No Pressure Pt. 02

"Yeah, hop in the shower and I'll join you in a minute. But no funny business," Beckett said, wagging their finger at Kelsey, "We have to be out the door in thirty."

"A half hour is so much time," Kelsey said in a low voice, trying to get out of her own head and shifting closer to Beckett.

"You would keep me in bed all morning if I let you," Beckett teased, arching an eyebrow.

Kelsey shrugged, "I can't help it. You had all of this," she motioned at Beckett's body. Beckett's perfect, tight body. Their hard muscles that were covered in the softest skin Kelsey had ever felt. The way their moved their hips and-

"You gonna finish that sentence or just objectify me?" Beckett asked, wiping the corner of Kelsey's mouth with the back of their forefinger. "You're practically drooling."

"I am not." Kelsey rolled her eyes. "My point is, you can't just spoon me completely naked and expect me not to wake up wanting you." She shrugged, a smirk playing on her lips.

"We can come right back here and get into bed if you want, but I was thinking we could go to The Holy Donut and grab breakfast, then-"

"Stop," Kelsey interrupted. "You had me at donut."

After fooling around a little in the shower - Kelsey was only human and couldn't be expected to keep her hands off of a soap-covered Beckett - they hopped in Beckett's Bronco and drove into town.

Unsurprisingly, they were both very hungry from their late night together. The two ordered a variety of donuts to share. Kelsey was excited to try the cannoli donuts, but after a thorough taste test that included stealing bites from Beckett's share, her favorite was Blueberry Lemon.

"Blueberry Lemon was the most basic one we ordered. It's like a palette cleanser between other flavors," Beckett said, shaking their head and putting their arm around Kelsey's shoulders. They were two of very few people braving the early-December cold to watch the sunrise.

"I have simple tastes," Kelsey replied, resting her head on their shoulder.

They enjoyed the silence together for a few moments before Beckett cleared their throat. "I'm sorry I told you to wait earlier. But hopefully you know why now."

Kelsey lifted her head and turned to face Beckett. The sunrise lit them from the side, a soft smile tugging at their lips. They nodded slowly and Kelsey recognized the look. It was Beckett's "go on" face. They were asking her to pick up where she left off when they interrupted her earlier.

Kelsey cupped Beckett's cheek, stroking with her thumb. "You're cute, but you know this means that you just picked the location where I am telling you-"

"Would you just say it already so I can say it back. I was trying not to take your moment away from you by saying it first," Beckett teased.

This was why she loved Beckett. She loved that the two could have their sweet moments but the banter never stopped. They both took their intimacy seriously but not so seriously that they couldn't laugh when something was funny or had to hold their giggles in when something tickled.

"I love you, Beckett."

"I love you too, Kelsey."

After exchanging "I love yous" - and maybe making out just a little more than was appropriate for a public bench at seven in the morning, Beckett took Kelsey on a driving tour of Portland. It was a little too chilly to walk around the coastal town and there weren't many businesses open for them to duck into to warm up.

They ate brunch at a brewhouse downtown before making their way to Two Lights State Park, where Beckett somehow convinced Kelsey to venture out onto the slippery rocks by the water. They sat on those rocks for as long as they could tolerate the wind, then headed back to Beckett's house.

Beckett promised Kelsey a home-cooked dinner that night and Kelsey was happy to be in for the day. While the temperature in Portland in early December wasn't all that different from Scranton, the proximity to the coast made it feel a lot colder than Kelsey expected.

They spent the rest of the afternoon cuddled up on Beckett's couch drinking warm tea and watching documentaries about sports scandals. The morning tour had been nice, but Kelsey was in Portland to be with Beckett and cuddling on the couch was all she needed.

For dinner, Beckett served seared salmon with lemon risotto and green beans. Kelsey could never get risotto to come out right and she'd mentioned as much to Beckett.

"Had to show me up with this bomb risotto, didn't you?" Kelsey teased, infusing their shared zest for playful banter into her appreciation for the beautiful meal Beckett had prepared.

"Not everything is a competition, honey," Beckett replied, taking a bite of the risotto and dramatically rolling their eyes back and moaning in delight. "But if it were, yes, I would definitely win this one. This might be the best I've ever made."

"Do you make it often?" Kelsey asked.

Beckett shook their head. "No. I've made it four times. Five including today." Then they looked down and focused on their plate. "All in the last two months," they said quietly.

Kelsey squinted at Beckett suspiciously. "You've made risotto five times in the two months since I told you that I fucked up the risotto I was trying to make for my mom."

Beckett winced. "Maybe? I mean, you said you liked it and I just..."

"I want to get up and kiss you, but I don't want my food to get cold," Kelsey said, popping a fork full of salmon in her mouth.

"I'll put it on your tab," Beckett said with a smile.

After dinner, Beckett built a fire in their wood-burning stove and the two snuggled up on the couch with a glass of whiskey and a joint to share.

