Closer // Kings of Leon

Jackson

Grinder walks in front of Dad and me, leading us down a long gravel driveway. We walk alongside an older bungalow style house, complete with clapboard siding and a full front porch. I pull the bottom of my shirt away from my skin, covered in sweat from the heat, as I look at the place. Jeans and a t-shirt in this weather was a bad idea. Workout clothes would have been better but I wasn't sure about how people would dress. Seeing Grinder in jeans and a new pair of boots paired with nothing but a leather biker vest should have answered that question. I shake my head at how lame I'm being and focus on my surroundings. The house has been well cared for, nothing like the rundown neighborhood Holly lives in even though we're only across town from her. Blue hydrangeas spill from the side of the house onto the path we're taking. It's a sweet place.

As soon as we pass the back of the house, a full garden and backyard come into view. The scene of today's adventure.

A Bitter Reapers get-together.

According to my dad, this is the first official Reapers gathering in years. Most of the members have moved on, found regular jobs and settled down. The club morphed into a leisurely past-time rather than a criminal organization. And I've heard enough to know while most of what they were known for was in fact illegal, none of it was organized at all. The original leader, some guy named Duke, sounds unstable based on the stories Grinder told me late one night. And it's his kid's place we're hanging out at today. Grinder insists the guy is legit, a family man with a thriving car restoration business, but I can't help the edginess in my nerves.

Shit, I grew up around your basic wannabe nightmares, people who weren't motivated enough to form a motorcycle club but talked like they were above the law, harassed the community and gunned their mufflers when they rode through town. Same fucking thing. I shouldn't be concerned.

But it's not my world anymore—or hasn't been since I started college. I threw myself into the academic world and never looked back, to my mom's disapproval. She complained I thought I was better than her. I always told her that was a crock of shit, I just didn't want to struggle my entire life the way she did. But recent things coming to light have me shifting that mindset.

I am better than her and I really don't give a shit what she thinks about that.

"You made it." A woman with long dark hair and a kid on her hip smiles from across the yard. A little girl with equally dark curls runs around the woman pushing a doll stroller and singing.

"Wouldn't miss it," Grinder says as he gives her a hug and grabs the kid she'd been holding. "How's little Rob? Being good for Mommy?" The little boy nods while sucking his fingers.

"Good to know, buddy. Let's you and me go find your dad, okay? Auntie Julie will be here soon with Eric."

"Ehwik," the kid says around his fingers making Grinder smile so big it's almost scary.

"You're talking real good, little man."

"How you been, Savanna?" My dad says to the woman. "This here's my son, Jackson, come to visit for a while. Jackson, this is Brax's wife, Savanna."

"Nice to meet you," she says with hand extended.

I give her a gentle shake. "Thanks for hosting." I look around to see a few other families sitting or standing across the yard. "Nice house. Did you restore it yourselves?"

"Brax did most of it," she says, beaming.

"Brax! Come over here and meet Jackson!" Grinder calls across the yard, gaining the attention of one tough looking man who makes his way to us. He's not quite as tall as Grinder with fewer tats and a buzz cut. But he's got a beard nearly as bushy as Grinder's and a matching leather vest. He's smiling almost as big, too.

"I see you found your namesake." Brax reaches us, gripping Grinder's shoulder with one hand and gently rubbing the little boy's back with the other. "He's been calling for Eric the last hour straight."

Grinder grins, bouncing the boy in his arms. "They'll be here soon." He looks down at the kid, Robby. "Can you show me your toys so Eric can play with you when he gets here?"

The little boy nods, wiggling free of Grinder's hold and toddles off to a corner with a playhouse and a little plastic ride on motorcycle. Grinder follows the boy as Brax watches.

"So, how's your stay been?" Brax asks a few minutes later.

"Fine. It's been nice catching up with my dad." I keep my comments positive because for the most part, the visit has been great. Very enlightening. But the couch I'm sleeping on has not. My back aches constantly. I'm not saying a word about it, though, because I recognize an opportunity when it comes along. And getting to know my dad is a major life opportunity.

"I remember that dusty couch," Brax says, laughing. "It can't be all that fine."

I shrug.

"Listen, if you decide to extend your time here, let me know." He points to a staircase at the back of the house. "We have two small apartments above the house and the couple that lives in the one bedroom is moving out in a few weeks. They just got married and bought a house of their own. I'll have a vacancy. Furnished. No dusty couch sleeping."

I wonder what it says about me that my first thought was being able to have time alone with Holly. I guess it says I'm fucking horny.

