Author's Note

Here you have it! A new winner for 'longest chapter yet.'

We're about to get to the good stuff.

Enjoy!

21 Credits

Chapter 21

or

"Ready Player Two"

Ashi's last exam was during the late afternoon, two days before Christmas. That meant that over the past two weeks—not including the additional two weeks spent preparing for all of this shit—she had completed four papers, a small research assignment, and five exams. To say she's 'tired' is an understatement.

One of the reasons Ashi never really minded being alone at school during the holidays is because it gave her ample time to herself. And what did she like to do with all that free time?

Sleep.

Which she promptly did after her last exam.

Save for the occasional drink of water, snack, and trip to the bathroom, Ashi had not left her bed for nearly twenty-four hours. And it was fucking amazing.

She's arching her back now, stretching her unused muscles and flips over so she's face down in her pillow. She hugs it with a happy sigh, still dancing on the edge between sleep and consciousness. Her subconscious reminds her that she's in her room, in her own bed. She buries her face further into her pillow. A thought occurs to her: her bed is not nearly as comfortable as Jack's.

She's dreamt about Jack a lot recently, especially because she's been so busy that she's hardly been able to see him for more than a handful of hours a week since classes started up again after fall break. She missed being around him, nuzzling against his broad chest and talking about nothing in particular. Laughing. She missed hearing his voice. She missed kissing him.

Of course, the few times she had been around him... holy shit. Jack was indeed a patient man, respectful of her wishes to postpone sleeping together until she was ready. But it certainly didn't stop them from doing... a little bit of exploring when they were together. Lots of kissing. Touching. A couple lost items of clothing here and there. The boundaries they'd set for each other were getting harder and harder to obey.

They'd come dangerously close one night. They were in her room, taking a break from studying. They were drinking cheap wine she'd picked up impulsively after stopping by a pizza place to pick up dinner for her and Jack's study date. She'd accidentally nudged him in the arm while he was taking a sip and a few droplets spilled on Jack's light-colored shirt.

He didn't miss a beat. He took the shirt off and ran it to her bathroom to soak the stain in the sink. Upon his returning, Ashi had all but pounced him, fully admitting to having a hard time controlling herself when Jack's chest was exposed. His reaction was nothing if not enthusiastic.

He'd pinned her to her bed after she'd removed her own shirt, kissing her until she felt dizzy. She'd let him peel her jeans off of her legs. He ground his hips against hers and in that moment she threw out every fuck she had about waiting. His mouth had made its way to her chest, pulling the straps of her bra from her shoulders and she couldn't help but cry out. She was aching for him.

She'd pushed him back, unbuckling his belt when they'd suddenly heard laughter. They froze at the sound. A few muffled voices and more laughter. It was coming from the room next door.

Neither of them could be sure that the laughter was a result of what was obviously going on between them, but it was a painful reminder of how thin the walls were in her dormitory. An even more painful reminder that this was not the time nor place. The mood was extinguished like a light.

Which brings her back to the subject of her dreams. Usually, they were pretty mundane: one of them featured a riveting trip to the grocery store, where Jack had turned to her in an aisle asking if she preferred milk or juice with her breakfast. Some of them were absurd, like when she'd dreamt that Jack's head turned into a fish after eating some oddly-colored shrimp.

Some of her dreams, however, this one included, has her pressing her hips into her mattress, weakly trying to relieve herself of the pressure in her lower abdomen. She moans softly as she imagined him...

Kissing her. Dragging his nails down her spine. Suckling at her throat. His fingers playing with the edge of her panties. There's music playing. A piano? And buzzing. Buzzing and the piano and his hands were still everywhere. More buzzing. Where has she heard that music before?

Her mind finally stirs when she realizes what the hell's going on. She gropes her hand around her bedside table with a grunt, not bothering to open her eyes. Her hand lands on the offending object. She cracks an eye open and peeks at the caller.