Kelsey used the opportunity to verbalize her appreciation for the perfect day with Beckett.

"I don't know how I'm going to manage to leave on Monday. You spoiled me today and I could get used to that." Kelsey took a hit from the joint, then handed it back to Beckett. She only let a single cough escape, trying not to embarrass herself in front of Beckett. She didn't smoke often.

"I really liked spoiling you," Beckett said, taking a sip from the glass of water they'd brought out with the whiskey, then a long hit from the joint before passing it back to Kelsey.

"I'm still coughing from that first one, you keep it for now," Kelsey said, still holding back a coughing fit. If she just held her breath a little longer, the need to cough would go away. At least in her experience.

Beckett motioned to the glass of water on the table in front of them. "Take a sip of water, dummy."

Kelsey rolled her eyes, reached for the whiskey, and took a sip. Terrible idea. The coughing fit she'd been trying to suppress took over and a bit of the whiskey found its way into Kelsey's nose. Her eyes watered as she leaned forward and tried to stop coughing.

"Water, babe, not whiskey." Beckett picked up the glass of water and forced it into Kelsey's hand. "Drink water."

Kelsey complied and, after a few more sputtering coughs, her lungs settled and she caught her breath. "Ah, fuck, that hurt. This is why I don't usually smoke weed."

"I hope you didn't... just because I..." Beckett trailed off.

"No no no." Kelsey shook her head back and forth emphatically. "I like it, it's just a bit harder to get in Pennsylvania without a medical card. My days of buying from a shady teenager ended when I was no longer a shady teenager."

Beckett looked at Kelsey inquisitively. "You can get a medical card. It's like..." They scrunched up their face, "Fifty bucks in PA? I think? I can send you a link for a service that will match you with someone who will prescribe it. Totally legit, nothing shady. It's like another hundred bucks. So a hundred and fifty bucks and you get a card."

"Yeah but what medical condition do I have to make up in order to do that?" Kelsey asked. She would love access to regulated weed instead of whatever random edible someone gave her at a party. That didn't work out well most of the time. Either she got too high or didn't feel anything.

"Anxiety," Beckett replied plainly before taking another sip and another hit.

"I feel like that's such an obvious fake attempt to get a card. Everyone just says they have anxiety so they can get a card. And I'm a rule-follower, I don't know if I want to do that," Kelsey said as she reached for the joint.

Beckett pulled their hand back and nodded at the glass of water. "Sip," they instructed, then handed Kelsey the joint. "First of all, you have anxiety. What do you call what happens when you spiral because you made a mistake? Or thought you made a mistake?"

"A short temper?"

"Yeah, a short temper... because you have anxiety," Beckett corrected.

Kelsey thought about that for a moment. At least, as best she could. Thoughts were getting a little... foggy... She'd always had a temper. Her mom said she inherited it from her dad and that seemed to make sense. "I guess that means I need to get a therapist then, huh?"

"Babe," Beckett scolded. "Do you not have a therapist? You need a therapist. Everyone needs a therapist."

Kelsey laughed. "That's a dirty word where I come from."

"Well, I would highly recommend it. Not just for the weed," Beckett clarified. "In general."

Kelsey nodded. "I'll think about it." She didn't love the idea of therapy; of telling a stranger the things she couldn't even tell her closest friends. But her anger almost kept her from being with Beckett and she could have missed out on the best thing to come into her life in a really long time.

Beckett took the final hit of the joint and put it out in the ashtray, then leaned back and motioned for Kelsey to join them.

After some wiggling and poking each other in the ribs, both accidentally and intentionally, they settled into a comfortable position. Beckett sat with their back resting against one of the arms of the couch and Kelsey sat between their legs and leaned back them.

Beckett stroked their fingers lightly up and down Kelsey's arms. She sighed at the touch and sank further into Beckett. "Today really was amazing, thank you," she said as she closed her eyes.

"I wanted everything to be perfect for you," Beckett said, their voice barely above a whisper. "I figured if I was going to tell you that I love you after literally only spending a few days with you, at least in-person, I needed to back it up."

"I loved it and I love you," Kelsey said as she turned her head to the side to trap Beckett's hand against her shoulder. She kissed it gently before releasing it from her cheek to continue the tracing softly along her skin. "That feels really nice."

They stayed like that for an indeterminate amount of time - Kelsey wasn't keeping track - before Beckett spoke again. "Do you want to go upstairs?" they asked as their hands began to wander away from Kelsey's arms, gliding along her collarbone until they met at the top of her sternum. From there, they traveled together until they paused at the top of her cleavage.

Kelsey's chest began to heave and she could feel Beckett's doing the same behind her. "Yeah," she breathed as she nodded.

Don't be mad at me! This is where it makes the most sense to switch back to Beckett's POV. I'm working on Part 3 (outline is already done, as is the outline for Part 4), so it should be done soon.

Part 3 is going to push me a little outside of my comfort zone with writing a few scenes that include elements I've never tried writing about before, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.