Catherine heard the knock and looked up at Jackie. They both stared at each other in silence, not moving a muscle until there was another knock.
"Jackie, open up! Come on, I know you're in there! The receptionist said she saw you come in!" Rachel shouted.
"Shit!" Jackie mouthed to Catherine. "One sec!" She called out.
Jackie rolled out of bed, grabbed her robe and began collecting their clothes that were scattered all over the room. Catherine got up and began to help but then noticed Jackie's appearance. Her hair was tousled and make up smeared. She had lipstick marks all over her face, trailing down her neck. Catherine grabbed her and took her over to the mirror. Once Jackie saw her reflection, her eyes grew big. She was frozen in place not knowing what to do.
Catherine mouthed, "Sorry" as she looked at her through the mirror, but couldn't help the laughter that suddenly overcame her. She held her hands tight over her mouth before going to the sink to retrieve a wash cloth. She wiped Jackie's face and neck the best as she could and then tried fixing her hair before giving her the okay.
Jackie cracked the door open, making sure not to let Rachel barge in as she usually did.
"Hey, sorry I was in the bathroom."
"You had me worried! No one could find you and you wouldn't answer my calls. You can't just disappear in New York City without any security!"
"I know, I'm sorry. I was really embarrassed about how I acted at dinner and didn't want to show my face."
Rachel was studying her closely, "What the hell happened to you? It looks like you got into a fight and did I hear crying?"
"N-Nothing," Jackie stuttered, as she nervously smoothed down her hair with her hand. "I was in the process of getting in the shower."
"Oh, okay," Rachel said, still looking at her suspiciously. "Well, I guess I'll leave you alone. You have the morning off. Just make sure you're back here by 3 for hair and makeup."
"Got it. Goodnight Rachel, so sorry again for worrying you."
Jackie closed the door and looked through the peep hole before letting out a sigh of relief. Catherine was standing in the doorway between their rooms, looking at her, smiling.
"Talk about a close call."
"TOO close," Jackie responded.
****
The next morning they woke early, as Jackie had half the day off for them to take full advantage of New York. Catherine couldn't wait to be alone with her during the daylight. The mere six hours they were getting alone while they slept wasn't enough. Once she was done getting ready, she headed into Jackie's room where she saw her wearing a hooded sweatshirt and put on a baseball hat. Jackie grabbed her sunglasses from the sink and then turned around to face her.
"Do I look like Jacqueline Kirk?"
"No. You look like small town college student Jackie," Catherine smiled. "My favourite version of you."
"Mine too," Jackie said, returning the smile.
After deciding that having a driver would increase their chances of being noticed, they made their way downstairs to haul a cab. Since time was of the essence, they chose to take a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty; something neither of them had done. After grabbing a quick bite to eat at a bagel shop, they headed down to the dock. With her coffee in one hand, Jackie grabbed Catherine's hand with the other. A small gesture to anyone else was something huge for them. To walk down the street in public, like an ordinary couple, was something that they had never been able to experience. Catherine wrinkled her nose at Jackie and smiled at the sweet gesture. No one had even looked twice at Jackie since leaving the hotel, so they were taking full advantage of being in a city where no on knew them. For once they could just be themselves out in the open.
As they boarded the boat and began sailing to the island, Catherine looked over at Jackie. Jackie's hand was resting on Catherine's knee, gently circling with her finger tips as she stared out at the city. She suddenly turned and caught Catherine staring at her.
"What?" Jackie asked curiously and was laughing uncomfortably.
"Nothing," Catherine replied. "Just enjoying this moment."
Jackie smiled and leaned over to kiss her. Once they arrived at the island, they made their way up to the top of the Statue of Liberty. The moment the elevator opened, they both gasped at the view. Jackie eagerly walked out and leaned into the railing as Catherine stayed back, uneasy with the height.
When Jackie noticed, she reached out her hand and said, "Come on."
"I'm good back here," Catherine nervously answered. Heights, among other things, were not something she was good with.
"You don't want to miss this view. Trust me, I won't let you fall."
She reached her hand out again and Catherine timidly walked over. Catherine held tight to the railing and the wind wasn't exactly helping her anxiety. Jackie leaned her head over and looked down.
"Stop!" Catherine yelled and grabbed her.
Jackie started laughing, "You really are terrified, aren't you?"
"Shut up," Catherine said, unamused. She despised the feeling of not having control.
Jackie took her hat and sunglasses off.
"Can we at least get a picture before we go?"
Catherine looked at her, not wanting to move even an inch. Let alone turn her back to the railing.
"Please?" Jackie pleaded.
"Fine," Catherine sighed. She slowly turned around, with one arm grasping the railing behind her while she held tightly onto Jackie with the other.
"Excuse me," Jackie said to a woman standing near them. "Could you take a picture of us?"
