Author's Note: Sorry that my updates haven't been coming as quickly as they were in the beginning. I've been extremely busy over the last few weeks and this week I've been busy and completely distracted by all the wonderful St. Berry stuff we've been getting. *thud* Just 2 more days until they're back on our screens again. Anyways, hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for making you guys wait. :) Thanks to northstar61 for once again being a sounding board for me with some things in this chapter. As always, reviews make me happy so leave me a review and let me know what you guys thought. Enjoy!
Rachel had gone back and forth about asking Kurt to come with her to the party so she wouldn't have to go alone. One minute she had thought about going to the party alone, the next she wanted Kurt to be there just in case Isla ended up coming with Jesse. In the end, she had called Kurt to find out if he would go with her. He had initially told her that she didn't need him there since the entire cast and crew were practically family, but had ultimately agreed when she told him that while they were family none of them knew about all that had gone on between her and Jesse.
As she put her costume on and got ready for the party, her nerves started to get the better of her. When she had seen Jesse earlier at the theatre all she could think about was her dream from the night before. Instead of the nerves she was feeling as she put the finishing touches on her costume at that moment, she had felt completely calm as she had looked at Jesse earlier. Her sense of calm had helped reassure her that she was going to be doing the right thing by telling him that she had broken off her engagement to Donovan.
Thinking of how she had felt just hours before, Rachel took a deep breath and tried to relax. The knot that had taken up residence in her stomach just wouldn't go away as her thoughts were invaded by the possibility of Isla coming with Jesse.
A knock sounded at her front door announcing Kurt's arrival. "Happy thoughts, Rachel," she said to herself as she looked in the mirror one final time. Going over to the front door, Rachel opened it to see Kurt in the perfect costume to compliment her own.
"You look adorable," he told her, giving her a quick hug.
"Oh, my God, Kurt." Rachel giggled as she looked at his costume again after she had shut and locked her front door. "I might be slightly biased, but I do believe that we are going to have the best costumes at the party."
Jesse tightened his tie around his neck as he got ready for the Edward's Halloween party. The moment that Isla had RSVP'd to the party she had went on a search for the perfect costumes for them to wear to the party. She had explained that the invitation had specified that it was a Broadway themed Halloween party. Jesse had chuckled at the fact that a Halloween party had a theme at all.
So there he was in a white shirt, tie, dress slacks and suspenders with his hair slicked back like Juan Peron. Isla had the iconic white dress worn during "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" with her at the office so she could get ready there and meet him at the party uptown. At first, he had tried to convince Isla that they should wear different costumes. After all, Evita belonged to him and Rachel. It had since they were teenagers. But she had insisted that they would make the perfect Juan and Eva Peron and would not hear of wearing anything else so instead of fighting with her over it, he had simply just agreed.
Grabbing his jacket, he shot a quick text to Isla letting her know that he was on his way to the party and that he'd meet her there later then headed out the door.
Rachel smoothed her red dress as she rode the elevator up to Edward's floor. The top floor. "Stop fidgeting," Kurt reprimanded her as he looked over at Rachel.
"I can't help it. I'm nervous." She touched her wig to make sure it was in place again.
"Don't be. Just have fun tonight, Rachel. Okay?" She nodded in affirmation just before the elevator doors opened to reveal a large open penthouse with a distinct modern yet traditional feel to it. Rachel immediately decided that she liked it.
"Rachel," Edward said, coming over to greet her. "You look wonderful." He embraced her kissing her on the cheek lightly. Turning to Kurt, Edward eyed him as though trying to remember his face. "I do believe that we've met, yes?"
"Edward, this is my best friend, Kurt Hummel. You met him opening night," Rachel told him.
It was as though a light bulb went off above Edward's head as he recalled the night he had met Kurt. "Ah, now I remember. Could your fiancé not make it tonight, Rachel?"
"Uh, he had… other plans tonight," she replied with a hesitant smile. She glanced around at everyone who was already there and noticed that Jesse wasn't among them.
