Fic: It's Always Open Season On Princesses Part 16
Title: It’s Always Open Season On Princesses Part 16
Spoilers: Through S2, but we’ve strayed pretty far from the path by now either way.
Word Count: 6622
Rating: PG-13 (for a swear!)
Disclaimer: I don’t own this. Please stop asking me. It makes me feel badly about my own life choices.
AN: Okay, so here we are at Chapter 16. This is another long one, too. You want Jeff and Annie, you got it baby. This is almost entirely them, just enjoying each other’s company. I’m dedicating this particular chapter to imbettygrable because she wanted ’Roman Holiday’ fun, which this is close-ish too. There are some ’Roman Holiday’ references and illusions in this, so if you haven’t seen it, it might be slightly confusing for you (but why haven’t you seen it?!). And I’m giving a shout-out to pixie180 and engelen , for reasons that might be apparent just from this note, and everyone in the comments who knows how to translate Italian correctly. You all saw it before I thought anyone would, which means you automatically win!
Annie stared ahead in wide-eyed wonder.
Cobble-stone streets, all charmingly crammed full of stuff, wound down between stucco buildings that held the likes of little chocolate shops and boutiques that sold handmade boots. “Whoa,” Jeff remarked, eyes narrowed into the sun.
“I know,” Annie gushed in response. “It looks like a postcard!”
She grinned widely before moving forward, taking in everything with giant amazed eyes. They walked in companionable silence, arms brushing every few feet. “So,” he finally said after several minutes. “What do you have in mind today?” She had wandered down to the living room that morning to find Jeff sprawled on the couch, watching an episode of ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ from roughly the year she’d been born. After teasing him gently for several minutes, Annie had summoned all of her courage and asked him if he would be interested in seeing some sights with her. He’d agreed quickly, almost springing up from the couch at the invitation.
She shrugged. “I didn’t have anything in mind.”
Jeff cocked his head to the side and gave her a suspicious look. “Come on, Annie.” She narrowed her eyes. “You and I both know you memorized your guide book.” She tried to bite back a smile, but didn‘t quite manage in time. “Nice try at not seeming anal retentive though.”
Once she’d made the conscious decision to just let go of all of the agonizing and worrying over everything associated with Jeff, Annie had been able to actually relax around him, which she hadn’t been able to do for a long time. Furthermore, she remembered that she genuinely enjoyed his company. Most of the time at least. He was never going to change, and she could either accept that and take what he was offering or continue to push him away by trying to pull him closer and end up losing him altogether. When Annie had laid it out for herself like that, the choice had been a no-brainer. What she ultimately wanted from him wasn’t worth risking not having him at all. He would play with her and flirt with her and look at her and be strangely possessive of her and then later shove it all under the umbrella of ‘concerned friend’ or even worse, ‘father figure’, but at least Annie now knew that she had the ability to rise above it and enjoy it for what it was. She assumed that was what Britta did at least. She just had to remember to never take any of it too seriously and she would be fine.
What a great plan.
Annie gave him a sheepish half-smile before shaking her head. “Okay, fine.” She exhaled, feeling herself relax a little more. “So, I’ve given it some thought.” Jeff grinned at her knowingly. “I want to see the Trevi Fountain.”
Jeff squinted down at her. “Are we just going to see every sight from that movie?”
“No,” Annie pouted. “But I do want to see that.”
“How far away is it?” he asked.
“Couple miles?”
Jeff shrugged one shoulder. “You’re the one that’s going to be doing it in those shoes.” When she‘d suggested they take a walking tour of Rome that day, Jeff had stared down at her feet with furrowed brows.
“I can walk in heels,” she reiterated slowly.
“I can see that,” he offered, giving her body a once over that Annie pretended not to notice. He was flirting with her, right? It wasn’t just in her head? It was like the second she’d resolved to ignore it, Jeff could sense her lack of interest and decided he was going to take advantage of it.
How messed up was that?
“Lead the way then,” Jeff announced, waving a hand in front of them.
