Disclaimer: I do not own any of the 1-800 Where R U characters. That honor
belongs to the fabulous writer who created them, Meg Cabot.
Claimer: I do however own Rob's cousins, and the plot of this story.
Rob's POV:
What am I doing?
This sentence kept bouncing around in my head while Jess and I went at it. I knew we shouldn't be making out like this, and I tried to stop a couple times. But then she'd let out this adorable little sigh, the one that screams how much she's enjoying herself without being screamed, and it's like I couldn't. Stop, I mean. For that hour, we weren't ourselves. We were different, better, the same, I guess you'd say. I held onto Jess's hips, pressing my body into hers, and was met with another one of those sighs. That noise made me sigh, since she wouldn't tear her lips away from mine to do it.
I finally broke off our kissing by sliding my tongue out of her mouth and biting her lower lip. Jess looked up at me with wonderment, as if afraid to speak, as if talking would ruin this moment. She ran her hand through my hair, over the cut on my forehead and kissed it. Her eyes- warm chocolate brown, but I swore they had flecks of green in them- said everything that our mouths couldn't. She broke our silent spell when I started kissing her neck.
"Rob...I love you." She whispered, carefully straining each word. So unlike her, but I guess that's understandable, considering the last time she told me this, I didn't repeat it back. That's gotta make her wonder.
But I do love her. I really do. I just...I didn't know how to say it exactly. Yeah, I know, just out with the words, add a little kiss to the cheek, and everything's fine. I get that. It's just getting the words out that is the problem.
Jess's POV:
I was having an epiphany.
It was different than the one from over the summer. That one had been more...platonic. When I was on the back of Rob's Indian, going from Camp Wawasee (A/N: Please tell me that's the correct name of the camp from Code Name Cassandra!) to Chicago, it was like, "Yeah. I could do this. Yanno, spend the rest of my life on the back of this bike, never deal with annoying little kids again, and be with Rob. Good stuff."
The one I was having in his room, however...
Well, that one was....more. I strongly suspect it had to do with the L word again.
When Rob was on top of me, I could tell he was having second thoughts. He kept pulling his tongue out of my mouth, then putting it back in, which is definitely distracting. Something kept changing his mind, and finally he just stopped. Trying to pull away, I mean. I stared into his eyes, and I saw...I swore, I saw love in them. Like, if I told him again that I loved him, maybe he'd say it back.
"Rob...I love you." I whispered. I so did not want to be hurt, so the voice that said them didn't sound like me at all. His eyes crossed with something, but it wasn't annoyance. It was something I hadn't seen before in his eyes. A smile crossed his face, and it too, was something I hadn't seen before.
A mixture of fear...and love. I ran my hand through his curly dark hair and kissed his scar again. I wanted to hear him say it back, but I didn't need to. I just knew.
He kissed my neck, and I sighed again. This one had a different tone to it than my other sighs had been, but it did not detour Rob from his quest. I closed my eyes and fell into it again...
Three Weeks Later, Christmas Eve
Jess's POV:
It was about noon when I heard Rob's Indian pull up. He was picking me up and then we were headed back to his place, to meet up with Rob's mom and Just-Call-Me-Gary before starting the drive to Evansville for Randy's wedding. I heard him stop the engine, throw down the kickstand, and then start for the door. I grabbed my bag, which held my dress (this long black prom type dress mom made me) and spare clothes to change to. I heard door open, and Rob and Mike started making small talk. Practically flying down the steps, I came to save Rob. Mike was going on about the weather forecast. "Their predicting a blizzard," He was saying. "So be careful with my little sister, got me?"
Oooo, Mike's trying to be all tough. I could see Rob's grin start at the corner of his eyes, but he kept a straight face. "Don't worry. We're leaving now to avoid any ice or slick patches."
"I didn't mean just the weather." Mike said, this weird look in his eyes. Stupid overprotective big brothers.
"Alright, let's head out." I said, way too much cheer in my voice. Mom and Dad weren't home- they had to take care of a few things down at Joe's- so I didn't have to deal with the third degree from them. "Tell everyone I'll be back tomorrow."
Mike gave me the typical yeah-whatever look, and then followed us outside. Rob put my bag into the Indian's storage compartment, and then handed me his spare helmet. Mike's over-protective look deepened as we drove away.
Guys. They bug me. Grrrrrrr.
