Author's Note: Since it took me a little longer to get this chapter out than I would've liked, I made it a little longer to make up for it. I hope that you guys are still enjoying the fic. If I'm not too crazy busy this week then I'll probably have the next chapter out sooner than the last few have been posted since I know exactly what's going to happen in the next chapter. I love reviews way too much but I like hearing what you guys think so please review. Enjoy!

"Hey, I'm on my way home," Jesse said, calling Isla after he left the theatre. "Are you sure you don't want to go have dinner somewhere?"

"I'm sure," Isla told him. "I'll see you in a bit." And with that they both hung up the phone. Jesse had been hoping that she'd say yes so he could avoid any awkward attempts for Isla to be intimate with him.

Ten minutes later, Jesse walked through the door to their apartment to find dinner on the table and lots of candles lit all around their apartment. Shit, Jesse thought. This had been exactly what he'd been worried about.

"Hi," his wife greeted him, breezing into the living room, thankfully, fully clothed. After the romantic setting she'd created, he had been worried that he was going to find her in some new lingerie or nothing at all. It wouldn't have been the first time that she had done something like that. In fact, when they first got married she had done that very thing quite often. "Did you have a good day?" she asked, after giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Yeah, I did," he told her, following her towards the table. "It smells delicious." He looked at the food laid out on the table. He had always been the cook so he was a little surprised to see what she had done. "Did you cook all of this?"

"When have I ever been able to cook a meal like this?" she asked him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I ordered in." She leaned in and placed a lingering kiss on his lips. When he didn't move to deepen the kiss, Jesse felt her run her tongue along his bottom lip, obviously hoping that he would take the hint.

Instead, Jesse broke the kiss and pulled back slightly. "I'm starving," he said, looking over at the table. He would be a heartless bastard if he didn't feel somewhat bad for the rejected look on his wife's face, but he wasn't in the mood to do what she apparently had on her mind. At least not with her.

Isla let Jesse out of her grasp and they both walked over to the table and sat down. The dinner did not go exactly how Isla had planned. The conversation was stilted and a little uncomfortable in contrast with the very romantic atmosphere that she had arranged. Jesse was sure that she had been thinking that he would make love to her as soon as dinner was over, but instead he helped her clean up the dishes and told her how tired he was.

"It's been a long day," Jesse said, putting the last dish into the dishwasher. "I'm going to head to bed. Thank you for dinner." He leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek before retreating to their bedroom. As Jesse lay in the dark of the room, listening to the sounds of the TV drifting in from the living room he knew that Isla hadn't put up much of a fight tonight. But how long would he be able to keep putting off her sexual advances? Eventually, 'I'm tired' just wasn't going to be acceptable anymore.

When Jesse awoke the next morning, he had hoped that the day would pass quickly and he would see Rachel before he knew it. Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. The day dragged by so slowly that Jesse wondered if show time was ever going to come. The moment he arrived at the theatre, he sent Rachel a text message.

My dressing room after the show.

When Rachel saw the message she smiled and immediately typed out a response.

Pretty confident that I'm just going to come if you tell me to. ;)

He laughed when he read the message and his mind immediately went to a dirty place. His fingers hovered over the screen as he considered sending her a reply as dirty as his thoughts but decided to save it for later.

Way too easy.

Seeing his text, Rachel shook her head and laughed. She should've known that her innocuous response would immediately send his thoughts to that place. Even as she hit the send button her mind started wandering to a far dirtier place as well.

Your mind would go there.

Jesse again considered sending her a reply that might cause her to blush especially if there were other people in the room.

Just wait till later.

Rachel felt her entire body tingle as she read his message. It had only been a mere twenty-four hours since they'd last been together but it felt like an eternity. It wasn't just his touch that she missed when they were apart, she missed talking to him and just being with him. She craved him in a way that she'd never felt about anyone before. It was exhilarating yet terrifying at the same time. Finally, she sent him a text with a sly smile.

Try not to get too carried away thinking about later during our love scene. I'd hate for you to break character and lose our little bet.

Grinning as he read her text message and her not-so-subtle challenge, he sent her a response.

Oh, don't worry, I'm already thinking of what you're going to do for me when I win the bet. ;)

As soon as they had taken their final bow and walked backstage, Rachel walked towards her dressing room and watched as Jesse made his way towards his. Instead of him walking straight into his dressing room like he always did, he turned and as they locked eyes, he looked at her in such a way that made desire pool low in her belly. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he opened his door and walked inside slowly. A wordless invitation for her to join him now rather than after she'd changed.