They made their way toward their destination, guided by the Google directions on Jeff’s phone. Annie had realized only moments after exiting the car that she’d some how forgotten her phone on her dresser. She’d decided that it was entirely Jeff’s fault. He had distracted her with the way his muscles were moving under his black tee shirt. Not that she had any intention of telling him that. See, that was exactly the kind of thing she was supposed to be not focusing on. A woman in a revealing dress walked past them, directing a pointed look at Jeff. Annie turned her face upward to see if he’d noticed. Yes, he definitely had. He actually turned around to look at her for a moment and Annie let a snort escape her. “What?” he asked, facing her with a smirk.
“You’re…” She trailed off, not really knowing what he was.
“What?” he repeated, this time seeming even more entertained by how uncomfortable she was. “She seemed really smart.”
“Oh my god,” she muttered more to herself than to him. “You’re so…”
“You’re jealous,” he sang annoyingly to her under his breath. Annie made a show of huffing at him in response. “Hey, have you noticed that all the women around here seem really…well put together?” Jeff asked.
“Um, no.” She shook her head. “Why would I have noticed that?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I won’t judge, Annie.”
“Jeff, stop being gross.” She straightened her back and raised her head indignantly, ignoring his chuckle.
“I’m just saying that they are really…self-sufficient,” Jeff shrugged as another woman made eye contact with him. “But they seem a little high maintenance.”
Annie laughed at him. “That isn’t the pot calling the kettle black at all.” She grinned up at him and he returned it easily.
“But, here’s the thing.” He raised a finger. “These women, like myself, all seem to own their high maintenance status.” He overtly eyed a blonde and Annie smacked him on the arm. “They know they’re high maintenance and seem to enjoy it.” He smiled at the blonde. “It makes them more attractive somehow.”
“So you’re looking for a girl who is high maintenance?” Annie asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “We have those in America, too.”
Jeff shook his head. “American women are almost all high-maintenance in some way, but they pretend they’re not.”
Annie’s mouth dropped open. “Are you telling me that you think we’re all deceptive?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Not all women,” Jeff clarified. “But, if you‘re going to try to say that you‘re not…” Annie turned to him, mouth gaping. Jeff smirked. “Okay, let’s say you’re dating a guy.”
“Awesome,” she cracked to herself. “Is he cute?”
“No, he’s got bacne,” Jeff answered quickly and Annie chuckled. “Anyway, so you decide you’re going to get a dog.”
“I can’t have a dog in my apartment,” she said with a shake of her head.
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Okay, a cat then.”
“I don’t like cats.”
He ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated fashion and Annie smothered a giggle. Irritating him on purpose was pretty entertaining. “Fish.” She did chuckle at that. “You want to get a fish. So, you have him come to the pet store with you. Now, you don’t really want or need his opinion. But you do want him there to agree with whatever decision you make.” He gave her a knowing glance again and Annie frowned up at him. “And then you make him carry the fish tank up to your crap hole of an apartment.”
“Well, you’ve got the upper body strength,” she answered and then winced a second later.
Jeff stilled. “So, now am I your boyfriend in this scenario?”
“No,” Annie sputtered after a moment’s hesitation. “Why, do you have bacne?”
“I’m smooth, baby.” He didn’t even bother to glance at her again as he started moving again.
Annie scrunched up her face at the mental image he was creating. “Ew.”
“Not in a Ken doll way, Annie.”
Before she could reply to that, a flower was being thrust in front of her by an elderly pot-bellied man who had approached them. He waved it at her enticingly and Annie stepped closer to Jeff. He cleared his throat. “Thanks, but I don’t think-” The man merely waved the flower at her again, presenting it to her as grandly at he could. Jeff sighed. “Okay, fine.” Annie craned her neck to look up at Jeff quizzically and watched him pull his wallet out and hand the man some money. The man’s eyes lit up as he handed the flower to Annie and then moved into her personal space and then he was kissing her full on the mouth, his thick mustache rubbing against her upper lip. He pulled away a moment later and then he was moving toward Jeff and she watched as his eyes widened for a split second before he was being kissed by the peculiar Italian flower salesman as well. Annie felt the utter silliness of the moment erupt from her and couldn’t get her hand up to her mouth fast enough to stave off the laughter.
