A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who continue to share your thoughts about this story with wonderful reviews. I really love hearing what you think. A special shout-out to Double0Agent23 for being number 400!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I will never own Glee. I also have no claim on James Taylor's You've Got a Friend, Alan Menken and Tim Rice's Maison des Lunes, or Adele's One and Only.
Someone to Love You – Chapter 29
Jesse and Rachel had only travelled a short distance when he turned onto the same quiet street as before, pulled over to the curb, and cut the Range Rover's engine. Unlike the previous time, however, there was no frantic vault into the back seat. Instead, Jesse reached for his iPod and scrolled through his musical library, searching for one particular song. Once he'd found what he wanted, James Taylor's deep, mellow voice filled the SUV. Taking Jesse's hand in hers, Rachel laced their fingers together, and they sat quietly, neither feeling the urge to speak.
When you're down, and troubled, and you need some loving care, and nothing, oh, nothing is going right…
"It's Cat's favourite song. Drew serenaded her with it just before he proposed," Jesse admitted softly.
"He really is incredibly romantic," Rachel sighed.
"Yeah. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd learned from the best. Anyway, they were playing it a lot those last few weeks before I left for UCLA, and I just figured they were celebrating some sort of private anniversary that I knew nothing about. Turns out it was anything but."
His gaze, as it locked with hers, was full of anguish, and she moved instantly into his lap, her arms winding around his waist. He leaned into her embrace gratefully, and she stroked his back, her touch gentle and comforting. His chest began to heave, and slow tears leaked from his eyes, in spite of his best efforts to suppress them. Tenderly, she kissed them away one by one. Finally, after several long minutes, he pulled away slightly and offered her a tremulous smile.
"I'm closer to her than I am to my own mother. I couldn't bear it if something were to happen to her."
He let out a barely audible snort, and she raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I must really trust you."
"I'm glad to hear it, but what makes you say that?"
"This is the first time I've allowed someone to see me cry since I was five," he confessed. "Tears weren't tolerated in the St. James household. According to my father, they were an unseemly sign of weakness, and no son of his was going to grow up to be a wuss."
"What happened?"
"It was one of his rare paternal moments. He'd decided it was time to take the training wheels off my bike – even though I kept telling him that I wasn't ready – and once he'd done it, he gave me a push that sent me rolling down the driveway. I lost control, the bike tipped, and I fell onto the pavement and scraped my knee pretty badly. Needless to say, I burst into tears. He walked over, pulled me up, slapped me hard, and warned me in no uncertain terms that if he ever caught me crying again, he'd really give me something to bawl about."
The horror she felt at Jesse's recollection caused Rachel to hold him more tightly, as if her touch could erase the pain of his long-ago mistreatment.
"I can't believe he did that to you. You were just a little boy."
"One who learned very early on how dangerous it could be to display certain emotions. I guess you could say that my father was the first one to teach me the importance of a good show face."
It was Rachel's turn to scoff.
"Funny how that lesson always seems to be hard-won. I started perfecting my show face when the girls at school decided I was too bossy and self-centred, and I should be taken down a peg or two."
"Which they did by…?"
"Ganging up on me. Pushing me into the sandbox and throwing sand down my back… down my underwear… in my hair… in my face… Basically, any place they could get to."
"Did you tell your dads?"
"Of course not. I wasn't going to give those jealous little brats the satisfaction. I shook the sand off as best I could and got through the rest of the day with a smile. It actually worked, too. When I didn't react the way they'd hoped, they left me alone. It meant I had no one to play with, but at least they didn't come after me again."
"How old were you?"
"Six."
He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before letting his fingertips skim the edge of her jaw. Reaching for his hand, she dropped a light kiss on his palm before leaning her cheek into its warmth.
"No wonder we're both masters at hiding our true feelings. We've had years of practice," he observed matter-of-factly.
"Thankfully, we don't have to do it with each other anymore."
They fell silent, until a new thought occurred to her.
