"I've never been in a college dorm." Beck remarks as Jade uses her key to unlock the building "This is interesting."
"I'll give you a tour later..." She chuckles, pressing the button to call the elevator
The car arrives on the ground floor and a few people step off, exchanging awkward smiles with Beck and Jade as they step on. It's just after midnight, an odd time of night where people have either decided to go out or stay in, and not many people are making the transition between the two. When the elevator doors close, and she knows they're for sure alone, Jade grabs Beck's shirt and pulls him closer to her. He stumbles into her a bit, his lips forming a smile against her's as they begin to kiss. His hands find her waist as he gently pushes her backwards against the wall, and she wraps her arms around his neck to keep her balance. Suddenly the elevator stops, and a loud ding signals that they've reached the right floor.
"Which way?" Beck asks her
"Follow me." She tells him with a wink
They rush hand-in-hand down the corridor with Jade in the lead. She grabs her keys out of her purse, fumbling with excited anxiety as she unlocks the door. The apartment is dark, so she quickly reaches over and switches on the first light that she can find. In the dim illumination they both kick off their shoes, then turn to face each other.
"S'a nice place." Beck tells her "Now where were we?"
"I think..." Jade smirks as she moves closer to him, reaching out and placing a hand on his chest "We were somewhere around here..."
They're kissing again. Once, twice, three times, until they both realize it's impossible for them to get enough of each other. Beck's hands are all over Jade's body, up her arms and down her back, until he finally lifts her up and allows her to wrap her legs around his waist. They're kissing harder, and with a more urgent need than either of them has in a while.
"Back...bedroom..." Jade gives Beck directions between kisses
Beck stumbles a bit in the dark as he carries her to her bedroom, but stays strong in his stride. When they enter the room, he sets her down so she's standing and kicks the door closed behind him. He begins kissing her again, more gently this time so that they can set a softer mood, but it isn't gentle that Jade is looking for...not right now at least. She knots her fists in his shirt, pulling him harder against her. He groans softly, low in his throat, and then wraps her up in his arms, holding her against him as they both fall onto the bed. Jade rolls over, pushing Beck beneath her as she climbs on top of him.
"God, you're gorgeous..." He gasps with a smile as he looks up at her "You sure you want to do this? I don't want you to feel pressur-"
"I absolutely want to." She nods "You have something, right?"
"F'course, yeah." Beck says, fishing his wallet out of his pocket so he can grab a condom "Are you..."
"I'm on the pill." She assures him
"Okay, cool." He smiles "So we're good then?"
"We're good."
Within a matter of minutes their clothes are strewn all around Jade's bedroom, discarded and tossed to the side as the two of them undressed each other. It's the first time in months for both of them, although neither of them have admitted that to the other yet. Their hearts pound wildly, almost in tandem with each other, because not only are they excited and turned on...but they're both a bit nervous too. Nervous that the other might not be enjoying themselves, nervous that they're not living up to the standards that the other has set in their head, nervous that this might just turn out to be something more than they're letting it on to be...
Eventually they both lay beside each other, wrapped in bedsheets and breathing heavily as they stare at the ceiling, trying to catch their breath and still in the euphoria of what they had just done.
"That was pretty amazing..." Beck is the first to speak "You're amazing."
"Thanks..." Jade smirks "You're not so bad yourself."
"So, it was good then?" He clarifies "For you?"
"It was fantastic..." She smiles, rolling towards him and pressing a kiss to his lips "Wanna do it again?"
"Fuck..." Beck groans as Jade moves her lips and begins kissing his neck, and then his collarbone "Absolutely."
A light rain is falling the next morning, and clouds cover the sky. The sunlight that would have streamed through the window and woken Jade up is hidden, so she sleeps in longer than she would on a normal morning.
When she does wake up, however, she's slightly startled by the arm wrapped around her waist. Then she remembers the events from the night before, and relaxes a bit when she turns her head ever so slightly and sees that Beck is still there.
He stayed the whole night. He cuddled her in their sleep. He didn't run out at first light.
Not your typical hookup, at least not in her experience, but she's definitely not complaining.
"You awake?" Beck mumbles, his breath hot on her neck
"Barely..." She chuckles "You?"
"Barely..." He smirks "How'd you sleep?"
"Great." Jade admits "Although, it'd be hard not to after the night that we had. I was exhausted."
"Me too." Beck laughs
"Sorry you have to see me at my worst." Jade apologizes "M'not really much of a morning person."
"Neither am I." Beck says, moving her hair away from her face "For what it's worth though...you look great."
"With my hair all messed up and my makeup smeared all over the place?" She raises an eyebrow at him "Damn, you should see me after a shower and some coffee then."
