TW: alcohol

Pov y/n

The first week of my new job is done and it went better than expected. I got a bigger project on the second day that I worked on with Brooke.

When we went to the lab, I meet Jordan and Brendon and they are nice and fun. We joked around a bit and I feel comfortable around them.

The lunchbreak was also enjoyable because they showed me a nearby café that also sells sandwiches and stuff like that. It reminded me a bit of Jesse and I texted him, asking him how it's going.

We chatted for a bit and he asked if I wanted to go to a bar with him this Saturday. I said yes and since then I'm looking forward to it.

We never met in private but I guess that's because we saw each other every day and therefore talked about everything new then.

Working for OFI is in some ways less exhausting than my jobs before because I don't have to ride the subway through the city in my lunchbreak and actually get to have a break.

Brooke and I finished our project just in time on Friday, so I can go into the weekend with a good feeling.

It was always nice to come home after work because Scarlett was there and she always smiled at me or gave me a hug when she wasn't working herself at the moment.

When we went to bed, she let me talk about my day and always listened, softly smiling and playing with my hair. She just makes me feel so loved and cared for and it makes me incredibly happy.

Rose's school started the day after my first day at work. She was excited to see her friends again and told us about everyone's holidays over dinner that night.

Sometimes when I came home, she was in her room, doing her homework and after saying hello to Scar, I went upstairs to greet Rose. She was always excited to see me and sometimes asked me to help with her homework.

On other days she either didn't have any homework or already did them, so she was playing in her room or in the living room. I played with her for a little while before relaxing on the couch or helping Scarlett to run some errands.

We already have a little routine that we all seem very happy with and every time I think about it, my heart fills with so much love. We really became a little family and nothing could make me happier.

It's also nice to run errands with Scarlett because it's something so common that we never did together but with her by my side, it still feels special.

This weekend, Rose has her Dad-weekend, so Scarlett and I are alone. She knows about my plans to go to a bar with Jesse today and was very happy for me.

I'm currently getting dressed and look into the mirror, happy with my outfit. I settled on some jeans, a shirt with a bit cleavage and a cardigan over it. I'll put on some boots when I'm heading out. This seems like a good outfit to go to a bar with and have a few drinks with a friend.

I go downstairs and find Scar sitting in the living room, scrolling on her phone but when she notices me, she throws it onto the couch and turns around, leaning onto the backrest and scanning my outfit. I twirl around once, so she can take a look at the whole outfit and I can tell that she likes it.

She makes little grabby hands and I step closer to the couch. As soon as she can reach me, she hooks her fingers through my beltloops and pulls me closer.

From here I can see that she's sitting on her knees right now.

Her eyes look over me again and I catch her eyes lingering on my cleavage. It's not too wide, just a bit wider than a usual one. A tiny smirk tugs on her lips and when she makes eye contact with me, she grins a bit.

"Having something in mind?" I ask and raise my eyebrows playfully.

She nods and hums a bit, her eyes darting back to my chest. If any other person would look at my chest like that, I would tell them to stop but she's my girlfriend and I don't mind at all, so I let it be.

Suddenly her expression changes and she presses her lips together and frowns a bit, letting go of me. I search her eyes, confused by the sudden change.

"Hey, what's the matter?" I ask softly but Scarlett shakes her head and sits down again.

"It's nothing important." She mumbles and I walk around the couch and sit down next to her. She still doesn't look at me, so I gently cup her face and turn it to me. I can clearly tell that something is bothering her.

"Please tell me." I encourage her. For a few more seconds, she presses her lips together until she opens them and meets my eyes and I am a bit puzzled to find insecurity in them.

"You look really great in that outfit." She starts and I smile a little at the compliment but let her talk.

