Author's Note: I feel like this is becoming a recurring theme with me apologizing for the delays. I had every intention of getting this out weeks ago but life keeps getting in the way and I just haven't had much free time to get much writing done. Hopefully, I haven't lost too many of you by my lack of updates. For those of you who are still reading and enjoying this story, I'd love to hear your feedback so please review. Enjoy!
Jesse had just finished changing out of his costume and getting dressed after the matinee show the day before Thanksgiving. He grabbed his bag and was just about to head to Rachel's dressing room when he thought better of it. For all he knew, her dads were in there with her so he decided to send her a text instead.
Are you alone? He sat down in a chair and waited for her to respond to him. He didn't have to wait long as he felt his phone vibrate in his hand moments later.
No, but my dads would love to see you. ;) Jesse smiled as he read her text. Standing up, he headed for the door and shut off the light before leaving.
He was nearly to Rachel's door when he heard Thomas's voice call out to him. "Jesse!" He turned around and smiled at his friend who was jogging down the hall towards him.
"What's up?" Jesse asked as Thomas came to a halt in front of him, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
"Do you have any plans tonight?"
"No. I just figured I'd just go back to Kurt's, order some take-out and watch a movie or something," Jesse answered.
"You sound like some boring old married man," Thomas quipped with a smirk.
"First off, I'm not boring or old," Jesse thought about it for a second. "The married part is a technicality at this point but whatever. So, what'd you have in mind?" He had an idea as to what exactly Thomas had in mind. It had sort of become Thomas's pre-Thanksgiving tradition over the last few years that because Jesse had had other…obligations, he hadn't been able to participate. He had tried to get her to come with him the first year, but Isla had flat-out refused. She had never really been a big fan of Thomas since the first time she had met him even going so far as to call Thomas a frat boy.
"The fourth annual Wild Turkey pub crawl, of course," he responded, confirming what Jesse had suspected.
"Don't your parents hate you showing up at their house smelling like a distillery every Thanksgiving," Jesse chided playfully.
"Jesse, you've met my dad. If my mom would let him, he'd take the train into the city from Connecticut and do it with me," Thomas replied, a big grin on his face.
Jesse nodded knowingly. He had met Thomas's dad and had known immediately that the apple did not fall far from the tree. He recalled the night he had first met the man and all three of them had gone out to a bar together. Thomas had suggested that they drink around the world and Jesse had unwittingly agreed to it. Three hours later, Thomas and his dad had had to help Jesse back to his apartment before the two of them went off to another bar. Jesse couldn't remember ever being more hung over than he had been the day after that particular night out. He hadn't remembered anything after a certain point at the bar until he had woken up passed out on his living room sofa so Thomas had helpfully filled in most of the blanks for him.
"So are you up for it?"
"Yeah," Jesse said. "I'm just going to say hi to Rachel's dads. Where should I meet you?"
"Just come by my place and we'll have a pre-drink before meeting everyone else," Thomas told him, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Hopefully you'll have a better showing than when we drank around the world with my dad." Jesse couldn't help but laugh at Thomas's jibe.
"Believe me, so do I," Jesse replied as he backed away to make his way to Rachel's dressing room. "I'll see you in a little while." Once he reached her dressing room, he grabbed the door handle to open the door before he realized that he should probably knock. He didn't want Rachel's dads wondering why he just felt like he could waltz right into her private dressing room.
It didn't take long for Rachel to answer the door as she opened it widely to reveal her dads sitting on the couch together. When they saw Jesse standing in the doorway, they both stood up to greet him. He shook Rachel's dad's hand first. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Berry," he told the older man.
"Jesse, please call me Samuel," Rachel's dad said.
Jesse smiled and then turned to shake her daddy's hand, "And it's good to see you too, Mr. Berry." The man raised his eyebrows at Jesse as if to tell him that he could also address him by his first name. "I mean, Bruce."
The man chuckled softly. "That's better. We were just telling Rachel how brilliant you both were tonight," Bruce said as he leaned against the counter next to Rachel. "The connection that you two have established even since opening night is something I'm not sure I've seen before. At least not like that."
Jesse looked over and smiled at Rachel who was blushing at her daddy's praise. "Rachel makes it easy," Jesse told the men. "I couldn't ask for a better co-star." Their eyes locked for a moment and Jesse did his best to ignore the all-too-familiar urge to kiss her breathless. "So have you guys been enjoying yourselves in New York so far?" he asked, taking a seat in an empty chair.
"I think we enjoy ourselves a little too much every time we come here," Samuel replied, smiling at his husband. "We went to an amazing restaurant last night and Rachel's taking us to one of her favorites tonight. You should join us."