"Drew and your dad…"
"Are not remotely alike, despite their shared bloodlines. My father was the typical first-born. Serious. Dutiful. High-achiever. Drew was the class clown, always looking for attention, and not terribly picky about what kind it was, either. He got into trouble a lot. He was also spontaneous and fun-loving, and always up for a party. Andrew St. James became Drew very early on. No one ever called Martin St. James anything but Martin without coming to regret it."
"I can see why you'd have felt more comfortable at Drew's place."
"Yeah. I can't deny that I really looked forward to those summers and holidays, when I knew I'd be with people who loved me for me. I wanted my folks to care, and their indifference stung, but thanks to Cat and Drew's influence…" A lopsided grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "If you think I was a soulless bastard before, just imagine what I would have been like without them."
"Absolutely insufferable, no doubt ," she pronounced.
Although her tone was serious, her eyes danced. Gazing into them, he felt his spirits lift at the love he saw reflected in those deep brown orbs. Cradling her head with his hands, he buried his fingers in her silky tresses, pulling her face towards him till her lips were only inches from his.
"And now?"
"Just mildly insufferable. But it makes you kind of hot."
Her teasing response made him laugh out loud, before he leaned in to cover her mouth with his. They remained that way – lips fused together, arms wrapped around each other – until the need for air proved overwhelming. Reluctantly, they broke apart. Jesse quirked an eyebrow at Rachel.
"Kind of hot?"
"Yeah."
"So, what do I have to do to make it to insanely hot?"
He ran his tongue across his bottom lip ever so slowly, causing heat to spread through Rachel's body. The things he could do with that tongue… As she tore her gaze away from the temptation he posed, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the dashboard clock, and gasped.
"My dads are expecting us in five minutes, and Daddy always has his Thanksgiving meal timed down to a science. He won't be impressed if we're late."
Sliding over to the passenger seat, she quickly buckled herself in as Jesse put the vehicle in gear and, without further delay, headed for the Berry home.
Rachel was surprised, upon entering the house, to discover that her dads were not in the kitchen, as she'd expected, but rather in the living room, belting out show tunes. Clearing her throat to announce her presence, she stared at them questioningly.
"Hey, sweetie. Jesse. We were in the mood for a little singing. Care to join us?" Hiram inquired.
"But what about dinner?"
"Are the two of you hungry?" Leroy wondered.
"Not really," Jesse admitted. "We've already eaten an awful lot of food today."
"That's what we figured. Since the tofurky is thawed, it won't take long to cook, so we opted to flip things around and have a bit of fun first. Then, we can all work at putting the meal together later. Is that okay with the two of you?"
"It's fine with me," Jesse assured Leroy.
Rachel nodded her agreement as Jesse pointed to the piano bench.
"May I?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Hiram chuckled. "Leroy will appreciate an accompanist who doesn't stumble over the trickier parts."
"But I've heard you play, Mr. Berry. You're very good," Jesse argued.
"Not as good as you, though," Hiram countered, readily ceding the bench to the younger man.
After running through a few scales to warm up, Jesse looked at Rachel and her dads expectantly.
"I take requests," he quipped.
"How about this?" Leroy suggested, handing Jesse the sheet music to I, Don Quixote.
"From one of your favourite musicals. I remember," Jesse remarked, as he launched into the opening notes.
Leroy took the lead, with Hiram joining in as Sancho. Rachel sat back and listened, eyes glistening, as her dads harmonized while her boyfriend accompanied them flawlessly.
He fits. With me. With my family.
Once the song was finished, Jesse flipped a few pages and segued into The Impossible Dream. The Berry men beamed. In rapid succession, they cycled through numbers from Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and Les Misérables.
As the final strains of The Confrontation died away, Leroy and Hiram grinned delightedly as Jesse and Rachel applauded their performance.
"Your turn, Jesse," Hiram urged.
Rachel whispered something in Jesse's ear, and he smiled in response. Even without the score to guide him, this particular piece was so familiar to him now that he could easily play it from memory.
There's a danger I'll be thwarted, and denied my honeymoon
For the pretty thing I've courted, refuses to swoon…
He sang all three parts, changing his voice subtly to delineate each role. When he was finished, Leroy and Hiram were on their feet, giving him a small but heartfelt standing ovation.
"That was wonderful, Jesse," Hiram declared, obviously impressed.
