A/N: So, so, so sorry for another delay. Last weekend was my birthday, the big 2-9! Aside from celebrating, I've got this 30 before 30 bucket list that I started. One of the items on the list is to publish my first novel. So I've got just under one year to make that happen. That being said, I will try my absolute best to stick with weekly updates. However, I beg and plead for your mercy and forgiveness if I'm a little late occasionally! I love writing this fic, but I need to get my butt in gear and write my original work as well. I hope that you continue to follow along with this story until it's conclusion. Because there WILL be a conclusion! I will not leave you hanging. I'm too OCD for that. ;-) Enjoy!
I slide my hand along the soft jersey material of the sheets, seeking out Dean's warmth. When I come in contact with a body I turn to snuggle closer, then make the girliest noise I think I've ever made in my life when I realize it's not Dean, but Kelsey who I'm currently trying to cuddle up to.
"What the heck, Kels!?" I pull the sheet up to my chin and scoot up so that I'm sitting with my back against the headboard, mirroring her position.
"Oh, calm your tits. We've got all the same stuff, it's nothing I haven't seen before." She moves to smack me in the face with a pillow but I block it before it connects.
"While that's true, I'm a little confused as to why you're in bed with me and Dean isn't."
"Loverboy took off about an hour ago with Danny. Said they had to go run an errand and they'd be back in a couple of hours. I figured we could explore Casa de Dean and grab some breakfast. Dean's mom loaned us some clothes, yours are on the window seat."
Panic immediately crawls up my throat. The only 'errand' I can think of that both Dean and Danny would be attending to this morning is dealing with Will.
"Kelsey, did he say where they were going?" I ask, sitting up straight and clutching the sheet tighter.
"No… Why? You think they went to finish what they started with Will last night?" She starts to look worried, too. Dean and Kelsey may not be the closest of friends but I know she wouldn't want to see anything happen to him, or see either he or Danny get into any kind of legal trouble. Which is exactly what I'm afraid of right now.
"That's exactly what I think." I pick up my cell phone and tap the screen a few times until I hear one lone ring followed by Dean's voicemail. "Shit," I hang up and call back one more time with the same results, then shoot him a quick text message telling him to call me. "I think he's got the phone off. He probably knew I'd try to talk him out of whatever the hell he's doing right now. I wouldn't even know where to start looking for him. Plus, I don't have a car here. What the hell, Kels? What am I supposed to do for the next hour while he's out doing God-knows-what?"
She looks at me with sympathy for a moment, then her usual tenacity returns as she leaps off of the bed and marches over to the door. "You're going to get your naked butt dressed and meet me and Jamie downstairs. We're going to see what kind of breakfast they serve in a mansion, then we're going on a little self-guided tour. Now move it, I'm starving."
Just like that, she's out the door and a humorless chuckle escapes before I can stop it. I guess I better move it, then. I need to keep my mind off of whatever is going on wherever Dean and Danny are.
After pulling on the leggings and sweater from Dean's mom, I shove my feet into the amazingly comfortable Uggs, which I now need to save up for to purchase myself, and jog downstairs to the kitchen where I find Jamie and Kelsey having a conversation with Kathy over coffee.
"Jessie, how are you feeling this morning? Dean told me what happened." Her voice is so warm and filled with concern, but my heart still stutters in my chest over her words. Eyes wide, my gaze shoots over to Kelsey and Jamie.
"Yeah Jess, is your stomach feeling any better?" Jamie asks, giving me a pointed look to emphasize that this is the story we're sticking to.
"Oh, yeah. Yes, I'm feeling much better this morning. Thanks Kathy." I accept the cup of coffee she's holding out for me.
"I'm glad," she says, turning back to the stove where something smells like a combination of cinnamon and bacon. "I hope you're hungry. I woke up early this morning with the baking bug, so I made cinnamon buns with candied bacon on top."
Even with my stomach twisted in knots with anxiety, it still manages to respond to the words 'candied' and 'bacon'. Jamie snatches one as Kathy is placing them on a platter and through a mouthful manages to mumble, "Marry me."
Kelsey and I each take a bun and laugh as Nick rounds the corner into the kitchen. "Sorry kid, you're gonna have to find another live-in chef. This one's mine." He kisses Kathy on the cheek and goes about doctoring a mug of coffee for himself. They're so cute together, just like my mom and dad. I realize that I want that. Ten or twenty years from now, I want to still have that simple affection and easy banter. The unconditional love. I want all of it. I never really thought about marriage before. I wasn't the type of girl who daydreamed about my future wedding. It just seemed like something other people do. Not really for me. But the fluttery feeling in my stomach tells me things may have changed. Huh, how about that…
We finish up with breakfast and Kathy dismisses us when we try to help her clean up. "Go explore, relax," she says, shoving us through the archway.
