The following morning, her doorbell rang early, and she trudged to the door, still wearing pajamas, and looked out the peephole. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make herself look presentable.
“Hey, Noah,” Jessa said, opening the door.
“Hey, beautiful,” Noah said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. “I knew if I came early enough, I might be lucky enough to catch you in your pajamas,” he teased, taking her in.
Jessa chuckled, a blush in her cheeks. Her face was pale, her long hair loose, and her pajama shorts sat low on her waist, giving him a view of her strong, lean legs and a hint of soft skin beneath the singlet top she wore which didn’t completely cover her waist. For some reason that sliver of skin made him want to touch her, and he reached out, his fingers gentle as they found her waist and softly caressed the skin there before laying his palm flat on her stomach.
Jessa enjoyed his soft caress and was surprised when he laid his hand on her stomach. Somehow it made their current situation very real. She looked up at him, his eyes meeting hers. He leaned closer; it somehow seemed natural to capture her lips with his. She was surprised for just a moment, before she melted against him, his kiss soft and slow, taking his time to explore her mouth. One hand caressed her cheek, while the other pulled her closer, and she threaded her fingers into his hair.
“Should I apologize?” he asked softly as they finally parted.
“No...no, you shouldn’t,” Jessa said breathlessly.
“I didn’t follow the rules,” he murmured, kissing her lips again softly.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, caressing his cheek.
“I just...I wanted to kiss you,” Noah said, kissing her hand.
“And I wanted to kiss you,” said Jessa. “Please...that was...incredible; don’t feel guilty,” she added.
Noah smiled at her. “Best kiss ever,” he said.
“It was the best,” agreed Jessa, blushing.
“But did we do something wrong again?” he fretted.
“Would you stop being dramatic and kiss me?” she said with a smile.
“Your wish is my command,” Noah said eagerly.
Jessa grinned as Noah captured her lips with his, pulling her closer. He picked her up without breaking the kiss and sat down on the couch, Jessa in his arms.
When he started to feel like it was getting out of hand, he gently started to pull away. Jessa felt the same and moved slightly so she wasn’t pressed as close to him. Noah pulled her legs across his lap, still wanting her close, and she snuggled against him, Noah stroking her legs. He squeezed her calf gently.
“How did we miss all this? I feel like I’ve completely missed all the signs, everything. I should have married you when we were young,” said Noah quietly.
“We didn’t realize,” said Jessa. “And it feels so stupid now that we didn’t.”
Noah let out a breath. “How can we make this work? I am away in Europe so much; you travel for work too,” he said.
“I am in Redhill more than you are though,” said Jessa.
“Yeah, you are. And I do have a place here. I work here sometimes too, but most of the time I’m not here,” he said, frustrated.
Jessa swallowed uncomfortably, knowing they had many separations ahead of them.
“I love you, Jessa. I can’t spend months away from you,” said Noah.
“I love you. I don’t want to spend months away from you either,” said Jessa.
“And I can’t leave you to deal with this pregnancy alone. You’ll need support, and I intend to be there for you,” said Noah.
“You can’t do that, Noah. You know you can’t,” she said gently. “You have commitments outside of Redhill.”
“Are they more important than you?” he asked her.
“Noah...you are in high demand everywhere. You can’t turn your career upside down too. Not for me. I won’t let you,” said Jessa, shaking her head.
“Let me make one thing clear to you, Jessa. Never have I wanted to settle down or met someone I particularly wanted to marry. Now that we’ve worked out, and we love each other...I want to marry you. I want that life. I know I can’t yet; I know I’ll need to wait...for obvious reasons, but when you’re ready, I want that,” Noah said, turning red as he told her his thoughts.
Jessa stared at him. “Who are you, and what have you done with Noah?” she asked with a smirk. “I thought the bachelor life suited you—all the women?”
“I am not some kind of playboy,” said Noah.
“I didn’t mean you were; I know you’re not. You’re pretty settled when you have a girlfriend, but I know you weren’t serious about...I don’t know, any of them?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s not an unfair assessment. I like being able to take a job in Europe at a moment’s notice,” said Noah. “I did love a few of them but not in a serious, ready for marriage, would change my life for them kind of way.”
Jessa nodded, biting her lip. “You’re talking about a pretty big change though,” she reminded him.
“I only need one woman, and I’m willing to do many things for her,” he said, stroking her hair.
“And that woman is?” Jessa asked with a smile.
“You,” he said, his smile soft as he looked at her.
“You love me that much?” asked Jessa, emotional.
Noah nodded. “I’m crazy about you, Ms. Beaumont.”
“And I’m crazy about you. I love you,” Jessa said, kissing his lips softly.
“Don’t make any drastic decisions about work, please,” she added. “Let’s sit down and look at our calendars and bookings and see what we have to work with and if anything can be changed. When are you due back in Spain?”
“A week from now,” said Noah.
“And this week, who are you working with?” she asked.
“I’m at the academy with you actually. They asked me to consult regarding the Christmas production,” he said.
“I’ve missed some academy gossip clearly.” Jessa laughed.
“It was a last-minute thing. I said I had a week off before returning to Spain, and they filled it,” he said.
“I wish we both had a week off...how long are you in Spain for after that?” asked Jessa.
“A month,” Noah said quietly.
“What can we do?” sighed Jessa. “I guess you’re not really missing anything; I’ll probably still just be sick.”
“I’m missing you, Jessa. I can’t let you go through this on your own. You didn’t want this or plan for this, and I am not leaving you on your own. We’ll deal with this together,” said Noah.
“You’re amazing, you know that?” she said, touched.
“I do now that you’ve told me,” teased Noah, placing a kiss on her forehead.
Jessa kissed his lips softly. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you,” said Noah. “It still amazes me to hear that,” he added, breaking into a smile.
“Me too.” Jessa grinned. She grimaced suddenly, her already pale face even whiter. Noah looked at her with concern.
“Jessa,” he said.