Author's Note: I have to say that I'm so glad that there are still so many of you enjoying this fic. So this chapter kind of ended up taking on a life of its own when I was doing my read through. One part in particular. ;) Thank you to everyone who has favorited, alerted and especially reviewed. I really do enjoy reading your feedback. I'm curious to find out what everyone thinks about this chapter so review and let me know. I hope you guys enjoy!
Thanksgiving morning, Jesse gulped down his still hot coffee as he walked into Rachel's apartment building with donuts and coffee for everyone as promised. It had been tough actually getting out of bed with the monster hangover that he had, but he had forced himself to do it. He had taken a shower, gotten dressed then had a steaming cup of coffee along with a couple of aspirin. Looking at his watch as he walked further into the lobby of the building, he realized that he had somehow managed to be early.
Sitting down in one of the lobby chairs, he set the coffee and donuts on a glass side table just before he leaned his head back to close his eyes for a moment. He was thankful that he could feel his headache beginning to ebb just a bit from the combination of the copious amounts of caffeine he had already consumed and the aspirin. He lifted his head as he heard the elevator ding and saw Rachel and her dads emerge.
"Ha, I was right. You owe me ten bucks," Jesse heard Bruce say to Samuel as they approached him.
Jesse stood up to greet everyone, shaking both of the Berry men's hands before hugging Rachel briefly. Leaning down, he grabbed the carrier with the coffees in them to hand them out to everyone. He handed Rachel's to her first, then one to Samuel and finally Bruce. "So what were you right about?" Jesse asked Bruce, curious about the nature of the two men's bet.
"He thought that you would be at least fifteen minutes late," he explained, pointing at Samuel. "I knew that you'd be here. Although, I'm glad we didn't bet on the condition that you'd be in." Everyone, including Jesse, chuckled.
"This is ten times better than I was when I first woke up this morning," Jesse admitted truthfully as he grabbed the small box of donuts off of the little table next to the chair he had been occupying moments before. "Donut?"
"Don't mind if I do," Bruce accepted, reaching for the box of donuts to take one out. "Anyone else?" he asked, trying to give the box to either Rachel or Samuel but they both shook their heads no. "Well, more for me and Jesse then." He winked at Jesse as he closed the box of donuts eliciting a smile from Jesse.
"So, are we ready?" Jesse asked.
"Yep," Rachel replied with a big smile unable to contain her excitement. They walked out of the building and headed towards the nearest subway station so they could get to Central Park West.
Thirty minutes later, they had made their way through the crowd awaiting the parade and found the perfect spot. All they had to do was settle in and wait for the parade to start. "I'm ready for my donut now, Daddy," Rachel grinned up at her father, holding out her hand for the box. "I'm starving."
"About that..." Bruce began as he looked at his daughter with a guilty expression. "I kind of ate the rest of them on the subway ride. You know how large crowds make me hungry."
Rachel's mouth dropped open unable to hide her disbelief that he had actually eaten all of the donuts.
Bruce cracked a smile, unable to keep up the act. "I'm just kidding," he laughed, handing the box to Rachel.
She smacked him in the arm before grabbing the box from him. "That wasn't funny," she told him as she opened the box and took a donut out. "Or convincing," she added before taking a bite of a donut.
"Your face said otherwise, my dear daughter," Bruce teased, nudging Rachel playfully. "See, you're not the only actor in this family."
"The only good actor," she quipped, the corner of her mouth quirking up into a slight smile.
Jesse couldn't keep the grin from his own face as he watched the banter between father and daughter. He looked over at Samuel who returned his smile as he too seemed amused by his husband and his daughter.
"Jesse, please settle this dispute," Bruce appealed, his tone light. "As a non-biased third party, I'm a good actor, right? You believed it. She definitely believed it." He nodded his head in Rachel's direction.
He looked back and forth between Rachel and Bruce unsure of whom to side with: his girlfriend or her father. "He was pretty convincing, Rach," Jesse finally admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Ha!" Bruce exclaimed, a triumphant grin on his face.
Rachel just shook her head and rolled her eyes dramatically before taking another bite of her donut. "You have no idea what kind of monster you just created," Rachel told Jesse causing him to chuckle.
Time seemed to fly by over the next forty-five minutes as they waited for the parade to start. They were all completely immersed in lively conversation until Jesse noticed Rachel's eyes get wide as she tugged on his leather jacket then pointed at the balloon off in the distance making its way down the street towards them. As the beginning of the parade reached them, he watched as Rachel seemed to completely light up with excitement. He thought it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen, and he loved the fact that even though she was an adult she could still tap into her inner child and truly enjoy the moment.