It's been a week since our last date, if you can call hanging out with her mom a date. But damn, that make out on the couch was definitely in the date category. I miss being with her but I've been spending time with my dad in the evenings while she works or takes care of her mom. It would be amazing to have a place she could come to where we could be alone and in comfort.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll consider it and let you know. My plans are kind of open ended at this point but it's a possibility."

Brax nods and excuses himself to go see to some other guests, taking his wife by the hand and bringing her along. I watch them go. A pull from somewhere deep inside causes me to clench my fists to keep it together. I never had that, never had a view of a happy couple growing up. Everyone around me was a fucking mess, especially with relationships. But seeing the simple act of Brax holding his wife's hand stirs something in me. Desire.

I want that.

And I realize I don't just want a girlfriend or a wife someday, I want the connection that's clear as fucking day between those two. I've seen it in Grinder, too. Although I haven't been around he and his wife together, I have seen the look he gets when he talks about her. Pure adoration. Love strong enough to shine through his eyes.

I sound like a fucking sap. But every thought I just had is the honest to god truth and I won't back down from it. My mom would probably tell me to shut the hell up, that what I'm thinking of isn't real. No one has that. Except I just saw it standing in front of me. I've listened to it for weeks as Grinder talks about Julia.

The one thought that keeps knocking my hope down is if I can manage it myself without ever having it to look up to.

I pull my eyes off of Brax and Savanna to avoid looking like a creep when something in the air shifts. I can't explain it other than the feeling of an electric current running through me, jarring my senses and putting me on alert. I turn around to find Holly walking into the backyard, every nerve in my system buzzing with energy.

"Holy shit, what are you doing here?" I take her in my arms when I get to her, having booked it across the grass the second I saw her.

I feel her shrug her shoulders. "Don't know. Felt like coming."

"I would have invited you, but you told me you hated these get togethers." I pull back to look in her eyes. They sparkle back at me with joy. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail. She's casual in shorts and a graphic t-shirt, but she's never looked more beautiful, beaming at me.

"That was before." She smiles.

"Before what?"

"Before you came home."

Her words fall heavy on me. Home. Yeah, this feels more like home than anywhere else. A dusty, fucking ugly uncomfortable couch is the best home I've had maybe ever.

Holly continues. "And if you'd rather hang here without me, that's fine, too. I don't want to intrude while you catch up with everyone."

I lean back again, to look this girl in the eyes. "What are you talking about? Who the hell would I rather be with than you? Yeah, it's cool to talk to my dad's friends for the first time in forever. But they aren't who I think about all day long, or who I look forward to seeing, hopefully more often than once a week sometime soon." I take her face in my hands to grab her full and complete attention. "Hint: it's you. I want to spend time with you most of all. In fact..." I take her by the hand and haul her along the backyard with me, one person set in my sights. When I see him, I make a bee-line.

"Jackson, what are you doing?" Holly asks.

"Just listen, okay?" I don't look back as we get to where Brax is flipping some meat on the grill. "Hey, about that apartment. Let me know when it's vacant. I think I'd like to extend my time in Fallbrook."

Brax smiles without looking up from his grilling. "Thought so. I'll have it ready for you two weeks from now. I can drop a key by the shop so you can move in whenever you're ready."

I hear Holly gasp beside me. I put my arm around her waist and pull her to me as I turn into her.

"See. I'm not leaving. Not any time soon. I want to be with you, Holls."

Her arms wind around my neck as she snuggles in. "Oh my gosh," she whispers. "I can't believe you're staying."

"You said it yourself. This is home. I'm just making it official." Her sigh makes me smile. "Two weeks. Then it can be just the two of us." Holly shivers in my arms even though it's warm out. I know the feeling.

"Grab some food, you two. Plenty of time for that later." Brax laughs as he nudges us over to the table. "Little kids are all around. We all know how they got here."

Holly blushes but I'm just smiling bigger than I think I ever have. This girl. This group. Fuck, this town has saved me from a life of just getting by.

I'm actually looking forward to whatever comes next for the first time. I can't wait.

So...another chapter that went slightly off track from where I planned but WORTH IT am I right? Once again, I follow these guys when they lead me down a new path and I always look back and realize it was brilliant and opened a new door for the plot. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE CASE!

Hope you love where this is headed so far! Thank you SO MUCH for reading and sharing your reactions. It's honestly the best part of my week. 💚

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The Blue Bloods graphic isn't updated with the newest inevitable cover because i don't have a copy of it. So just enjoy this throwback to my yellow highlighter Brax thirst trap instead