Highway Tune // Greta Van Fleet

I find myself back at Colleen's room after leaving the café, knocking a few times with no response. No footsteps toward the door or noises from the room that indicate she's in there. Where could she be? She just summoned me up here with her magic talk.

"Colleen?" I say as I knock once again.

But it's my door that opens five feet away. Colleen sticks her head out with a smile aimed at me.

"Hey, hot stuff. I'm over here."

I shake my head, stalking over to her and smirking as she backs up into my room.

"Why weren't you waiting next door for me like a good girl?"

Her eyes widen as her jaw drops. "Oh. I, uh, thought it was weird to, uh, make magic in Katie's room. So, I waited for you here." She jesters to her outfit which I had been too busy playfully trying to punish her to notice.

"The red lace?" I groan. I've been fantasizing about her in the red lace underthings, a cropped tank and boy short combination, since I saw them hang drying in her bathroom nearly a year ago. "You're killing me."

"No. I'm tempting you. There's a difference. I in no way want you dead. I want you dying." She winks.

I die a little right here with how her sexy talk sounds. But then I cage her in, my arms wrapped around her and my mouth claiming hers. No more play time. It's time to get down to business.

I let my lips trace her jaw, her neck, then her breast as I slowly sink to my knees. With my mouth at her stomach, I taste the salt of her exposed skin while my fingers tease the delicate red lace waistband of the shorts. Her skin is soft and warm, the scent of peaches surrounding me. I glance up to catch her gaze, eyes locked on my fingers.

"Do you want me to take these off?"

"Do you want to keep them on?" she asks with a quirk of her lips.

I shake my head. "Not much longer."

"Does that mean you're dying?" She mimics her words from minutes ago.

"Yes," I hiss while peeling the shorts away from her body. "Baby, you have no idea what you do to me."

"I think I have a small idea."

"Nothing small about it."

"No," she sighs. "There certainly isn't."

I stand up, kissing along her skin as I go. "I need you to know something."

"Tell me."

"This means something to me."

"It means something to me, too."

I'm honest enough with myself to know it means much more than something. Truthfully, it means closer to everything. But I'm not ready to say this out loud, yet. I said something along those lines last night, and I don't regret opening that box, but I'm not ready to unleash every thought I have about her. I'm not that brave.

"And now that we've crossed all the lines." I continue.

"There were lines?" she asks breathlessly.

"Too many to mention." I reach her mouth, kissing her with purpose. I'm driving out all of my doubt. All of my hesitation. All of my fears about letting her in. Little by little, I'll find the courage I need to open up to her.

"Clint," she whispers, her arms around my neck holding me close. I hear the worry in her tone, the concern I've stirred in her.

"What I was trying to say, is now we've crossed the lines, I don't understand why I put them there in the first place." I kiss her.

She hums as our kiss deepens. I decide I'm done with words for now. Words won't tell her what I need her to know. Instead, I use my hands, my mouth, my fingers, to show her.

***

Lying in bed with her, tangled together, my mind spins with questions. About what's next, about how we navigate this relationship. And it's not even an official relationship. I want us to be together, that isn't in question. But how do we tell Katie, and when? I don't want to pull my daughter into this too soon. Deep down, I have intentions for a future with Colleen. There's no way I would have acted on my desires if there wasn't, not with the way Katie looks up to her. I couldn't do that to either of them. I'm not that kind of man.

"Are you going to share with the class or keep those deep thoughts to yourself?" Colleen asks, breaking the silence.

"How do you know my thoughts were deep? I'm a guy. Most of our thoughts just barely skim the surface."

She kisses my cheek while somehow wrapping herself around me tighter than she was. Not sure how that was even possible.

"Okay, you win." I tell her, hands up in surrender. "I have some thoughts. I'm wondering how to navigate us where Katie's concerned."

Colleen nods. "I had those thoughts as well."

"Do you have ideas? Answers? A magic spell to cast over my kid?"

She laughs, teasing her fingernails against my chest. "The magic is in the relationship. For all of us." She takes a deep breath before speaking again. "And I think we take things as they unfold. We don't drop it like a bomb on her, but we don't hide away either. I think keeping things as they are while you're on tour is the best plan. Then after, you can talk to her about what this is."

I roll over on top of her, my new favorite place to be. By the sexy moan she makes as I press in between her thighs, I believe she likes it too.

"You," I kiss her. "Are amazing."

She kisses me back. "I am pretty amazing."

"And flexible."

"Mmhmm." She nods, knowingly.

"And sexy."

"As are you."

"Am I?"

"So sexy."

She closes her eyes as I roll my hips. "Good to know."

"What else am I?" she asks.

I look her in the eyes, peeling off a layer of truth as I speak.

"Mine."

***

A few weeks have gone by since the dinner party that shall not be named. The night was a mess for a few reasons, but it ended well for me. Colleen and I found our sweet spot, but she had to take Katie back home soon after. There isn't another trip planned for them for over a month and I'm missing both of them like crazy.

One of the reasons I drew those lines.

Not that I want to go back. And I'm not interested in drawing any more, not with Colleen.

