Chapter 53:
Weeks of Jesse's crippled self were long and difficult at some points, not to mention the temptations that he had and couldn't do, but honestly, they passed in a blur. An hour ago I had driven him to the hospital so he could get his cast off, and we were currently driving home. He insisted on driving, since he hadn't done that in over a month.
"So, now that I have my cast off," he took one hand off of the steering wheel and moved it towards and up my thigh once we were at a stop light.
I swatted his hand away. "Now that you have your cast off," I quoted him."You can work on your choreography for the semi-finals. They aren't far away. Plus, I promised I would bring you to the Treble house right away."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because it's important that you guys do what you have to do so the Bellas can have some real competition."
He sighed and continued driving as the light changed. "Tonight then?"
"Maybe."
Jesse dropped me off at the Bella house—after parking the car by his dormitory—and walked off to join the Trebles at their team house. I walked in and brushed the hair out of my face. My vision allowed me to spot all of the Bellas sitting in the main room, clearly waiting for me.
"Good, you're all here. Since we all know the songs and choreography for the semi-finals, I figured we should practice and have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Sound good?" I proposed.
"Is that a selfish act of alone time with your boy toy?" Fat Amy joked. "Or were you actually thinking of us?"
"Very funny, Amy. Now come on guys. Let's go to the practice room and begin from the top."
We ended up doing the entire dance at least five times, consistently hitting all of the notes and moves. I called a quits on today's practice and grabbed a water from the mini-fridge in the practice room.
"We are gonna bomb those Trebles!" Amy preached. The girls held their hands up in agreement and cheered. Just then, my phone buzzed with a custom text tone; meaning the text was from Jesse.
Hey, you're done with practice right? -Jesse
I texted back, Yes, why? -Beca
I have something planned for tonight. It'll be fun -Jesse
Really Jesse. I know what you're thinking. -Beca
Not that! Well, maybe. But that's honestly not what I meant. I'll pick you up around nine, okay? –Jesse
Whatever nerd. –Beca
As our conversation ended, I found myself smiling. Even though I hate surprises, I was really looking forward to tonight.
Later that evening, after I showered and put on makeup for the night, I rummaged through my closet to find clothing. I was told by Jesse that we weren't going out to dinner so there was no need to get super dressed up. I finally found something; I decided to wear black leggings, a white v neck and a dark red cardigan. I slipped on my maroon-coloured vans that matched my cardigan perfectly and checked myself in the mirror one last time. Shortly after, there was a knock on the door.
Jesse was standing there, in a purple plaid button-up and blue jeans, looking unearthly eager.
"Every time I see you, it takes my breath away." He handed me a small bouquet that consisted of three red roses and four white ones that were angelically wrapped in a light pink ribbon.
"Every time I see you, I brace myself for a corny comment," I snickered.
"And that's why I love you," Jesse poured water in a small vase and put the roses in it. "Shall we?"
"I still don't know where we're going."
"And that's the fun part," he smirked.
He led me outside the Bella house and guided us towards an unfamiliar vehicle.
"Whose truck is this?" I wondered. The truck was a two-seated, navy blue Chevrolet with a custom license plate. He opened the passenger seat door and gestured for me to get inside. With hesitation, I did as he asked.
"It belongs to Erica. She let us use it."
"Why did we need a truck…?"
"You'll see." Jesse closed my door and hopped in the driver's seat. "Buckle up, it's a bit of a ride," he smiled as the engine roared to life, and we started on our way towards the destination I was still oblivious to.
Thirty minutes passed, and we still weren't there. "Can you please tell me where we're going?" I pleaded. All Jesse did was shake his head and choke up a small laugh.
"We're almost there," he pointed to the upcoming parking lot that belonged to the beach. I examined the vacant lot. We were the only ones here. Instead of doing what I thought he was doing—which was parking in a parking space like a normal person—he drove into the sand and little ways down, but we weren't that close to the water. Jesse turned the truck around so the back of the truck was facing the ocean. "We're here."
"The beach? Jess, it's March. And I don't have a swim suit." I huffed.
"We aren't swimming. Come on." With that, he climbed out of the four-wheeler and opened the back of the truck. I opened my door and stood beside him.
"How did I not see that?" In front of me lay about five blankets—from what I could see—pillows, and a picnic basket. "You have to being one of the corniest romantics I have ever met in my life," I stale faced. "And I love you for that," I smiled, turning his grin into an even bigger one. He lifted me up into his arms and crashed his lips on mine.
He rested his forehead on mine and declared, "Let's enjoy tonight." Jesse hopped in the back of the truck and laid down on the pillows and blankets shrouding the vehicle. He patted the empty space next to him, silently gesturing for me to lay beside him.