"That's too bad. Well, he'll be sorry he missed this party," he told them jovially. "Please. Make yourselves at home." He swept his arm out towards the open room in front of them. "Would you like a drink?" He gestured towards the bar on one side of the large living room.
"We'd love one actually," Rachel answered gratefully as her nerves began to get the better of her again. So she and Kurt followed him over to the bar and he ordered them both a drink from the bartender. As Edward handed her and Kurt their drinks, they continued to chat and Rachel was glad for the distraction he was providing her with.
Every time the elevator dinged, Rachel's eyes would dart towards it hopefully only to feel herself deflate a little when it wasn't Jesse who stepped off the elevator. She and Kurt eventually made their way over to a couple of her cast mates and had been chatting with them when the elevator dinged once again. This time as she glanced over to see who had arrived, her heart thumped loudly in her chest as Jesse walked out of it looking positively debonair in suspenders and a tie with his hair slicked back. It took her a moment to realize that he was alone.
She smiled as she watched him scan the room obviously looking for someone. When his eyes fell on her, she knew that he had just found who he had been looking for. The smile that graced his features made her heart skip a beat. It was like all of the heartache of nearly the entire last month was gone with just that one moment. Rachel fought the urge to run over to him and tell him everything that she wanted to tell him so she turned her attention back to her friends and continued their conversation as soon as she saw Edward walk over to greet Jesse.
Jesse sighed inwardly as Edward came over to him. He really liked talking to the director but he didn't know how long he had until Isla showed up and he was unable to have the conversation with Rachel that he wanted to have. After what felt like ages, but was really more like ten minutes, he politely excused himself and headed over towards Rachel and Kurt.
"I'm going outside for a little bit," Rachel whispered. Kurt nodded in understanding and turned to give Jesse a small wave before Rachel headed out to the terrace with Jesse following closely behind.
As Rachel reached the railing, she slowly turned to the side to face Jesse fully, a tentative smile on her face. "Hi," was all she could manage.
"I like your costume," he told her softly with an affectionate smile as he reached up to lightly touch her curly red wig.
A giggle escaped Rachel's lips as she looked down at her red dress. "I was going to go with Fanny Brice but when I saw Annie at the costume shop, I knew it was the one."
"It's a Rachel Berry classic," he said remembering how she had told him that it was her favorite Halloween costume. "I think you made the right choice. Besides, Kurt as Daddy Warbucks is completely priceless." They both glanced inside to see Kurt with his bald cap on his head before they erupted into laughter.
"Believe or not, he was really excited about that costume. When I told him what I found he told me that I didn't need to say another word and that I'd just found our costumes."
Jesse merely nodded and an awkward silence filled the space between them. Finally, Jesse spoke up. "I hate that we're drifting apart…"
"Jesse…" Rachel started but he stopped her.
"No, please let me finish."
Rachel nodded as she looked up at him. There was obviously something that was eating away at him that he needed to tell her. She felt sick to her stomach as she thought of all of the horrific possibilities. All of the different things he could say to basically tell her that he had decided that he wanted to stay with Isla. That her dream from the night before would never become a reality for them. That Donovan's last words to her would end up being prophetic after all.
"Rachel, I know that you said that we needed space to think. That we needed time to think about what we really want. As much as I hate that we've become virtual strangers, you were right that we needed this. I've done a lot of thinking and I've made some decisions," Jesse explained.
Jesse and Rachel had been out on the terrace just a few short minutes when Thomas saw Isla get off the elevator in all her glamorous and regal Evita glory. He wanted to run outside and warn Jesse that his wife had just arrived, but he watched helplessly as Edward greeted Isla.
Thomas was sure she had just asked if the director had seen Jesse, since he now watched in abject horror as Edward led her towards the terrace where Jesse and Rachel were currently having a private moment. He just hoped that they had been able to say what they needed to say in the small amount of time that they had just had alone together.
Instead of running out to the terrace like he wanted to, Thomas did the only thing he could think of. He went in search of Kurt.
