"That was our first night." Justin smiled as I groaned, pulling me back into his chest. "Morning buttercup."
"Morning." I smiled a little, nuzzling my face into his chest. "Let's just lay here for a while. I don't want to get up."
"That's fine." He chuckled, running his fingers through my hair. "What do you want to do for breakfast? I can make eggs, or we can have French toast, or pancakes."
"French toast." A small giggle escaped my lips, then placed a kiss against his chest. "I'll help you, just give me a few more minutes."
"You don't have to help."
"Yes I do, and you're not leaving anyway because we're cuddling right now."
"I had no plans on moving quite yet."
"Good...I still can't believe we're actually here."
"And that our names are both on the lease of a house."
"And that we get to go to school together."
"You're going to let me walk you to all of your classes, aren't you?"
I looked up, giddy from the smile on his face.
"I'm definitely not going to argue with that." I shook my head, nibbling down on my lip.
"Will you let me kiss you goodbye every time?"
"Every time." I nodded my head, holding myself up a little to peck his lips. "Just like that."
"No, more than that." He shook his head, pulling me back down and teasingly brushed his lips against mine before kissing me softly, holding me there by my neck. "Just like that."
"So you plan on killing me a little bit before every class?"
"Until we come home, yes." I blushed, ducking my face in his neck only to feel his laughter vibrating from his chest. "I love you."
"I love you." I tapped my finger against his nose, his hands sliding along my back.
"So, I think after breakfast we should enjoy that beautiful beach right in our backyard, then we come in and unpack a little...and later tonight we can go shopping for some house stuff. We have to figure out paint- you know what I mean."
"Sounds good to me."
I snuggled farther into him, closing my eyes while his hand moved along my back.
"I love you." He whispered, causing me to lift up my head again.
"I love you too."
"No, I really really love you," A smile curled along his lips, his fingers brushing my hair back behind my ear. "I'm going to make you happy while we're here. I want to make you happy all the time. I'm really glad you're here, and I don't want you to think I take you for granted. I just - I really want you to feel loved, and I knew it might be hard settling in and adjusting being away from our families, but I promise I'll be here, and I'll make you happy."
"I'll be here too," I smiled, leaning down to rub my nose against his. "And I promise to make you just as happy as you make me. I know you gave up a lot coming here..."
"Not as much as you gave up...but now we're safe, we're going to be happy, eventually we'll get married, and we'll have a family."
"I love hearing you say that." A small giggle escaped me as my lips brushed against his, my fingers combing his hair to the side.
"We are, because you're mine, and the little Bella's will just be from us having a little too much fun."
"And little Justin's." I laughed again, feeling a blush creep along my cheeks. "But I think a little too much fun is an understatement."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Our lips met, and he chuckled, tightening his grip around my waist.
I just wanted to stay right here.
Forever.
"I'm not done." He mumbled as I went to pull away, turning over so he hovered over top of me.
"I'm sorry."
There I was giggling again - and there he was shutting me up.
I was just completely ok with it.
"We should probably get up soon." He mumbled, barely pulling away. "We have to go eat, then do some shopping."
"Ugh, but I don't want to get up."
"Sorry buttercup. It must be done."
"Well then a few more minutes." I wrinkled my nose as he kissed it, my arms wrapped loosely around his neck. "You're a little stubbly."
"Yeah? Should I shave?"
"No," I shook my head, quickly pecking his lips. "Keep it."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. I might like it."
"Might."
"Just keep it."
"Reow."
"Stop!" I laughed as his lips tickled my neck, trying not to shudder underneath him. "We were cuddling!"
"We still are, I'm just getting more comfortable."
"Obviously."
"You love it."
"A little too much."
He just chuckled, resting his head at the top of my chest and let me play with his hair.
"So...what do we want to try and get done today?" He asked, his breath sending goosebumps along my skin.
"Well, obviously we have to go grocery shopping, and we should unpack a little...do you want to go out and look for some stuff for the house?"
"Yeah," I nodded, pressing my lips against his temple. We'll have to go and do that before groceries."
"That's true...I'll have to get directions."
"And I'll actually have to get dressed...all of my clothes are in a box. I think I have a pair of shorts left."
"You can wear one of my shirts. I have a couple extra."
"I might have to go in the box anyway for underwear honestly."
"No you don't." Justin smirked, lifting up my head to meet my gaze.
"Stop." I whined, a blush creeping up my cheeks after he winked.
"Like that's going to happen." His hand slid to my leg, which thankfully I had shaved last night, because it would have been really embarrassing had I not of. "Your legs are soft."
"You know if we keep this up we'll be in bed all day."