Jesse felt a rush of warmth at the man's invitation to join their little family dinner. It meant more to Jesse than he thought Samuel even knew. "Thank you for the invitation but I'm actually going out with Thomas and some other people after I leave here."
"Oh, really?" Rachel asked, doing her best to sound nonchalant even though the raise of her eyebrows indicated that she was being anything but.
"It's the fourth annual Wild Turkey pub crawl," he told them. "However, it will in no way affect tomorrow's planned activities," he added reassuringly at the look on Rachel's face. "In fact, I will bring coffee and donuts for all of us in the morning."
"I haven't been on a pub crawl in years," Bruce remarked, his voice wistful.
"Now don't go getting any ideas," Samuel playfully told his husband. "You're not as young as you used to be."
"I don't know. I think I could hold my own," he replied, winking at Jesse.
"Well, you're more than welcome to come," Jesse offered. From the look on both Rachel and Samuel's faces, Jesse was fairly certain that wasn't going to be happening.
"Daddy…" Rachel warned.
"I'm getting death glares from my daughter and husband so I'll have to take a rain check," Bruce responded, wrapping his arm around Rachel's shoulders and squeezing lightly as he kissed the top of her head lightly.
"Sounds good," Jesse told him, smiling. "So I'll see everyone bright and early tomorrow morning then?" he asked, looking at Rachel.
"Yes, meet us in the lobby of my building," Rachel said with a nod of her head.
Without thinking, Jesse took a step forward to kiss Rachel good-bye but he stopped abruptly realizing what he had been about to do. Recovering quickly, he reached out and shook both of her fathers' hands. "Well, I will see everyone in the morning," he told them as he backed away towards the door. He opened the door, and with a smile and a wave, left Rachel's dressing room.
Two hours later, Jesse, Thomas and six of their mutual friends walked into the first stop on their pub crawl, The Black Sheep. "What do you want to drink?" Jesse asked Thomas which earned Jesse an incredulous look from his friend.
"I've got this one," Thomas told him, slapping Jesse on the shoulder as he walked over to the bartender. "Eight shots of Wild Turkey."
"Of course, what else would we have as the first drink of the night," Jesse said with a chuckle as he stood next to Thomas at the bar.
"It's a tradition," he replied, grinning at Jesse. One-by-one Thomas began handing out the shots to the group as the bartender poured them before he finally had the last one in his own hand. Everyone stood in a circle waiting for Thomas to give his toast to start the night off. "As you all know, every year I like to impart a pearl of wisdom to kick start the night's festivities. This year, I'm handing over those honors to Jesse."
Everyone cheered as Jesse looked at Thomas with wide eyes. "Um, okay… Well, apparently Thomas used up all of his pearls of wisdom last year so he has to defer to me." The group chuckled at Jesse's good-natured dig. Jesse thought for a moment before he spoke. "A wise man once told me that the worst thing you can do is worry about what you could have done."
"Jesse, buddy, there's no need to quote me," Thomas joked.
"Yeah, I've never heard anything that profound come out of your mouth, Thomas," Jesse retorted with a smirk causing everyone to laugh again.
Thomas clasped his hands to his heart overdramatically. "You wound me."
Instead of responding to his friend's playful dramatics, Jesse turned to the rest of the group to resume the toast. "So here's to living life to its fullest."
"Cheers!" the group yelled in unison before they each gulped down their shots.
"Now I'm buying. Beer?" Jesse asked Thomas as he placed his shot glass back on the bar.
"Sure, I'll have a Guinness," he replied, leaning on the bar next to his friend.
Jesse gave the bartender his order and turned to look at Thomas. "It's good to see everyone again," Jesse remarked, glancing over at their small group. "I just realized that I haven't seen a few of them in months."
"Has it really been that long?" Thomas asked as he grabbed both glasses of Guinness off of the bar and handed one to Jesse.
Jesse simply nodded his head as he took a sip of the frothy dark beer in his hand. "First there was the new show and all the prep that went into it before it actually opened, then there was Rachel and… all of that," he told him. "I know that Kellan is in a new play that just opened not too long ago that's going to be running for another couple of months. Of course, I see Neil, Robert and Kerry six days a week. What about Roselyn and Patrick?"
"Patrick is in between jobs at the moment, but he just got back from London so I have a feeling he'll be leaving us for the West End in the very near future. As for Roselyn, you really didn't hear that she just took over as Glenda in Wicked?" Thomas asked with an astonished look on his face. "You have been wrapped up in your own world." That earned him a light punch in the arm from Jesse.
