Catherine slowly opened her eyes and remembered where she was. She rolled over and saw Jackie curled up next to her. The sight of her made her wonder why she ever let her go in the first place. Catherine could feel the giant smile expanding across her face. She couldn't believe how perfect last night was. Jackie looked so peaceful but she couldn't help herself, so she leaned in and gently kissed her forehead. Jackie slowly opened her eyes and smiled.
"Good morning gorgeous," she said
Catherine softly tucked Jackie's hair behind her ear.
"I love you," Catherine replied, titling her head.
Jackie smiled, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Catherine took her hand and intertwined their fingers.
"I know you're probably self conscious about last night, cause you know..." Jackie grinned. "So we don't have to talk about it, but just know that I love you, and am well aware of how hard it was for you to be that vulnerable. I didn't take it lightly."
Catherine offered a sincere smile, letting her know she was right and appreciated it. Jackie lifted her hand and kissed it.
"I'm glad you know that's not going to happen often," Catherine smiled smugly. "I prefer to keep quiet."
Jackie started laughing.
"What?" Catherine asked.
"Quiet is not the word I would use to describe you. Especially after last night," Jackie replied.
Catherine started laughing and pulled the sheet over her face feeling embarrassed.
"Some people are just more vocal when they're enjoying something. And you're the one to blame anyway!"
Jackie pulled the sheet down, "Don't hide. I like it,"she grinned. "What? Now that we've bared our souls to each other, we can't give each other hell anymore?"
"Absolutely not. That will never change," Catherine said sternly.
It was what she enjoyed most about their relationship.
Jackie's phone started vibrating on the nightstand.
"You might want to get that. It's been going off nonstop since last night."
"I don't want to! Jackie groaned. "I just want to stay in bed with my girlfriend all day," she said as she rolled over into Catherine's arms.
"Girlfriend?" Catherine repeated and was stunned by the word.
"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?" Jackie raised her eyebrows smiling.
"No. Say it again," Catherine said while saying it close to Jackie's lips.
"Girl-friend," Jackie repeated slowly.
"That sounds sexy," Catherine said as she rolled on top of Jackie.
"Again?! You're going to kill me Professor Stark!"
****
Catherine came out of the bathroom and saw Jackie curled up sleeping.
"Every single time," she laughed to herself.
Thinking how Jackie falls asleep after sex no matter what time of the day it is. She guessed she should take it as a compliment. She heard Jackie's phone vibrate again. So she went over and got it.
12 missed calls. 8 voice messages. 17 text messages.
Catherine crawled into bed next to her and rubbed her cheek with the back of her finger.
"Catherine, I love you but I need rest," Jackie mumbled without opening her eyes.
Catherine laughed, "I don't want that, well yes I do...But you need to wake up. You have a ridiculous amount of missed calls and messages. As much as I don't want to let you leave this bed, you have a job waiting for you."
"Fine," she groaned.
She lifted herself up on her elbows and took her phone from Catherine. Matt was yelling so loud on the other end of the phone that Jackie had to pull it away from her ear.
"Matt, I know. I'm sorry. I really don't feel well this morning. I was up all night getting sick," she glanced at Catherine and winked. "Yeah I think I have one of those 24 hour bugs that's going around...Yes, I promise I will be there tomorrow. 11am sharp."
As soon as she hung up with Matt, she dropped her face into the pillow and then whimpered, "Oww."
She lifted her head up and dabbed at the knot, forgetting it was there.
Catherine leaned over to get a closer look at it, "How's the head? It looks like the swelling has gone down a bit."
"Still hurts. Kiss it to make it better?" She pleaded, flashing Catherine a pouty lip.
Catherine smiled at her pitiful face and then gently kissed the bump.
"So what was that all about? What did you miss?" Catherine asked.
"An audition."
"Jackie!" Catherine flashed her a stern look. The last thing she wanted was to negatively affect her career.
"Not you too," she groaned. "I'm sorry but it was the last thing on my mind during round 4...Or was it 5?"
Jackie paused while counting her fingers, mumbling to herself.
"I lost count. Anyways, the last thing on my mind was some stupid audition."
"As flattered as I am, it's still your career Jackie and it's important."
As serious as Catherine was, her voice suddenly lightened when she fully processed what Jackie had said, "and it was 4, but 5 sounds like a good idea," she teased. "Later of course though," she ended in her stern professor tone.
Jackie smiled and then leaned over to kiss her. She turned to lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Catherine moved over, setting her head on Jackie's chest and they laid there for a good while in complete silence.
Catherine's mind was moving a mile a minute. Thinking about everything that had happened yesterday.
"Are you happy?" Catherine asked.
"I've never been happier," Jackie responded almost immediately.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am. Why, what's up?"
