Practice Makes Perfect

Rachel gasped softly as she felt him move over her, the insatiable fire of his kiss burning painfully across her skin, his body pressing down on hers with a silent demand she knew achingly well. She closed her eyes and sank eagerly into the blind sensation of his touch, unable to suppress a low moan as she felt his tongue slip past her lips, deepening the frantic kiss for only the briefest moment, but still long enough to send a strike of hot electricity jolting through the pit of her stomach. They were taking dangerous liberties, and not for the first time, but neither of them could seem to care less – the urge of instinct momentarily overruling all other senses. She tightened her grip on him, unwilling to surrender the bruising pressure of his mouth even as she felt him reluctantly pull away on perfect cue.

She mumbled the lines of dissent ingrained upon her memory, the tentative objections leaving her lips with a heartbreaking conviction, a perfect pitch of confusion mixed with longing that comes as second nature to her now. She pushes him away, forcing his hands off her even as his pleads fall against her neck, tearing right through her in an almost physical pain as she is compelled to stop them, however fleetingly. She meets his eyes and she can glimpse the loving tease and knowing want echoed there, shining through the darkness of his gaze, barely contained by the delving passion of their borrowed characters. She laces their fingers together slowly, gently pulling him back, pressing his palm against her heaving body in tender and heartfelt surrender, and not a moment too soon for either of them. The reverent wonder in his face never ceases to steal her breath away, and only she knows how to read the truth within those beautiful masks. Only she knows how thin the veil is between the troubled boy and the brilliant actor.

His hands are hot over her curves, bold and exploring and so wonderfully familiar that it's all she can do to stop herself from tugging him even closer. She digs her fingertips into his arms, clenching the tense muscles through the white shirt sleeves, an unconscious warning of restraint. His fingers effortlessly part the ties of her dress and she almost shivers at the sudden chill of air that skims over her bare breast, but then his mouth is there barely a moment later and all she can feel is him once more, the silky warmth of his touch over her skin – kissing, caressing, tasting and teasing. Her hand winds into his hair through force of habit, trying to keep him as close to her for as long as possible, even as she forcibly reminds herself to breathe and follow direction.

She barely hears the chorus of voices around her, the melody of their song as it swells around them, filling the enclosed space, gently rocking their bodies as they move together.

Her back arches and she cries out, a little louder than she intended, and her hand fumbles for his where it grips painfully into her waist. The 'yes' leaves her lips with an edge of relief and raw desperation, and it never fails to feel like the most beautiful word in the world. He kisses her again, hard and strong and so intimate it makes her shudder with breaking memories and fresh desire. She unintentionally bucks against him, straining into his hips, urging him closer and pulling him deeper. He trails kisses down her body, lower and lower, his body slipping between her legs and leaning over her…

The song reaches a crescendo as he brings them together, hard and forceful, and the wrenchingly close imitation of intimacy is enough to almost make her sob in frustration. Her head falls back with a sharp gasp and his lips find her throat, kissing softly in unspoken apology, his hand flexing on her thigh. Their bodies tremble in the echo of voices that linger in their wake, their breath rough and shallow in the air between them.

"Aright guys. Good work."

The familiar, clipped tones of the director broke through the spellbound haze that seemed to have fallen over the stage. Movements stirred around them as their fellow actors tuned back into reality, shrugging off the mantle of their characters and stepping out from the shadows once more, blinking as they emerged back into the daylight of their alter egos. The director was still talking, brow creased in thought as he exchanged verbal critiques with the choreographer beside him, oblivious to the fact that his leading couple on stage were paying less than full attention to the conversation.

With a deep breath, Jesse pulled back and met her eyes for a long moment, a faint smirk curving the corners of his lips though his gaze was just as tortured as her own as they struggled to regain their composure, to summon the will to part from each other. He leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers and she could feel the tangible frustration in the whispering touch, the mutual emotion running high through them both in the split second of time they had to gather their control and marshal their show faces once more.

With a rueful smile, they slowly drew apart from each other and set about straightening their clothes. There was a muffled beep through the low murmur of noise and the director cast a glance down at his phone with a frown.

"Okay, take a break everyone," he announced, sparing them a quick nod of approval as he moved to gather up his jacket. "We'll pick up after lunch. On time – so I don't want anyone getting back late." He threw a pointed look at some members of the cast before taking his leave in his usual brisk manner.