"He's playing Monsieur D'Arque in his school's production," Rachel informed her dads proudly.
"Congratulations, Jesse. Any chance you could get us all tickets?" Leroy queried.
"Uh, sure. Yeah. It's not a big role, though. Do you really want to fly all the way out to California to see me on stage for just a few minutes?"
"We've supported Rachel in everything she's done. You're a part of her life now, so it seems only fitting that we support you, too."
Jesse's gaze met Rachel's in wordless exultation. Clearly, his acceptance was complete.
Dinner preparation had gone surprisingly well. There was an easy rhythm between the foursome that translated into an efficient working relationship, and everyone felt a huge sense of accomplishment when the meal came together exactly as planned. Jesse found he actually enjoyed his first sampling of tofurky, causing Rachel to smile at his sincere appreciation. Leroy, on the other hand, scowled good-naturedly.
"I thought you were going to even things out, Jesse, not join with them to gang up on me."
"Sorry, Mr. Berry. I really do like it." He lowered his voice conspiratorially before adding, "But I'd be happy to join you for a burger run the next time I'm here."
Rachel gave Jesse a playful shove as Leroy laughed uproariously. Hiram, meanwhile, grabbed the bowl of bean salad, moving it out of Jesse's reach. The latter reacted with mock horror.
"No! Not the bean salad. I'll make sure mine's a veggie burger," he pledged.
It was Hiram's turn to laugh. Soon, the others around the table joined him, and the rest of the meal passed joyfully, with both the adults and the teens relishing each other's company. Once they'd finished eating and cleaning up, they returned to the living room, where Hiram suggested they play Give My Regards to Broadway.
"Your homemade game. I love it! And I choose Rachel as my partner," Jesse called out, eager to team up with his girlfriend.
"Works for me," Leroy declared.
"Me, too," Hiram chimed in. "We tried playing this with Finn once. Leroy and I split up in order to give him a fighting chance…"
"…and Rachel and I still wiped the floor with them," Leroy boasted.
"I think we'll be able to give you a run for your money," Jesse predicted.
"We'll just see about that," Hiram challenged.
Drawing his first card, Jesse's lips curled into a smirk, and he quickly began to mime the title of the play. It only took Rachel a minute to shout out Romance in Hard Times, earning her a high five and a kiss on the cheek from her boyfriend. As Jesse launched into the appropriately obscure I Never Said I Didn't Love You, Hiram and Leroy exchanged a worried look.
"They're going to wipe the floor with us, aren't they?" Hiram speculated.
"I'd say that's a pretty safe bet," Leroy agreed.
Unlike the Berry men, who were unfamiliar with some of the shows on their cue cards, Rachel and Jesse didn't miss a single name and, between the two of them, they managed to sing a number from almost every one of the little-known productions. By the time the game had come to its conclusion, the teens had scored a decisive victory.
"I think we'll need to split the two of you up next time," Hiram opined. "You're both far too good at this."
"We do have an unfair advantage, Mr. Berry. Rachel and I have lived and breathed musical theatre for years. It's what we dream of. It's in our blood. There's not much about it we don't know."
"You definitely proved that tonight," Leroy stated.
After the game had been put away, Rachel glanced at her watch, and was dismayed to discover that her curfew was fast approaching. Clasping Jesse's hand , she rose from the couch and cleared her throat, causing her dads to gaze up at her with curiosity.
"Dad, Daddy, since Jesse is going to have to leave soon, would it be okay if we spent a bit of time alone before then?"
A glance that she couldn't quite decipher passed between her fathers. At Hiram's barely perceptible nod, Leroy motioned for the teens to sit. They did so quietly, neither quite certain of what to expect.
"There's something that your Daddy and I wanted to talk to you about, Rachel. And you too, Jesse."
Jesse felt Rachel tense beside him. Unconsciously, he started to trace idle patterns on the back of her hand in an effort to calm her. Almost instantly, she relaxed and exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, then trained her eyes on her Dad, waiting for him to speak.
