TJ slid past me, entering my room before I had the chance to respond. I closed the door and turned around to see her fixing herself a drink. She brought the glass to her lips and instantly drained the contents, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"What are you doing here?"

TJ brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and turned to face me. "The boys made me realize I was a dick and I should apologize." She placed the glass down on the table, staying silent as she tapped her fingers against the wood. "Look," she finally said, "You just freak me out a little, okay?"

"Is this your attempt at an apology?"

"Just let me explain." TJ poured herself another drink. "I'm not used to nice people," she said, "And you're nice, or at least you seem nice – I haven't figured that all out yet – and that freaks me out. All of this," she motioned her hands dramatically, around the room, "freaks me out. Everything. Okay?"

I sat at the end of the bed, giving myself a moment to try and piece together what she was saying. "You know an apology usually uses the world sorry, right?"

TJ made her way over, taking a seat beside me, "I..." she slowly started, closing her eyes, "I am sorry."

"That sounded like it was painful to say," I teased, nudging her side.

"It was."

"Do you say that often?"

"Never. Feel honoured."

"I am, trust me."

"Are we supposed to hug now or something?"

I grinned, "I think we will save that for next time."

TJ nodded, looking down at her drink. She gently swirled the liquid around and brought the glass up to her lips to take a sip. "Does it ever get easier?" She asked, her eyes meeting mine, "Everyone knowing everything about you? Or at least, acting like they do?"

"Not really," I replied honestly, "I think you just get immune to it. They all say it comes with the territory. You never really know what it's all like until you go through it."

"Well that fucking sucks," her voice murmured against the rim of her glass.

"It does. But that's the price of fame."

I watched as her eyes roamed around the room, her fingers tapping against the glass she held in her lap. The brief amount of silence was halted by the sound of her voice.

"He was never in my life," she began softly, turning her head to the side to look at me, "It was just my mom and me. That's why it pissed me off so much. I don't like people knowing he's my dad. Everyone else thinks of him as this great rock star... but in my eyes, he's just some guy that knocked up my mom and skipped town."

Listening to her, I wasn't sure what I was more surprised by. The brief insight into the story of her father, or the fact that she was telling me in the first place.

"I always knew there was a high chance it would come out one day if we ever made it... but I thought I'd get to decide," she continued, "That's why I didn't want my name on the song and why I freaked out when it leaked. There's a lot of outside shit that I still need to figure out and I wasn't ready for people to dig into my life. Now it's out there, thanks to someone I thought I could trust and now suddenly strangers think they can form an opinion and turn it into a fact. Not just about the family shit but also you and me, and..." Her voice trailed off as she shook her head, a smile cross her lips, "And that just fucking sucks."

You and me.

"Yeah... it does fucking suck," Was all that I was able to manage.

You and me.

I cleared my throat, "Should we celebrate how much it fucking sucks with another drink?"

TJ handed me her empty glass, "You know the way to my heart, Young."

The next few hours were spent trying to keep TJ's mind off of everything else going on. I told her a few stories from the days back in the boyband. Some of the pranks we did on one another and management, funny stories with crazed fans. Most of them ended up being quite embarrassing. I blamed my loose tongue on the amount of alcohol I had consumed. The laughter that escaped from her was worth it. It was nice to hear her laugh, even if it was at the cost of my pride.

"Are you excited for your new single to come out?"

I took the last sip from my glass to avoid answering her question right away. "To be honest, I'm more terrified than anything else."

"Why?"

"What if no one likes it?"

TJ cocked her head to the side, "Do you like it?"

"Of course-"

"Then who fucking cares what anyone else thinks?"

I couldn't help but smile at her blunt response. "There's just a lot riding on this album. If the first single fails, everything else will just go down with it. Plus there's still so much negativity over me leaving the group. I just don't want that shit to overshadow everything."

"Carter," My name dripped seductively from her lips, "You need to have some more confidence in yourself. The song is good."

I raised a brow, "Did you just give me a compliment?"

TJ rolled her eyes. "And if that other shit takes away from your new song, I'll just leak one of those embarrassing stories you just told me." The playful grin told me she was only kidding.

"Don't you dare tell a soul."

That smirk, the one that weakened me every time, crossed her lips, as her body inched closer to mine. "Who's gonna stop me?" Her voice whispered.

"Have I ever told you what a tease you are?"

TJ rolled her eyes, "Have I ever told you how much it annoys me when you call me that?"

I watched as she pulled away, standing up from the bed, and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" I questioned, slowly rising to my feet.

"To my room," she called from over her shoulder, "So I'm not such a tease anymore."

I found myself quickly moving forward, reaching out and lightly grabbing hold of her arm. I wondered if it was the alcohol coursing through my veins that made me spin her around, bringing her back to close proximity. But I knew I wanted it.

I leaned down, my lips inches away from hers, "Don't be so dramatic," I whispered, closing the small amount of distance that remained.

The stiffness of her body told me she was surprised by my action. I could feel her begin to relax, her lips moving in sync with mine as her arms wrapped around my neck. Without breaking apart, our feet began to shuffle back towards the bed.

"Hello?" My voice grumbled into the phone.

"Good morning Carter," Jeff's voice sang from the other end of the call, "We got a big day today. Get a good sleep?"

"Mmhm," was all I could manage in my barely awake state.

"Great. I will need you to be dressed and ready in the lobby by seven-fifteen sharp."

"Couldn't you have just texted me this reminder?"

