As they rode, they talked, joked and poked fun at one another. They could talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. The beauty of what they had was that they were also able to sit together in complete silence without things ever feeling weird or forced.

Beca started daydreaming; her mind wandering to a faraway place. A place where she was free to be with Jesse, a place where there was no Luke and no arranged marriage. A place where she was free to be exactly who she was without fear of being less than perfect in her parents eyes. She began to wonder if she should confide in Jesse about the Luke situation. It's no secret that Jesse hates Luke with a passion, in fact, he had beaten the tar out of Luke on more than one occasion; and admittedly it had been very sexy to watch. She definitely needed to tell him what was going on, after all, it would be better for him to find out from her than to find out from someone else. Now she just had to decide how to work it into their conversation. This was sure to be awkward.

They rode a while longer before finally getting to the creek. Jesse helped her to dismount Whiskey then tied both horses to the tree near the creek. Beca settled underneath the shade of a huge oak and started to strum her guitar.

"I don't recognize that tune. Is it something new?" he asked.

"Just something I've been working on."

"Sing it for me?"

"Nope, not til it's done." What Jesse didn't know was that she was writing this particular song with him in mind but she didn't want him to hear until it was absolutely perfect. Her OCD tendencies had definitely kicked into high gear.

"Promise?"

"I promise." She told him as she patted the patch of Earth next to her.

Jesse sat close enough to smell her perfume. She smelled of cherry blossoms and sweat and he couldn't imagine anything smelling sweeter. He reached into the basket and pulled out a couple of beers, popped the bottle caps and handed a bottle to her. As she took a sip she realized how hot she really was and took the cold bottle and pressed it to her face, neck and chest as Jesse watched, wishing he was the bottle.

Her thin white tank top was practically see through from sweating and he wanted more than anything to see what it was covering. He fantasized about her often, way more often than he should admit. He wanted to be able to call her his girl. He wanted to scream from the rooftops that he loved her but he couldn't. He's been hiding his feelings since they were very young only giving her a small glimpse of his feelings a few weeks ago. He knew from very early on and he knew now that he wanted to spend the rest of his life Beca Robicheaux. His feelings for her never wavered, they only got stronger, but he couldn't act on them. He couldn't let his feelings for her interfere with his job and his livelihood.

"Hey Cowboy…why so serious?" she asked before taking another sip of her beer.

"Just thinking."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"It's complicated."

"It's only complicated if you make it that way." She said taking another sip. "Wanna hear something really complicated?"

"Umm…sure."

"So, I told you about the argument I had with my dad earlier."

"Yeah."

"Well on my birthday, he told me that before I was born I was promised to Luke Babineaux."

"Promised?"

"Yeah…as in betrothed." She said kicking off her boots and socks.

"I'm sorry what century are we living in?" Jesse said scratching his head.

"I know right?"

"That's majorly fucked up." he said. "So I take it that's why you ran off that night?"

"Yes, it is." she admitted, "I told him that I wouldn't marry Luke and that's why we argued."

"Wow!"

"Yeah...it gets better though."

"What do you mean?"

"I have to be a virgin."

"What!?"

"My sentiments exactly; I've been promised to the town man-whore but I have to remain a virgin."

"And if you're not?"

"I can only hope that all bets are off."

"When's this farce of wedding supposed to take place?"

"It's scheduled for the day before my 23rd birthday."

"So that means you have 5 years to fall in love and lose your virginity to someone else."

"Yep…that's the plan. I won't marry Luke." She said standing up to remove her tank top and jeans.

"Whoa Beca…what are you doing?" he asked as he admired every inch of skin he laid his eyes on.

"Going swimming silly. Come on!" she said as she kicked water at him before jumping in.

"Oh…that's it!" He told her playfully.

Of course, she was doing anything and everything possible to get him in the water in as little as possible. She watched as he undressed, his tan skin glowing in the sunlight, the sun creating a halo on his dark hair. She was sure she had never seen a more beautiful man in her life. He was absolutely perfect in her eyes.

Beca loved the creek; it was one of her favorite spots on the property. It was secluded, quiet and peaceful. She was the only one that ever came out this far on the property, until she decided to let Jesse in on her private little piece of heaven on Earth. There were rocks and boulders that surrounded the creek but beyond them the water opened up to a large swimming hole that got to be about 10 feet deep in places.

Jesse stood on a large rock and jumped in right next to Beca, making sure that the splash hit her. The force of his impact on the water actually pushed her several feet away. When he came up, she was wiping water from her face. "You're an ass." She said as she smacked the water with her hand.

"You started it." She jumped on his back playfully. They enjoyed the cool water on their warm bodies, taking turns jumping off the rocks and dunking one another. At one point, Beca jumped from the rocks but didn't surface right away. Even though she was an excellent swimmer, Jesse started to panic until he felt her yank his boxers down in the water. She came up laughing her fool head off.

"Umm...Beca…"

"What?" she asked trying to act innocent.

He cocked his head and raised his eyebrow before pulling his boxers back up and saying, "You know what." he said.

"Oh...that? That's nothing." she said playfully before trying to swim off. He caught her by the foot and pulled her toward him until she was flush against his body. She could feel his erection though she tried to ignore it…which judging by the flush she felt on her cheeks wasn't working very well. While she fantasized about him often, she knew she wasn't completely ready to take that next step. She had to make sure that his feelings matched hers before she gave herself to him completely.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked as he gestured between them.

