The door to the rented room swung open and the three entered, bruised battered, and defeated.
Jesse slammed the door behind them before she collapsed on the couch. Meowth rubbed a bruised arm
and mumbled.
"One of dese days dos twerps are gonna end up killin' us!" James sighed and pulled the make
shift bandage he had made from strips of his dress away from his bleeding arm.
"I don't know. I thought this was one of our softer landings."
"That's because you landed on your head." Jesse mumbled. Her words were muffled from her
face being buried in the couch. James shrugged, pretending not to be stung by her words. Meowth
yawned.
"Meowth's gonna land into his bed. See you two in da mornin'." Meowth vanished into one of
the bedrooms. James looked down at himself. The bridle gown he wore was now torn and filthy. His
body didn't look too good either.
"Jesse, did you want to shower first?" He asked.
"No, I'm too tired to even stand up." She replied. "Go ahead. But save some hot water will you?
I might change my mind."
"OK." James agreed obediently. He shuffled into the bath room and tore the remains of the
gown off. He turned on the water and slipped into the steam that rose from behind the curtain.
As James rinsed the dirt and dried blood from his body, he reflected on the day. Yet another plan
to capture Pokemon down the drain. Despite their failure, James had to smile. He replayed the vision of
he and Jesse dressed in wedding attire. Of course, at his real wedding, he didn't plan of wearing the dress.
James sighed as he recalled how great Jesse had looked in that Tux. She had always looked good
in formal men's wear. Of course, Jesse looked goon in anything.
James wondered if Jesse had meant what she said about always having her heart broken by some
guy. It was hard to imagine her as one of those people who would break down and cry for hours while
listening to sad songs if some one broke up with them. If any thing, James figured that Jesse would be the
one breaking hearts. She had a real knack for doing strange and unusual things to his.
James had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice how long he'd been in the shower
until the water turned ice cold. He quickly shut off the water and jumped out. He prayed that Jesse would
be too tired to want a shower. James tossed on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt after drying off, and
walked out into the main room.
Jesse was still laying on the couch, but it was apparent that she had moved at some point. Her
hair was wet and pulled back in a long braid. She had changed out of the mangled tuxedo into a
burgundy satin robe that came down to just above her knees. There was a bottle of aspirin and a half
empty glass of water on the coffee table by the couch. Jesse didn't even bother to look up or open her eyes
when she heard him come out of the bathroom.
"So much for saving some hot water." She muttered. James sat down in an arm chair.
"Sorry." He said, softly. "I wasn't paying attention, I guess." Jesse sighed.
"It doesn't really matter. I probably wasn't going to take a shower tonight any way." They sat in
silence for a moment before Jesse got up the energy to speak again. "If you want to make it up to me, I
could use a back rub."
"Sure." James agreed readily. Then he hoped Jesse hadn't noticed. Jesse moved herself onto her
stomach with a long groan.
"We're getting too old for this..." She mumbled as James positioned himself on the couch behind
her. He began to firmly massage her shoulders. Jesse's muscles were tense, but they eased up as James
worked. "Mmmm...Thank you..." She murmured softly. James didn't want to wreck the peaceful
moment, especially since Jesse seemed to be less angry now. But that one question had been gnawing at
James for hours. He felt like he'd die if he didn't ask.
"Jesse?" It took Jesse a moment to respond.
"Hmmm?" James swallowed before he continued.
"Were you serious about what you said earlier. About always having your heart broken?" Jesse
opened her eyes and blinked. She thought for a moment before answering.
"Not always broken. A long time ago, yes. But after so many stupid jerks, you get numb to being
screwed with. After a while I just stopped trying." James frowned.
"You shouldn't give up. There are a lot of jerky guys, but there's some one out there who will
really love you." Despite her lack of energy, Jesse laughed loudly.
"Yeah, and we'll live happily ever after, in a little white house, with a white picket fence. We'll
have two kids and a dog. And every night, my husband and I will sit on the porch and count the stars
together, or some lame crap like that." Jesse snickered and then calmed down again. She sighed.
"Besides, why do I need to find my prince when I have you?" James was a little surprised by her
comment.
