Life: 2.0
Chapter 8: More than Casual
Author: knowhere
Rating: R! Be warned. Very, very adult!!
Disclaimer: Nothing. (A belly button might've been changed for this story).
AN: Like I said, very adult!
Thank you to everyone who have taken the time to reviews. Writing notes also available for this chapter. In case you are catching up on chapters or new to the story, if you'd like the Notes for previous chapters (5-onward), I still have them. Sign in and whatever chapter you review will be the set of Notes I send.
I have addressed this before, but let me say it again because I feel strongly about it: Please notice that this story (and practically all others I have written) are labeled as AU. I understand that some readers do not like AU and I can respect that. AUs are not for everyone and I totally understand that. However, do not criticize an AU story because too many elements have been changed. The nature of AU is all about whatever changes that an author sees fit to create a whole new world for these characters. So if you are a reader who does not appreciate AUs, you do not have to read what I write. But please don't deign to tell me that my story is nothing but borrowed names when I have placed much effort and time into writing it.
Summary: Literati. Life doesn't always turn out like you expect. Jess and Rory meet as adults when their lives are at a transition period. Life, love, and everything else: Version 2.0. AU.
He quietly opened Gabe's bedroom door to find his brother flat on his stomach snoring lightly. Wesley was snuggled up on the pillow, curled into a ball. Jess smiled and went in to pull up the blankets to cover Gabe's shoulders before closing the door firmly behind him.
He slipped out of the house and jogged next door. He fished around under the ceramic turtle and inserted the key, feeling the tumblers click into place. Rory's house was silent and he wondered if she'd fallen asleep. He had been practically climbing the walls waiting for Gabe to go to bed.
Jess locked the door behind him, toed off his shoes, and went up the stairs, imagining Rory stretched out asleep. He'd go to her and wake her up with a soft kiss, progressing down her throat. He'd undress her with reverence and savor all the sights and sounds of her. He was going to come in his pants just thinking about it. He shook his head at himself.
He thought about her room and imagined what he would find. A large bed with some frilly bedding? A mountain of pillows that she stacked every night before she sank down into them? Was it romantic or pragmatic? Girly pinks, cheery yellows, or earth tones for her room?
When he reached the top of the landing, he heard a soft moan. He turned to the master bedroom to find that the door had been cracked, left slightly open for him. He went forward on silent feet to investigate. Was she dreaming?
He heard another low moan and then a breathless sigh. Intrigued, he pushed the door open a fraction more to find Rory spread out across her bed, the covers over her, shielding her body from view. But he didn't need to see to know that she was touching herself. Her eyes were closed and she hadn't noticed him yet.
From beneath the covers, he could sense her restless hips moving up and down. Her bottom lip was caught firmly between pearly teeth and he wanted to soothe it with his tongue. He didn't make a sound, just watched her continue to pleasure herself. Her breathing sped up, a flush spreading across her cheeks. "Jess…" she whispered, head tossing back and forth on her pillow. She suddenly snapped up, her body bowing forward and her eyes shot open to see him leaning lazily against her door.
"Jess!"
She was mortified! Not only had she been touching herself but was caught in the act by the star of her fantasy! She'd been restless and unable to sleep as she waited for him. One thing led to another…
"Don't stop." He approached her bed, stripping off his shirt.
She watched him bare his chest to her gaze and she couldn't move. He climbed onto the foot of the bed, tugging down the covers slowly, inch by inch.
"Let me watch," his voice was as black as the midnight sky, as rich and sinful as the devil's own.
She scrambled to retrieve the covers, tugging against his grip. "No!"
He let go of the comforter and she ended up pulling them all the way up to her chin. She watched with wide eyes as he crept closer still. "Don't be embarrassed. That was the single hottest moment of my life." He stayed on top of the blankets, trapping her beneath. She felt his hot breath nuzzle her vulnerable neck. "Watching you touch yourself," he caressed her cheek. "Hearing you moan," he kissed her lips lightly, tongue peeking out to taste. "Crying out my name…hmm," he kissed her fully.