"In all honesty, it probably isn't but Jess, I don't care. I'm not going to allow my parents to dictate who I can and can't see or to make decisions regarding my life."

Jesse looked into her eyes and saw something he was pretty sure he'd never seen before. Or maybe he had seen it before but didn't recognize it because he wasn't looking for it. What he saw was passion, a deep-seeded, fiery passion and it oozed from her big, beautiful sapphire eyes. Usually she would look away, but today she was maintaining eye contact with him like she wanted him to see inside her soul.

Beca was nervous. She wondered, "Can he see it? Does he feel it? Does he know what I'm trying to tell him without coming right out and saying it?"

He always knew they loved each other. How could they not? They literally spent every day of their lives together. You couldn't spend that much time with someone and not love them, and he knew that he not only loved her but he was in love with her. She was his very best friend, sure he had other friends but no one could ever measure up to Beca. He had her on a pedestal above everyone else. She was in a league of her own.

Breaking the silence he said, "I'm in if you are."

Shaking the thoughts from her head she said "I'm sorry." She looked down and started playing with her fingers. She thought she heard what he said but she was so consumed with the way he had been looking at her that she couldn't actually be sure.

Lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes, "Beca, I said I'm in."

She smiled. She knew exactly what he meant, "Really?!"

"Yes...really."

"You know, we're going to have to keep this on the down low for a while? At least until I can convince my parents that Luke is not the guy for me."

He kissed the tip of her nose and said, "Baby, I'm all for it."

"You're ok with secret rendezvous' and no PDA when others are around?"

"I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I've never wanted anything so much in all my life."

She kissed his cheek, "I'll sneak out as much and as often as I can…I promise."

"And I'll keep my head down and my nose to the grindstone so no one gets suspicious."

"This isn't going to be easy."

Jesse chuckled, "It'll be a lot easier if you stop wearing those damn booty shorts."

She smacked his chest playfully, kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly around the neck.

After spending most of the afternoon and evening down at the creek, Beca and Jesse knew it was time to get back but dreaded it all the same. Beca was gone so much and so often that her parents stopped asking where she was going and when she'd be back. They never knew where she went but she always took Whiskey which meant she wasn't going too far and with the exception of her 18th birthday, she always came home.

Upon arriving back at the stables, they brushed Whiskey and Dakota while the horses chowed down on apples and oats. Jesse was in the middle of telling her a joke when they heard a truck pull up. They both ignored it thinking it was someone going to the house to see Beca's dad. They were really surprised when Luke, of all people, sauntered into the stable.

"Well, well, well...don't you two look cozy." Luke said.

Jesse chuckled, "Yeah...because brushing horses is so cozy."

"Shut up asshole! I wasn't talking to you."

"HEY! Watch your mouth!" Beca yelled. "You didn't address either one of us when you walked it. He's free to say what he likes."

"So Jesse...do you always let girls fight your battles for you?"

"I would think you of all people know better than that." Jesse said bumping chests with Luke.

Beca pushed the boys apart. She turned to Jesse, looked him in the eye and whispered "Back up. I've got this." Putting a safe distance between herself and Luke she said, "What do you want Luke?"

"I want my fiancé." he said before walking toward her. "You know you want a piece of this." He said lifting his t-shirt to reveal his abs. Beca looked away. Sure he was handsome and he had the body of a God but he wasn't what she wanted. Luke was an arrogant, pompous, self-righteous, first class son of a bitch and all of that took away from his physical appearance. He treats women like they're possessions not people. That didn't work for Beca. She's not a possession and she certainly isn't going to be submissive to any man.

Luke took the last couple steps toward her until he was rubbing his body against hers. Jesse placed his hand on the small of her back where Luke couldn't see. He put just enough pressure for her to know that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, you can want in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first." Beca told him as Jesse gave a little chuckle. She was a feisty little thing and she didn't give up or back down from a challenge easily.

"This," gesturing between them, "is going to happen Rebeca. The sooner you accept it, the sooner we can do this." he said putting his hands on her hips as he grinded on her.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me!" She said through clenched teeth as she slapped him hard across his face. "I'm not your fiancé. You don't love me."

"You're right, I don't love you but you're such a sweet, sexy little thing and it would be so nice to add you to my collection."

This time she punched him in the mouth, "I'm not interested in being a part of your little collection of whores." Luke was shocked as he reached up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"That's enough!" Jesse said as he stepped between them. "You need to leave."

"I'll leave for now, but I'll be back and I expect some action when I do."

"I have way too much self-respect to give myself to the town man-whore."

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a whore."

"Bullshit! You have poked every hole in this town with that rotten dick of yours."

Luke turned, "Saving the best last baby. Every man loves getting his hands on a virgin."

"You're disgusting! You'll never touch me."

"We'll see about that." he said over his shoulder. She threw the brush she was using for Whiskey's mane, hitting Luke in the back of the head. "WOW! That was impressive. Nice shot!" Jesse thought.

As soon as Luke drove away, Beca starting crying. Jesse tried to console her but she brushed his hand off her shoulder "I have to go" she said as she took off toward the house.

Jesse ran after her, "Beca...wait!" but she didn't even look back. "Damnit!" He yelled as he kicked the brush she used to hit Luke. He sat on an overturned bucket and put his face in his hands. "What am I going do?" He looked toward the house and saw the light come on in her bedroom and her shadow as she walked across the room. Suddenly, he had an idea.