The days between their dates came and went in a flash.
April had to wonder how he had time to maintain a second job and sleep when she barely had time to sift through the internet and try to find somewhat reliable information on the subject. She remembered how hard it'd been during undergrad and med school to work a job, but the consequences of being in a less than stellar state in mind weren't quite as heavy or lethal as they were now. She couldn't imagine that things at his hospital were any less chaotic than they were at Seattle Grace.
But some internet searching did come to light, laying in bed at night. Of all the places on the internet, she'd ended up on the eighteen-plus section of Reddit reading about people's experiences with prostitutes and escorts. She knew that they weren't quite the same thing, but... it was still sex work, even if his choice seemed to be much safer than the image she had of prostitution.
The information she found ended up unsatisfying.
It was hard to find information just from a woman's perspective – and she spent a while wondering if women were his only clients. It's none of her business, really, but... there was something a little hot about thinking of Jackson with another man. Even if it stirs the same amount of jealousy that thinking of him with a woman does. What stirred more jealously, however, was the one story that she'd read about an escort ending up a girlfriend. That sounded like something out of a Lifetime movie more than something she'd ever hear about from a friend, yet she doesn't like it either way. Rationally, she knew that she had no right to be jealous of him yet. They'd been on a few dates, but they weren't at the point of putting labels on anything just yet. Especially when this still felt like some point of contention between them.
A consistent trend had been about a lack of intimacy, though, and that made her feel better about the envy that had been brewing inside of her. Yet it simultaneously made her more anxious about the date that they had planned.
By Thursday night, April doesn't feel prepared.
She sat on the couch anxiously waiting for him, having dressed up in a flattering navy dress and nude heels. She knew that they weren't going out anywhere but still felt obligated to doll herself up.
When the knock on her apartment door is finally heard, she jumped up to get it. She had lucked out that Reed was working the night shift and she wouldn't have to worry about any interruptions in the form of her tiny roommate. Bouncing over to get the door, a quick smile flitted across her lips as she pulled it upward and naturally lifted her chin so that she could meet Jackson's eyes.
"Hey."
"Hey, come on in."
"How are you doing? You look amazing." Jackson stepped inside of her place as he asked the question, sliding the jacket off of his shoulders and setting it on one of the hooks by the door. A small glance around is given before gaze resettled on her face, a charming smile warming his features. The affection found across the handsome face was something different, prepossessing as always, but... different.
An artificial edge there, a falsified Duchenne. He had said that he'd make it like a work night, and that was a part of it. His intention wasn't to disengage with her, but the person that she had been on dates didn't quite align with the professional. Jackson needed her to see that, see that he was acting when he was paid to be with women. He wanted April to know that his enjoyment of her company was something real and genuine, something that didn't need to be falsified for the both of them to have a good time.
"Thanks," she smiled. "I'm good. How are you? Do you want something to eat or drink?" Out with the hostess card.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks. Why don't we sit down?"
The pair migrated over toward the couch amicably, both of them sitting down and angled in toward the center with just a few centimeters between their knees. Jackson's eyes traveled over the entirety of April's frame, and she could feel her cheeks warming to a rosy hue.
"Why don't you take off your shoes? I know they can't be that comfortable."
"Sure," April gave a nod of her head as she slipped the heels off of her feet, giving a slight wiggle to kick them aside. What she wasn't expecting was for Jackson to give a slight bend over and pick up both of her feet and place them into his lap, adjusting to the motion without thinking to make the position more comfortable for the both of them. Two strong hands move to one foot and begin to massage the skin there thoughtlessly, thumbs digging into the arches of her foot and producing hedonistic gratification. A content breath escaped her lips for just a moment, taking a few seconds to enjoy it before she can let the questions come swirling back into her mind.
But of course, they do. All of the pages she'd read online had thrown around the word pleasure so many times it'd nearly lost all meaning to her. She can only push off the inevitable so long, even if she doesn't want to turn tonight into an interrogation.
"Thanks. You don't have to do that, though," April started.
"No, but I want to," Jackson gave his answer without a beat of hesitation. His hands switched over to her other foot before he continued to speak. "I told you, what I do is about making women feel good about themselves. Physically and mentally. And I told you that I wasn't going to force you into anything that you didn't want to do. If you want to stop, all you have to do is say something. I want to go at your pace." Something he wanted to be clear.
April's bottom lip rolled between her teeth as she offered a nod of her head, gaze dropping momentarily to his hands. She was working to try and push the questions away from the forefront of her mind, but they didn't seem particularly willing to budge. "How exactly do you manage that without the sex?" She finally blurted out, hazel hues moving back up toward his face.