The next moment, she realized that he had tugged down the blankets out of her clenched fists, down past her breasts, and down to her waist. At least it still shielded her lower body. "Jess…"
"Tell me, Rory, did you finish?" He kicked down the blankets to bare her entire body to his gaze. "Did you come just thinking of me?"
Yes. She shifted her body below him, seeking the evidence of his arousal. His damn sweatpants were still in the way.
"If I reach down right now, would you be wet for me baby?" His fingers trailed down her body and the both watched as his calloused hands circled her nipple and down to her belly button. "An outie," he grinned. "I like those."
She giggled, the heat of the moment engulfing her and burning her to a crisp. "Take off your pants."
"You sure?" he asked. "There's no going back once I take them off. I'm not wearing any underwear."
She smiled, feeling deliciously naughty. "Me neither."
He looked down between them. "I can see that."
"Do you have a condom?"
He nodded "My last physical's blood test came back clean and it's been a while for me." Pulling them of his pocket, he threw them onto her nightstand. Some bounced off onto the floor.
"How many did you bring?" she asked, astonished and a bit flattered.
"Five."
"Oh my god!"
He chuckled and stood momentarily to shuck off his pants. "We don't have to use them all tonight."
"I'll say." She rose up on her elbow to sneak a peak of him once he was fully naked. After he finished unbuckling his watch and placed it on the nightstand, he turned back to her and she looked away quickly, embarrassed.
He smirked. "Are you blushing?" He reached over to tilt up her chin. She met his eyes bravely but didn't dare let her gaze travel any lower. "Take a look, Rory," he persuaded her softly.
She did. And he took her breath away. Oh wow.
He padded away and she got confused. "Where are you going?"
He flipped the light on and the turned down the dimmer to a romantic glow. "I change my mind. I've got to see you the first time we're together." Coming back to the bed, he stripped the bed clear of all the blankets and top sheet. "I don't want anything getting between us," he said as way of explanation.
She swallowed, knowing what he'd see and unsure of his reaction. She was small breasted and large hipped. Her waist was tiny, which she liked about herself, but she had always felt that her hips were little out of proportion with the rest of her. And she had freckles everywhere. On her face, her shoulders, down her arms, her stomach, and across her thighs.
"You look like someone shook cinnamon all over your body," his voice was awed. "No wonder you taste like cinnamon sugar."
Her heart sputtered and skipped a beat. She felt his rough fingers trace a cluster of freckles that were riding low on her hips, near the juncture of her thighs.
"You even have them here," he said, his voice amused.
"They're everywhere," she told him breathlessly.
"Are they?" He ran the flat of his tongue across a smattering of freckles and she arched off the bed. He held her in place. "Let me see for myself."
He was going drunk on her taste, her scent, the feel of her soft skin all laid out before him like a feast. He wanted to gorge on her kisses, drown in her breathless sighs, and wrap her soft downy hair all around him. He wanted everything. Then he wanted seconds. And thirds…
He felt her hand circle his erection and move slowly up and down, clasping him with two hands. He looked down at her. "You wanna play?"
She smiled and he wondered how he ever mistook her for shy. Oh, she might still be as innocent as a baby lamb, but she had a wild streak in her.
He rolled onto his side, his head lying next to hers on the pillow. He sought for her between her legs, finding that hardened nub of concentrated pleasure and plucked at it. She tightened her grip on him and he bent his leg to give her further access.
When he had her trembling on the verge of a climax, he drew away, kissing his way down to her breasts, coaxing her nipples to play with his tongue.
"Jess, please," came her gasping plea.
"Please what?" He toyed with her other nipple, plucking and strumming under her body was tight like a live wire.
"Ugh!" she blew out an exasperated breath. "Please get inside me."
"As you wish." He quickly grabbed up a condom and unrolled it onto himself. Gripping her hips, he tugged her up, her bent knees spread apart. "Arch up your back, baby."
"What?" She seemed dazed.
"Just do it." His hands pressed up her lower back so her weight rested on her feet and shoulder blades. "It'll be so good, I promise."
He knelt on the bed and positioned himself. When he felt her wet heat suck in just the tip, he groaned. As he pushed in further, he felt her ripple all round her.
"Oh god." Her hands restlessly gripped at the sheets, her knuckles going white and that was the only signal he needed to press forward.