"I'm ok with that."
"We need food, and I need a shower."
"So do I, you should come in with me."
"I-I don't know." I got quiet, remember the burn that still healed on my waist. I didn't want him to see that.
"Why?"
"I-I just. I don't know..."
"Please?" He pecked my cheek, trailing his lips over my jaw and to my neck. "We'll get done faster. We'll save water. That's good for the environment...please?"
"I can't say no to that face."
"Good." He smiled, rolling off of me and then took my hand, giving it a tug. "Come on."
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
I let him lead me inside, then crossed my arms over my chest, hesitant to take off my shirt.
"What's wrong?" He asked me, giving me a tug closer again by my hips.
"What? Nothing's wrong."
"Yes, you do that when something's wrong. You always cross your arms or look down like that."
"My burn is still healing...I-I think it's scaring."
"Yeah? That's ok, it'll be gone in a couple of days. I don't think the water will hurt it."
"I don't want you to see it - I -It's-"
"It's ok," He tipped my chin up by his finger, forcing me to meet his gaze. "It's really ok. You're beautiful."
"I should get a tattoo to cover it up."
"You don't need to cover it up. It's an opportunity to share your story."
"A story I can't share."
"Eventually you can, but you're beautiful. There is no reason to think other wise."
"Thank you."
"Anytime you want to hear it, you just let me know."
"Ok." I blushed, nodding my head before he pecked my nose. "While we're on this subject you should know that you're very handsome. Incredibly handsome, and I will hurt any girl in this state that even attempts to steal you."
"Well you already stole me, and I don't think it would be possible for someone else to perform such a task."
"It is if I managed to do it." I smiled, running my fingernails through the back of his hair. "You tell me I'm beautiful all the time, but you're very handsome."
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome." I blushed, looking down again as he went and turned on the water, then back to me.
"Need some help?" He asked, giving me the once over.
"Maybe a little."
He chuckled, reaching down for my shirt and pulled it up over my head, holding onto my waist.
"It's ok. I promise."
I nodded, pulling back and undressed the rest of the way, following in behind him.
I kept my eyes down, feeling my heart rate quicken a little and crossed my arms over my chest.
I don't remember the last time we were like this...it's been a while.
It's been a while since we've even been this happy...is he even happy?
I mean...we just moved away from our families...it's just us now.
"Stop," Justin said, gently grabbing my arms and pulled them away. "It's ok. Relax."
"You know it is not that easy for me."
"It can be." He smiled, his hair dripping from the water, then hooked his arms around my waist again. "It's just me."
"Exactly, it's you. That's my point. It's you."
"Oh come on, buttercup." He kissed my cheek, his hands traveling fartherup my back as he took a step forward, causing me to take a step back.
Eventually my back was pressed against the wall, his forehead leaned against mine with my hands on his chest, and he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back.
We were here. We're going to be ok. He loves me, he loves me and we're safe. We get to be together.
"I don't - this isn't how I want us to..." He trailed off, pulling back so he could look at me.
"What? What is it?" There went my heart again, and my ability to be relaxed.
"Do you remember when we made love for the first time?"
"What? Of course I do. That was my first time, I couldn't forget that."
"I never got to give you a...I never got to make it special."
"What in the world are you talking about? It was."
"No, I mean like...I never got to do the whole rose petals that led to the room with dinner and just show you how much it really meant to me...this time I want to do it right. At least right in my eyes."
"So this time, you're going to make me wait, huh?"
"Yeah," He chortled, pressing his lips softly on mine for a moment. "You can look at it like that."
"Well then it better be really sweet, especially if you're making me wait."
"It will be, I promise. Now come on. We should probably take an actual shower."
"Probably." I nodded, walking back with him under the water.
I just had to focus on this as a fresh start...that's exactly what it is for us.
A fresh start.
___________________________
*Justin*
1:39 PM
"What about these?" Bella asked, turning her head to smile at me, then looked back at the plates.
"I like them."
"You've said that about everything." A small whine escaped her lips as she turned around and looked at me, snaking her arms around my neck.
"I just want you to be happy."
"It's your house too, it's not just mine."
"I feel like we're newly weds." I chuckled, pressing my lips against her temple. "Ok, so I like the ones we just looked at previously."
"Ok, then we'll get those. The set had a matching tea pot..."
"You want it?"
"Can I?"
"Of course you can. I know how you are about your tea."
"And my books."
"I'll build you a book shelf. A huge bookshelf."
"Do you think you could manage that?"
"No...but we can look for one."
"I don't need one."