"This is a start," Jackson murmured. His head dipped down and he lifted up the foot he was working on, placing a soft kiss on the inside of her ankle. Goosebumps raise along pale skin and despite the nerves still eating away at her stomach, April let a smile out. "There's plenty of kissing that can be done, if that's what you want." His hand ran along the smooth skin of her leg, freshly shaved and slathered in lotion in preparation, stopping modestly at her knee and sliding back down the length of her calf before returning to massage the muscles of her feet. "But some women just want someone who's going to talk to them the way that their husband or boyfriend should be talking to them, you know? They like the attention, the emotional support. You– you seem like you'd go for that. And with you, it'd be easy. You're brilliant, beyond the fact that you're in one of the most competitive surgical residencies in the country. You've got this intelligence with people that can't be taught, but it sure as hell can be admired. And I do admire it."
The color in April's cheeks had only deepened, and she had to wonder if his words were artificial or organic. She hoped desperately for the latter, even if she had to question how many other women that similar comments had been made to. Truthfully, she did care much more about the intimacy of conversation than the physical interaction. A foot rub was nice, yeah, but she'd take the late night, genuine conversations over sex. Maybe a little easier said as a virgin, sure, but she liked to think that her point would have stood either way.
"Now, if this were the real deal... you probably would have suggested that we go to your bedroom. Beds are a little comfier." Her foot is raised once more to place another kiss on her ankle, Jackson offering her a smile as he did so.
"Do you want to? Go to my bedroom, I mean? We can."
The answer that he had to offer her was a silent one, hands drifting away from her feet as he stood up, only to scoop her small frame up into her arms and pick her up bridal style. Laughter split open her cheeks into a smile and April shook her head even though she did find it charming, bottom lip just pulling between nearly straight teeth. He carried her as if she weighed nothing in the world, her guidance making sure they ended up in the correct bedroom. When he set her down on the bed, he's gentle as ever.
Jackson settled down on the bed next to her, making sure to kick off his shoes before allowing himself to stretch out next to her. A hand moved to her hip for a moment, gently stroking along the side of her curves but keeping his touch relatively appropriate.
"You're beautiful, April Kepner. Beautiful and brilliant." His head dipped to the meeting between her neck and shoulder, lips pressing a gentle kiss on the soft skin found there. A large hand moved to the flat plane of her stomach and pulled her in a little closer against his muscular frame, taking a breath in and picking up on the floral scent of the perfume that she'd spritzed on earlier in the afternoon. "And you could have any man in the world," he continued. "But you only deserve the best that man can offer you. Don't settle for anything less than that. Not for dating, not for sex, not for anything." There's something intimate about the flattery that he offered her.
"Now... if we were really doing this? All of it? I'd have pushed up that dress of yours, pulled down those panties, and eaten that pretty pussy of yours until you were pushing me away."
The thought is hot. Really hot.
But at the same time, as much as it turns on her body, it doesn't on her brain.
"Don't," April shook her head as she rolled onto her side so that she could look at Jackson more directly. She adjusted herself, propping up slightly so that she could lean forward and press her lips to his. There's more heat behind it than what she intended, nearly panting to catch her breath as she pulled away to speak again. "I don't... I don't need you to keep showing me what this is like. I get it. Heavily complimented, really good sex. But if this was a normal date No offense, but, I'd be running in the other direction. It's too charming. Too much. You're suffocating me with the flirting."
Jackson couldn't help but laugh at the response. Truthfully, he hadn't expected the charade to go on for very long. She was too real, too down to earth to enjoy what he was doing. The women he was with usually needed some kind of emotional or physical release, but she was satisfied on her own.
"I get it. It's not everyone's cup of tea. But it pays good and honestly, I probably won't have to do it but for a few more months. Most of my loans are almost done being paid off," he explained. Even if he wasn't the type to complain about what he was doing, Jackson knew that it wasn't something that would stay up forever. On top of his residency, it was exhausting to have to do this all the time. He wanted to think about his own wellbeing for once.
"I just want to date you like a normal person," April admitted sheepishly. "Strings attached, genuine relationship. And if you're doing this for a few more months, well... that's okay. As long as you're not wearing yourself thin and you still have time for me."
A smile stretched broad across Jackson's features, and he rolled over so that he was hovering on top of her, both hands resting beside her head and careful not to rest uncomfortably on red locks of hair. Arms flex as he bent down to kiss her, hard and firm, but not too intrusive. She tasted like strawberries, warm and inviting, even if he had to remind himself of the clearly established boundaries placed between the two of them. Even if he wanted more, she was someone worth waiting for. It didn't take a lot of getting to know her to be able to figure that out.
"Then we'll date, like two normal people," he murmured against her lips. "Because that's exactly what we are."