A Welcomed Visit

After he dropped off Jade Beck drove home. Once there he parked his car and got in the house to take a shower. He needed to wash off the remaining make up and powder not to mention the sweat one can work up after shooting scenes for six hours in the blistering Californian sun. After the shower, refreshed and with still damp hair he headed to his RV. He was clad only in his boxers since most on his clothes were in his RV. When he reached the drive way he noticed that someone was waiting him there. It was a girl. For a second he thought that it was one of the girls who showed up in the mornings to ask him to 'give them a ride to school'. Since his break up with Jade one of them would show up at least once a week to ask him on a date. Thankfully a polite but firm refusal was usually enough get rid of them. To his surprise the girl who was nervously pacing in front of his RV was Tori. She was dressed in her usual jeans and boots with a simple dark red t-shirt.

"Tori, what are you doing here?" His voice cased her to sharply turn to face him but not a word came out of her lips. In his surprise to see her Beck had forgotten that he was dressed only in his boxers. Tori's surprised gaze traveled slowly down from Beck's face to his toned bare chest. Her eyes continued downwards to his smooth abs and stopped only when they reached his black boxers. The sight of Beck's underwear seemed to have brought Tori out of her reverie and she embarrassedly turned her face away from him. The strong blush that quickly covered her cheeks filled Beck with a strange satisfaction. After all the times when he had guiltily stared at her, afraid what she might think of him if she caught him, it was nice to know that he too could make her blush.

"Oh I didn't know you were… naked." She embarrassedly stammered, the last word coming out as barely a whisper.

"I was just coming out of the shower and all my clean clothes are in the RV." He explained still enjoying her obvious blushing at his state of undress. He walked up to the RV's door, a mere foot from where she was standing. "You wanna come in?" Beck smiled at her politely before opening widely the door.

"Yes, I need to speak with you." Tori's voice was much more composed but he could see the blush still coloring her perfect cheeks. He stepped in first before turning back to her.

"Come in then." He motioned her in. She gingerly squeezed past him. He was so distracted by the smell of summer flowers emanating from her that he didn't notice the way her eyes secretly lingered on his naked muscled chest. Once inside Tori sat on his made up bed while he put on a jeans and a t-shirt. Beck observed with the corner of his eye that while he was putting on his clothes Tori was watching the things hanging on his wall with fascination they definitely didn't merit. He didn't have the opportunity to see how Tori gave in to temptation and snuck a peek or two at him.

"You want something to drink?" He asked her after he got dressed pointing to the recent addition to the RV's interior – his mini fridge. He had decided to get one after the harrowing beach trip they had in their junior year, he could still sweat at the memory. She shook her head and refused. He sat on the other end of the bed waiting patiently for her to say why she had come to see him.

"Listen Beck, I think I owe you more of an explanation about my behavior during our encounter in the janitor's closet." She began obviously still feeling uncomfortable. Her eyes, wary of meeting his, jumped from one thing to the other on his wall.

"No you don't need to do it Tori. I'm going to be honest here. I didn't like the rejection but I understand and admire your reasons for it." He reassured her sincerely. "One of the things I like most about you is that you are so loyal to the people you consider your friends." Even if at the moment that quality of hers was causing him heartache, it still made him want even more to be with her.

"I feel like I owe it to you to explain myself." She insisted, giving him a grateful smile and looking him in the eyes for the first time since coming in the RV. "Dao you remember when Cat dated my ex – Daniel."

"I remember it." He remembered the vague mix of envy and pity he felt for the boy when he had learned that he was Tori's ex-boyfriend. "I remember Jade taunting you, you spraying them with cheese and that horrible fishes that got us sick." The fishes were unpleasant reminder that beauty wasn't worth going through some things. He still couldn't look at anchovies the same way.

"I remember how frustrated and annoyed it made me feel to watch my ex being lovey-dovey with my friend. It made me do things I regret to this day." Beck saw a shadow of disappointment mire her lovely face at the memory. "I didn't even like Daniel anymore back then. Can you imagine how much worse it would make Jade feel?" Her eyes pleaded for his understanding. He didn't know what to tell her so he could change her mind, until an idea came to him.

"I don't know Tori; I think there was something else." He began slowly, unsure where he was going with this but feeling he was on to something. "I think what really bothered you back then was that your ex had found somebody and you were still alone. It wasn't so much that he was with Cat in front of you but that you didn't have someone yourself." Beck remembered thinking something along those lines when Jade had gloated that she had known that Tori was up to no good at the time.

"So you think that I wasn't actually jealous of Danny and Cat but of the love that I lacked?" A hopeful smile adorned Tori's beautiful lips and lit her chocolate eyes. She shifted ever so slightly towards him.

"Yes, I think that if you had someone you would have been perfectly fine with them dating and being affectionate around you." Encouraged by her smile Beck closed the distance between them until they were sitting only a foot away.

"You really think so?" The relief had transformed her face. It was almost like she was glowing in the dim light filling his RV.

"I feel certain that this was the real reason." He looked her in the eyes, enjoying their soft chocolate glow. "You said it yourself – you didn't have feelings for Daniel so it couldn't have been jealousy." His hand slid slowly up hers trying to reassure her. "I think you were just missing the feeling of someone beside you. Someone to be able appreciate your beauty, the kindness of your heart, your amazing talent, your brilliant smile." He cupped her blushing cheek and leaned in closer. His voice dropped to a whisper while his eyes fell to Tori's parted lips. "Someone who would cherish all the love you could give." Tori surprised him when she closed the last few inches and kissed him. It was a gentle kiss – tentative and full of promise. Their lips softly glided over each other as if they were both trying to put to memory the shape and feel of the others lips. Beck couldn't remember kissing someone quite like this before. It wasn't a quick peck on the lips or a passionate French kiss. It was something fragile and yet secure. It was a promise for the things to come and something to luxuriate in and enjoy at its own pace. The minutes slowly ticked away with the two of them unwilling and unable to break the spell. In the end it was Tori's phone that shattered the illusion of timelessness and forced them to stop. She didn't even look at it, their eyes unable to part for a few sweet moments more.

"We need to stop doing this." She silenced his protest with a finger across his lips. "At least until I've had a chance to speak with Jade." He nodded resignedly, she was of course right. He had waited for so long he could wait a few days more. The promise in that kiss was going to keep him strong. They sat and talked for another hour compensating for the awkward week behind them. The sun was slowly setting when they finally parted.