His hips slid all the way into her, deep and hot and oh-so wet. He'd never felt like this during sex. When he had sex, it was all about staying in control. He could be with a woman for twenty minutes and not be the slightest bit affected. But this woman, oh this one, had him loosing his mind from the very beginning.
He held onto her bottom, thrusting steadily into her until she started to squirm beneath him. When he felt that she couldn't arch up anymore, he scooted further onto the center of the bed on his hands and knees, careful not to dislodge himself from her. She was addictive and he was going off a very long fast. She was a sinful decadent desert and he the starving one.
Jess reached between their bodies and thumbed her tiny bundle of nerves, rubbing at it in time with his thrusts. She splintered apart in his arms, crying out brokenly and making him feel like he was on top of the world. He grasped her tighter, and she clutched at him when the residual ripples of her body convulsed all around him, he felt his hips piston harder and faster into her until he too, reached that sweet climax…
She awoke to the unfamiliar feeling of a hard male thigh wedged between hers, the crisp hair tickling her soft skin. She could feel him snuggled tight behind her, his bicep beneath her head and his other arm was wrapped securely around her torso. A growing erection was prodding the curve of her lower back and she turned to see that Jess was wide awake and staring down at her.
"Hey," she said, surprised.
A slow smile spread across his face. "Hi."
His sleepy voice was deeper than usual and she wanted to wake up to that it all the time. "You didn't sleep?"
"For about an hour or so." He slanted down to nuzzle the top of her breast while he drew back the covers.
She giggled. "Again?" After coming to her the first time, he woke her fifteen minutes later for round two. He had pulled her up to her knees while he hugged her from behind. When she came that time, he gripped her fingers tight with his and she arched with a silent cry.
"Yeah." He scooted down and flipped her up to sit on his lap.
"Jess!" She swiped her tangled hair away from her face.
He watched from below, a familiar heat burning in his eyes that she'd come to expect. He reached over to hand her a little slim package. "Put it on me."
Her fingers fumbled with it, unable to rip it on the first time. She expected him to be impatient and take it away from her to finish it himself. Instead, he stacked his hands behind his head and watched her, amusement dancing in his eyes.
When she finally rolled the condom in place, he reached for both her hands, balancing her forward on her knees to kiss her. He pushed her back gently. "Do what you want." Jess set her on his lower abs and she felt them contract and tighten.
"What?" She was suddenly struck dumb.
He smiled. "Take what you want, whatever you need from me." His bent knees slid her forward so that she was cradled in the v that was created by his chest and legs.
She reached down to position him where she wanted. He was larger this way and she had to work slowly, lifting up a few times to try again.
"God, yes." The tendons of his neck stood out as he arched up. "That's it, baby…" he murmured words of encouragement. His knees split apart wide and she felt him surge even deeper.
She kept a steady rhythm, alternating between lifting up and down on him to rocking back and forth, stimulating her most sensitive area against his hardness. She rocked until she felt stars burst behind her closed lids.
As she felt him swell further inside her, his arms shot up to grip her tight on her hips. He levered up and held her still as he thrust up hard into her. Once, twice, three times…and then he cried out.
Collapsing on his chest, she tried to catch her breath and heard the thundering thump-thump of his heart. "It's so intense," she whispered as much to him as to herself in wonder.
His hand came up to pet her, fondling her hair as he continued to lazily stroke inside her. "I know." He sounded just as confused as she felt.
She leaned back and rested her chin on his collarbone. "This doesn't feel so casual anymore."
He didn't answer and after a moment when he laid back on the pillow and broke eye contact, she rested her cheek on his chest. She felt him slip out and felt suddenly bereft without him.
Just when she started to drift off, her lids going heavy with exhaustion, she thought she heard him whisper, "I know."
"Rory?" He circled her shoulder with his nose in a lingering nuzzle. "Wake up, baby."
She squinted one eye and turned her head in his direction. "What time is it?"
"Time for me to go home." He tapped the face of her alarm clock to show her. "You should probably get up as well. There'll just be enough time for a shower and a quick breakfast before school."
She shook her head into her pillow. "Too sleepy."