"As you're aware, we were somewhat sceptical of your intentions when you reappeared on our doorstep last week, Jesse. In spite of Rachel's assurances that you'd apologized for your previous actions, and that she'd forgiven you, we remained concerned about our daughter's happiness and the possibility that you'd hurt her all over again. Because of this, we subjected you to a few tests, and we imposed limits to see if you'd adhere to them."
Rachel stiffened again. Jesse squeezed her hand in silent reassurance. Hiram took over from his husband, whose expression gave nothing away.
"We're pleased to say that you've managed to allay all of our fears, Jesse. You've been polite and respectful. You've answered our questions honestly. You've abided by the rules we set. You've earned our trust. Most importantly, it's been glaringly obvious that you're good for Rachel. We haven't seen her this happy since the two of you started dating the first time around."
"She does the same for me," Jesse admitted softly.
"That's been obvious, too," Leroy grinned. "So, here's the thing. We know that you'll be heading back to California in a few days, Jesse. Since you have both proven yourselves responsible and trustworthy, we've decided to waive Rachel's curfew from now until Sunday."
Rachel's eyes widened, her shock plainly visible. Jesse, keeping his elation in check, sought further clarification.
"To make sure I understood you correctly, did you just say that Rachel will have no curfew for the last three nights that I'm here? As opposed to a really extended one?"
"Yes, Jesse. That's what we mean."
"So, if I were to take off with her right now, I could conceivably not bring her home till just before it's time for me to get on the plane, and you'd both be okay with that?"
"Well, we would appreciate the occasional call, to let us know you're alright, Rachel. But, in theory, yes. You could leave now and stay out until Sunday, and we'd permit it," Hiram confirmed.
"We just have a couple of minor requests in exchange," Leroy added.
"Which are?"
"We'd like to meet these friends of yours, Jesse, so that we can get a sense of what kind of people you've introduced our daughter to."
"That shouldn't be a problem. How's tomorrow night?"
"You can get them all to agree to come here on such short notice?" Leroy couldn't keep the doubt from his voice.
"They're my friends, and they all adore Rachel. If this is one of the stipulations for lifting the curfew, they'll be more than willing to oblige."
"Fair enough."
"You mentioned a couple of requests. What's the other?"
"That you two both promise not to have sex during the next three days."
"Dad!" Rachel objected.
Jesse squeezed her hand again, wordlessly urging her to stay calm. She bit her lip in an effort to remain silent.
"That's a perfectly reasonable request, Mr. Berry. I assure you that Rachel and I will not make love between now and the time I have to leave for UCLA. You have my word."
Jesse extended his hand, and the two older men both shook it. Hiram then turned his attention to his daughter.
"Rachel? We need your promise, too."
"Yes, Daddy. I promise," she muttered, far less enthusiastically than Jesse had.
"Good. Now that that's settled, I imagine you two have some place you'd rather be," Leroy surmised.
Rachel's eyes lit up, as did Jesse's, both of them aware that they were sharing the very same thought.
"As a matter of fact, Dad, there is."
She made her way out of the room and up the stairs at a rapid pace, while Jesse sat back down, the very model of patience. Hiram observed the younger man closely.
"You know what she's up to, don't you? Even though you haven't spoken a word to each other."
"It's like that a lot between us," Jesse admitted. "I often know what she's going to do or say before she does. She can predict my thoughts and actions, too. We're… connected that way."
Hiram smiled softly, while his husband appeared to be engaged in some form of internal debate. After a few moments, Leroy came to a decision.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Jesse. I wouldn't be letting Rachel leave the house with you at this hour if I didn't. It's just…"
"She's your little girl, and you'd like to know where I'm taking her, right?"
Leroy and Hiram both chuckled.
"Looks like Rachel's not the only Berry that's an open book to him," Hiram teased.
"That was a bit unsettling, Jesse. Try not to make a habit of reading my mind, okay?"
"If I do, I'll keep it to myself. How's that?" Jesse offered, the ghost of a smirk at the edge of his lips.
"Good idea. So, will you two be heading back to Akron?"
"No, Mr. Berry. We'll be right here in Lima. We'll have our phones with us, and we'll be fairly close to my aunt and uncle's place, so they'll know how to reach us if, for some reason, you can't. If you'd like, I could program their number into your cell."
