AN: Random flashback outtake. Had nowhere to put it in the story.
She found him in the gym. Beating the shit out of a punching bag. She decided not to interrupt him. She leaned against the wall and let him blow off some steam. She bit her lip as she watched him. Low slung black sweat pants and no shirt. He was all worked up and it was turning her on a little.
He stopped and stood up straight when he realized he was not alone. He stilled the bag and leaned his forehead against it for a moment. Then he stepped away from it and looked at her again.
"Hey," he breathed heavily.
She smiled as she walked toward him with her hands out. He lifted his hands and let her untie and remove his boxing gloves.
"I thought you went to the gala," he said.
She shrugged. "Wasn't in the cards," she said lightly.
"I suppose that's my fault," he sighed and then walked away and sat down on a nearby bench press.
"I don't think that," she assured, joining him on the bench. She waited for him to say more, but he went quiet and his leg bounced in agitation. She placed one hand on his knee and the other on his shoulder, hoping it would calm him. "He didn't mean it, Jonny."
He shook her off and stood. "I don't want to discuss it, Jess. What?" he then asked. Clearly annoyed.
"Huh?" she furrowed her brow in confusion.
"What was that little grin about?" he accused. "I'm not in the mood."
"I was just thinking about something ironic," she sighed. Standing. "I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't come here to fight with you."
"Just tell me."
She shook her head no, but then started talking. "You always get so pissed when I don't want to discuss things."
"This is different," he announced, pointing a finger at her.
"Okay," she relented. She really did not want to fight.
"You never want to talk about anything," he continued. "I don't want to talk about this."
"That's not true," she defended. "I always tell you."
"Eventually…in pieces…as it becomes convenient," he growled. He headed toward the door, but did not leave the room. Instead, he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms.
"Just because my timeline for telling you things is different than when you want to hear them does not make you right and me wrong," she shot back. "You're being unfair."
She saw him drop his defensive posture as soon as she said that.
She approached him slowly.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"We don't have to talk about it," she said quietly. "I actually came here to make you feel better."
With that, he uncrossed his arms and pulled her between his legs. "You look…so wow by the way," he smiled.
She did a little twirl. "I thought you'd like this dress. Reminded me of your eyes."
"Your boobs look great in this," he complimented.
She rolled her eyes playfully and nodded. "Yes…I thought you'd like the cleavage factor too."
She was still dressed for the gala. It was a long baby blue halter dress. Silk with a slit on the side. His right hand quickly found the bare skin of her leg. His left kept trying to flatten an invisible wrinkle in the fabric across her stomach. She giggled. "I think you got it, babe"
"It pays to be sure," he flirted. "You were right. I really like you in this dress."
She saw his face change from content to sad in a heartbeat though. She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers. "Come on," she pulled him out of the gym. "I want to show you something in the lighthouse."
Jonny tightened his hold on her hand and let her lead him. "Getting my ass kicked in Questworld won't make me feel better," he told her.
She stopped in her tracks and turned to him with a surprised grin. "Did you just ADMIT that I'm better than you in Questworld?"
Jonny chuckled. "No. You're hearing things, baby."
"Okay," she hummed.
The walk from the front door to the lighthouse was about a quarter mile. They strolled along the path hand-in-hand. He was quiet so she rested her head on his arm and just enjoyed the breeze and being with him like this. 'Things have really changed,' she thought. She could not remember the last time they raced on this path. That used to be the only way they got from one to the other. She decided a moment later that she did not miss it. She really liked being his opponent. He made her work harder and she appreciated that. But she loved being his partner.
She glanced up at him. He was staring at her and it made her blush. She felt the blood rise to her cheeks and laughed at herself.
"What?" he grinned.
"I love you," she whispered.
He smiled and then sighed. "I'm sorry…I know you were looking forward…"
"Stop," she cut him off. "To be clear, I was looking forward to going with you. When the car arrived to pick me up from my salon appointment and you weren't there, I lost interest quickly. Let's just leave it at that."
"How did you get home?" he asked.
"Taxi."
"Why didn't you call me? I would've picked you up."
She kissed his shoulder. "I know that, but I needed to cool off and I figured you did too."
"Why did you need to cool off?"
She looked away in embarrassment. "You know how…sometimes…I can lose my temper and I don't think before I speak?"
Jonny held back a laugh. "I can recall being on the receiving end of that a few times."
"Well, your dad received that honor tonight." She tried to shrug nonchalantly.
"You're kidding?" he huffed.
"No," she swallowed uncomfortably.
"Why?"
"Show of solidarity?" she said lamely.
"You alright?"