Rachel looked around the hallway at all of the hustle and bustle currently going on backstage, wondering if anyone would even notice or care that she was heading towards Jesse's dressing room still in costume. She knew everyone was used to the both of them hanging out in each other's dressing rooms so she decided to risk it. Without knocking, she opened the door and walked in expecting to find Jesse sitting on the couch waiting for her.

Instead, she felt his strong hands push her up against the door as soon as she walked inside, effectively shutting the door. His lips descended onto hers in a searing kiss as she heard his hand fumble with the lock on the door. Their tongues danced as her hands came up to bury themselves in his hair. God, he feels wonderful, Rachel thought as Jesse's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly to him.

Finally, gasping for air as they broke apart, Rachel giggled as she saw her bright red lipstick smeared all over his lips.

"Is something funny?" he asked, still breathless.

Reaching up, Rachel did her best to wipe away the lipstick from his lips. "You're wearing my lipstick now," she said softly.

"A small price to pay," he whispered, huskily as he laid a soft kiss on her lips. He had meant for it to be just a simple chaste kiss on the lips, but he just couldn't pull away from her and instead kissed her deeply and slowly. Reluctantly breaking their kiss, he asked "You wanna christen my couch?" Rachel sighed in response to his question as his lips brushed against hers.

She let Jesse lead her over to the couch fully expecting him to pull her on top of him. When they reached the couch he pushed her down gently and covered her body with his own as he lay down on top of her. Rachel loved the feeling of his weight on her.

"You're all I've thought about since yesterday," she admitted, lightly brushing his lips with her fingertips. She noted how perfect his lips were as she continued tracing them with her fingers. The fullness of his bottom lip and the perfect bow of his upper lip.

Jesse just watched her as she silently marveled at the wonder that was his mouth. He kissed her fingertips gently as she ran them down his lips causing Rachel to look into his eyes. They smiled at each other before Jesse reclaimed her lips once more then made his way down to her neck. Rachel moaned as he ran his hand underneath her dress and up her thigh slowly. Finding the sides of her underwear, he slid them down her legs before tossing them on the floor. Undoing a few of the buttons on her costume, he began kissing and sucking on her breast.

There was something so completely hot to Jesse about the both of them still being in their costumes. Judging from Rachel's reaction, she definitely thought the same. Reaching up, Rachel slid the military jacket off of Jesse just before she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off of him as well. Her hands made their way down his bare chest and then between their bodies as she grabbed his belt buckle and undid it, along with the button and zipper of his pants.

Jesse just watched her as she smiled at him wickedly and took him in her hands, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from him at the contact. Pulling him free of the confines of his boxers and pants, she wrapped her legs around his waist, lifting her hips slightly to guide him into her. They groaned in pleasure as he pushed into her deeply.

If Jesse's kiss had felt like home then having him inside of her felt like heaven.

Rachel's head rested on the arm of the couch as they lay tangled together side-by-side in his dressing room. "So how was dinner last night?" Rachel asked, not being able to contain her morbid curiosity any longer.

"Fine," was all Jesse offered. He knew that wouldn't satisfy Rachel, but he hoped it would. He didn't want to talk about Isla right now. He just wanted to be in the moment with Rachel.

"That's it? 'Fine'?" she asked, wanting to know more. "What happened?" Her voice was gentle but insistent.

Jesse sighed as he played with Rachel's hair absentmindedly. "Nothing happened really. Isla ordered takeout and we just ate dinner together," he told her, vaguely.

"What aren't you telling me," she asked, gently turning his face towards her so he would have to look her in the eyes. "Did something happen between you guys?"

"When I got home, there were candles lit all over the place," he confessed. "She wanted a romantic dinner."

Rachel swallowed the jealousy that bubbled inside of her and said, "So it sounds like she's trying." He simply nodded. She was going to have to drag every little piece of information out of him it seemed. "Did anything happen?"

"She kissed me," he told her. "But I pulled away instead of kissing her back which made for an incredibly awkward dinner."

Hearing Jesse admit that he'd been unable to return his wife's affections, made Rachel feel better about how she had reacted to Donovan when he had kissed her the day before. It gave her a sense of calm that she and Jesse both seemed to be feeling the same things. She leaned up, placing a tender kiss on his lips.

"Love you," Jesse whispered as she pulled back. Rachel just smiled warmly at him in response.

"We should probably both get changed and get out of here," she said, reluctantly sitting up.

