Chapter 11: I Believe in Love

Rated M due to language, violence and/or adult subject matter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Titans, the Dixie Chicks or any lyrics.

"I made … / … we'd wait … / … never compromise / … morning light" – I Believe in Love, Dixie Chicks

Jason and Rachel entered his apartment. "Glad to have your cast off?"

She sighed, "I was sick of it being in the way and the doctor's visits. You have no idea how hard it was to wash my hair one-handed. On more than one occasion I thought of chopping it all off." She thought, 'Dad's been nice to me. Wonder if that'll change now that the cast is gone?'

"Well I'm glad you didn't cut it. I like your long hair; it's super sexy." He flashed a smile and she rolled her eyes. "What'd you wanna do? Mom's not gonna be home for few hours."

Rachel shrugged, "I don't know, go to the bookstore?"

"I love watching you read but the last time we went there it took three hours. I can't do that again."

"It wasn't that long."

Jason said, "No, you're right. It was more like four hours."

She threw a pillow at him. "Well then what do you suggest we do if you don't like my idea?"

"We could …um …er …I dunno …" stammered Jason as he tried to think of something they could do.

Rachel picked up a magazine and sat on the sofa. "Good to see you have a long list of ideas.

Jason flopped down on the sofa next Rachel and turned the TV. He flipped through the channels. Nothing good was on. Rachel had slouched on the sofa, flipping through a magazine. She wondered, "How can there be a million channels and still there's nothing on?"

He looked down at Rachel. He got an idea. "Are you ticklish?"

"No." She continued through the magazine, not noticing his mischievous grin.

Jason said, "I think everyone's a little ticklish."

"Well I'm not."

"Bet you are." He began tickling her. Rachel tried to block him with the magazine. Jason grabbed the magazine and tossed it aside. She playfully pushed him away. He kept tickling her. She tried to tickle him back. He grasped her wrists to stop her from tickling him. Holding Rachel's wrists, he had stopped tickling her.

They were both a little breathless from laughing. It took them a moment to realize that Rachel was now underneath him on the sofa. Jason thought she looked hot laying under him. Letting go of her wrists, Jason leaned down, careful not to put all his weight on her. He captured her lips with his.

The kiss deepened and Rachel ran her fingers through his hair. Jason cautiously ran his hands along her body. She didn't object, she kissed him with more passion. He caressed her body causing her to moan softly.

As he kissed her neck, she slid her hands under Jason's shirt. Her touch caused him to moan. He loved the feel of her cool, thin fingers on his skin. Jason placed his hand on her bare waist.

Rachel shifted some, allowing Jason to settle between her legs. She bit her lip trying to contain another moan. Even through they both had jeans on, it still felt tantalizing. Rachel was fascinated by how it felt having the weight of Jason pressing against her body.

She felt the warmth building in her core. Rachel had never felt anything like that. Of course she'd read books or seen movies that made such sensations stir. But it was different having your boyfriend start those sensations. She pressed her body against his, making them both moan.

They'd never gone that far, they'd only kissed and touched some though clothing. Jason questioned her, "Are you sure?" Caught up in passion, Rachel answered him by pulling him to her and kissing him readily.

Jason pealed off his shirt. She thought he looked super hot without a shirt on. She'd never been that close to a guy. Rachel blushed, realizing Jason noticed her starring at him.

He unbuttoned Rachel's shirt, exposing her bra. She was thankful there were no bruises. Rachel's blush deepened as Jason studied at her. She couldn't help wondering if she looked all right. Did he liked what he saw?

Again, he captured her lips eagerly. They kissed with increasing passion. He slid his hands along her bare skin, causing her shiver. When Jason slid his hand along her bra he felt her hesitate. He asked "Wanna stop?"

Jason brushed a stray strand of hair off of Rachel's forehead. He watched her struggle with her emotions. He saw a mixture desire and fear in her eyes. He suspected she was a virgin since he was her first boyfriend. Jason didn't want to rush her. He didn't want to make her do something she'd regret later.

