Jesse pulled away first and reached for her hand. They walked back to the airport to get his luggage then made their way to where Luke parked.
"Luke drove you here?" Jesse asked, seeing Luke leaning against his car.
"Yep." Beca nodded.
"Good seeing you, mate," Luke smiled at Jesse unlocking his car then help Jesse put his luggage in the car trunk.
"You too," Jesse said in puzzlement. Luke looked happy to see him it and Jesse found it strange. He was pretty sure Luke saw them kiss at the airport entrance.
"You're not leaving, huh?" Luke asked as he looked at Jesse through the rear-view mirror after they got inside the car.
"Not for another week," Jesse answered and watched Luke glance at Beca who was sitting in the passenger seat and sighed.
"Just one week?"
"Yep," Jesse nodded.
Luke nodded and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
"Where are we going?" Jesse asked, noticing that Luke took the opposite way to the Beca's apartment.
"I left my car at the beach, Luke is dropping us there," Beca informed him.
"What were you doing there?" Jesse asked.
"Drowning my sorrows," she replied. He didn't need to know the details.
"I can write you a medical leave letter for your cold," Luke said watching Beca cough when they stopped at red light. He reached over and placed a hand on her forehead to find her burning up with fever.
"That won't be necessary," she said, massaging her sore throat.
"Don't listen to her Luke," Jesse chimed in.
"Of course, I won't." he glanced up at the rear-view mirror, "I'm writing you a medical leave letter," he said to Beca removing his hand. "A week?" he glanced back at Jesse.
"That would be perfect, thank you" Jesse thanked him.
Luke smiled then focused on the road.
"Why don't you go have a warm shower while I make you something to eat?" Jesse asked as they walked inside the apartment.
"Okay," she dragged herself to her bedroom while Jesse made his way to the kitchen to make her something to fight the cold with. He had one week with her and had to make it count.
It was going to be hard to leave, knowing that she felt the same way about him, but she made a good point, he can't be selfish, his daughter needs him to be around. He shook off all thoughts about leaving because they made him feel like shit and proceeded to cook.
"Bec," he called when he reached her bedroom. He heard her blow-drying her hair earlier so he knew that she was done showering. "Soup is ready," he stepped in and his eyes fell on Beca doing her bra while having her back to him.
"Thanks," she reached for a sweatshirt and wore it. Jesse made his way to the nightstand and placed the tray before he took a seat on her bed. She joined him after wearing her sweatpants.
"So, can you explain to me why Luke is so cool about us?" Jesse asked placing the tray on her lap.
"New year eve when I left with him, I sorta called your name while we were hooking up. The next day we decided to stop seeing each other," she played around with the spoon, "You had to leave, and I knew that seeing me with him would be a good enough reason for you to leave … I can't let myself be the reason you stay away from your kid," she sniffed.
He scooted closer to her and held her chin up and kissed her. "I'm gonna miss you so much," he said, resting his forehead against hers.
"You too," she sniffed, "You're so catching a cold," she pulled away from him and brought the soup to her mouth.
"I don't care," Jesse threw an arm over her shoulder and rubbed her arm, "What's a cold to two thousand miles?" he rested his cheek against her head.
"Word,"
"You called my name?" he asked in amusement as he reached for her free hand and interlocked their fingers.
"Shut up," she mumbled.
"Nope," he started to rub her knuckles, "So, do you ever think about me when you—"
"—Nope,"
"You didn't even let me finish my question," he argued in mock annoyance.
"Whatever it is, the answer is NO," she started coughing midsentence. Jesse straightened up and watched for a few seconds before hopping off of the bed and running to the kitchen, returning moments later with a cup of water. "Here," he handed her the cup.
"Thanks," she brought it to her mouth.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," she cleared her throat and handed it back. He gave her a weak smile as he put the cup on the nightstand then laid down next her, leaning against the headboard as he threw his arm around her waist and leaned in placing a kiss on her very warm neck.
"Here, I'm done," she said holding up the tray.
"You didn't finish the soup," he glanced at it.
"I don't feel like eating anymore,"
"Beca," he sat up, "you gotta eat, you're weak," he poked her shoulder and she shrugged, "want me to feed you?" he asked and watched her remove the covers and climb off the bed, losing coordination for half a second. Jesse was by her side quickly and held her, "Easy there," he took the tray from hands and sat her down, "fine, no soup," he put the tray on the nightstand.
Jesse got on his knees and rested his arms on her bed, watching her.
"This is a mistake," she cleared her throat, "You should leave now,"
She felt the tears forming in her eyes at the thought of having to say goodbye again in a week and wished her life was a romantic comedy and that somehow everything would work out just fine for them eventually.
"Don't cry," He stroked her cheek. She cupped his face, leaned down, and kissed him.
He sighed against her lip and kissed her back with passion matching hers then got up and slowly helped her get on the bed before he climbed on top of her, frowning when he tasted her tears.
"Please stop crying," he pulled away, feeling tears forming in his eyes.