"No one will miss us," he replied with a mischievous smile as he reached up to pull her back to him. Rachel laughed as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"I think the fans that diligently wait outside the stage door night after night might," she protested half-heartedly. The pout on Jesse's lips was so adorable that she just couldn't resist kissing him once again.

"I don't want to say good-night to you yet."

"Will the promise of there being a tomorrow night that doesn't involve a dressing room help ease the pain," Rachel teased.

"It might." The grin on his face made Rachel want to swoon.

"I promise that we'll have plenty of time tomorrow night. Just leave the planning to me," she told him.

"Okay, I lied." With a laugh, he spun her around and pinned her underneath him on the couch.

"Jesse," she giggled as he peppered her face and neck with kisses.

Their laughter died down after a moment and his face turned serious. "It's getting harder and harder to say good-bye."

Everything in Rachel was screaming that this was the moment that she should tell him that she loved him. She wanted him to know that but instead all that came out was, "I know."

As Rachel was on her way home, her phone vibrated indicating she had a call. She smiled and answered her phone without even looking at the screen to see who was calling. "Miss me already?" she asked.

"Of course I do, babe," came Donovan's response, making Rachel's heart stop. She was so thankful that she hadn't answered her phone saying Jesse's name. "So some of us are having drinks and I wanted to see if you wanted to join us?"

Really all she wanted to do was go home, but she was the one that had pushed for her and Jesse to try with both Isla and Donovan to be sure that they both really did want to end their long-term relationships. "Sure," she agreed. "Where should I meet you?"

He gave her the name of the bar and the address so she could tell the taxi driver where to go. Ten minutes later, she walked through the front door of the bar and immediately found Donovan sitting around some tables with a large group of people. Plastering on a smile, she walked over to Donovan who immediately stood up and gave her a quick kiss. Introducing Rachel to everyone, he pulled up a chair for her so she could sit down next to him.

Rachel noted how they seemed like a little family already. Looking over at Donovan who was laughing at what someone had said, she realized how happy he looked. She hadn't seen him this happy in so long. She felt a wave of sadness as she thought about how his happiness had everything to do with his new role and nothing to do with her.

"So Rachel, Donovan tells us that you two are getting married soon," the girl who was sitting next to Rachel said. Rachel tried not to choke on her drink at the girl's words which were news to her. She and Donovan hadn't talked about setting a date in so long, and they certainly weren't actively planning their wedding right now. "I just got engaged myself." She showed Rachel her large, sparkling diamond. "What's it like trying to plan a wedding with such a busy schedule? I'm worried that I'm not going to have any time to do it myself even with a wedding planner."

Rachel wasn't sure what to say. Should she lie and keep up Donovan's façade that he'd apparently presented to his cast mates of them being a happy little perfect couple? She certainly wasn't going to tell a complete stranger the truth either, so she settled for something in between the two. "We've taken a break in the planning until we both get a little more settled in our roles and know what our schedules are going to be like in the coming months," Rachel lied. It was scary how easily the lie rolled off her tongue.

"Donovan won't tell us but when are you guys getting married," the girl whose name Rachel could not remember asked her. Rachel didn't know what to say since they had most definitely not set a date.

Suddenly, Donovan threw his arm around Rachel's shoulders pulling her closer to him. "Emma, are you trying to get information out of my fiancé?" he asked good-naturedly.

"I thought Rachel might be willing to let us in on the secret since you obviously won't," Emma teased.

"Fine, if you must know, we're getting married in May," he told Emma, smiling. Rachel looked at him with wide eyes. What the hell was he talking about? Did he just set a date for their wedding without discussing it with her first?

"It'll be so beautiful in May," Emma said to Rachel.

Rachel maintained her showface and continued to smile at Emma. Her smile was making her face hurt. "Yeah, May should be wonderful," Rachel agreed. "If you'll excuse me, I need to step outside for a moment." Taking her purse with her, she stood up and walked towards the front door of the bar with Donovan closely in tow.

Once they were outside, they walked down the street a little ways before Rachel turned around to face Donovan. "What the hell was that?" Rachel asked, trying hard to contain the rage that was boiling inside of her.

"What are you talking about?"

"You ambushing me with a wedding date and telling someone I barely know when we're getting married," she hissed out. "We haven't even discussed it in months Donovan and now all of a sudden we're setting dates."

"I thought you'd be happy," he said, surprised by her reaction.

"You never even asked me when I'd like to get married, but you arbitrarily decide that May is a good time for us to get married to save face for your cast mates?" She was doing everything she could from raising her voice and shouting at him. She was seething and Donovan could see just how angry she was.