With some of the people surrounding me, however, I could be convinced to draw a bunch.

"She shouldn't be out there on her own." Zack paces in front of the couch. Brianna watches with a wistful expression. We're rolling down the highway on her tour bus, heading to the next town on her stops. This morning, Char announced she's taking a few days off to fly to L.A. and surprise Jacob on set. Zack is not happy, to say the least.

"She'll be fine. Char is a ball-buster, in case you forgot," she says gently.

He stops pacing to look down at Bree. "I'm aware. I have the emotional scars from our first meeting to prove your point. But this is different."

"Zack-"

"No, listen. She's let her guard down around Jacob. He's turned things around, absolutely. But with Curt lurking around and Jacob jumping into the spotlight, she'll be exposed."

I decide now's as good a time as any to speak up.

"I'll keep tabs on her."

"Your hackers are good but watching her from the other side of the country won't do any good if something goes wrong."

He doesn't need to specify what that something could be. No one trusts Curt to hold back where she's concerned. And Jacob can only do so much while he's focusing on the huge roll in a major action film he recently scored.

"I'd be watching her from across the street." I cross my arms and level a look at Zack. "I know she'd throw a huge fit if she knew I was there, but I agree. She needs eyes directly on her. I'll alert the hotel staff, cover her movements around L.A. and investigate even a hint of Curt anywhere in the vicinity." Curt being in Hollywood is more likely than I want to admit to Zack. His blood pressure is already through the roof, I'm sure. The guy is almost as big a nightmare as I am when it comes to protecting his people, but I have the resources and knowledge to actually do something productive about it. Zack would sooner lock Char up than send her across the country to surprise Jacob with a visit.

But with court dates looming – both for Char with her now very public divorce from Curt, and his lawsuit against his former bandmates – the concerns are justifiably amplified. Especially with the way Curt tends to test boundaries when you least expect it. He's looking to orchestrate a smear campaign. We all know it.

"Is your team up to the task while you're gone?" Zack matches my stance, arms crossed with a dark look in his eyes. "I'm also not willing to put Bree at risk."

"Aren't you worried about C1?" I ask, knowing his answer. He's like me and worries about everyone in his circle.

"Fuck those guys."

"Whoa." I put my palms up, facing his aggressive response. Not the answer I expected.

"They should have cut Curt loose long ago. He's a fucking narcissist and they knew it. Now we're all paying the price. I'm cashing out. No more."

"Zack, sit down with me." Brianna pulls him next to her on the couch. She rubs his arm with one hand while wrapping her other around his waist. "I'll be fine. Javier is great at his job." She smiles as she talks about The Kid. "So is the rest of Clinton's team. They know what they're doing. Plus," Brianna gives me a wink, "I have a feeling Clinton has a vested interest in taking a trip back home."

Fuck. I look away, resisting the urge to rub the back of my neck. I admit, I have an ulterior motive in becoming personally involved in guarding Char. The lines are so far gone now I'm willing to mix business with pleasure, something I'd never have done before. The guilt is eating me up.

"That's not a point in his favor," Zack says, confirming my thoughts.

"I disagree. He's very invested in everyone's safety. I think seeing Colleen, safe at home, will ease his mind and help him focus." Brianna tilts her head, daring Zack to deny her words.

I step back, not wanting to insert myself further in their disagreement. I've done my best over the last couple of years to keep things business between all of us. That includes shutting my mouth when I think Zack is being a dick or Brianna leans into her diva side. The former is more common than the latter, but I keep that shit to myself.

"Fine. We'll go with your plan," Zack says to me. "But if anything goes wrong...on either coast, we're going to have issues."

I nod. Yup, gone is the hesitant and clueless guy from the ranching town. Dealing with Brianna's fame and the lack of security she had before I came along has ruined the guy's sense of peace. But I get it. I just turned those traits into my profession. He's aiming all of his angst on the love of his life.

And I'm starting to understand what he deals with. Which is why I jumped at the chance to follow Char out to Colleen's hometown. I do need eyes on her. I've started to lose my mind a little bit without her near.

I tell myself I'll be fine once I check up on her, but I already know that's a big fucking lie.

And here's what life is like as a plantser...I plotted out this entire book, one line per chapter type of thing. I haven't looked at that plan ONCE since I started writing this, until the other day. LMAO I didn't follow one single idea in that plan, hahahahahaha! And this story is honestly better so no worries.

If you read Not Another Player with Jacob and Char, you remember her surprise trip to visit him. But you DIDN'T know Clinton was there (because even I didn't know he was out there at the time *wink). Haha, he fooled all of us.

ALSO: I am building playlists for all of my books on Spotify. AND I now have a website!!! <see linktree in my bio for both> And. for those of you who want bonus scenes from any of my books, I'll be writing several and adding a hidden page to my website which will be accessible with a password you get when you join my newsletter list.

ANY PREMIUM OR PREMIUM + Wattpaders here? Inevitable will be free for those members during the month of May! Add it to your reading lists now and start reading free on May 1st.

https://youtu.be/aJg4OJxp-co

Thanks so much for your reading, voting and commenting support!! I truly appreciate it!