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it was supposed to be a double date. well, at least that's what christy and jessie thought, till jessie got a call from rhett less than an hour before they were expected to meet.
"i'm sorry baby, we just got really behind on some work. but y'all go ahead; no use in wasting the reservation!"
rhett's voice rang through the speaker as jessie applied her mascara, hand shaking a bit at the thought of spending time alone with christy. the crush on her friend had been growing steadily over the years, and jessie managed to push it down until times like these came along. it was hard to forget her feelings for christy with no husbands around to distract her.
she didn't dare bother with a phone call to christy, not trusting her voice enough to get the words out and instead opting out for a text.
20 minutes later, there she was
greeting the blonde haired beauty at the entrance of the restaurant. jessie couldn't help but admire christy. she was wearing a pale blue sweater and white jeans, her golden locks falling in soft curls around her shoulders and the butterflies in jessie's stomach were suddenly very restless at the sight.
the dinner was going just fine, though jessie had to avert her eyes from her friend’s angelic face several times. she was about ready to rig a makeshift eye mask for herself when she caught sight of someone across the room. at first she denied it; after all, how could rhett be here when he was stuck at work? but upon closer inspection, it was definitely him. and he was currently attempting to hide his face behind a menu. next to him was the glasses clad link, doing the same as rhett.
it didn't take long after that for jessie to get what was happening and she nudged christy, ignoring the spark that traveled up her arm at the contact.
“our husbands are dorks.”
christy raised an eyebrow in question before following jessie's eyeline, her head turning just in time to watch link clumsily knock over his glass, water splashing across the table as he fumbled to get the cup upright again. in the chaos of the moment, the men hadn't even realized they'd been caught.
christy looked back at jessie then, an amused yet bewildered smile gracing her face. “what in the world are they doing?” jessie simply shrugged in response, taking another bite of her meal and swallowing before she responded. “i don't know what, but something tells me we're suddenly the targets of a plan.”
across the room, the two men had just finished apologizing profusely to the wait staff that cleaned up link's mess. as the waiter walked away, rhett heaved a sigh “you're paying for the extra tip.” link ignored the quip, instead going back to hiding his face behind a menu. “do you think they saw that?” his voice came out in a whisper and rhett's eyes flicked up to their wives, the two women chatting away. “nah we're good. they're too invested in each other to notice anything anyways.” link could hear the smirk in his voice, a soft chuckle flowing from his own lips.
they continued their stakeout for the rest of the dinner, taking note of the way their wives seemed to fall into conversation after conversation. as time neared to leave, plates empty and tummies full, rhett spoke up.
“look, jessie's going for her card! i snuck the skating rink tickets in her wallet!”
his eyes were lit up in anticipation and link took a second to just admire his boyfriend's face, heart happy at the care rhett put into the plan. his excitement palpable, link took his hand as they watched jessie retrieve the tickets from her wallet.
before they all knew it, christy and jessie were lacing up their skates for their seemingly impromptu skating session. they knew their other halves were still following closely behind, sitting across the rink at a little outdoor café. they didn't know what the boys were up to, but they both agreed at the restaurant to see where this little plan would take them.
soon the girls were wobbling their way onto the rink, hands desperately grasping at the walls before finding a balance. their smiles were bright and cheerful and without realizing it, they completely forgot about the two goofballs analyzing their every move.
jessie watched as christy tells her a story about something the kids did that week, her voice distracting her when someone zooms past them sending jessie nearly tumbling. she grabbed hold of christy’s hand then to steady herself, a blush spreading across her face when christy squeezed it.
jessie felt like her lungs had given up on their job, her chest tightening at the feeling of christy’s hand in her own.
“ah sorry i didn't mean to…”
christy giggled in response, head tilting her way to send jessie a grin, her eyes scrunched up and suddenly jessie felt as if she was walking on air.
“it's okay, hon.”
the brief eye contact they shared felt like an eternity, time slowing down for those few wonderful seconds before jessie looked away, cheeks still rosey red.
neither made a move to untangle their hands till they left the rink half an hour later.
that night as jessie and rhett got ready for bed, both settling under the covers, rhett asked how her day with christy went. a knowing smirk playing at his lips as he questioned her.
jessie's eyed him then, a brow raised as she spoke “as if you don't already know. you really think your 6’7 ass can hide easily?”
rhett's eyes went wide, realization spreading over his features and before even trying to disprove her, she spoke again, voice quiet and hands anxiously fiddling with the edge of her silk pajamas.
"how do I know if she sees me as more than a friend?" the words fall out cautiously as she replays the hand-holding in her head.
rhett opens and closes his mouth a few times, eyelids fluttering in thought. “you
could ask."
"what if she says no?" rhett can hear the nervous tone filter through her lips, and instinctively he reaches out to lay a comforting hand upon his wife’s arm.
“you'll never know if you don't ask, sweetheart.” the sentence causes a blush to form on her cheeks and she quickly thanks god for giving her such a perfect husband.
“well… maybe i will then.”
and as the moon sent glittering light through the windows of that darkened bedroom, jessie drifted off to sleep, unaware that in the neal house, christy dreamt of her own girl crush.