Follow Your Bliss

Gerard was hanging out with everyone that lingered around in the living room. I smiled from the kitchen watching them. Donna placed a hand on my shoulder and thanked me for helping wash the dishes and joined her husband. I hung back soaking up this image before slowly following her.

Gerard pulled me onto his lap still carrying on his conversation with the guys. I smiled and snuggled into his frame feeling protected. I gripped his T-shirt in my hands and watched his adam's apple move as he spoke.

I played with the bottom of his shirt before slipping a hand underneath. I smiled up at him when he looked at me briefly out of the corner of his eye. I traced swirls around his stomach absentmindedly and watched everyone talk and relax.

Gerard tightened his grip around me when my fingers brushed the top of his jeans. I looked around holding an innocent smile until he began to do the same down my sides. I grinned and bit my lip.

Alicia came over and grabbed my hand pulling me to my feet so us girls could talk and hang out. I kissed Gerard's cheek before she officially tugged me away from his grasp.

"It was getting too fucking boring in there." Jamia rolled her eyes and grabbed the bowl of fruit off of the counter.

The three of us took a seat on the kitchen floor and passed the bowl around as the kitchen radio played classic rock on the stationed it was tuned to. "Okay so you're a nurse form Connecticut with two brothers?"

"Pretty much." I shrugged. "My life sounds so lame summed up like that."

Alicia rolled her eyes chuckling. "Well what aspirations do you have left to make your life sound less lame?"

I leaned back on my palms and sighed. I knew exactly what I would love to do. It was something since I was a young teenager that I would love to do. But, I was way too much of a wuss to do it on my own.

"Well?" Jamia smiled and passed me the bowl.

I picked some cherries out and popped some in my mouth. "Well, I would love to go backpacking across Europe. Nothing fancy really, just going with what I have on my back. An overused dream by many, but I would still love to do it."

"That is a romantic idea." Alicia smiled agreeing.

"Yeah, but surviving that is another story." Jamia laughed. "Jeeze even when we were with the guys it was hard with the language barrier."

"I'd just deal with it I guess." I shrugged. "I took six years of French when I was younger and still speak it with my mom sometimes. And-" I felt my cell phone vibrate. I laughed when I saw the name on the screen. "Guten Abend meine Dame. Wo gehst du? Und sein Kinder? Ja, am Dienstag right? Yeah at JFK and then Kyle's coming later? Okay, sehr gut. Ich vermisse dich auch. Alright ciao babe."

"What was that?" Jamia laughed at me.

I blushed a little being in the spot light. "We took German together in college and still try to speak it at least broken to each other at least over the phone so we don't lose what we have. There were four of us girls that really hit it off that our professor called us her 'meine Dame'. Katie's back home in Danbury, Brenda, who was just on the phone, is out in California, and Maka just moved to Germany, but she lived in Georgia, the Georgia near Russia though."

"That was awesome." Alicia laughed. "All of a sudden you were speaking like an alien or something."

"We had a blast in that class and then I got my parents to let me keep taking lessons after since I took all there was to learn at my college, which wasn't much at all really." I smiled thinking back on my memories.

"So then why don't you just go buy a ticket and travel? I mean you must make enough to afford so?" Jamia brought us back to the subject that I wanted to avoid.

"Work." I smiled weakly and slid my shoe on and off constantly not being able to sit still. "I just got situated here and spent a lot on all my new furniture and stuff. Plus there's the little problem that I don't have a passport. That might come in handy."

"You really don't have one?" She looked at me funny.

I shook my head and leaned back on my elbows. "Nope, I've never had the need for one."

"You're just making excuses." Alicia popped some fruit in her mouth.

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe so, but I really haven't had time to think about that."

"You don't know what you're missing." Jamia shook her head at me and dug out the watermelon for herself.

"So tell me about yourselves being all engaged and everything." I tried to change the subject and learn more about them in return.

"Eh, it's like before, but you get to have a pretty shiny rock on your finger." Alicia laughed and let the light catch the diamond on her left ring finger.

"Yeah, but some believe that the vein in the ring finger is supposed to go directly to the heart." I smiled loving how some still believed that; it was a nice romantic idealism.

"But, I like how Frank gets so cute about it because he's so proud that he popped the question." Jamia smiled shyly. "Plus he thinks he can have sex when ever he wants now, which you don't hear me complaining." She admitted making us laugh.

Roxanne by The Police came on over the radio. "I love this song." I laughed and started to bob my foot to the beat of its introduction.

