𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝙷𝙴𝚁࿐ ྂ ᴊᴇꜰꜰ ʙᴜᴄᴋʟᴇʏ

ᴇɪɢʜᴛ

POLLY RESTED HER HEAD ON JEFFS CHEST,
pulling her comforter tighter around them. They had slept together once more. Something Polly of course wanted, but she didn't want to make Jeff seem like some meaningless sex to her. Even worse to make him feel that way. But no matter how important he had become to her, it was near impossible to not want to be intimate. 

She drew soft little circles on his fair skin over where she had left love marks earlier.

Jeff wondered what she would say if he asked her to be his, officially. Polly didn't seem like someone for relationships, with the way she spoke of her few exes and hookups.

He'd put asking her out off. But, he had taken her on a date. And she let him hold her hand and open doors. And play her his music. Maybe this is different, Jeff thought.

He had been at her apartment since the early morning when he had decided to bring her coffee, which was soon pushed aside to the kitchen and they moved to Polly's bedroom.

Her hips were tender from where he had gripped them minutes before and with her free hand she grazed down her body to her hip. She brought her hand back up and rested it on his chest, he looked down at it and hesitated before speaking.

"I'm glad I met you," he paused, as if he would continue speaking, but didn't.

Polly looked up at Jeff, "I'm glad, too." She responded, confused at the sudden declaration.

"I'm really glad."

She giggled, almost nervously at where Jeff was going with that.

"I think if I were to just lay here with you forever, i'd be happy." He thought out loud.

"I don't think that's possible."

He sighed, "yeah, sadly."

"You have me now though."  She reasoned, she too was sad they couldn't just be together in that moment forever.

"I want to," Jeff spoke quietly, "have you." He finished.

"Then I'm yours." She kissed him, although not quite sure what that meant for the two. She was his, Polly supposed.

He was hers, Jeff thought.

༻✦༺

Jeff believed he was falling in love, or at least, he was about to. His notebook was brimming with songs and poetry, most with an overwhelming theme of love. He had only known Polly for a little over a month and was constantly reminding himself of this fact. Although, with all that he'd discovered about her, and everything she had learned about him, it felt as if they'd known each other for years.

It had only been a week since they became something, and Jeff now had a key to her place, usually picking a few fresh flowers on his walk over to her apartment.

Although both their lives would soon be getting busier, with the looming idea of going back to school for Polly, and the job applications for Jeff, both found refuge in knowing at the end of the day it would be alright because they had one another.

Brooke too had become busier, with securing a role in an upcoming project. It was filming in the city, yet her roommate and best friend still saw less of her each coming day.

Jeff and Polly found peace in running stupidly around the streets of New York City together, talking until the moon rose and fell, and kissing until their lips felt sore.

"Love let me sleep tonight on your couch, and remember the smell of your simple city dress. Oh, that was so real..."

Even through the static of the phone, you could tell Jeff's voice was beautiful. Once he had finished softly singing the pieces of the song he had written, Polly was quiet, thinking about what she could say to him that would describe what she felt.

"I think..." she sighed, "I think everyone should hear your music."

"I don't know if I want everyone to hear it." He admitted.

"So play it. People can listen if they want- and you might hate to hear it, Jeff, but they'll wanna listen."

Jeff smiled, "shut up," he joked, he was never one for flattery, no matter how much Polly meant it. "Hey, why don't you sing it."

"Oh, that was so real," she sang in a forced deep voice, drawing out the 'L'.

"No, really. I know you can sing."

"Yeah. Along to a Zeppelin record."

He laughed, "counts."

So she sang, trying to recall the melody she helped Jeff write, along with his lyrics ingrained in the back of her mind.

She finished the bit she knew and Jeff began to speak, "you can sing!" He exclaimed.

"Not really," Polly replied, although holding back a giddy smile at Jeff's praise. After a moment of silence, she spoke, "come over."

"I'm tired," he stated, knowing he would go over anyways.

"We'll be tired together."

That was all it took, and Jeff shrugged on an old sweater and boots. The walk to Pollys East 12th apartment was a little under ten minutes, and Jeff enjoyed the scenery which mostly consisted of office buildings, diners, and coffee shops.

The mid-April weather was not as biting as the past month, yet he still shoved his hands in his pockets to keep warm. His mind and closet still revolved around southern California's clear skies.

He knocked, and Polly called to him it was open. She was at her small table, video camera in hand, messing with the tape inside.

She put it down to greet him, pecking his lips.

Fleetwood Mac was playing softly from her record player as they sat down on her sofa. Jeff smiled when he saw the Fender out, knowing she'd played it, even at least once.

The soft buzz of the television was background noise to their conversations until the night grew darker and the eyes of the two grew heavier.

Jeff thought to himself quietly as Polly fell asleep, her arm over his side. He looked to the window, seeing how the moonlight flowed inwards to the room from the slits in the curtain.

He glanced down at Polly once more and fell asleep, thinking how lucky he was to have those small moments in which it was only them two.

Two weeks had seemed to completely flip the trajectory of Polly's mind. She only ever saw herself on a path leading nowhere, with a useless associate  degree, past alcoholism, and the disconnect to her family.

She didn't really believe she could feel anything but lust and spite towards a man, but Jeff had undoubtedly changed that belief. Polly didn't love him, but she knew she could.

And that was something she hadn't felt in a very long time.