"We're going to look for one. I'm sure we can look more around the house too. We didn't really get to do that last night."
"When do you think we'll be able to call our families?"
"I don't know, sweetheart." I reached up, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear as she turned around to look at me again. "I'm sure it'll be soon."
"I hope so..."
"Come on, let's go back and get the dishes, then we can look around a little more before we go get groceries. We can have pasta tonight if you want."
"That sounds good. You owe me cooking lessons."
"I do, don't I?" My lips curled into a new smile, momentarily resting them in her hair before I pulled away.
"Yes you do."
"Well come on princess, let's get going so I can fit a lesson in tonight."
"Ok, ok. We have plenty of time. No need to rush."
"I'm not. I just know with the way you shop it could be a while."
"I'm spending time with my boyfriend." She sat a few dishes in our cart, then pecked my cheek. "I like your scruff by the way."
"I think I do too. Good call on telling me not to shave."
"As long as you don't start to tickle me when we kiss."
"But that's fun."
"That's because you enjoy watching me squirm." She laughed, hooking her arm through mine as I went to push the cart.
"That's true, very true."
______________________
2 weeks later:
1:19 PM
I shut the door to our house, loosening the tie around my neck and smiled as I heard clunking around in the kitchen.
"Hey!" I called, smiling down at the flowers in my hands and went into the kitchen where Bella's back was to me as she did something on the counter.
"Hi, how'd it go?" She turned around, a mug of tea in her hands.
"It went really well," I smiled at her now as she turned around, her eyes falling down to the flowers.
"Are those for me?"
"Yeah, I made a little pit stop on the way home."
"They're beautiful," She sat her mug down, her face beaming as she gently took them, my hand going to the back of my neck sheepishly as she smelled them. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." I smiled, leaning forward and kissed her cheek while that smile was still on her face.
"So tell me about it! Tell me! What did they ask you?"
"Um, he asked why I was interested in working on the cars and stuff. I'd have to work inside because even though I worked on the cars back in D.C., I didn't actually go to school for it...so that's ok. I'll keep track of the books and everything. If I get the job."
"You're going to get the job. The government set you up with it. You actually enjoy doing calculus problems. You'll get the job."
"I'll probably have to go to work after school somedays, and work late, but I'll have weekends off."
"So I'll get you all by myself on the weekends?" She wrapped my tie around her hand, pulling me down so our faces were a few inches apart.
"Always."
"I like the sound of that."
"So did I." I chuckled, holding onto her hips and leaned down, catching her lips in mine as her arms slid around my neck.
These past couple of weeks had been just like this, and I was loving it. I loved seeing her like this.
I loved kissing her with a smile on her face - being the reason she was smiling.
I loved her lips, and her smooth skin, how delicate she was.
I lifted up one hand, pushing the flowers on the counter off to the side and lifted her up, running my hands along her legs.
"Your legs are soft." I whispered, brushing my lips along her neck.
"I shaved."
"Do you want to drive down to the boardwalk for lunch?"
"Can we?"
"Of course we can," I tucked her hair behind her ear, running the back of my hand along her cheek. "Then we can come home and stay up really late and watch movies - with cuddling."
"I like the sound of that." She nodded, combing her fingers through the back of my hair.
"Alright. I should change first.
"I probably shouldn't go out on the boardwalk in dress clothes."
"But you look so sexy."
"Oh, do I?"
"Mhm." She nodded, biting down on her lip.
"You know that kills me." I brought my voice down again, leaning back in so our lips were close.
"What?"
"That little lip bite."
"You've been killing me since you came home. Especially with that kiss."
"What kiss?"
"You know," Her voice got even softer, her fingertips playing with my tie again. "The one I got when you came home..."
"Oh, like this?" I tugged her in the rest of the way, cupping her face as I softly kissed her, then let one hand fall to her back, pulling her closer.
"Yeah, like that."
"I have to change my clothes. How about I do that, you finish your tea, and we'll leave?"
"Ok, should I wear a bathing suit?"
"You wear whatever you want." I winked, kissing her forehead before I slipped off to our room.
___________________________
*Bella*
2:48 PM
"Hey! That was mine!" Justin whined, pulling me into his side as he tried to snake his arm to snatch the fry from my hands.
"Sharing is caring."
"Fine." He mumbled, taking a fry out of my basket.
"Hey!"
"Don't you even try princess," He smiled, hooking his arm around my waist and pecked my cheek. "French fry stealer."
"That one looked really good."
"Oh I bet it did."
"Knock it off." I laughed, nudging his rib cage and took a zip of my soda, then leaned back into his touch, momentarily resting my head on his shoulder. "I really like this."