Jeff stood rigidly and watched the man retreat before turning to Annie, his eyebrows drawn together. “His breath was actually really good, wasn’t it?” Annie grinned down at the stem in her grasp before tearing the majority of it off and tucking the fresh flower behind her left ear. Glancing back up at Jeff uncertainly.
“Does it look…okay?” she asked, hating herself for caring so much about what his answer would be. His eyes met hers evenly and held her gaze. Annie saw something there that made the fluttering sensation return to her stomach. She cleared her throat to try to dislodge it, but was unsuccessful.
“It looks good,” he replied without glancing toward it. She turned away from him and continued toward their destination. Jeff followed after a beat, staying quiet for almost a full block before pulling her into a conversation about how Neil and Vicki were definitely dating now. He had apparently walked in on them during paintball, doing something that he wouldn’t explain. They went on like this, in surprisingly comfortable conversation with each other until they had reached the fountain.
“Oh, “Annie gasped, taking in the huge structure as they descended to its base. “Abed is just going to kill me.”
“Why?” Jeff asked, a slight edge creeping into his voice.
She shook away the phrase ‘jealous’ that had popped into her head at his tone and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve been filming things for him for some movie he’s making and I forgot my phone at the house this morning.” She could feel Jeff’s eyes on her and chose not to glance up at him. Instead, she focused on the architecture of the fountain. It rose above them, close to a hundred feet in the air. Rich had explained to her the previous night that it was a depiction of Neptune, surrounded by what appeared to be a battle between men and horses in the water. “And this is really cool.”
“It is,” Jeff agreed with a nod. “But it’s also one of the most-filmed sights in this city. Probably not off the beaten path enough for Abed.” Annie nodded. “Do you have any idea what kind of movie they’re making anyway?” he asked.
“No idea,” she responded. “Something involving Italy apparently.”
“And my free weights,” Jeff added. “Maybe it’s some sort of European ‘Rocky’ thing?”
“Abed isn’t that lame.” Annie wrinkled her nose and Jeff’s eyes clouded at her answer. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Jeff shook his head. “You and Abed.” He turned his full attention back to the fountain, Annie’s eyes on his profile. A second later, his expression was back to one of practiced disinterest.
“Jeff.” Was it even worth saying anything? He would just act like she was nuts for thinking he cared. Whatever, either way it needed to be said. “There is no Abed and me and there never was.”
“Except for when you made out with him,” Jeff countered, not bothering to look at her.
“You were sleeping with Britta the entire year and still apparently managed to have it mean nothing,” Annie shot back, careful to keep her tone light.
“Britta doesn’t operate at the same level as you do Annie. She can have sex with guys and not care.” Annie didn’t know who she was more insulted for, her or her blonde friend. “It’s different with you.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “What do you know about the guys I have sex with?”
It sat there between them awkwardly. She was pretty sure what they were talking about now, and it wasn’t Abed. It was the whole Sergio seduction, which she’d thrown in Jeff’s face in an impulsive moment of juvenility. If she’d given it even a second of thought, she wouldn’t have said it at all. If Annie was being even slightly honest with herself, the idea of sleeping with the chef had sunk pretty quickly to the bottom of her brain the second she’d opened the front door of Pierce’s mansion to reveal Jeff. “I don’t,” he finally stumbled out. “I just meant that you and Britta don’t react the same way to situations. Britta could kiss Abed for the sake of kissing him.”
“But I would have to be deeply in love with someone to kiss them?” Annie inquired, knowing she was pushing him harder than she probably should. “I kiss guys because I want to,” she stated, raising her chin. “And I kissed Abed because he was acting like Han which, unless you have forgotten, he called dibs on so you wouldn’t.” The implications of what she had just said hit Jeff belatedly and he turned fully to squint down at her.
“Sorry,” he said apologetically.
Annie pursed her lips. “You’re apologizing?”
“I know,” Jeff answered, rearing his head back. “It’s freaking me out, too.”