"The thing is, Rachel. You were right to be angry with me for having sex with her. You were right to question the reasons why I did it. After you left that night, I wondered the very same thing. I sat in that bedroom and thought about what I wanted and needed. I –" His sentence was cut off by the sound of the terrace door opening.
Then it was like everything happened in slow motion as he saw Isla then looked back at Rachel to see the open and warm expression she had been wearing before disappear completely.
Jesse noticed Isla's eyes narrow for a brief second as it dawned on her that she appeared to be interrupting what seemed to be a very private moment. As if he had merely imagined her look of jealousy, a sultry smile slid into place as she slinked over to Jesse. Although, instead of her eyes resting on him, her eyes were trained on Rachel in an almost predatory gaze as she made her way over to him.
"There you are," Isla said as she snaked her arm through Jesse's and caught him off guard by kissing him soundly on the mouth. Her lips lingered longer than was necessary, so Jesse broke the kiss and looked at Rachel apologetically.
Rachel felt her heart shatter at the sight before her. Not only was Isla dressed as one of the most beautiful and iconic female characters ever on the Broadway stage, but she was also comfortably on the arm of the only man that Rachel loved. As Isla looked Rachel up and down, Rachel suddenly regretted her costume choice.
"Aren't you going to introduce us, Jesse?" Isla asked, as she looked at her husband pointedly. He turned and looked at her questioningly as he heard the tone in her voice. She didn't give him a chance to respond as she stuck her hand out to Rachel. "I'm Isla." Isla paused for a moment as Rachel took her hand to shake it. "St. James. Jesse's wife."
Rachel slipped her showface in place as a brilliant smile spread across her features. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you," Rachel told her brightly as she shook Isla's hand. "I'm Rachel Berry."
"So what were you two up to out here all by yourselves?" Isla asked, the sweetness of her tone belied by the venom that laced it.
"We were just –" Once again Jesse's words were cut off by the sound of the terrace door opening as Kurt stepped outside.
"Sorry I had to step inside for a moment to call Daniel," Kurt told Rachel as he walked over to her, wrapping his arm around his best friend's waist. "You know how he worries." Rachel plastered a smile on her face as she looked at him with wide eyes as if to ask what the hell he was doing. His wordless response seemed to tell her to go with it. Or at least that's what Rachel was able to make of it.
"So everything is okay?"
"Yep." Kurt finally turned to look directly at Isla. "Hi, I'm Kurt, Rachel's friend," he said, reaching out to shake Isla's hand.
"Isla St. James," she replied, a guarded smile on her face.
"So I hear you work for Vogue," Kurt said, causing Isla to turn and look at Jesse in surprise thinking that she had possibly misjudged the scene she had interrupted entirely.
"I do. Do you like fashion?"
"I live and breathe fashion. I have since I was old enough to know what it was. I'm hoping to start my own line eventually." Even though Isla was supposed to be the enemy, Kurt couldn't hide the excitement in his voice as he talked about his passion with someone who seemed to love it as much as he did.
"Are you currently working on a line?" Isla asked, genuinely interested.
"Well, I was going to design Rachel's wedding dress but –" Kurt started, not realizing that Rachel still had yet to tell Jesse about Donovan. After seeing him with Isla, she wasn't so sure that she wanted to know.
Rachel noticed the puzzled expression on Jesse's face when Kurt had spoken in the past tense about designing her wedding dress. "But I just decided that I would buy one instead since the wedding date isn't too far off and Kurt's just so busy," Rachel interjected quickly before Kurt could tell everyone that she was no longer engaged.
Kurt didn't question it, he just nodded and continued talking fashion with Isla. After a couple of moments, Rachel had to be anywhere but out on that terrace. "Excuse me, I need to find the restroom," she said, before smiling at them all and walking back inside.
Jesse waited for a moment before looking for an excuse himself. "I'm gonna go grab myself a drink. Would either of you like anything?"