Jeff chuckled, "I don't have any free hands. Went on my morning power walk to get some coffee, have to be prepped before you even rise," he continued, the New York City early morning traffic heard in the background of the call, "You hired me to get shit done. Not send a text instead of calling you."

Eyes still firmly shut, I let out a yawn, "Alright, Jeff. See you soon." I quickly ended the call, tossing my phone onto the side table.

"What time is it?"

I rolled back over, wrapping an arm over her waist from above the covers, "Six," I muttered, "Sorry for waking you."

"I should get back to my room," TJ whispered.

"Five more minutes," I breathed against her neck, softly kissing the exposed skin.

"Carter..." her voice warned.

I could feel the corners of my mouth tugging upwards, "What?"

"I should get back to my room."

I placed another kiss against her skin, trailing my lips up to her ear, "I heard you."

Finding my way back to her neck, I continued with what drove her crazy the night before. Kissing, nipping, gently sucking. The soft moan that escaped her lips told me she was responding to everything I was doing.

Hand slipping under the covers, I gently danced my fingertips down her bare front, tracing her curves with the lightest touch.

"Do you want to leave now?" Tauntingly asking, my hand rested on the lower half of her stomach.

Her body shifted, her back lying flat against the mattress. The gentle movement of her legs spreading gave me the answer I needed. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as my hand slid down, parting once again in response to my touch.

A small amount of light from the sunrise peaked through the curtains, illuminating her face. It was crazy to think that even at this moment, doing what we were, I was still taken aback by her beauty. I leaned down, pressing my lips softly against hers. TJ placed her hand on the back of my neck, pulling me closer to her as she deepened the kiss.

Her forehead rested against mine, as she attempted to calm her breathing.

"Fuck," her voice softly groaned.

I could feel her fingers take hold of my hair. Her back arched, allowing the bedsheets to fall. I dipped my head, placing kisses down the newly exposed skin.

"Rollover," she said, in-between heavy breaths.

I followed her order, removing my hand from its spot, laying flatly against the mattress. TJ swiftly positioned her body over top of mine, slowly lowering herself as her legs straddled my waist. Her eyes fluttered closed, lips twisting into her famous smirk, as a moan of pleasure escaped.

"I think we're going to need another five minutes."

The sound of heavy breaths filled the hotel room. I glanced to the side, watching as her tongue swiped across her bottom lip.

"Wow," she breathed, "That was a lot for five minutes."

I couldn't tell whether her words inflated or deflated my ego. I mean, five minutes was typically a fast time frame to finish in. However, it was easy to do so with her seductive movements, which only drove my desire further, considering she barely knew the effect she possessed.

"What time is it now?"

I reached for my phone, "Almost six-thirty."

"Shit," TJ groaned in annoyance, "I gotta get back before my brother gets up and starts asking too many questions."

I chuckled, "Is Silas nosy?"

"Extremely," she muttered, sliding her body out of bed.

TJ glanced around the room as she slid her underwear on. She began to mimic the motion of taking her bra off and tossing it behind her like she had last night. I watched in amusement as she scurried around, locating her articles of clothing.

"Busy day today?"

"Yeah, Hank got us some radio interviews for promotion. And I think we have a photoshoot. But maybe it's tomorrow?" TJ snatched her bra from the other side of the room, appearing to be rooted in thought as she slipped it on, "I guess I should have read the schedule." She walked back towards the bed, jeans and top in hand, "Oh, I do know I have an extra hour of media training this morning. Just for me. Can you believe that?"

"You need more training than the others?" I did my best to hold back a laugh.

Her eyes rolled at my sarcasm, "I know, right? I'm an angel."

Silenced consumed the two of us as she slipped into her jeans. I wanted to fight the urge to ask her something, in fear of it ruining the calm moment the two of us were sharing.

"Can I ask-" Realizing the words were slipping, I quickly cut myself off, "Never mind."

"You can ask me a question, Carter," TJ said, slipping her shirt on, "I won't bite your head off. Pinky-promise."

I paused, contemplating the severity of my question. "Why do you call Silas your brother sometimes?" I asked, "I mean, I know you've said that all the boys are like your family, but you only seem to refer to him as that specifically."

TJ shrugged her shoulders, "We've known each other since we were in diapers. I was pretty young when I moved in with his family and it's just something we always did, calling each other brother and sister. I mean, we did look more alike when we were little before I started dying my hair, so everyone assumed we were siblings."

"You moved in with his family?"

TJ nodded her head, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Yeah, my mom couldn't take care of me and knew Silas' parents, so they took me in."

"Where is your mom now?"

"Dead."

The shortness of her answer caught me off guard. I could feel my chest begin to feel tight in fear over crossing a possible line.

"Speaking of family," her voice continued, pulling me out of my current headspace, "Let's just keep this between us."

"Keep what?"

TJ stood at the end of the bed, "You and me..." she pointed between the two of us, "Last night and this morning."

Of course. That's what we would be. A one-time thing. Well, technically, a three-time thing if we counted this morning plus the two times last night. And to me, a three-time thing sounded better in my head.

"Right, yeah," I nodded, clearing my throat.

TJ seemed pleased by my answer as she headed towards the door. "Oh, wait, I forgot," I looked up to see her walking towards my side of the bed, leaning down to gently press her lips against mine, "Good luck today."

as always, please vote/comment if you enjoyed this chapter. it really helps me out.

and follow me to get notified when I post new chapters!! 

bye bye for now <3