I.
She's surprised that she actually has butterflies. It's not as if it's a real date.
It feels like one though, especially because a good chunk of the female population of her floor is currently in her room, helping her decide between two dresses that are pretty much the same.
Upon Rachel's admission that Jesse was coming to brunch for their first date, her roommate, Mitra, had marshaled all the girls she could find to share in the gossip.
It basically comes down to a choice between white and blue.
"Blue is casual and flirty," someone states approvingly, while Rachel is wearing the blue dress and scrutinizing herself in the mirror.
"But white is virginal," Mitra, suggests, "It's a winner every time."
Rachel wrinkles her nose in the mirror at Mitra's comment. "Well that settles it, then. Blue it is, because that ship has definitely sailed."
The room erupts into giggles and Lisa shouts, "Here, Here!"
"Was Jesse your first, Rachel?" another girl, Brie, asks quietly from her position on the floor by Mitra's bed.
She smiles softly as she shakes her head 'No' in the mirror, still surprised that she has managed to command this much attention.
She already loves it. Best money she ever spent.
By now, she's told them all the lies to set the stage for the story: the phone call she had made to Jesse the night of the poster to congratulate him on the play, and then, at his invitation, visiting him at Starbucks yesterday to reconnect, which led to brunch this morning. She's slightly wary of the fact that from here on out it won't be lies. Even with as much directions as she has given Jesse, the story will write itself from now on, before a full, live audience.
Maybe that explains the butterflies.
"We only dated for a short time when I was fifteen," Rachel explains in response to Brie's question, although it feels like a weak justification. She and Finn hadn't been back together for more than a month after their third breakup before she lost her virginity to him at a summer party.
"So why does he mean so much to you?" Mitra asks in a curious, but not unfriendly tone, completely unaware of what a loaded question it is. Rachel takes a minute to compose her thoughts by grabbing a cardigan off one of the shelves of her closet and slipping it into the tote bag on her bed.
"Did you ever know someone that just understood you without you having to explain yourself?"
Some of the girls in the room smile, and others shake their heads. Each of them is hanging on to her every word.
"We like a lot of the same things, and we have a lot of the same goals. You don't meet many people like that in Ohio."
Brie, who is from North Dakota, voices her understanding and the rest of the girls laugh.
Rachel has thought about the similarities between her and Jesse very much over the last two nights. Despite her shock at finding out that he was here at NYU, in some ways she had always expected to see him again.
"Has he changed a lot?" someone else asks, "Especially since he's not…"
She had also explained Jesse's new financial situation and his parent's rejection of his chosen path, because many of the girls were surprised that he worked for minimum wage at a coffee shop.
"He's grown up," Rachel admits, "But he's still the same person."
"He basically said fuck you to his parents," Lisa praises him, "How many of us wouldn't want to do that?"
Mitra shouts out a dramatic "Amen" and the room devolves into giggles again.
"I can't wait to meet him!" Chelsea, another of Mitra's girlfriends says, walking into the room to join the party. "You think there is still something there between you two?"
Rachel rallies all of her acting skill when she bites her lip and breathes in dramatically. "I hope so," she tells them.
She knows for a fact that she won't be giving this up any time soon.
II.
Jesse shows up right on time, dressed casually, but smartly, in cargo shorts and a blue plaid shirt. If he's surprised that she's being followed downstairs by a dozen or so girls, his expression doesn't let on.
Lisa nudges Rachel's shoulder and whispers, "The blue was a good choice," before the girls all branch off towards the dining hall, leaving her to greet Jesse alone. Even so, she's sure that many of them are still watching, and whispering to each other behind their food trays.
Though they are essentially alone now, and this is officially part of the act, she still feels the butterflies in the pit of her stomach when his eyes rake over her before he leans down to kiss her cheek.
After they grab food, she leads him toward one of the larger tables where a lot of the people she knows usually sit. Many of the girls from this morning are already seated, having quickly grabbed pieces of fruit in lieu of a real meal. Some of the guys from her dorm are also there, wolfing down plates of bacon and eggs.