"Rachel, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I honestly didn't think that it would upset you and that was never my intent. I just thought that we were both ready now to finally set a date and get married." He wrapped his arms around her waist, hoping that she wouldn't shove him off of her. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when she didn't.

Finally she said, "That's the problem, Donovan. You don't think." It was matter-of-fact that Donovan didn't know how to react.

"I'm sorry," he reiterated, reaching up to cup her face in his hand.

She twisted out of his grasp. "I'm going home," she told him.

"What am I supposed to tell everyone?" The irritation evident in his voice. He felt like she was overreacting.

"Tell them I don't feel good," she offered. "I don't care. I'll see you later."

He watched her walk down the street in search of a taxi cab and obviously wanting to get as far away from her fiancé as possible.

She managed to flag down a cab a couple of blocks away and immediately found her phone to call her best friend. "Hello?" Kurt asked, groggily.

"He just set a date," Rachel blurted out, not bothering with any pleasantries.

"What?" His was brain still foggy from sleep that she had just interrupted. "Who?"

"Donovan just told his cast mates that we're getting married in May," she explained.

"Why would he do that?" Kurt walked into the living room and shut the door to the bedroom on a still sleeping Daniel. "You guys haven't even discussed it in months."

"That's what I said!" Rachel cried out. She saw the taxi driver look at her through the rear view mirror. "Some girl who's in the cast is getting married and she started asking me all these questions and Donovan offers up that we're getting married in May!"

"May? Since when did you ever want to get married in May? Did he ever listen to a word you said after you got engaged? You're not a spring bride."

"Exactly, but apparently he's forgotten that little tidbit."

"Do you need to come over?" He was tired but if his friend needed to talk he'd be more than happy to stay up with her for a little while.

"No, I woke you up. We can meet for lunch tomorrow, though."

He breathed a silent sigh of relief at not having to stay up another few hours. "We will definitely meet for lunch. Go home, take a shower, get some rest and we'll talk tomorrow."

"Alright. Thank you for listening to me. I love you," she told him, smiling.

"I love you too. Good night." Hanging up the phone, Kurt walked back into the bedroom and had never been so thankful that his life was pretty drama free.

The next night after the show and Jesse had met with all of the fans at the stage door, he headed to the place that Rachel had told him to meet her in the text message she had sent to him earlier in the day. Looking around, he didn't see her anywhere, so he opened his phone and checked the text message again. He was in the right place.

Then he heard her voice. "Are you waiting for someone in particular?"

He turned to see her in a limo next to him. "Not really," he responded with a smirk.

"Want a ride?" She opened the door in invitation and slid further into the backseat of the limo.

Wordlessly, he got into the limo, shutting the door behind him and rolling the window up. As soon as they were away from any possible prying eyes in the back of the limo, Jesse's lips found Rachel's. "Hi." The soft tone of his voice and the way he was gazing at her made Rachel's heart skip a beat.

"Hi," was all she could manage. Remembering that she needed to tell the driver what they were doing, she rolled the partition down.

"Where to, ma'am?" the driver asked.

"We'd just like to see New York at night so let's start at the Met and work our way downtown," Rachel explained.

"Sounds good, ma'am. Let me know if you need anything else." Thanking him, Rachel rolled up the partition again and locked it to ensure that she and Jesse had complete privacy.

"What do you have planned," Jesse asked, pulling her closer to him.

"What do you think?" The suggestive tone of her voice did not escape Jesse as Rachel leaned over to the stereo and turned the sound up.

"So… no sight-seeing then?" He ran his hands up and down her sides.

"No sight-seeing," she confirmed, sliding over and straddling his lap. Then added, "For now at least," and pressed her lips to his.

The limo had barely pulled away from the curb before Rachel and Jesse were frantically tearing one another's clothes off. Lips and hands, everywhere and anywhere. "You do realize that the driver's going to know what we're doing back here," Jesse managed as they both tried to catch their breath, her now naked body pressed up against his as they held each other closely.

"I don't care," she told him, as she sank down onto him eliciting a low groan from Jesse. They began a slow, steady rhythm as their lips met in a fierce kiss. Their tongues tangled feverishly as their bodies collided in an ever increasing rough pace.

Rachel braced her hand on the roof of the car as Jesse thrust up into her repeatedly, her mouth in the shape of an O with her silent cries of ecstasy. It was always a conundrum when they were together like this because while neither of them wanted it to end, they so desperately wanted the sweet release that they knew was inevitable and this time was no different as a couple more thrusts sent Rachel tumbling over the edge in ecstasy and she brought Jesse with her.