As Jesse watched the balloons pass, he looked up at the skyline and stared at the building that would soon be their new home. "What are you looking at?" Rachel asked, breaking into his thoughts. She looked up to see if she could follow his line of sight.
"Next year, we're going to watch this from our new home," he told her in her ear just loud enough so that she could hear him over the cacophony of the parade and all of its spectators.
An incredible warmth spread throughout Rachel as she heard Jesse's words, and she smiled up at him desperately wanting to kiss him. She wished for a brief moment that her dads were standing in front of them rather than being just on the other side of Jesse, a couple of people away. So she did the only thing that she could do. Without looking down, Rachel grasped for Jesse's hand and entwined her fingers through his.
As she felt Jesse squeeze her hand gently, she looked up and smiled at him. "I love you," he mouthed.
Rachel wasn't sure if it was the atmosphere of the parade combined with the simplicity of their little moment or something entirely intangible, but she knew that it was one of life's rare yet perfect moments that she would look back on fifty years later and remember how she had fallen even deeper in love with the man that she didn't think it was possible to love more than she already did. "I love you too," she said, returning his sentiments.
When they had arrived back at her apartment after the parade, preparations for dinner had begun. Always one to take charge, Rachel had assigned everyone a task to help expedite things along. As soon as all of the side dishes were prepared and placed in the refrigerator until the time came for them to stick them in the oven to bake and the turker had been put in the oven to cook, Bruce opened a bottle of wine and everyone went into the living room to relax for a little while. Conversation and laughter filled the living room for the next few hours, and it couldn't have made Rachel happier.
Once they finally sat down for dinner, Rachel remained standing as she looked around at the three most important men in her life. "Since this is my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I wanted to start off the Berry family tradition of things to be thankful for. I know it's only supposed to be one but I have a few this year," Rachel explained. She picked up her wine glass from the table before she began. "I'm thankful that I'm fortunate enough to be living out my dream of starring in a Broadway show. I'm also so fortunate to be blessed with two of the most amazing parents that a girl could ask for. But most of all, I'm thankful for love, in all its various forms." She let her gaze rest on Jesse for a brief moment as she finished and took a sip of her wine before sitting down.
Rachel looked to her right at her daddy and waited for him to speak. "I guess it's my turn," Bruce said with a sly grin at his daughter. "I'm thankful that you finally dumped that loser Donovan."
His words made Rachel's mouth drop open in shock before she smacked him on the arm lightly. "Daddy!" she chided but was unable to keep the smile off of her face.
"Well, it's true," he chuckled. He turned to look at Samuel letting him know that it was his turn.
"Was that really it?" Samuel asked.
"Of course it was," Bruce replied, still grinning. "I did not like that guy." Jesse and Rachel both laughed softly at her daddy's words, but Samuel merely shook his head in disapproval.
Samuel thought for a moment before he finally spoke. "I'm thankful for days like today when we get to be together as a family," Samuel told them. "I hope you know that includes you now, Jesse." Jesse smiled in response and raised his glass to the man in silent acknowledgement.
"Jesse, the pressure is on you now," Bruce teased as Jesse thought of what he wanted to say.
"I'm thankful for second chances," he said, looking over at Rachel as he spoke. "And knowing that when life gives you a second chance, you have to take it. No matter what."
Rachel raised her glass, smiling at each of the men sitting at the table. "Happy Thanksgiving!" she exclaimed before leaning over the table and clinking her glass against everyone else's.
As they were all cleaning up the dishes from dinner, Samuel pulled Jesse aside. "How about we leave them to it and you and I go smoke a couple of cigars," he said, taking out two cigars from his jacket pocket that was draped over the back of the couch.
"Jesse, those cigars are contraband. He smuggled them back in his luggage when he came back from a conference in Toronto. I'm not sure you want to be smoking them," Bruce quipped as he walked by them on his way to the sink with one of the casserole dishes.
Jesse took one of the proffered cigars from Samuel and examined it in his hand. "A Cuban, huh?" Samuel nodded in affirmation. "I'll grab my jacket and we can go up to the roof."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Bruce called out as soon both men were heading out the door causing both Jesse and Samuel to laugh.
Jesse tried not to be nervous about the real motivation for Samuel wanting to spend some one-on-one time with him. He wondered if perhaps he and Rachel hadn't been as discreet as he had thought they were being. Although, he was sure that what he had said at dinner about being thankful for second chances didn't escape either of the perceptive men.