"So… you and Roselyn?" Jesse asked, noticing the way Thomas's gaze lingered on the pretty blonde.
Thomas shook his head before taking a gulp of his beer. "So far she's failed to fall for my charms, but after tonight she won't be able to resist."
Jesse laughed at the expression on his friend's face. "You have charm?" Jesse quipped.
"Is this how you treat your best friend, Jesse St. James," Thomas exclaimed, feigning hurt. "I'll have you know that my charms have worked on many a lady," he said, eyebrows raised as he looked at his friend then added, "Just not any lately."
Jesse tried not to laugh because he knew that his friend was serious about his charms not working recently as Thomas really had had a bit of a dry spell in the dating department, but he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face and the laughter that bubbled up in his chest. The laughter was contagious and before long Thomas was laughing right along with Jesse.
Four bars and three hours later, Jesse was definitely buzzed but had been pacing himself to keep from getting too drunk. He sat on one of the stools at the bar of the current establishment that he couldn't quite seem to remember the name of and tried to listen to the story that Patrick was currently telling Jesse and a couple of others about his recent trip to London. Off to his right, Jesse noticed Thomas and Roselyn laughing at something Thomas had just said.
It looked like his friend might have been right about something finally happening between him and Roselyn tonight. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised Jesse if they had just disappeared and gone back to Thomas's place together. He watched his friend excuse himself and as he walked past Jesse on the way to the bathroom, he gave him the thumbs up letting him know that things were indeed going the way that Thomas had hoped.
Turning back around towards the bar, Jesse waved the bartender over to order himself another drink. "Want to buy a girl a drink?" said a female voice close to his ear from behind him.
Jesse turned and smiled as Roselyn sat on the empty stool next to him. "Of course," he replied.
"Extra dirty Martini," she told the bartender after he had taken Jesse's drink order. "So I haven't had much of a chance to talk to you tonight."
"I know," Jesse agreed. "Congrats on the part."
"Thanks! It's not nearly as exciting as originating a role," she said, bumping into Jesse's shoulder playfully as she smiled at him. "I enjoy it though."
The bartender set their drinks down in front of them and Jesse handed him the money. "Keep the change," he told the bartender before turning back to Roselyn. "So what's it like playing a role that has been played by so many talented actresses?" he asked, knowing all too well what a daunting task it was to take on a role made famous by other actors.
"Well, I haven't been booed off the stage yet so that's a good sign, right?" she remarked, before they both began laughing. "So what's it like playing a role that no one ever has before? Everyone that comes along after you will always be compared to you."
"It was nerve-wracking at first," Jesse told her honestly. "But now…I've poured my heart and soul into the character and I feel like we were able to create something really special. I'm just grateful that I have a director like Edward who has valued my input from the beginning." As he continued to animatedly discuss his character and the show with Roselyn, Jesse saw Thomas coming back from the bathroom. He fully expected his friend to join in their conversation but apparently he had other ideas in mind as he mouthed to Jesse to put in a good word for him. Jesse gave him a nod of acknowledgement and chuckled softly.
"What are you laughing about?" Roselyn asked, looking around the bar.
"Thomas just being his crazy self," he offered in explanation as he nodded his head in his friend's direction. "You know, I don't think a day has gone by since I first met him where he hasn't made me laugh. Life is never dull with him around which I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but he's a great guy." He kept his tone nonchalant so it wouldn't seem quite so obvious that he was trying to talk up his friend.
Roselyn smiled as she turned to see Thomas having an animated discussion with Neil and Patrick. "Yeah, he is," she agreed before turning her attention back to Jesse. "So what about you?"
"What about me?" He backed away from her a little at the almost sultry tone in her voice. Then he thought that maybe it was just the alcohol and he had just imagined it.
"Is it true about your marital status?" She crossed her legs under the bar top so that one leg was brushing against Jesse's.
That little bit of contact was enough to let Jesse know that he hadn't been imagining things. He shifted his body away from her so that her leg was no longer touching his. Sure Roselyn had always been flirtatious but the way she was looking at him made him worry about where exactly she was going with this conversation. "Yeah, I'm getting divorced," he replied, taking a large gulp of his beer.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Jesse," Roselyn told him, laying her hand on his arm that was resting on top of the bar and brushing her thumb back and forth. "Are you doing okay?"
He moved his arm out from under her grasp and lifted his beer to his lips again. "I'm great actually. It was the best thing for both of us," he offered, not wanting to get into the specifics about the end of his marriage.
