The Compromise

James wasn't able to fall back to sleep after Jess left for Sid's. He got up, instead, and went out for a run. He needed to focus on something other than his girlfriend being alone with a guy that has feelings for her.

And he knew he couldn't be mad at Sid for falling for Jess. She was pretty easy to fall for. He just hoped that Jess didn't reciprocate the feelings. No matter how many times he asked her whether she liked Sid too he never got a straight forward answer. She always found a way to say she was with him and not Sid. That's what made James nervous and what made him go for a run.

He must not have run for very long because when he got home Jess still wasn't back. Not that he anticipated her return to be immediate. He just hoped that her car would be back before he was back.

As he approached the house he came to the decision to not bring anything up. If Jess wanted to talk about what happened then he would listen. If she didn't then he wouldn't push her to talk.

But he did want to forget about last night and just enjoy what was left of his weekend with her. He rushed through the house to his bathroom. He needed to shower before she got home. He never reached the shower though. When he got to the bedroom and started removing his sweat covered shirt he felt arms wrap around him. And lips pressing against his back. He instantly relaxed against the embrace and intertwined his fingers with Jess'.

"How did you get in here so fast? I swear I just walked into the house," James said. He spun around in her arms.

"I pulled in right as you entered the front door. You didn't hear the car?" Jess asked as she kept him in her arms. James touched his sweaty forehead to hers and she winced.

"Yuck! You are so gross," Jess groaned.

"And yet you continue to keep your arms around me," James pointed out.

"I can't help it. You're irresistible!" Jess exclaimed. Her face split into a huge grin as James wrapped his arms around her.

"I guess you will just have to take another shower," James said. He felt relief overtake his body as she tightened her grip on his waist.

"How about a bath? I bet you haven't used that amazing tub yet huh?"

"Well, I picked this place because I knew you'd fall in love with that tub." Jess’ eyes lit up.

"Let's go christen it!" Jess stepped away from James and pulled her shirt over her head. He laughed at her enthusiasm but stopped her before she got undressed any further.

"Let me get the water started okay?" James asked. He turned away from Jess as she nodded her agreement and located some bath salts and bubbles for the tub. He dumped more than he should have while the hot water filled up and steam fogged up the mirrors around the room. He walked back into the bedroom but didn't see Jessica anywhere.

"Babe, where'd you go?" James called out. He heard some rustling in his walk-in closet where he found Jess trying to hide something. He noticed the purple and silver bag she was trying to tuck away in his sock drawer. He thought he had hidden it well enough, but he also realized that she was being nosy and went in search of the ring.

"What are you doing in there?" James asked even though he knew the answer. He walked up and stood in front of Jessica, towering over her short 5'5" frame. He feigned anger.

"Uh, well I was. You see, I was looking..." Jess was at a loss. She intentionally went into his closet in search of the ring he claimed he bought her before they broke up. Her sister spilled to her how he designed it himself and that she thought it was absolutely perfect for Jess. Then the proposal never happened, but she knew he didn't get rid of the ring. And as she was driving back to his place she thought of how crazy her life had gotten over the course of six months. And how hectic it will continue to be if she became a hockey wife.

He reached inside the drawer for the bag she pretended she didn't find and pulled the box out of it. Jess realized she found her would be engagement ring, but she didn't actually look at it. She just felt a sense of relief knowing it was still in his presence. It reminded her that he did still want to marry her even if she didn't feel like they were ready.

He opened the box and looked at the thin rose gold band with a large round solitary diamond surrounded by three accent diamonds on each side encrusted into the band itself. It was simple and stunning at the same time. He knew Jess would love it. If they ever got to the point where he felt comfortable enough that she would say yes and mean it.

"I designed this ring myself, but your mother and sister were with me. Would you like to look at it?" James started to remove the piece of jewelry from the box.

"NO! I didn't actually look," Jess said feeling ashamed for being caught. She could feel her face getting red with embarrassment.

"Then why were you in here searching for it?" James asked. He shut the lid of the box and placed it back into the bag.

"Because I just needed to know you still had it. I wanted to look at the bag. That's it," Jess explained.

James looked puzzled. "Why?" He asked.

"I just needed to know you didn't give it back." Jess looked down at the bag, the opened drawer and James' hands which were placing the bag back in the open drawer.

