seren_ccd | Primeval Fic: Lunch, amongst other things, Jess/Becker, M, 2/2

Title: Lunch, amongst other things - Part Two
Fandom: Primeval
Ship: Jess Parker/Hilary Becker, background Matt/Emily and Abby/Connor
Word Count: 5,235/13,300 (in total)
Rating: R, M
Warning: mild language, sex
Disclaimer: They are not mine. I use some lines from the novel A Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas. To set the scene, the music mentioned in the club sounds remarkably like anything by The Kills.
Spoilers: Everything up to season five, episode four.

Part One

At the end of the day, Becker found himself sitting in front of his telly eating leftover Indian and feeling exhausted. And not a little guilty.

Which made him uncomfortable.

He shouldn’t have said what he said to Jess. Or at least he should have picked a less public venue and re-phrased his talking points.

Tomorrow he’d apologise and they’d go back to being friends and commiserating over lunch and she’d smile at him in that way where at first she’d try to hide it and twist her lips to the side and then it’d just break through making him feel alive and worthy and oh holy crap, he was such a prick. Why did he say all that stuff to her?

He tossed the carton of food onto his coffee table and leaned his head back, thudding it on the back of the couch and closing his eyes in a wince.

His mobile buzzed. He cracked one eye lid open, then with a groan picked it up.

Message from Matt.

Great.

Thought you’d like to know, I’m out at a club with Emily, Abby, Connor and Jess having drinks.

Becker frowned. A club?

His mobile chimed again.

Matt: Well, Emily, Abby, Connor and I are having drinks. Jess is dancing.

Dancing? With who?

Once again, his mobile chimed.

Matt: By herself.

Oh. Well, all right then. Becker glared at his phone. Still... That wasn’t right, Jess dancing by herself. She was too attractive to remain alone for long. He should do something. Like go over there and talk her out of it. Or buy her a drink. Or something.

But, he had no clue as to where they were.

Another chime.

Matt: 52, Great Dark Street. The Cellar. C u soon.

Arsehole.

Becker sat on his couch staring at his mobile for about three minutes. Then he was up, grabbing his coat and his keys. He took a quick look at himself in the mirror and decided his old jeans and grey t-shirt would have to do. The door to his flat slammed loudly in his wake.

After getting misled by his SatNav only the once, Becker walked into the Cellar and was surprised by the interior. This was no club club with obnoxious music and brightly coloured shots on offer. It was dim and had grey stone walls that curved into arches above the heads of the people on the dance floor. The music was lively with a dirty rhythmic bass and a sultry woman singing. The bar looked like a proper bar and for a Thursday night it was packed.

Becker looked around and spotted Matt, Emily, Connor and Abby seated around a small table chatting. He made his way over to them. Matt was the first to spot him.

“Well, that took you longer than I thought,” he said.

“SatNav wasn’t sure of the location,” Becker said, his eyes scanning the crowd on the dance floor.

“Have a seat, won’t you, Becker?” Emily said.

“No thanks,” Becker said still looking at the dance floor.

“If you’re here to spoil her night and yell at her again, you can just go home,” Abby said.

Becker turned his focus to Abby. “That’s not what I’m here for,” he said.

“Then what are you here for?” she asked.

Becker hesitated and then said honestly, “To apologise.”

Matt chuckled and took a sip of his pint, Emily arched an eyebrow and Abby grinned.

“Un huh, sure. If that makes you feel better,” Abby said. Before Becker could defend himself she nodded her head towards the dance floor. “She’s in the right hand corner.”

Becker turned around and looked in the direction Abby mentioned. It took a few seconds since he was looking for a petite young woman wearing bright colours. But when his attention was caught by the slim woman in a short, tight black dress, he was struck by an odd sense of familiarity.

When her arms rose over her heads and she turned so Becker could see her face, he had difficulty breathing. It was Jess, but not as he'd ever seen her before. Her hair was down falling in loose waves over her shoulders and she didn’t have an inch of colour on her clothes apart from her lips that were a deep shade of red. Her eyes were lined with something shadowy leaving her looking mysterious and far too sexy for Becker’s own good.

He just stared at her, watching her move in perfect time to the music and wondered just who she was and what she’d done with Jess. However, every now and then a smile would appear on her face transforming it into the familiar sweet face he knew.

He swallowed hard and distantly heard Matt whistling and then making the sound of an explosion in the universal sound for a crash and burn. Becker made a mental note to punch him later with an EMD and headed out on the dance floor.

