No Place I'd Rather Be

It had been two hours since James picked up Jo from the airport in the middle of the night. They were now laying on his bed, cuddled up under the covers. They said nothing on their way to his house but she completely broke down once he shut the front door. They stood in the middle of his living room with her head on his chest, sobbing, tears soaking his shirt.

It took a few minutes before she calmed down. After that, he suggested that they go to bed.

Now, still wide awake, they laid closely together.

"Do you still remember when we first met?" James asked, rubbing her arm as she snuggled closer to him.

She laughed, "Of course I do. It feels like forever since that happened."

"Would you have imagined that you would be in bed with me in a different country two months after the festival?"

She laughed again, "No. Never. Hot guy like you? I thought there was no way you'd ever want to talk to me ever again."

"Is that why you kissed me and just left?" He questioned.

"It just felt right at the moment to kiss you and I don't regret it one bit. It was the best night of my life." She admitted. "Thanks for inviting me out here, James. I really needed this."

"I'm sorry for what happened." He sympathized. "I wish I could do something to help."

She shook her head and looked up at him. "My family has always been that way. There's no helping them or me. But I'm OK with it. I feel like it's made me stronger as a person."

"You are so brave, Jo, and incredibly ambitious. I mean that business you're planning with your best friend? I think that's an amazing idea. I believe you'll be successful."

Jo traced hearts on his chest. "You've been more supportive than my parents put together in all my 24 years of living."

"They'll come around. They might not understand what's going on right now but they eventually will. They will see your worth."

Jo stopped tracing and placed a kiss on his chest. She trailed kisses up to his neck, his chin, then finally his lips. She sat up and climbed over his lap. She held his face in her hands, kissing him with all she had. James felt the familiar arousal. He sat up as well and held her by the waist. Their kissing got heavier, lips smacking against skin, hands all over.

Jo stopped to remove her shirt, leaving her bare for him to see. James continued to stare into her eyes, the same beautiful brown eyes he saw in the daylight the day after they first kissed. He ran his hand up and down her back and felt the goosebumps form all over her body.

"James," she whispered as she felt him beneath her shorts.

He whipped off his own shirt while managing to hold her in place. He licked and sucked at her neck and placed a kiss on her collarbones. She breathed heavily into his ear and dug her fingers into his overgrown hair that he swore he'd been meaning to cut. His lips went lower and lower until he reached the valley of her breasts. He looked up at her when he took a first lick at her nipple. She moaned in return. She guided his hand on the band of her shorts, letting him know that she was more than ready.

He slowly removed her shorts along with her panties and then freed himself from his boxers.

"Are you sure?" He had to ask.

She nodded and hissed as soon as she felt him against her. He swiftly grabbed protection from the nightstand drawer, ripped the packaging, and tried to roll it onto himself the best he could. Jo giggled and helped him which only caused him to groan as he felt her hands on him.

Then he flipped her onto her back and slowly filled her. She moaned, her eyes closed in pleasure.

There's nothing better than this.

They moved in unison, connecting on another level. It's not just sex. It was...love. Both had never felt such a bond before. It was a new feeling and it was a feeling they didn't want to go away.

James slowed his pace, getting closer to his release. He looked down at her and made sure that they let go all together. She nodded indicating that she was nearing the finish line. With one last pump, they both let out a low grunt followed by a quiet sigh.

He rolled off of her but dragged her across his body to hold her. There was no way he was letting her go.

"That was--" Jo started.

"Amazing." James finished.

"I lo--" She started again.

He kissed the words from her lips before she could say too much. He knew that she felt the exact same way he did but now wasn't the right time. He was still high off the pleasure and didn't want to hear the words he'd been meaning to say and hear just yet. With that, James ended it by saying, "I know. Me too."

-

Jo was a mess the following day. It started when she woke up with red, puffy eyes. Then James' shampoo ran out even though she knew he hardly washed his hair. That left her to use just conditioner. After that, her blouse had been buttoned up the wrong way. Twice. Forgetting to bring her hair straightener, she had to settle for a messy bun. She was already a mess and it wasn't even noon.

