While Jesse couldn't deny that he had been with a quite a few girls, to put that in nicer terms than say 'he slept around', he had to admit he hardly was with them long enough to 'meet the parents'. The only girl, which he had met her parents, was the one whose hand he was currently holding, both staring up at the familiar house with mixed emotions. While neither would have expected to be with the other in this house again, both were afraid to step into said house and preferred the warmth of the Rover. Minutes trickled by of silence, both lost in their own train of thoughts, Rachel wondered how her fathers would react and if the St. James charm would be enough to win them over a second time.
"We really should go in." She looked over at him, unwilling to let go of his hand, but at the same time ready to find out exactly how her fathers will take it.
He put on his most confident smile before letting go of her hand, aware of how the small gesture of holding hands had managed to fill the emptiness he had felt ever since that idiotic moment of his. He was quick out of the car, even quicker to open her door and help her out, even if she didn't need it and just used it as an excuse to touch her again. Their hands instinctively grabbed for the other, fingers laced together once more as they walked up the few steps into her house. Nothing had changed except the weather, colder now than when he was last here, memories of his many visits here filled their minds as she opened the door. Kicking off their shoes, they quickly made their way to the couch, the chill of the night air already leaving their bodies.
Rachel found herself sitting next to him, his leg pressed against hers just like when they stayed up late watching musicals, singing along of course. The many nights he had stayed with her while her fathers were away, a normal occurrence for the Berry men. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, seeing him deep in thought, his arm having settled around her waist as she leaned back, staring at the clock. Rachel wasn't even sure when her fathers would be home, but hoped it was soon, the last thing she needed was for them to find Jesse and her in a compromising position. Which under the current circumstances would be pretty much anything that involved Jesse.
She leaned into Jesse, drawn to her equal, unable to stop the flurry of emotions inside her, voices shouting at her to 'Get it together woman!', while a long forgotten voice yelled 'Kiss him!' She was torn between her two emotions, each being equally logical in their arguments, common sense told her to sit and wait for her fathers. Yet her desire wanted nothing more than to enjoy what could be some of her last moments alone with Jesse. She had long ago forced herself to forget all desire for him, ignoring all she felt when she heard his name and made herself get over him, but it all broke as she sat curled up with him, breathing his familiar, intoxicating scent.
"What will we do if they won't let me see you?"
"We convince them otherwise, you seem to forget your fathers weren't too excited the first time we started dating because of the age difference and the whole I'm a soulless drone from Carmel."
She had to smirk at that, she had missed his humor, along with many other things, but she needed to focus, they needed a game plan.
"I'm not sure the St. James charms will work a second time, especially after we delve into why we broke up."
He chuckled, running his hand through her brown hair, "Good thing we're not relying on the old St. James charm then, huh?"
She looked up with a perplexed look, a slight pout on her lips and immediately Jesse felt the words die on his tongue. He couldn't help but lower his head, leaning down to kiss her luscious pink lips, soft, full and tasting of strawberries. She immediately responded, her hand coming to rest on the back of his neck as she let her desire overtake her. He forgot their current situation, forgot about everything but the current task of pleasing the beautiful girl before him. He easily pulled her into his lap, keeping one arm around her waist as the other took advantage of her exposed thigh, her dress having ridden up. Both teens full of blind, hot, fiery passion that overtook them, lips locked as he ran his tongue across her bottom lip, eliciting a soft moan from Rachel. He gently nibbled on her bottom lip before leaving a trail of kisses along her jaw, completely lost in the moment, a luxury he hardly ever allowed himself. She leaned her head back, exposing her neck to him before she felt bright lights against her eyelids, opening them she saw headlights.
"Jesse…" She felt him smirk against her neck, she hadn't meant to merely breathe out his name, but it was all she could muster under the current situation.
"No… Jesse… Oh…"
If he kept this up, her fathers would surely catch them, so she let herself act purely out of desperation.
"…Finn…"
He immediately stopped, his lust filled eyes returning to normal, hormones going back under control as he pulled away from Rachel's oh so tempting neck.