"No…yes," she stumbled. "I'm trying not to think about it too much. We've never fought before. Now that it's over, I'm starting to feel a little weird about it."
"What did he say to you?" Jonny asked her calmly, but Jessie could feel him gearing up to get angry again.
"Nothing," she kissed his shoulder again. "Honestly, I was the one doing all the yelling and then I just walked away before he had the chance to even absorb it probably. I just…when Hadji told me what he said to you, I saw red. And then I went off on him. I realized on the ride home that I did the same thing to your dad that he did to you," she laughed a little. "I'm in no mood to defend him right now, but he's been so wound up about his speech and this night lately. He wanted it to be perfect. Hadj told me you got home late. Your dad was already so stressed. That was just the trigger. He took it all out on you…"
"I really have a talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Jonny sighed.
"Baby, I don't know why you were late, but I do know that you had a good reason," she said it confidently.
Jonny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Thanks for saying that, Jess."
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked cautiously.
They had reached the lighthouse. He leaned against the wall and pulled her between his legs again instead of going inside. He looked her up and down. "You look so amazing and I look like a slob. Do you want me to get cleaned up? Take you out somewhere nice?"
"I'm happy here," she grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And I really like this view." It was her turn to look him up and down.
"I'm all sweaty," he rolled his eyes.
She shrugged. "I like what I like. Don't judge me."
He grinned and looked over her shoulder for a long moment.
"My phone was dead," he sighed. "I forgot my charger. Again. Like an idiot. I thought about stopping at a pay phone to call and let them know I was on my way in case they were trying to reach me. At that point though, I wasn't running late so I just decided to keep going and not make myself late. I should have stopped. I knew how stressed out dad was. We could all see it. And he probably wouldn't have gotten so mad if I called. Anyway, I was maybe twenty minutes away when I saw this elderly lady on the side of the road with a flat tire."
"You stopped to help her," Jessie smiled and lifted her hands to encircle his face.
"Yeah…and of course she didn't have a phone and she was talking my ear off the whole time. It was like she hadn't talked to anyone in weeks. I felt bad for her."
She stroked his cheeks. "God…I love you," she said full of emotion.
"Maybe I should have kept going?" he second guessed himself. "Someone else would have stopped, right? But…no I can't just leave well enough alone."
"Not really a trait to beat yourself up over," she cut him off. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You helped someone that needed help. That's who you are. It's one of the reasons I love you."
Jonny did not respond for a while. "I made one situation better, but I completely fucked up another in the process. Story of my life, Jess. Not to mention the fact that I could have called someone else to help her and avoided all of this if I didn't let my phone die again. I feel like I'm always screwing up."
"That's not true," she insisted.
"Would you still feel that way if I was late for something that was important to you?" he challenged.
"I hope so," she breathed. "But if not right away, I'd get to this same conclusion pretty quick. You never do anything without the best of intentions. I know that as well as I know anything. You're not a screw up, Jonny Quest. You know I'd have no problem letting you know it if you were, right?"
That made him chuckle. "Good point."
"He didn't mean it, Jonny. You're the furthest thing from a disappointment."
Long pause. "I know," he nodded.
"Still sucks to hear," she acknowledged.
"Yeah."
"I told him he was acting like a self-centered asshole," Jessie mumbled and then watched Jonny's eyes go wide.
"Jess!"
"Well, I didn't mean it. I was really angry," she defended. "I won't let someone treat you that way. I don't care who it is."
He pulled her as close as possible and then dipped his head to meet her lips in a passionate kiss. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and held her head between his hands. They were both breathing heavily when he came up for air. "I'm so lucky you're in my corner, babe. Thank you for making me feel better."
His words made her push back from him and enter the code into the security panel protecting the lighthouse. "I'm not done," she promised. "I did drag you out here for a reason."
"Fine… you're better at Questworld," he admitted following her inside.
"Admitting that is the first step," she teased, holding on to his bicep as she took off her heels with a relived sigh. She started walking up the spiraled staircase and he followed.
"I'm vulnerable, baby. I really don't feel like battling it out with you in virtual reality."
"I never thought I'd see the day."
"Me either."
She stopped and pulled him close again. Forehead to forehead. "Don't worry, this game requires teamwork. And I like your vulnerable side."
"Makes me feel uncomfortable," he confessed.
"I think it's sexy when you talk about your feelings," she said quietly.
"I'm gonna ignore the obvious response to that statement for now," he said quieter.
"Smart man," she kissed him. "Come on."
