Jubilee had never put too much thought into what kissing Bobby would be like. Not that she thought he was unattractive, or undesirable, or anything of that sort. She just never thought of him that way. He was just Bobby to her. Or at least, he had been. Now, sitting on a lumpy, overstuffed and crowded couch in her hotel room, she wondered why the notion of kissing Bobby had never occurred to her. She was finding that he was very good at it.
The kiss had started off hesitantly. They'd been sitting there, laughing themselves silly, and suddenly, unexpectedly, they found themselves kissing. It occurred to Jubilee that she should probably pull away, before they did something they'd both regret. But before she could act on that thought, the realization of how much she was enjoying herself set in. She hadn't expected that. Truth be told, she wasn't experienced enough at kissing to know she could enjoy it so much. But her stomach was fluttering, and it felt like her insides were melting – in a good way. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't want the kiss to be over. So she did the only thing that she could think of. She kissed him back.
This seemed to be some sort of a signal to him. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. Not that he could pull her that much nearer; there was so little room on the sofa that she was practically on top of him. And he kissed her harder.
And, omigod, Bobby's tongue was in her mouth. Surprisingly, it was a nice sensation, and Jubilee let herself get lost in the experience. She didn't know how long they'd been at it before Bobby broke away. She looked at him questioningly.
"I..I'm sorry," he stammered, trying to catch his breath. "I shouldn't have. I don't know what came over me -"
"Bobby!" she said, trying to interrupt what was sure to be a declaration of regret, though not succeeding.
"-I didn't mean to just kiss you like that," he continued, oblivious to her. "I know you must be really upset -"
"Bobby!" she said again, slightly miffed at him now.
"-because it really seemed like I was taking advantage of you. I just -"
"BOBBY!" she shouted, tired of being ignored.
"Yeah?" he asked her, cringing slightly. He looked fearful, like he was expecting her to bring the roof down on him. Or, more likely, he was worried that she'd reject him.
"I'm not mad. You're not taking advantage of me, and I didn't mind," she told him, striving to be as brief as possible. He sat still for a moment, processing what she'd just said. Then, slowly, one side of his mouth went up in an endearing smile.
"You didn't mind?" he asked her, and this time, his voice was deeper and more confident.
"No," she said, her cheeks suddenly warming, "It was nice". She hadn't meant to volunteer that last part, but something about the scrutinizing look he was giving her had made her lose her bravado.
His smile widened. "Good," he told her, "Then you won't mind if I do this". And he pulled her into his lap and began kissing her again. He was right. She didn't mind.
Jubilee lost track of time, but it seemed like a while before Bobby stopped. He looked at the digital clock on her nightstand and then looked down at her. "Jubes, I have to go," he told her.
"Why?" she asked, feeling defensive. He'd sound regretful, but she couldn't help thinking that this was a bad sign. Was she doing something wrong?
He smiled, guessing in which direction her thoughts were taking her. "It's not you. I have Paige's room key. You've complained about it so much, I've caught on that Paige is an early riser, so I should probably get it back there soon".
"Oh''. A pause, then, "Why do you have Paige's key?''
"Oh. She and Warren were being annoying. I couldn't get any sleep". As an afterthought, he added, "By the way, you may not want to use your bathroom''.
''Great,'' Jubilee whined. "So that's why you were in here. What goofy prank have you pulled that I'm probably going to be blamed for?"
Bobby looked unsettled by that statement. It hadn't occurred to him that Jubilee would be blamed for his stunt. Heck, a few hours ago he wouldn't have cared. Well, not much anyway. Prankster's code - if someone else gets blamed, it means you did your job.
"Relax, willya?" she told him, reading his expression. "I'll be fine."
He didn't look very reassured. "D-"
"AH, AH, ah, ah!" she interrupted. "Don't tell me what you did. I totally do not want to know. Plus, it'll be easier for me to pretend being innocent of whatever it is if I actually am. Capice?"
"Fair enough, I guess," he finally responded. Another pause. "I should get going." He looked around. "Ummm..do you have a spare shirt?" He'd forgotten she'd destroyed his shirt. By the way her eyes widened, he guessed that she'd forgotten too. Funny how so much had changed so fast. Just a few hours ago, he would have given anything to keep the patch on his chest hidden. Now it was in plain sight and they'd both forgotten about it.
"Umm..hold on," she said, thinking. "Oh!" she exclaimed, as an idea occurred to her, "Wait here." She grabbed a baby tee from a pile of clothes stacked haphazardly on some luggage and headed for the bathroom. When she emerged seconds later, she'd changed out of her large T-shirt and had donned the smaller one. She held the shirt that she had been wearing out for him.
"It's the biggest thing that I've got," she explained. "Swiped it from Ange a while back." Then, as if feeling guilty for sharing that information, or possibly for admitting to stealing from the dead, she looked away briefly.
"I'll give it back as soon as I can," Bobby told her, realizing the importance of the T-shirt, even if she didn't. He pulled the shirt on, pausing momentarily when he realized that it smelled like Jubilee. He was surprised that it fit. Angelo had been of slight build. But, then again, he'd always worn baggy clothes.
He turned to see Jubilee leaning against an arm of the sofa, her own arms crossed over her chest, regarding him.
"Fits you better than it did Ange," she said. Bobby shrugged, unsure of how to respond. She straightened and took a step forward before stopping herself.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she told him.
"Yeah, I guess so," Bobby said awkwardly. He checked his pocket, making sure that both his room key and Paige's were there. They were. He reached for the doorknob, then cast one last glance at Jubilee. She seemed so lonely that his heart went out to here. He quickly crossed the space between them, leaned down and kissed her.
"Hey, I will see you tomorrow," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. She offered him a smile.
"I believe you. Go get some sleep."
"Not if Paige and Warren are still awake, I won't. But thanks anyway." He told her, opening the door.
"See. Now if you hadn't gone and done whatever the heck you did to our bathroom, you could've just spent the night on Paige's bed," she told him.
On a bed next to her all night? Ohhh, bad idea, he thought. Instead, he gave her a wry smile and grabbed the shopping bag containing the empty detergent bottle, so as not to leave behind evidence. "Some other time, Jubes. 'Night."
"'Night," she called after him as the door closed.