After taking my shoes off, I climbed into the back of the truck with him. "So what do you have planned for us to do on a starry night like this?" I joked.
"Something tells me you already know. See that?" he pointed to an assortment of stars.
"What?" I squinted.
"It's the archer. There's his bow," Jesse traced a few stars in a parabola shape. "His belt, and you can make out his face and legs easily."
"Wow," I said in amazement. The constellations in the sky were coming to life in my eyes. "The only constellations I've ever seen in the sky are the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, and the Pisces star sign."
"Have you ever looked up?" he chuckled.
"Yes, all the time actually, but I never knew how to make out all the different patterns. Show me more," I smiled. He pressed his lips against my forehead and continued to point out the different shapes in the late night sky.
After a few minutes, he asked me if I was hungry. I nodded without any hesitation whatsoever. He grabbed the picnic basket on the other side of him and sat up. Inside held three small candles on white trays and a lighter, followed two sandwiches wrapped in sandwich bags, a bottle of wine, paper plates, napkins, and two wine glasses.
As he was getting everything ready, I sat up and lit all three candles, placing them carefully around the truck.
"Peanut butter and banana, your favourite," Jesse smiled as he handed me a sandwich. He himself pulled out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which was a total food-gasm for him. He poured white wine in the glasses he had taken out a minute ago and handed me one. I willingly accepted the wine and took sip, setting it down carefully on the rim of the truck.
"As organized and romantic as this is, the blankets and pillows do not help the stability," I observed, taking a bite of my sandwich. He smiled and shrugged it off. I watched him eat—not in a creepy way—and saw him repeat his habits. One bite, three chews on each side, a gradual swallow, and finishing off with a quick lick of his lips. "You have a strange eating cycle, nerd."
"It's just sandwiches. I don't do this with anything else, to be honest. Unless, of course, what I'm thinking of counts," he smirked seductively.
"No, it definitely does not count. But I will give you points for confidence."
"I try." I grinned and took my last sip of white wine, pushing him to the rim of the truck and resting my hips on his. "Am I getting lucky tonight?"
"It depends on what your definition of lucky is." I crashed my lips on his, tangling my fingers in his hair. He bit my bottom lip before his lips carried themselves to one of my earlobes, sucking on it. By his enthusiasm and quickness, I could tell he had been waiting for this all night long. "Six weeks," I breathed between the hot, intense kiss, "is too long."
"Way too long," he whispered back, smiling against the kiss. Jesse slipped my leggings off with ease, never taking his eyes from my gaze. He trailed kisses from my lips to my neck, and finally down towards his destination.
We continued to take off each other's layers and soon enough, the only item covering me was that silver engagement ring.
Jesse's POV:
I had been awake for a while now, watching Beca sleep soundly. She was adorable when she slept, always curled up in a fetal position. My fingers lightly danced over her stomach, being careful not to wake her up. Memories of last night were replaying in my head, and I wish every day could be like that.
I was so lost in thought, that I didn't even realize Beca had woken up. "Morning," she whispered. I lifted my fingers from her smooth stomach and stroked her hair. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I missed this."
"What?"
"Waking up next to you, partially naked," she laughed. I looked at her, trying to hold back laughter. "I know it sounds stupid," she laughed with me.
"No! No—it's just the way you said it…" I giggled.
We spent another half hour in the back of the truck, but figured it was time to leave when Beca got hungry. We both got up and changed into the extra set of clothing we brought with us. While we were driving to the Treble house, I asked her if she wanted to go out to eat, but as she was thinking, her phone rang.
Beca's POV:
As I was pending my thoughts on breakfast, I was interrupted by a phone call. I checked caller ID and it read "Ginger".
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey, Beca. Josh, Rosie, and I are on our way to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Did you want to join us?"
"Hold on," I covered the speaker and turned to Jesse. "How's Cracker Barrel?"
"Sounds good to me," Jesse agreed.
"Yeah, we're on our way now," I hung up after thanking her. "Decent timing, I'd say."
We were almost there when I received a text message from my dad. It read, "Beca, I need to ask you something. Call me." Jesus Christ, why can't he just call me? I'll never understand why people do that. I dialed his number and that's when it hit me. I quickly hung up.
"Shit," I whispered.
"What's up Bec?" Jesse said.
"My dad. We haven't told him about the engagement yet." Jesse sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say. "He wants me to call him. Do you think your parents told him?"
"I don't think they would tell him without our permission. Nor do I think they have his phone number." After thinking, I dialed his number once again. It only rang one time before he answered the phone.