Alicia took that a step further though and pulled me to my feet and started dancing like a complete fool. She stomped her foot when she saw me standing there awkwardly. "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" I laughed.

She pushed me and grabbed my hand forcing me to dance like an idiot with her. I didn't mind though and even started to get into it too. "Look at you up on your tippy toes like a professional." Jamia scoffed teasingly. "Do you dance?"

"To stay in shape." I shrugged and got into it with Alicia. I like to go running with Josh, but I hate the gym so I took up dancing again since I've moved out. I always loved it when I took dance when I was little so I figured, why not, and took some classes again.

Ever since I can remember I've explored the different ways to express oneself. I even tried playing the French horn for three months; I couldn't wait until my mom would let me finally quit. But, I was always in plays in the ensemble or sometimes with a small role in school or in side productions in town. I quit that too when I was in high school and the director and his wife were too frustrating to deal with and I refused to put myself through that torture ever again.

And of course like many little girls, I took every kind of dance I could and was always playing around the apartment in my tap shoes and in my leotard or recital costumes; they were always the best for playing dress up.

"What kind?" She asked interested.

"Modern dance." I laughed as she spun me.

"Oh, so you're used to looking like an idiot." She laughed when I smacked her in the arm defensively.

Jamia rolled on her back laughing hysterically as we really started to get into it lip syncing and belting out Roxanne. She especially got a kick out of how we started to dance really funky and promiscuously.

"What's so funny in there?" Frank called from the couch. When all he got were only more hysterics from his fiance, he got up to see what was so funny being his curious self as usual.

He saw Jamia on the floor laughing so hard that she was crying. He looked over at us with our promiscuous chicken dance and looked at us weird for a moment trying to figure out what he was seeing was actually real before cracking up.

"Hey Gerard, your girlfriend's extremely flexible!" Alicia yelled making me blush as she leaned on my shoulder since the song had ended.

"I am not." I rolled my eyes. "Now, you're making up stories."

"Please, you're just shy." She rolled her eyes.

"So what?" I laughed and gave her a shove. She grinned and pushed me back. My feet got twisted together and I lost my footing bringing us both down.

Frank turned around and shouted into the living room, "Girl on girl action." Jamia took this opportunity and pushed him in the butt with her foot kicking him out of the kitchen.

"Logan." I squealed when he licked my mouth and face. He wagged his tail happily coming to see the excitement and moved onto Alicia making her squeal and push him away to get him to stop licking her face. Olivia jumped on my stomach making Logan follow and me groan not prepared for the extra weight on me.

Alicia rested her head on my shoulder catching her breath. Jamia leaned over us. "You two are so fucked up."

"You're just jealous that you didn't get dry humped by moi." I closed my eyes laughing.

She smack my side and guided her hands down her curves. "You're just jealous that you didn't get any of this."

"Please, only Frank is foolish enough to want you." Alicia laughed. "She just wanted me because I am so amazing."

"Hate to break it to you both, but I'm the only one she wants." We looked up to see Gerard leaning on the doorframe standing upside-down.

"Hey babe." I grinned tired and laughed softly at how funny he looked upside-down. "You look silly."

He raised an eyebrow eyeing our compromising positions. "I beg to differ. You girls definitely take the cake on that one." Gerard chuckled when I pouted. "I was wondering if you wanted me to drive you home or if you just want to crash here. My parents don't mind." He smirked already knowing what I was going to say.

"Please," Jamia rolled her eyes. "They never mind. Besides, I think that's what everyone else is doing since Donna won't let any of us drive since we a lot drank earlier."

"So we're staying?" He asked for me to either confirm or reject the idea. "I'll go wherever you're going Jane."

I smiled when Jamia and Alicia sighed and cooed us. "Okay." I nodded sitting up so Logan and Olivia slid onto my lap.

He smiled shyly at me and pulled me to my feet and followed the girls into the living room with the dogs walking at our feet. He sat me back on his lap like before and they told me stories about things they have done together. Especially exchanging injury stories much like my arm full of stitches. I laughed at how Frank and I seem to have the most from stupid mistakes too.

I smiled and leaned my head on Gerard's shoulder. "Do you want to sleep?" I hesitated answering not wanting to miss out on anything, but a yawn escaped my lips giving me away. "I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled wrapping my legs around his waist and standing up.

"Gerard, no." I began to protest as they laughed at my expense and wrapped my arms around his neck so I wouldn't fall.

"Just say goodnight to them Jane." Gerard turned so I could face them.

