Come Here Often?

Chapter 5: It Would Be You

"So, where are we headed?" Jess said as she walked out of her dorm hall next to Leonard.

"Some place I hope you'll like. I found out about this little hole in the wall down by the bay. It's a bar, but not like those headache inducing bars Jim usually drags me to. This one is a little more akin to our taste, I think."

"Oh? How's that?"

"Well, I happened to overhear your music the other day—you like 20th and 21st century country music, right?"

Her face morphed into a wide smile and her eyes lit up. "Yes! Leonard McCoy, are you telling me you found a country bar?"

He was so thrilled by her excitement that he thought his heart my pound right out of his chest—not that it was medically possible. "I did."

Suddenly she leaned up and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Can't say that I do, but I sure could get used to hearing it from you, darlin'."

"Keep talking to me in that sweet accent of yours, and I'll keep tellin' you, handsome," she said with a wink before looping her arm around his as they walked across campus. They were quiet a few moments when she noticed Leonard glancing around occasionally. "Everything okay? You look a little nervous, like you're looking for someone or something to jump out at us."

"Jim threatened to sneak after me and find us. He's dying to meet you."

"When do I get to meet your best friend slash roommate slash bane of your existence?"

"I'm putting it off as long as possible," he grumbled.

She slowed down. "Why? Do I embarrass you?"

He stopped all together and turned towards her. "Are you kiddin' me? It's the exact opposite, darlin'. It's Jim who will surely do something to embarrass all of us."

Jess reached up and squeezed his arm in a comforting gesture. "Len, your friends aren't going to scare me away. And I've heard enough tales about Jim Kirk to know well enough how to handle him."

He smiled down in admiration and turned back, holding his arm out for her to loop through his again. She did so and they began walking again. "Alright. Next time he begs me to meet you I'll see what we can do. But don't say I didn't warn ya."

"Duly noted."

**********

Two months went by. Their first date had gone amazingly, as did their second, third, and the consecutive dates that began happening once a week. Jim had behaved remarkably well, in Leonard's estimation, when he first met Jessica. Tonight, Leonard was at Jessica's dorm room and they were both 'studying' for exams the following week. Indeed they both had their PADDS open and in front of them, but there were also several open, empty beer bottles on the table strewn between the two of them, indicating that they'd strayed from hard-core studying and into more casual conversation as they stared at the words that were beginning to get blurry.

Neither were sure exactly when they'd gotten drunk, or when and how the conversation ended up where it did. But they went from talking about getting older, and the differences between living alone and with someone else. it was Leonard who was the first to say something that sobered them both quite a bit.

"Darlin' there's only one person on this planet I'd even consider spending the rest of my life with, and she's sittin' across from me."

As soon as he'd said it, his face turned pale. Her eyes went wide and flicked up to him. She watched his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard before he finally got the guts up to drag his eyes away from his own PADD and to her.