Rachel never thought she'd have sex so young because she didn't think she'd have a boyfriend until much later. She didn't expect to have a boyfriend until she was a senior. She was all right with that. She didn't even mind waiting until she was in college. Rachel realized that might have made her strange but she didn't care.

Rachel knew she had wanted to wait longer before having sex. At least, that was the plan. But it wasn't because she thought premarital sex was wrong. And it wasn't because she thought her virtue was so precious. Even though she thought she was fairly mature, she knew she was naïve when it came to love. But she was smart enough to know she shouldn't sleep with the first guy who said he cared about her.

With the decision to wait firmly planted in her mind, Rachel couldn't believe she was doing this. She closed her eyes, 'He likes me, he wants me, God knows why, but he does. Damn it Rachel, forget emotions, stop thinking and just go with how amazing his touch feels. No emotions, no thinking, just feel. Feel Jason's love for me. ' She slightly shook her head no, she didn't want to stop.

Seizing Rachel's lips in another fiery kiss, Jason slid his hands along her body. He cupped her bra-covered breasts. She practically purred at his touch. Jason's lips traveled down Rachel's neck. A soft moan escaped her lips. She tangled her fingers in his hair. Jason left a trail of kisses down to the valley between her breasts, he made her moan again.

She could feel how hard he was. Rachel was astounded that she could make a guy feel like that, that she could turn him on so much. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like when they made love. Just the thought of that made Rachel's face redden.

'I'm really going to do this? Am I really ready? I, I, we shouldn't …Oh, but his touch …God, it feels so good. He definitely knows what to do. He's probably had plenty of practice. Wait, that means he's been with other girls. Protection. We can't do this without protection.' As if he was reading her mind, Jason pulled a condom from his pocket. Rachel smiled up at her boyfriend, 'Finally, I get to know what it's like to be loved.'

Jason's hands traveled down her body as they kissed. Rachel shuddered at his touch. He unbuttoned her jeans. He slipped his hands under her waistbands of both her jeans and panties. He started sliding them down. Rachel's breath caught in her throat when her clothes got to her hips. Another few inches and she'd be seen as she's never been seen before. Rachel felt her face turning red at that thought. She was about to make love to her boyfriend.

A car door slammed nearby. They froze. Could his mom be home early? Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, they hastily scrambled to put on their clothes on and adjusted.

When Debbie entered the living room, the two were sitting on the sofa, staring at the TV. She noticed their flushed faces and rumpled clothing, but she said nothing. She went to her room to change out of her work clothes. Jason and Rachel's eyes followed her to her room.

Leaning against her bedroom door, she wondered what she would've walked in on if she were a few minutes later. She said to herself, "They're going too fast. They just started dating a little over a month ago. God, if he doesn't slow down I'll be a grandmother before he graduates."

When she went back into the living room Debbie noticed the two have been watching her door but they quickly turned to the TV. Debbie went into the kitchen. She felt two pairs of eyes on her. Rachel whispered to Jason, "Do you think she knows what we were doing?" Jason just shrugged his shoulders.

Debbie called out from the kitchen, "Jason, we're out of milk. Would you go get some?"

Entering the kitchen with Rachel, he said, "I can get some later when I drop off Rachel."

"I need it for supper tonight."

Jason sighed, "Fine, guess I can drop Rachel off now."

"Aren't you staying for dinner, Rachel?"

"Yeah, I was, but …"

"Great, Rachel can stay here and help me get things started. And you can go get the milk." Jason and Rachel eyed each other. What if she knew what they were doing? As Jason grabbed his keys, Debbie called out, "Oh, get some toilet paper too." The two females in the kitchen heard his groan as he left.

Rachel smiled nervously at Debbie when the older woman looked her way. "Are you sure you want me to help? I've been taking some cooking lessons with Vic's grandmother but it's gonna take a long time before I make anything edible."

Debbie said, "I'm sure you're not that bad."

"I, um, I was finally able to boil water without burning the pan."

"You burned water?"

