Goddamn it. Now I'm thinking about Jess's reaction when she first saw Justin after he took a puck to the face, with the fresh scar curving under his lip. BRAIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Your brain is being awesome. ...Even if the image that is coming to my mind is the awful pic of that injury he posted on twitter, which was NOT HOT. XP But what does Jess think of it? :D
She saw it in his twitpic and when they skyped two days later, and it really just made her wince in sympathy. She's surprised he didn't lose teeth with that one. When she finally gets back to Raleigh, he's still skating with the Checkers, so she doesn't see him until training camp actually opens, and... okay, she's not into the scruff, usually, because she's not a fan of stubble-burn, but something about the line of pink, raised skin surrounded by three days of growth makes her wish she didn't have gloves on and stick in hand, because she wants to rub her thumb over it, over Justin's lower lip to see which surface is softer.
Indeed she does. Since she's set up at her apartment and he's not unpacked anything from Charlotte, he comes over after skate and his physical. Jess isn't a great cook, but she manages to make a chicken stir-fry that their trainers and nutritionists wouldn't be too crazy upset about, and she's got the last season of The Wire ready to go - they were working their way through David Simon's work last season. Justin's got this weird thing, though, where he won't sit on the sofa and eat. She's never known a guy to do that, but apparently his mom was super strict about it growing up, and living on his own hasn't gotten him to relax about it yet. So she sits across from him and they talk easily about the line changes the off-season brought and whether Jared Staal will ever break out of the Checkers lineup to the Canes, and she doesn't mean to but she feels her glance catching on Justin's mouth instead of holding his eyes, to the point that he finally stops mid-sentence and rubs at his chin.
"Is there something on my face?"
"Other than that mess you call facial hair?"
"You're staring."
"Maybe I'm just glad to see your stupid face." As she says it she reaches out and brushes a fingertip up his chin to his cheek, sliding across the scar as she goes.
When Justin smiles, she lets her thumb trail back down to trace the curve of his lip, and she has to brush the scar again, and yep, smooth and softer even.
"Does it bother you?"
"Does it bother you?" she counters.
Justin smirks, and then pushes to his feet and away from the table, being Jess with him with a grip on her wrist. "Nah. I've heard that some chicks dig scars."
Jess isn't sure if she should punch him or laugh, but Justin kisses her then, so she decides retaliation can wait.
They stumble over to the sofa, where they make out until Jess can feel her lips tingling and the skin around them burning. She imagines she's going to have horrendous stubble-burn in the morning but she really doesn't care, because Justin's cheek is warm under her palm (maybe her thumb is still pressed tight against the scar, but whatever, it's not like it's in the way or anything) and his lips are slick against hers and his fingers scratch lightly at the nape of her neck, right where her braid rests most of the time.
When they finally come up for air, Justin rests his forehead against hers, and his eyes are closed when he murmurs, "I missed your face, too."
Jess's stomach flutters, because she thought maybe it was just her. Plus, you know, they skyped, they talked and texted, she was busy training and he was playing, but it wasn't like they spent the summer together, so a few extra months shouldn't've been a big deal. Or so she told herself when the lockout dragged on and she was stuck in Toronto that her restlessness was based on missing hockey. And yet.
"Yeah?" She pushes the fingers of her free hand through his hair, which is long enough to be unruly now, curling at the ends. "You invested in starting The Wire, or..." She tips her head toward her bedroom. They're not fucking on the sofa when they've got four days of training camp left - it's too uncomfortable, and they'll fall asleep there and wake up cranky and bitchy and sore.
Justin sits up and lifts Jess to her feet. She presses a fleeting kiss to his lower lip and goes easily when he tug her closer with a finger in the waist of her jeans.
"Lead the way."
(Jordan, Zac and Zack give Jess grief about how red her cheeks are the next day, which makes Eric wince and pointedly look away. When Bobby chirps Justin about not coming home the night before, asking how he'd possibly had the energy to go out and pick up, Justin tells him that some women are willing to do all the work for him, and Eric's face goes hilariously red. Jess elbows him and tells him to suck it up because she's had to hear Tanya gossiping with Cody, and that was way more information than she ever needed.)
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I maybe watched the group hug after Skinner's PP goal the other night a time or ten.
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"Is there something on my face?"
"Other than that mess you call facial hair?"
"You're staring."
"Maybe I'm just glad to see your stupid face." As she says it she reaches out and brushes a fingertip up his chin to his cheek, sliding across the scar as she goes.
When Justin smiles, she lets her thumb trail back down to trace the curve of his lip, and she has to brush the scar again, and yep, smooth and softer even.
"Does it bother you?"
"Does it bother you?" she counters.
Justin smirks, and then pushes to his feet and away from the table, being Jess with him with a grip on her wrist. "Nah. I've heard that some chicks dig scars."
Jess isn't sure if she should punch him or laugh, but Justin kisses her then, so she decides retaliation can wait.
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When they finally come up for air, Justin rests his forehead against hers, and his eyes are closed when he murmurs, "I missed your face, too."
Jess's stomach flutters, because she thought maybe it was just her. Plus, you know, they skyped, they talked and texted, she was busy training and he was playing, but it wasn't like they spent the summer together, so a few extra months shouldn't've been a big deal. Or so she told herself when the lockout dragged on and she was stuck in Toronto that her restlessness was based on missing hockey. And yet.
"Yeah?" She pushes the fingers of her free hand through his hair, which is long enough to be unruly now, curling at the ends. "You invested in starting The Wire, or..." She tips her head toward her bedroom. They're not fucking on the sofa when they've got four days of training camp left - it's too uncomfortable, and they'll fall asleep there and wake up cranky and bitchy and sore.
Justin sits up and lifts Jess to her feet. She presses a fleeting kiss to his lower lip and goes easily when he tug her closer with a finger in the waist of her jeans.
"Lead the way."
(Jordan, Zac and Zack give Jess grief about how red her cheeks are the next day, which makes Eric wince and pointedly look away. When Bobby chirps Justin about not coming home the night before, asking how he'd possibly had the energy to go out and pick up, Justin tells him that some women are willing to do all the work for him, and Eric's face goes hilariously red. Jess elbows him and tells him to suck it up because she's had to hear Tanya gossiping with Cody, and that was way more information than she ever needed.)
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(Ahahaha, so much traumatizing Eric!)
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