As soon as they were up on the roof, they walked over to the edge and leaned against it as they clipped the closed end off of the cigars so they could light them. They both stood there in comfortable silence enjoying their cigars. "I love this city," Jesse remarked as he blew out some smoke and looked out at Manhattan.
"Are you in love with my daughter?" Samuel asked bluntly.
Jesse didn't want to lie to him and he was pretty sure that Samuel already knew the answer to his question already, so without hesitation he replied, "Yes." He hoped that Rachel wouldn't be too angry with him for telling her dad the truth but he felt like he owed it to both of Rachel's fathers to be honest with them. "I love her more than I've ever loved anyone or anything."
Samuel nodded as he looked at Jesse evenly. "I take it that she's the reason you're getting divorced."
"Yes and no," Jesse replied truthfully. "My marriage was over long before Rachel came back into my life, but it was because of Rachel that I took the necessary steps to end it." Jesse paused for a moment before continuing. "I love your daughter, sir. She makes me happy."
"And I can see that you make her happy," Samuel remarked. "My daughter's happiness is the only thing that matters to me." Samuel turned his head to look out at the city once again and take a puff from his cigar. "Granted, this isn't the… ideal situation that any father would want for his daughter," he added.
"I know it's not. Believe me, I wish things had been different," Jesse agreed before bringing the cigar to his lips once again. "For both of us. But I walked away from her once and it was my one great regret…I couldn't do it again."
The older man nodded in understanding knowing all too well what Jesse's walking away had done to Rachel all those years ago. "Just a warning, Jesse. If you break my daughter's heart again…" he trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence.
"I understand, but you don't have to worry, sir. She's my present and future," Jesse reassured Samuel.
Samuel turned and smiled at the younger man. "I'm a parent, Jesse. It's my job to worry," he explained.
Meanwhile, downstairs in Rachel's apartment a very similar conversation was being had. "So you and Jesse, huh?" Bruce asked as he handed Rachel a casserole dish to dry off.
Rachel laughed nervously. "What? No, we're just friends," she denied unconvincingly. She may have mastered the showface over the years, but she had never been able to lie outright to either of her dads.
"Honey, you don't have to lie to me. The way you two look at each other. It's obvious. You're in love," he told her.
She looked up at her daddy, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't want you to think badly of him…or me. I love him, daddy. So much. I want to marry him and have his children and grow old together…" she started rambling.
"Rachel," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and stopping her before she could go on. "I'm not judging either of you. I don't want you to feel like you have to hide anything from us."
"I didn't want to lie to you," she replied, tears falling down her cheeks. "But it's just the circumstances under which Jesse and I began our relationship… I thought it would make you not like him. And, Daddy, I want you to love him."
Pulling Rachel to him, he wrapped his arms around her and enveloped her in a hug. "If you love him, then so do I. By the way he looks at you, he obviously loves you," he told her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "I've never seen you this happy, honey. You light up whenever he's around. How could I not love him?" He kissed the top of her head.
"Thank you," she sniffled into his chest.
"For what?" he asked, stroking her hair.
She pulled back to look up at him. "For being you."
He kissed her on the cheek before releasing her from his grasp and going back to washing the rest of the dishes. Rachel wiped her tears away with the dish towel that was still in her hand.
By the time Jesse and Samuel came back downstairs, all of the dishes were done and the leftovers had been put away. "Who's ready for some pumpkin cheesecake?" Bruce asked, opening the refrigerator. "Jesse, wait until you have a slice. You won't ever be able to eat pumpkin pie again."
"So Rachel's told me," Jesse remarked, taking a seat on the couch.
"Daddy, I'll do it," Rachel offered, holding her hand out for the cake knife.
"You go sit down and I'll bring some to everyone," he told her as he cut into the cheesecake.
As Rachel walked into the living room, she stood there for a moment unsure of what to do. She wondered if both of her dads knew about her and Jesse. Surely they had discussed it sometime over the last couple of days. When she started to sit down in a chair opposite the couch just to be safe, her dad spoke up. "Rachel, you can sit next to Jesse." She looked back and forth between Jesse and her dad, still hesitant despite his words.
Finally, Jesse reached out and grabbed her hand, gently tugging her towards him. She plopped down on the couch, still holding onto Jesse's hand. "So was this divide and conquer?" she asked.