“Am I missing something?” Connor asked the table at large.

“Yes,” everyone answered.

“Right, thanks for that,” he said.

Becker made his way through the crowd on the floor and found himself standing right behind Jess. Up close he could see that her dress was made up of some kind of soft-looking material that moved easily with her body and her bare arms glistened with a light sheen of sweat.

He also found that he couldn't come up with anything resembling actual speech.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Jess did a slow turn and ended up facing him. The shadowy stuff outlining her eyes was actually purple in colour and she slowly drew her gaze up from his feet to his face and he shivered at the lazy, sensual look in her eyes. However, once her gaze landed on her face and recognition dawned, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

She stopped dancing.

"What are you doing here?" she asked loudly over the music, her hands falling to fuss with the hem of her dress.

"Matt texted me," Becker said. "He said you were here."

"And what?" she said. "You decided you needed to come and make sure I didn't reveal too many secrets to the populace?"

Becker rolled his eyes and took a step closer. "Okay, I deserved that. It was a terrible thing to say and I'm sorry. I mean it. I'm really sorry, Jess."

She seemed to hold onto her indignation for a few more seconds and then sighed and shook her head. "It's okay. I forgive you."

A weight Becker hadn't realised was settled in the pit of his stomach lifted. He smiled at her in relief and she smiled back almost reflexively.

"So was that it?" she asked trying not to sound too hopeful that it wasn't the sole reason he'd come.

"Pretty much," he said looking around. "Umm, can I get you a drink?"

"Nope," she said shaking her head. "I'm actually fine where I am."

"You like to dance?" he asked feeling like an idiot while people danced all around him.

"Yes, Becker I like to dance," Jess said with a laugh. "And I'm going to continue dancing if that's all right with you. Actually, I'm going to continue dancing even if it's not all right with you."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked eyeing the other people around them suspiciously.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Becker! I'm not about to go on the pull. I’m simply here to dance and have a relaxing evening,” Jess said waving her hands in the air. “So either...join me or push off.”

She turned her back on him and resumed swaying to the music, biting her lip and wondering just when she got so stroppy.

Just as she started to think that clearly he wasn’t going to take up her challenge a hand settled on her hip. She jumped and started to turn around but Becker’s voice in her ear said, “Easy, easy.”

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Well, I know I’m rather thick when it comes to this kind of thing,” he said his lips just grazing the shell of her ear. “But even I know that when a smart, beautiful woman asks a man to dance, he’d better shut up and dance.”

“So, shut up and dance,” she said letting her hand rest on top of his.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Back at the table, everyone was unabashedly watching the two on the dance floor.

“Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?” Connor asked.

“It’s not you, mate,” Matt said.

“I think I need another drink,” Abby said.

“I’ll go,” Connor said standing up.

“So will I,” Matt said. They headed to the bar.

Abby and Emily continued to watch Becker and Jess, both raising their eyebrows when Jess did a rather daring swivel of her hips which Becker matched.

“Wow,” Abby said.

“That was impressive,” Emily said. “I had no idea Becker could dance.”

“Me neither,” Abby said. She tilted her head. “I’m feeling rather proud of Jess. She really stepped up for this.”

“She did,” Emily said. She frowned. “Is now an appropriate time for a, what do you call it, a ‘high five’?”

“Definitely.”

Becker was having a little trouble reconciling the Jess he knew at the office, sweet, smart, capable Jess with the Jess that was currently in his arms. This Jess felt incredible. Lithe and warm and daring. Every time she raised her arms over her head, his hands found themselves travelling up her sides and then back down to her hips. His mouth hovered just over the skin of her throat and her hair smelled fresh and clean.

He tried to see her face and when he caught her eye, she smiled. That brilliant, bright smile that simply said how happy she was in that moment.

The smile reassured him and he smiled back, then he pressed his face to her neck, letting his lips ghost over the skin right beneath her ear.

He felt her shiver and wondered how far he could push this? He knew how far he wanted to push things, but was it the right thing to do?

"You're thinking awful loudly," her voice cut into his thoughts.

"Sorry. Just debating whether or not I should ask you to go home with me," he said honestly.

He felt her body start under his hands and then continue to move with the beat.

"Well, the worst that could happen is I say 'no'," she said.

"True."

"I could also say 'yes'."

"That's true as well."

"Perhaps you should just ask me and find out."