"Nothing. You were just pretty set on being over me yesterday, so I just want to make sure this is what you really want."
Catherine was feeling completely vulnerable, but couldn't help to bring up what Jackie said to her yesterday. The words had been resonating inside her since.
Jackie scooted her body up until she was sitting, causing Catherine's head to slide down into her lap. She looked down into Catherine's eyes while she played with her hair.
"Catherine, I was hurting. I thought you didn't want me. So I was trying my best to convince myself that I was better off without you. Why do you think I was gone for so long? As I recall, you did the same last year."
Catherine stared up at her, knowing she was right, and offered her a small smile.
"Now stop this talk. We are both crazy about each other and we're not going to fight it anymore," Jackie said.
"I'm sorry, it's just we still have so much to figure out. Like the fact that we still live 2,000 miles apar-"
Before Catherine could finish, Jackie put a finger over her lips.
"Shhh...Let's just enjoy the day. Now how about that round 5?" Jackie said, before bending down and kissing Catherine.
****
Jackie started gathering her clothes that were scattered all over the floor.
"It's getting late. We need to check out soon."
"Okay, I'm going to take a quick shower," Catherine said as she rolled out of bed. Jackie grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her.
"No. Just wait and we can shower at my place."
She pulled her in close, cupping Catherine's neck with her hand and kissed her.
"I like that idea, but we need to talk eventually too. I need to get back home to Ethan and figure out what my next move will be."
There were so many things they needed to work out, and as much as she wanted to enjoy the moment, Catherine couldn't with all of the familiar issues they were keeping at bay.
"I know, I know. Can you at least stay one more day?" Jackie pleaded.
"I think I can manage that," Catherine replied and smiled.
****
When they got back to Jackie's, Catherine called the airlines to reschedule her flight for the following day, and the dog sitter to make sure she could watch Ethan for one more night. As soon as she said goodbye, she felt Jackie take the phone out of her hand and set it on the counter. Jackie's arms reached around her waist as she began kissing her neck.
"Now how about that shower?" Jackie asked and lead the way to her bathroom.
****
As they were getting dressed, Catherine asked Jackie what her schedule was like for the day.
"I have a meeting with Wade at 3. Maybe you could come with me and we can get a bite to eat after?"
"Sounds good to me. So when are we going to have that conversation? You tend to use sex to distract me anytime I bring it up." Catherine knew she was nagging, but wasn't going to let her keep putting this off.
"Since when do you complain about sex?" Jackie's puzzled face was quite amusing.
Catherine laughed, "I'm not, trust me. I just feel like you're avoiding the elephant in the room...And using my weakness against me," she flashed Jackie a look.
"Ok, let's talk."
They both sat on the bed in silence and waited for one of them to speak.
"I don't know what to say," Jackie said to break the silence. "I can come to Bloomington when I have time off, but you didn't seem to think that would work last time."
Catherine hesitated before revealing to Jackie what she had brainstorming in her head all weekend.
"I've actually been thinking about applying for jobs here in California. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I met with my friends for lunch the other day. They made me realise that there's nothing for me in Bloomington anymore, and I need to stop letting that house hold me back. I'm not sure that I will be able to find something right here in LA, but we could at least be in the same state. I guess once I get a job, I'll put my house on the market and-"
"What?! No you are not!" Jackie interrupted.
"I'm not what?" Catherine asked, confused.
"You're not selling your house Catherine! I could never let you do that. It means a lot to you. It means way too much to me."
"Jackie, I can't just have an empty house sitting in Bloomington. Nor can I afford it."
"Then you'll rent it out or I'll help you with it, but you're certainly not selling it."
As much as Jackie's reaction was making her fall even more in love with her, she knew she needed to start learning how to let go.
"It's time for me to move on with my life. Sacrifices are going to have to be made for us to work, and you're an LA based actress. There's no way around that."
Jackie moved over to where Catherine was sitting.
"Catherine, we're only going to make necessary sacrifices. I want us both to be happy and I only want you to move to California if you find a job here that you love. Just because I'm an actress in LA, doesn't mean all of my roles will be here. We can make it work. First and foremost, you need to decide what you want to do with your career and we'll make it do in the mean time."
Catherine couldn't believe how mature and selfless Jackie was being.
"You're right. I guess I have some soul searching to do," Catherine replied.
"Yes you do," Jackie smiled and kissed her cheek. "Now let's get ready so Wade doesn't get even more mad at me."
Jackie couldn't believe Catherine was willing to give up her entire life in Bloomington to come be with her. She felt guilty hiding things from Catherine, but she didn't want to cause unnecessary stress and ruin how happy they were until she knew it was a for sure thing.
She would know soon enough.
A/n Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