Kurt waved him off, but Isla took Jesse up on his offer. "I'll have a glass of Pinot Noir."
Jesse nodded and hurried inside. Once he was back in the living room, he searched around for Rachel but didn't see her. He seriously considered going after her for a moment but decided against it. He'd have to figure out how to get her alone and talk to her later. He needed to know if what she had said about her wedding was true.
As Jesse stood at the bar waiting for his Crown and Coke, he felt arms wrap around him from behind. Isla may not be an actress but she loved putting on a show whenever she could and Jesse knew that was exactly what she was doing at that moment. That's what she had been doing since the moment she had arrived at the party. She wanted everyone to believe that their marriage was perfect and that they were a happy couple in love.
He turned around and managed to move out of her grasp as he handed her the glass of wine. "Let's go say hi to Thomas," Jesse said, ignoring the look that his wife was giving him after he had moved away from her and walking over to where Thomas was currently chatting with some of the crew.
Jesse tried to be engaged in the conversation but his eyes kept falling on Rachel where she was standing in a group talking. There were some people dancing and Jesse noticed that Rachel kept eyeing the area in the middle of the living room that had been cleared for a dance floor. Then ABBA's "Dancing Queen" came on and she was dragging Kurt and some other people to the middle of the open living room so they could dance. She looked so happy and carefree, it was beautiful.
As Rachel danced and laughed with her friends, she could feel someone watching her. She chanced a glance to where she knew Jesse and Isla were to see if it was Isla that was watching her, but instead of her eyes meeting Isla's, they met Jesse's.
Jesse looked away quickly and turned his attention back to the people he should be talking to. "Do you want to dance?" Isla asked.
"No, why?"
"You just keep staring at everyone dancing so I thought maybe you wanted to be out there too," she said pointedly, looking at the people dancing feet away. "Come on, let's dance." She grabbed his hand and tugged him to where Rachel and the small group were dancing.
Jesse was actually enjoying himself until he saw the way Isla kept looking at Rachel, like she wanted to pull Rachel's wig off and have a cat fight right in front of everyone. The more Rachel laughed and smiled, the dirtier the looks became that Isla was casting her way. Finally, Jesse had had enough and pulled Isla over to the bar to get a drink.
Deciding she didn't want a drink, Isla said, "I need some fresh air. I'm going outside for a minute." Jesse merely nodded and didn't even spare her a second glance as she walked out onto the terrace. Jesse stood at the bar and continued to watch Rachel dance. She said something to Kurt then disappeared down the hall.
"Where's the bathroom?" Jesse asked the bartender. The bartender pointed across the living room towards the hallway that Jesse had just seen Rachel disappear to. Jesse thanked him and took off in the opposite direction of the bar.
Seeing the closed door, Jesse walked over to it and knocked loudly on the door. "I'll be right out," came Rachel's voice from inside the bathroom.
On the other side of the door, Rachel grasped the edge of the bathroom counter taking deep breaths. She thought that she had been prepared to come face-to-face with Isla but obviously she had been wrong. She hadn't thought about how crushing it would feel to see them together. She was proud that she had managed to maintain her showface but she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to keep up the façade. A loud knock interrupted her thoughts again. "I said I'll be right out," she yelled in irritation.
"Rachel, I need to talk to you," Jesse called back.
Letting go of the sink she whirled to face the bathroom door, gripped the doorknob firmly and yanked the door open. "What do you want Jesse?" He pushed past her into the bathroom and shut the door behind them, locking it. "What are you doing?" she asked, turning to look at him.
"Is it true?" The way she had looked at him earlier and the fact that she had come to the party with Kurt and not Donovan, Jesse had dared to hope that perhaps her relationship with Donovan was over. Then when she had made the comment about the wedding date… he had to know.
"Is what true?"
"What you said about your wedding not being too far off? Is it true?" He felt the desperation and panic begin to rise in his chest.
