it, Annie, I'm drool-worthy. Look at me."
She giggles and shifts closer. "I shouldn't encourage this but you are. You totally are."
She draws him to her mouth and their lips meet slow and seeking. She swallows his husky growl as her hand slides up his chest, moving under the lapels of his jacket to where his body heat radiates through his shirt. Annie moans into his mouth and it's all Jeff can do not to drag her onto his lap and do things to her, many dirty things. His fingers tighten on her knee and he's just starting to tug her leg over his when she wrenches her mouth away, slightly breathless.
"You taste like scotch." Annie licks her lips as she wipes the remnants of tinted gloss from his smiling mouth. "I'm sorry we've not spent much time together this week. But I've got my first final next week and you know how important that is."
"I do, considering I'm taking it too but whatever."
"Plus, you know, you went to the movies with Abed and had dinner with Shirley, oh and drinks with Britta. It's not just me."
"I know," he says, and caresses her knee softly. "Look, it's weird because I'm not usually one for thinking about this kind of stuff, but meeting Ted and being so close to graduation is making me realize how little time we have left just us."
Her brow furrows. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on, Annie. You're going to be flouncing off to some fancy law school pretty soon."
"I thought you compartmentalized that kind of stuff."
He sighs. "I knew that would come back to bite me in the ass," he mutters.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just. I haven't mentioned law school because you get pretty upset whenever I do."
He can't argue there. The last time Annie approached the subject he actually stuck his fingers in his ears and left her bedroom. Sometimes he still can't believe he watched Inspector Spacetime with Abed instead of having sex with his girlfriend – especially hot in her bed because it became a game of how quiet they could be, and he loves winning games and sex and winning all the sex.
Jeff shrugs. "Yeah, well, with good reason."
"Yes, I know but. Okay." Annie sits straight, pausing to lick her lips. "I have something to tell you," she says carefully.
Jeff frowns at the sudden seriousness on her face and the formality of her hands folded in her lap and has to beat down the flicker of panic rising in his gut but shit, he started this conversation.
"Okay..."
"Yesterday I mailed my acceptance letter to the University of Colorado."
His eyes widen at that because whatever he expected her to say, it wasn't that. "What happened to Stanford?" he asks.
"Well, a few things. I didn't get the scholarship I applied for -"
"Annie…"
"No, it's okay, really it is, and I'm not just trying to convince myself either. I was a little upset but these things happen don't they? Sometimes we have to make sacrifices and I've made mine."
"I don't know what to say." Jeff doesn't think he's ever felt so shitty and ecstatically happy all at once. "I'm sorry. Stanford doesn't deserve you."
Annie smiles, her whole face softening. "It's okay. Colorado is still ranked as one of the best law schools in the country and has cheaper tuition and I'll be close to my family. I know I'd be fine in California but to tell you the truth, I don't actually want to be without everyone."
Her sentiment hangs in the air between them. Jeff tries to spot her 'tell' that she's lying but finds nothing, and reaches for her hand.
"Come here."
He wraps one arm around her again, brushing her shoulder in comforting strokes, and she sinks into him with a soothed sigh, her hand smoothing under his jacket. Just like always when she's as close as this, he's filled with the scent of her perfume, delicate and summery and so very Annie.
"Are you sure about this, Annie?"
"Yes. I really am," she says, and the certainty in her voice is what settles him. "I'm actually quite excited because now I can start planning and making lists! Semester starts at the end of August and there's just so much to do before then!"
He chuckles. "You're not going to hate me for being happy about this are you?"
"I could never hate you," she hums quietly, kissing the underside of his jaw.
"In that case, I'm really fucking happy about this." He grins wide, slipping his hand under the hem of her dress to caress the length of her thigh. "So…you'll be in Boulder. That's what, 40 minutes away?"
"Even less in a Lexus, if I had to guess."
"Well, what do you know? That's my car."
"See?" she says, smile the softest he's ever seen. "It's a sign."