"Did your parents send you to charm school?" Leroy mused aloud.
"Never. 'Fraid it just comes naturally," Jesse responded with a grin.
Leroy handed over his phone, allowing Jesse to input the appropriate numbers. Just as the younger man passed it back, Rachel appeared at his side, an overnight bag clutched in her hand.
"I'm ready," she announced.
After hugging her fathers, Rachel twined her hand with Jesse's. Leroy and Hiram walked with them to the door. As the teens stepped onto the porch, Leroy's eyes met Jesse's, and silent understanding passed between them.
"You'll get in touch with your friends, Jesse?" Hiram reminded him.
"I'll send them texts tonight. We'll be in touch tomorrow about the time."
"We appreciate it."
"Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Daddy." She offered them a dazzling smile. "Thank you. This means so much to me."
"You're welcome, sweetie. Have fun, and be safe."
Watching until the SUV's taillights were no longer visible, Hiram and Leroy headed back inside. As Leroy checked his phone for the contact Jesse had left, he let out a murmur of surprise.
"Well, I'll be."
"What is it?"
"Not only did Jesse put his uncle's number in here, but he left me his own number as well."
"He's a great kid."
"That, he is. I'm confident our daughter is in good hands."
One of the good hands in question was currently resting on Rachel's thigh. With his other hand, Jesse steered the Range Rover through the nearly deserted streets of Lima, towards Drew and Cat's house. Rachel sighed contentedly as she relaxed into the comfort of the well-padded seat.
"I can't believe we get to spend the next three nights together. What do you think came over your dads?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Did you slip them some kind of potion?"
"Just another dose of the infamous St. James charm."
"You might want to bottle that. You'd make a fortune."
"Who needs a fortune when I have you?"
"You really do say the sweetest things."
"I'm serious, Rach. I have everything I want, right here beside me.
"Me, too."
Reaching for her hand, he raised it to his lips, placing a tender kiss on her palm before releasing it. She caressed his cheek, then laced her fingers with his.
"You know what else surprised me tonight?"
"How tasty the tofurky was?"
"Besides that. It was your dads asking for tickets to Beauty and the Beast. That floored me. Even Cat and Drew aren't sure they'll be coming out for it."
"It's like Dad said. They've made it a point to attend my every performance, no matter how small or insignificant the part I was playing. Looks like they're about to start supporting you in the same way."
"You know what this means, right?"
"You'll always have friendly faces in the audience?"
"Well, yeah. But also, it means we'll get to see each other sooner than expected."
"That's definitely something to look forward to."
He flashed her a meaningful smile, and she giggled.
"My dads will be there, too, Jesse."
"I'm sure they'll give us a few minutes to ourselves."
"A few minutes?"
"They'll be the best few minutes you've ever spent," he quipped, leering at her suggestively.
"Always so modest," she shot back, her amusement evident.
"If you want modest, you've chosen the wrong guy."
Having just pulled into Drew's driveway, he twisted slightly in his seat and his eyes locked with hers. Leaning forward, she cupped the back of his neck and drew him closer.
"I don't want modest," she whispered fiercely, before capturing his lips in a demanding kiss that left no doubt as to her true feelings.
"I love a girl who knows what she wants," he declared softly, once they'd pulled apart.
"Which, right at this moment, is to be alone with you in your fabulous tree house."
"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go get my stuff."
Stepping out of the Range Rover, they practically ran up the walkway to the house. They had just moved into the foyer when Drew appeared before them. His face registered the surprise he felt as he caught sight of Rachel.
"Rachel? Shouldn't you be home by now? I thought Jesse said your curfew was midnight."
"My dads waived my curfew."
"They did?"
"Yeah. They decided they could trust us to behave responsibly. And they realized how little time Jesse and I have until he has to go back to school, so…"
Drew's smile was genuine as he absorbed Rachel's news. As usual, he couldn't resist teasing his nephew.
"Fooled them into thinking you'd be good, huh?"
"I'm always good, Uncle Drew," Jesse retorted, his expression the picture of innocence.
"Right. So, are you two staying here tonight?"