Rachel smiled sheepishly, "Well, I kinda forgot about it and the pan burned dry. I keep making stupid mistakes like that."

"You can peel potatoes, right?" Rachel nodded. "Good, you start those and I'll get the chicken started."

They worked in silence a few minutes. "So, you and Jason seem to be getting along okay."

Rachel nodded, "Yeah, I kinda feel like I can be myself around him. I dunno, I'm not always so guarded, I guess."

"I'm glad you can be open around my son. I just want you two to make sure you're not taking things too fast." Rachel wondered, 'Does she know?' Debbie laughed slightly, "I remember what it was like in high school. I remember there was a time when I had a new boyfriend every few weeks."

"I don't think I'll have a lot of boyfriends. Actually, I'm kinda surprised Jason likes me like that."

"I don't know why you're surprised; you're pretty, nice and smart. However, you're right. You're probably different than I was. You'll probably a few meaningful relationships instead of several flippant ones like me." Debbie got a distant look on her face. "You know, I still remember how thrilling my first time was, I must've been about your age. After that, I think I was with every one of my boyfriends."

"Um, uh, n-nothing like that will happen with us. We're not going to do anything," Rachel said but thought, 'Great, she knows.'

"I know you tell yourself nothing is gonna happen. Then you're with the boy of your dreams. Maybe he tells you all the 'right' things or you two just are 'in the moment'? Whatever it is plus raging hormones, things have a way of going further than you planned." Debbie sighed, "God, I must have scared my parents more than a few times."

"Jason's not pressuring me and we're not going to, um, you know …."

"Rachel, sweetie, I know you believe that now, but things can happen. Believe me; I had it happen like that more than a few times when I was in school. If you're not careful, even if you are careful, things can happen. That's how I got Jason. I wouldn't trade him for anything, but sometimes I wonder how my life would be different if I'd waited. I just don't want you to go down the same path that I did."

"Do you want me …to break up with Jason?"

"Oh, no, no that's not what I'm saying. I just think you two should slow down a little. You just started dating. So what's the rush? You're young; don't be in a hurry to grow up. I'm not trying to tell you what to do but if you two do decide to have sex, please use protection. Consider going on the pill. You two are too young to have a baby. Besides, your father would probably kill my son if he got you pregnant."

Seeing that Rachel blushing and looking uncomfortable, Debbie said, "Aw, sweetie, I didn't mean to embarrass you or make you feel guilty about how you feel. I just wanted to show you that I care about you. If you ever want to talk or have any questions about anything, you know you can come to me, right."

Rachel nodded quickly, wishing she wasn't having this conversation with her boyfriend's mother. The only way it could've been worse was if she was having it with her father.

Jason saw Rachel at her locker. He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hey, Bubbles." She became tense and pulled away from him. "Rachel …"

She said, "I thought we decided we were going to take things slow."

"You decided to slow things down. How slow should we go? Be like we were when we first met?"

Rachel crossed her arms. "I talked with your mom. She's right, we're going too fast."

He crossed his arms, mimicking her. "She's not right. What does she know? She's just trying to scare you and control me. She's a control freak when it comes to me."

Rachel looked around the busy hallway. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into an empty classroom. Thinking she'd changed her mind, Jason leaned down to kiss her. Rachel put her hand up to stop him. She whispered harshly, "We almost went 'all the way', in your living room. If your mom hadn't showed up we would've done 'it'."

Smiling, he tried to kiss her again. "Would that have been so bad?"

Rachel backed away from him. "I'm not kidding, this is serious. And your mom does know what she's about; that's how you got here."

Jason frowned, "You're always so serious. Can't you ever relax, have some fun." He didn't notice the flicker of pain in her eyes.

The students coming into the classroom looked at them with curiosity. Rachel shook her head, "Not now." She left the room.

Jason followed her. To get her attention he grabbed her arm and spun her around.

Rachel looked down at his hand still gripping her elbow. She glared up at him. Wrenching her arm free, she growled, "Don't ever do that again." She stormed down the hallway.

"Aw, Rachel, come back."

"Leave me alone!"