Disclaimer: Nope I still don't own Bend it Like Beckham, maybe if I beg a little Gurinder Chadha might take pity on me and give me a little secondary prize... like Joe...
Author's Note: Thank you so much Becca for that kind review, my first review too! I could almost cry myself into oblivion... except I won't for I must be strong and produce more chapter's for Just Bend It. May the force be with me!... Er... sorry wrong movie.
P.S.: Becca, at heart we are all grammar whores.
Summary: Sometimes, off the field life isn't as easy as it should be, and during those trying times of the "heart" and "spirit", you wake up and realize something. You've just got to get over it and just bend it!
Just Bend It
Chapter Two: Unexpected Occurrences
Jess ran down the staircase and was about to fly out the door when she collided into her father's back.
"Sorry about that dad." Jess apologized while sweeping the loose strands of hair out her face. Anupam Bhamra looked down his daughter with an unspoken question in his dark eyes. "I'm going to the park for a run with Jules. I've got to keep in shape y'know."
Anupam's eyes shifted towards his daughter's collar and Jess scrambled to pull up the zipper of her sweat shirt. "You have been here less than twenty-four hours and you are already ready to run off again Jess." Jess hoped that her face was relaxed and was not giving away any signs of her nervousness. Anupam shook his head and cleared the doorway to let his younger daughter pass. "Just make sure you're home by lunch, Pinky and your mother want to have a luncheon with you."Anupam waved his hands in a shooing motion. "Go ahead."
Jess' face cracked a small smile and she stood on her tippy-toes to kiss her father on his cheek. "Thanks dad I'll see you later!" Jess shot pass him to run down the pavement on her way to the park.
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"I must say, your sister is right. That is a mighty big hickey." Jules said as she inspected the "medal" of honor gracing Jess' collarbone. Jules and Jess were in the same park where she, Jules, first saw Jess playing soccer.
"Yea, I know. When I get my hands on Joe, I swear. What if my father had noticed it? Or better yet, my mother! She barely likes me playing soccer, if she saw a hickey who knows what she would do. Mind you she is very good with a kitchen knife!"
Jules out right laughed at Jess and all Jess could do was glare at her, even though it had no affect on the English woman at all. After five minutes of straight laughter on her part, Jules sobered up."Maybe you should come out and just tell your parents about Joe and you. They might not react all that bad to it."
Jess stopped her cooling down exercise to look at the blonde, just to make sure she was talking to the real Juliette Evelyn Paxton, she had learned her middle name from Mrs. Paxton. "We are talking about the same Bhamra family, right? Because quite frankly I think you have them confused with some other family." Jess got up from the ground and started to wipe the dirt off her jogging pants and Jules joined her not even two seconds later, dumping some water on her short hair.
Jules shook the water out her hair in a way that reminder Jess of her neighbor's dog when he dried himself after he was washed. The dog always got the water off of himself, but never spared those around him the pleasure of getting wet. "You'll never know until you give it a try. Try telling your father first, he seems a bit more reasonable and from there you two can take on your mother."
Sigh. "It's not that simple Jules, and you know it. While Joe is a wonderful guy with a great personality, he lacks in one major department."
Jules raised an eyebrow."And that would be?"
Another sigh escaped Jess' mouth."He's not Indian."
"Oh, yeah." Jess nodded her head slowly as if to affirm her friends revelation.
"Hey is that you Jess?" A voice called out from across the park. That tenor voice could only belong to one person in Jess' mind it was...
"Tony." Jess turned around to greet her friend as he walked up to Jess and Jules. "Hey there. I thought I wasn't going to be able to see you until Monday, because someone here is busy with all their classes and studies." Tony smiled sheepishly. Jess didn't find it surprising when Tony told her that he was going to study to be a doctor, helping people had always been a calling for him ever since they were kids. Kind of like her and soccer.
"I wasn't going to be able to until my professor cancelled classes today. Turns out that he's allergic to shrimp." Looking over Jess' shoulder's Tony spotted Jules waiting patiently. "Hey there Jules."
"Hiya Tony." Jules and Tony got along well around each other although they didn't talk to each other much. Jules even knew about his secret, her reply at the time was the same as Jess, "But you're Indian...".
"So when am I going to meet you're Ameet. He is all I read about in your letters, I might as well get to see him in person while I'm here. And I better get to meet him this time, not like what happened on Christmas." Although in the last three years Tony had yet to reveal his secret to others, he did meet a nice Indian guy named Ameet a year ago and Jess had yet to meet the infamous Ameet.
"I promise you will this time Jess. I just came by to say hi."
"Umm..."
"Your mother who found out from your father, that you went out early to run. So I came here."
"Oh."
Anyways, I should be going I've got to get to the university, I've got a class in twenty. Bye Jess, bye Jules."
"Bye Tony." Jules and Jess said in unison, three years together had fined tuned them into the other's head and speech. It was a bit uncanny, at least to those who didn't know Jess and Jules very well
"Oi and Jess, if I were you I would be heading home right about now."
Jess looked at Tony in wonder, she knew that her mother and sister wanted to have a luncheon with her, but what could be so urgent that she had to go home now. "Why?"