“Jeff apologizing and me without my phone to take a video,” Annie murmured, giving him a teasing smile. His face lightened immediately for a second before sliding back toward Jeff Face Number Seven: Mild Joy.
“So, what’s the deal with this thing?” Jeff asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans and turning to face the fountain. “You’re supposed to throw something, right?” Annie pointed toward the group of girls her age who were currently throwing coins over their shoulders into the fountain and Jeff furrowed his brow. “Do you have change?” Annie shook her head, having opted out of carrying a purse for the day. “Well, okay then.” He moved toward the group of girls, and Annie could tell from the expressions on the girls’ faces that he was in full-on charm mode. She couldn’t hear what he said to them, but only half a minute later, he was back with a handful of American change. “They had some.”
“Judging by the way they’re still looking at you, I would guess they would have given you more than change, Jeff.” She gave the group a pointed stare before smiling sardonically up at him.
Jeff’s eyes danced for a second. “Are they still looking?”
“Yes,” Annie answered with a roll of her eyes.
“So,” he went on as he handed off all but a nickel to Annie’s waiting palm. “I should really put my booty into this then, huh?” With that, he actually cocked his hip in their direction before throwing the coin over his shoulder. It landed just inside the rim of the pool and Annie nodded approvingly. “I can get it farther than that,” he said as he reached into Annie’s waiting hands for a penny. He flipped it over his shoulder and it sailed past the last one, several feet into the fountain.
“Due!” A frail woman with age spots on her exposed arms moved toward them quickly. What was with the stereotypical Italian people that kept approaching them? “Due monete nuovo amore!” Annie stared at her, trying to decipher what the woman was saying. Okay, two. Two something…new…love? Annie’s eyes widened and the woman nodded her head emphatically.
“No,” Annie announced, shaking her head before thrusting the handful of coins at a bewildered Jeff. “No, no, no.”
“What the hell is going on?” Jeff asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Not important,” Annie hissed at Jeff before pulling him away from the woman. Jeff followed her easily, back up the short flight of stairs to the sidewalk.
“Is it you who’s making people weird?“ Jeff cracked. “At least this one didn’t make out with us,” he muttered, looking back over his shoulder, causing Annie to chuckle. “So, what next?”
“What do you want to do?” she asked as they ambled forward. “This is your vacation too, after all.”
Jeff’s eyes darkened for the length of a heartbeat and then he was shrugging his shoulders amiably. “You’re the activities director here,” he stated. “I’m just here to look pretty and pay for things.” At this, Annie frowned. She wanted to press him on the statement, figure out what it meant.
But that was definitely not part of the great plan.
“We can do that thing,” she instead chirped up at him, touching him at the elbow. He shot an unimpressed look down his nose at her and she felt a pout tug at her lips. “You know, we could go to that church and put our hand in the thing.” What was the name of that place? Everyone who came to Rome went there. He had to know, right? “Do you know what I’m talking about?”
Grimacing slightly, Jeff nodded. “I actually do, which is frightening.” He held out one arm in her direction and Annie looked at him confusedly. “I’ve got short sleeves on though, which means we can’t do that bit.”
Annie mirrored his position. “I have long sleeves on,” she argued back and Jeff scoffed at her.
“What,” he joked. “Like you’re Gregory Peck in this scenario?” He shook his head slowly. “There is no way you’re Gregory Peck.”
“So I automatically have to be Audrey Hepburn?” Annie pouted.
“Uh, yeah.” He regarded her with narrowed eyes. “Between the two of us, you are definitely that character.”
“How do you figure?” Annie persisted, crossing her arms over her chest.
His eyes widened dubiously. “You’re kidding, right? Annie, it’s a young naïve princess named Ann. Is that me?” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. Annie clenched her jaw to keep from smiling up at him. She would have bet a million dollars she didn’t have that Jeff had never seen that movie. It seemed like one he would shun just because it was considered a classic. That was what hipsters did, right? “It’s my mom’s favorite movie,” he added, as if reading her mind and Annie looked up at him, slightly alarmed. “You seemed really troubled that I knew anything about it,” he further explained. “So, the Mouth of Truth is out.”
