Chapter 16

The first thing I noticed when I woke up the next morning was that Jess was no longer cuddled up with me. In fact, she wasn’t in the room at all. I frowned up at the ceiling as I waited to see if she would come back but after a good five minutes she never did. It’s an irrational thing to think, I know, but I miss her. I couldn’t even hear her singing or anything like she usually did when she cooked. There was just silence.

I got up slowly and walked into Jess’s en suite to brush my teeth and all that junk. When I walked out a few minutes later there was still no sight or sound of Jess so I made my way downstairs to see what she was up to.

I found her in the kitchen sat at her island in front of her laptop. She was facing the doorway and so she looked up at me as soon as I walked in and smiled at me.

“Good morning,” she chirped before returning her gaze to the screen in front of her.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I took a seat across from her.

“Organizing our date for tonight,” she said with a grin. She shut her laptop then and I took this as permission to move over to her.

“I’ll have to head home soon since we’re going out tonight,” I said. She looked up at me and frowned.

“Why?”

“I have to go talk to my boss and tell him I got another job and besides that I have to find something to wear tonight,” I smiled.

Jess didn’t argue with me but she pouted nonetheless. I just laughed and kissed her lips briefly before moving away from her.

“Where are you going?” she called.

“Getting ready to go. You have a date to plan,” I winked before heading out to walk upstairs. I heard Jess huff behind me and couldn’t help but let out a slight laugh. She could be so childish sometimes.

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It was an hour and a half later when I finally got back to my apartment. I had stopped at the restaurant first to talk to Travis and although he wasn’t happy to see me go, he assured me that he was happy to see me get something better after all this time. I also had to promise I’d go over there to eat every once in a while so he knew I was still doing well which I had absolutely no problem with. I really liked everyone there and if it wasn’t for that job I probably would have been far worse off than I was to begin with.

So now I was left with one task and that was to figure out what to wear tonight. Jess said she was picking me up at around five so I had at least three hours or so to prepare. Still, I had no clue what I even had that was “first date worthy.” Jess stressed that she wanted me to dress warm more so than anything fancy but I still wanted to make an effort.

In the end, I ended up wearing my dark colored jeans with a fairly nice top. I did, however, put a lot of effort into my hair. That took a good hour and a half on its own. I curled every bit of my long hair so that it fell in elegant waves and made sure no piece was left out of place.

I took once last look in the mirror when I was finished and I was actually pretty satisfied with how I looked. I walked out of my bathroom and picked up my phone to find a text from Jess telling me she was on her way over which immediately caused a fluttering in my stomach. I was suddenly feeling a bit nervous even though I had no reason to. Jess and I spent almost every day together as it was but calling this an official date just made everything much more real. It was exciting but scary at the same time.

I had just gotten my jacket and shoes on when I heard someone knocking on my door. I walked over to it quickly and opened it to see Jess standing there with a bunch of red roses in her hands, looking absolutely gorgeous as she always does.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” I said as I took them from her and kissed her lightly.

“I know,” she said cheekily. “Are you ready? I have a lot planned.”

I put the flowers down on the table and turned to her, both eyebrows raised.

“You’re going to kidnap me aren’t you?” I said as I walked toward her in mock fear.

“No,” she scoffed. “But I might kill you if you don’t hurry.”

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Jess ended up taking me to this really nice restaurant that I’d never actually noticed before. The inside of it looked amazing and that’s just what the whole thing was. Amazing. We spoke casually over dinner and even though we still had the no PDA rule, I enjoyed every minute of it.

After dinner, Jess didn’t take us back to her car like I expected but led me in the opposite direction.

“Where are we going?” I asked curiously.

“Our date isn’t over yet,” she smiled as she surprisingly took my hand in hers.

I kept quiet as we walked hand in hand. The air was chilly but it wasn’t unbearably cold this night. I thought I even saw some snowflakes falling in the light of the streetlights. After a few minutes we turned onto this tree-lined road with lights illuminating it every few feet. I moved a bit closer to Jess so that I could whisper.

“You’re actually going to kill me aren’t you?” I made sure my tone was serious but my words resulted in a loud laugh from Jess. “I knew it. I knew you were too perfect. You’re actually a psycho killer aren’t you?” I said in mock terror.