"Let's go hang out in the theater room. I came across it this morning before I tracked you down. Seriously awesome stuff." Kelsey leads the way down a long hall on the main floor. Jamie veers off toward the stairs as we're passing them. "I'm gonna grab a nap. Too many carbs."
We wave him off and turn into the aptly named theater room. Inside, there is a screen covering the far wall nearly top to bottom. In the back of the room are two sets of oversized side-by-side recliners complete with cup holders and little fold-away tables. In front of those are several gigantic fluffy cushions and oversized pillows strewn about the floor in a huge pile. Kelsey and I look at each other and without a word we both take a running leap and land in the middle of the comfy mountain. Giggling, I flip onto my back and spread my arms out beside me. I think it's the most comfortable place I've ever been.
"I could live here. Not just, like, in this house. Right here, in this spot," Kelsey says, kicking her feet in the air as she lounges on her stomach.
"It's nice," I say, my mind wandering back to Dean and what could possibly be going on right now.
"Nice? Girlfriend, you could actually have this one day. All this could be yours." She waves her hand in a grand sweeping gesture.
"It wouldn't be mine, Kels. The house belongs to Dean's family." I point out, rolling onto my stomach and propping my chin up with both hands.
"Yes. And you could, one day, be included in that group." She waggles her eyebrows at me.
"Shut it," I warn.
"You're trying to tell me that you haven't thought about it? You love him. He loves you. You both graduate next year. The relationship is bound to head down the next logical path."
"We haven't even been together a full three months! I'm not discussing this, it's just ridiculous." Yes, I'm a total hypocrite because I was just thinking about this exact topic fifteen minutes ago. Sue me.
"So you're saying if he whipped out a ring and got down on one knee tomorrow, you'd turn him down?" The skeptical look on her face tells me she wouldn't believe me if I said yes. "What I'm saying is that it's not going to happen, so shut up about it before I smack you. Got it?"
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," she says in a singsong voice as she flips over onto her back.
"Okay one, did you really just say 'methinks'? And two, if you're going to hit me with Shakespeare, check your quotes first. It's 'The lady doth protest too much, methinks' ass," I yank one of the oversized pillows from the pile below me and whack her in the head with it.
"Bitch! I'm nursing a serious hangover headache over here!" She hits me back with a pillow of her own and, just before it turns into all out pillow war, we hear a throat clear from the doorway. We freeze and both of our heads jerk in that direction.
"No please, don't stop now. It was just getting good," Dean says with a smirk as he leans against the doorjamb. I toss a sidelong glance over at Kelsey and she purses her lips in return, then we both toss the huge pillows at Dean. Kelsey cackles like a nut when one hits him square in the face and I giggle too but can't stop myself from giving him a once over. He looks unharmed from what I can see, so maybe he and Danny didn't go on the hunt for Will after all.
"Oh you're in so much trouble…" He tosses the one pillow he happened to catch back onto the pile and takes two menacingly slow steps forward.
"Hells no, I'm getting out of the line of fire. You two behave!" Kelsey leaps up and, keeping a good distance away from Dean, runs for the door. She turns at the last minute and bites her bottom lip, raising both eyebrows at me, then hits the main lights as she closes the door behind her. Smooth Kels. Really smooth.
The dim recessed lighting casts Dean's face in shadows, leaving just the wicked gleam in his eyes to tip me off to his intentions. I try to scramble back but the pile of cushions and pillows makes it difficult for me to gain purchase before he surges forward. I squeal and roll to the side, letting him come crashing down on the pile of cotton-wrapped down feathers and memory foam. "Oh no you don't." He reaches out and grabs my ankle, bringing my leg over both of his so that I have to straddle his hips. I grasp his hands in both of mine in an attempt to ward off any tickling or other forms of retaliation he may have in mind.
"Truce! Please! Come on, your mom just stuffed us full of cinnamon buns. If you want me to puke on you that's your call!" I yell, struggling to hold his hands in mine.
"The ones with the bacon crumbled on top?" he asks.
"Yes, so that means extra greasy puke," I say, catching my breath as he quits fighting my grip.