"It's just...when I saw the cleavage, one of the first thoughts I had was, that I wanted to give you a hickey, to show off you're my girlfriend. I know you're out with Jesse and I know he has a boyfriend but there might be other people there who find you attractive and I guess I just wanted to make sure they know not to flirt with you because you're taken. It's not because I don't trust you because I trust you completely, it's just that I get a bit jealous at that thought and somewhat possessive. But I know that that can be a red flag or whatever it's called. It's toxic in a certain way and I don't wanna be the kind of girlfriend who is always jealous, even though there's no need to. I guess, I just got a bit insecure." She concludes and slowly meets my eyes again, biting her lip in nervousness at my reaction. I take in what she just told me and think about my answer before I say something. My thumbs gently caress her cheeks.

"First of all, thank you for telling me about this and communicating." I begin and she nods, still biting her lip, so I pull it out from between her teeth.

"Before you worry about it, I don't think in any way bad about you for what you just told me and I am not mad or anything." I continue and see a bit of relief in her eyes. Her hands start to fiddle with the last button on my cardigan.

"It's okay that you feel this way, you can't always control your feelings. As you said, you trust me and I know that and that's what matters most. You are allowed to be jealous and please know, I would never do anything to purposefully make you jealous. It is a feeling everyone has and we can't control it and some get a bit possessive when they are jealous, which is also okay until a certain point, at least for me. Important is that you noticed your behavior and thought it through, which in my opinion doesn't make it toxic or a red flag. As I said, those thoughts aren't unusual. What's even great is though, is the fact that you figured out where it's coming from, so now to the actual point." I say and Scarlett takes a breath but I don't stop to caress her cheeks and give her a warm smile.

"I love you, with my whole heart and I think I never had so strong feelings for anyone. For me you are the most beautiful person, inside and out and I am so honored to be your girlfriend. You are my person and I don't have eyes for anyone else." I assure her and see her relaxing more and more at my words until she takes a deep breath.

"Thank you, I guess I just needed to be reminded of that. I mean, I know you love me but sometimes I just feel like..." She searches for words, letting go of my cardigan and gesturing around a bit. I nod and take one of her hands, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You heard those words before and they didn't end up being true." I say and she deflates a bit and nods.

"It's totally okay and normal to be insecure about that after being cheated on. But I will be here and reassure you whenever you need it, no matter how often. I love you and I won't ever get sick of saying it." I tell her and smile softly to emphasize my words. Her expression softens a bit and she leans her head slightly against my hand that's still cupping her cheek.

"I appreciate that so much. Thank you, really! You are always so patient with me and make sure I am okay. I don't know how you do it but with only a few words you always manage to calm me down. I know you won't cheat on me but there's still a bit of jealousy and maybe I am just afraid to lose you." She explains and I lean my forehead against hers.

"You won't lose me. There's no one in the world who I would rather be together with than you. I truly love you." I whisper and she lightly squeezes my hand.

"Thank you. And I truly love you too." She whispers back and sounds calmer now, the worry in her voice gone.

For a few more seconds, I stay in the same position until I move a little and kiss her softly. She returns her kiss and when we pull away, she looks at me adoringly.

"I am feeling better now, thank you." She says and smiles. I return that smile and tug some hair out of her face.

"I am glad and don't be afraid to ever tell me when you need reassurance because I will happily give that to you. And also don't worry about being a little possessive, up to a certain level, I don't really mind it and if it's too much, I will tell you. But I highly doubt that you'll cross that line." I say and kiss her nose, making her smile grow.

"Okay, I promise that I will tell you." She replies and I nod happily.

"And if you want to, you can give me a small hickey, just maybe not on the neck, maybe more on the collarbone because then I can cover it up when Rose is back from her dad." I offer and see a little something light up in Scarlett's eyes but she purses her lips a bit.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna be that kinda girlfriend, you know? I trust you." She says and I brush over her hair affectionately.

"I am and I know. Don't worry, you're not because we both know what this is about and if it makes you a bit less nervous, that's totally okay. The reason being a past experience or something else, doesn't matter right now. You are allowed to do it." I say and she smiles softly at me and nods a bit.