"Really?" She looked up at him through her eyelashes flirtatiously as she leaned closer to him once again. If Jesse could have backed away without falling off of his stool, he would have, just to put some distance between them. "So you're free to do what you want now." He felt her hand come to rest on his thigh. "Who you want," she whispered in his ear as she began to move her hand to the inside of his thigh.
Jesse reached down and grabbed her hand with his own, stopping her movements and lifting it off of his thigh. "Roselyn, I'm flattered. Really, I am. But I have a girlfriend." He noticed her face flush in embarrassment at the rejection.
"I-I didn't mean… I'm sorry," she stumbled, clearly flustered.
"You didn't know. It's fine," Jesse reassured her. "There are only a handful of people that know."
"Well, whoever she is, she's a lucky girl," she told him, standing up. "I'll be right back. I have to run to the ladies'."
As soon as she walked away, Thomas rushed over to claim her now vacated stool. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked Jesse, obviously having watched the entire awkward scene take place.
"Just a little miscommunication," Jesse explained vaguely.
"Huh?" Thomas asked, not really getting what Jesse was trying to say.
"Apparently, she was hoping that she would be coming back to my place tonight," Jesse elaborated, looking chagrinned.
"Shit, women hear that you're back on the market for ten seconds and they're practically throwing themselves at you," he replied with a shake of his head, his voice a mixture of disbelief and admiration. His face suddenly lit up as an idea occurred to him. "I think you just did me a favor, my friend." Thomas picked up his drink as he got off of the stool.
Jesse took the final gulp of his beer and set the glass back down on the bar. "Good luck," Jesse encouraged, clasping Thomas's shoulder. "I've heard that rejection from Jesse St. James can be a very traumatic event for someone." Thomas looked over at Jesse and laughed.
"Have I ever told you that you're an arrogant bastard," he chuckled.
"Not today," Jesse replied as he slipped on his leather jacket.
"That's why I love you man," Thomas told him, throwing his arm around Jesse's shoulder. "I love this guy!" he yelled to the rest of their group who all laughed at Thomas's outburst. "Where're you goin'?"
"Home," Jesse stated. "Early day tomorrow."
"The night is young, Jesse," Thomas declared loudly, motioning at the bar with his free arm. He pulled Jesse over towards the rest of their little group. "Jesse wants to leave guys!"
Jesse was met with a chorus of "No's" and "Boo's" from the group.
"See, you can't go!" Thomas exclaimed.
"I really don't…" Jesse began but was cut off by his friend.
"One more bar and then you can be a loser and go home," he insisted.
Jesse knew him all too well and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Alright. One more bar," Jesse reluctantly agreed.
"Did you hear that everyone? One more bar!" Thomas called out to the group. Jesse just laughed as everyone cheered before they downed the rest of their drinks and headed out to their next bar.
Two hours later, Jesse was in the back of a cab trying not to get sick from the buildings that were whizzing by the windows as they zipped through the streets of New York. Thomas's one bar had ended up turning into two and Jesse was completely plastered. Every time that Jesse had told him that he was leaving, Thomas would hand him another drink. He had failed miserably at his goal of not getting too drunk, but he had to admit that he'd had a good time though. He just wished that Rachel could have been there.
Jesse smiled as he thought of his girlfriend. He contemplated sending her a text to let her know he was coming over but decided that he wanted to surprise her instead.
Rachel had been trying to get to sleep for the better part of the last hour and had managed to finally feel the beginnings of sleep overtake her when she heard someone fumbling with the lock on her front door. She shot up off of the couch and rushed over to the door to see if there was an intruder only to find Jesse's curly hair as she looked through the peephole. Quickly unlocking the door, she opened it to see a very drunk Jesse standing before her.
"Rachel," he sighed, a lopsided grin on his face. Any plans that she might have had to admonish him for showing up at her door late at night and incredibly drunk, went right out the window as soon as he said her name. Before she knew it, she was enveloped in his arms as he hugged her tightly. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she buried her head in his chest.
"You weren't supposed to get this drunk," she told him, her voice muffled by his jacket.
"I know," he said, a little too loudly. "It's all–"
She cut him off. "Shh, my dads are asleep inside." She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. He released her as she reached back to close the door behind her so that they could talk out in the hallway.
"It's all Thomas's fault," he explained, slurring his words a bit.
Rachel couldn't help but smile as she looked at the goofy grin on Jesse's face. How could he still manage to be so adorable when he was so drunk? "Did he hold you down and pour the alcohol down your throat?" she teased.
Jesse contemplated Rachel's question for a moment which only made her giggle. "No," he finally answered, raising his finger as if he was about to make a point. "But he did buy them."