"Goodnight." I smiled and waved receiving a chorus of nights from them in return as Gerard carried me downstairs to what I am assuming was his room. I laughed, "You were sent to live down in the dungeon too?"

Gerard laughed and threw me on his bed. "You lived in your parents' basement too?"

"Yeah, I had my own room upstairs, but then when college came I upgrade for the biggest room in the house for privacy so I could study. I fixed it up, but I had to share with all our storage and all the other junk too; at least your room is separate from everything." I laughed softly to myself. "But, it didn't matter which room I lived in, my brothers would always follow me and hang out in my room."

Gerard smiled at me. He loved the way my face softened and my body relaxed whenever I talked about my family; he saw how much they mean to me.

"So how did I do today?" I asked seriously and moved over so he could sit at the bed.

"My dad and Uncle Matt were impressed by your strong handshake." He grinned.

I laughed. "That was the one of the most important advice my dad taught me. He said that a handshake was always a first impression and that a firm, strong one shows confidence. And it's helped wonders on interviews and such."

"And then my mom liked how you have worked so hard and still continue to do so. Basically you're the perfect child." Gerard placed his hands under his chin and batted his eyelashes at me.

"Oh shut up." I laughed and threw his pillow at me.

"Make me." He caught it grinning childishly and placed his and on his hips daring me to try.

I kneeled on his bed so I was almost at eye level with him. "Oh, I will." I kissed him softly at first. He grinned breaking the kiss and licked my bottom lip grabbing a hold of my hip and slipping his tongue between my teeth, kissing me passionately tasting every corner of my mouth.

He nuzzled his nose against mine and rubbed the bare skin underneath my shirt playing with the rim of my jeans. I smiled and pecked his lips, but the moment was ruined with Logan stood outside the door whining to be let in the room.

Gerard rolled his eyes and chuckled letting him in with Olivia prancing happily behind him. He flipped the switch on squinting slightly at the new light. "So this is it, now that you can see the room better."

"I got two tiny windows." I laughed noticing his one small window, the same size as mine were, on the far wall. He had a twin size bed and a desk piled sky high with drawing pads, comics, and other junk flowing onto his dresser too. "Is that I real bat?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be a paper weight." He sat on the bed smiling watching me look around his room and wondered what my reaction to be with that new information.

"That's awesome." I laughed when I saw his slightly shocked expression. "What?"

"Coming from the perfect child, I wouldn't have expected that." He teased me.

"Do you remember the TV show Flipper?" I asked him.

"That gay ass show with the dolphin?" He looked at me weird.

I laughed knowing it was true. "Well I used to watch it." I bit my lip when I saw him roll his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Big surprise. But, one of the characters had a bat at one point and I thought that would have been the coolest thing to have for a pet. But, my mom disagreed with that one."

Gerard laughed. "Did you really?"

"Yup," I nodded my head grinning. "That and I wanted a pot belly pig and a tiger at one point too." I laughed remembering how my mom would react to my requests, especially for the bat. She wasn't as excited as I was. "I would even get books out at the library to convince her, but they didn't do much except keep me occupied."

"I should probably have expected that from you, but you still surprise me Jane." Gerard chuckled.

"Hey, don't make fun just because I thought outside the box." I laughed and kicked off my shoes and began to unbutton my jeans.

Gerard smiled slyly at me and pulled me close to him by the two front loopholes so I stood in between his legs. He slid down the zipper and slowly slid them down my legs letting his fingertips gently graze my skin. I held his shoulders as I stepped out of them and smiled as he pulled me on top of him.

"Everyone else thought you were gorgeous and were a fool for being with me." He grinned. "Ha, and usually I get to play the family idiot."

"Glad I could take your place." I smiled and kissed his neck. He smirked when I shifted and unbuttoned his jeans so he could slide them off easily. Logan laid on top of them making a bed for himself for the night and Olivia curled up next to him as usual.

"So, how about you? Did you have fun?" He asked pulling the blanket over us letting our bare legs intertwine as we tried to fit comfortably on the small twin size bed.

"Definitely. Oh, and your mom even promised to breakout the famous cliche of photo albums over coffee tomorrow morning." I laughed at Gerard's sour face and reached over him to flip the lamp off.

"Wait a minute," He laughed. "So you were already staying over before I asked you?"

"Yup," I yawned and wrapped my arms around his midriff.

He rested his head on one arm while playing with my hair with his free hand lulling me to sleep. He smiled hearing my breaths grow deeper. "Night Jane." Gerard kissed my head and continued to rub my back underneath my shirt as he dozed off into a deeper sleep as well.