"Yes," she blurted out. She didn't know why she said it, but now it was out there. She had just lied to Jesse. Granted it was a desperate move to try and protect her heart, but she had still just lied to his face.
"Then why isn't he here with you?" Jesse challenged.
"He was busy tonight," she lied, trying to push by him so she could get out of the confined space.
"So you're marrying him? Even after…" Jesse sighed as he went to run his hand through his hair like he usually did when he was frustrated only to remember that his hair was slicked back. So instead he clenched and unclenched his hand as he brought back down to his side.
"Why does it even matter?" she asked, stepping closer to him a fire in her eyes.
"Why does it matter, Rachel? Where did you think I was going with my little speech out there earlier? Did you think I wanted to get you alone so I could tell you that I'm staying with Isla?" His tone was accusatory.
Rachel's eyes widened as the meaning of his words finally registered with her. She couldn't form words as she looked at him turn away from her and turn the doorknob.
"I'm getting a divorce," he stated before opening the door and walking out of the bathroom leaving a dumbfounded Rachel standing in the open doorway.
She felt like she was glued to the spot, but finally her feet moved and she went after him. "Jesse," she called down the hall, running to catch up with him and grabbing his arm as he was just about to walk into the living room.
As he turned around, the pained expression on his face made her heart ache. "There's really nothing left to say, Rachel." Without another word, he pulled his arm from her grasp wanting to be anywhere but near her.
Rachel watched him walk away, tears welling in her eyes. She mentally kicked herself for being so stubborn and not just telling him the truth to begin with. But she couldn't help the feeling elation that washed over her knowing that he was getting a divorce. He was going to be free. They both were.
Unbeknownst to both Jesse and Rachel, Isla had watched their entire exchange from where she stood near the bar after she had come back inside. She had been right about the scene she had happened upon when she had first arrived and she had just witnessed what could only be described as a lover's quarrel.
She wanted to get the hell out of this apartment and away from all of these people, especially Rachel Berry. Jesse approached her with an angry look on his face. "I'm ready to go. Are you?"
"Yes," she replied, setting her partially drunk glass of wine on the bar. They both quickly said their good-byes to Edward and thanked him for the wonderful party then couldn't seem to get out of the apartment fast enough.
"I screwed up," Rachel said after she had pulled Kurt off to the side so she could talk to him.
"What'd you do?"
"I told Jesse that I'm still engaged to Donovan," she confessed, her eyes darting down to the floor to avoid her friend's disapproving glare.
"Yeah, I was going to ask you what in the hell that was all about out there when we were talking about your wedding dress."
"I panicked because the things that Jesse was saying, I thought he was going to tell me that he was staying with Isla. So…I was trying to protect my heart by not laying it out there for it to get stomped on," she explained.
"And…" Kurt prodded.
"And I was trying to save face," she admitted causing Kurt to nod knowingly. Ignoring his nod she continued, "But he told me before he left that he's getting divorced. I completely misread him which I never do and now he's hurt because he thinks he's ending his marriage while I'm getting married to Donovan."
"You need to tell him the truth, Rachel," Kurt told her. "He deserves that."
"I know."
The cab ride home was completely silent. No radio, no talking. Just the sounds of the streets of New York as they headed downtown from Edward's apartment. The ride on the elevator up to their apartment was equally as silent until it dinged that they had reached their floor.
But the silence ended the moment the front door was closed and locked behind them. "Are you fucking her?" Isla asked angrily.
"Who?"
"You know who I'm talking about Jesse, Rachel fucking Berry. How long did it take before you fucked that whore?" she yelled, kicking her shoes off.
"She's not a whore," Jesse growled, blind rage bubbling just underneath the surface.
"No? Well, then what the hell would you call a women who jumps into bed with her married co-star after she just barely met him?" she yelled, crossing the room so they were only a couple of feet apart now.
He thought about what he wanted to say then dropped the bomb on her. "Rachel and I used to date back in high school."
"What?" she asked angrily.
"She was the first girl I ever loved," he confessed.