The second after the woman snapped the picture, Jackie jolted Catherine's shoulders.
"AH!" Catherine quietly shouted.
Catherine jumped and ran back against the wall, visibly shaken. So much so that she couldn't even yell at Jackie. She began breathing heavily, grasping her chest. Jackie was hysterically laughing which wasn't helping the situation. Her laughing began to cease as she looked at Catherine. She came over to her, and tried to hug her but Catherine pushed her away.
"Don't touch me, you asshole," Catherine managed to say, while still finding it difficult to breathe.
"Come on, I was just mucking around."
Catherine glared at her, "Not funny."
Jackie hugged her again and this time Catherine let her. Mostly because she needed the comfort.
"Jesus Christ Catherine, you're trembling. I'm sorry."
Jackie held her close for a moment until Catherine felt herself calming down.
"Can we just get down from here?"
"Yeah, come on" Jackie grabbed her hand and led her into the elevator.
Catherine stayed silent the entire way down, still fairly upset with Jackie. Once they reached the bottom and began their way back to the boat.
Jackie stopped her in her tracks, "Are you seriously mad at me?"
When Catherine didn't answer, Jackie got in front of her and held her wrists.
"You can't stay mad at me forever. This was supposed to be a fun day date."
Catherine looked up at her this time, still supplying an angry face.
"Come on Schnookums!" Jackie grinned. "Don't you dare smile. Don't do that!"
Between Jackie calling her Schnookums and teasing her not to smile, Catherine couldn't prevent her lips from curling up despite how hard she tried.
"I hate you."
"No you don't, but I am really sorry. Lesson learnt. No more pranks."
"I will believe that when I see it."
****
After the boat ride back to the city, they were able to squeeze in a little shopping before having to return to the hotel. While they were goofing around and enjoying their time, Jackie randomly blurted out,
"Be my girlfriend tonight."
Catherine looked at her, "Right."
"I'm serious," Jackie was looking at her sincerely.
"You know we can't. You have to finish this thing with Tommy and-"
"Fuck Tommy! This day has been perfect. I'm sick of us having to suffer for the sake of other people's ignorances."
Catherine realised Jackie was being completely serious.
"As much as I want to, you know we can't. It's not even just about other people. It's about us. Both of our careers could suffer."
"I don't care. A job doesn't make me as happy as you do," Jackie said as she took hold of both of her hands.
All Catherine could do was offer a heartfelt smile.
"I know. We have to be logical about this though and think this all out before just jumping into it, especially at a premiere. I will be there for you tonight. Physically, for once. We know what we have and that's what really matters."
Jackie dropped her hands and was obviously upset.
"Come on, don't end the day like this. We just need to have a little more patience," Catherine said, pushing the bill of her hat down in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Jackie smiled as she readjusted her hat.
"Fine. Well I guess we better head back to our fake life now," Jackie sighed.
****
When they got back to the hotel, the redundant chaos of getting ready began. Sean had a friend to come and help get Catherine and Rachel red carpet ready, separating them from Jackie.
"I gotta tell ya Catherine, it's been nice having you here. Jackie's been in such a better mood."
"Really?" Catherine asked.
It felt good knowing other people could see a difference in Jackie's demeanour just by her being around.
"Yeah, I mean except for last night. What was that all about? When I got up here, I thought I heard muffled crying and she looked like a mess."
Catherine panicked. That certainly wasn't crying she heard.
"She was really upset about her boyfriend and the public facade she has to put up on with Tommy isn't helping."
"I figured as much. I feel bad for her. She's caught in a tough spot between the two of them."
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, curiously.
"She finally confided in me the other day after being tight lipped about her relationship. All she ever wants is her boyfriend to be around, but he doesn't want to be a part of this lifestyle. Then you have PR basically forcing her to be with Tommy, but she feels guilty doing that as well. Damned if she does, damned if she doesn't."
Catherine felt awful. She didn't realise she had been adding to Jackie's stress equally as much as the others had been. She thought back to last night and then earlier today. No wonder Jackie just wanted to end the entire charade.
After they were finished with Rachel, Rachel got up from her chair.
"I better get back in there with Jackie. Looking good so far Catherine!"
"Thanks, you look great."
Even after Catherine was done with hair and makeup, she stayed in her own room and finished getting ready. She didn't want to get in the way of the chaos that was surrounding Jackie. By the time she finally entered Jackie's room, they were zipping her up and putting on her jewellery. She was absolutely stunning but Catherine couldn't help to notice how unhappy she looked.
In that moment, Catherine wanted nothing more than to take the pain away.
A/n: The photos at the top are what both Catherine and Jackie will wear at the red carpet event (around that style). On the left is Catherine's dress (more classy and really suits her style) and Jackie's dress on the right (the dress just suits her vibe).
Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