Chapter 6- Drops of Jupiter
A/N: Sorry for the long wait! As usual, I hope you all enjoy!
April's eyes were wide and her skin was flushed as she peeled off her soiled sundress and stepped into the closet. Her dresses and shorts were neatly hung up and folded in the walk-in closet, unlike Jackson's random assortment of tee shirts and shorts, which were piled in a messy heap in the corner. Her lips tingled with the nerves coursing through her body. She had kissed Jackson. Kissed him. On the mouth. Jackson. April could hardly believe what had happened just minutes before. She blamed the adrenaline rushing through her veins after her encounter with the creep earlier. There was no other explanation in her mind that could account for what she had done. A smile blossomed on her face. Jackson kissed me back. The redhead stood in her matching pink striped bra and underwear, searching the closet for something to wear. Finally pulling on a sleeveless mint green sundress, she closed her eyes and leaned against the closet door, doubts filling her mind. What if it didn't mean anything to him? April thought desperately. She wasn't stupid, she knew that Jackson had plenty of one-night stands. What if she was nothing more than a fling? The Trauma surgeon swallowed the knot in her throat as she walked back into the hallway, where Jackson was waiting for her.
"I, uh, we should probably get back to the others," April said lamely. She had no idea what to say to him.
"Yeah," the green eyed man said quietly. He couldn't help but stare at her lips as she talked, mesmerized by the way she captured her pink bottom lip between her teeth as she looked back up at him. Their staring contest was interrupted, however, by the rest of their friends filing into the hallway.
"If you guys are done gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, we've got places to be," Cristina said sarcastically. Callie and Arizona shared a hidden grin as Jackson and April quickly diverted their eyes, a furious red blush forming on April's face.
"We're having a girls afternoon, then all meeting up to go clubbing," Callie explained to a confused April. While spending an afternoon with a bunch of girls eager to harass April about her sex life didn't exactly sound like the most fun thing to do, April was eager for a distraction from all of the doubts and second guessing clouding her mind.
"Us guys are thinking we might go golfing," Derek added to Jackson. "You're obviously very welcome to come." Jackson nodded slowly. He knew that it was best for him to give April some space, even if it was the complete opposite of what he wanted to do.
"Sounds like fun," Jackson said, fighting to keep the disappointment out of his voice. His eyes trailed after April as she pardoned herself to go get her purse from their room, something that did not go missed by the others. Meredith's eyebrows shot sky high, and a smirk grew on Cristina's face. Everybody stared at April when she emerged from the room, her leather bag in tow.
"What?" April questioned nervously. The other surgeons shook their heads in response, curious smiles on their faces. "So are we ready to go?" she asked quickly in an attempt to divert the others' attention. Callie nodded, unable to erase the grin on her face. Everything was going just as planned.
It wasn't until the girls had all left until Owen's eyes squinted in confusion. "Hey, wasn't Kepner wearing a different dress earlier?"
"What about this one?" Callie squealed, holding a tight silver dress up to April's chest, earning encouraging noises from the other girls. April was mortified. Somewhere into their afternoon out, her friends had become determined to "unleash April's inner sex bomb!", something the redhead didn't appreciate as much as they thought she should.
"I don't want to look like I'm shrink wrapped in tin foil," April complained as she pushed the silver dress aside. "I don't understand why you guys don't like this one!" she exclaimed as she held up a pink knee length dress. Cristina pretended to gag as Meredith looked at April sympathetically.
"April, we're your friends. And friends don't let friends go out looking like cotton candy vomit." Callie, Arizona and Cristina all nodded in agreement.
"Besides, don't you want to look hot for Jackson?" Arizona winked. April blanched.
"What? Hot? For Jackson?" she spluttered, failing to keep a blush from appearing on her face. April cursed her fair skin and it's magical ability to turn red within seconds.
Cristina grinned. "The Virgin Mary totally wants Pretty Boy. It would be cute if it wasn't so repulsive."
"I - no- I just- I don't want Jackson, okay!" April cried out, a little bit too quickly.
"I think it's sweet," Meredith said supportively as she elbowed her best friend in the side. Callie emerged from a clothing display holding a short purple dress in her hand and holding it up. It was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline. The deep fabric was interwoven with shimmering strands, making it glimmer when the light hit it. It was beautiful, even if it was much more revealing than anything April would ever wear.
"Try this," the Latina woman instructed to April. The blushing girl grabbed the dress thankfully and disappeared into the fitting room, glad for an escape from her meddling friends. She wiggled her way into the skintight dress before zipping it up and appraising herself in the mirror. April was shocked to find that she actually looked pretty good in it. The elastic material hugged her body and showed off curves she never thought that she had, and the royal purple color made her hair seem to shine even brighter than usual.
"Come and show us!" Arizona called out. April nervously stepped out of the dressing room, tugging the skirt down anxiously. Cristina wolf whistled appreciatively, and Callie was beaming at her.
"You're definitely buying it," Arizona instructed. "Calliope, do you it would look better with wedges or stilettos?"
April was thoroughly exhausted after being dragged from store to store in search of various shoes and accessories. "Can we go back now?" she complained. Callie looked at Arizona knowingly.
"Actually, we have one more stop…" Arizona said as she stopped the others in front of a store with a pink awning. April looked up at the bright sign announcing "Victoria's Secret" in black letters. The girl sighed heavily as Callie steered them inside.