"I can't help it," she shrugged and wiped her cheek with the back of her sleeve before she reached for his t-shirt and lifted it. "I fucking hate goodbyes,"
"Don't think about saying goodbye, that's what I'm trying to do," He took it off and threw it away then laughed at the look on her face. "Like what you see?"
"This is better than what I remember," she sniffed, feeling his chest.
"I'm flattered," He enjoyed feeling her run her hands over his chest then biceps.
She threw her arm around his shoulder, scratching the back of his neck. She sighed and hugged him. Jesse rolled on his back, holding her close to him. "Don't mope around while I'm still here," he rubbed her back and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. "And, for the record, we're staying in touch," he watched her pull away. "When you come to New York, you're giving me a call, okay?" he held her gaze and she nodded. "I promise that I'll find the best falafel truck in New York," he said remembering that she liked falafel.
"Thanks," she ran her fingers through his hair.
"We're still gonna be friends," he stroked her cheek.
"Are we?" she sighed.
"Yep," Jesse nodded. "I don't wanna ruin the moment but you're okay?" he frowned.
"I feel fine," she shrugged.
"I'm gonna give credit for trying but I can feel you shivering," he said, "How did you catch a cold?" Jesse asked pulling the covers over them as he held her close to him.
"I stayed out late," she replied curtly, resting her head against his chest.
"At the beach?"
"Yeah," she nodded into his chest, "I'm sorry I didn't reply to your texts and calls,"
"You left your phone at Luke's, he told me," he placed a kiss on her head.
"He told you that?" she looked up and he nodded. "He also said that you were going to drop by at his place and that I should try giving you a call in a few hours," he frowned when she looked away to cough. She then gave him her back and he held her close to him, rubbing her arms to warm her up.
"Why didn't you listen to me when I warned you?" Beca asked in a low voice.
"Huh?" he rested his cheek against her head.
"I warned you. I told you not to fall for me," she coughed.
"Shit happens," Jesse sighed.
"That's one way of putting it," she chuckled.
Jesse reached for her cheek and rested the back of his hand on it, "Your fever is really bad,"
"Your hand is cold," she argued,
"Is it?" he removed his hand and she nodded.
Jesse slipped his cold hand under her sweatshirt and rested it on her very warm stomach and got kicked in the shin for it so he withdrew his hand while laughing.
"Bad move, Swanson," she snuggled up to him.
"God, I'm gonna miss you," he forcefully pecked her temple.
"You too," she reached for his face and patted his cheek before taking his hand and holding.
Jesse smiled noticing that she had fallen asleep when she loosened her grip.
Beca woke up feeling soreness in her throat worse than it was before she went to bed. She sat up and winced clearing her throat. She glanced at the nightstand and saw that it was 9:12 pm. She got off of the bed, standing still for a few seconds when she felt dizzy before she continued to walk.
"Jesse," she called, her voice was hoarse.
"Hey there," he said slowly as he paced to her from the kitchen, "You're up. I was making you tea," he took the hand she was holding onto the wall with.
"When did you wake up?" he asked, tucking a loose lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Now," she answered, rubbing her temples, she had a head-splitting headache. She recognized it as a nicotine withdraw caused headache, "Where's my messenger bag?" she asked
"Your bedroom, I'll get it," he took her to the couch then ran to her bedroom, he picked up her bag and walked back to the couch, to find her curled up.
"Here," he handed her the messenger bag then paced to the kitchen to get her a cup of water.
She looked for her cigarette pack but couldn't find it then remember it was in the pocket of Luke's jacket so she went to her room and got it.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked in disbelief watching pull a cigarette from the pack as she walked out of her room, in heavy steps.
"My head hurts, I need this," she put it the cigarette between her lips and sighed when she couldn't light the lighter. She hated being weak. She glanced up at Jesse.
"I'm not helping you light that," he shrugged.
"Fine," she mumbled and made her way to the kitchen, using the stove.
"You're unbelievable," he followed her to the kitchen only to watch her walk back to her bedroom.
"Jesse, my head really hurts," she coughed opening the balcony door.
"Well, eat something first, at least," he walked on the balcony, after her. "This self-destructive behavior is so unlike you," he threw an arm over her shoulder and pulled her to him. "What's going on up here?" he tapped her head.
She looked away to blow away a puff of smoke. "Fuck, it's cold," she leaned against him.
"You can ignore me all you want but just know that I think you're way better than this," he nodded at the cigarette in her hand.
"Smoking is a good source of relief and relaxation, just what I need,"
"You want relaxation, you can go have a massage," he shrugged.
"I can't enjoy a massage for the life of me," she grimaced. "The thought of having a stranger's hands all over me stresses me," she ashed the cigarette.
"Well, I happen to give amazing massages," he informed her.
"Of course, you do," she chuckled and it turned into a cough. He squeezed her and placed a kiss on top of her head. "Once you finish your cigarette, you're gonna eat, and finish your soup no excuses, then I'm giving you a massage. Cool?"
She nodded, clearing her throat. He held her chin up and leaned in. "Beca, I told you that I don't care," he smiled when she pushed his face away. He took her hand and leaned in and kissed her.
"Be honest, how awful did I taste?" she asked when he pulled away.