“Would you come home with me?” he said next to her ear. She stiffened and turned in his arms; he kept his embrace loose but didn’t let her go.

“Why?” she asked her body still moving with the rhythm, but her eyes fixed on his.

“Because I want you to,” he said.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

He laughed and pulled her hips tight to his and saw her expression change from confused to understanding when she felt him hard against her.

“I’m sure, Jess,” he said.

She swallowed and he watched the movement of her slim throat. “That’s simply a normal reaction due to the application of, um, friction.”

And God help him, but he really liked watching her mouth form the word ‘friction’.

“Really?” he said. “Then why does this happen throughout the day just when I look at you? Or hear your voice? Or think about you?”

“Perhaps you’re regressing to an adolescent phase?” she offered, the firmness of her voice was undermined by the blush spreading across her face.

“Oh, well, there’s no doubt about that,” he said with a chuckle.

"I know the phrase has been bandied about quite a bit recently," she said, "but I'm not actually interested in a one night stand."

He let his hand come up to rest against her face. "Neither am I," he said. A sombre look came across his face. “I’m not asking for… I’m not expecting… Damn it.” He looked away in frustration and then back to her. “I just don’t want to let go of you just yet.”

"Oh," she breathed. "Well, in that case, yes. I'll go home with you."

"I'm very happy to hear that," he said a small smile emerging.

"I just need to get my bag," she said stepping out of his embrace, "and tell Abby."

"I'll be by the door," he said. He glanced in the direction of the rest of the team. "I don't think I'm up to explaining myself to the rest of them."

"Chicken," she teased.

"Abby and Emily are very scary when they want to be," he said.

She grinned and turned to get her bag. He watched her go and then let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you sure?" Abby asked as Jess grabbed her bag from under the table, Emily, Matt and Connor staring at her with a combination of grins and wide eyes.

"Oh, yes," Jess said. "Very."

She grinned at them all and spun away to meet Becker waiting by the door.

"Be careful!" she heard Abby call after her.

Becker met her grin with one of his own and as they exited the club, he put his hand on her lower back. The simple touch re-ignited all of the tension that had built up inside her body on the dance floor. They walked down the street to Becker's SUV and Jess stepped up to the passenger side, Becker right behind her.

Before he could reach around to unlock her door, she turned to face him.

"I just..." she said biting her lip. "I mean... Just to make sure we're on the same page, I... Oh, hell."

She lifted herself up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. There was no hesitation in the way his hands immediately went to her hips to steady her against him. She laid a hand on his chest and when his tongue traced the seam of her lips, she let out a tiny sigh and her lips opened under his. The kiss drew them both down deep and Jess distantly became aware that he had her shoved up against the side of his car, his hands firm on her body and her own hands fisting the lapels of his jacket.

He pulled his mouth away from hers and said thickly, "We are most definitely on the same page."

"Oh, good," she said breathlessly. "You should unlock the door in that case."

He groaned and leaned in for another kiss which left her spinning and flushed. Then he quickly unlocked the car, steadying her as she got inside.

The drive to his flat was quiet and Jess wondered if she was simply imagining the thrum of want coursing through the car's interior or if he could feel it, too. At one point, he looked over at her and took her hand and she was pretty sure it wasn't just her.

Once at his building, they both turned a bit shy. He kept hold of her hand as they walked up the stairs to his flat. Jess felt a surge of curiosity mix in with the lust as she had wondered for a very long time just what sort of a place did Becker call home.

He unlocked his front door and said, "I can't vouch for the state of things."

Jess walked inside and was struck by how much it felt like Becker. It wasn't huge, there was a large living space and stairs that led to a loft where she supposed his bedroom was. The kitchen was more like a kitchenette as it only took up a small corner of the room. There were books strewn about the place and a soft-looking brown leather sofa in front of a respectable looking television.

The walls looked a bit bare, but despite his warning, it was tidy and functional. She caught sight of a glass cupboard that housed several small items. She took a step forward and then stopped looking over at him.

Becker was watching her with a faint smile on his face. "Go ahead and look," he said nodding at the cupboard as he removed his jacket.

Jess smiled at him, placed her bag on a chair and went to the cupboard. Inside were small objects of different shapes and sizes, some were little figures, some were small boxes.

"It belonged to my grandmother on my father's side," he said coming to stand behind her, his hands finding what was becoming a familiar place on her hips. "She travelled all over the world with my grandfather. She told me that when she found a trinket she liked, she'd have it shipped back to England. Then when she got home, she'd have all these little memories waiting for her."