Tony held up three fingers. "Three words: Bubbly, Taz, Marriage."
"Another wedding!" Jess exclaimed in pure annoyance.
"Yup, and because this one doesn't include, expect the 'Marriage Speech', even though you have a boyfriend."
"Damn."
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"I don't understand it Jessminder! At your age I was already married to your father and was about to have Pinky, for goodness sakes..." Shaheen Bhamra droned on and on as Jess poked at her Aloo Gobi, blanking in and out of her mother's speech. A speech that was more like a rant. "... When are you going to find a nice Indian boy to settle down with, eh? Bubbly already has found one..."
"Mom." Pinky interrupted Shaheen's rant. "Give Jess a break, she is in college studying she doesn't have time for guys. I'm sure when the time is right she'll find a good one." Pinky had a way with pestering Jess about Joe one moment, then turning around and defending her from their mother's Jess-You-Better-Hurry-Up-And-Get-Married-Soon Speech-Rant'.Pinky didn't mind Joe, and on occasion he did make her laugh, whether it was at him or with him was another case. Plus Megana loved to play with him outside, Pinky just said that if he ever got her daughter into soccer she would castrate him. At times Jess took this as a personal insult, but then she got over the next moment, after all one soccer girl in the family was enough to bring "shame" on them all, who knew what could happen if there were two soccer girls.
"Fine, but I just want you to turn into your father's niece, Imani, she runs around in short skirts showing off her legs and is divorced for goodness sakes. He poor mother–"
"– Can't even walk into blah blah blah or blah blah blah anymore without the shame of her daughter following her, we know." Both Pinky and Jess finished in unison, after all years of being exposed to the same story did have that kind ofaffect on a person.
"And can you imagine this, Imani is remarried to an American red-haired blue-eyed goreh! Oh the shame her mother must feel." Unconsciously Jess lowered herself in her chair, hoping that if she slouched her mother wouldn't notice the dead on look of fright in her eyes. Inadvertently Pinky's eyes met Jess' from across the table, both knowing that this wasn't a good sign for Jess at all.
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"I don't think telling my parents is going to happen anytime soon Jules. You heard her reaction to Imani marrying someone who isn't Indian, imagine what her reaction would be if I told her about Joe and I?" Jess had always gotten along with Imani, she was a free-spirited and innovative woman, who know that she was doomed to follow her footsteps into "shame".
Jules laid sprawled out on Jess' bed. Jess immediately called her after her luncheon with her mother and sister and after her mother went to go grocery shopping. Jules arrived on her doorstep not even sixteen minutes later. "You can't keep it a secret forever. That just doesn't work out for you." Jules was referring to her and the Hounslow Harriers pre-Pinky's wedding.
"I know I know but–" A knock at Jess' door stopped the rest of the words from leaving Jess' mouth."Come in."
Pinky's head poked through a crack in the door. "You've got ten minutes till mom gets back and don't let her catch your guest in the room." Jess opened her mouth to say, 'Why would mom care if Jules was here?', when Pinky's head disappeared and Joe entered the room. Hopefully he didn't here the earlier part of her and Jules' conversation. The door quickly shut behind Joe and silence engulfed the room without any effort.
Joe awkwardly waved. "Hi."
"Hey." Jess and Jules were in harmony once again.
"So... umm, why'd you stop by?" Jess asked timidly, a bit to timid for her own taste.
A smile broke out on Joe's face and the awkwardness was gone. "I came here to invite you to dinner with my parents. I told them you were back in town and they want to have breakfast with you tomorrow afternoon. So what do you say?"
"I'd loved to but, how exactly would I pull it off?" A speck of annoyance and anger flashed in the hidden depths of Joe's eyes and Jess knew exactly why they were there. Joe was sick and tired of sneaking behind her parents back, it was tiring and annoying to both of them, but Jess knew it had to be done this way or there would be no Joe and Jess. Jess could see the words forming on Joe's mouth, ready to roll of his tongue to start another dispute over the issue.
Luckily, before Joe could say anything, Jules decided to let her presence to be known. "Oh, oh, I know, I know!" She bounced up and down on her knees on Jess' bed. Both Joe and Jess turned to look her, waiting for her to tell them her plan. "It's easy. Remember that time last Spring when we slept over Joe's but said we were staying over Mel's?" Both Joe and Jess groaned. Memories overwhelmed Jess' floodgates, memories of one drunk Jules, one sober Joe, and one sober Jess trying to keep the tall female out of trouble. The vomiting during the night and the hangover the next morning. Jess called both of their parent's telling them they were staying over Mel's when in actuality they were at Joe's apartment, with Jess and Joe nursing a overly intoxicated Jules.
Joe jammed his hands into his back pocket. "How could we ever forget."
"Well all you've got to do is the same thing this time... minus a drunk me and substitute Mel's for my house."
"But won't your mother and father notice I'm missing when you go home and in the morning?"
"All we have to do is sneak you out later tonight and you'll meet me at the park around six, I'll tell them you went out earlier than me for a longer run. See easy." Jules was simply ecstatic at her own sheer brilliance, to say the least.