"It's like kissing an ashtray," he rested his chin on her head.
"Pretty awful," she concluded.
"No," he chuckled.
"You should get inside, passive smoking has some shitty-ass effects, not like active smoking but still shitty,"
"I know," he sighed, rubbing her arm. "I talked to Luke earlier, asked him if there was anything to do about your cough, he said that should just stay away from cigarettes…"
When she didn't say anything back he didn't add anything, he didn't like how she was behaving but he only had a week and he wasn't going to spend it arguing with her over her health.
Day 2-
Jesse woke up to the sound of moaning. He blinked a couple of times as he rested his weight on his elbow before reaching to place a hand on Beca's forehead, "Shit," he said, finding her boiling, sweating, and shivering, "Beca," he called as he shook her. She frowned, waking up, "Jesse, I'm cold," she coughed.
"Here, have these," he reached for the painkillers and the bottle of water he kept by the nightstand.
She managed to sit up and take the painkillers he handed her. After swallowing them, she curled up holding her knees close to her chest as she shivered.
"Bec, I'm gonna take you to the bathtub," he said, stroking her hair.
"No," she shook her head.
"I promise that it'll make feel better,"
"Jesse, I'm tired, I don't think I can bathe,"
"Who said anything about you doing anything? That's what I'm here for,"
"You pervert, you just wanna see me naked," she said in amusement.
He laughed in spite of himself, "Yeah, you got me," he nodded.
"I'm gonna go fill the bathtub, I'll be back in a minute, okay?"
She coughed, nodding.
"Cmon, Becs," He said walking back to the room. She slowly sat up, "Nah, I got it," she stopped him when he stepped closer to help her take off her clothes. She kicked off her sweatpants first, took a brief break, and then took off her sweatshirt.
"What are you doing?" she asked, watching him take off his t-shirt.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked, kicking off his pants.
"You planning or torturing me, Swanson?" she coughed, "Getting naked and not getting physical?" she got up and patted his chest before walking past him,
"I'm keeping my boxers," he informed her, "You keep your underwear," he watched her rested her hand on the doorway and figured it was because she was dizzy.
"Who bathes in their underwear?" she reached for the hook of her bra and undid it.
"You have no idea how badly I wanna get physical with you," he made his way to her and helped her take off her bra then rested his hand on her waist, "but first things first," he playfully smacked her butt. "Get better." he walked her to the bathtub and tried not to stare when she held on to him to take off her panties.
"Jesse, there are condoms in the second drawer," she pointed at the room and he understood that she meant the nightstand.
"No," Jesse shook his head.
"For fucks sake Jesse," she sighed, taking a seat.
"Listen, I don't want our first time to be like this," he sat behind her.
"First time? What the fuck? We had sex a bunch of times before. I know I have a fever but it's not bad enough for me to imagine shit," she frowned, tilting her head to look at him.
"First time making love," he smiled at her and watched as her expression softened. "Last time I tried to make love to you freaked out and rushed into a date with Luke so I'm gonna need you to level with me for a second, if you don't want lovemaking—"
"—no, I do, I really do," she cut him off and placed a kiss on his cheek before nuzzling up to his neck. "This is nice," she sighed when he took her hand in his.
"Told ya," he placed a kiss on her knuckles. "Hey, lean forward," he said.
"No, I like invading your personal space," she threw her arm around his waist.
"Cmon, I wanna give you a neck massage,"
"Fine," she groaned,
"Shut up. You liked it yesterday," he laughed watching her do what he asked her to do.
"Bec hand me your hair binder,"
She lifted her right hand and he took it as a sign to take it off himself from around her wrist so he did then held her hair up in what he thought was a decent bun.
"I can't believe you're wearing your boxers,"
"I told you I would," he shrugged.
"Well, I feel exposed," she glanced at him. He snorted at her words and lightly slapped her the back of her neck and she splashed water at him for it.
"Is that your phone?" she asked hearing his phone ring in her bedroom.
"Sounds like it," he nodded and proceeded to massage the back of her neck.
"Well, go check it," she glanced at him.
"Nah, they can call later or leave a voicemail," he shrugged.
"But what if it's Sandra calling about Sam?"
"She can leave a voicemail," he replied after a beat of silence.
"I miss Sam," Beca said as she played with the water between her fingers.
"I miss her too,"
"Ever since Sandra took her, the apartment is too quiet," she sighed.
"Sandra told me that she was babbling your name the other day," Jesse informed her.
"Really?" Beca chuckled humorlessly.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Did Sandra tear your ear off for it?"
"No," he snorted, "She didn't," Jesse smiled when Beca moaned as he put more pressure on her neck, massaging it, "You like that?"
"Yeah," she rotated her neck, enjoying whatever he was doing to her.
Day 3-
"Bec," Jesse said in a low voice as he shook her shoulder.
"What?" she sleepily answered.
"You fell asleep watching the movie," he watched her straighten up.
"Sorry," she rubbed her eyes.
"It's okay," he was sitting on the coffee table, facing her as she sat on the couch, "the movie is boring anyway,"
"it is really boring," she agreed, "and too long,"
"Yeah," he chuckled, "I know."