They just stared at each other intensely, neither of them saying a word, as their bodies shuddered from the aftershocks of their orgasms. Again, Rachel felt the overwhelming urge to tell Jesse just how much she did love him, but just like every other time, something else escaped her lips, "So much better than sight-seeing."

Jesse just laughed. "I can't argue with that."

"Favorite New York moment?" Jesse asked as they lay on the floor of the limo looking out of the open sunroof at the night skyline of the city once they both had managed to put their clothes back on.

"It's hard," she told him, thinking about her answer for a moment. "I have two, I guess."

"And they are?"

"Number one is the first time I ever saw my name on a marquee on Broadway." Remembering that moment, caused a huge smile to spread across her face. "I dreamed about it my whole life and always hoped and prayed that it would happen for me one day if I put in enough work. I just never realized what it would actually feel like when it really happened."

"There's nothing quite like it," Jesse agreed also recalling seeing his name in lights on Broadway for the first time. "The second?"

"Singing 'Both Sides Now' with you at Carnegie Hall," she said, her smile growing even wider.

"Really?" He was a little surprised by her answer. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting but it wasn't that.

"Really. Why does that surprise you?" She turned her head to look at him.

"I don't know. I just thought that…" He thought about it for moment. "That if it had something to do with me then it'd be the first time we took the stage together on opening night."

"That's up there," she told him. "But that night in Carnegie Hall was just… perfect." She sighed at the memory as she turned to gaze out the open sunroof again. "What about you?"

"I have two as well. The first time I went to the Tony's." Now it was Rachel's turn to be surprised. Glancing over, he saw the look on her face and decided to explain. "Walking that red carpet and photographers calling my name and wanting to take a picture of me was so surreal and amazing. Seeing all of those people that I'd admired for so many years who were now my peers was exhilarating. I'll never forget it." The wistful tone in his voice making Rachel smile warmly.

"The other one?"

"The night you showed up at my doorstep," he said, lacing his fingers through hers as he turned his head to look at her causing Rachel's heart to skip a beat. The look on his face was one of pure love that made Rachel want to melt in his arms. With his free hand, he reached up and buried his fingers in her hair as he touched his forehead to hers. "That was a perfect night."

The next several weeks were filled with stolen moments for Jesse and Rachel. When they weren't spending time with their significant others or at the theatre, they were together. Most of the time, it was just a kiss or a caress in a dark corner backstage away from prying eyes. Sometimes it was a heavy petting session under a dark stoop with passers-by unaware of the two Broadway stars making out just feet below them. Other times it was a quickie in an elevator they knew didn't have cameras in it or even the one time after they'd had dinner together over at Kurt's and had gone up to the rooftop garden after he had unwittingly confirmed that there were no security cameras up there.

The most daring was perhaps the one morning that Jesse had called up Rachel as soon as Isla had left for work and told her to come over to his apartment where they spent the better part of the morning making love.

Their stolen moments weren't always lust-filled. They took every moment that they could learning more and more about each other. Just as Jesse had promised, he asked her a new question about herself every day. It only served to bring them closer together. One day, instead of spending the beautiful, sunny fall day indoors they decided to go to Central Park together.

Jesse packed a blanket in his backpack and Rachel stopped at a bakery to grab them lunch on her way to meet him at Cedar Hill in the park. When Rachel arrived, she saw Jesse sitting on a blanket near a large fir tree. The moment he saw her walking towards him, his face lit up.

"You look beautiful," Jesse said to her in greeting. She wanted to kiss him so badly as she sat down, but this was too open for her to risk being seen by anyone. All it would take was one person, the wrong person, to see them and their world would come crashing down around them.

"Hi," she said softly, resting her hand next to his on the blanket, just barely brushing his hand with hers.

"What'd you bring?" he asked, leaning over her to grab the bag that she'd brought.

"Jesse," she warned, as she felt his breath on the side of her face.

He pulled back quickly with the bag in hand with a shit-eating grin on his face. "What?" Rachel just shook her head and laughed softly as she watched him dig through the bag and pull out the sandwiches, a fruit salad and finally the chocolate bouchons that Rachel loved so much.

Handing her one of the sandwiches, they sat and just talked as they ate and watched various people walk by. Making up stories for each person that passed by, each story more elaborate than the next. Before they knew it, an hour had passed. Rachel looked down at the blanket and saw the bag with the bouchons still sitting there. As Rachel bit into the bouchon, the she had grabbed she noticed Jesse just watching her intently, not saying a word.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him.