"We're going to spend the night in the tree house. We just came in so that I could pick up a few things I'll need."
"Okay. Cat's already asleep, so do it quietly." Drew was about to return to the movie he'd been watching when an idea occurred to him. "Why don't I put together a few snacks in case you get hungry later?"
"Sounds good. We'll be back down in a few."
Jesse and Rachel crept up the stairs on tiptoe. They'd almost reached Jesse's room when Cat's voice rang out.
"Jesse?"
"Yes, Aunt Cat, it's me. Sorry I woke you."
The door to Cat's room opened and she emerged into the hallway, stifling a yawn as she did so. She smiled brightly upon seeing Rachel.
"I was about to ask Jesse how dinner went, but I can tell it was obviously a success."
"How do you know?" Rachel wondered.
"Your dads allowed you to be here past curfew, so Jesse must have managed to impress them."
"Oh, he did."
"So, how late are they letting you stay out?"
"Would you believe all night?" Jesse answered, an underlying smugness to his tone.
"Wow!"
"I know. Major win. So I'm just here to grab some stuff, then we're heading for the tree house."
Cat eyed them both with her most motherly look.
"You'll be careful, right?"
"Absolutely. Rachel's dads imposed a ban on sex as one of the conditions for lifting her curfew, so you don't have to worry, Aunt Cat."
"And if you decide to break the ban, you'll be careful," she repeated for emphasis.
"Honestly, Aunt Cat, I made a promise. I'm not going to go back on my word."
"Alright, Jesse. I trust you." Cat yawned widely. "And, on that note, I'm going back to bed. Will we be seeing the two of you for breakfast?"
"Probably not. I imagine we'll be sleeping in."
"That's pretty much what I suspected."
Once the threesome had exchanged goodnights, Jesse and Rachel continued on to his room. She smiled as she entered the space she hadn't seen in almost half a year, noting that nothing had changed. It was still as neat and orderly as her own room, the bed made, the walls adorned with framed posters of Jesse's favourite musicals, the picture of them resting in a place of honour on the bedside table… She started in surprise. That definitely had not been there before, and she walked across the room to examine it, curiosity driving her forward. As she picked it up, she felt Jesse standing behind her, looking over her shoulder.
"I didn't know you had this."
"Remember that night you came over after Glee club, and we were supposed to be studying, but we ended up making out instead…"
"And Cat came home early and surprised us…"
"So we tried to get back to our homework, but we spent what seemed like hours just staring at each other…"
"She took a picture?"
"Several, actually. We were both totally oblivious. When she showed them to me later, this one was my favourite."
"I can see why," she admitted softly.
Gazing at the photograph, she was instantly transported back to that moment in time. The depth of their feelings was readily apparent even then, captured by the click of a button on Cat's camera.
"I'm sure she'd print one for you if you asked. I have a duplicate of it in my room at UCLA. "
"I'd like that." She spun around to face him. "But what I'd like even more is for you to get whatever you need so that we can go."
"I'm on it."
As Jesse headed for the bathroom to pack a few toiletries, Rachel padded over to his dresser, quietly pulled open one of the drawers, and lifted out a well-worn t-shirt, which she then quickly shoved into her purse. A minute later, when they headed back downstairs, they found Drew waiting for them. He handed them a couple of bags.
"Just some fruit and a few other things to tide you over till you show up for breakfast."
"Thanks, Uncle Drew."
"Thanks," Rachel echoed.
"You're welcome. Now go. I need my beauty rest."
Jesse and Rachel chuckled as they bid Drew goodnight. After they'd retrieved Rachel's bag from the Range Rover, they strolled the short distance to the Peterson's and made their way quietly through the backyard to the base of the massive oaks. Once they'd climbed the circular staircase and entered the tree house, they promptly stored the food and drink Drew had supplied in the bar fridge, and stowed their bags near the bed. By unspoken agreement, Rachel poured them each a glass of sparkling mineral water, while Jesse set his iPod on the dock and, for the second time that evening, scrolled through his playlists, choosing one that matched his mood. As the music began to play, he walked purposefully towards Rachel and extended his hand.