"Sounds okay to me, what do you think Jess." Both Joe and Jules decided it was time to play stare at Jess until she started to squirm and twitch. It was a fun game, unless you were being the one stared at.
"Well..."
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Jess dropped her bags by Joe's black leather couch. It was nearing nine when she reached Jules and it was at ten fifty-nine that Jess reached Joe's apartment. Now it was eleven thirteen, Jess unceremoniously plopped herself on a leather couch, letting the cool leather massage her skin and tired limbs.
Joe's place was a two bedroom apartment with a living room, an open kitchen, a nook, a fireplace and a full bathroom. The larger bedroom was used as Joe's room, the second was more of a storage closet than a room to Jess. A desk and chair, along with a lamp, stayed hidden underneath unpacked boxes, empty boxes, paper, and pictures.
The apartment looked no different from a year ago, the first time she had ever been to Joe's place. His apartment was directed in the "typical" masculine style, but because it was Joe, everything was neat except for the storage closet.
"I'm going to get changed." Joe called out as he disappeared down the hallway. Jess merely muttered a 'uh-huh' then right away went back to her limbo of half-awake and half-asleep state. She was barely awake when Joe made his reappearance clad in blue boxers... only blue boxers. Jess was allowed a peak at the lean, but not thin man. He was corded with muscle but not too much as though he looked like a musclebuilder. The muscles were just enough to give him a frame.
Jess was startled awake when Joe placed her in his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. She felt him sink his face into her dark silky locks and 'secretively' smell her hair. Jess naturally relaxed in his embrace as he murmured into her ear. "So how has your stay back in England so far?"
Jess yawned and shifted in his arms. "Not much to say since I've been here just a bit more than twenty-four hours."
"Well then, we better make sure the next few hours are exceptionally good." Joe began to nuzzle her neck with his nose, turning her towards slowly he kissed his way down to her collar bone, where he met up with the "medal" of honor gracing Jess' collarbone by his own mouth. He smiled against her olive skin before he started play with the hickey with his tongue. Slowly but surely Jess could feel Joe's coarse hands make their way under her loose shirt and when they did, she wasn't very surprised that they began too began to play with her skin. Joe's soft mouth was making its way upward towards her mouth and was almost there when a low grumbling earthquake erupted from Jess' stomach. Joe could not help but laugh. "Guess maybe I should feed you, love. Wouldn't want anything to happen to you, right?"
Untangling his legs from hers, Joe got up from the couch, heading for the kitchen. Jess sat frozen on the couch with a light pink hue working its way to her cheeks.
"Does mac and cheese sound good to you?" Joe was bend over at the waist looking for a pot in a cabinet. Jess turned her head so that she could see Joe in the kitchen.
"Yea, sure." Jess could here herself call out to him even though it did not register to her mind that she had said it. Jess was to busy admiring her full view of Joe's butt with no distractions or interruptions.
"Dammit, I can't find the stupid pot, it's got to be here somewhere." Joe kept searching for the pot and Jess kept admiring. Somewhere in Jess' mind a red light flashed on and off repeatedly and a voice called out,
'Danger! Danger! Mayday! Mayday!' but she was having a hard time multi-tasking when it came to an inner voice and Joe's butt.
Jess really wished she had listened to the voice when Joe turned around triumphant with pot in hand and caught where her eye's were, or more like where her eyes were set to. Jess turned around and directed her gaze to the blank t.v. and kept it there.
"See anything you like?"
Jess decided to play innocent until proven guilty. "Yea, I already told you that your apartment looks nice a year ago."
"No, you know that's not what I'm talking about." Joe's voice came directly from behind her into her ear. Jess turned around and found herself literally nose to nose with her boyfriend.
"Nope, don't know what you're talking about."
One eyebrow cocked over a pale gray eye. "You were checking out my butt."
"Was not!" An indignant look mixed in with shock.
"Was too!" Joe tugged on Jess' ponytail.
"Was not!" She turned her back to Joe. Joe jumped over the side of the couch to land next to Jess, then he pounced on her. Literally.
Joe held her hands captive with one of his own over her head, his other had helped to keep all his body weight off of her on the side, and he held her legs down with his own. Joe kissed the hickey again and Jess wouldn't have been surprised to find out that Joe could make a hickey on top of a hickey. "No worries, I've stared at your butt before. I did last night in fact, but I do it discreetly so no one notices. Not even the subject." Jess tried to unlock one of her hands from his grip to hit him, but Joe would not let go of her wrist and he smirked an all-knowing-smug smirk at her. "You know what."
"What?" Jess was not very pleased at the moment so her reply was a bit ruff.
"I think I'm hungry."
"So go finish making the mac and cheese already." Joe's pot was already abandoned on the floor behind the couch when he went to pounce Jess.
"I have a better idea."
"Wha–" Joe captured Jess' mouth with his own and Jess' rude reply floated somewhere off to another part off her brain, a part of her brain not occupied by Joe, Joe's mouth, or Joe kissing her.
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That's it for this chapter. Reviews? Praise? Critique? Praise the shiny button on the bottom. It
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