"They're lovely," Jess said her eyes dancing over all the objects. "Why did they travel so much?"

"He was in the Army," Becker said, "and she made him promise her when they married that he wouldn't leave her behind. He never did."

"How did they manage that?" she asked smiling absently at a small, carved fish made out of jade.

"My grandmother had a way getting people to come round to her way of thinking very quickly," he said pressing his lips to her neck.

Jess let her head fall back to rest on his chest while he trailed kisses down her throat to the curve of her shoulder.

"Jess," he said against her skin, his voice had a hint of hesitation in it, so she turned and put her fingers on his mouth.

"Yes," she said. "I want this. I want you."

He kissed her fingers and then grasped her hand and pulled it down to rest on his shoulder. Then he was kissing her with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever and Jess eagerly met him move for move.

Jess felt lightheaded as they continued to kiss and she felt his hand slide down her side, over her hip and thigh then under the hem of her dress, his fingers gliding easily over her stockings. Jess let her own hands do some exploring of their own over his shoulders. She felt his hand continue on its way up under her skirt and then abruptly stop.

Jess sucked in a breath when he lifted his head an inch away from hers.

“Jess,” he said in a properly husky voice. “Are you... Are you wearing suspenders?”

“Yes,” she said as evenly as she could. “Yes, I am.”

They both looked down to see Becker’s hand splayed out on her upper thigh, her skirt bunched up around his wrist and his fingers entwined with the straps of Jess’s silk grey suspenders that held up her black stockings.

“Oh,” he said his fingers teasing the bare skin just above her stockings. “I thought you said you weren’t, ah, experienced...”

Jess fought the urge to smirk and lost. “I said I wasn’t very experienced with sex. These,” she lifted her leg a little and his hand slid further up her thigh, “aren’t ‘sex’. These fall under the label of apparel.”

She leaned in and whispered into his ear. “I’m very experienced in apparel.”

Becker brought his face back to hers and with a “bloody hell, woman”, he re-captured her mouth with his and hooking both of his hands under her thighs, he hitched her up into his arms.

Jess squeaked and laughed into his mouth and awkwardly wound her legs around his hips as he headed towards the stairs.

When they got to the top, Jess had a fleeting glance at his bedroom with hardwood floors and an open door leading to a bathroom, before she was unceremoniously dropped on his bed. She bounced once and laughed as he grinned and followed her down.

He resumed kissing her and letting his hands roam over her body. She pulled at his shirt until he lifted up long enough for her to pull it off. Her hands splayed over his chest and he caught her lips again in a fierce kiss as she smoothed her palms over his skin.

She relished the weight of him on top of her and slid her leg up the side of his. His hands pushed at her dress attempting to tug it up her hips and presumably off. She giggled.

"There's a zip," she said fidgeting underneath him.

She turned to the side as he got to his knees and he hurriedly pulled the zip down, letting his knuckle graze her back, over her bra strap. She shuddered as his mouth followed the same path.

"Oh, God," she said, pressing her face into the white duvet.

"Yeah," Becker muttered his hands skimming up her sides taking the dress with them. It got a bit stuck around her shoulders and head and Jess found herself laughing once again.

"It's supposed to go the other way, you dope," she said struggling to get the dress off. Her only answer was a chuckle from Becker and his mouth latching onto her breast over her lacy grey bra.

She sucked in a gasp and arched her back. They blindly got her dress off of her completely and it was chucked to the side.

Jess dug her fingers into his hair and finally confirmed to herself that yes, it was truly lovely hair. His mouth licked and suckled at her and she couldn't seem to control the way her body arched and rolled underneath him. He lifted his head and met her eyes, his lips parted and his eyes dark. She felt her breath catch and with a newfound sense of strength, she pushed at his shoulders until he lay on his back.

She sat up and swung her leg over his hips, straddling him. It was Becker's turn to suck in a breath as she pressed kisses along his collarbone, her hair falling over her shoulders and brushing against his skin.

She practically purred as his hands went to her hair, sliding through the strands and massaging her head. She reached his nipples and experimentally licked at one. The answering groan and jerk beneath her mouth made her smile and so she did it again and again.

"Christ, Jessica, you're killing me here," he said his eyes still watching her as she moved down his body.

"Well, I certainly don't want to do that," she said. "It would sort of defeat the purpose of the evening."