Her daddy laughed as he handed two plates with slices of cheesecake to both Jesse and Rachel. It was her dad that answered though. "We thought that it was probably best if we talked to you individually. We hoped that it would make it easier for you to tell us the truth."
"And you're not…disappointed?" she asked her dad.
"No, I'm not," he replied as he took one of the plates that his husband had just brought back with him to the living room. Rachel felt like an immense weight had been lifted off of her shoulders with her dad's words.
Sitting down in the chair that Rachel had been going to sit in just moments earlier, Bruce took a bite of the cheesecake. It made Rachel smile as she watched him close his eyes and savor the bite. "What do you think, Jesse? It's delicious, right?" he asked, opening his eyes again to look at Jesse.
Jesse nodded in affirmation. "You were right. Way better than pumpkin pie," he replied, smiling at Rachel affectionately.
"Would I lie to you?" she asked, looking up at him innocently.
"Well, with your cooking, I can't always be too sure," he teased. The Berry men laughed at Jesse's playful dig at Rachel's cooking.
"This is baking," she corrected, an overly dramatic pout on her lips. "And my cooking is just fine."
"It is," he agreed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze.
"So Jesse, Rachel was telling us that you just bought a new apartment," Samuel said, changing the subject.
"I did. We were actually pretty close to it today when we were watching the parade," he told them. "I should be closing on it hopefully before Christmas."
"You guys should see it. It's absolutely gorgeous," she gushed as she thought of their new home. "It has the most amazing view."
"So you've seen it?" her dad asked. He didn't know why he had thought that she wouldn't have.
"Of course. I helped Jesse with his apartment search," she explained, looking back and forth between her dads. An internal battle waged as she wondered if she should divulge the real reason why she had been a part of the apartment hunt other than her excellent taste. She decided to go all in. "It's going to be my home too," she added.
Her fathers exchanged uneasy glances. "Rachel, you know that we're happy that you're happy, but don't you think that maybe living together right now is rushing into things a bit," Samuel posed, ever the voice of reason.
A frown creased her forehead as she looked at her dad. "No," was her immediate rebuttal. "I thought you were okay with us being together."
"We are. All your dad is trying to say, honey, is that you both are just getting out of long-term relationships," her daddy spoke up before his husband could. "It might do you some good to have a little space to yourselves."
"I thought you would understand, Daddy" she frowned at him, slightly hurt by what she felt was his lack of support.
Bruce was about to reply to his daughter when he heard Jesse begin to speak. "Samuel," he said, looking at Rachel's dad. "Bruce," he turned to look at her other father. "I know that mine and Rachel's relationship has been…" Jesse tried to think of the best way possible to describe their relationship. "Unorthodox. It took ten years for us to find our way back to each other. This is our chance to get it right this time. There isn't a question in my mind about where our relationship is going."
A look of pure love was all over Rachel's face. Bolstered by his words, she leaned over and kissed him for the first time in front of her fathers. She felt Jesse smile just before she pulled away. "I love you," she told him softly. Threading her fingers in between Jesse's, she turned to look at both of her dads. "This is what I want. Can't you just trust me?" she appealed to them.
Samuel still seemed a bit concerned despite his daughter's plea, but before he could say anything more, his husband took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as he shook his head slightly. Bruce didn't want their near-perfect Thanksgiving to end in a fight. Silent understanding passed between the two men and finally it was Bruce who spoke for both of them. "So we'll have our own bedroom the next time we come to New York, then?" he clarified, a twinkle in his eye. His response garnered a smile from his daughter as she nodded.
"Are you sure you're not going to feel weird with your dads knowing that you're spending the night with me?" Jesse asked as they walked through front door of Kurt's apartment later on that night, kicking his shoes off next to the door.
"Yes, I'm sure," she told him, dropping her small overnight bag on the floor as she walked further into the apartment. "I'm actually glad that my dads know about us now." Walking into the living room, she shrugged off her jacket and tossed it on a chair before unzipping her boots and slipping them and her socks off of her feet. As Rachel stood back up, she felt Jesse come up behind her and wrap his hands around her waist, kissing and nibbling on her neck playfully.
"Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving, Miss Berry?" he asked, lips pressed against her temple.
"Our Thanksgiving," she corrected. "And it was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. The fact that I get to end the day in your arms just makes it perfect."
"I hope you didn't waste any space in that bag packing pajamas," he said against her skin. She shook her head 'no' in response. "I've missed you." Jesse rested his chin on the crook of her neck as he ran his hand up under her shirt and rubbed the smooth skin of her stomach lightly. Even though they had seen each other every day since Rachel's dads had come to stay with her, it just hadn't been the same.