"I don't need new underwear," April insisted as Meredith handed her a black strapless push up bra. April instantly quieted and accepted the undergarment diligently when Meredith narrowed her eyes at the girl . Callie passed a red lace bra to Arizona, wiggling her eyebrows seductively. Arizona giggled and received the bra, grabbing her wife's arm and pulling her to the checkout counter. Oh, what the hell, April thought as she took out her wallet and walked to the cashier.
Jackson looked up from his spot sprawled out on the bed when he heard the door open. April walked in, arms full of assorted shopping bags. His eyes darkened when he noticed the Victoria's Secret bag hidden amongst the others, visions of April in lingerie dancing through his mind. "Hey," he greeted her, his voice shaky. April blushed at him.
"Hi," she smiled softly. "Um, I'm supposed to tell you to get ready to go out in thirty minutes. Callie found some crazy club on the resort that she's dragging us to." Jackson sighed playfully and pulled himself up, shooting a small smile to the redhead.
"Do you want to use the bathroom first?" he inquired. April blushed heavily.
"No, you get ready first."
Jackson nodded and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After splashing his face with cold water and dabbing cologne on his neck, he stepped back into the room. April was sitting on the bed, staring pensively at the shopping bags in front of her.
"Do you want me to wait for you until you're done?" Jackson asked. April shook her head quickly.
"It's fine, I'll just meet you guys out there," she said, giving one last glance at the bags before standing up.
"Okay," Jackson said, staring at her for a second before heading towards the door. "Text me if you need anything," he told her before shutting the wooden door behind him. April exhaled sharply before opening her bags and laying out her outfit for the night. Arizona had decided that stilettos would complement the dress better than wedges, and Callie had picked out some new makeup for April to wear. April slowly put on her new bra, fastening the clasps and straightening it out. She pulled her dress on over it and walked to the large mirror, examining her appearance. April had to admit- she looked great. The slight padding in the bra accentuated her breasts, letting just enough cleavage peek through the sweetheart neckline of the dress. She slicked her new mascara on her eyelashes and ran a comb through her locks, her hair cascading in silky red waves around her face. Finally slipping on her tall heels, she was ready to go. There was a huge knot in her stomach- April had never before gone out looking like, well, this before, and she wanted to impress Jackson. Finally taking a deep breath, she picked her purse off the floor and walked outside to meet the others. Callie shrieked delightedly when she caught sight of the incoming girl, Arizona and Meredith quickly joining her. Cristina nodded and grinned approvingly.
Jackson quickly turned around to see what the commotion was about, his jaw dropping when he saw April. She was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen, the purple dress hugging and showing off her body and her red hair glowing in the setting sunlight. His heart pounded in his chest as his eyes fluttered across her figure, and he struggled to hide his arousal. It was all Jackson could do to not smash himself against her and kiss her with all of his might. The blush that was permeating April's face made her even more attractive to him, reminding him of her flushed cheeks after their heated kiss earlier in the day. April's eyes were fixed on the floor as she walked up next to Jackson.
"Can we go?" April squeaked embarrassedly, her voice an octave higher than usual. Jackson couldn't help but put a protective arm around her waist as they walked into the club. The message was clear- she's mine.
April and Jackson sat at the bar, drinks in hand as they watched their friends dance. April swirled the Cosmopolitan in her hand, taking a small sip as she glanced over at Jackson. He was watching her closely, something that made butterflies flutter in April's stomach.
"We should talk. About what happened before," Jackson shouted over the booming music. April sighed and nodded. Whatever it was between them, she needed to know.
"Yeah," April agreed loudly, fighting to be heard over the loud bass. "Go someplace quieter?" she asked. Jackson nodded and slid off the stool, April following his lead. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the sweaty crowd, trying to ignore the leers the other men were shooting at his best friend. They finally stepped outside into the Hawaiian night, sucking in the cool air gratefully. It felt like heaven after the hot nightclub.
"So," Jackson said, more quietly now that there was less noise to distract them.
"So," April repeated, staring up into Jackson's sea green eyes. They stood in silence for a moment before both spoke quickly at the same time.
"Jackson, I don't know how you feel-"
"April, I can't stop thinking-"
They both let out a small laugh, happy that the tension had eased slightly.
"You first," April prompted. Jackson nodded.
"April, I have… feelings… for you. And I don't know what that kiss was, but it meant something serious to me. And I know it was just a kiss, but I want it to mean something to you. Because, damn it, you're all I can think about lately. All I want to do is hold you, and protect you, and-" Jackson trailed off. "I think maybe I've always felt this way, and I didn't notice? But April, I want you. You're my best friend. You're more than that, actually. You're the person I trust more than anybody else in my life. Look, you don't have to say you feel the same. You can just apologize, and we can try to go back to being best friends. But I don't know if I can do that, and I just-" Jackson licked his lips and moved closer to April, gazing into her eyes. "I just-" He leaned in and pressed his mouth against hers, pulling her into a slow, sweet kiss. Her lips parted softly as she sighed happily into his mouth. He pulled away, searching her eyes. "Your turn."
April chuckled softly. "Ditto," she murmured, before swooping back up to reclaim his mouth in hers.
A/N: Thanks for reading! As usual PLEASE review! I love reading your feedback and it motivates me to keep writing and to update sooner! xxooxoxoox