All the windows were open and the space was lit by the moon. Jessie walked over behind one of the VR chairs and Jonny headed directly for the workstation, poking around. She laughed softly as she watched him. He was still a kid at heart. Trying to figure out what she had planned. He came around to the front of the workstation a moment later and then leaned against it.
He shook his head and matched her smile. Raised an eyebrow. "What's your plan, beautiful?"
"I had a serious epiphany the last time we used Questworld and it wasn't about my prowess," she announced.
"Enlighten me, love."
"Well," she scratched her index finger over the top of the chair. "I thought it was time we had some real life fun in one of these chairs."
She saw his mouth drop open in surprise and then twitch into a grin.
"You game?" she asked, reaching back to lift the halter over her neck and letting the material slip from her hands. The dress pooled around her feet. She kicked it away and walked toward him slowly. She felt bold and defiant doing this here. She felt sexy in nothing but flesh colored pasties and a thong. She felt the breeze whipping through the room. It was loud in her ears and made her break out it goosebumps. His eyes were on her breasts. Like always.
She saw his hands grip the workstation tightly and she placed her hands over his, hoping to keep them there. She pressed her lips to his sternum. Firmly. Then she ran the flat of her tongue from there up to his neck. He tasted salty, but it was him and she loved that. When he tried to reach for her, she also pressed firmly on his hands to keep them on the workstation. She wanted to be in control for a few minutes. He let her. She felt his muscles relax and he nuzzled the side of his face into hers. She gave him soft pecks up to his ear and then grazed her teeth on his earlobe.
She jumped in surprise when he returned the favor. "Let's play, baby."
She straightened and lifted her hands to his face, kissing him deeply. He flattened his hands against her stomach and kneaded her skin until he was palming each breast and teasing her nipples through the pasties. She moaned into his mouth. He pulled back slightly.
"I want to rip these things off," he growled. "What are they?"
She pushed his hands away and peeled them off herself, moaning at the sensation. Then she planted her hands on his pecs and traced the muscles of his abdomen until she reached the drawstring of his sweatpants and pulled. She moaned again in anticipation when she felt them drop to the ground.
Then he dropped to his knees before she knew it, kissing her stomach and removing her thong.
"Get back up here," she ordered.
He did. Slowly. Kissing his way back to her lips.
Once he was focused on her mouth, she reached into his boxers and began stroking him. His kissing faltered. "Babe," he sighed, leaning back against the workstation again and closing his eyes. Just letting her manipulate his body. "You're definitely making me feel better, Jess."
She sank to her knees, taking his boxers with her. She was prepared to give him the best blow job of his life, but he reached down and pulled her back to her feet before she could start. His lips were hovering over hers. Teasing her only the way he could.
"Jonny?"
He grabbed her ass and lifted her off the ground. She made a happy sound and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Let's see what these chairs can handle," he panted.
He sat down in the closest one and she wasted no time. She grabbed his dick and sank down on him in one quick thrust. He threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Fuck," he yelled and she moaned loudly. Their noises echoed and it turned her on even more. She gripped the headrest and rolled her hips roughly into his. Repeatedly. He did not have much room to move. So he just tightened his hold on her hips as she rode him.
Her eyes never left his face. She noticed every change in expression. When she moved faster. Or slowed down. Or clenched her muscles to tease him. He seemed to really like that. She kissed his furrowed brow. She wanted to take all his pain away. Forever. "I love you, Jonny." She also really loved this position. "Ahh…I definitely want to do it like this again," she blurted out and his eyes shot open.
"Tell me why," he groaned. He always wanted to know what felt good. She loved that, but sometimes struggled to explain the specifics. The more they did this, the less shy he got though.
She kissed him and then moved her lips to his ear. His eyes were too intense. "Mmm…because you're so deep inside me."
"And because your clit hasn't left my skin?" he whispered. "I like the way that feels."
"God…yes," she shuttered in his arms. "I love you."
"I love…ahh," he buried his head in her neck and then came inside her.
XXX
She was intermittingly kissing his neck and running a hand lightly over his chest. "I don't want to move," she said quietly. "But my legs are cramping."
He laughed. "I can't move. Save yourself."
She lifted her head and kissed him. "I'd never leave you behind, baby."
He stared at her all gooey-eyed. "I didn't think this night was salvageable. I was wrong. You're amazing."
Jessie smiled again. "I think I know what would make the night perfect."
"All ears, Ace."
"We should go to the gala," she suggested hesitantly. "You'll make up with your dad tomorrow either way. And then you'll regret not being there on his big night…you're too good of a man not to."
Jonny stared out the window for a while before meeting her gaze. "When did you get so smart?"
"Some evidence points to when I fell in love with my best friend."