She makes quick introductions, and she and Jesse attempt to join the guys' existing conversation about the midnight premiere of the newest comic book movie. Jesse seems to fit in effortlessly; despite the fact that she can tell that his interest in the movie is minimal at best.
Thanks to the girls at the table, however, talk quickly turns to her and Jesse's relationship. They ask about how they met, and when Rachel tells them about the music store, she realizes just how over the top it sounds.
"We always did have a flair for the dramatic," she says wistfully, turning to Jesse with a genuine smile, caught up in the moment.
The story behind their breakup requires a bit more effort. "I was going off to college in California and she still had two more years left in high school," Jesse explains while toying with the salt shaker, "It seemed like the best decision at the time."
He turns to her for reassurance, and she nods. Many of the girls shoot her sympathetic glances.
"Did you know that you were going to meet up again here at NYU?" Jed, a guy Rachel only knows as the guy who walks around the dorm in his boxers, asks.
Rachel shakes her head 'No' while Jesse nods, and the rest of their table laughs at their divergent but simultaneous responses.
Rachel bites her lip, suddenly nervous, because this was one area that she had neglected in her extensive notes. In her head, and she had just assumed that Jesse was on the same page, this had been a serendipitous, chance meeting.
Moreover, it was the truth.
She turns to look at Jesse, confused, "What do you mean you knew we were going to meet again here? I had no idea you even attended school here for weeks."
"You've known exactly where you wanted to go to college since you were ten, Rach. I knew you were going to be here when I transferred."
He doesn't say the words, but everyone at the table makes the connection that he had wanted them to: that he had transferred knowing that he would see her again, perhaps because he would see her again.
Now that she considers it, it makes perfect sense. Obviously he would have known she would have come to NYU eventually.
She sees Mitra and Lisa shoot her approving, and possibly jealous glances, and she feels herself start to blush. She doesn't know what to make of his revelation.
"I figured we would meet up again sooner or later," he continues before taking a bite of his bagel.
They all fall into comfortable silence while they finish eating. Mitra is the first to leave, having only had a banana, informing the rest of the table that she was heading to the gym.
Neither Rachel nor Jesse is paying her much attention, until Mitra addresses Jesse directly: "I see you at the gym playing basketball sometimes, Jesse. Maybe one day I'll take you on. It was good to meet you. See you around, I guess."
Before she goes, Mitra stretches her arms to the ceiling and her tank top rides up, showing her flat stomach to everyone in what Rachel thinks is an obvious ploy for attention. Rachel only just refrains herself from rolling her eyes in her roommate's direction.
Jesse nods at Mitra, but his focus is still intently on his food. "Nice to meet you too."
III.
She had arranged for them to take a walk after brunch, because although the public and most important part of their date for her purposes was over, she had figured it would look odd if they didn't actually spend time alone on their first date.
They walk out of the dining hall together, both quiet and lost in their own thoughts. Rachel is trying to think of where they can go, but Jesse's mind seems to be in a completely different place.
"I think that went well," he whispers conspiratorially, bending down so that his mouth is level with her ear.
She smiles and nods. "The girls in my dorm are rooting for us," she jokes in the same whisper, "I dare say that we have captivated our audience."
"As if there was any doubt."
"My roommate definitely likes you," she adds, trying to make it sound like an afterthought, even though she desperately wants to hear his reaction to Mitra's obvious flirtation.
Disappointingly, "Hmmm," is the only response she gets from him.
She feels a sudden surge of awkwardness. Technically, they have no one to pretend for anymore, but they do have to continue their date. A quiet walk seems like an uncomfortable way to spend the next hour.
"Do you have anything you want to do?" Rachel asks. "We're supposed to take a walk, but I don't really know where to go."
"I have an idea," he mentions, and grasps her hand. "Have you ever been to the farmer's market on 29th and 12th?"
