Chapter 65.

That evening Jess and I sat together on the couch, our arms around each other, speculating about the looks on everyone's face when they finally realized that I was Jess' boyfriend.

"Foreman will roll his eyes, of course," Jess said, and I nodded. "And Remy's eyes will narrow as she tries to remember whether there'd been any clues they missed."

"Taub will pretend to be annoyed that we tried to pull something over on them. Actually, I guess we didn't just try. And Chase will tell everyone who'll listen that he thought so all along."

Jess laughed. "You do this kind of thing all the time with them, don't you?"

"I love to play with their heads. And they never learn." I laughed, too, and then the phone rang. The caller's number looked familiar, but it wasn't until I reluctantly answered that I knew why.

"Dr. House? It's Angela. You were right."

"I usually am. So, Zach called you?"

"Yes. I'm not sure how helpful his information will be, though."

"Get to the point."

"He said his brother had mentioned a few times that there were some older or at least bigger boys at the high school who'd been giving him a hard time."

"Bullying?"

"That's what it sounded like."

"When did this happen?"

"The first Zach heard about it was two weeks before Jared was killed."

"But why would bullies kill him?" I wondered aloud.

"Jared said he offered them money."

"All the more reason that they wouldn't hurt him. If they could continue to milk the fatted calf, they would."

"And yet, I think there's some kind of connection," Angela insisted. "I don't know. Call it reporter's instinct."

"You may be right. Thanks for telling me what he said."

"Not at all. We agreed to share intel and you set him up to call me, so I owed you. I still don't know how, but I guess that doesn't matter."

I smiled slightly and looked at Jess who was hanging on my every word. "We still have to get that drink some time."

"I'm looking forward to it. I'll let you know if I learn anything else."

"And I'll do the same." I closed the connection and looked at Jess. She was frowning and at first I wasn't sure why.

"Was that the reporter?" she asked.

"Yes." I related what Angela told me.

"And you're planning on having a drink with her."

I smiled as the light dawned. So that's what was bothering her. "Jess, it's just two people, interested in the same thing." That didn't seem to placate her. "Are you jealous?" My eyes widened at the guilty look on her face. "Unlax. She's married. Probably has a boatload of kids."

"So you don't find her attractive?"

"I've never seen her, so I wouldn't know. She's probably a bleached blond or short and fat. Not that there's anything wrong with either of those things, of course. I just like them dark-haired and curvy. Like you." I slid my arms around her and pulled her close.

"Of course." She rested her head against my chest.

"You can join us for that drink," I suggested.

"Or maybe we can double-date with her and her husband," she teased.

I snorted. "I don't do double dates."

"I didn't really think so."

We were silent for a while and I couldn't tell what she was thinking so it surprised me when she asked, "Were you ever bullied as a kid?"

"Only once," I said. "Never stayed long enough in one place for anyone to even notice me. I was also always tall for my age. Skinny, but tall. Guess no one wanted to mess with me."

"But Jared wasn't very tall, was he?"

"I don't think so. He was a quiet kid, interested in chess, the school paper, that sort of thing."

"I wonder if that's why the reporter is so interested in the case. She probably worked on her school paper when she was younger."

"You may be right. I hadn't thought of that."

"While you're too focused on whodunit."

"That I am."

"So what interests you about Jared?"

"You mean my motivation?" I shrugged. "I guess I needed a distraction until we move."

"You're anxious about that, aren't you? You're not so good with change."

She was right. I'd tried not to think about what it would mean to live somewhere else. I'd been in this apartment for a long time. Oh, I'd spent a few weeks living with Wilson in his loft, but I'd never really moved in with Cuddy. A good thing, too. I was comfortable here, even though I was now sharing the place with Jess. It would take a while for me to find that same sense in the new place.

"Greg? Where'd you go?" Jess stroked my cheek to get my attention.

"I was just thinking I could use a peanut butter sandwich."

"We just had dinner an hour ago."

"That was an hour ago." I moved away from her and limped toward the kitchen.

"You can make me one, too," she called.

But once I opened the refrigerator to take out the jar, my mind went back to all that would change with our move to the condo. My hand shook as I took out a knife to spread the peanut butter on the bread. I tried to focus on the reaction of my team on moving day, but it didn't make me laugh as it had earlier. How could I make this change in my life less threatening?

I was standing there, knife in one hand, slice of bread in the other, when I felt two arms encircle my waist, and a head come to rest on my back. I felt my body relax. Gregory House, the person who avoided human physical contact as much as possible, was responding positively to the touch of Jess' hands. Right then I knew, with this woman at my, side I could survive any disruption to my life.

"Almost done," I told her, getting back to making our sandwiches.

"Yum!"

I turned and grinned at her. "Do you how hard it was to find a girl who shared my passion for peanut butter sandwiches?"

Jess laughed. "I don't think you looked very hard, but I'm glad you waited until I showed up." She took the knife from my hand and placed it on the counter. "I love kissing you even more, though." The kiss was deep and full of love.

Once the lip lock broke, I suggested, "How 'bout we combine the two?" I handed her half a sandwich and took the other half. We each took a big bite, chewed and swallowed, then kissed again.

"A lot can be said for peanut butter-flavored kisses."

"But we don't want to give our secret away," I cautioned.

"Heaven forfend!"

We took our sandwiches back to the couch and munched in a companionable silence. I flicked on the TV and leaned back, pressing my side into Jess'. I made short work of my food, washing it down with a gulp of beer. "Guess we should start packing."

Jess swallowed and nodded. "I've already started, but then I didn't have that much here. We could have the movers do some of the packing."

"Except for the items I want to pack myself." I was resigning myself that this was happening, no more than resigning myself, I was beginning to get buzzed by the prospect. "So we've got the team helping with the move in. Who else did you enlist?"

"Would you believe that Petey offered to help me?"

"Your brother?"

"The only Petey I know."

"There's hope for him yet. Or maybe not."

"And your pal Wilson said he might come by, if only to supervise."

"I think he's more interested in meeting the mysterious boyfriend."

"You may be right."

"All we have to do now is order the food."

She grinned. "I knew we'd get to that before long. Tell you what, I'll leave that task up to you."

"It'll be my pleasure."