"Don't you think that's the sort of information that you should share with your wife? You never even mentioned her. Ever!"
"When you and I met, I didn't want to talk about her and she was out of my life so it didn't matter until we started working together. By then, it was too late. I wanted to tell you, I did. I know I should have told you but it's not like you would have cared anyways," Jesse spat, throwing his hands up in the air.
"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Isla, you didn't care what the fuck I did for months and then you come back from Paris a 'changed' woman," he laughed humorlessly. "This marriage was over long before Rachel came back into my life. She was just the catalyst for me deciding to end it. I'm done."
"You're done?"
"Yeah, I'm done. I already called my lawyer to have him draw up the papers. I'm going to have him file them on Monday." He moved around her to walk into the bedroom to grab a bag and get some of his stuff together.
Isla stalked behind him into the bedroom. "If you think that I'm just going to sign those papers and make this easy for you and that bitch then you better think again."
Jesse ignored her and continued to pack some clothes in his bag. He knew that Isla wouldn't stop there. That wasn't how she fought. She would keep pushing because that's what she did. Keep pushing until she hit a nerve.
She walked over and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Does she know how you fucked me? You didn't seem to mind me so much that night." He moved away from her to grab some more clothes from the closet.
Then he stopped and turned around and looked at her. "Do you really want me to tell you about that night? When I got home and saw that you'd fallen asleep apparently waiting up for me, I remembered what it was like falling in love with you. And for a brief moment as we kissed and touched, I thought that maybe all wasn't lost for us, but when it was all over, all I could think about was Rachel. How I had betrayed her trust when I'd told her that I loved her." He walked over to her and leaned in closely. "I was so disgusted with myself that I had to wash you off of me. I don't love you. Hell, I don't even like you anymore."
Isla was speechless as Jesse walked back into the closet to finish packing. He grabbed a few more things quickly and threw them in his bag before zipping it closed. Isla never said a word to him until he had almost reached the front door.
"You did this," she said, her voice laced with venom. Jesse turned around, puzzled. "You can say that I was a terrible wife or whatever else you want to say, but you ruined this marriage. Not me."
Jesse just shook his head as he turned around and walked out the front door. He had no idea where he was going to go, but anywhere was better than that apartment. If things were different between him and Rachel, then he would have gone to her apartment to stay with her. But they weren't so that was out of the question. He knew he could probably give Thomas a call and he would gladly let Jesse crash on his couch for a few days until he found his own place. Finally, he decided to just go stay at the Four Seasons for the night and he'd begin an apartment search the next day.
As he got into the elevator, he didn't even spare a glance back at what used to be his home.
"What do I do?" Rachel asked, pacing around her living room as Kurt sat on the couch looking up at her. "I have to tell him. I need to tell him. Tonight."
"Can you please stop pacing? You're making me dizzy," Kurt said as he watched her continue to pace.
"Kurt! You're not helping!"
Getting up off the couch, Kurt walked over to Rachel and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Rachel, call him."
"You should have seen the look in his eyes, Kurt," she told him, her shoulders slumping. "I don't know if he'll even answer if I call him."
"Rach, he loves you. You know that and I know that. He'll answer. And he'll listen." He gave her a reassuring smile as he squeezed her shoulders and let her go. He walked over to the counter where her purse sat and dug her phone out of it. He held her phone out to her as he came back over to her. "Call him."
Rachel sighed and took the phone from his hand. Kissing Rachel on the cheek, Kurt moved around her and towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"Home. To spend some time with the man I love," he explained with a smile. "You don't need me here to hold your hand." Nodding her head, she gave him a small wave as he opened the door. Then she was all alone in her apartment.
Jesse looked at his phone as it rang for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. It was Rachel again. He hit the ignore button and after about thirty seconds, he noticed that he had another voicemail. Sighing, he fell back on the bed with the phone still in his hand.
He just didn't get it. It didn't make sense that she would decide that she wanted to be with Donovan again when just a month ago she was telling him how she couldn't even kiss Donovan. Why would she want to commit her life to someone that she clearly didn't love?