So, when we got to Rob's house, his mom and Just-Call-Me-Gary were already waiting near the car. I took my bag and stuck it in the backseat of Just- Call-Me-Gary's pick up, since that was what we were driving to Evansville. Pretty nice backseat...Not that we would need it, considering there were adults present, but it's a good thing to know.
The drive was fairly quiet on Rob's part. He seemed kind of distant, but still had an arm around me, as we were in a half-sitting, half-laying snuggly position. Mrs. Wilkins kept up a stream of chatter, telling embarrassing stories about when Rob was little. She must have noticed his distantness as well.
I think it was when the baby pictures came out that Rob decided he should be a little more talkative, for his own good. It was too late, Mrs. Wilkins had passed me a picture of Rob the day he was born. She kept it in her wallet, I guess. The picture was of her, holding Rob, with this guy standing behind her, a hand on the new mom's shoulder. I knew immediately that this guy was Rob's dad. Not just because he tensed up under me, but because I'd already seen a picture of him once, and now knew he was in the Oklahoma Men's State Penitentiary doing 10-20 for armed criminal robbery.
"Awww, look at wittle Robbie..." I said in a baby voice. Rob gave me a 'that's so not funny' look, but you could tell he thought I was. Funny, I mean. I passed the picture back to Mrs. Wilkins as we neared the exit.
Twenty minutes later, I was surrounded by a million tiny gnats disguised as Rob's cousins. He never thought to tell me that he had five cousins, all under the age of eight, and all female.
Or that I was the first girlfriend he'd brought to meet his relatives. Like, ever.
I was actually relieved by this. But I was not relieved when all five of his cousins- Mikayla, 4, Lindsay, 5, Stasha, 6, Julie, 6, and Cheyanne, 8- all decided to rush me the second we walked in the door of the church. I was part of a Jessica sandwich, with five tiny people all trying to introduce themselves to me.
And none of the parents tried to stop them.
Seriously. If Rob had not jumped in with, "I've got presents!" I'd probably still have children attached to my hip. When I was finally free of kids, Rob looked at me and grinned. "Sorry. Guess I forgot to warn you."
I smirked. Right. Just like I've forgotten all those cute little stories....
But it was OK. I mean, it's just a bunch of small children. If I can find them, then I can certainly handle them. Right? Right?
Don't answer that.
This sentence kept bouncing around in my head while Jess and I went at it. I knew we shouldn't be making out like this, and I tried to stop a couple times. But then she'd let out this adorable little sigh, the one that screams how much she's enjoying herself without being screamed, and it's like I couldn't. Stop, I mean. For that hour, we weren't ourselves. We were different, better, the same, I guess you'd say. I held onto Jess's hips, pressing my body into hers, and was met with another one of those sighs. That noise made me sigh, since she wouldn't tear her lips away from mine to do it.
I finally broke off our kissing by sliding my tongue out of her mouth and biting her lower lip. Jess looked up at me with wonderment, as if afraid to speak, as if talking would ruin this moment. She ran her hand through my hair, over the cut on my forehead and kissed it. Her eyes- warm chocolate brown, but I swore they had flecks of green in them- said everything that our mouths couldn't. She broke our silent spell when I started kissing her neck.
"Rob...I love you." She whispered, carefully straining each word. So unlike her, but I guess that's understandable, considering the last time she told me this, I didn't repeat it back. That's gotta make her wonder.
But I do love her. I really do. I just...I didn't know how to say it exactly. Yeah, I know, just out with the words, add a little kiss to the cheek, and everything's fine. I get that. It's just getting the words out that is the problem.
Jess's POV:
I was having an epiphany.
It was different than the one from over the summer. That one had been more...platonic. When I was on the back of Rob's Indian, going from Camp Wawasee (A/N: Please tell me that's the correct name of the camp from Code Name Cassandra!) to Chicago, it was like, "Yeah. I could do this. Yanno, spend the rest of my life on the back of this bike, never deal with annoying little kids again, and be with Rob. Good stuff."
The one I was having in his room, however...
Well, that one was....more. I strongly suspect it had to do with the L word again.
When Rob was on top of me, I could tell he was having second thoughts. He kept pulling his tongue out of my mouth, then putting it back in, which is definitely distracting. Something kept changing his mind, and finally he just stopped. Trying to pull away, I mean. I stared into his eyes, and I saw...I swore, I saw love in them. Like, if I told him again that I loved him, maybe he'd say it back.