“Mouth of Truth!” Annie repeated emphatically, throwing her hands up in the air.
“Settle down.” Jeff smirked down at her as they moved farther north, toward the Villa Borghese. The park swept across miles of land, filled with museums and fountains and sculpture. “Okay,” Jeff said as they walked slowly through the park. “This is art, but that woman who always dresses like the Mexican flag and walks down Maple Drive flipping people off is trouble?”
“Don’t tell me you know that lady,” Annie groaned.
Jeff grinned. “I was her lawyer,” he replied, drawing another groan from Annie. “Her brother owns the cell store by the Chili’s. She exposed herself to the high school cross country team one day and got arrested.” He shrugged. “And I was hired to defend her. And I got her off.” Something about his tone made Annie’s eyes shoot up to his face. The next part of his comment died in his mouth when he took in her facial expression, which Annie would guess was somewhere between ‘terrified’ and ‘homicidal’. Jeff cleared her throat.
“So, she’s not as crazy as she seems?” she asked hopefully.
Jeff chuckled. “No, she’s nuts. But it’s cute that you’re trying to find the good in the whacked out woman who spends her time sitting in a law chair by a car wash flashing fifteen year-old girls.” Annie smiled, feeling an embarrassed blush stain her cheeks.
Cute.
He thought she was cute. Like babies who were covered in spaghetti or when people put videos up on the internet of their cats yawning? How wonderfully asexual. Not that it mattered, because she wasn’t focusing on him or his charm beyond that of a friend. Which had been working fine so far. It was a great plan. And if acting aloof like Britta inadvertently made Jeff realize how he’d missed a great opportunity, then all the better.
No, that wasn’t the point of this at all!
What had been the point again?
She couldn’t really remember. It had been something about Jeff being an emotionless jerk who didn’t deserve her and how it wasn’t worth her time or energy to think about him. Which was good in theory, but he was looking at her at that exact moment and her thoughts felt like unset Jello, sloshing around in her head He was like unset Jello, spilling all over the place and leaving behind stains.
Annie physically shook herself from her own imminent mental breakdown and let her eyes settle on an area of land that seemed to be filled with small children playing, as people sat by on park benches and watched. The kids seemed to range in age from kindergarten age to middle school age. Making the decision quickly, Annie bent at the waist and unhooked her shoes to step out of them. She straightened back up a moment later, handing the shoes to a puzzled Jeff. Without another word, she hurried forward the group playing tag and was instantly invited into the game.
This was what she needed. A Jeff break. Being around him as much as she had been in the last few days was exhausting. She was constantly holding back her reactions to everything, second guessing every emotion she had and checking to make sure it was harmless and appropriate enough for him. Which is really not how she should have to act at all. He was the one who crashed her vacation, right? Annie ran through the grass, feeling exhilarated from the exercise. When she glanced in his direction, she found Jeff’s eyes focused on her, sandals still held in his grasp at his side. Realizing she was looking at him, he offered her a slight head nod, which Annie supposed was as close to an overt acknowledgment as she’d ever gotten from him. Putting her head down, she focused on the game, letting the small kids reach her easily and speeding up her steps when the older boys were ‘it’.
When the game dissipated, Annie returned to Jeff, breathless but feeling much more clear-headed. When she reached for her shoes, their fingers brushed and Annie felt the zing of electricity tingle through her hand. She didn’t glance up at him while she put her shoes back on with slightly trembling fingers, didn’t dare.
“So, you’re really still going with those shoes then?” he asked, surprise in his voice.
“It’s good exercise,” Annie defended, finally straightening back up again. “Walking in high heels has been proven to be a great way to work out certain parts of your body.” Her hands dropped to her hips. “My legs and butt will thank me for it.”
“That old dude over there is thanking you for it right now,” Jeff mentioned, motioning behind her. Annie spun toward when Jeff pointed and saw an elderly man on a park bench who was openly staring at her. She brought a hand up to wave unsurely at him and the old man waved back before turning back toward the children.