Jonathan grinned as he turned back to face the unusually quiet couple who were still seated on their make-shift hayloft and trying to tidy themselves up, recovering from the vigour of their earlier wandering hands.

"Can we get you a cold shower?" he inquired teasingly.

Lilli giggled and Lauren rolled her eyes. Rachel maintained a dignified silence as she swept her hair back into place, refusing to meet the knowing gazes of their friends. Jesse smiled but said nothing. It wasn't like either of them were modest or self conscious after all.

"Jeez, at least try and tone it down a bit, will you?" Remy made a show of fanning herself. "I get hot flushes just watching you guys."

"Yeah, you know you're not supposed to actually have sex right on stage, right?"

Rachel threw a withering look in his direction and John quickly held up his hands with a shrug, his mouth tugging in a smile. "Hey, just making sure. You two build up the heat any more and you're going to burn down the damn theatre."

"Since when do any Broadway actors ever get accused of being too convincing?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"There's being convincing and then there's letting personal feelings take over completely," Lauren pointed out huffily.

Rachel waved away the underhand insult, dismissing the stage jealousy for what it was and getting to her feet. She felt Jesse's gaze silently following her movements but he didn't make a move to get up himself just yet. She tried to hide her smile, grateful that she wasn't one to blush, despite how hot her body felt.

"Yeah," John added with a grin, warm eyes glinting playfully as he regarded his friends. "You do realise that Michael's greatest worry is that you're actually going to call out Jesse's name instead of Melchior's during the big scene?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Give us credit for a little professionalism."

"Oh please," drawled Gideon incredulously. "You guys are fucking combustible."

Jonathan gave a theatrical sigh, running a hand through his hair and casting a teasing glance towards Jesse. "This would be so much easier if you were gay or something."

Jesse's lips twitched as he caught Rachel's eye with a smirk. "Imagine that."

Phoebe scoffed. "Knowing them, they'd probably still be head over heels and all over each other."

The debate raged on but Rachel wasn't listening anymore. She felt her breath catch in her throat as Jesse finally stood up and moved over behind her. His arms coiled around her waist and the voices of their friends seemed to drop away as he settled his mouth against her ear, the words a low murmur of temptation against her skin.

"It seems our dear cast members have some concerns about this particular scene of ours."

A secret smile curved her lips, her heartbeat skipping over in her chest at the enticing warmth of his body wrapped around hers. "It would appear so," she whispered back softly, inclining her head towards him to catch his gaze. "Maybe we should do something about that…"

With a shared conspiratorial grin, the young stars of Broadway fell away from the group of their friends as quietly as they could, hands linked and laughter stifled on their lips as they slipped back into the shadows.

Lilli was the first to notice. Waving a hand to shush the more vocal members of the cast, she raised her voice in a pointed question, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Wait, where did they go?"

Gideon threw his hands up in exasperation. "Okay, we need to tie a freaking bell around those two."

"I suppose we'd better go find them again before they get into any trouble," muttered Brian with a weary sigh.

/o/

John was the first to spot the elusive lovers as his half of the reluctant search party rounded a corner in the backstage hallways.

The two of them were pressed tight together against the doorjamb of Rachel's dressing room, tangled up in each other and completely oblivious to their sudden audience. It was no surprise to see that Jesse's hands had already found their way back inside the folds of her blue dress, the teasing assault drawing soft moans from her throat as Rachel's own fingers fumbled with the hem of his un-tucked shirt, urgently pulling him further into her.

"Hey!" Skylar called out, spreading his arms wide in irritable exclamation. "Just where the hell do you guys think you're going? We've still got work to do at some point today, you know!"

The couple finally broke apart from the heated daze of their kiss at the rude interruption. Jesse's gaze flickered over her shoulder in the direction of their friends, a smug smirk on his face.

"Well, you know what they say: practice makes perfect."

Rachel laughed into his neck, not feeling the slightest bit guilty as she proceeded to drag them both sideways into the empty room beside her, pulling them away before the others could even attempt a retort. Jesse flashed a wicked grin before the dressing room door was firmly slammed shut behind them.

John shook his head with mock despair and slumped against the wall with a groan. Remy laughed.

"Christ," Skylar mumbled, almost in grudging admiration. "I don't know where they get their fucking energy from."

~o~

AN I didn't think it was possible but my Spring Awakening / St. Berry obsession seems to be growing, lol! I love this pairing to death in all its forms and incarnations, and the more I can weave them together, the happier I am. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed :) Reviews are lovely things and always make me smile.