Dandelion- Jess Mariano

♡Chapter 50: History♡

After a few minutes of joking with eachother, Parker decides to pester him about his life in the past few years. "So, have you had any girlfriends since I saw you?" She asks, trying to sound lighthearted, but failing miserably.

Jess shrugs his shoulders, looking out towards the city. "Yeah I guess, a few here and there, nothing very serious." He says.

Parker nods. "Same here. None of them ever felt right, none of them..." She starts to say, but Jess finishes her sentence for her.

"None of them were you." He says, and she looks towards him, her eyes wide. But soon, she regains her thoughts.

"None of them were you." She repeats in agreement. He looks over to her, before reaching into the pocket of his jacket. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes, offering them towards her. She takes one, laughing. "God, Luke would kill us if he knew we didn't quit when he put up those awful lung pictures." She says, and Jess laughs.

Suddenly, Parker realizes what he had offered. "Wait, these are my favorite kind." She says, and he nods. Looking at her curiously, Jess watches as she reaches around in her bag. Soon, she pulls out her own box, and he laughs.

"No way." He says. "You have mine too." He says. He takes one, before realizing he doesn't have a lighter. Parker reaches into her pocket, and pulls out a Zippo from her pocket. First, she lights her own, before leaning in, getting very close and lighting his cigarette with her own, held between her teeth.

Jess clears his throat, hoping the dark of night concealed the slight blush on his cheeks from the smooth movement. Many minutes pass, or the two sitting in comfortable and familiar silence, relaxed with eachother nearby. "I missed you." She finally says, putting out her cigarette next to her in the ashtray.

Jess looks over at her, and he takes his cigarette out of his mouth, one hand reaching up to her cheek, holding her slightly and pulling her closer. The world seems to stop spinning as their lips touch, electricity firing between the two like lightning.

_______________

Parker wakes up, adjusting to the light streaming through the window, a car horn blaring outside, loud and incessant. Once she had adjusted to where she was, she becomes more aware, realizing the feeling of an arm tucked around her waist.

Suddenly, the memory of the night before came back, the memory of Jess, kissing her on the balcony, and later stumbling through the door, back into the apartment as they kick off shoes and scatter clothes across the floor as they go, desperate and impatient.

She starts to peel the arm off, wanting to get up and get some coffee, but the arm only tightens, with a soft grumble from behind her, coming from Jess. He pulls her in closer, and she spins around so that her head is resting on his chest, warm and strong.

"Come on Jess, I need my morning coffee or I'm going to be insufferable." She says, and his eyes slightly open to look at her. He places a tired kiss on her lips before releasing her.

Parker stands up, searching through the clothes upon the floor for something to wear. Picking up one of Jess's band t-shirts, she throws it on top of her underwear, feeling its soft texture and familiar smell.

Walking into the kitchen, she tosses open some cupboards, searching for the coffee. Once she finally found it, she made some coffee. As she was waiting for it to finish, she stood outside on the balcony, letting the warm sun soak into her skin, listening to a band play from down the road.

Suddenly, she feels two arms snake around her waist, as Jess rests his head against her shoulder. She spins around, wrapping her arms around him, and leaning in against his chest. They start to sway to the music, feeling at peace and happy. After staying that way for a while, she pulled him back inside, making him a cup of coffee.

"You remembered how I like my coffee?" Jess asks her, and she nods. "Damn, how could I ever have been so stupid as to give you up?" He asks, mostly to himself.

Parker rolls her eyes playfully, and they both go over to sit on the couch, sipping their coffee and separately reading.

______________

"Yes I'm okay, I'm safe." Jess overhears Parker say on the phone. He laughed a bit to himself, as she had panicked a few minutes ago when she got texts from her roommates warning her that if she didn't respond they were going to send out a search party armed with pitchforks and torches.

Parker walks back in, Jess raising his eyebrows at her. "All good now?" He asks, and she nods, walking over to him. He smiles, and she hands him a small box.

Looking up at her, he silently questions what was inside. "Just open it." She says, and he does, looking in to see a necklace. It was a small silver chain, and at the end, a small imprint of a dandelion. "They have cool symbolism, and I found it in a small shop in California when I went for spring break a few years ago." Parker explains.

"Speaking of necklaces.." Jess says, before ducking into his room, and coming back with his own small box. He hands it to her, as she opens it to find a small necklace as well. But hers is gold, with a carving of a heart as the charm. "Because of your specialty." Jess says.

Parker puts it on, admiring it. "I love it." She says, causing Jess to smile, before he speaks again.

"I had planned to give it to you a long time ago, but then I never saw you again." He says. "But I saved it. I guess I knew I would need it someday."

____________

Parker walked over to Jess at the door, rifling through her bag to make sure she had everything she needed for the day. She had to go to the hospital today for work, and Jess had to work downstairs for a while as well.

Walking downstairs, Jess held a bag up to her and she looked at it quizzically. "What's this for?" She asks him, concerned at what he was trying to give her.

"Lunch." Jess said, as though it should have been obvious. "You would always make sure I had lunch in high school, so I thought I'd repay the favor." He explains, and she smiles, touched by the gesture.

Parker walks first down the stairs, saying hello to the two other guys working. Once Jess came down, they pulled him aside, laughing and teasing him over Parker. He waves them off, walking over to the entrance with her, and opening the door for her. She smiles and walks out, but before she got very far, he caught her hand and pulled her close in a kiss, full of all the lost time over the past years.

The wind blew almost cinematically as they shared the moment, before he pulled away. And he says one last thing before they part ways.

"I love you."