“No, I’m not a psycho killer but I really do think you might like this,” she said as she moved her arm to wrap around my waist.

Eventually we did come to a corner and Jess pulled me to a stop before we could turn. I looked back at her, confused.

“I want you to close your eyes,” she said.

“What? Why?” I asked.

“Because I have a surprise and I just need you to close your eyes.”

I sighed but closed them anyway. Jess moved behind me and I felt both her hands on either side of my waist, guiding me forward.

“Don’t open them until I say, okay?”

I nodded in agreement as she continued to guide me toward whatever surprise she seemed to have planned. Everything was quiet except for the sound of our footsteps until I heard a bit of commotion up ahead. My ears strained to listen I we kept walking toward the sound, Jess’s hands never leaving my waist.

That’s when the scent hit my nose. The smell of leather and dust that would forever be imprinted into my senses.

“Jess…” I knew what was up ahead by now. I felt her stop me and her hands squeezed my waist as she finally told me to open my eyes. I was almost afraid to, but when I did open my eyes I was so taken aback by what I saw.

In front of me was a carriage with two black Friesian horses pulling it. I felt tears start to prick at my eyes as I took in the sight. I haven’t even been in the presence of horses since Grace’s accident and, although it brought back some bad memories, I felt almost at home.

I walked forward, almost in a daze, and reached a hand out toward one of their noses as if I needed proof that they were real. Their sleek coats and muscular frames just seemed too surreal but when my hand did come in contact with them I was met with a real horse. I didn’t even know what to say. I was rendered speechless.

“Do you like your surprise?”

The sound of Jess’s quiet voice seemed to snap me out of my daze and I turned around to face her. I didn’t even know what to say. I did the only thing I knew to do and pulled Jess into me. Our lips connected and I kissed her with more passion than I ever have before. As her glided over mine it suddenly occurred to me what I was feeling.

I love her. I’ve fallen in love with this woman.

“Are you ready?” she asked when we broke apart. She was smiling widely at me, knowing that I loved what she had planned.

A man was there to help us into the carriage and within a few minutes we set off on our carriage ride through London. I kept my arm securely around Jess’s waist as I took in all the sights. Our ride was fairly quiet as we just sat there, enjoying each other’s company. The only sounds that could be heard were the occasional vehicle and the steady clip clop of the horses’ hooves as they hit the pavement.

Jess leaned against me and rested her head against my shoulder, her hand clasped with my free one. My gaze broke from the outside and I stared down at our adjoined hands as my thumb traced patterns on the back of her hand.

I love her. I wanted so badly to tell her what was on my mind but I was almost afraid to. Saying those words is a huge plunge in a relationship and it can be scary. And what if she doesn’t feel the way I do? I leaned my head against Jess’s as I mulled over my thoughts. We haven’t even been together that long.

“What are you thinking about?” I heard Jess ask quietly.

About how much I’m in love with you.

“Just about how much I’ve enjoyed tonight,” I answered.

“I’m glad. I wasn’t sure about the horses but I thought it would make you feel, I don’t know, more at home?”

“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “You make me really happy, Jess.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” she said, sitting up so she could look at me. “You make me just as happy, if not more.”

Our eyes met and it was almost like I could physically see how much she cared about me in her gaze. I needed to tell her how I felt. It was eating away at me. I needed her to know that I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone.

“Jess, I—“

I was interrupted by the carriage coming to a halt and the driver calling to us from the front that we had reached our stop. Jess smiled at me and squeezed my hand as we climbed out of the carriage. I was silently berating myself for not saying something sooner. Now I’ve lost all my nerve.

We started our walk back to Jess’s car hand in hand. I had to steal a few glances back at the horses behind us. It was still somewhat painful but they also reminded me of the good parts of my life. Sometimes I think about getting that part back but I know that I’m not ready for that.

“We’ll have to do something like that again sometime,” Jess said, noticing my glances behind us. She started to swing our hands back and forth between us childishly before letting go as we were turning back onto the busier road.

“Yeah. Maybe one day.”

We got back to Jess’s house at around nine that night because apparently she had something else planned. I couldn’t imagine how this night could possibly get better but apparently it was going to. As soon as we got in the warmth was what hit me hardest. We’d been outside for so long I didn’t realize how cold I was.