Speak of the devil.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" Ashi grumbles into the phone.

"I'm sorry to do this, Ashi," Jack laughed on the other line. "But it's time to wake up."

"Mm-mm," she complains. "What time is it?"

"Almost six."

"Mmmm," she whines. "I told you to wake me up at five."

"I considered it. But since I did not hear from you, I assumed you had slept through your alarm. I thought I would give you another hour."

"You're so sweet," she says, rubbing the sleep out of her eye. "But now I feel bad."

"For what?"

"You gave up the chance to go home to your family so you could spend time with me. Now it's Christmas Eve and I'm still loafing around my room, alone, in my underwear."

"Do not worry about that. I understand how tired you must be." She hears silence on the other end. "Though I would like to hear more about your sleeping attire."

Ashi laughs and begins untangling the sheets from her body. "I think I've been a bad influence on you."

"I'm positive you've been a bad influence on me," he responds.

She stretches an arm above her head and moans as her muscles relax. "Maybe I'll give you a peek later."

"Perhaps," he says. "But it will have to be after dinner. I've nearly finished preparing. If you get here soon, I can promise your food won't get cold."

"Mm, food sounds good." She rolls onto her side, nestling her phone against her ear. "Alright, I'll be there soon. But I'm not showering."

He laughs. "If that is what you wish."

"No, no," she laughs back, "I'm going to shower. I just don't feel like it. But," her voice lowers, "I do want to look nice for my special date."

"You always look nice." She rolls her eyes but can't help but smile at his words. "And yes," he continues, "I can hear you rolling your eyes."

"Whatever. Alright, alright, I'm up. I'm getting ready. I'll see you in a bit, then?"

"Looking forward to it."

They bid their goodbyes and Ashi rolls back over onto her back. Her eyes are still heavy. She's so tempted to fall back asleep. But then she raises her arm and rests it over her eyes, laughing to herself quietly.

She knows if she falls asleep, she's just going to keep dreaming about Jack. Why dream about him when she can see the real thing?

"Ashi!" He's beaming when he opens the door and immediately sweeps her up into a massive hug. She giggles and wraps her arms around his neck to return his embrace.

"Hitting the booze, Jack?" she asks, remembering the only times he's usually this enthusiastically affectionate is when he's been drinking.

"No," he says into her hair. "I just missed you."

Her smile grows impossibly wider. Her arms tighten around him. "I missed you, too."

He pulls her inside and sets her down to ask for her coat. He chuckles to himself as she hands it to him.

"Ashi, it's Christmas Eve, not Halloween. Why are you dressed like a gothic school girl?"

Ashi looks down at her outfit to protest but stops herself. She is wearing a long-sleeved black sweater over a white collared shirt; a pleated skirt over opaque tights and black boots.

"I dunno," she shrugs. "Black is just the color of my soul." She snickers to herself and steps back to look at him. "Anyway, what are you making fun of me for? You look like..."

She trails off as she takes in the scene. He's wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt that's rolled up on his forearms and she immediately wonders how old the shirt is. Not because the color is off or it looks ragged. It just looks, perhaps, one size too small. Maybe he bought it when he was younger and held on to it? Or maybe he bought it that way on purpose. Either way, she finds herself unable to stop her eyes from roaming across the swell of his biceps or the definition of his chest.

Oh, and he's wearing steel-blue colored jeans. Not that she really gives a shit about that at the moment. She's far too focused on sending that shirt through the wash on high heat so it could fit just that much tighter.

"Damn it," she laments, "I have nothing negative to say about your outfit." She smirks. "You look really handsome."

He laughs a bit, a slight flush making its way to his cheeks. She sticks her tongue out at him playfully. "Also, shut up. I think I look cute."

"You always look cute." The two of them giggle like grade school morons as they kiss each other softly. Ashi moans in delight as she breaks away. "It smells amazing in here." She walks over to the living room and places her tote bag by the couch, admiring the spread of food he's put out on the coffee table. Bowls of rice with beef and onion in a dark sauce with vegetables. Miso soup. And they each had a small serving of salad.