"Nah..." Beck leans down to kiss her "I like you like this."
"There's something about you that I can't place..." Jade admits as she cups his face in her hands "Like maybe we've met before..."
"We met last night..." Beck laughs "Remember?"
"I remember, yes." Jade smirks "You're sure this is your first time in the city?"
"Pretty positive, yeah..." Beck nods with a smile "Wanna see if we can do something about that coffee?"
"Sure."
They both climb out of bed and collect their clothes off of the floor, getting dressed and wandering out into the main room of the apartment. The same light is still on from the night before, but other than that there doesn't appear to be any signs that anyone has come home. Cat is most likely still at Robbie's, having stayed the night, and won't be back for a while still.
"I can make us some here..." Jade offers "Or there's a coffee shop down the street."
"Let's go out." Beck suggests "I'll treat."
"You got the pancakes last night." Jade reminds him "Let me-"
"Hey, I've got a brand new grown up job with grown up money now." Beck reminds her as he pulls his shoes on "I think I can handle pancakes and a couple cups of coffee."
"If you insist..." Jade holds her hands up in surrender
"I do." Beck smiles as he opens the front door for her "After you, madam."
They walk down the street to the coffee shop that Jade had mentioned, and find it rather crowded. It's not all that surprising for a Sunday morning, and they decide to wait in line anyway. As they do so they discover that they both take their coffee the same way, black with two sugars, just one more thing that they have in common. After finally getting their order, they sit down at a small table in the corner to enjoy their drinks and split a blueberry muffin.
"So tell me..." Jade says as they finish eating "D'you have a last name? Or is it just Beck?"
"Well..." Beck chuckles "Technically, my name is Beckett...but the only person who calls me that is my mother, and it's only when I'm in trouble."
"So no last name then?"
"...Oliver." He smirks "What about you?"
"West."
"S'nice to meet you, Jade West." Beck smiles
"Likewise, Beck Oliver."
"So, this is the part where I ask you for your number." Beck tells her "Because I'd really like to see you again."
"Hmm..." Jade pretends to hesitate "Alright, well then this is the part where I ask you if you have a long-distance girlfriend in LA who will come after me if she finds out."
"I don't." Beck laughs "I've been single for the better part of a year."
"Same here. Well, the better part of half of a year..." Jade sighs "Alright, so no girlfriend. What about a criminal record?"
"Nope."
"Any crazy debts hanging over your head or people you owe money to?"
"No, I swear." Beck laughs
"Alright, good..." Jade smirks, holding out her hand so he can giver her his phone "...because I'd like to see you again too."
Especially if they can do what they did last night.
"Great." He smiles "What are you doing tomorrow night?"
"Hopefully hanging out with you." She responds, handing his phone back after entering her information
"Sounds perfect." He laughs "It's a date, I'll text you details."
"Okay..." She smiles back at him
Beck stands up and grabs his to-go cup, bending down to kiss Jade on the cheek before promising her again that he'll text her. She stands up as well, following him out of the coffee shop and kissing him goodbye for real before they part and go their separate ways...her heading back to her dorm and him heading back to his own place.
As Beck is walking, he feels his phone start vibrating in his pocket. He pulls it out to see his friend Andre's contact lighting up the screen. It had been Andre who invited him out last night, with some of his girlfriend's, Tori's, friends from NYU. Beck and Andre had gone to high school together and kept in touch over the past few years while Beck stayed in Los Angeles and Andre came to New York to attend Juilliard. The two men have hung out rather regularly since Beck arrived in the city, which has been nice because other than Andre, and now Jade...Beck doesn't know that many people yet.
Quickly, Beck hits the button to accept the call and brings the phone to his ear.
"Hey." He answers "What's up?"
"Just making sure you're alive." Andre chuckles "Where'd you go off to last night?"
"I met a girl." Beck answers him honestly "We went back to her place. I texted you that."
"I know." Andre says "But did you stay the night?"
"Sure did." Beck can't help but smile "We went for coffee too."
"I can't believe you've been here for a week and you've already found yourself a girlfriend." Andre sighs "I'd expect nothing less."
"She's not my girlfriend." Beck is quick to assure him "At least...not yet, she's not. I asked to see her tomorrow though and she said yes, so maybe it'll go somewhere."
He wouldn't mind if it did.
"Of course she wants to see you again, what girl wouldn't?" Andre laughs
"Actually...I don't think she recognized me. Or if she did, she didn't let on." Beck admits "There's something different about her, dude...something special."
"That's great, Beck. I'm happy for you, I hope it goes well." Andre tells him "You still coming over to watch the Rangers game later?"
"Yeah, of course." Beck nods "I'll see you then."
Cat is home when Jade arrives back at the apartment, having clearly just gotten home herself.