"Couldn't you have picked some comedy instead of political agenda with CGI'd blue people?"
"Nope," he got up, "I wanted you to dose off," he admitted, giving her his hand. She took it and looked at him in puzzlement.
"Why?" she asked as they walked towards her bedroom.
He didn't answer instead he swiftly picked her up and held her bridal style.
"What's going on?" she asked throwing her arm over his shoulder and smiled when he leaned in and kissed her. She glanced at her bedroom when they reached it then pulled away.
"You don't like it?" he asked, watching her frown.
"You didn't have to do all this… I mean, rose petals and candles?"
"Too cheesy?" he grimaced.
"No," she shook her head then leaned up and kissed him. Pulling him closer to her when he started to make his way to her bed.
"I really hate you right now," Beca blew a breath then sniffed.
"Now, do you?" he chuckled thinking she was sniffing because of her cold and not because she was crying.
"Yeah," she nodded, removing his arm from around her and giving him her back as she pulled the covers to her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked realizing she was crying when she chocked on her tears.
"That was way better than I expected," she wiped her cheeks.
"Are you crying because we had mind boggling sex?" he hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll get bad at it if it makes you feel better," he said jokingly.
"Fuck, Jesse," she sat up, "How the fuck am I supposed to forget about you when everything you do is fucking perfect?" she held her head,
"Do you want me to act like a douchebag for the next four days so that you'd actually hate me?" he reached for Kleenex from the nightstand then scooted closer to her, "here," he tapped her shoulder with it.
"Thanks," she took it from him.
"Don't you think I hate the fact that I'm leaving, too?" he sighed watching her blow her nose. "I'm trying not to think about it and enjoy the little time I have with you. I really am," he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"I can't-" she ran her fingers through her hair, "-I can't stop thinking about having to say goodbye- I hate goodbyes,"
"It doesn't have to be a goodbye,"
"Jesse we've been through this," she sighed, "you have to be with your kid, you'll regret it later,"
"that's not what I meant," he placed a kiss on her neck, "Think of it as a more of a 'until next time we meet' and less of a goodbye,"
"That if we ever do meet again," she wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
"You make it sound like I'm going to a different planet. I'm just gonna be two thousand miles away,"
"It's more than 2 thousand miles, actually," she got off of the bed and bent down to pick up her underwear.
Jesse got up and wore his boxers then walked to her wrapped her in his arms after she finished hooking her bra. "This sucks," she mumbled against his chest.
"I know," he agreed then pulled away just enough to look at her and smiled when wrapped her arms around his neck, "you got a really nice smile," she said eyeing him.
"It's the dimples, isn't it?" he asked and she nodded. He pulled her close to him and rested his cheek against hers, "I'm not gonna forget about you," he said to her ear. "Wanna know why?" he asked.
"Yeah," she answered in a voice above a whisper.
"I don't think I can," he shrugged and felt her tighten her hold. Knowing that she was feeling really low he decided to change the subject. "Hey, where's the farewell present you told me about?" he asked.
She didn't reply instead she removed herself from his hold and dragged herself out of the bedroom and came back less a minute later, holding a guitar case, "I know this isn't your favorite instrument, it was the second instrument I thought you'd like to own - frankly, getting a piano is stressful - I just figured this would be more practical to carry around," she shrugged putting it on the bed. She looked around for her hoodie and stuffed her hand in her hoodie's kangaroo pocket reaching for Kleenex to blow her running nose.
"Thanks," he pulled her into his embrace, placing a kiss on her cheek before he turned to the guitar case and opened it.
"And, yeah, I got it signed for you," she cleared her throat, wearing her hoodie.
"Oh my god," Jesse exclaimed as he ran his fingers through his hair, "How the fuck did you get Sir Paul McCartney to sign this?"
"I stalked him,"
"Holy shit," he picked it up.
"You like it?"
"I love it," he leaned in and placed a forceful kiss on her forehead. "Seriously, though, how did you get him to sign this?" he ran his fingers over the signature.
"I met him at last year's GRAMMYs, we hung out," she shrugged and watched him play some chords before he sat down, "We kept in touch,"
"That is awesome," he looked up, grinning at her. She smiled, stroking his cheek before she climbed on the bed. He glanced at her and heard her exhale loudly. He sighed placing the guitar on the floor then climbed and enveloped her in his arms.
Day 4-
Jesse woke up feeling dazed. He heard Beca talking then saw her standing on the balcony. Jesse got on his feet and started to make his way to her.
"I didn't tell you to hear a lecture on how unhealthy this is," he heard her say, she sounded annoyed, "I know," she sighed, "He does… well, whenever I feel like he was going to say it I'd stop him," she shrugged, "It's hard enough already,"
Jesse felt bad for ear dropping on the one-sided conversation he was hearing so he made his presence known by unlocking the door to the balcony.
"Hi," she placed her hand over her phone and smiled at him.
"Bec it's really cold, you should get inside," he rubbed his arms, feeling the chills of the night, then nodded when she shook the cigarette.