He decided to listen to her voicemails. "Jesse, please pick up the phone. I really need to talk to you."
He hit the button to listen to the next one. "Jesse. Please call me back when you get this." The desperation in her voice made him ache.
He listened to the next one. "I'm not going to stop calling and texting you until you answer the phone."
The aggravation in her voice in the next one made him chuckle slightly when it began to play. "Jesse, stop sending me straight to voicemail. Answer the damn phone."
Finally the last one began to play. The irritation of the previous two messages gone from her voice. "Please talk to me. You can't drop a bomb on me like that and not talk to me. It's not fair. There's so much that needs to be said and I refuse to say it all to your voicemail. So keep ignoring my calls but I will keep calling you until you want to throw your phone against the wall out of pure annoyance if that's what it takes." His phone vibrated in his hand signaling that he had a text message. Looking at his phone he saw that it was from Rachel.
I need to talk to you. Please. Just hear me out.
Once again, his phone rang. She was persistent, he'd give her that. Letting it ring a couple of times, he finally decided to answer it and talk to her. He didn't say anything as the line connected.
"Jesse?" Rachel's voice was tentative.
"You said you wanted to talk, so talk," he replied.
"I need to talk to you in person. Can you meet me somewhere?" she rushed out.
"I'm at the Four Seasons."
Rachel was stunned into silence. She knew that he hadn't been lying about divorcing Isla, but she hadn't realized that he would leave her so soon. Finally, she spoke, "O-okay, I'll meet you there. Where –"
"I'm in room 2910," he said answering her question before she could even ask it.
"I'll see you in a little bit." With that they both hung their phones up.
Jesse had fallen into a light sleep after he had hung up the phone with Rachel. A knock at the door interrupted his dreamless sleep. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the clock on the bedside table to see that he'd only been asleep for about twenty minutes.
Getting up, he walked over to the door and gripped the handle. He took a deep breath before he swung the door open. They stood in silence for a moment just staring at one another. The look on Jesse's face made Rachel want to reach out and wrap him in her arms, but she didn't move from the spot she was standing in as she not-so-patiently waited for Jesse to ask her to come in.
"Am I going to have to stand in the hall all night?" she finally asked.
Jesse shook his head and opened the door wider and stepped to the side so she could come into the room. "Come in." She walked into the room and whirled around to face him as she came to a stop near the window that overlooked the city. "What are you doing here, Rachel? Don't you have a fiancé waiting for you at home?"
Rachel decided to come right out with it. "I lied to you, Jesse. I broke up with Donovan the night after I ended things with you."
Jesse just looked at her in disbelief, taking her words in. "Why would you do that? Why would you lie to me about something like that?"
"I was scared," she confessed, looking down at her hands unable to maintain eye contact.
"Scared about what, Rachel?" Jesse asked, stepping closer to her.
Tears began welling up in her eyes as she answered him. "That you wouldn't choose me again."
He moved close enough to reach out and touch her if he wanted to. "Again?" He was slightly confused, but then it dawned on him. "It wasn't that I didn't want to choose you all those years ago." Finally he touched her, wiping away the tears that had fallen down her face. "I will never the same stupid mistake again. I will always choose you. Always."
She looked up and smiled at him, the pad of his thumbs stroking her cheeks softly as he cupped her face in his hands. She gripped his wrists, wanting him to kiss her so badly. "I love you."
"You're the one for me, Rachel. You were the one for me when I was 18 and you'll be the one for me when I'm 88. I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you." Then his lips were on hers in a heated kiss as they wrapped their arms around each other tightly, not able to get close enough. Rachel moaned into Jesse's mouth as his tongue caressed hers.
Rachel's back bumped the window as Jesse backed her up against it and brought his body flush against hers as they kissed each other breathless. He reached behind her and blindly felt for the zipper of the dress then his fingers deftly gripped the zipper and pulled it all the way down.