"Come sit down for a minute," Rachel suggested as she noticed that Jesse wasn't too steady on his feet. Lacing her fingers through his, she gently tugged him over to the hallway wall outside of her front door and they both slid down it together. As they sat on the floor, Jesse leaned his head back a little too fast and banged it against the wall pretty hard, causing Rachel to gasp before she reached up with one hand to massage his scalp where he had just hit it. "Are you okay?" she asked, trying to stifle the giggle that was trying to escape.
He merely nodded in response and leaned into her touch as she continued to gently massage his head. "Hi," he said softly, turning his head to look at Rachel.
"Hi," she returned as she reached up with her free hand to lightly brush a wayward curl off of his forehead. Dropping both of her hands back to her lap, she scooted closer to him and leaned her own head against the wall as she looked up at him. "Did you have fun tonight?"
He nodded before answering her question. "Yep, but Thomas is probably having even more fun right now," he whispered conspiratorially.
"Why's that?"
"He and Roselyn went back to his place together," Jesse stated.
"Roselyn Summerfield? The new Glenda in Wicked? That Roselyn?" Rachel asked.
"That's the one," he confirmed. "She wanted to go home with me though." Jesse laughed as he remembered Roselyn hitting on him.
"Is that so?" she asked, her voice taking on a distinct edge.
Even in his drunken state he could tell that Rachel was visibly upset by that bit of news. Reaching his hand up, he cupped her cheek as he brought his forehead to rest against hers. "I told her I'm taken." His thumb rubbed a soothing circle on the apple of her cheek. "And happy. Extremely happy."
"Right answer," she whispered, craning her neck just enough so that their lips met in a chaste kiss.
As she broke the kiss and pulled back just a bit, Jesse grabbed her face in his hands and their lips came crashing together. She twisted her body so that she was now facing him and draped her legs over his outstretched ones as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips parted, a sigh escaping her as she felt Jesse bury his fingers in her hair. As her tongue caressed his she could taste the alcohol but didn't care. All she wanted was to be close to Jesse. It took every bit of self-control that she had in her to not straddle his lap and rub herself against him.
After a few moments, Rachel reluctantly pulled back so they could both catch their breath. Noticing the slight frown on Jesse's face, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"I don't want to leave," he confessed, gently massaging her thigh that was still draped over his lap.
She sighed at his words and leaned her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. "I don't want you to leave either, but it's only for a few more days." They sat in silence for a little while just holding each other. As Rachel felt her eyes begin to get heavy with sleep, she sat up only to see that Jesse was also starting to nod off. "Jesse," she said, shaking him slightly to waken him. "You have to go."
Standing up, she grabbed Jesse's hands to help him up off of the floor. Once he was on his feet, he wrapped his arms around her once again. "I need a good night kiss," he whispered into her ear. Pulling back, Rachel stood on her tiptoes and planted a sweet kiss on Jesse's lips. A wave of contentment washed over her as she watched his face light up with a blissful smile. "Love you," he told her.
"I love you too," she replied without hesitation. "Call me when you get to Kurt's so I know you got there safely." Jesse nodded his agreement. Standing on her tiptoes one more time, she kissed him again. "Good night."
"'Night," he said, backing away slowly towards the elevator. Rachel stood in the hallway until Jesse disappeared into the elevator. The moment the doors closed, she missed him already.
Going back inside, she locked the door behind her and grabbed her phone off of the coffee table before she lay back down on the couch. She rested her phone on her chest as she closed her eyes and waited for Jesse's call. The next thing she knew her phone was vibrating and she saw Jesse's name on her screen. Rachel realized that she must have actually dozed off while she had been waiting to hear from her boyfriend.
"You're home?" Rachel asked softly as she answered her phone, keeping her voice just above a whisper.
"I'm at Kurt's," he responded.
"Good. Don't forget to set your alarm," she reminded him.
Jesse put his phone on speaker as he set his alarm. "Setting it now," he told her.
"Alright, I'll see you in the morning then." She paused for a second. "Thank you for calling me. I love you."
"I love you," he replied. "Sweet dreams."
Author's Note: First, I have to say, when I decided that I wanted to actually use Rachel's dads first names I thought that Glee had possibly named them on the show, but everywhere I looked Hiram and Leroy were nowhere to be found except in fic. So, that's why they have different names in this than what some of you may be used to.
Also, because it took me so long to update I was going to make this chapter super long for you guys but then it just kept getting longer and longer so I decided to break it into two parts. This seemed like a great place to break the chapter up. What that means is that you should be getting another update from me very soon. Soon as in days, not weeks. :)