Rachel sighed contentedly as she tilted her head back to rest it on his shoulder. "I've missed you," she echoed. "I just haven't had a good night's sleep without you." Then she added teasingly, "Or maybe it's because I've been sleeping on the couch. I'm not sure."
"Yeah, it's definitely me," he scoffed, nudging her slightly.
She turned her head and smiled at him. "Hmm, maybe. Although, my couch is pretty comfortable so you're probably right. So what exactly did you miss?" she asked, snaking her arm up and scratching her nails lightly across the nape of his neck.
"Your lips," he told her before placing a soft kiss on them. "Your skin," he emphasized his words by letting his hand travel across her lower abdomen, his fingertips dipping just below the waistband of her skirt.
"Mm hmm," she murmured.
"Your perfect breasts." She leaned back into his embrace as he slipped one hand inside her shirt and bra to fondle one of her breasts. Jesse was rewarded with a small whimper in response as he rubbed her nipple into a hard peak between his forefinger and his thumb.
Her entire body seemed to be humming at his touch. The way she was reacting to him, it seemed like it had been weeks and not just days since they had last been together. She craned her neck as she felt Jesse's tongue dart out to taste her skin while he grasped her other breast in his hand. Just the simple ways that he was touching and kissing her made her throb and ache with such a powerful need for him to touch her in her most intimate of places.
As if he had been reading her mind, Jesse ran his free hand down the side of her leg and then up under her short skirt before he slipped his hand inside of her panties. "God, Rach, you're so wet," he groaned as he parted her slick folds, his own arousal making his jeans almost painfully restricting. Rachel arched her back so that she could feel Jesse's hardness pressed against her from behind. A low moan escaped her lips as he slipped a couple of fingers inside of her. Gripping his hips with her hands, she rubbed against the bulge in his pants eliciting a moan of pleasure from Jesse.
"Make love to me," she pleaded breathlessly, wanting to have him inside of her. At her words, Jesse stopped what he was doing and removed his hand from under her skirt. Rachel twisted around and rather than tearing at his clothes like she wanted to, she locked eyes with him as she began to unbutton his shirt. She ran her hands up his torso and over his shoulders, pushing his shirt off of him and letting it fall to the floor. When he tried to reach for her own shirt, she batted his hand away lightly. "Not yet," she told him with a coy look before she gripped the hem of his undershirt and pulled it up slowly.
Her lips followed the path of his shirt, leaving a heated trail up his body that finally ended at his neck as she tugged it over his head to remove it completely. She tossed his undershirt towards the middle of the living room, giving him an incredibly wicked and sexy grin. Jesse didn't even have a chance to try and once again remove Rachel's own shirt because her hands were already unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his jeans. She pushed them down his legs just enough so they would fall to the ground on their own and Jesse could step out of them.
"Why am I the only one who barely has any clothes on? I think I should do something about that," he told her as he pulled her flush against him. She shook her head 'no' before he watched her slide his boxers down his body, all the while keeping her eyes locked on his. As she stood back up, she raked her gaze over his obvious arousal and licked her lips as she looked back up at Jesse.
Then she slipped out of his grasp quickly with a small giggle. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked her, his voice full of desire.
He watched as she grasped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over head. Her mouth quirked up on one side as she dangled the shirt between her fingers before dropping it on the floor beside her. Slowly, she backed away from him and began to unzip her skirt. Raising her hand, she crooked a single finger and beckoned him to follow her as she stepped out of the skirt that had pooled at her feet. Jesse knew that she wanted to be in control so he followed her just as slowly as they made their way towards the bedroom. She reached behind her and unclasped her bra as she made her way down the hall, taking it off and tossing it at Jesse who caught it with a wolfish grin.
Rachel teasingly played with the lace sides of her thongs as she moved into the bedroom, thoroughly enjoying being in control. She backed up to the bed and braced her hands on the mattress, waiting for Jesse to make his way over to her. "Do I finally get to undress you now?" he asked, reaching out and letting his fingertips graze down the side of her body.
"Yes," she answered, closing her eyes as his thumbs hooked the lace of her thongs and dragged them down her body. She felt the warmth of Jesse's breath on her skin as he ran his hands up her legs. Her breathing quickened as he pressed his lips against the inside of her thigh. He began to make a small trail inching ever closer to her heat, but Rachel stopped him and gently tugged him up to her face, wanting so badly to kiss him.