"Jessica Rose, listen to me," James lifted her chin and rested his hands on her shoulders, "I fully intend on putting that ring on your finger. I intend on marrying you," Jess smiled bash fully, "And having babies with you," James whispered, "And making you the happiest you've ever been. And I know we've hit a rough spot, but who doesn't? We were blissfully unaware of our insecurities in Dallas, but you aren't getting rid of me."

"I blame Pittsburgh," Jessica laughed. James nodded in agreement.

"Maybe not so much the city, but everything new. Not being familiar. Not having friends to be there with us along the way. Let’s face it, we ran around with the same people in Texas. Here neither of us knew anyone. " Jess didn't know what else to say, so she changed the subject.

"I bet that tub is ready for us now, care to go for a soak with me?" Jess asked as she ran her hands up James torso to his shoulders. He nodded and pulled her closer to him.

"Glad you suggested it. It was really hard concentrating on talking to you as you stood there topless," James admitted. Jess laughed and wiggled out of James' embrace. She shimmied out of her jeans as she walked out of the closet. She glanced over her shoulder to catch James hurrying to remove his shorts while kicking off his shoes and socks tripping along the way.

"I don't get how you can be so graceful on the ice, and yet you trip over your own two feet just walking." Jess was refraining from laughing. She stood next to the bed completely naked. James stood up straight and just stared at her in all her glory.

“What?” Jess asked. She was starting to feel uncomfortable with his staring.

“I don’t know, I just…you blow me away. You are absolutely perfect,” James said sincerely. Jess continued to blush, but James didn’t stop there. He swept her up in his arms, and wrapped her legs around her bare hips. “How did I get so lucky?”

“Jimmy, I thought we were getting in the tub?” James responded by kissing Jess hard and fast, slipping his tongue into her mouth. She moaned against his lips and gripped his shoulders harder as he started walking towards the bathtub.

“We’re not having sex in there,” Jessica said as he set her on the floor next to the tub.

“Ah, come on! Why not?” James whined. He watched as Jess slipped into the tub and sunk down until only her head was jutting out of the water. She pulled her hair up into a bun, closed her eyes, and sighed contentedly. She cracked one eye and noticed that James had yet to climb in.

“What are you doing? The water is perfect!” Jess exclaimed. James smiled a crooked grin and climbed in across from her.

“So, no sex, really?” James asked.

“Do you really want to clean up the mess of water off of the floor and whatever could potentially seep down through the floor?” Jess asked without opening her eyes.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” James replied defeated, “So talk to me.”

“Okay, what do you want to know?” Jess asked.

“Anything.”

“You want to know what happened with Sid.”

“No, no I will not force you to talk to me about that. Only if you want to,” James expressed. He secretly hoped she would open up about it though.

“Well, he admitted he has feelings for me,” Jess said with a shrug. She opened her eyes to see James look confused and worried. “Hey, you know nothing is going to happen.”

“Yeah, you always say that you are with me, to not worry about Sid,” James looked away. He wished he hadn’t filled the tub up now. He would have preferred to have this conversation in a place where he could escape if needed.

“Hey, talk to me babe,” Jess said. She didn’t like how he seemed wary of the whole situation.

“Alright, I guess I will just rip off the Band-Aid,” James hesitated, “Do you like Sid?”

“James! Why are you being so insecure?”

“Because you have yet to give me a straight answer about all of this. So you either do or you don’t. Which is it?”

Jess didn’t want to hurt James, but she couldn’t exactly lie to him.

“I don’t know,” Jessica finally replied. James gulped, he was dreading that.
“I think I need to get out,” James made to get out of the tub when Jess pushed him back down. She straddled his lap to prevent him from moving again. She was sad that his hands didn’t immediately reach out to hold her close to him.

“Listen to me, James. I don’t know if I do, but my feelings for you have not changed. In fact I am pretty certain I am falling more and more in love with you. Does this change things?” Jessica hoped he wasn’t going to cower away from her. James finally made eye contact with her.

“Do you need time to figure things out?” James asked.

“I need time to stay away from him. I hope that one day he and I can be friends again, but for now I want to focus all my energy on us,” Jess explained. Relief flooded James’ face.

“You saying that only makes me want to fight for you that much harder,” James whispered. Jess smiled down at him and felt his hands wrap around her back crushing her body against his in a tight hug.

Notes