Great.
She apparently couldn’t even hold the attention of an eighty year-old man.
Annie glanced up at Jeff, who tried not to smile at the turn of events he’d just witnessed. “So,” he said once he’d gotten a hold of himself. “Did you want to get his number, or….?”
“Come on,” she replied, ignoring him with a roll of her eyes. “Could we take a bus?”
Jeff raised his eyebrows at her. “It’s fine with me, but do you want to check with your ass first?”
Swallowing down any butt-related remarks she wanted to throw at him, Annie set her face in a practiced glare before leading him to the bus stop, where they boarded without problem and, per Annie suggestion, traveled to the Trastavere district. They ended up at the Piazza Santa Maria, watching natives hustle by in their day to day life as they ate gelato from paper cups and shared favorite Greendale stories.
“-so he actually mooned you?” Jeff asked incredulously and Annie nodded emphatically. “What kind of medication do you think Leonard is on?”
“And how many?” Annie continued without missing a beat and Jeff smiled at her, the corners of his eyes wrinkling. Her heart seized up in her chest and Annie looked away before he could notice any changes to her expression.
There was a moment of awkward silence as she busied herself with taking a bite of gelato, feeling Jeff’s eyes on her the entire time. Why was he looking at her? Was she that obvious? She was trying so hard to not care and all she was doing was making it more obvious. He could see right through her, Annie was sure of it. How could he not? He was a lawyer. Jeff inhaled deeply and Annie’s eyes drew up to his face. “And do you think he would give some to us?” he asked and Annie relaxed, smiling at him. They wandered over to the front of an old church, covered with a colorful mosaic. “Can I ask you something?” Jeff questioned and Annie felt herself nod, unable to tear her eyes away from the artistry in front of her. “What has been your favorite part of Italy?”
You.
Annie took in a shuddering breath, shaking off the first thought that leapt to her mind. That was absolutely not part of the great plan. Was that what he wanted her to say? Did he want to hear that she was happy he was there? She hadn’t actually said anything close to that to him, instead trying not to dwell on the how or the why of him showing up. It was Rich-centric thinking that had caused it and calling attention to it would just make her feel like an idiot.
Or more of an idiot.
“Well,” she said slowly, thinking back over the last week of her life. Shopping with Camilla, swimming on a perfect beach with Rich, Jeff standing in front of her, looking at her as if she was his sole focus. She exhaled slowly. “Nobody… has said ‘no’ to me.” She tore her eyes from his face, not wanting to see his reaction to her words. It had too much potential to be heart-rending. “That’s been my favorite part,” she finished quietly when he didn’t respond at all to her.
After a tour of the inside of the church, littered heavily with mocking comments from Jeff, they eventually made their way to a restaurant right on the river bank. They dined on pasta (for her) and steak (for him), and Annie was inch by inch lulled into a sleepy kind of happiness. She suspected it had little to do with the sip of scotch she’d had from his glass when it had arrived at the table and more to do with the dark shade of blue Jeff’s eyes had turned. She glanced over at the small dance floor set several feet away from their table, serenely watching as couples swayed to lilting music.
“You don’t want to dance,” Jeff spoke up, the distaste clear in his voice. Annie’s eyes slid over to Jeff’s face to see him cringing. Was the idea that awful? Annie shook her head slowly.
“No,” she murmured before closing her mouth tightly. Jeff’s eyes narrowed in thought and Annie watched his mouth open and close several times before he finally succeeded in speaking again.
“I didn’t mean…” He sighed. “I- would you like to dance?”
She did.
“That’s okay, Jeff. You don‘t have to.” Annie forced a small laugh out, trying to prove that she didn’t need him to humor her in any way when he clearly couldn’t be less interested. Jeff studied her in silence for what felt like a long time before finally shrugging his shoulders and looking back down at his scotch. “Besides, my feet kind of hurt,” she added, waiting for his reaction.
Jeff’s features lightened quickly before settling into Jeff Face Number Two: Classic Smirk. “Was it really worth it to be able to bounce a quarter off of that thing?” he asked, gesturing toward her bottom.
