Chapter 5

Rory paced around her room. Jess would be there in a little less than an hour and she was trying to figure out what she should be wearing when he did arrive. She had nearly every article of clothing laid out on her floor and bed. She was sure why she cared how she looked when he saw her but she did. She wanted him to see her as an independent young woman but that was very difficult when she was living in the apartment her boyfriend was paying for. She finally decided on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She thought it would give off a relaxed vibe. It helped, though, that Logan had told her that her butt looked great in this particular pair of sweats. She walked into the kitchen to try and find some food to offer him. Unfortunately her mother's love of delivery and take-out food had rubbed off on her and the only thing in her kitchen was some old left over Chinese. She decided to order a pizza, hoping that waiting for the delivery guy would make waiting for Jess go faster.

The pizza arrived just as Jess called her to say he was getting off the highway. She found a few paper plates and set them out with the pizza on the coffee table. She turned on the TV and tried to find something to watch. She didn't want Jess to know that she had been waiting for him. She even ate a slice of pizza so he wouldn't think she ordered it for him. He would think it was just a normal night for her and he just happened to be there. She settled on a nature documentary about hippos on the Discovery Channel. Suddenly, there was a knock at her door and she jumped. She tucked her hair behind her ears and walked calmly to the door. She smiled at Jess.

"Hey you. Come on in."

He walked in, amazed by the size of her apartment. "Rory, this place is huge."

"I know right. I was thinking of having Paris move in next semester but then I realized that I was thinking of having Paris move in next semester and came back to my senses."

"Well thanks for having me."

"No problem. I mean, I love having company." There was an awkward silence. "I have a pizza. I mean, do you want some pizza?"

"I'm starved." They sat down on the couch and Jess devoured a whole slice in seconds. He wiped his mouth and said, "Oh I forgot. I brought you some wine." He pulled the bottle out of his bag and handed it to her.

"Thanks Jess. Should I open it now?"

"Sure. I mean, I'm not really sure if red is the proper pairing for pepperoni pizza but who really worries about that stuff?"

"I'll go grab some glasses." She got up and ran in to the kitchen. He watched her as she looked in every cabinet for a glass. She was still as beautiful and captivating as she was the day he met her, probably even more so. That Logan's a lucky son of a bitch, he thought. He saw her pull two plastic cups from a drawer and quickly turned around so she wouldn't catch him looking at her. "All I have is plastic."

Jess rolled his eyes jokingly. "Well I suppose this will have to do. I'm surprised Ritchie Rich doesn't have a full set of champagne flutes or something."

"Jess, he's not that bad."

"I didn't say he was bad. I said he was rich."

"Just be glad he gave me this apartment. If he hadn't you'd be all alone at Motel Six right now." She poured them both very full glasses of wine. She handed him his.

"Well then we'll drink to Logan and his gift of giving."

Rory shook her head but tapped her cup against his. She took a big sip of the wine and coughed. "Jess this is probably the worst wine I've ever had in my life."

He laughed. "I know. But I only had ten dollars and this was all I could afford." He watched her take another big sip. "If it's so bad why are you still drinking it?"

"I'm twenty-one years old. I'll pretty much drink anything with alcohol in it."

He looked at the TV. "Oh the hippo special. This is a good one."

"You've seen it?"

"Like three times. I always get choked up when the baby hippo gets eaten by the crocodile."

"The baby hippo gets eaten?"

"Yeah. It's really all the mother's fault. She left him with her sister but her sister went to get some food or something and left the baby all alone. So then the family of hippos has this big fight and the two hippo sisters refuse to swim in the same lake. It's all very dramatic."

"You're so full of shit."

"I know." They sat together in silence together for a while, drinking cheep wine and watching hippos swim around and fight one another. Suddenly, a huge crocodile lunged out of the water and grabbed the baby hippo, dragging it underwater. Rory jumped, spilling her wine all over her shirt and lap.

"Shit. I thought you were making all of that up."

"I thought I was too. Baby animals are always getting eaten on these shows so I guess it was a safe guess."

"I have to go change. I hope this shirt isn't ruined." She put her half empty cup on the table and walked into her bedroom. She pulled the door shut and pulled her shirt over her head. She tossed it into the hamper and slipped off her pants, just letting they crumple up on the floor. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Her once white bra was now a lovely shade of purple. She jumped when she saw Jess's reflection behind her. "Jess! What are you doing?"

"I was looking for the bathroom."

"It's the next door down." She remembered that she was semi nude and tried to cover herself with her hands and a blanket that was draped over the end of her bed.

"Oh. That's good to know." He stepped closer to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to lean in and kisser her lips.

Rory jumped back. "What are you doing?"

"I was going to kiss you."

"I figured out that part."

"So what's the problem?"

"That is the problem. What about Logan?"

"What about him?"

"He's my boyfriend, Jess."

"Is he? He's been in London for almost a month and you haven't even gotten a postcard."

Rory didn't know what to say. Jess once again closed the gap between them. He tried to kiss her again and this time she let him. The familiar feeling sent shivers up her spine. She dropped the blanket and wrapped her arms around him. Jess began kissing her neck and collarbone. He could taste the wine on her skin. He slowly moved her against the wall. Rory pushed him away and watched as he pulled his shirt off. She kissed him again and started to unzip his jeans. He stepped out of his pants and underwear and pusher her back up against the wall. He slowly worked her panties down her legs. Rory let him unhook her bra and shrugged it off of her shoulders, removing the last piece of clothing between them. Jess picked her up and she wrapped her legs around her torso. She closed her eyes and sighed, focusing on the passion between them as he thrusted deeper and deeper inside of her. "Oh, Jess," she moaned and kissed him passionately. He moved faster, rubbing her back red against the wall. She knew that would hurt in the morning but right now she didn't care. She held tightly to him, kissing his neck and scratching his strong back so he was covered in white stripes. She came first, writhing against him, and he soon followed.

Jess kept her in his embrace and carried her to the bed. They both collapsed, exhausted and panting. "Well that was unexpected," Rory said when she finally caught her breath.

"You know how I love being random." Jess kissed her hand and placed it on his chest with his hand covering it.

Rory pulled a blanket over their bodies and snuggled up against him. She waited for some feeling of guilt to come washing over her but it never came. She fell asleep feeling more at peace than she had in months.