Jesse pulled back to look at Rachel, both of them trying to catch their breath. The urgency of just moments before gone as Jesse slowly pulled Rachel's dress off of her arms. "Little Orphan Annie has never looked so hot," he told her, his voice husky. He was rewarded with a flirtatious smile as she wriggled out of the dress, then hooked it with one foot and flung it out of the way. "God, I've missed you." His fingertips setting her skin on fire as he just simply touched every part of naked skin that his hands could reach.
"Why do I always end up with less clothes on than you," she teased as she gripped the hem of the t-shirt that he had changed into when he'd arrived at the hotel earlier and lifted it over his head.
"Because I'm stealthy that way," he quipped, leaning down to place a soft kiss in the crook of her neck.
Rachel gripped his now bare waist and pulled him closer to her, relishing the feel of his naked skin on hers. Jesse placed both of his hands flat on the window on either side of her head as she unbuttoned his pants. She pushed them down his hips as far she could before they fell to the floor. This time, it was Jesse who kicked his clothes off to the side of the room. Rachel hooked her leg over Jesse's hip, feeling his hardness as he ground his hips against hers slightly.
She let her head fall back against the window, gasping at the sensation. Jesse smiled at the reaction just a simple movement of his hips had caused Rachel to have, then he felt himself grow harder as he watched her face.
Regaining her composure a bit, she opened her eyes to look at Jesse. "This last month has been hell without you. Promise me we'll never be apart again."
He leaned his forehead against hers as their lips almost touched. "I promise. We'll be together always. No matter what," he reassured her. Rachel wasn't sure who closed the few inches between them but once again their mouths were fused together and there was no more taking things slow. She felt Jesse's hands slide behind her as he undid her bra and took it off of her then his hands were gliding down the sides of her body until they reached the edges of her panties before he slid those down her legs.
Rachel snaked her hands around his body before she slipped them beneath his boxers, squeezing his ass slightly before she too slid his underwear off of him. With all clothing barriers finally removed, Jesse picked Rachel up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She sank down onto him slowly and neither of them moved for a moment as they gazed at each other, their shallow breathing the only sound in the room.
"Love you," Rachel managed. Her two words broke whatever spell they had been under as they began to move. Their bodies moved rhythmically against each other. The cool of the window felt so good against Rachel's back as Jesse thrust up into her. She wrapped her arms even more tightly around his neck as she pulled his face closer to hers, their breath mixing together as their lips bumped slightly with each movement. Then their lips met once again as their tongues matched the sweet languorous movements of their bodies. Nothing had ever felt more right than the friction of their naked flesh with the ebb and flow of their lovemaking.
The tension in Rachel's body was almost too much to bear as she let her head fall back against the window and gave herself over to the release that she so craved. The sound of her cries of pleasure only made Jesse move faster and harder as he continued to thrust into her in an effort to join her. The feeling of her walls clenching around him as she continued to be rocked by her orgasm was enough to be his own undoing as he braced one hand on the window and held Rachel against him with the other, spilling inside of her.
Rachel lifted her head up and brought her mouth to his, kissing him deeply exploring his mouth with her tongue, craving the taste of him. Their tongues did an endless dance as Rachel crushed herself to Jesse, never wanting to let him go.
As soon as Jesse felt like he could stand fully on his own, he carried Rachel over to the bed, their mouths and bodies still one as they collapsed on top of it. Finally breaking the kiss and pulling out of her, they lay on their sides facing one another trying to catch their breath. "Is this really happening?" Rachel asked breathily, a hint of complete amazement in her voice.
Jesse brushed some of her hair back away from her face and brought his face inches from hers on the bed. "This is just the beginning," he told her, earning him the most perfect and beautiful smile he had ever seen. He was sure that his grin was as big as hers as it hit him that they were finally going to get their shot at their happily ever after.
Nothing was going to taint this moment for him as he managed to ignore the voice in the back of his head that told him that Isla was going to do whatever it took to delay his and Rachel's happily ever after.