Annie felt her face heat up. “It’s other people who would be doing the bouncing,” she clarified and felt a tiny thrill at the expression on Jeff’s face. “I can’t bounce a quarter off my own ass, Jeff.” She yawned.
“Are you tired?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You wore me out.”
“I wore you out?” he asked, his eyebrows raising skeptically. “I remember today going differently than that.”
“Only because you wouldn’t actually choose a single activity,” Annie shot back, pointing at him accusingly.
Jeff shrugged his shoulders. “I was hanging out with you.” The words were easy, and they left his mouth as if they didn’t mean anything, but Annie felt her heartbeat pick up its pace right away. Honestly, it probably didn’t mean anything, was most likely Jeff’s way of saying that because he was with her, he wasn’t given a choice in the matter. But the look on his face made her think…”So, if you’re tired, we should head for home.” Something was so familiar and intimate about using the word ‘home’ for where they would be traveling back to.
No. Bad. Everything was getting confused in Annie’s head. Jeff was doing it on purpose. He knew what he was doing, just like always. “Yeah,” she murmured, the words thick in her mouth.
Jeff rose from his seat. “Are you okay walking back to the car with sore feet?”
She glanced up at him, half-amused. “If I say no, are you planning on carrying me?”
“Annie, I won’t carry a fish tank for you,“ he stated. “I definitely won’t carry you.”
Together, they wandered across the bridge that spanned the Tiber river, lit magically in the quickly setting sun. Annie stepped to the bridge’s side and slipped her shoes off and stooped to pick them up before looking out across the cityscape. It seemed unreal, like everything that had happened that day had been a part of a dream that she would need to write down in her journal the second she woke up to the announcement of the morning special below her apartment. “It’s so romant-” Annie stopped abruptly, realizing what she’d been about to say.
“Romantic,” Jeff filled in for her before sighing. “Annie, it’s okay to say it’s romantic.” She glanced up at him slowly to see him staring out at the water. “I mean, I’m pretty sure the word ’romantic’ came from ’Rome’, so it’s really…fitting,” he finished as his eyes found hers, illuminated by the white lights that surrounded them. “It…is romantic.”
Meant nothing.
The way he was looking at her definitely meant nothing.
He made a show of clearing his throat, killing the moment as thoroughly as he could and Annie felt oddly thankful for the reprieve from her own confusing feelings. “Home, milady?”
She froze at the term of endearment, her mind blanking out on her completely. So much for giving her a break from her feelings. The last time he’d used that particular expression, Annie had squelched the conversation immediately. He had deserved it then, trying to sneak back into her good graces by using his slick charm on her. Had that really only been two weeks ago? It seemed a fuzzy memory now, like everything else in Greendale.
Everything but Jeff, who was standing with her in Rome.
Still looking at her like that.
Annie sucked in a breath, feeling something crack open in her chest. Had she really thought that she could play his game and keep her head above water? Flirt with him and have it mean nothing? Annie definitely wasn’t Britta. If she’d still been wondering, the question was answered once and for all. She couldn’t be cool or lackadaisical around him, about him.
She loved him, despite how he felt about her.
She was right back where she started now.
So much for the plan.
Annie forced herself to nod and Jeff gave her an uncertain smile. “Are you okay?” he asked hesitantly. “Get some bad pasta?” She shook her head. “Do you speak anymore?”
She nodded again before clearing her throat. “Yeah, yes.” She smiled at him nervously and was rewarded for it with a rare sarcasm-free grin. “Home,” she murmured.
And then she felt it.
The shoes, her perfect expensive shoes that Camilla had bought because she said they looked like…’fuck me’ shoes, rebounded off the side of the railing and one of the thin straps of leather slipped from Annie’s grasp and fell like a rock into the water below.
“No!” she cried, bending as far over the railing as she could, reaching toward it pointlessly.
“Annie,” Jeff said as he placed his hands on each of her shoulders and pulled her back. “One shoe? Yeah, you‘re not a Disney princess at all.”