She was tremendously nervous. James had announced last night that he was having lunch with his family and that Jo was invited. She wasn't prepared to meet his family. Not when she felt like she looked like Gollum.

Pulling up to his parents driveway, he hopped out the car expecting Jo to do the same. Instead, she stayed inside, unable to move because of how anxious she was. James ran up to her side and opened the door.

"What's wrong?" He asked in concern.

"I can't do it. I can't face your family when I-I'm like this," she stuttered out.

James took her face in his hand and placed a light kiss on her lips. It helped her nerves a bit. "They'll love you and you look beautiful as always."

"I smell like your freaking conditioner," she joked.

"I promise we'll go shopping later." He held out his hand to help her get out of the car. He squeezed it and assured her one last time that there was nothing to worry about.

Jo took a deep breath and waited for the door to open.

-

Lunch had gone incredibly well. James' parents, Deborah and Peter welcomed Jo with open arms as well as his siblings had. The conversations at the table were easy and fun. Jo could not compliment Mrs. Neal enough for the delicious meal she had served for everyone.

After lunch, James excused himself and Jo so that he could give her a tour of the house he grew up in. Along the hallways leading up the bedrooms were endless photos of their family. She awww'd at every baby picture of him that she passed by and laughed at the photo of him with pink hair at his time in Dallas. He pointed to each door, letting her know whose room it was.

When he reached to his room, he opened the door to reveal all the trophies, medals, and all sorts of awards all over the room. There were more photos of him during his junior year leading up to his first NHL game.

Jo almost didn't want to move, afraid that if she touched something, it would lose its value. He encouraged her to move closer to the trophies and such.

"They basically just turned this into a storage room," he said as he picked up a case where his first goal puck was placed. "My first goal."

"Can I touch it?"

He handed her small glass case. She held it in her hands delicately. She could almost hear it. She could almost hear the crowd roar and the goal horn buzzing as James Neal scored his first NHL goal. She could see his teammates rushing up to him to give him fist bumps and taps on his helmet. She could see his face--the face that said "I made it!"

She handed it back to him. She walked around the room, examining the rest of his accomplishments.

"This room is mind blowing," she turned around to tell him. "This is your whole life right here."

"Your right," he stepped closer to her. "This is my whole life right here and you're part of it now."

His arms circled around her waist, holding her tightly. He had never taken a girl to this house nor had ever introduced a girl to his parents. He felt serious about Jo and the gears in his mind continued to spin trying to rack up an answer on how he could possibly feel so strongly about someone he had only met in such a short amount of time.

He understood that Jo carried a lot of heavy baggage but that didn't matter to him. If she wanted his help, he'd gladly give it to her. They could conquer all their problems together.

Not a day went by since he had met Jo where he didn't think about his future with her. He constantly thought about what life would be like back in Pittsburgh with her around. He imagined coming home from a long week on the road and finding her reading a book on the couch that he hardly used or putting groceries away in his empty fridge. He imagined sleeping next to her every night and waking up to her soft skin against his. Jo was it for him and he couldn't bear the thought of being away from her anymore.

"What are you thinking?" Jo mumbled against his chest as they swayed like they were dancing with no music in the middle of his childhood room.

James took a deep breath and said, "How much I love you."

They stopped moving. The air felt still and every sound was blocked out for a second. Had she heard him right? Did he just say--

"It's true." He declared.

"I love you too," she managed to get out without bursting into tears once again.

They kissed but this kiss didn't feel like any other they've shared. This is validated their true feelings for each other.

"It's all happening so fast," Jo said. "I've never felt this way before."

"Neither have I," James confessed. "But it just feels right...like it's meant to be."

"We're meant to be." Jo said in a hushed tone, like it was their little secret.

James never heard anything so true in his life.