SKYE

Jacks stands up and holds out a hand to me. I take it and he helps me rise to my feet.

"Come back to the bus with me?" he asks.

Oh god. The bus.

"Shit," I say. "Does everyone know what happened? Are they going to be asking me questions?"

I can't imagine facing everyone right now, especially since they already saw my little pool freakout.

"They just know you got attacked and we couldn't find you." He rubs my arm in an attempt to relieve my anxiety.

"Oh god, this is so embarrassing! Everyone is going to think I'm overdramatic." I look behind him and see Kay standing there with a security guard. "Everyone on the bus is going to want to know what happened."

"Well, you can go back to your bus if you'd prefer, but I'd really like you to come to mine for a bit. At least for the first leg."

I pause for a second before giving him a reluctant nod.

When I'm feeling vulnerable, usually the last thing I want to do is be around another person, but for some reason, it's different with Jacks. Everything about him makes me feel safer.

The walk to the bus is relatively quiet as we avoid any direct routes through the rest of the crew. Jacks steps onto the bus and I follow behind.

I tuck my hands into the back pockets of my jeans and groan. Apparently I sat in something gooey in that alleyway, because now my hands are slightly glued to the denim. I peel my hands from the fabric.

"Uggh, I'm all covered in alley dirt and my jeans are sticky."

"Take a shower," he says. "I'll put out some clothes for you to change into."

"If I come back to the bus in your clothing, that's going to be quite the scandal." I giggle and he smiles back.

"Why don't we worry about that later?"

"Are you sure you don't want to use the shower first?" I ask.

"I'm good." He nods and I make my way into the bathroom.

I peel off my grimy clothes and sigh as I look in the mirror.

This is not my best look.

My hair is frizzy and disheveled and my face is puffy and pink. A purple bruise is already forming near my tailbone. I look like I tried to break up a fight between a dumpster and a tornado. I step into the shower and turn on the tap, letting the warm water soothe my aching body.

With any luck, I can wash away the memory of this whole night.

I never thought something like this would happen to me while I was working, but now that it has I'm not sure where to go from here.

They're not going to fire me, are they?

I shake the thought out of my head.

After a few more minutes in the shower, I step out and wrap one of Jacks's fresh white towels around my body. I crack the door open and see a bag in front of the door with clothes in it, so I pull it inside.

There's a pair of red boxer briefs, gray sweatpants, and a black fitted men's t-shirt inside. I slip them on and wrap the towel around my head.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I hear someone coming up the steps and I freeze, but it's just Jacks. His hair is wet and he's changed into another pair of sweats and a white tank. He must have used the shower in the venue's dressing room.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi," he replies with a wide-eyed stare. His mouth falls open slightly and he blinks.

"Sorry, do you need the bathroom?"

"Huh?" He ruffles his wet hair and shakes his head. "No, no. I just used the arena's shower."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." He walks past me and pulls back the curtain to reveal his bedroom. It's mostly grey and white, with neutral tones throughout. There's a giant TV across from the bed and a marble fireplace underneath.

His tour bus is nicer than my apartment.

"I should be the one asking how you are," he says. He sits on his bed and pats the spot beside him, inviting me to join. I walk over and sit.

"I'm fine. Just exhausted."

"I'm so sorry that happened, Skye. Security should have stopped them from grabbing you."

"It's not their fault. I'm just... sensitive."

"No, no." He wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his side. "Don't do that. You have your boundaries, you don't have to feel bad about that."

"But I shouldn't have let it affect me like that."

"Don't apologize for how you feel, Skye. Your feelings are what they are—you're not responsible for justifying them. Especially not to me."

I lean my head on his shoulder.

"Okay."

It's all I can think to say.

Maybe he's right.

I look around the room, taking in every luxe detail.

"I haven't really been in this room before. It's hella fancy." I spot a pad of buttons on the wall. "What is this? A remote?"

I stand up and walk over to it to inspect the labels, but it's mostly little indecipherable symbols.

"It controls the lights, stereo, and fireplace."

"Oh dang, that really is fancy."

"Give it a try."

I hit a button with a flame symbol and the fireplace turns on with a low whoosh.

"Oh my god, it's magic!" I push another few buttons, not really knowing what they do. The lights dim and music starts playing.

Oh oops. It definitely looks like I'm trying to seduce him. Jacks raises his brows at me.

"I didn't mean to do that," I say, feeling a brush creep into my cheeks.

He laughs and walks over to me, pulling me into a hug.

"Suuurre you didn't," he teases. "Are you trying to seduce me, Miss Kennedy?"

"If I was seducing you, you'd know it." I stand up on my tiptoes and give him a kiss. He looks stunned as I pull away.

"Damn," he says with a hard exhale. He steps back and rubs his neck with his hand. I can't help but notice the rather obvious bulge in his sweatpants.

I step closer to him, but he backs away. His calves hit the bed and he falls backward onto it in an ungraceful flailing motion. I can't help but giggle and he starts to laugh as well.