Jesse opened his arms for her and she instantly leaned into his embrace. He placed a kiss on her temple and wasn't surprised to find her skin cold. She looked away to sneeze, "My cold is fucking annoying," she sniffed, "It has improved, though,"
She stayed quiet for a while, listening to the other person, replying with hmms as they spoke. Jesse figured that she didn't talk in front of him so he decided to get back inside but as soon as he loosened his hold Beca looked up and shot him a questioning look so he stayed and squeezed her in his arms. "No, I can't …. I'm busy, I can't hang out anytime soon… Exactly like that," she chuckled humorlessly. "Well, we'll talk soon, good night." She sighed, hanging up.
"Chloe," she informed him when looked at her.
"How is she doing?" Jesse asked watching her blow a puff of smoke.
"She's doing well," she leaned against his chest. They stayed in silence for a while. Him looking at the sky full of stars and her smoking.
"Hey, I just realized that we don't have that many pictures together," Jesse said out of the blue.
"I think I have one on my phone," she ashed her cigarette while unlocking her phone. She chuckled finding a picture of them together.
He laughed, leaning in, "Look at you, having the time of your life," Jesse said sarcastically.
"Totally," she smiled looking at herself getting her cheeks squeezed together by Jesse at the Halloween party they went to.
She found herself grinning at the picture she took of Jesse and Sam before they left for the party. "Great costume choice for her, she looked way too cute," Beca looked up.
"You know who she gets it from," he grinned at her then leaned in and pecked her lips. She put out her cigarette and stuffed her phone in her pocket before cupping his face and kissed him. He hummed kissing her back. "I should go brush my teeth," she sucked her teeth pulling away.
"I'm getting used to the ashtray taste," he shrugged, watching her as she unlocked the door to get back inside.
He walked behind her and closed the door before he wrapped her in his arms from behind. "So, since you're finally starting to get better, I thought we could go out," he said before placing a kiss on her cheek.
"Go out? Like go out on a date?" she tilted her head to look at him.
"Does it really matter?" he gazed into her eyes and she shook her head.
"Where d'you wanna go?" she asked.
"I'm keeping it a surprise," he chuckled when she rolled her eyes at him. "You hungry?" he nodded at her.
"Not really," she removed herself from his hold.
"Good, because you're helping me make dinner," he watched her walk to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"What are we making?" she asked.
"Pizza from scratch," he informed her.
"Cool," she shrugged, "I have no idea how to make it. But sure, let's make pizza," She said walking out of the bathroom.
"I'll show you how. But first we gonna go buy ingredients and the toppings," he looked around for his converse and wore them.
"I'm having gummy bears as toppings," she said as she walked to her closet.
"That'll-," he sneezed, "-taste amazing," he sniffed.
"About time," she sighed, eyeing him.
"I'll have some painkillers and be alright," he waved it off.
"You're cleaning the kitchen up," Beca said trying to clean her clothes from the flour Jesse threw at her while they made the dough for the pizza. It got messy when it turned into a flour fight.
"Later," he picked her up and sat her on the counter.
"Dude," she looked at her side, "There's flour everywhere," she rested her hand on the flour then patted his face with it. "You look great," she laughed, watching him clean his lips with the back of his hand.
He cupped her face, grinning when she leaned in and kissed him while restining her hands on his shoulders and pulling closer to her.
He held her up and helped her wrap her legs around his waist while walking them out of the kitchen.
"Shouldn't we put the pizzas in the oven?" she mumbled between kisses. He nodded and eased out of the kiss.
He looked between her and the pizzas,
"You can put the pizzas in the oven, I'm not going anywhere" she shrugged. He nodded and sat her down on the counter
"Now we wait," he said walking away from the oven. She threw her arms around his shoulder. Jesse tilted her head the grinned, "Piggyback?"
"Sure," she snorted.
He helped her climb then felt her press the back of her hand on his cheek. "You're really warm," she frowned. "How long will it take for these to get ready?" Beca nodded at the oven.
"A while. Why?" he sniffed, pulling his phone from his pocket.
"I thought we could go clean up in the meantime," she rested her chin on his shoulder.
"Good thinking," he nodded. "We're taking a selfie," he informed her.
"Man, we look great," she said sarcastically, eyeing the picture after he took it.
"Totally." he agreed, "To the shower!" he exclaimed before he started to run.
Day 5-
"You sure you're fine?" she asked watching Jesse sneeze as they walked, holding hands.
"I have a headache but it's tolerable," he held her hand up and placed a kiss on her knuckles. "The weather is pretty nice, huh?" he looked around as they walked in a park.
"Yeah," she squeezed his hand. "It's nice."
Finding a good a spot under a tree, Jesse unzipped his backpack and pulled a towel, placed it down, and watched her take a seat then sat next to her.
"Oh no, something other than tea and hot chocolate," She said exclaimed in mock shock when he handed her a juice pouch.
"Sarcasm, nice. This is what I get for taking care of you?" he clenched his chest and pretended to be hurt by her words as he looked away from her. Hearing her chuckle, he smiled.
"Sorry," she apologized her tone still sarcastic then got on her knees and pecked his cheek.
