Chapter Forty-Two: Dave's P.O.V.

The week and a half at Jessie's house was almost over before we knew it. It was the last day of my suspension and it was Jessie's turn to show me Boston's high life.

She was dressed in a little black dress with her hair pulled back except for a few stray pieces that hung in front of her face.

"Magnificent, as always," I told her.

She smiled back at me. "Same to you. Now, I hope you're not disappointed but I didn't get us a limo. Instead, I've got a 1969 Ford Mustang, completely refurnished and in mint condition."

"Are you serious? That's and awesome car, Jess."

"I know and if you do something for me, I might just let you drive it."

"And what would that be?"

She grabbed the tie I was wearing and pulled my lips down to hers. Right before she pulled away, she slipped the keys into my hand.

We walked out into the garage and I opened the door to reveal a polished black Mustang with white racing stripes.

"Damn! This car is almost as hot as you!" I told her.

"I'm glad you like it. Because it's yours now."

"What?" I asked, completely baffled by what she had just said. "Are you crazy? Why would you want to give away such an awesome car?"

"I never drive it. When I'm home I just take my truck everywhere. Plus, I felt my friendship wasn't nearly enough to pay you back for all that you did for me."

"I told you that I didn't care, Jess. I did it because I wanted to."

"Well, I'm doing this because I want to. Just take it and be happy about it. Now, we're going to be late for our reservations. We need to get going," she replied and climbed into the passenger side of the car.

Dinner that night was amazing and afterwards, Jess and I stood out on the balcony of the restaurant.

"So how did you get such an amazing car?" I asked her.

"Well, when my dad was half way decent, he bought it for me for my sixteenth birthday. He redid the interior and did a little work on the engine. That was before my mom died. Then, once she did, which was just a couple months after my birthday, he stopped working on it. But I kept taking it to places, getting stuff done all through college. Then I got my job and I didn't have much time to drive it, so it's just been sitting in my garage for the past two years."

"Good choices on everything."

"Thanks," she said as I looked at my watch.

"11:00, I guess we better head home."

We were grabbing our coats when we heard a clap of thunder.

"Great," Jessie said, sarcastically.

"What? You afraid of a little rain?" I grinned.

It was just sprinkling when we walked to the car but by the time we got home it had turned into a downpour.

We ran into the house in fear of getting or best clothes soaked.

"Holy shit! That was horrible!" I said to her once we got inside.

"What? Are you afraid of a little rain?" she asked, removing her coat.

"Ha-ha. Very funny," I told her as lightning lit up the room. "It looks like it's getting pretty bad out there."

"Yeah, the power's out," she replied, flipping the light switch but receiving nothing. "I'm going to go see if I have any candles. You might want to get out of those clothes before you get sick," she told me before walking into the kitchen.

I sighed before untying my shoes and undoing my tie. I made my way upstairs and into Jessie's bedroom, which we had been sharing the last couple of nights. I was unbuttoning my shirt when Jessie walked in with a couple of candles.

"If you need anything washed, just leave it out and I'll do it in the morning before we leave," she said, setting the candles on the dresser.

"Alright," I sighed. "I can't believe these three weeks are over. I almost don't want to go back to work."

"Yeah, I know. We'll definitely have to do this more often," she said, hugging me.

"Thanks, Jessie. For everything."

"No, Dave. I should be the one thanking you. These past three weeks have changed me. I'm more self-confident and easy going than I've ever been. And I have you to thank for that," she told me, pulling the unbuttoned shirt off of my shoulders.

"You need to get out of those wet clothes," I said to her.

She turned so her back was facing me and pulled her hair over her shoulder to reveal a zipper.

Wordlessly, I pulled it down to the small of her back and she turned back around. Rain was still pounding on the windows but it went unnoticed by Jessie and me. She pulled her hair down from the ponytail and ran her hand through it a couple of times. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. Every move Jessie made was smooth and graceful. I moved towards her and pushed the stray pieces of hair out of her eyes before leaning down to kiss her.

I pushed the dress off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. I lifted her up, not breaking the contact between our lips, and took her over to the bed. I softly and carefully laid her down as I felt her hands move to my waist and then to my belt buckle.

"Jessie, wait," I said, pulling away from her. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

She stared at me for a moment, her emerald eyes seemed to glow in the candlelight.

"Dave," she began, running her hand along my cheek. "I've never been surer of anything else in my entire life."