"You went all out didn't you?" Jack comes up behind her and kisses her in the crook of her neck. She twitches and laughs in response; Jack knows she's ticklish there.

"Not really. It is a simple dish but one of my favorites."

"Isn't it customary in your culture to each chicken for Christmas?"

His face suddenly scrunches up in distaste. "I don't eat chicken."

"Really?" She tilts her head and slowly comes to the realization that—huh, yeah—she's never seen him eat chicken before. "Why is that?"

He shrugs. "Just don't like it."

"Fair enough." She sits down and pats the seat next to her. "Shall we eat?"

He smiles and takes the seat.

"Oh," she cries out. "Oh, yes! Suck it, Jack!"

Ashi cackles as Jack throws down his controller in irritated defeat.

"And to the victor, go the spoils!" Ashi yells. "You know the rules! Truth or dare?"

They've been at this game for about half an hour. After they had finished their meals, Ashi had challenged Jack to a fight. Not a real one, of course, but to a video game brawl. The rules were simple: whoever won the five-minute match would get to challenge the loser to a round of truth or dare.

After about the third game, rather, Jack's third loss, Jack had started complaining.

"This isn't fair," he grumbled. "If this were a real fight, I'd have you cornered."

"Don't underestimate me, Jack. I am a formidable opponent."

"I'm sure," he sighed exaggeratedly.

While Ashi took immense joy in rubbing her victories in Jack's stupid, handsome face, she'd kept her questions relatively tame. Questions like: 'if you could live in any time period, past or future, what would it be?' or 'what superpower would you most like to have?' Her most recent question, 'what's the most embarrassing thing your parents have ever said to you?' was the first step into her asking deeper questions. And after this last victory, Ashi is less hesitant about holding back.

"Truth or dare, Jack?"

"Truth." Typical.

"How many girls have you kissed?"

Jack had been taking a sip of water when he'd heard her. He coughs, choking up a bit before clearing his throat and trying to regain his composure.

"That is, uh," he starts off hesitantly, "not an easy question to answer."

"Wow," Ashi whistles. "That many, huh?"

"No! I mean, well... it's just... many of them, er, most of them, were because of... you know, the whole..." He tries making gestures with his hands, trying to compensate for his hilarious lack of a coherent answer.

"Ladies throwing themselves at their knight in sober armor?"

"It's how I met you," he grumbles.

"And what a tale that turned out to be." She punches him softly in the arm. "But, seriously, I am curious. I hear your roommates make jabs about it all the time. I wanna know it all: girls you've dated, drunken make outs, spin the bottle, the whole nine yards." She swirls her near-empty bottle of beer before taking a quick sip. "So... how many?"

Jack is slow to answer. "Around... twenty?"

Ashi arches an eyebrow. "Around twenty?"

He winces. "Twenty... five."

"Including me?"

His grimace deepens. "Twenty-six."

She bursts into laughter. "Oh my god, you get around!" Her laughter gradually dies down when she notices just how incredibly uncomfortable her boyfriend looks next to her. She decides to take some pity on the poor guy, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Honestly, it doesn't bother me," she reassures him. "If anything, I should thank them. You are a really good kisser."

He blows air out of his cheeks and flushes at the compliment. Suddenly, her voice takes a sharp edge. "As long as I am the last girl you kissed."

He sputters. "Of course you are!"

"Well, then, we're good." She kisses him on the cheek and rests her head on his shoulder. Another thought that's been nagging her surfaces up. "You ever sleep with any of them?"

She can practically feel his face heat up further. "I believe you have exhausted your questions for this round."

"Ha! You tease!" She pushes him away gently and takes up the controller in her hands. She sends him an evil grin. "Don't worry, I'll get my answer after I beat you again."