"It's not making you think I don't trust you, right?" She asks one more time and I shake my head.

"It doesn't, don't worry." I confirm and she smiles a bit.

"Alright then." She says and the little smirk reappears on her lips.

Her hands rest on my shoulders and she moves to straddle my lap. After a last smirk, she leans down and I first feel her hot breath on my skin, before she attaches her lips. A sweet sensation shots into my stomach when she starts to suck on the skin under my collarbone. Her teeth graze over the spot and a little shudder runs down my body and I let my head fall back a little. The sucking gets stronger and I grip her hips and sigh a little at the feeling. She lets go and runs her tongue soothingly over the spot before kissing it and leaning back, proudly looking at the hickey she just made. I glance down and grin a bit before looking up at it.

"Seemed like you liked it." She teases a bit and leans a little back, looking at me. I shrug my shoulders and hum while smirking a bit. She narrows her eyes and nods with a grin.

"Now give me a proper kiss." I demand and she obliges happily, connecting our lips.

When we pull away, I gaze into her eyes for a few moments, before I tap her butt. She sighs dramatically but gets off me.

"Have fun with Jesse." She says as I get up. I smile at her in thanks.

"Thank you and you have fun with your workout." I reply and she groans a bit but smiles.

"Oh and I might be a bit tipsy when I come back." I add and blush a bit but Scar only smiles and waves it off.

"Don't worry baby, it can't be worse than when you're not." She teases. I huff and pretend to be offended but can't help the tiny smile.

"No but really, don't worry, I can handle that." She assures me and I throw her an air kiss.

"I love you." I say and she catches the kiss and puts it into her pocket.

"I love you too." She replies and I wave a little before leaving the living room and putting on shoes and a warmer jacket in the hallway before leaving.

The air in the bar is warm and thick but I don't mind and look out for Jesse.

He's already there, sitting at the bar and typing on his phone. I approach him and when he sees me, he puts his phone away, a happy smile growing on his face. We hug.

"Hey, long time no see." He says and I settle down on the stool next to him.

"Indeed. How have you been?" I ask and we both chuckle a bit, knowing fully well that it's been around three weeks but we both pretend as if it was way longer.

"I've been good. What about you?" He replies and I smile.

"That's great, so have I." I say.

We are interrupted by the bartender, asking us what we wanna drink. After a few moments and names suggested by the bartender, we decide on long drinks. We take them with us as we sit in a free booth.

"Had a little fun before you got here?" Jesse asks and wiggles his eyebrows. I roll my eyes playfully, knowing he's talking about the hickey.

"No, just a little love bite." I play it off and he hums, taking a sip from his drink.

"Did you?" I ask back. Surprisingly, he blushes and hides a bit behind his glass. My eyes grow and I swat his arm a little that's resting on the table.

"I hope it was good." I add and smirk. He blushes a bit more but nods.

"It really was, you should try it." He jokes and I laugh as he grins. I shake my head and wave off his suggestion.

"Nah, thank you but I'm not interested in dicks." I answer, making him laugh out as well.

"Everyone has their preferences." He shrugs with a grin and I nod, raising my glass a bit. He clinks his against mine and we both take a sip to being gay.

"How is it going with your girlfriend? Or are you two already engaged? Lesbians move fast." He asks, pretending to look at my fingers. I hold my hands up and wiggle my empty fingers.

"We're not engaged, we see how it goes and when it's the right time, one of us will propose, I guess. We never really talked about getting married. After all, we're only together for almost three months." I point out and Jesse nods.

"True, but that's not really true, you agreed to be dating a while before that." He reminds me and I slowly nod and play with the straw in my drink.

"We did but we see the day we came together as our anniversary. It honestly feels so much longer though but in a good way, you know? I feel so comfortable and safe around her. She makes me incredibly happy and makes me feel so loved. It just feels like we've known each other for at least a year." I explain and smile softly at the thought of Scarlett and how she always makes me so joyful. J

esse's eyes light up at my words and I can tell, he is really happy for me.