"You have some powdered sugar right…" he trailed off as he reached up and rubbed his thumb along the edge of her lip then licked the sugar off his finger. "Can I have a bite of yours?" He leaned over close to her bouchon to try and take a bite.

"Get your own," she said, giggling and extending her arm out away from him so he couldn't reach it.

"But I don't want my own." Rachel felt her whole body begin to hum with the way he was looking at her. She simply shook her head no in response. Before she knew it, he grabbed her and tackled her onto the blanket making her laugh even harder as he reached for her arm and brought the bouchon to his lips, taking a bite out of it. "Mm, that is good," he told her, an impish grin on his face.

"Now you've got powdered sugar right there," she teased, a twinkle in her eye as she pointed to a spot just above his lip.

"Wanna lick it off?" he asked suggestively.

She leaned up and was scant inches from his lips when she playfully shoved him off of her causing them both to laugh. As she ate what was left of her dessert, she said, "You realize, you owe me a bite of yours now when you decide to eat it." Rachel watched him take it out of the bag and take a large bite out of it.

"You can have this last bite," he said, causing Rachel to lean over and try to take it from his hand. Jesse pulled his hand away so she couldn't quite reach it. "But there's a condition."

"And what would that condition be?" she asked.

"I get to feed it to you."

She rolled her eyes at him, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Are you serious?"

"Completely."

She shrugged her agreement as she moved closer to him on the blanket. Locking her eyes on his, she opened her mouth as he brought the pastry to her lips and slowly slid it into her mouth. She felt his fingers brush her lips and darted her tongue out to lick them before he pulled his hand away. Closing her eyes, she savored the last bite, moaning slightly as she lay back on the blanket.

"You're evil," Jesse whispered in her ear before lying down next to her.

Eyes still closed, she felt his hand next to hers and laced her fingers through his. "I know," she told him, a smile spreading across her lips. They lay in silence for a moment before Rachel said, "I want us to spend the night together again. I want one night with you where I don't have to say good-bye to you and lie awake thinking about Isla lying next to you."

Jesse certainly didn't need convincing. "Okay," he agreed easily. "We don't have a show on Monday so how about we check-in to a hotel Sunday night and spend two nights there?"

"I'll just tell Donovan that Kurt and I are going to take a little trip together. What are you going to tell Isla?"

"I'll figure something out." It was going to be a lot trickier than the last few weeks had been. A few hours here and there were easily explained away, but a whole night was another story entirely. His wife had actually kept good on her promise to make him and their marriage a priority. Most nights she waited up for him to get home so they could spend time together, but she never asked questions when he was a little late. He wondered if spending the night somewhere else might raise any red flags for her.

Putting it out of his mind, he and Rachel began discussing their upcoming night together. And that was how they spent the rest of the afternoon: talking, soaking up the early fall sun, bodies touching ever so slightly, fingers linked together.

When Jesse got home later that night, the living room was empty but he noticed the soft light coming from the bedroom. Walking into the bedroom, he found his wife obviously haven fallen asleep while reading a book which was now resting haphazardly on her chest, her reading glasses still on. He smiled fondly and walked over to her side of the bed and gently picked up the book, placing the bookmark inside of it before setting it on the nightstand next to her side of the bed. Gingerly, he reached up and removed her glasses, unsuccessfully attempting not to wake her.

"You're home," she stated the obvious, sleepily.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late," he told her, walking around to his side of the bed and kicking off his shoes.

"How was the show?" She sat up and stretched slightly before turning her body to face his side of the bed.

"Great. Standing ovations never get old," Jesse beamed. He could feel her eyes on him as she watched him undress. "How was your day?" he asked as he slipped under the covers and turned off the lamp on his nightstand.

"Busy, but good." She turned off her own light and scooted closer to him on the bed. "It just got better, though." Jesse felt the weight of her hand on his chest in the darkness, her fingers scratching back and forth lightly on his t-shirt. He lay stock still for a moment, trying not to tense up too much at the way she was touching him. The next thing he knew her lips were on his neck, her tongue darting out to taste his skin. "Jesse," she murmured as she hooked her leg over his.

His body betrayed him, reacting to the contact as she rubbed herself against him. Her lips found his and, for the first time since Rachel had entered his life again, he kissed Isla back.

Author's Note: I just couldn't resist a bit of a cliffhanger. Don't hate me too much. :)