He huffs and grabs his controller.

They're about halfway into their next match and Ashi most definitely has the upper hand. "Get ready, Jack. You're gonna spill all of your secrets!"

"Don't be so sure of that," he asserts. He reaches over and covers his hand over hers, messing up her combo attack.

"Hey!" she protests. "You're cheating!"

"I am merely leveling the playing field."

"You jerk!" she laughs. She tries to pull away but Jack closes his hand further over hers. She pulls harder, pulling him towards her and laughs even harder when Jack leans in and repeatedly kisses her on the cheek, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Finally, she gives in, dropping her controller and wrapping her arms around him to kiss him fully on the mouth. He laughs in victory, the game be damned. He drops his own controller and it's his turn to wrap his arms around her. She brings a leg up from the floor to stretch across his lap.

"You know," she pants between kisses. "I had a really good dare for you if you had decided to switch things up."

"Is that right?" he says in a low voice. He suckles on the crook of her neck and chuckles to himself as she shivers.

She brings his head up to look into his eyes. She licks her lips and doesn't bother containing her grin.

"Truth or dare?" she asks. Say dare, she mouths to him. He rolls his eyes but smiles nonetheless.

"Dare."

"I dare you to take your hair down and wave it around like you're a supermodel." Jack looks utterly stunned.

"Seriously?"

She nods her head vigorously. "But you have to really sell it to me."

He sighs but leans up. "Very well." He lifts his hand to his hairpin and looks down at her with a sly smile. "Are you ready?"

"Oh, yes."

He pulls out the pin and slowly shakes his head back in forth, letting his long hair fall to his shoulders. Ashi quietly giggles in glee watching the show. Apparently, he's not done. He tilts his head forward, letting his hair cover his eyes before bringing his hand up to comb through his locks, brushing them back. He even flexes his bicep as he does it.

He ends the display with a smirk and a wink. He fucking winked at her.

She's pretty sure she's going to have a heart attack.

"Shit," she breathes. "I think my plan backfired."

"How so?"

"I meant for this to be funny." She pulls him back down so he's only inches away from her. "You are stupid hot."

He snorts, preferring to continue their previous activities. Ashi moans in excitement as Jack gently pulls her bottom lip into his mouth, roaming his hands down the arch of her back. Her immediate instinct is to lie down on her back, pull him on top of her and just let him have his way with her already.

She pulls up on the edges of her sweater and shrugs it off, tossing it on the floor. He lays her down and kisses her, moving a hand up to gently massage her breast above her shirt. She arches into his touch and buries her fingers in his hair.

They adjust their positions so that he's firmly between her legs, her thighs trapping his torso against her. They grind against each other slowly. Jack pulls away and lifts the bottom of her shirt to expose her stomach. He leans down and traces a circle around her navel with his tongue.

Her brain is all abuzz in giddiness and lust, wishing she hadn't worn so many damn clothes. Because dear fucking god what better conditions could they be in? They're alone. There are no classes to worry about. No people to interrupt. He's hot as hell and his tongue is on her skin and the sounds of his moans are driving her insane. She wants so much more. She's fucking ready.

Needless to say, she was damn pleased with herself that she decided to leave her bed for this.

Their shared spark of passion is interrupted—of fucking course—when Jack's phone starts ringing.

He sighs heavily, reluctantly looking up to check the caller. His eyes widen and he looks at her, momentarily panicked.

Ashi sits up immediately, her expression matching Jack's when she sees the caller.

It's his mother. Oh boy.

Author's Note

TL;DR I did warn you. Jack has kissed a lot of girls. But who could blame him? He's lived his whole life as a devastatingly handsome protector of innocents. Not to mention he's human. Why should he be denied?

That is beside the point.

Interrupted twice?! Will these two nerds ever catch a break?!

Yes. They will.

The next chapter will be posted tomorrow. Hope you're as excited as I am XD

Thank you for reading!