“I’ve never seen your house.” Rachel commented as he held the door open for her as they exited the restaurant.
“That was random.” JC chuckled.
“Random, but true…” Rachel pointed out.
“Indeed it is. How about we take a detour on our way back to your place?”
Conversation was casual during the car ride, but JC could feel his palms getting sweaty on the steering wheel. This was their fifth date, and they had been dating for 3 weeks. Rachel had somehow managed to wiggle her way into JC’s heart, one he hadn’t anticipating giving up anytime soon. And now, JC”the master lyricist”couldn’t think of the words to express how quickly Rachel was becoming someone JC couldn’t live without. He wanted to show her.
“Jayce?” Rachel asked cautiously. He had been staring at the road, silent for about 5 minutes.
“Hmm?”
“You’ve been in a daze for about 5 minutes.”
“Oh, I must have gotten lost in thought.” JC mumbled, blushing at haven been caught thinking what he was thinking. Then again, Rachel didn’t know what he was thinking. “So how did that collection go? With Tyco, was it?”
Pleasantly surprised that JC had remembered, she answered. “It was pretty easy. They were a lot more generous than we anticipated.” Rachel kept glancing at JC every few minutes during the remainder of the car ride, still worried about him.
When they reached JC’s house, he opened his front door with a flourish. “Ta da!”
“Woah! I was expecting something like…macho.” Rachel giggled and wrapped her arms around JC’s torso. “It fits you.” She decided, taking in the neutral tones the house was decorated in.
“I still haven’t got around to finishing the decoration and all of that stuff, but…”
“It’s perfect.” Rachel kissed him quickly. She dropped her purse by the door and tugged on JC’s hand. “Give me a tour!”
JC led Rachel through the house. It wasn’t anything special; all of the things that made a house a home were missing. Rachel made a mental note of this. “How long ago did you move in?”
“About…” JC thought for a moment. “2 years ago…”
“2 years!” Rachel was shocked. “How could you live like this for 2 years?”
“What?” JC smiled sheepishly. “I have furniture and that stuff, some pictures. What else do I need?”
“The little things to make it homey. One day, we’ll go shopping. I’ve taken pity on you Jayce, so be grateful.”
“Why should I be grateful? You’re the one who’s going shopping on my card!” JC laughed.
“I’m buying things for you silly.” Rachel patted JC’s cheek. “Can I see the rest of the house?” They had arrived back in the living room, where they started.
“We can go upstairs…” JC let his words trail off, very aware of his thoughts from the car ride.
“Ok” Rachel smiled brightly and let JC lead the way.
JC opened the first door on the right, revealing his master bedroom. Rachel’s eyes widened. “This is your room?”
JC laughed and nervously ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah.”
“It’s huge!”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“I think my kitchen and dinning room could fit in here!”
A thought struck JC. “If you don’t mind me asking, how can you afford a house? I mean, you’re 23…”
“That’s fine.” Rachel sat down on JC’s bed and paused. “My job is decent, money wise. My parents helped me out a bit when I saw the house and only needed $10,000 more to get the mortgage.” Rachel paused again, her eyes going shiny. JC was afraid she might cry, so he sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. “One of my ex’s, Ted, he…he…”
“Rach, you don’t have to finish, it’s ok.”
“No, it’s ok.” Rachel took a deep breath. “He had a gambling problem, and left town when he got into some trouble. He broke up with me right before he left. I thought I could change him, make him see how he was hurting himself, and me. I threatened to leave him so many times, but I never did.” Rachel stopped. She was encouraged by JC’s hand rubbing circles on her back. She was over it”him, and ready to start this new chapter of her life. “It turns out that he had won a lot of money, some mistake by a bookie or something. They couldn’t find him, so the court awarded the money to me, because as far as everyone else knew, we hadn’t broken up. Even when I testified we had, they still gave it to me. I didn’t know what to do with it…and then my mom talked me into buying a house…so yeah.”
JC kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Well, no gambling problems here…”
Rachel smiled. “Good.”
“You’re so strong, and giving…trying to change someone like that who doesn’t deserve to have someone like you in their life.” JC whispered.
“Thank you.” Rachel said just as quietly.
JC just sat there, staring at the woman sitting in front of him. Rach, his girlfriend. Rachel Levine, philanthropist and do-gooder. She cared so much about everyone, and just really wanted to make a difference; that amazed JC.
“What are you looking at?” Rachel asked shyly.
JC smiled. “You. You’re gorgeous; you know that, right?” JC cupped her cheek. “And not just on the outside, although you are.” He laughed nervously. He was going to sound incredibly cheesy, but he didn’t care. “I just can’t get over how amazing you are on the inside.”
“Jayce…”
“It’s true…you’re an incredible person.”
“Thank you.” Rachel looked into his serious blue eyes and felt her heart melt.