He tilted his head and grinned at her before leaning in to peck her lips, "apology accepted," he watched her sit back then decided to lay down on her lap.
"Hi," he said, smiling at her.
"Hi," she smiled back, lifting her sunglasses on top her head.
"You have really pretty eyes, you know that?"
"It's 'cause you like their color," she patted his cheek.
"I do like their color but it's not just the color that makes them really beautiful," he gazed into her eyes until she looked away.
"So when are you starting work?" she asked.
"Next week. I was supposed to settle during this week. You know, get the hang of it, the subway and stuff like that," he told her and watched her nod. "I'll figure it out when I get there, I guess," he shrugged.
"Sandra could show you around," she started to run her fingers through his hair.
"Nah, I don't think it would be wise to be near her for at least a month, unless I'm going to see Sam. The chances of fighting with her over nothing are pretty high because of her bitchy attitude,"
"Don't say that, she's the mother of your kid after all,"
"She's changed a lot," he sighed, "The Sandra I grew up with and loved wouldn't move to the other coast with our child and keep me in the dark until two weeks before her move,"
"I'm not siding with her or anything but she got a pretty good offer. I don't know many directors of photography that have a monthly income,"
"That's beside the point," he sat up,
"Look, thanks new job she got, I'm sure she'll be able to afford everything Sammy could need." She gave him a weak smile then glanced at the pouch he gave and picked it up. "So, juice pouches." She put the straw in the pouch, "This must've swept Sandra off of her feet," she brought it to her lips.
"Juice pouches are awesome," he shrugged,
"Totally," she threw her head back and wore back her sunglasses feeling the sun rays on her face.
"Hey, I had one girlfriend and I married her, give me a break,"
"I didn't say anything," she smirked at him. "Juice pouches rule," she patted his shoulder.
"Instead of getting all sarcastic help me out,"
"Trust me, you don't need any help. Any girl would be lucky to have you, juices pouches and all," she assured him.
Day 6-
"Could you sneeze any louder?" Beca asked in a raspy voice when she woke up to Jesse's loud sneezing.
"Sorry," he apologized before sneezing again.
She sat and eyed him as blew his nose.
"You look like shit," she placed a hand on his forehead to find it as hot as she expected it, "Did you have anything for the fever?" she asked and he shook his head. She hopped off of the bed and grabbed painkillers for him.
He took the painkillers then curled up on the bed.
"C'mere," she reached for his shoulder and pulled him to her, spooning him, "I'm sorry for passing it on to you," she placed a kiss on his forehead.
"It's okay," he shrugged.
"When did you wake up?" she asked.
"Just now," he sniffed.
She nodded, "I'm gonna go make chicken noodles soup," she pressed her lips against his and kissed him lightly before she hopped off of the bed.
"Regular breakfast food is fine," he shrugged, sitting up.
"You want breakfast food?" she watched as he slowly got on his feet.
"Yeah," he nodded, "And I'm helping you make it,"
"You just rest, Jess,"
"I'm okay." He assured her, "There's one thing that I'd willingly stay in bed for and it isn't a fever," he winked at her, "Lose the frown, I'm in better shape than you." He started to make his way out of the room.
"Here, wear this," she brought him an oversized sweatshirt from her closet and handed it to him noticing that he was shivering as he cooked pancakes.
He took it from her and wore it. Seeing that it fit him, she smiled.
"Thanks," he thanked her.
"You can keep it," she patted his chest and turned to the coffee machine to pour a mug coffee.
"Thanks," he eyed the sweatshirt he was wearing, "Wait, this doesn't belong to an ex-boyfriend, does it?" he asked looking up.
"Why would I be keeping an ex-boyfriend's sweatshirt?" she asked adding sugar to her mug.
"I don't know?"
"I bought it myself, relax," she brought the mug to her lips. "Your phone," she said hearing his ringtone. "I'll go get it," she added, he was busy making pancakes.
"It's your ex-wife," she informed him walking back to the kitchen. Handing him his phone, she watched as he hung up and stuffed his phone his pocket. "I don't need her to fuck up my mood this early," he said, focusing on the pancakes in front of him.
"What do y'do wanna do today?" Beca asked.
"Find a way to make my stay here longer," he mumbled.
"Jesse," she sighed,
He turned off the stove and tilted his head to look at her "I don't wanna leave you. This week has been a dream and I don't want it to end." Jesse shrugged, "We're great together and you can't deny it."
"Well, sometimes you just gotta suck it up and accept how things are," she placed the mug on the counter, "Tomorrow we're ending whatever it is we're doing and you gonna get on a plane and go live near your daughter." She turned on her heels and started to make her way to her bedroom.
"Bec," he followed her and sighed when she closed the door in his face then leaned against the wall facing her bedroom, "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Asking you for a week was really selfish." He ran his fingers through his hair, "You don't deserve the heartache I'm bringing you." He didn't know what else to say so he just waited for her to unlock the door which she did. He straightened up and eyed her.
"I knew what this week would leave both of us with. I'm pretty selfish too," she shrugged, avoiding eye contact.