"What did you just say?"
He was supposed to be angry, but couldn't be as he noticed the adorable blush that adorned her cheeks, not to mention her innocent smile.
"Sorry, but my dads are pulling into the driveway."
He smirked as he stood up, taking her with him, causing a little 'eep' noise to escape from her to which he shushed as he gave her a chaste kiss on the mouth. She raised her eyebrow at him as she straightened out her dress, fixed her hair that she had to stop Jesse from running his fingers through.
"It was for good luck."
"I thought you didn't get nervous."
"I only get nervous when things have to deal with you."
She smiled, as she moved away from Jesse, reaching behind her for his hand, drawing strength from him as she heard the door open.
"Rachel! Get down here; we want to hear how Sectionals went."
"Dad, Daddy, I'm in here, I need to talk to you, it's very important."
The sound of coats being hung and shoes being taken off was heard as Jesse and Rachel waited, she desperately clung to his hand as her nerves threatened to get the best of her. Jesse ran his thumb over the back of her hand as the Berry men entered into the living room, a tension filling the space along with the simultaneous speeding up of two teens' hearts.
Hiram was the first to speak, a kind smile gracing his face as his eyes landed on the older boy behind his daughter.
"Jesse, to what do we owe this unexpected visit?" His eyes glanced at their interlocked hands, a knowing smile on his face as he looked up at Rachel.
"Yes, I would like to know why you are in my house." Leroy's face held no kindness, no understanding, merely anger and possibly dislike. Hiram took this chance to speak up.
"Why don't we all sit down?"
Leroy glanced at his spouse before giving the slightest nod and the four walked into the dining room, choosing to sit across from each other. Leroy and Hiram stared down at Jesse while they observed how Rachel turned slightly towards Jesse. Observing their body language, Leroy and Hiram noticed the way that their hands found each other on the table, the sparkle she got in her eye when their eyes met and the look of determination that was adorning her face.
"First off, why are you here in Lima, I thought you were going to be in LA going to UCLA?"
"I came back to watch Rachel perform, I couldn't miss the opportunity, even if we weren't on speaking terms, I had to try to at least right my wrong. I couldn't get over the guilt of what I did to your daughter and as I've told her, it's my one greatest regret."
"I don't know if you know this, but Rachel has yet to ever disclose the information of your break up, besides that it obviously tore her apart and left her heartbroken."
Jesse squeezed Rachel's hand, the reminder of his past foolish error still haunted him and he wished he could erase the memory, erase his mistake and take it back.
"He cracked an egg over my head, Vocal Adrenaline egged me and he was the last one to crack an egg. It was the day when I took five showers and started to pour my entire being into our performance for Regionals."
Hiram reflexively went to reach for Rachel's hand, but both his and Leroy's eyes watched as Jesse caressed her hands in his and whispered a soft 'I'm so sorry'. In that moment a smile graced their daughter's lips, one that had been absent ever since the older teen had left her life, even when she was with Finn, she never had that smile. She never had that pure look of love in her eyes, the smile of pure, untainted happiness, but now she did and Hiram realized all argument would be pointless.
"Did you break up with Finn?"
"Yes, before Sectionals I ended it with Finn, I couldn't keep up the charade any longer… I wasn't happy with him and I hope you both can understand why I want Jesse back in my life, because I don't want to be without him."
She held her stare with Leroy, who ultimately would give into her, he after all only wished for her happiness if this boy could give her that, then he wouldn't deny her that. It didn't however mean that he liked the boy and that he would let him back into her life without making sure there were no ulterior motives.
"Okay, you can see him, but we will have conditions, along with the fact that I'd like to hear the whole story. Tomorrow we will be having dinner at 5 sharp, is that understood?"
"Crystal clear, Mr. Berry, thank you very much, both of you, for a second chance."
Hiram smiled at the teens, joy practically radiating off of them as the news settled in.
"If our daughter can give you a second chance then we should as well, but it is late, so this reunion must be postponed until tomorrow."
The four stood up, Rachel threw a pleading glance at her fathers to which Hiram gave a nod.
