The Girl Next Door
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine.
Author’s Notes- This is just a short angsty/sweet piece set after the dream suite scene in last week’s chapter of America’s Most Eligible. I named my Handsome Stranger Will and my MC is a female MC named Jaime.
Pairing- Adam/MC
Rating- PG-13
Summary- As Jaime sleeps, Will ponders the upcoming vote and how hard and how fast he fell for the Girl Next Door.
Will stared up at the ceiling of the dream suite, unable to sleep.
No, it wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep, it was that he didn’t want to sleep. He just wasn’t ready for this night to end quite yet.
Not when he had no idea if he’d ever get another one like it.
He glanced down at where Jaime lay nestled in his arms. She was so beautiful. And she was here, with him. He wished they could block the rest of the world out and stay here forever, just the two of them. But unfortunately that wasn’t possible and who knew what the morning would bring.
He scowled at the thought of the upcoming vote, of the plot against Jaime. He shouldn’t be surprised, after all he knew that no one could be trusted in this game, had learned that lesson the hard way and now Jaime was learning it.
Who had done it? Who had put her name up for elimination? He had his suspicions, but he knew that could be just a reaction to what had happened last season and he knew he’d have to be careful before making any accusations. Him losing his temper wouldn’t help Jaime.
Just then she shifted slightly in her sleep, moving closer to him and Will instinctively wrapped his arms around her, holding her tighter. He didn’t want to lose this. Didn’t want to lose her.
It was a scary thought.
After all, he had vowed he wouldn’t get personally involved this time. He’d learned that lesson. He’d trusted, he’d gotten attached and he’d ended up hurt and humiliated. He’d come back vowing that this time he’d be smart, this time he’d play with his head and leave feelings out of it.
Then she’d come along. The sweet ‘girl next door’, plucked straight out of the audience, far too nice for reality TV, and suddenly he couldn’t think clearly and it wasn’t his head in control.
Will sighed. He knew this was stupid. He, of all people, knew better than this. He knew that getting emotionally involved was stupid, he’d learned that the hard way, and yet, despite all his big talk, he’d gone and done just that and the first day.
The moment he’d set eyes on Jaime, he’d known she was special and and that afternoon at the beach, he’d smiled more than he had in months. Had almost been able to forget everything that awaited him and having here there… Well, it made this season a whole lot more fun than he’d expected it to be.
And now it was all in jeopardy. Jaime could go home tomorrow. And what happened then? Did they have enough to build on after the game was over? He wanted to believe yes, but…
“Will…”
He glanced down at Jaime, expecting to see her awake, but she was still fast asleep, a small smile on her face. She was just dreaming… About him.
Will couldn’t fight the smile then and he wrapped his arms tighter around her, keeping her safe and close in sleep like he hoped to do in the game. He’d figure out something. Derek knew this game better than anyone, maybe he’d have an idea. Together they could come up with a plan to keep Jaime safe.
They had to.
It went against his best instincts, the idea of reaching out to someone else in this game, but… It turned out his old wariness didn’t stand a chance against the idea of losing Jaime. She was worth taking a risk for.
In more ways that one.
- End