She got her wish as Jesse stood up and grabbed her face in between his hands, their lips crashing together. His tongue caressed hers as he deepened their kiss. Pulling back, he kissed her mouth once, twice, three times before breaking away completely.
Jesse released her face from his hands and left Rachel wondering where he was going as he moved away from her only to walk around to the other side of the bed. She watched as he pulled the comforter all the way down the bed and draped it over the footboard. Finally, he made his way back over to her side of the bed and stood in front of her again. "Lay on your stomach," Jesse commanded huskily, raking his eyes up and down Rachel's naked body.
Rachel didn't think it was possible for her to be more turned on than she was but the tone of his voice and the way he was looking at her did just that. Turning around, she slowly climbed up onto the bed, never taking her eyes off of him as she did it. She lay diagonally across the bed, propping herself up on her elbows and waited for Jesse to join her. As she looked back at him, she watched as he ran his hands up the back of her legs, almost reverently, before he climbed on the bed himself.
"You are perfect," she heard Jesse say as he gave her butt a gentle squeeze. Then he continued his silent worship of her body as his hands and lips grazed her naked back. "So perfect," he whispered into her ear as he braced one hand on the bed beside her and positioned himself just at her entrance.
She was about to beg him again to make love to her when he pushed inside of her, filling her completely. "Ohh, God," she cried out in pleasure as he pulled out almost entirely and drove into her again. Rachel could already begin to feel herself unravel with the angle that he was entering her and how he was hitting just the right spot. His lips brushed against her back as he hovered over her and their bodies rocked together with their synchronized movements.
Rachel craned her neck as Jesse gently fisted his hands in her hair, straightening a bit and quickening his thrusts. Then abruptly all movement stopped and as Rachel felt Jesse pull out of her she whimpered slightly, missing the feel of him inside of her. "I want to watch you on top of me," he said as he moved to lie down on the bed beside her.
Somehow able to push up off of the bed even though her limbs were beginning to feel like jelly, Rachel got to her knees and straddled Jesse. She curled her small hand around his hard shaft and slowly guided him into her. Jesse gripped her hips as Rachel braced her hands on his chest and began to move. He was always struck by how absolutely gorgeous she was but most especially when she was at her most vulnerable like she was at that moment as she began to come undone. He ran his hands up her sides and over her breasts before he finally grasped the sides of her neck gently and ran his thumb across her bottom lip that hung slightly open. She looked down at him, eyes full of lust as she wrapped her lips around his thumb and sucked on it lightly.
His hips rocked against her erratically as he pulled her down towards him and ran his now-wet thumb across her cheek. Their lips crashed together in a bruising kiss as they continued to move together. In one swift motion, Jesse rolled them both over so that Rachel was underneath him as he deepened the kiss, effectively pressing her into the bed.
The sounds of their ragged breathing filled the space between them as they broke their kiss. Rachel ran her nails down Jesse's back as she hooked her legs around his hips. Darting her tongue out, she licked his lips that were still bumping into her own slightly. She gripped her arms even tighter around Jesse as she felt herself on the edge of release. Jesse buried his face in the crook of neck as they moved in perfect harmony.
"Let go," Rachel whispered breathlessly, burying her fingers in his hair. Finally letting himself go, he brought Rachel right along with him.
They lay face-to-face, fingers intertwined as they talked quietly, both unwilling to give themselves over to the sleep that their bodies so desperately craved. "Are you sure it doesn't bother you that your dad doesn't seem to be okay with us living together?" Jesse asked.
Rachel nodded slightly before answering. "I love my dad and I'm happy that both of my dads know about us now, but this is my life." She thought about what she had just said and corrected herself. "Our life. I know that he means well and he's just looking out for me, but he's wrong."
"How so?" He knew why he felt her dad was wrong, but he was curious about what Rachel really thought about their earlier conversation.
"Time isn't always a good indicator as to whether or not you can know if you belong with someone. Lord knows that I spent years of my life trying to force something with a man who was never truly going to make me happy. A part of me wondered if I had just been living in a fairy tale my whole life thinking that love was supposed to be a certain way." She moved her head closer to Jesse's on the pillow so that their foreheads were touching. "Then you came waltzing back into my life and I realized that I hadn't been wrong about love. I'd just been wrong in the choices that I'd made. Until you that is."
Jesse reached up and traced the lines of her face before he rested his finger underneath her chin. Without a word, he leaned forward and their lips met in a sweet kiss.