“Okay, we need to go get changed first. You’re staying the night by the way,” Jess said nonchalantly as she made her way up the stairs.

“Um, okay,” I laughed, knowing that it was an order more or less. I followed her up to her room where she already had shorts and a t-shirt laid out for me while she was halfway through changing into her own. I won’t lie, I was stealing glances at her while I was getting changed myself. To be fair though, I know her eyes were on me the entire time as usual. I normally pretend not to notice but this time I glanced up, looking her dead in the eye.

I was fully dressed by now but that didn’t stop the blush from creeping on Jess’s face as she quickly diverted her gaze. I sat down on her bed and cleared my throat to get her attention back.

“So what are we doing now?”

“Oh, right,” she still sounded a bit flustered which I found amusing. “Here take these.”

She started digging around in one of her closets and pulled out several blankets, sheets and pillows. I mean there were a ton.

“Help me carry all these to the living room,” she said.

“What are we building a fort?” I joked as I gathered a bunch of them up.

“Yes,” she answered seriously.

I looked up to see if she was joking but she walked past me with a load of blankets in her arms and headed down the stairs. I followed suit and sure enough, that’s what happened. We built a fort. In her living room.

Okay, I won’t lie. This is probably the most fun I’ve ever had. By the time we were finished we’d built a pretty decent fort. There were several sheets stretched across the room and the pillows and blankets were underneath. Jess completed it by draping white twinkling lights over top of it and turning off all the lights in the house.

“Okay, come on!” Jess said excitedly as she grabbed my hand and pulled me under the sheet. Okay, this definitely beat laying under the Christmas tree. The lights over the sheets made the entire inside light up with a soft glow and it looked amazing.

I glanced over to see Jess laying down and staring upwards at the twinkling lights. I situated myself next to her and she immediately took my hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over my knuckles gently.

“Jess?” I heard myself say timidly.

“Yeah?” She turned on her side to face me and I suddenly lost my nerve again. She looked so beautiful under the soft lights that my breath instantly caught in my throat as she looked at me. The glow making her green eyes stand out more than usual.

“Nothing. Nevermind,” I sighed, dropping my gaze.

“No, Elena, what is it?” She moved her free hand to my cheek and ran her fingers down toward my chin, lifting my gaze back to her. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“I’m scared,” I whispered.

“What are you scared of?” she asked worriedly. I felt her fingers travel back up over my cheek and into my hair. I sighed deeply as I felt myself relax under her touch. It was now or never.

“I love you.”

I saw Jess physically freeze as soon as the words left my mouth. I did nothing but lay there and wait for a reaction. I watched her face and I could see her searching my eyes. For what, I don’t know. All I know is that the only thing she’ll find there is love, and possibly fear for what she was going to say next.

“I love you too,” she said finally.

“Really?” I asked, smiling.

Instead of answering me she leaned forward and kissed me lovingly. I felt her teeth graze my bottom lip as she pulled herself on top of me, straddling me at the waist. She pulled away slightly after a few seconds and I felt her whisper against my lips.

“I really, really love you, Elena.”

Jess’s lips crashed down on mine again and she wasted no time in heating up the kiss. I was tingling all over as her tongue toyed with mine and when we did break apart, I immediately felt her lips against my neck. My skin felt like it was on fire everywhere her lips touched as she planted several kisses up and down my neck. I heard myself groan as Jess sucked harshly on my pulse point and for a split second, she smiled against my skin at the sound. I slid my hands down so that they rested on the small of her back and slowly moved my fingers underneath her shirt, moving my fingers back and forth across her bare skin.

By now Jess was working her way back up from my neck, pressing her lips along my jawline and back up to my lips. As I felt myself getting lost in the kiss I was vaguely aware of Jess’s hands working my shirt slowly up my body. I sat up so that she could pull it off and it was shortly followed by hers. I felt Jess’s legs wrap around my waist tighter as I leaned in and kissed down the side of her neck. I worked my way across her shoulders as she clung to me. My fingers stroked up and down her sides over her flawless skin and I could hear her breathing quicken as my lips traveled lower and lower.

A/N  Enjoy the happy chapters. I'm sure everyone understands by now that I am not nice to my characters. ;)