He chuckled, knowing how she felt. He was wrung out and exhausted. Thirty-two felt too old to be participating in marathon sex, but hell, he'd never had that much fun. He smiled at the memories. "Don't fall asleep again or you're going to be late." He swept aside a chunk of hair that cascaded over her shoulder. "And you might want to take extra care to hide this," his fingers circled the hickey on her neck.
"What?" Her reply was mumbled question.
"You have a little love bite just here," he rotated his finger around the spot again, unable to keep the pride away from his voice. He'd marked her as his and he loved it.
She sat up in bed, clutching the top sheet to her breasts and the other hand slapped on her neck. "Are you sure?"
"Yup." He sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap. "So sexy."
"Oh man," she sighed. "Is it big?"
"Nah, just a tiny one." He nipped at it and smiled when she relaxed into his hold. "Want to come over for dinner tonight? I'm doing kabobs."
She nodded against his throat. "Sounds great."
He pulled back and laid a gentle kiss on her lips, parting them when she resisted and kissed her deeply. "Last night was amazing."
She grinned.
"I'll see you later." He left her sitting up in bed with her head in a tangled halo around her face, her body soft and pliant.
As he stepped into the morning light and traversed the short distance next door, he marveled at the tiny aches in his body. He thought about how she had whispered that it all didn't seem so causal to her. And truthfully, it didn't feel anywhere near casual for him.
He knew it from the moment he saw her in the darkened bedroom, the moonlight spilling in, and her soft cries filling the empty space. Afterwards, when he felt her weight resting against his body, it was comforting and made him feel at peace. No woman had ever given him a feeling of peace before. In the past, he'd either be ready to go again or to leave entirely. But never did he feel an overwhelming sense of belonging.
As he entered through the door and deposited his shoes by the entryway, he knew that Rory Gilmore was going to be a hell of a lot more than casual to him.
Rory felt like she was keeping the biggest secret inside her all day. When she showered this morning and found the little love bite on her neck, she smiled. Her body felt overly sensitized as she soaped up. She thought of Jess randomly during her day. She got a flash of him caressing her inner thigh when she pulled into her normal parking space in the school lot. She remembered the way he had throbbed against her tongue when she poured her morning cup of coffee in the teacher's lounge. She recalled how he felt inside her when she spent her free period grading some papers from her junior class. And when she watched her freshman class take a quiz, she reminisced how he felt when he joined her in orgasm.
"Bye Miss Gilmore." She was shaken out of her memories as Gabe dropped his test on her desk. He offered her a shy smile.
She dredged up a fake smile, hoping that he wouldn't realize that she was fantasizing about his brother just a minute ago. "Bye."
He nodded and left, leaving her with two other remaining students where were furiously scribbling their last minute answers. The bell rang. "Okay guys, please turn in your papers."
The last stragglers each came up, shell-shocked expressions on their faces. She gathered up the tests in a neat pile, watching it grow. Sighing, she accepted that she had a lot of grading to do this weekend. Maybe Jess wouldn't mind snuggling in bed while she graded papers, she thought with a silent giggle.
Since the classroom was empty, she distinctly heard the vibrating noise of her phone in her purse. "Oh!" Scrambling for her phone, she ended up dumping the entire contents of it all over her desk. Without looking, she flipped it open, "Hi!" She thought it'd be Jess and that by some miracle connection made possible by sex, he'd be thinking of her the same time she'd been dreaming of him.
"Wow, you sound chipper." Bram's sultry tenor filled her ear instead.
"Oh, it's you."
"Gee, don't sound too excited."
She smiled. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."
"Could that someone else be a good looking neighbor with abs to die for?" he teased.
"Yes," she blushed.
"Oh my god! Spill."
She heard voices in the background. "Are you at work?"
"Yeah, but I'm closing the door."
She sat down at her desk and fiddled with her cup of assorted pens. "He asked me to dinner yesterday night at his house."
"Wow, he cooks?"
"He was making dinner for him and Gabe."
"Right. The awkward, but cute younger brother."
She nodded. "Yeah. So we're having dinner and afterwards we're in his kitchen cleaning up. And then we were kissing."
"Hmm, sounds good."
"Yeah, and then he starts with this dirty talk."