“Can you go get it?” she asked pitifully.
Jeff’s eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. “No,” he answered determinedly. “I am not going to rescue your shoe.” She stuck her lower lip out toward him. “That isn’t going to work, princess.”
Annie smiled at him. “Gregory Peck would do it.”
“No he wouldn’t,” Jeff corrected. “Because he was awesome.”
“They ended up in this river,” Annie argued.
Jeff rolled his eyes. “They were in a fight at a party on a barge and were getting away. That is bad ass.” He pointed toward her other shoe. “This is just…really not.” She continued to stare at him hopefully. “Yeah, this is definitely not going to work. Maybe next time you should keep your shoes on your feet.”
“Thanks, dad.” It was out of Annie’s mouth before she could even think about it, but the second she did, she wished she could suck it back in. Jeff’s eyes darkened. “Sorry,” she murmured softly when he frowned a moment later.
“Could you stop doing that?” he asked and Annie bit her lip before nodding.
Wordlessly, they left the bridge and made their way back to where the car was parked. The ride back was silent and Annie closed her eyes, settling into the low hum of the engine and the warm leather seat underneath her. In what seemed like minutes, she felt the car slow and then stop altogether. Her eyes fluttered open to find Jeff watching her quietly. Annie smiled self-consciously at him and reached for the door handle to the car. She had to get out of the car quickly before she kissed him. She could feel the impulse working its way up her spine already.
She climbed out of the car quickly, feet bare. “Annie,” he called after her and she turned to face him. He was standing in front of her, holding her lone shoe out to her, the beginning of a smile on his face. She pulled it from his hand and watched his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
“Don’t sleep with him?”
It was so quiet, so uncertain that Annie wasn’t really sure she’d heard him correctly. In the next instant, he winced, making it clear that he regretted saying the words and Annie stilled completely. She should probably yell. Who asked that kind of thing? Was it some protective instinct that he had? She should definitely say no at least. She didn’t care if she did love him, that was just not a polite thing to say to someone else.
“Okay,” she replied softly, surprising herself, and watched Jeff’s eyes fly open and study hers. Annie held his gaze steadfastly.
“Really?” Jeff asked, completely surprised by the answer she’d given him.
She inhaled deeply, keeping her eyes on him before she nodded slowly, giving him as much of a smile as she could hold onto. “Yeah.” Without another word, she turned and made her way through the door and into the kitchen-
-where Sergio and Rich were kissing each other fervently. She let out a small squeak of surprise and watched the two men jump apart, each looking slightly surprised and guilty. Sergio was the first to recover, giving her a wide charming smile as if he hadn’t just been sticking his tongue in Rich’s mouth. “Anna, how was your day?” he asked.
Annie inhaled and let it out slowly. “It was…” She furrowed her brow before nodding. “It was good.”
“Are you okay, Annie?” Rich asked, concern on his face suddenly. She nodded again.
“I’m fine,” she answered. “Just tired.” She smiled at them. “How was your day?” she asked and was not surprised at all to see Rich’s face color in the next second. “Yeah. Just a heads up, Jeff will be coming in any second,” she added as a warning before slowing trudging up to her bedroom.
She was exhausted, drained in every possible way. She knew somewhere in her brain that she should be obsessing about the request Jeff had just made, or even the fact that she’d just walked in on two of the men she’d had crushes on making out with each other, but couldn’t manage to think about anything with the giant swarm of butterflies all swooping around in her midsection. Picking her phone up off the dresser, Annie checked her messages.
Text from Abed.
You should really be following Pierce on Twitter.
That was random, even for him. Annie had been neglecting her phone for the most part, which meant missed calls and texts from her friends on a daily basis, but Pierce was the only one she’d actively tried to get a hold of, to no avail. Clicking on the correct icon, Annie went to Pierce’s Twitter feed and felt her breath stop. There it was, under a comment on spicy mustard not being spicy enough anymore and a rant against ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.
HawthorneWipes Love knows no price. Love knows no age. Love apparently knows no country either- isn’t that right, @JeffWingerAtLaw?
5 days ago