Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 1: Arrival

SIX

"Just a minute!" Jessie called.

I stood there outside her door early the next morning. Wedge was on his way to the outskirts to start today's patrol, and I was going to go meet him there in a bit. But first, I had wanted to come up here and see Jessie before I left. I figured she was alright, but I'd told her I'd visit her after she woke up. When I made a promise, I kept it. Even a mercenary like me has some standards.

There was a bathroom across the hall, but nobody was there at the moment. Somebody had left the light on, though, and the fan. While I waited for Jessie, I switched them off and noticed a little steam hanging in the air. It had fogged up the mirror, too. Behind me, the door to the bedroom creaked open, and when I turned around, I froze in midstep. My eyes widened and I almost forgot how to breathe when I saw Jessie standing there in the doorway.

The only thing she was wearing was a plain white towel tied at the front so it wouldn't fall. Her skin was wet and glistening, and water ran down her arms and legs and dripped from her hair, which spilled over her shoulders and down her bare back. As I looked at her, my eyes slid down almost involuntarily to her chest, where she had tied two corners of the towel together. Although it hid her well enough, what I could see of her was still more than adequate and enough to set my heart racing. Jessie's cheeks were beet red, and I realized she was blushing furiously, her mouth hanging open as she stared at me.

She recovered before me, though, her mouth twisting into a smirk. "Hi, Cloud. Like what you see?"

"I, uh..." I swallowed. "Yeah, I... I do..."

"Oh, you do know how to make a girl feel good! But anyway, I just got out of the shower. It felt so great to clean off all that bug stuff from yesterday, I tell ya. Looks like you got all scrubbed up as well. Too bad I missed catching you like this, though."

I nodded. "Gotta find me early for that, Jessie."

"Ha!" she laughed. "Thanks for the tip. I'll have to remember that. But in the meantime, why don't you come in?"

As she said that, Jessie leaned forward a little and let her towel slide down ever so slightly, showing me a bit more of her modest curves but still keeping the best parts hidden. I stared, my eyes locked on her, and couldn't look away. I wasn't sure I actually wanted to. After a minute, I somehow managed to find my voice again.

"Alright," I said. "Lead the way."

Jessie turned around, still smiling, and went into the bedroom, her wet hair swishing with the movement. I followed her, not quite able to pull my gaze away as I saw water trickling down between her shoulder blades in little rivulets. She had a mole on one side, just a little knob of pink flesh nestled almost halfway down her back, and a light scattering of freckles dotted her fair skin.

When I was inside, she glanced over her shoulder. "Close the door, would you, Cloud?"

I did. "How's your head?"

"Better," she answered. "Still hurts a little, though."

"It'll pass," I assured her.

Jessie nodded, walking over to the bed. Her clothes and other gear were scattered all across it. "Tifa stopped by for a minute after I got up and had me drink another potion. That helped, though I'm pretty sure she secretly enjoyed watching me down that disgusting thing almost as much as you did."

"I'll bet," I smirked.

"Laugh all you want, Cloud," she grinned, "but for now, move over there and turn around."

I blinked. "What for?"

She chuckled, pointing to a spot near the wall. "Just do it, okay? Or were you hoping to watch me get dressed?"