"Yeah, I get what you mean, that's one of the best feelings in the world." He agrees and by the look on his face, I can tell that he is also thinking about someone else right now.

"Would you say yes though?" He asks and lifts his glass to take another sip, ignoring the straw poking into his cheek. I look at him, not quite sure what he's talking about.

"If she proposed to you now, would you say yes?" He adds and I look into my glass, thinking about his question and my answer.

Honestly, I never thought about it. Sure, I wanna get married one day and I do see Scarlett and me being together for a long time but somehow the thought of marrying her never crossed my mind in a serious way.

It's just not really easy to answer this because there is more to think about than just her and me. She has Rose and I would want to be sure, that Rose is on board with the whole situation because she's still Scarlett's first priority. I don't think Rose would have a problem with it though. What I also don't know is, if Scarlett would even want to get married. She already did and got divorced, maybe she decided marriage isn't something for her. But I really don't know because we never talked about it.

"I honestly don't know. I do love her with my whole heart and I like the thought of spending the rest of our lives together but I don't know if we're there yet, in our relationship. We need to see and figure out how it's going with our jobs, her being away for a few months every once in a while and me, I don't know where my job takes me and I'd like to figure that out first. And we also need to see if we'd work in the daily life, you know? If it still works when we have a routine together and live together. Two weeks so far don't really do that." I answer and Jesse nods along, his eyes lighting up at different parts of it.

"Hold on." He says and holds up his hand, excitement in his eyes. "You moved in with her?"

I chuckle a bit at how he looks like he wants to jump up and dance around, happy for me.

"Well, not like that but yes, we are currently living together but it's only momentarily. My apartment in Brooklyn is too far away from my new work and I'd had to get up very early to get there, so we decided that I stay with her until I found my own apartment, which hopefully will be soon." I explain the current situation. Jesse hums in thought and his fingertips tap his glass. I nod and take another sip from mine.

"I see. But it's a start, you can see if it works for now and maybe, when you're ready, you can move in together, knowing that it'll work." He says slowly and I purse my lips in thought, I never thought about it like that but he's right.

Sure, a month doesn't portray how living together longtermly would be but it does give a little sneak peek. And so far it's great. I love living with them and coming home and seeing them, spending time with them.

But as much as I would love for that to be my daily life, Scarlett will be in LA for three months soon and besides, I'm worried that if we fully move together now, that I will get lost in our bubble.

I love her and Rose so much and I hope they will be my future but I don't want to forget that I moved here to find myself and see what makes me happy, to be independent. And I feel like, still having my own apartment is a smart choice for that matter.

"You are right." I finally say and Jesse smiles a bit. "But enough about me, how is it going with you and your boyfriend?"

Jesse's eyes immediately light up and he starts gushing about how amazing his boyfriend is and how he is always so sweet but also sexy.

"And when he does that thing, where he takes his shirt of and lets his hands-" He swarms but I interrupt him.

"Woah, I love seeing you happy man, but I don't need any further details because that sounds like it's leading towards sex." I stop him with a small smile and he bites his lip, containing his smirk and that's all I need to know to be sure I was right.

"All I need to know about that is, if the sex is good, the rest stays between you and him." I add with a little smirk myself and Jesse laughs and nods.

"It is really good, it's perfect." He answers and I nod, happy for him.

"But does that mean, we won't have a kinky talk? Sharing experiences about what gets us going?" He grins teasingly.

I groan playfully and swat his hand away as he puts it onto the table between us. He laughs at that and I join him.

Jesse continues to tell me about their relationship and when our drinks are empty, I go buy us new ones.

When I'm back, he drops the news that he'll ask his boyfriend to move in with him and I cheer for him and listen as he excitedly talks about how he's going to ask him.