JACKS

I got back to LA yesterday afternoon. It may have been the first time ever I've arrived home and actually missed being on the tour bus. It's only been 48 hours and I already miss her.

Who am I kidding? I missed her right away.

When Dré dropped off an advance copy of her magazine debut, he insisted that I not use it as an excuse to run over and see Skye the moment her flight lands.

So I'm outside her apartment knocking on her door.

I'm hopeless when it comes to this girl.

The door swings open and a man appears in the doorway in an unbuttoned tropical-print shirt, a leather necklace, and black shorts. He's tan with medium-length shaggy blonde hair. He looks me up and down then crosses his arms and narrows his eyes.

Not who I expected.

"What do you want?" he asks in a low, monotone voice.

"Hey, I uh... I'm looking for Skye, is she here?"

"No. She's off photographing some talentless, pretty-boy rockstar."

I rub the back of my neck and try to figure out a response. People love to talk shit, but they usually don't say that kind of thing to my face. I don't know if I feel like laughing or punching him.

"I-" I start to speak, but I really have no idea what I'm going to say.

The guy suddenly bursts into laughter and folds over himself.

"I'm just playing with you, dude," he says in a much more cheerful tone, still laughing a bit as he pats me on the shoulder. "Skye's not home yet. I'm her brother Ollie. Do you wanna come in?"

I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding.

"Damn, that was harsh," I say with a chuckle.

"The look on your face was epic—totally worth it!" he says with a laugh as he steps aside and I walk in with him.

"Skye should be back any minute now," he says, leaning up against the kitchen bar. He picks up an unfinished bowl of cereal from the counter and eats a spoonful. Want anything to eat or drink, Jackson? Le casa de mi hermana, es su casa."

"A glass of water would be great, thanks. And you can call me Jacks."

I look around the apartment as he goes to grab a glass of water. It's very modern, with the kitchen open to the living room. The wall beside the couch is covered in dozens of nearly full shelves of CDs. Despite not wanting to be a total narcissist, I find my eyes scanning the spines to look for any of my own albums. I'm a bit too far away to tell, and I don't have the courage to be that obvious about it in front of her brother.

There's a small hutch nearby with a couple of framed photos. One seems to be a family photo from when she was younger. Another is of her standing on the boardwalk with Greg; he's kissing her cheek as she smiles brightly. It was clearly taken several years ago, but they look really happy.

I'm such a selfish dick.

"Here ya go, bromigo," Ollie says, standing behind the counter like a bartender. He slides the drink to me and I grab it, giving him a nod of thanks. I lean an elbow on the counter and take a sip.

"So Jacks..." he says in a more serious voice. "Are you sleeping with my sister?"

My eyes widen and I nearly choke on my water.

"No," I say, trying not to cough after inhaling my drink. "What? No!"

I cough a bit to clear the water from my lungs. Ollie stays silent, his face void of emotion as he holds eye contact for longer than feels comfortable. I feel like we're in a staring contest.

"Why not?" he asks, smirking as he takes another spoonful of cereal.

"I honestly can't tell if you're fucking with me or not."

"Bit of both." He smirks and walks around the counter to sit beside me.

I definitely need to change this subject.

My eyes catch Skye's luggage stacked in the corner.

"So when did Skye get back?" I ask.

"Her flight got in about an hour ago but uh..." His speech slows like he's debating whether or not to lie to me. "She had some errands to run, so I brought her stuff home. She'll be back soon."

She's with him.

My chest tightens and burns. I'm trying to pretend it doesn't bother me, but I feel like collapsing to the floor.

She got home and the very first thing she did was go to see him. She didn't even come home first.

She hasn't texted me in days, but she can't stand to be without him for one more second.

I have to admit, I don't lose often. I've been very lucky in life, and things usually go my way if I work at it, but losing Skye... to him... it's more painful than I expected.

"Whoa, dude," Ollie says with a soft voice, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I didn't mean to upset you, I swear. It's not like that..."

I shake my head.

"What? No, I'm not upset," I say, putting on my best neutral expression. I've gotten pretty good at pretending I'm okay when I'm not. It's part of the job.

"Brah," he says, raising a brow. "You're good, I'll admit that. Like, I would buy it if you didn't look like someone kicked you in the nads just a second ago. But it's not what you think it is, okay?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm really totally fine. Why would I care if Skye went to run errands?"

"Probably because you like my sister." He gives me a sympathetic smile. I see so much of Skye's face in his—the same kind eyes, the same bright smile. Right now, those similarities are just a painful reminder.

"I... I mean of course I do. Everybody likes Skye." I try to play it off like I don't know what he means, but he's clearly onto me.

He scrunches his mouth to the side.

I sigh.

"Does she know?" I ask, running a hand through my hair.

"Not really, no. She's a bit clueless when it comes to other people showing interest in her. Skye doesn't see how great she is sometimes."

I nod, unable to say or do much else.

"She likes you too. She'll probably kick my ass for telling you that, but it's true."

She likes me too.

Any other day, I would love to hear that. Right now, it seems like a consolation prize.

"But she didn't run to see me when she got in to LA, did she?"

My voice sounds bitter and dejected—exactly how I feel.

"That's not..." He lets out a deep, exasperated sigh. "I don't want to betray my sister's trust, okay, but I promise the situation isn't what you're imagining. She's not... I don't think... Balls! This is hard to explain."

"What's hard to explain? She's visiting her fiancé. I don't have any righ-"

"No, no... It's n-"

We hear the doorknob jiggle and the door swings open. Skye stomps in with her back turned to us. She huffs as she takes off her coat.

"Well it's official, Ols—I'm fucking single!" she declares. She hangs her coat on a hook in the wall and whips around to face us. Her eyes go round as they meet mine and she freezes in place.

I can't fight the smile tugging at my lips.

This girl sure knows how to make an entrance.

▶▶