"Are you running away from me?" I ask.

He rubs his forehead and chuckles.

"I just... don't want to get carried away."

His awkward, shy demeanor is surprisingly charming. I like the idea that this is the effect I have on him.

I approach until I'm close enough to straddle him on the bed. He swallows hard and his eyes search mine.

"What's wrong with getting carried away?"

I lean down to kiss him and he moans against my lips. It's a singularly erotic sound that I would happily listen to on repeat. He bucks his hips into me and pulls me closer, sliding his fingers into my hair.

He smells like soap and pine trees and his skin radiates warmth. I reach under his shirt, my fingertips brushing his abs and making him tense beneath me.

With a jerk, he pulls away from our kiss and pinches his eyes shut.

"We shouldn't... I just... emotions are high right now and I don't think we should... go there right now."

"Go there?" I tease, raising an eyebrow as I hover over him.

"You know, it's damn-near impossible to have this conversation with you when you're on top of me and wearing my clothes." He smiles and shakes his head, clearly doing his best to look anywhere but directly at me.

"To be fair, I wasn't really aiming for conversation." I smirk and he laughs, covering his face with his hand.

"You're really not making this easy for me."

I lean down to kiss his neck.

"I feel like I'm making it exceptionally easy," I tease.

"Skye," he says, his tone more serious. I pull back to see a sea of conflict in his eyes. He bites his lip hard and shakes his head again. "I want to, believe me—fuck I want to. But not tonight, after everything. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Damn it. He's right.

As much as I want to just use sex to forget all my problems, I suppose it's not the healthiest of choices.

I sigh and maneuver off of his lap, laying beside him on the bed.

"Buzzkill," I tease.

"The fanfiction readers would be so disappointed." He scoots up the bed and tugs me into his arms so that my head is laying on his chest.

"Aww, so you're not going to bite me and drink my blood either?"

A hearty laugh shakes his chest.

"Not tonight."

I giggle and snuggle into him. I know I'll have to deal with the aftermath of tonight and try to explain to my colleagues why I just suddenly went missing, but right now, all of that seems like it can't touch me. With Jacks, I just feel safe.

*****

I open my eyes to unfamiliar surroundings—sleek white walls, a shiny black ceiling, and a large bed with a silky beige comforter. The pillow is warm and... oh, it's breathing.

I shoot up and see Jackson grinning back at me.

"Morning," he hums, stretching his arms and tucking them behind his head.

I don't even remember falling asleep, but there's light peaking through the windows and the bus isn't moving, so we must have already arrived in Nashville.

Kay is definitely going to have questions after this.

"Hey," I say, combing my fingers through my hair. "What time is it?"

"It's just about noon." He smirks and looks at his phone. "I'm meeting my family for lunch in about an hour."

"Oh, sorry." I look down at my borrowed clothes and adjust them. "I can go if-"

"Come with me?"

The invitation catches me by surprise.

"To lunch with your family?" I ask.

"It's just my mom and sister. I'd like you to meet them."

Never in a million years did I expect Jacks to invite me to meet his family. He just seems so flawless—so untouchable. It never crossed my mind that he would be interested in me enough to want me to meet them. The thought alone gives me major butterflies.

"I'd have to go back to the bus to get my things."

"Technically you have to go back to the crew bus either way, but you could always stay back and hang around if you want. I'm sure everyone would love to chat."

He laughs and I scowl at him. He knows I'm not looking forward to the third degree from my coworkers.

"Okay, point made. I guess I'm coming to lunch."

When we arrive at the restaurant, we're guided by a hostess to the back patio. There's an older woman and a young girl sitting at a table in the corner. The family resemblance between the both of them and Jacks is obvious—strong cheekbones, full lips, and thick, shiny dark hair. This family is basically a beauty factory.

His sister, Livi, stands up first to give Jacks a hug. She could easily be a teen model. She has long, wavy brown hair and striking blue eyes. She's wearing a gray bomber jacket over a fitted tee and ripped jeans, which makes it clear to me she's one of the cool girls that I was desperate to be at her age.

She spots me out of the corner of her eye and gives Jacks a little suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

"Oh my gosh! This is her??" she squeals, pushing him to the side as she pulls me into a big bear hug.

Did Jacks tell them something about me?

"You are so pretty!" she says. "I'm Livi by the way."

"Nice to meet you," I say as we part from our hug. "I'm Skye."

Their mom gives Jacks a big loving squeeze then looks in my direction. She has shoulder-length hair with bangs and is wearing a navy blue T-shirt and jeans. Her thick-rimmed black glasses and friendly smile give her major grade-school teacher vibes.

"Hi Skye!" she says in a slight southern accent, wrapping her arms around me.

I guess they're all huggers.

"Skye, this is my mom, Julie," Jacks says.

"So great to finally meet you!" she says as we separate. We all take a seat at the table, which already has glasses of water for us all. "My son has been trying to tell me you're not his girlfriend but I wasn't buying that."