"What'd do you mean?" He asked. He felt Jesse shrug her shoulders under his hands.
"You're nice. You take care of me, look out for me. You're always there for me. Your the only
guy I know who isn't a jerk." She reached a hand up and patted James on the wrist. "You're all the prince
I need, James."
Jesse closed her eyes again and relaxed. James' hands kept moving, but his train of thought had
stopped. Jesse's words had clicked on something inside of him. She'd never said anything like that to him
before. James' heart was pounding. He couldn't even see. The only things he was aware of was that he
was touching Jesse, and he could hear her breathing softly. Her words repeated themselves over and over
again in his head. He was probably making a big deal out of nothing, but he didn't care.
James didn't feel his head moving. He didn't even know what he was doing until it was too late.
His body and his mind were working against each other. His shoulders and back bent themselves and his
head lowered by itself. Before he could stop himself, James bent over Jesse. He softly pressed his lips
against her neck. His hands still massaged her back, but lowered themselves from her shoulders down to
the middle of her back.
Jesse was taken by surprise. She took in a sharp breath when James' lips met her skin. Her eyes
flew open and she froze. They had hugged. Held hands, and been close. But James had never gone this
far before. He was softly kissing the back of her neck. His hands had moved down and he had stopped
rubbing her back. He was now holding her gently by the waist. It took Jesse a moment to register what
was happening before she could react.
"James! What are you doing?" She turned herself over quickly and found herself looking up at
James. His lips were parted and his face was blank. Instead of an answer, Jesse took in another surprised
breath as James ran his lips from her cheek to her neck. He trailed his kisses to the nape of her neck.
Jesse heard him whisper into her flesh.
"I love you, Jessica."
"James..." Jesse wasn't sure what to do. She was shocked beyond believe. James had wrapped
his arms around her shoulders and was holding her as close as he could. This had all hit so suddenly for
Jesse. She didn't know what to do or what to think. In a moment of desperation, she did the only thing
she could think of.
James reeled backwards on the couch. He rubbed the side of his head that Jesse had slapped.
After the blow, Jesse leapt on the couch and stood staring at James. They were both breathing heavily.
Jesse rubbed her neck, the feeling of James' lips still lingered.
"What the hell were you doing?" She asked. James looked up at her longingly.
"I'm sorry Jesse." He spoke so softly it was almost a whisper. "I love you, and I have for a long
time. You're the most wonderful person in the world. My parents always wanted to change me, for me to
be they way they wanted me. You're the only person who accepted me for who I am. You're the most
beautiful woman on earth. You're face is the last thing I see when I go to sleep at night, and the first
thing on my mind when I wake up." Jesse looked at James. She was stunned. She had known him for
years, and never once had she even thought he felt this way.
"James, I..." She started but couldn't think of how to finish. James got up from off the couch.
He stood infront of Jesse and looked her in the eye.
"Jesse, I know you've been hurt by men in the past. But I'm not like them. I'm not going to leave
you, ever. I know you're difficult to deal with sometimes and you have a short fuse. But really, you're not
a horrible person. You're my best friend, and I'll always care about you." James walked over to Jesse and
knelt down on both knees. He gently ran his hands around her waist and pulled her close. He looked up
at her and smiled. " So you can pound on me all you want. But I love you, and I'll never stop loving you.
I swear." Jesse put her hands on James' shoulders and looked down at him for a moment. She closed her
eyes and let his words sink in.
"James..." He voice was low and it scared James a little. Jesse squeezed his shoulders and shook
her head. "Sometimes I don't know what I'm going to do with you." She opened her eyes and looked
down at James again. His face was worried, but still hopeful. After a moment, Jesse smiled. She got
down on her knees and let James hold her. She leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. James smiled
in relief and kissed Jesse on the lips. After a while, they parted and Jesse laughed softly. She hugged
James as they both stood up. She whispered softly in his ears.
"When I get up in the morning, I'm still going to bash you for using up all the hot water." James
smiled and giggled. He buried his lips in Jesse's soft warm skin again.
"Yes, M'am."