JC dipped his head down to kiss Rachel. She scooted closer, ending up half way on JC’s lap. JC had to hold back a moan when Rachel met him head on, allowing him to explore her mouth. Rachel placed delicate kisses along JC’s jaw and then concentrated on his neck. JC recaptured her lips, thinking she was teasing him. When Rachel broke away from his lips again to nibble on his neck, JC mumbled, “It’s not nice to tease.”
Rachel looked up into his eyes, her lips red and hair tosseled. “Who said I’m teasing?”
JC felt a lump form in his throat. He wrapped his arms around Rachel, his lips connecting with hers, and lowered their bodies back down to the bed.
“How did I become this busy?” Rachel mumbled to herself as she started brushing her hair. She hadn’t stopped all day, and just received a phone call from JC saying they had to stay late at the studio. She was a little worried that things might change since they had slept together, but it was useless. Nothing had changed; if anything, their relationship had gotten better. They still talked everyday, but Rachel just felt closer to JC, even when she wasn’t with him. Rachel stopped and sighed. They had been dating for almost a month. She was happy with JC, really, but she couldn’t shake this feeling. The phone rang; Rachel checked the caller ID and that was the reason she had an irky feeling.
“Hi Mom.”
“Hi dear! How are you?”
“I’m good.” Rachel was in no mood to exchange pleasantries with her mother. All she wanted to do was grab the quart of Ben and Jerry’s she had in her freezer, curl up with a John Corblatt movie, and miss her boyfriend. “What’s up?”
“I was calling to see if you wanted to join us for Shabbat this week.”
Rachel took a deep breath. “Mom, that’s mine and JC’s one month anniversary.”
“Oh.” Evelyn had known that. “Why doesn’t he come?”
“Mom, I love you, but it’s a night I’d rather spend with him…alone.”
“Ok. But I do want to meet him. When do we get to?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mike’s already met him.”
“I know. But Mom, he came over uninvited. I wasn’t like, ‘Mike, come meet my boyfriend before mom and dad do!’ It just happened.”
“I’m your mother; don’t I get to meet your boyfriend?”
“Mom!” Rachel had to take another deep breath. “You do, I just don’t know when yet, ok?”
Evelyn sighed. “What are you up to tonight?”
“I’m going to grab a quart of Ben & Jerry’s, call Miche, and watch chick flicks.”
“No JC tonight?”
“No, he had to work late.” By now, Evelyn and George, Rachel’s father, had figured out their daughter was dating a superstar.
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“I’m gonna go grab some dinner. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye honey.”
“Bye mom.”
Rachel sighed. Why was her mother being so over bearing and annoying? Oh wait, that’s what all Jewish mothers do. Rachel smiled at the thought; Michelle’s mother was the same way. She dialed the number she knew by heart and let it ring.
“Miche!” Rachel laughed into the phone.
“Rach, what’s up?”
“I just got a nagging fest from my mother about JC.”
“Ah, let me guess…why haven’t I met him yet? Why did Mike meet him first? Why don’t you spend any time with me anymore?”
“Exactly.”
“My sympathies…but you should be used to it by now. You’ve had 23 years! And you have many more ahead of you.”
Rachel laughed. “Gee, thanks. What are you up to tonight?”
“Nothing really, what did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking Ben & Jerry’s and John Corblatt?”
“I’ll be over in half an hour.”
“I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever!” Michelle said as they ate ice cream and the screen played in front of them.
“That’s because we haven’t really.”
“So tell me, how’s the boyfriend?”
“JC is good. He had to work late tonight, but our one month is on Friday.”
“Oh, honey!” Michelle paused. “I’m happy for you Rach. If you’re happy with JC, I’m glad. He’s a great guy.”
Rachel looked at her best friend. She needed to tell someone what she was thinking. “He’s not Jewish.”
“Duh!” Michelle laughed, then sobered up after she looked at Rachel’s face. “Rach, you’re the one who said that it didn’t matter if you married someone Jewish, as long as you could raise your kids Jewish.”
“I know…but I guess I never thought I’d get serious with someone like JC.”
“A celebrity?”
“No…someone’s who’s not Jewish.”
“Do you think you could marry him?”
Rachel sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, we’ve been dating for a month, so there’s no wedding in the immediate future…but I don’t know.” Rachel laughed. “Could you imagine how much my parents would freak if we did?”
Michelle smiled. “Rach, you just have to do what you feel is right.”
“JC’s right.”
“Then stick with that. Worry about the other stuff when it comes up.”
Rachel smiled. “Thanks Miche.”
Michelle smiled and turned her attention back to the movie. She knew Rachel, and she knew that she could say her parents would have no influence on her decision, but Michelle knew better. All Michelle could do is hope that her parents let Rachel do what’s right for her. And Michelle had to agree; JC is what’s right for Rachel.
Number of reviews: 2
Print:
Chapter or Story