"I'm really going to miss you," he reached for her and pulled her into his embrace, blinking back tears as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"C'mon, pancakes will get cold," he sniffed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
"Okay," she nodded and removed herself from his hold.
"I'm gonna sing for you," he told her as they sat down to eat.
"Huh?" she tilted her head to look at him.
"You asked what I wanna do today. I wanna sing for you,"
"You gonna serenade me?" she asked teasingly, trying hard to push all the sad thoughts to the back of her mind and replace them with happy ones.
"Yes," he nodded then stuffed his mouth with pancakes, "My voice is a raspy so don't get technical about it, okay?" he pointed at her with the fork.
"I won't," she assured him.
"Yeah," Jesse said picking up when Sandra called him again later that day.
"Hey, Jesse," she greeted.
"Is everything okay with Sam?" he asked as he watched Beca remove herself from his hold and looked at her questioningly so she made a smoking gesture with her hand then wore a sweater before unlocking the balcony's door.
"Yeah, everything is alright with Sammy… you sound different, did you catch a cold?"
"Yeah," Jesse answered curtly, "What d'you want?" he asked nonchalantly.
"I just called to see if you wanted me to pick you up from the airport tomorrow,"
"That won't be necessary,"
"Oh, you got someone already?" she asked.
"Nope," he sat up, "I'll figure it out when I get there,"
"Oh, okay… Hey, someone wants to talk to you… Say hi to dada,"
"dada," Jesse grinned hearing his daughter.
"Hi, baby. Can you blow dada a kiss?"
His grin winded when he heard her blow him a kiss. "Thank you, Sammy,"
It had been three weeks since he had last seen his daughter and he insanely missed her.
"Kiss… dada."
"Dada is coming tomorrow, and will shower you with kisses and hugs," he told her and heard her squeal.
"Just so you know, she's jumping in my lap," Sandra informed him.
"Dada loves Sammy so much," he sniffed watching Beca rest her elbows on the balcony and hold her head, he was 80% she was crying, "I gotta go now, okay? Bye-Bye." He wiped his cheek.
"Ba-bye," he heard her blow him another kiss then hung up the phone, tossing it aside. He got on his feet and walked to the bathroom to wash his face.
Jesse was drying his face when he heard Beca get inside.
"You okay there?" she asked making her way to him.
"Yeah," he nodded hanging the towel.
"Your fever dropped," she said after she placed her hand on his forehead. He nodded and walked past her.
Sighing, she removed her hand and turned to the sink to brush her teeth.
Jesse walked back to her bedroom and pulled the guitar from its case before he sat down on the bed. He took a deep breath before he started to strum the intro to Rhythm of love while keeping his eyes on the guitar. He felt a lump in his throat, that had nothing to do with his cold, before he started to sing, looking up to meet Beca's gaze when she stepped out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorway.
My head is stuck in the clouds
She begs me to come down
Says, "Boy, quit foolin' around"
I told her, "I love the view from up here
Warm sun and wind in my ear
We'll watch the world from above
As it turns to the rhythm of love"
She smiled at him, keeping her emotions in check for a change, trying to enjoy the song.
We may only have tonight
But till the morning sun, you're mine
All mine
Play the music low
And sway to the rhythm of love
My heart beats like a drum
A guitar string to the strum
A beautiful song to be sung
She's got blue eyes deep like the sea
That roll back when she's laughing at me
She rises up like the tide
The moment her lips meet mine
She chuckled when he winked at her then started to make her way to him, giving him her hand when she reached him. He put the guitar on the floor and took her hand then got up, deciding to finish the song a cappella.
We may only have tonight
But till the morning sun, you're mine
All mine
Play the music low
And sway to the rhythm of love
He wrapped his arms around her waist while she threw hers over his shoulder and rested her head against his chest.
When the moon is low
We can dance in slow motion
And all your tears will subside
All your tears will dry
Jesse reached for her cheek wiping it while blinking back tears.
And long after I've gone
You'll still be humming along
And I will keep you in my mind
The way you make love so fine
Beca laughed in spite of herself when he smacked her ass playfully as he sang the last line.
We may only have tonight
But till the morning sun, you're mine
All mine
Play the music low
And sway to the rhythm of love
Play the music low
And sway to the rhythm of love
Yeah, sway to the rhythm of love
She wasn't surprised to find him in tears when she looked up. She cupped his face and pulled him down to her kissing him tenderly while walking him to the bed where they made love and fell asleep in each other's arms for the last time.
Day 7-
"Mornin', weirdo," Jesse said when Beca woke up.
"Morning," she rubbed her eyes before glancing at the time to find it 9 am, "Your flight is in seven hours," she laid back.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Hey, Bec." He rested his weight on his elbow, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you," he said as he started to draw lazy trails on her arm.
"What's up?"
"What are your thoughts on long distance relationships?" he asked.
"Tiresome and a pain in the ass" she answered after a beat.
He nodded, understanding that he shouldn't bother suggesting it.
"Why?" she asked.
"You smart, you should know why" he sighed and watched her sit up while holding the covers close to her.