"Baby, you're so sexy when you talk vomit." I laugh as he loosens my grip and snakes his arms around my waist, bringing me down to hover just a few inches above him. "Totally unfair that you got cinnamon buns and I didn't. I guess I'll have to settle for what's left over."
His hands roam up my back with one threading through my hair as he closes the gap between us. He trails his tongue over my bottom lip and I close my eyes, letting out a soft moan in response. "Mmm, cinnamon and brown sugar. Yep, mom hasn't lost her touch."
My eyes snap open and I stare into his. "Could you maybe not mention your mom right now?" His whole body shakes with laughter, doing horribly wonderful things to mine. "Yes ma'am." His lips cover mine and I melt at his warmth. I brush the soft seam of his lips with the tip of my tongue and he quickly grants me access. Our moistened lips slide together like silk and my heartbeat quickens as he flips us so that I'm now beneath his long, muscular body. He abandons my mouth to trail kisses from my jaw to the hollow of my throat. Swallowing hard, I remember that it's the middle of the day and Dean's mother is somewhere in the house. Possibly only feet away in the kitchen.
"Dean, your mom…" I trail off with a sharp intake of breath when he catches my earlobe between his teeth.
"Weren't you the one who said not to mention her?" He captures my mouth with his again and it takes me a few seconds to break away. "Yes, but I also don't want her to walk in and think that we're taking advantage of her by messing around right under her nose."
He groans into the side of my neck then rolls onto his back. "You're right. Why do you always have to be the moral and logical one? We need to work on your bad girl side," he says, scrubbing his hands over his face.
"Oh I'll show you my bad girl side, once we're safely three thousand miles away from both of our families."
"Promise?"
"Promise. So," I start, sitting up and tucking my legs beneath me, "where did you and Danny sneak off to this morning?" I bite the bullet because I really do want to know. There's no sense putting it off any longer.
"Nowhere special," he claims.
"Dean."
"Jessie," he mimics my tone.
"Did you two go after Will?" I cut to the chase.
He sits up so that we're face to face. Lifting his hand to my cheek, his thumb sweeps the corner of my mouth then up the line of my cheekbone. "Is that what you were thinking this whole time?"
My expression changes from questioning to accusatory. "You're going to try to tell me I'm not right?"
"I don't need to try, Jessie," he says, dropping his hand. "I'm telling you, I haven't seen Will since last night. And I'm not planning on seeing him again. He knows where he stands with me and Danny. If he's smart, he'll head back to campus early and stay far away from here." The threatening tone underlying his words makes me believe what he's saying.
"Okay. Well, if you didn't go after Will, what was so important that you two had to duck out before the rest of us woke up?" My curiosity is piqued now.
After a brief but noticeable pause, he finally gives me an answer. "I thought you'd sleep longer given everything that happened last night. Danny wanted to see if there were any good post-holiday sales at the sports outlet so I figured I'd tag along and let you rest."
Not buying it, I continue to prod. "You needed to turn your phone off to go shopping for new cleats with your brother?"
"No. My phone died because I forgot to plug it into the charger last night. In case you've forgotten, I was a little preoccupied. What with carrying you, passed out, up to my room. Then later, when I was fu—"
"Okay! Yes, I remember the details of last night, thanks." I slap my hand over his mouth to stop him from elaborating on our late night activities. He sticks his tongue out and licks my hand, causing me to yank it away. "Gross. What are you, five?"
"You don't seem to mind it on other areas." He reaches into his pocket and tosses something at me. I glance down and see that it's his phone. "See for yourself."
I should probably give it back and tell him that I don't need proof because I trust him. But I can't stop myself from holding down the power button, only to see the empty battery outline flash on the screen before it goes black again. Feeling stupid I hand it over, not meeting his eyes. "I'm sorry. I was afraid that you would go try to finish what you started with Will last night and get yourself into trouble. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
Standing up slowly, Dean reaches out a hand for mine and helps me to my feet. With both hands on my hips, he grips me tight and pulls me close to him then tips my chin so that I'm looking into his eyes. "Jessie, I won't lie to you. I want to murder him. But I wouldn't do anything that would take me away from you. I love you. I won't do anything to jeopardize us."
Tears sting my eyes as I wrap my arms around his neck and he squeezes me tight. Regardless of how long we've been together, Kelsey is right. If he dropped down to one knee right now, there is no way I would say no. And that should be a seriously scary thought. But oddly enough, I find myself smiling over his shoulder.