A/N: Is this story starting to bore anyone else, or just me? I really don't know what to do. I had a plan for it, but I think I just have too much on my plate with One Step At a Time. I wasn't going to continue that one, but I did. It won't be as long as this, but I almost want to finish that and then come back with a clear mind. Whatever I do, I'm not giving up on this story yet. I'm sorry these past few chapters haven't been written well. I just felt bad for not updating, so I threw stuff together. Okay, I'll shut up now. I don't want to make you anymore mad.


Chapter 28

"We should get a dog." Jesse randomly blurted out as they were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner.

"We should do what?"

"Get a dog! You know, four paws, a tail, a cold and wet nose, energy, woof woof!"

"I know what a dog is, Jess." Aubrey sighed, putting the last plate away.

"Well, we should get one!" he said with excitement and determination in his voice.

"Are we even allowed to have a dog here?"

"Yeah! I already checked! It just can't be like a black lab or anything big to that extent. I don't really remember her exact words, but nothing huge." He explained. Jesse grabbed Aubrey's waist and hoisted her up onto the kitchen counter with a big, dorky grin on his face.

"Why do we need a dog, Jesse?"

"Because. Dogs are cool!"

"I think I need a better reason than that." She pointed out, running her fingers through his hair.

"Because we are so busy with work and school. There's always one of us at home while the other is at classes or work. It gets lonely for me. I don't know about you, but I can't imagine it being all that much fun for you, too."

Aubrey sighed. He was right. Of course. "You're right. It does get lonely." She sighed, dropping her hands to his shoulders.

"So therefore, we should get a dog!"

"Can we at least think this through? Let's not jump into anything immediately. A dog is a big responsibility, Jess."

"I know Aubs. It's kind of like having a kid, but not exactly. It's good practice." He smirked, lightly kissing her soft lips. He let his lips lingering over hers for a few seconds before pulling away and looking at her again.

"I'm sure it is." Aubrey laughed. "I'm not saying no. Just let me sleep on it tonight, alright?"

"Deal." He grinned.

The thing about Jesse's grins is that they're contagious. No one can watch a grin take over his face without smiling at least a little smile as well. A small grin appeared on Aubrey's perfect, little face, but soon it swept over, and she was grinning like an idiot in love.

"I'm going to go take a shower." She explained, trying to move away from him.

Jesse stopped her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you."

"I love you too." She giggled, pressing her lips into his.

"Should I get a movie picked out?" he asked curiously, his hands wandering around the hem of her shirt.

"I kinda wanted to read tonight. Is that okay with you?" she admitted, pretending not to notice his wandering hands.

"Will you read to me?" he smirked.

"Will I read to you? Hmm. I will have to think about that." She teased.

"What are you going to read?"

"I don't know yet. I need new books. I've read these so many times."

"I'll pick one out for you." He grinned, his hands now pinching the hem of Aubrey's shirt.

"Make it a good one." She smirked, placing her lips smack dab against his. "Now, are you going to take this shirt off or am I going to have to do it myself?" she whispered in his ear.

Jesse smirked and pulled her shirt over her head in one smooth motion. "Better?"

"Much. Now I'm going to shower." She smirked, hopping off the counter and running to the bathroom.

"You are an evil person, Aubrey Rose Posen!" he called behind her.

Aubrey walked into their bedroom with her towel wrapped around her small body and her hair twisted over her shoulder. Jesse was already lying on their bed, skimming through a book.

"You're pretty cute when you're focused on stuff." Aubrey teased, opening her drawer to get out a tshirt.

"Yeah well, you're pretty cute when you're not wearing any clothes." He smirked, looking up from the book.

"Keep it up, I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

"I'm sorry baby." He pouted.

Aubrey turned around and put the shirt on over her tiny body. She crawled into bed next to Jesse, and he set the book in her lap.

"The Outsiders? I don't think I've read this since high school!" Aubrey noted.

"Good! Now you can read it and enjoy it."

"You better be glad I love you." She told him as he rested his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair and flipped open the book. "'When I stepped out into the bright sunlight-'"

"Aubs, you don't have to do this."

"Shut up, I love you." She mumbled and then cleared her throat. "And also, I'm trying to read here... When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had just two things on my mind…"

An hour or so passed, maybe even two, before Aubrey dropped her hands and the book into her lap. The sun had finished setting, and the only light in their room was from their bedside lamp.

"We should go to bed." Jesse tried to convince her.

"I don't want to stop." She said. He turned over and looked up at her.

"Aubrey, you're going to be exhausted. I'm going to sit here and fall asleep listening to your voice."

Aubrey shrugged her shoulders. "Chapter twelve—"

Another 100 pages down, and Aubrey was starting to feel the exhaustion. Jesse was still awake with her. He had adjusted himself so he was sitting up next to her against their headboard.

"You should really stop. We can finish this later."

"There's only fifty more pages Jess." She pleaded. Aubrey wasn't one to put down a book if it pulled her in. She had always found this book intriguing. She still wanted to finish even though she knew how it ended.