Although she had only budgeted another hour for their date, they end up spending most of their afternoon at the farmer's market, sampling fresh fruit and fresh-baked bread as they weave their way through the stalls. He waits for her as she browses through booths of jewelry and ethnic scarves, commenting on what looks good or silly. At one point, she pointedly dares him to try on an old hat when he makes fun of one she chooses, and, when he does, even the salespeople join in on their laughter.
They are leaving a booth full of old books when he asks, seemingly out of the blue, "Am I allowed to ask a question?"
"You just did," she teases automatically, "But go ahead."
"I would have thought that a six foot three, good-looking, high school quarterback would have made the perfect pretend boyfriend for you."
She stops moving and looks him in the eye. "Don't go there."
He shrugs and lets it go, keeps walking down the street. Eventually, she jogs to catch up to him so that they can walk back to campus together.
The walk back is quiet, and she hates that she had to ruin the cheerful mood they had both been in earlier.
Right before they get back to her dorm, she stops him by tugging at his arm. "Finn is with Quinn at Ohio State," she tells him quietly. "They've been engaged since graduation."
He's quiet for a long time until he finally says, "His loss," and she doesn't try to hide her smile.
He walks her to the steps of her dorm, and they stand there for a while, holding hands as they prepare to separate, mindful of the people watching them as they enter and leave the dorm.
He's got rehearsal for Romeo & Juliet all evening, and she has homework she had meant to do this afternoon.
It's on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she had a good time, but she thinks that it would be odd given the circumstances, and the fact that no one is around to hear them.
"I'll meet you at the library at two tomorrow for our study date?" he questions, mentally consulting the schedule she created for them.
She hesitates and looks away, buys time by playing with the strap of her dress. "Maybe we should postpone," she states.
"Did I do something wrong, Rachel?" he asks worriedly.
She pulls him away from the building, far enough away so that they have some privacy.
She hates the discomfiture of this part of their arrangement. When they are together, she almost forgets about the money.
"I can't afford to pay you for more than ten hours a week, Jesse, and we've spent almost six hours today. We need to stretch this week out and be more mindful about the span of our dates in the future. Today was my fault," she tells him apologetically, "I was having a really good time."
Her last sentence slips out without her meaning for it to, and he grins. "So was I."
"Look," he tells her, "We agreed on $120 a week. Let's stick to that and let the hours work themselves out. Especially with the show this week, my schedule could get crazy."
She contemplates this for a minute, debating the pros and cons of departing from their agreement in her head.
"Are you sure?" She looks up at him uncertainly.
He nods. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"
She smiles and nods. "Two in front of the library."
This time, she kisses him on the cheek, because it just feels right and she feels the need to thank him, though for what she's not exactly sure.
She walks into her room and is surprised to find Mitra, Lisa, and Chelsea there, each of them doing their nails, the strong smell of acetone pervading the small room.
"Finally! You've been gone all day!" Lisa exclaims. Mitra says nothing, but raises her fingers to her lips to blow on her wet nails.
"So?" Chelsea prompts, "Details?"
Rachel animatedly gives them a detailed description of the events of her day, and shows them the scarf she had ended up choosing. It requires barely little acting on her part. Ultimately, she sits down on her bed, and she finds that she can't quite turn off the smile on her face.
"Did he kiss you?" Mitra wants to know.
"Only on the cheek," Rachel admits, though part of her wishes she had something more dramatic or passionate to relate to them. The official answer, of course, is that their first actual kiss is not scripted until after their study date tomorrow, when he walks her home from the library.
All of them are basking in Rachel's obvious happiness when her phone buzzes.
"It's from Jesse," she reports, before reading the message.
Rach, had a great time today. Can't wait to see you tomorrow
Even though she had planned the exact period of time he was to wait to send the text message, it somehow still manages to surprise her.
The exhilaration that radiates through her upon reading his words is the part she hadn't planned on at all.
Next, we'll meet Jesse's Juliet! Art imitating life or life imitating art? Dun dun dun...