"Oh yeah…"
She giggled, nervously. "Well anyways, he asked if he could come over later that night."
"Of course you said yes."
"And oh my god, Bram, it was amazing!"
"Sounds like the good time you deserve."
She paused to consider the statement. "Thanks," she said. "Bram," she started softly. "I think I could fall in love with Jess."
"Wow."
"Yeah." She sighed. "But we said we'd keep things casual because of his brother and my conflicted feelings about Logan at the time."
"But you're no longer conflicted, right?"
"I guess not."
"So why can't you take things more seriously with Jess?" Bram questioned.
"I just don't want to turn the tables on him. He clearly stated that he couldn't afford to be serious. Gabe doesn't need more women going in and out of his life and it's obvious he's still adjusting to the fact that I'm seeing Jess."
"Well, take things slowly. But if you still think that there might be serious potential with Jess, then talk to him. It's not fair to you if you want more and it's certainly not fair to Jess if you're secretly expecting more from him."
"You're right."
A moment passed. "I've got a meeting with a client. I'll call you later, okay? Maybe drop by in a week or two."
"Okay. Bye." She snapped her phone shut.
Jess turned another kabob on the barbeque and went to string up another. He heard the door slide open behind him and when he felt a heavy gaze on his back he knew for certain that it wasn't Gabe.
"Hey you." He turned to see her smiling shyly back.
"Hi."
"Come 'ere." He waved her to him with his spatula.
She stepped forward, hesitant. "Where's Gabe?"
"He's still out with Wes on their walk." He checked her out. She was wearing tight jeans and a floral top that flowed in the gentle evening breeze. "You're home early tonight."
She blushed. "I wanted to see you."
He chuckled, knowing exactly how she felt. He couldn't concentrate all day at work; instead, he replayed snippets of last night on a reoccurring reel in his mind. "Did you have a good day?"
"Good memories," she teased.
He bent down to brush her lips with hers. "Me too." They pulled apart when they heard the front door slam. "Our chaperone's here," Jess teased.
"Oh shush." She playfully swatted his stomach.
Jess heard the clicking of Wes's nails on the kitchen tile and then the little dog barreled out into the yard, yapping at his mistress.
"Hi gorgeous. Did you have fun today?" Wes licked at her chin, bathing her in doggy happiness and Jess rolled his eyes.
"Is dinner ready yet?" Gabe popped the lid off a Coke and gulped it.
"Yeah," Jess brought the kabobs into the kitchen. "Get the silverware, would ya?"
When they started on dinner, there was an odd lull in the conversation, a silence that no one could fill. Jess cleared his throat. "How did your test go, Gabe? The one you were studying for?"
Gabe groaned loudly. "Killer. It was cruel and unusual punishment." He paused and then must have suddenly realized who was at the dining table with him, "I mean, it was difficult but fair."
Jess laughed out loud. He nudged Rory with his elbow, dislodging her bell pepper off from her wooden skewer. "You get off on punishing kids?" he winked at her.
"Sorry," she shot Gabe a smile. "Was it really that hard?"
He shrugged. "Kinda. But I guess if I studied as much on A Separate Peace as I did Romeo and Juliet, I would've been better off."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have to grade them all in a few days. Plus my other classes."
"Yeah, it makes me feel a little better." Gabe grinned. "Are you sure you can't cut me some slack? You are dating my brother and all that."
Jess checked to make sure that Gabe was joking and when he saw the teasing glint in his eyes, Jess relaxed. "If anyone's getting any kind of perks, it's me not you."
Rory flushed cherry red. "Jess!"
Jess chimed in as Gabe laughed and they dug into their food. There was something very relaxing and easy about eating dinner with both Rory and his brother at the same table. There was no awkward tension between the three of them and Jess knew that whatever relationship he had with her, it wouldn't be the norm for him.
AN: Read? Please review. For Chapter Notes, sign in for your review.
Whether it's apparent or not, these kinds of chapters are in fact, the hardest to write. It's usually considered a big milestone in any of my stories, and they're actually harder to piece together cohesively than any other scenes. In this Chapter's Notes, I talk about why writing sex is unsexy and how Rory surprised even me in this chapter!