Charade

seven.

Rebecca woke up naked and alone and she didn't think anything of it. She and Jesse had sex. It was completely natural now. They had been doing it for about two months. For the first few times, she had still been slightly nervous, but now, it was like the sun rising: it was the most normal thing in the world. And yet, every time felt special.

She still hadn't worked up the courage to tell Jesse how she felt about him, though, because every time she told herself she would do it, she chickened out. And today definitely wasn't the day to start being brave because the boys were leaving to go on a one-month promo tour around the UK; the longest Jesse and Rebecca would be apart since they got engaged.

Rebecca had gotten used to constantly having Jesse around, and she hated the idea of not getting to see him for a month, but that was the life of a pop star. And she had work to keep herself busy as well. Her second album was about to be released, meaning she was going to have a hectic schedule trying to keep up with all the media appearances. She generally enjoyed interviews, but she would go from being surrounded by Jesse and his bandmates all the time to being mostly alone and that would be a strange transition.

Sighing, she climbed out of bed and pulled on her underwear and Jesse's shirt from the night before, running a hand through her hair before brushing her teeth and walking to the kitchen to find Jesse standing at the island with his back to her, drinking a glass of orange juice.

She smiled as she walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his t-shirt clad torso and kissing the center of his back. He froze at the contact, but soon turned to face her, setting down his glass and leaning in to kiss her on the lips. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Morning," she replied, smiling into the kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest and grinning. "Have I ever told you that you look incredibly sexy in my clothes?"

Despite her blush in response, she couldn't tear her eyes away from his. "Thanks, babe."

It was amazing how easily terms of endearment seemed to roll off her tongue, but ever since she and Jesse had established the physical part of their relationship, it seemed that sliding into the role of being an affectionate couple had been almost effortless.

He grinned at the word before tightening his grip at her hips, picking her up and setting her on the counter just behind her, causing her to cross her arms over her chest and pout playfully. "You treat me like such a child."

"Because you're not acting like a child right now?" He pointed out, his eyes twinkling in delight.

"Fair enough." She laughed, unable to keep from smiling. It was becoming a habit around Jesse, one which was becoming hard to break. Pausing, she hesitated before she spoke again, not wanting the mood to shift just yet. "When are you leaving?"

He immediately tensed at the reminder of his imminent departure before coming to stand between her parted knees, his palms on top of her thighs and his forehead resting against hers, his voice coming out in a soft whisper. "Soon."

Reaching up, she pushed a strand of blue hair from his forehead, keeping the volume of her voice low as well. "Why won't you let me come to the airport?"

The previous night, after they'd finished exploring each other's bodies, he'd mentioned that he thought it would be better if they said their goodbyes at the apartment and she didn't accompany him and the boys to the airport.

Sighing, he chewed on his lower lip as he formulated his response, unable to meet her gaze. "Because...if I see you standing there, I'm not sure I'll be able to get on the plane."

Oddly, that made sense, perhaps because she felt the same way. Walking away from Jesse would surely be the world's most difficult task. "Okay."

The corners of his lips lifted into a smile and his eyebrows quirked upwards in surprise as he stood up a little straighter. "You're really not going to fight me on this?"

She shook her head, reaching out to pick at the neckline of his t-shirt. "No, because I'm pretty sure I would break down crying in the middle of the airport if I went."

His expression softened when he noticed she was blinking back tears and brought his hand up to her cheek, gently stroking his thumb over her cheekbones. "Becca, baby, I'm going to miss you so much."

She smiled slightly at the use of the nickname he knew soothed her when she was upset. "I'm so in love with you."

As soon as she realized what she had said, her eyes widened in horror and her gaze shot up to meet his, praying that he hadn't heard.

He tilted his head to the side slightly, his expression unreadable as he stared at her. "What did you say?"

Parting her lips, she gaped for a moment, wondering if she should tell the truth and set them upon a path of no return. Perhaps it was too soon. Maybe they weren't ready for all of those emotions to be public knowledge "I...what did you hear?"

He blinked once, his lips curving into a small smile as he spoke. "I love you. I am so completely in love with you Rebecca Eaton."

She was pretty sure her heart actually stopped beating and she gasped as she processed what he had said. He loved her. He actually loved her back. Not knowing what to say, she reached up and grabbed his face between her palms, crashing her lips to his. She kissed him with as much passion as she could muster and when he pulled away, he gazed into her eyes for a moment before his beautiful blue eyes became clouded with worry. His lips parted to voice his concern, but before he could say anything, his phone buzzed. Cursing under his breath, he took a step back as he pulled it out of the front pocket of his jeans and quickly checked the text message he had received before sliding it back in.

Sighing, he scratched the stubble that had accumulated on his cheek because he had decided not to shave for the past two days. "That was Will. The car's waiting downstairs."

Taking a step closer, he leaned his forehead against hers once more. "I don't want to go, especially not now."

Blinking back tears, she brought her hands to his jaw and lifted his face so she could look him in the eyes. "Go. And just know that I'll be waiting for you when you come back."

He gave her a small smile and a nod as he whispered, "That's all I need."

Taking a step back, he walked around the counter to pick up his bags from where he had tossed them on the couch earlier that morning. She jumped down from the counter to walk him to the door and once they were standing in the open doorway, he grabbed her face and kissed her gently before whispering, "I love you."

She sniffled and blinked a couple times to keep the tears from flowing. "I love you, too."

Before either of them could start crying fully, he kissed her one more time, reached down to grab his bags, and stepped into the hallway. She shut the door immediately, pressing her back against it and sliding down to the floor, finally allowing the sobs she'd been holding in to ripple through her body.