"Yeah, I really do too. It's pretty out today."
"Yeah, it is."
"Are you nervous for school on Monday?"
"Very nervous." I nodded quickly, playing with a new fry in my hand. "Great now I'm thinking about it."
"We're going to be fine."
"We're not going to know anyone."
"That's not true, I know you. That's one person right there...and you went into NYU without knowing me."
"That's true." I said softly, looking down at my palms.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I-"
"Justin, it's ok. I see it on the news every day."
"It's still not ok."
His phone rang then - and it could only be a few people.
We had to get new phones - and new numbers. We weren't allowed to call anyone from home yet, and they weren't allowed to call us - they couldn't. They didn't know our numbers.
It's the longest I've ever gone without talking to my family.
"It's Benny." Justin told me, then answered the phone. "Hey Benny."
I couldn't really hear him, so I tried to listen to Justin's side of the conversation and fill in the pieces.
When I couldn't do that, I pulled away and started picking at my fries again.
Justin would tell me anyway.
I hoped he was calling because he had good news. That everything was dying down and we'd be able to relax a little more.
"Is it ok to call our familes?" Justin asked, my head shooting up at the question.
I couldn't make out Benny's words, and Justin's face didn't give anything away either.
"Ok, thanks Benny."
"Well?" I asked, sitting up and looked at Justin with my eyebrow raised.
Please say we can call. Please.
"We can't call yet. They're still working through some stuff. They really want the case to die down first - and today they got Trent's confession, so it won't be dying down anytime soon."
"Oh." I whispered, breaking the gaze. "Well I guess that's good."
"I'm sorry, Bella." He scooted closer again, wrapping his arms around my waist. "You know it's all going to be ok."
"I know."
"I love you." He kissed the skin by my ear, then my cheek, giving my waist a gentle squeeze/ "I love you so much. You know it's only temporary, and it's just what we have to do to stay safe, but you know what?"
"What?" I turned my head, looking at his chin rested on my shoulder.
"We're going to be able to keep our kids safe. We're going to be able to have a family one day, with a house, and we'll get to tuck them in and put them on the bus - after I put a ring on your finger of course."
"You're so cute." I blushed, turning my head so I could kiss him and held onto his hands, leaning back against his chest.
"You're cuter. Do you want to go for a walk?"
"Yeah, we can." I nodded, standing up to throw away my empty container and got my soda, his hand slipping in mine.
"I'd hate for this little bikini to go to waste." He smirked, giving me a tug back into him when were both on the sand.
"It won't! I just - I don't know."
"Stop. It's gone now."
"No it's not. It's still there. It scarred."
"You can barely tell."
"You're just saying that."
"No I'm not." He insisted, kissing my cheek a few times. "Come on, please?"
"Later, ok?"
"Alright." He sighed, walking besie me down the beach.
So no family phone calls yet.
Trent confessed.
And it's just Justin and I in an unfamiliar place.
____________________________
HELLLOOOOOOOO.
Comment comment comment.
Before I go, I feel like there is something I have to address - ok I know I have to address it because a lot of people have been asking what was going on.
There has been a lot of drama happening with everyone in the Tempted RP's. A lot that I know has overwhelmed me and a few more of us, I'm sure you can guess who it is. Some of the drama was my fault honestly, and I regret a lot of things I have said and done. I know I've made mistakes, some pretty bad ones, and I've hurt my friends and I never meant to do any harm.
I handled things in a way I shouldn't have, but like everyone else I'm still learning and growing. I've learned recently that I push people away for the wrong reasons, and sometimes I'm a god awful friend, but I'm trying.
And I know I've already apologized to those people personally, but I'll never be able to say it enough. So I'm really sorry, I'm working on myself, and you know my intentions were never to harm. You don't deserve me taking things out on you that are going on in my head, and I know you guys are all different than my past experiences. I don't even know how to explain it anymore because you've all heard it.
Tempted means the world to me - especially since it has given me these amazing people I can now call my friends. I might not show you all that, but it's true.
Everyone is so amazing for putting up with me and my weird updating schedule lately.
And I know I've done a lot, but I'm sorry. I hope you realize it hasn't been easy on me either and I've meant everything I said.
That's all...I know I've done everything I can at this point and it's just a waiting game, but I wanted to thank you guys in the process as well for your support and people checking up on me. It really is nice, so thank you.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see things are getting better for Jella, but they're going to have some internal struggles as well, and while everything might seem like paradise right now, it's far from it. There is still going to be the struggle of addicition, of being without family, living together and on their own, starting a new school...
Jella has to survive a lot more thank you think.