Beneath Your Beautiful (A Chenford | The Rookie Fanfic)

Prologue: Matchmaker, Matchmaker

"You don't initiate anything. You just do basic Caucasian sex. And it's just like 'bam, bam done.' That's it."

"Oh my god," Lucy blurts, pausing with a piece of sushi halfway to her mouth, her eyes glued to the red-haired woman on the television screen that is absolutely ripping her husband a new one for being selfish in bed. "Did she just say he —"

Jackson slaps the couch with his hand as he rocks forward with laughter. "Look at his face. 'Basic Caucasian sex'. I'm dead. That's gonna be epic on the reunion as a playback."

"Are you tired of being single, but stuck in the endless cycle of swiping and dating that never seems to go anywhere? Are you ready to settle down in a committed relationship and start the rest of your life? Then come join the social experiment that's been making successful matches for over 15 years with an astounding success rate of over 70%. OMG I Married a Stranger is casting now in LA."

Lucy freezes, overwhelmed by a sudden and completely unexpected wave of excitement. What the hell?

"Jackson?" she finally manages.

"Huh?" Jackson responds around a mouthful of edamame.

"I think — what if I applied?"

"Applied for what?"

"The show."

"What show?"

Lucy whacks him with a throw pillow, and Jackson protests as a stray edamame arcs through the air before landing on their rug a few feet away.

"This show."

"What?! Are you crazy?"

Lucy just stares back at him.

"You are crazy."

"I know... I know... it's trash reality tv and I can only imagine what a nightmare actually having to film it would be, but... This whole matchmaking process they use — I've read about it before. It's actually based on a whole lot of legitimate psychology on compatibility. The success rate speaks for itself. And there's no argument — arranged marriages are empirically more successful. There have been multiple studies —"

"Lucy," Jackson interjects. "I don't need to hear about the studies. Are you actually serious? This is something you'd really want to do?"

"I mean... I'm not getting any younger. My mom actually set an appointment for me to get my eggs frozen without even talking to me about it the other day."

"Your parents would hate it," Jackson points out.

"That's just a bonus," Lucy laughs. "Anyway, all of my friends have basically settled down. You and Sterling are practically engaged. And you know how crazy my work can get —"

"I know how crazy you let it get," Jackson corrects.

"Takes one to know one," Lucy retorts, sticking her tongue out before continuing. The laughter slips out of her tone, "And I just... dating has been really hard for me since..."

Jackson's face softens, and he places his hand over Lucy's to give it a comforting squeeze.

"I don't want to be alone forever," she finishes quietly.

"Oh Lucy," Jackson tugs her into his side for a hug. "You won't. You are too incredible for that to happen. I won't let it. Worst case, after the wedding and a lengthy honeymoon in Europe, we'll move you into Sterling's pool house."

Lucy snorts, "How gracious of you."

"It's actually a very nice pool house..." Jackson's smile fades as he meets her eyes, "Are you sure this is something you'd want to do? With everything that happ —" he cuts himself off when he sees the look on her face. "I just mean — you've seen the show. You're literally marrying a stranger. Going on a honeymoon with a stranger. Moving in with a stranger. You'd be alone with a man you've never met. A lot of the time."