Chapter twelve
Jessie is standing in front of her mirror wearing a bra and undies and deciding what to wear. She pulls out a pair of jeans and a tight aqua singlet. Putting it in front of her she can't help but frown and puts the top back in the closet.
B/W Jessie: I've never cared about how I looked when I hung out with Tad before. Why am I starting now?
Jessie continues to look for something to wear when she hears a nock on her door.
"It's open!"
Grace walks into the room and stands still for a moment, looking at Jessie. Jessie turns to Grace and frowns.
"What are you smiling about?" she mutters.
Grace laughs.
"You're so smitten, Jess!"
"Am not," she mutters.
"Jess, it's ok if you like him," Grace reassures her.
Jessie sighs and sits down on the bed.
"I've never really liked a guy before, Grace."
B/W Grace: This totally reminds me of how I felt when I first fell for Eli.
Grace sits down next to Jessie and pats her leg.
"Listen, just see how today goes. If he makes a move, then great. If he doesn't there are plenty of other guys."
Jessie slowly nods and gets up from the bed. She moves over to the closet and continues to look for something to wear. Grace moves over to her and pulls out a light green three-quarter length sleeved t-shirt and a pair of white pants.
"Here, this is perfect."
Jessie smiles at Grace and gives her a quick hug.
"You're the best, Grace."
Grace waves her off and leaves the room so that Jessie can get ready in privacy. Jessie fingers the clothing on the bed and smiles softly.
B/W Jessie: It's nice having a big sister. Grace understands what I'm going through.
Eli throws his guitar onto the stage and he jumps up so that he can take a look around. He smiles as he sees Coop and Jules walk in and waves them over.
"Dudes, this is gonna be awesome!"
Coop and Jules join him on the stage and soak in the room.
"Eli, I bet you're freakin' out right about now, hey?" laughs Coop and he nudges Jules.
"I better not screw this up," Eli mutters.
"You'll be fine, man. Trust me," Jules reassures him.
The guys arrange the instruments and set up the rest of the equipment. Eli goes back to the car to collect a box.
Jessie is in the kitchen, setting up some food and cleaning up the kitchen table. She stops to look around, adjusts her top, and takes a deep breath. The door bell rings and Jessie freezes for a second. As she walks to the front door she counts to ten, trying to calm her self down. Just before opening the door she runs her hand through her hair, adjusts her top and takes a deep breath. When she opens the door, Tad is standing there in a pair of jeans, thongs and a light blue t-shirt. He's holding some books in one hand and the other hand is in his pocket. He looks her up and down quickly and a small smiles flashes across his face. Jessie goes a little red.
"Hey Tad."
"Hey Jess," he beams.
Jessie waves her hand for Tad to come in and he follows her to the kitchen.
"Would you like a soda? Juice?"
"Ah, soda would be great, thanks."
Tad takes a seat at the table and nervously looks through his books. Jessie pours two sodas and sits down next to Tad. When she places the glasses on the table her hand accidentally touches Tad's and they both go red.
"So, where do you want to start?" mumbles Jessie as she flicks through her books.
Tad takes a sip of soda and coughs.
"Maybe we should summarize the values in point form first," he suggests.
Jessie nods and picks up a high lighter. Tad looks down at his book and starts to take some notes.
They spend a couple of minutes in silence, going through their books, sipping soda and eating chips and chocolate.
"We should do this more often, study together that is."
"I'd like that," Jessie smiles.
They go back to working and every once in a while they exchange looks.
"So, uh, there's that new Johnny Depp movie on…the pirate movie," he casually mentions.
Jessie feels her heart beat start to speed and her cheeks go warm.
"Yeah, it looks really good."
Tad smiles slightly as he highlights a line.
"Wanna see it tomorrow?"
Jessie coughs.
"Sure, that'd be great, Tad," she smiles.
Tad shakes his head in excitement and takes a gulp of soda. Jessie goes slightly red, smiles and goes back to her book.
Grace is sitting at her desk catching up on some homework when her mobile phone beeps. She picks it up to find a message:
"hey babe, just found out the gig is at 7:30, not 8. Can you get there early?"
B/W Grace: Typically guy style, changing plans at the last minute.
Grace messages Eli back:
"sure thing, but trust you to get the timing wrong! Xox"
Grace smiles and goes back to her homework. Suddenly she hears another beep.
"I may get the timing wrong but you always cum in the end. Xox back at you babe"
Grace groans at his corniness and laughs. She then turns back to her homework and hums to an unknown song.
Lilly looks into the mirror and puts on some lipstick. She puckers up her lips and smacks them together. Rick is getting out of the shower and wraps a towel around his waist. Lilly looks over at him via the mirror and smiles.
"I'm impressed with Eli."
"So am I. He seems to be becoming a man, thanks to Grace."
"Oh and to your fabulous parenting skills," Lilly laughs.
Rick grins and grabs another towel. He lightly whacks it on Lilly's behind and she laughs.
"You know, there's still some time before we have to get to the club," Rick mentions casually.
Lilly looks at the bed and then back at Rick.
"I think I can squeeze you in," she smiles slightly and walks over to the bed.
Rick throws down the towel and chases after her. He throws her onto the bed and they laugh together. Lilly passionately kisses Rick and he wraps his arms around her.