"May I have this dance?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
He opened his arms to her and she slipped into his embrace, their bodies melding perfectly together. As he pulled her flush against him, she rested her head on his chest and they swayed as one. Closing her eyes, she relaxed into his hold, content to let him lead as they twirled around the floor.
I dare you to let me be your, your one and only / promise I'm worth it, to hold in your arms / so come on and give me a chance / to prove I am the one who can walk that mile, until the end starts...
Adele's sultry voice flooded the room, and they gave themselves over completely to the emotions the song stirred within them both. When the final strains of the chorus faded away, neither of them moved to release the other, so they simply waited for the next track to start, and they began to dance anew. Every song was slow, the lyrics charged with meaning, and it wasn't long before they joined in, communicating in a way that was as natural as breathing. When the music finally stopped, they stood still, but they made no attempt to disentangle themselves.
"I like this playlist. You should keep it," she whispered, her lips soft against his neck.
She felt him smile into her hair.
"I like you. Can I keep you, too?"
"Mm hmm."
Stepping away from her slightly, he led her to one of the armchairs and, after easing himself into it, he pulled her onto his lap.
"I was thinking," he began.
"That could be dangerous," she smirked, earning her a playful swat in response.
"I'm serious here. Remember how we talked about seeing the sunrise together?"
Her eyes lit up at his words.
"Oh, yes. Could we do that tonight?"
He was about to acquiesce when a loud yawn escaped her.
"Looks like someone's too tired," he observed.
Her expression was rueful.
"I'm exhausted, actually. It's been a long day."
"How about this? We'll sleep for a while, and I'll set the alarm so we're awake in time."
"You have the best ideas." Her smile suddenly turned into a pout. "Except when you tell my dads we won't have sex. Three nights alone, in this beautiful setting, and you make a promise like that? Whatever possessed you?"
All traces of sleepiness were gone as she stared at him, her eyes demanding an explanation. His answering grin was shameless.
"We'd made so much progress with your dads. It seemed like a small price to pay to maintain their trust. Besides, you should have paid more attention to my words," he chastised her gently. "If you had, you'd have realized I very carefully promised that we wouldn't make love. I didn't say I wouldn't kiss you, or touch you, or do things that'll have you calling out my name in ecstasy."
"Oh."
"Yes."
That one word sent shivers of anticipation coursing through her.
"But this place… I was sure this was going to qualify as epic romance."
"It could, but I have a much grander plan for you." Sensing she was about to bombard him with questions, he placed a finger to her lips. "It's in the works, and it's a surprise, and that's all I'm going to tell you, so don't even think about trying to seduce it out of me."
"But it would be so much fun to try," she countered, a wicked gleam in her eye.
"Well, maybe I'll let you give it a shot. But not right now. We need some sleep if we're going to be alert enough to greet the dawn."
Her fingers trailed teasingly over the slight bulge in his pants, and he inhaled sharply at her touch.
"You do make it hard to resist. I'll just have to be strong enough for both of us," he vowed, an undercurrent of amusement in his voice. "Come on. Let's get ready for bed."
Giving her a gentle shove, he rose from the chair and, grabbing his bag, headed for the tiny washroom. While he was gone, she removed her dress and bra, then pulled his t-shirt over her head. Burying her nose in the fabric, she couldn't resist breathing in his scent. He smiled as he re-entered the room and noticed what she was wearing.
"I don't remember leaving that behind."
"You didn't. I, uh, borrowed it when we stopped at Drew and Cat's today."
"You look much hotter in it than I do. I approve," he murmured, accompanying his words with a low whistle.
"I'm glad, because it's comfortable and reminds me of you, so I was thinking of taking it home."
"Go ahead. I've got plenty more."
After taking her turn in the bathroom, they switched off the lights and climbed into bed. Rachel's gaze was drawn to the skylight above her.
"It's so beautiful."
"It is. But your beauty puts the stars to shame."
"You're biased."
"I'm in love."
Twisting her face to his, her kiss caught the corner of his mouth.
"I love you, too."
Pulling her back flush against his chest, he draped an arm around her. She sighed contentedly as she snuggled into him, completely at ease as they spooned together. Without another word, they drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