"Beca, Sheila and I were thinking this morning," my dad started off with. That can't be good. "Thinking that we haven't exactly met Jesse's parents, and I think it is time to do so. With that said, what are you doing this weekend?"
"I don't know. Why do you want to meet them?"
"Well if our daughter—"
"I'm not Sheila's daughter," I snapped.
"If you are dating him," he rephrased his words carefully, "we should meet his parents. I think we should this weekend. What do you say?"
"I think your reason is utter bullshit."
"Beca, I'm serious."
"I'll ask Jesse and call you later. I'm about to eat breakfast." With that, I hung up. "Great," I sighed.
"What was that about?" Jesse asked, obviously concerned.
"My asshole father and step monster want to meet your parents." I continued pouting, but Jesse didn't say anything.
"Well, I think him and Sheila should. It would be a good time to tell them about the engagement. And since my parents already know, there shouldn't be conflict. When did he want to meet them?"
"This weekend."
"This weekend? That doesn't give us much time to buy tickets and fly up to New York…"
"Whatever, we'll talk about this after breakfast. Chloe and Josh are waiting for us." I pointed to the two redheads and brown-haired family walking into the restaurant as we parked. Jesse and I walked inside to find our friends looking around the shop.
"Hey," I hugged Chloe from behind. She turned around and poked me in the stomach an ample amount of times. "Hey!" I changed my tone. "You know I'm ticklish."
"I know, that's why I tickled you," she let out a bubbly laughter.
"Hey, man," Jesse and Josh greeted each other with a short hug. One more thing I'll also never understand, the difference between girls hugging girls and guys hugging guys. Rosie came out from behind a barrel with a wide smile on her baby face, making her look exactly like Chloe.
"Rosie!" I picked her up and swung her around. Her laughter was adorable, and sounded like a younger version of her mom's. "Remember me?"
"Yeah!" she roared.
"Who am I?" I said in a slight baby voice.
"Auntie Beca," she grinned. Her little beam made me smile. "And Uncle Jesse!" She outstretched her arms as far as she could, wanting me to hand her to Jesse. As Jesse and Josh played with the little redhead, I turned to Chloe.
"So, she's what, three now?"
"Two, turning three way too soon. I hate it. I remember when she was itty bitty with no teeth and short hair, now look. Her ears are pierced, and her thin hair falls to her shoulders. I don't get it."
"Oh calm down, she's still tiny with short hair. The only difference, she is starting to look so much more like you." I watched her daughter as Chloe did. Rosie's dark blue eyes were stunningly magnificent. She was going to grow up to be a model or something in that area.
Moments later, Jesse, Chloe, Josh, Rosie, and I were walking to our table. We were seated in a booth with a window view. Rosie sat on one side closest to the window, followed by Chloe and Josh after her. Jesse and I sat on the opposite side, me being by the window, too.
"So how long until the wedding?" Chloe brought up the topic. Jesse and I exchanged glances. We really hadn't planned much yet.
"We were thinking summer," Jesse spoke up. "After we graduate college, like maybe a few weeks after that. We aren't entirely sure yet, though."
"So you haven't gone dress shopping, right?" Chloe asked me.
"Dress shopping, without you? Wouldn't dream of it, Chlo."
"And how'd your dad take it?"
I breathed in and out a few times before answering. "Well…"
"You didn't, tell him, did you?" she guessed.
"We are this weekend when we fly up to New York. He and Sheila want to meet Jesse's parents." Chloe was about to open her mouth to scream at me for not letting my dad meet Jesse's parents yet, but I paused her. "It's hard for them to just meet up! They're distanced, maybe one thousand miles. It's not something you can just call and invite for dinner."
"Yeah, I know. Good luck with that, girl."
It was that unfortunate time now, the entire week flew by and it was Saturday morning. The morning my father, Shelia, Jesse, and I were flying to New York. We had all boarded the plane easily, with no disruptions.
Much to my disappointment, there were four seats to a row, so my dad insisted we all sit in one. Oh boy, were we in for a trip. I made Jesse sit next to my dad so I could have a window seat and be away from him. Jesse held my hand, covering the ring until I was ready to tell my dad and Sheila.
And right now, I definitely wasn't ready.
Wow, it has been over a month since I have updated. And for that, I am so sorry. I updated With All My Heart twice in that huge time gap though. I would have posted this Friday night, but my laptop's internet refused to work, and no one could get it working, so we had to take it to the store and fix it. Long story short, it took forever because the assholes behind the counter were way too consistent.
So yay, chapter 53. (enthusiasm is intended)
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