"Rob...I love you." I whispered. I so did not want to be hurt, so the voice that said them didn't sound like me at all. His eyes crossed with something, but it wasn't annoyance. It was something I hadn't seen before in his eyes. A smile crossed his face, and it too, was something I hadn't seen before.
A mixture of fear...and love. I ran my hand through his curly dark hair and kissed his scar again. I wanted to hear him say it back, but I didn't need to. I just knew.
He kissed my neck, and I sighed again. This one had a different tone to it than my other sighs had been, but it did not detour Rob from his quest. I closed my eyes and fell into it again...
Three Weeks Later, Christmas Eve
Jess's POV:
It was about noon when I heard Rob's Indian pull up. He was picking me up and then we were headed back to his place, to meet up with Rob's mom and Just-Call-Me-Gary before starting the drive to Evansville for Randy's wedding. I heard him stop the engine, throw down the kickstand, and then start for the door. I grabbed my bag, which held my dress (this long black prom type dress mom made me) and spare clothes to change to. I heard door open, and Rob and Mike started making small talk. Practically flying down the steps, I came to save Rob. Mike was going on about the weather forecast. "Their predicting a blizzard," He was saying. "So be careful with my little sister, got me?"
Oooo, Mike's trying to be all tough. I could see Rob's grin start at the corner of his eyes, but he kept a straight face. "Don't worry. We're leaving now to avoid any ice or slick patches."
"I didn't mean just the weather." Mike said, this weird look in his eyes. Stupid overprotective big brothers.
"Alright, let's head out." I said, way too much cheer in my voice. Mom and Dad weren't home- they had to take care of a few things down at Joe's- so I didn't have to deal with the third degree from them. "Tell everyone I'll be back tomorrow."
Mike gave me the typical yeah-whatever look, and then followed us outside. Rob put my bag into the Indian's storage compartment, and then handed me his spare helmet. Mike's over-protective look deepened as we drove away.
Guys. They bug me. Grrrrrrr.
So, when we got to Rob's house, his mom and Just-Call-Me-Gary were already waiting near the car. I took my bag and stuck it in the backseat of Just- Call-Me-Gary's pick up, since that was what we were driving to Evansville. Pretty nice backseat...Not that we would need it, considering there were adults present, but it's a good thing to know.
The drive was fairly quiet on Rob's part. He seemed kind of distant, but still had an arm around me, as we were in a half-sitting, half-laying snuggly position. Mrs. Wilkins kept up a stream of chatter, telling embarrassing stories about when Rob was little. She must have noticed his distantness as well.
I think it was when the baby pictures came out that Rob decided he should be a little more talkative, for his own good. It was too late, Mrs. Wilkins had passed me a picture of Rob the day he was born. She kept it in her wallet, I guess. The picture was of her, holding Rob, with this guy standing behind her, a hand on the new mom's shoulder. I knew immediately that this guy was Rob's dad. Not just because he tensed up under me, but because I'd already seen a picture of him once, and now knew he was in the Oklahoma Men's State Penitentiary doing 10-20 for armed criminal robbery.
"Awww, look at wittle Robbie..." I said in a baby voice. Rob gave me a 'that's so not funny' look, but you could tell he thought I was. Funny, I mean. I passed the picture back to Mrs. Wilkins as we neared the exit.
Twenty minutes later, I was surrounded by a million tiny gnats disguised as Rob's cousins. He never thought to tell me that he had five cousins, all under the age of eight, and all female.
Or that I was the first girlfriend he'd brought to meet his relatives. Like, ever.
I was actually relieved by this. But I was not relieved when all five of his cousins- Mikayla, 4, Lindsay, 5, Stasha, 6, Julie, 6, and Cheyanne, 8- all decided to rush me the second we walked in the door of the church. I was part of a Jessica sandwich, with five tiny people all trying to introduce themselves to me.
And none of the parents tried to stop them.
Seriously. If Rob had not jumped in with, "I've got presents!" I'd probably still have children attached to my hip. When I was finally free of kids, Rob looked at me and grinned. "Sorry. Guess I forgot to warn you."
I smirked. Right. Just like I've forgotten all those cute little stories....
But it was OK. I mean, it's just a bunch of small children. If I can find them, then I can certainly handle them. Right? Right?
Don't answer that.