"Mommm!" he groans. I giggle at his clear discomfort. It's funny to see how quickly Mr. Smooth turns into an embarrassed teenager around his mom.

"Oh, come on! I'm your mother. You think I didn't know from the moment you said her name that you were completely enamored? I'm a Southern mama, dear. We know all, we see all."

Jacks cringes and pinches the bridge of his nose in his hand.

"Let's not make Skye uncomfortable, please."

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one who's uncomfortable," Livi says. I snort as I take a sip of my water, nearly inhaling it. I cough a couple of times to recover.

He looks at me with an apologetic expression and I return it with a smile.

They're really quite lovely and I don't mind hearing a bit about what Jacks thinks of me. If anything, it eases my mind. My feelings for Jacks have grown stronger by the day, so hearing that he's as crazy about me as I am about him makes me feel a bit better.

Maybe this isn't as one-sided as I feared it might be.

"So I'm looking forward to seeing your performance tonight!" Julie says. "Livi is bringing her friend Molly and they don't want to hang out with mom because that's not 'cool', so I'm just going to be by myself."

Livi huffs and rolls her eyes.

"We just want to be by ourselves, Mom," she says.

"I get it, I was your age once too. And I know you've had a crush on that Roman boy since you met him when you were six."

"Oh my god, Mom! Stop! I do not!" She looks at Jackson and then at me. "I don't have a crush on Roman, I swear."

"It's fine to have a schoolgirl crush, don't be so bashful." Julie takes a sip of her drink and picks up her menu. "I'm sure he thinks it's cute."

"Cute? Great. Just what I want to hear."

"He's more than twice your age, sweetheart. I'm sorry, but yes, cute."

"Ignore her," she says to me with reddening cheeks. "She's old and her brain is failing her."

Jackson looks at me and chuckles.

"I brought the passes for you so you don't have to pick them up at will call," he says, pulling an envelope from his back pocket and handing them to his sister in a clear attempt to change the subject.

Livi opens them up and squeals at the laminated passes with Roman and Jacks's photos on them.

"Okay brother, I forgive you."

"Forgive me?" he asks, tilting his head.

"For your little surprise birthday suit photos."

Jacks lets out a hearty laugh and leans back in his chair.

"Olivia—" Julie scolds. "Did you forget that Skye here took those photos? And I thought they were very tastefully done, honey."

Okay, now this is an awkward conversation.

"Oh shoot, sorry Skye. I didn't mean anything by it. He's just my brother so like... it's eww, you know? I don't even like looking at his face."

I reply with an awkward laugh and start to look over my menu.

With any luck, I can stand it up on the table and hide behind it.

"So where are y'all headed after Nashville?" Julie asks.

"We head to Atlanta tomorrow," Jacks says. "Then Florida, I think."

"Yep," I say. "I'm checking a lot of states off my bucket list on this tour."

"Is this your first time in Tennessee?" she asks me.

"It is, yeah. I was born and raised in SoCal, so this is all totally new to me. We were in Memphis for less than 24 hours, so this is my first real experience of the state so far."

"Oh my! Well we've got to give you a bit of a tour! Do y'all have time?" She turns to Jacks and he nods.

"We do, actually, Roman is covering my soundcheck today so I could see you both."

"Oh aren't you just the best son ever!"

"I'm gonna remind you of that the next time I'm in the dog house," he says with a chuckle.

"Next time you make a girl cry in art class," Livi says with a snicker.

He groans, leaning back and covering his face with his palm.

"What's this?" I ask. "You made a girl cry?"

"I didn't mean to!" he whines. Livi laughs and Julie shakes her head.

"He threatened a girl when he was in third grade."

"Accidentally!"

"Okay, now I have to hear the story."

"Well, I got called in to Jackson's school when he was around 9," Julie says. "They told me there was an incident between him and another student."

Jacks cringes and rubs his forehead.

"Oh boy."

"Apparently this little girl—very sweet little thing with these blond ringlet curls—had a crush on my son and drew a picture of him. She gave it to him as a present. My son, being a 9-year-old boy, responded in a very 9-year-old-boy fashion and drew one of her as a green, unholy looking dead creature with blood and guts and the whole nine."

I can't help but crack up at the idea.

"It was a zombie," he says. "And I maintain it was a good drawing."

His mom shoots him a glare with one eyebrow raised.

"He told the girl 'This is what you'd look like dead.'"

Livi breaks into a fit of laughter.

"She literally thought he was threatening to kill her!" Livi says, wiping tears from her eyes.

"So much for the smooth heartthrob!" I tease, and we all laugh.

"That's what I've always said!" his sister says.

Jacks crosses his arms and shakes his head, pretending to be offended, but it's clear he's fighting back a smile.

Seeing him like this, a normal guy being tortured by his family with embarrassing stories, it's like the final piece clicks into place—this is Jacks. His kind heart, his down-to-earth sense of humor, his sometimes clumsy attempts at flirting.

I'm unmistakably, completely, heart-wrenchingly in love with Jackson Ford.

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