"You can see him out, but be quick; we still want to hear about Sectionals."
Rachel blew her fathers kisses as she walked with Jesse to the door, both stalling as they slipped on their shoes, their hands refusing to release each other's. They stepped quietly out into the cold of the night air; Jesse put his arm around her waist as they walked to the door of the Range Rover.
"That went beautifully, I can't wait to have dinner with you, and I've truly missed all of this. I've missed you and now I don't ever want to let you go."
Rachel smiled as she wrapped her arms around Jesse, hugging him tightly, he was so warm despite the cold of the air and she wanted nothing more than to join him in wherever he was going.
"I missed you too and don't let go of me, I wouldn't be able to handle it."
"Me either." He paused to kiss her forehead before reluctantly pulling back, having to resist the urge to kiss her lips, especially as she formed them into the world's most alluring pout. He caressed her cheek with his thumb, breathing in her scent.
"Do you really have to go?"
The question was her last ploy to try and get him to stay, a weak attempt, but she knew no matter what he really did have to go, before her fathers decided to cut their time short.
"I'll see you tomorrow and I promise to call you in the morning, but I don't wish to try your fathers' kindness and forgiving nature any more than I have today. You know it's for the best, but for now we will have to deal with our time apart, no matter how painful."
"I know… call me tonight?"
"You know I'd do anything you ask, of course I will."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for the call."
He planted another kiss on her forehead before they parted, both going on their separate ways, Rachel standing in the cold while she watched the boy she love drive away, temporarily this time. She waved until she could no longer see the bright light of his taillights. She pulled Jesse's jacket closer to her, not feeling a bit guilty about stealing his jacket, and actually enjoying wearing it again. She had to stop from daydreaming, the cold air of night was nipping at her exposed legs, and she hurried to get into the warmth that her house offered. As she closed the front door, the first thing she noticed was that she heard her fathers in the kitchen and she was pleasantly surprised by their restraint. She would at least have expected Leroy to be in the living room watching Rachel and Jesse's goodbye.
Entering into the kitchen, she saw both her fathers on the bar stools at the kitchen's island. Both of her fathers had a steaming cup of tea, while another cup sat in front of the chair that Rachel made her way to occupy. Warming her from the inside, Rachel took a sip of the hot tea that wafted off the scent of chamomile.
"So, how was Sectionals?"
"Honestly, it was amazing, Jesse had shown up to watch me perform and was quite upset that I wasn't given the spotlight. He had quite a few critical comments about Mr. Schuester and his choice of people to spotlight. However, Jesse decided since I was wrongfully chosen to sway in the background that he would make it up to me by letting us have our own duet. We attracted quite the crowd outside of Jesse's car. The best part was close between when Jesse got my attention very sneakily, by catching my eye after Sectionals. He led me to an empty ballroom at the center and we sang a duet of 'Hello', which is our song. The other best part was when he took me to the new café that is totally vegan. I couldn't believe he remembered, Finn never acknowledged my eating preferences."
Leroy let out a laugh, which caused both Hiram and Rachel to stare at him, "Rachel as much as I hate to admit it, Jesse really cares about you; he cares about you much more than that twit Finn."
Rachel giggled before playfully hitting Leroy on the arm, "I thought you liked Finn!"
Hiram rolled his eyes before answering, "Honey, we would try to like anyone you cared about and made you happy."
Leroy nodded, "Now since we are completely off topic of Sectionals, I would like to hear about the actual performance and not how some boy is trying to woo my daughter."
Rachel blushed, "Oh it was as good as any performance where I am to sway in the background can be. We did tie with the Warblers, so we will be competing against Kurt again at Regionals."
"Well we know that New Directions wouldn't win without you being the one with the solo or duet."
Hiram cleaned up the empty cups of tea while Rachel said her goodnights to Leroy before she did the same to Hiram. She quickly made her way upstairs, closing her bedroom door as she went into her bathroom to change and get ready for bed. She turned on her stereo to hear 'Hello' play as she set her phone on the counter as she did her normal before bed rituals.