"I've never been in a long distance relationship and neither have you, and the very few people I know that have been in ones never lasted."
"You don't think we should at least try to make it work?" he sat up as well, "I know this is gonna sound weird because we've only been 'together' for a week but I feel complete with you,"
"It doesn't sound weird," she sighed, "But what's the point?" she asked, "We can't just get into a long distance relationship without an end game plan. My life is here, yours is in New York," she shrugged.
"I'm not planning on staying there for good- you know what? forget about it," he removed the covers and reached for his boxers and wore them, "It's stupid,"
"It's not stupid," Beca said as she got up and looked around for her underwear and wore them back.
"It's tiresome and a pain in the ass," he said recalling her words as he walked into the bathroom. "Listen, forget about it. I asked for a week. You gave me a week- I'm getting greedy and for that I wanna apologize,"
"Jesse," she called following him to the en-suite bathroom.
"No, it's fine." He shrugged, running the shower.
"Would you let me fucking talk," she exclaimed, "I'm not against having a long distance relationship, I just think that they're demanding and that I won't be able to be good partner."
"I understand," he nodded and smiled at her, "Water is hot," he nodded for her to join him.
"Just a second," she walked back to the room and came back seconds later. "I'm not done using you," she shook the condom in her hand.
"I don't mind," he forced a smile close to the one she was forcing.
Neither one of them was ready to say goodbye but they had to pretend that they were.
"You can go if you want," Jesse said as he watched Beca shake her leg while looking at the floor.
"No, I'm just craving a cigarette," she tilted her head to look at him,
"Go for it,"
"I'm planning on kissing you goodbye… I don't want the last kiss we share to taste like you're kissing an ashtray," she interlocked her fingers and shifted her attention to them. "Who's picking you when you land?" she asked.
"No one," he leaned against his seat, "Sandra asked if I wanted her to come but I turned her down, I'm still pissed at her."
"You gonna like living in New York," she rested her hand on his thigh, "They got the best pizza ever,"
She said recalling that Pepperoni Pizza was Jesse's favorite food.
"I heard," he nodded.
"How are you feeling about moving to a new city? When I moved to L.A I was happy and scared as fuck." Beca felt the need to keep talking because not talking meant thinking and thinking would lead to crying.
"Pretty shitty to be honest," he shrugged. "You gonna start looking for a new roommate?" he asked taking her hand in his.
"Nope," she chuckled humorlessly, "I'm gonna live alone from now on,"
"But you don't like doing all the chores," he rubbed her knuckles.
"I'm done living with roommates," she sighed, "Imma suck it up and do all the chores,"
"Or not do them at all?" he chuckled,
"Yeah, that's possible too," she nodded, "I'll live off of takeout so that I won't have to do the dishes,"
"That is a very adult of you to say," he squeezed her hand.
"I'm like an adult but not really an adult,"
"I know, I know, 'everyone under thirty is not actually an adult,' I remember what you said," he smiled at her when she tilted her head to look at him, "In fact I remember most of our conversations the night we met,"
"Really?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "I still think you have really cynical point of views but they sorta make sense,"
"I know," she rolled her eyes, "I got everything figured out," she shrugged.
"I don't doubt that," he brought her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles. "Since you got everything figured out, got any advice for how to handle the stress of being the new teacher?"
"Don't worry about that, I'm sure everyone there will love you just like I do," as soon as the words left her mouth, it hit her that she just told him she loved him so she looked away from him.
He was smiling at her but his smile dropped when they announced his flight.
"Alright," She exhaled loudly, removing her hand from his before she stood up and watched him as he stood up then cupped her face, "If I say it will you run away and never talk to me again?" he asked.
The way her eyes were filled with tears at his question answered for her so he nodded. "Got it," he forced a smile then cleared his throat.
"I can't promise you anything Bec but I can't say this is a goodbye either. I will miss you so much. You don't wanna hear me say it but I do, I really do. Thanks for the week you gave me it was a dream-" She cut him off by pressing her lips against his, passionately kissing him. "Have a safe trip," she sniffed pulling away.
"Thanks," he pecked her lips before letting go.
She watched him wearing his guitar case and pick up his luggage then wore her sunglasses and followed him with her eyes, smiling when he turned to her and waved before he was completely out of sight. She stood still for a few seconds then turned on her heels. Pulling her pack of cigarettes when she stepped out of the airport, she tapped the cigarette on her hand then walked to a garbage can and tossed away the whole pack inside it.
AN: There you have it, folks. Over 8k fucking words. I hope it was entertaining. I wanna thank you all for reading, reviewing, pitching me ideas. It means a lot. If you're interested in a sequel, let me know, I already have some ideas regarding but I'd like to hear from you if you'd want me to write.
Also, I hope you understand why I didn't include any M-rated scenes. I started this story T-rated, and I have young readers that I as a very responsible 19 y/o adult (shut your judgments the law says I'm an adult.) do not want to expose to explicit stuff.
Song used is called Rhythm of Love by Plain White Ts-
UPDATE: An overwhelming number of readers have asked for a sequel therefore you're getting a sequel. Peace out.