Jesse slid down the wall onto the bed, resting on his side. Then he tugged Aubrey down so she was lying on her back in front of him.

"Better?" he asked.

Aubrey looked down and shifted slightly toward him onto her side, leaning the book against his chest. She started reading again and felt Jesse's elbow curve around her shoulder.

Aubrey didn't have to read very loud when Jesse was this close. This was good for Aubrey because her voice was almost gone. Her eyes were tired. She was tired.

She didn't remember every little detail of the book. She had almost expected to laugh when she finally got to the line "Stay gold, Ponyboy," but she didn't, because that meant that Johnny was dead, and she thought that maybe Jesse was crying. Maybe Aubrey was crying, too. Her eyes were tired. She was tired.

"'When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home…'"

Aubrey closed the book and let it fall on Jesse's chest, not sure what happened next. Not sure she was awake, in reality.

Jesse pulled her into him. More like onto him. With both arms. Her chest was pressed against his, and the book slid between their stomachs.

Jesse nudged his nose against hers, and their mouths fell sleepily together. There was something about kissing Jesse that drove Aubrey crazy. His kisses were all taking. It was like he was drawing something out of her.

She brought her fingers up to his hair, and she couldn't open her eyes.

Eventually, she couldn't stay awake.


Aubrey woke up to soft kisses on her face. She batted her eyes until Jesse came into focus. She was still on top of him somehow. That was a little peculiar for them. Normally, Aubrey would toss and turn in her sleep until Jesse held her tightly enough where she didn't move anymore.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty." He whispered, kissing her lips gently. "Or maybe I should say good afternoon." He added, looking over at the clock on the table.

"What?" Aubrey asked, looking over at the clock. "12:30? We slept until 12:30?"

"I knew I'd get you to sleep in one of these days. I told you!" he smirked.

Aubrey rolled off of Jesse onto her spot of the bed right next to his. She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked rolling over onto his side so he could see her.

Aubrey was silent for a few seconds. With a straight face, she sighed and said, "I was thinking we could go get a dog."

A huge smile spread across Jesse's face, and finally Aubrey couldn't help but smile. She loved seeing how excited he was when she told him.

"Really? You want to go get a dog?" he asked excitedly.

Aubrey smiled and nodded her head. "Let's go get a dog." She giggled.

After breakfast, well lunch, Aubrey and Jesse got dressed and ready for the day. Jesse was running around their apartment like a mad man, making sure there was nothing on the floor the dog could get to.

Jesse and Aubrey drove twenty miles to the nearest PetsMart. He was going on and on about what they could do with a dog, take it to the park and stuff, go on walks, dog stuff.


After twenty minutes of looking at and playing with all the different dogs, Aubrey finally pointed out one that was lazily snoozing in the corner.

"What about that one?" she asked the man who was helping them.

"That's Rocky. He's pretty down to earth. He is a one year old puggle who is actually quite a people person. He's just a little tired today." He explained.

"He's cute!" Aubrey told Jesse.

Jesse wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head. "Do you like him?" he asked her.

Aubrey nodded her head as she kept her eyes glued to the dog who was now woken up and staring at them. Aubrey bent down and held her hound out towards him. "Come here, boy!" she cooed.

Rocky stood up excitedly and made his way over towards them. He let Aubrey rub him all over and same with Jesse.

"What should we know about him?" Jesse asked the man.

"Um, there's not that much to know. He's house trained, and he is up to date with his shots. He loves people, and he learns tricks easily. Other than that, he's a down to earth pup."

"Great! We'll take him." Jesse said, shaking the man's hand. "Now, um, what do we need to get for a dog?"

"First dog?"

"Our first together and being older." Jesse explained.

"Got it. It's kind of like having a kid."

"So we've heard." Jesse laughed, wrapping an arm around Aubrey's waist.

The man led them through the aisles and showed them what all they would need: food, bowls, a collar and leash, a bed, shampoo, toys. The basics.

"A dog is expensive." Jesse sighed as he handed the cashier their money.

"I thought you knew that when you told me you wanted a dog." Aubrey laughed.

"I did, but I didn't realize how much." He explained.

"I don't think we will regret it, though." She said, looking down at Rocky who now had on a collar and leash they picked out.


Once they had brought everything back into their apartment and set it up, they unleashed Rocky and let him explore. He was a little curious as to where he was, but he quickly adjusted. He saw Aubrey and Jesse sitting on the couch, so he ran up and jumped up on the couch with them.

"Hey boy!" Aubrey cooed, scratching him behind his ears.

"Welcome to your new home!" Jesse told him, rubbing his back like dogs love.

Rocky crawled over them and settled down on their laps as they petted him.

"He's definitely going to fit in quite well." Aubrey admitted as she watched the pup.

"He's our baby." Jesse told her, kissing her cheek goofily.

"We're a step closer, Jess."


A/N: I'm sorry it was not good at all. I've been so stumped with what to write. I apologize.