She licked a trail over his abdomen and then she sat up a little and let the pads of her fingers trace the line of his hipbones. Her fingers danced further down and then stopped when she got to the top of his jeans. She bit her lip.

"It's around about here that my experience and my bravado falls a bit short," she said looking up.

Becker chuckled and said, "Well, then, I guess we'll just have to muddle through the rest of it together."

She gave a little sigh of relief and watched him rake his eyes over her body still clad in her grey bra, knickers and stockings.

"Come here," he said, his voice quiet and low. Jess crawled up the length of him and he raised his head to meet her in a kiss.

This kiss was different, Jess thought as their tongues lazily slid against each other. He gently rolled them so that he was once again on top. Becker seemed quite content to let his hands roam slowly over her body while his kiss remained steady and languid. Every stroke of his tongue both soothed her and made her want more. Her hips had long ago started to rock and she could feel something building inside of her.

Eventually, he left her mouth and started down her body. He removed her bra easily and kissed the valley between her breasts before moving down to her suspenders.

"Oh," she said watching him kiss the skin just between her knickers and her stockings. "Oh, my."

Becker frowned a little looking at the suspenders until Jess said, "They're a clip-thingy. Just, ah, pinch."

He gave her a look complete with an arched eyebrow and she grinned at him. He did as she said and carefully rolled her stockings down her legs. The stockings were dropped on the floor and he moved back up to pull her knickers and suspender belt off. Then he stopped to look at her.

Jess could feel a blush start in her cheeks and spread to her chest; she involuntarily moved her arm to cover herself but stopped when he said, "No. Please. It's okay. I just want to see you."

She let her arm fall back to the bed and watched him study her. His throat worked as he swallowed and met her eyes.

"You're so bloody lovely," he said sounding almost shy.

Jess felt an answering shy smile form on her face and she nodded at him. "Your turn. I want to see you."

He furrowed his brow and kept his eyes on hers as he undid his jeans and pushed them off. He stood in front of her in his boxer briefs and raised an eyebrow.

She pursed her lips and then said, "Those, too."

He pushed them off.

She unashamedly looked over his body and when she reached his face she was surprised to see a blush that rivalled hers on his face.

"Come here," she said echoing his words from before.

Becker got onto the bed and stretched his body out over her and met her lips in a kiss.

The feel of his body against hers made them both make equal noises of pleasure and suddenly Jess couldn’t get close enough to him. His hands caused shocks of energy to fire under her skin and she found herself saying, “Please. More. Oh God, more.”

“Yes,” Becker mumbled against her throat. Then he was stretching across the bed to his night stand. He came back with a condom and Jess joked to try and ease her own nerves, “You really are a boy scout, aren’t you?”

He let out a short laugh as he tore the packet open. “Just be glad these haven’t expired. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah?” she asked her voice small.

He met her eyes. “Yeah.”

Then it was a haze of kisses and hands and heated skin. When he slid inside her, she gasped and her spine arched. He groaned and started to move, setting up a rhythm that Jess did her best to match.

She grabbed onto his shoulder with one hand, her other rose above her head eventually finding purchase on the headboard. Her legs tightened around his hips and she rolled her hips allowing him to hit something deep inside.

“Oh, Christ, do that again,” he said pressing his forehead to hers.

She rolled her hips again and he met her in the middle. Becker’s hand came up to wrap around hers on the headboard. The rhythm they set had them gasping into each other’s mouths and Jess felt something inside her snap.

“Oh!” The pleasure spiked through her and her nails dug into his skin as she moved beneath him. Her skin tightened and her knees went weak.

“God!” Becker shouted and Jess felt his hips stutter against hers as he buried his face in her hair.

They lay entwined, his hand still holding tightly to hers, her legs still around his waist. Jess thought her heart might pound its way out of her chest. Becker raised his head and she gave him a shaky smile.

He returned it and brushed his lips against hers.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice raw.

“Oh, yes,” she said. “I’m lovely, thanks.”

He grinned then said, “Stay put,” as he reached down to take care of the condom.

Jess made a sound of discomfort as he pulled out and her legs straightened. She bit her lip as muscles protested the movement.

“You sure you’re all right?” he asked looking concerned.

“Mmm,” she nodded. “It’s sort of like how one feels after a good Pilates class. All those muscles you forgot existed saying ‘hello’.”

“I have to say, if that’s how Pilates classes are run, I’ll have to go more often,” he said grinning at her. He rolled off the bed and Jess blushed to see the imprint of her hand on his shoulder.