"Hey." She smiles at her roommate as she walks in "How did things go with that guy you met at the bar?"
"Uh..." Jade smiles as she runs a hand through her hair "He...spent the night."
"Shut up!" Cat gasps "Really?"
"Really." Jade nods "I just got back from getting coffee with him...and we're going to get dinner tomorrow night."
"Jade!" Cat squeals "Oh my god, I'm so happy for you! Did you guys...?"
"We did." Jade smirks, biting her lip
"Oh my god!" Cat repeats again, louder and more enthusiastic this time "Was he...?"
"Was he what?"
"Was he good in bed?"
"Clearly..." Jade scoffs "I wouldn't have agreed to see him again if he wasn't."
"You're going to see him again?" Cat is wide-eyed "Holy shit, I think I hear wedding bells!"
"Woah..." Jade holds her hands up, a signal to her friend to think realistically "I just met him, Cat...and I'm not sure I'm looking for anything serious right now."
She needs to be practical about this. She can't allow herself to get lost in a daydream, planning a future with a man she barely knows.
"I know, I know...and that's fair." Cat nods "I'm still happy for you."
"Thanks." Jade smirks "I'm happy for me too."
"Um, not to completely change the subject, but graduation is coming up, you know..."
"Okay, so?" Jade raises an eyebrow at her "We don't graduate for another year still."
Assuming they both stay on track with their courses, and don't accidentally fail anything or lose out on internships.
"Well, yeah...we don't." Cat sighs "But someone else does..."
"Marcus?" Jade rolls her eyes "Why do I care? We're broken up."
"You were close with his family, I wasn't sure if they were coming in for it or if you had plans to see th-"
"I don't." Jade cuts her off "They're choosing to believe his side of the story. As far as they're concerned, I'm a cold-hearted bitch who led him on for two years and then dumped him out of nowhere once I got bored with him."
"S'not the truth though, Jade..."
"I know that, you know that..." Jade sighs "Anyone who is important to me knows that...they're going to choose to believe what they want to believe."
Even though they lived out of state, Jade had grown quite close with her ex's family over the course of their relationship. Marcus brought her home for holidays and family gatherings, and she visited him frequently during their summers off. It would have been hard for her not to form personal connections with his family. She hadn't expected them to stay in contact with her after the breakup, but knowing that people she had once been close with now have a warped opinion of her hurts more than she would ever admit to anyone...especially because her own family situation is so complicated.
"I'm sorry I brought it up..."
"No, s'okay..." Jade assures her "I hadn't even really thought about it, to be completely honest. I guess I should steer clear of his part of campus that weekend so I don't run into them."
"Oh, but imagine how good it would feel to run into them with this new guy on your arm!" Cat smirks
"Yeah, that definitely wouldn't make them think less of me than they already do." Jade rolls her eyes, moving out of the room
"It might feel better than you think!"
"Sure." Jade rolls her eyes again, smiling a bit this time "I'm taking a shower."
She makes her way back to her bedroom and is immediately intimidated by the mess that she and Beck left from the night before. Normally she keeps her bed neatly made, but now the sheets are disgruntled and in disarray. With a sigh she strips them off the mattress and throws them in her laundry basket, it's probably for the best that she washes them today anyway. As she is searching through her closet for an outfit to change into after she showers, she feels her phone buzz. When she looks at it, there's a text from Beck lighting up the screen.
How does 7 sound for dinner tomorrow night? It reads.
Jade smiles a bit to herself, noticing the time. It's been less than an hour since they last saw each other, and he has already texted her. She wasn't expecting to hear from him until later in the day, but she isn't upset that he contacted her sooner.
Works for me. She responds back Where at?
I'll meet you outside your dorm. He answers her Sound okay?
Sounds perfect. She agrees
A few minutes pass before Beck responds again, and Jade is on her way to the bathroom to shower as he does. She stops in the middle of the hallway to look at her phone, anxious to see what he might have said.
Great! I can't wait to see you again.
"What's got you smiling like that?" Cat asks
"Huh?" Jade is startled by the sound of her roommate's voice "Oh, nothing."
"Is he texting you?"
"Yeah..." Jade smiles a bit, biting her lip "I forgot how fun it is to be talking to someone for the first time."
"I'm happy for you, Jadey." Cat grins as she passes her roommate, on her way to her own bedroom "Just don't let him distract you from getting that theater history paper done, okay?"
"Fuck!" Jade exclaims "I forgot about that!"
"Good thing you have me then, huh?" Cat winks "What would you do without me?"
"Dunno." Jade chuckles a bit as she starts moving towards the bathroom again
She definitely wouldn't have had as much fun as she did the night before, that's for sure.