He disappeared into the bathroom. Jess curled onto her side watching the door. He reappeared with a damp flannel and she watched him as he crawled onto the bed. She let him run the flannel over her and she shivered as it moved over her terribly, sensitised skin.

He dropped the flannel on the end of the bed and lay down next to her. They simply stared at each other for a few moments. She raised a hand and traced the slope of his nose. His lips twitched and he repeated the gesture to her. She wriggled her nose and he tapped it once.

She frowned. “Would you mind terribly if I used your loo?”

“Not at all,” he said smiling. She sat up and he leaned back. With a cheeky grin, she threw a leg over his mid-section and slid over his body to the side of the bed. He smiled and groaned as she moved over him.

She stumbled a bit as her unsteady feet hit the cool floor. As soon as she was in the bathroom, she looked at her reflection and pressed the backs of her hands to her cheeks. Smiling like an idiot, she studied herself, noticing the redness in her cheeks and in her lips. Her entire body still felt like it was filled with live wires.

She quickly took care of her business and splashed some water on her face. Feeling quite naked, she twisted her lips. Spotting a t-shirt on one of the shelves, she unfolded it. Grinning at the Sandhurst logo on the front and she pulled it over her head.

She had a moment of apprehension before opening the door. What if that was it? What if he was already dressed and ready to take her home? How on earth did this even work?

Jess opened the door and was really rather relieved to see him sitting on his bed, propped up against the headboard. His eyes raked over her and he smiled.

“I like your shirt,” he said.

“So do I,” she said.

He raised his arm and she crossed the room to get into the bed and curl up next to him. Her hand came to rest on his chest and she laid her head on his shoulder. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. They lay like that for some time, her fingers gently tracing circles on his chest, while his dragged lazily up and down her arm.

“Are you busy thinking about how this probably wasn’t the best idea in the world and you think that I’m going to become this big distraction and how this is really going to interfere with your whole ‘I’m above that whole connecting with other people’ persona?” Jess asked eventually.

He snorted. “Something like that.”

“Well, I think it’s silly,” she said. ‘“Considering how many times I’ve sat in front of those monitors hoping that you’re okay. I worried about you well before tonight. And you can’t say that you haven’t worried about me.” She lifted her head. “Can you?”

He met her eyes and said, “No, I can’t.”

“All right, then,” Jess said settling back into his arms. “We’ve established that we’ve spent a good amount of time worrying about the other prior to this experience ergo, us having a relationship won’t introduce anything new and I don’t see anything obstructing us.”

She took a deep breath and hoped she didn’t sound as mental as she thought she did.

He took a deep breath of his own and then said, “Did you just use the word ‘ergo’ in a sentence?”

Jess tugged on his chest hair. “I used a few other words as well.”

Becker laughed and stopped her hand from causing any damage. “Yes. This is a relationship. I want you in my life, in my bed. You’ve been on my mind and in my heart for months, so you may as well be everywhere else.”

Deciding that this was a massive step forward, Jess smiled and turned her face onto his chest and kissed the spot above his heart.

The next day Abby and Emily entered the break room to see Jess already seated at a table, calmly eating her lunch.

“Well, look who it is,” Abby said sitting down on one side of Jess, Emily taking the other seat. “You didn’t come home last night, young lady.”

“I’m well aware of my whereabouts,” Jess said smartly.

Abby narrowed her eyes and tried to catch Jess’s eyes, Jess simply moved her head around trying to avoid her gaze. This went on for a few minutes until Emily finally said, “Oh, for pity’s sake, Jess, did you have a pleasurable experience with Becker last night?”

Both Abby and Jess let out little bursts of laughter.

“Yes,” Jess said. “I had a very pleasurable experience with Becker last night, thank you for asking.”

“I’m very happy for you,” Emily said.

“So am I,” Abby said. “However, I do believe we need more information. I certainly hope his ineptness isn’t transferable to the bedroom?”

“It most certainly is not,” Jess said, “and that is all I’ll say on the subject.”

“Fine, fine,” Abby said. “Although I may have to reconsider the current mandate for our friendship. The lack of details you two are doling out is truly appalling.”

“Love you, too, Abby.” Jess grinned. “Now Emily, we’ve covered music. Next? Movies! I suggest we begin with the classics, You’ve Got Mail followed by Sleepless in Seattle, followed by everything that Karl Urban has ever been in.”

Abby laughed and raised her hand and Emily happily gave her a high five.

~The End~