Muttering a curse, I told him about the game the girls at school were playing with me. “Uncle Ax…” I hesitated and clenched my jaw. Fuck it. If he killed me, he killed me. “I love Shaw.”
He didn’t even blink at my confession. Dad was sitting beside him on the couch, and they both looked up at me as if I’d just said it was snowing outside—a fact that wasn’t news to them and didn’t bother them in the least. The two older rockers shared a look then burst out laughing.
“Dude, we’ve all known that for a while now. Fuck, we probably knew before you did,” Shaw’s dad said with a grin. “I’ve watched you your whole life, Jagger. I love you as if you were my own son, and you’re less of a fuckup than him. I know what kind of man you already are. Of all the guys in the world who could love my little girl, it’s kind of a relief that she fell for you. Not only do I know you’ll be good to her, but I know if you aren’t, your parents will help me bury your body.”
“Fucking right, we will,” Dad confirmed, bumping fists with his friend.
Uncle Ax lifted a brow at me. “But maybe you should be telling this to her and not me.”
“I have,” I groaned and dropped down into the makeup chair. “But that whole thing with Violet and Luca scared her. She thinks if Luca could so easily hurt Vi, then she can’t trust that I won’t do the same. Then she saw that fucking text, and it probably only reaffirmed for her that she was right.”
“Shaw is a stubborn girl,” her dad said with a sigh. “But she’s smart as hell. Give her some time, kid. She’ll figure it out. You just need to have some patience and keep showing her you’re in this for the long haul.” He narrowed his eyes, and suddenly his voice was laced with steel. “You are in it for the long haul, right?”
“Yes, sir,” I assured him without hesitation.
“Are you planning on one day coming to me and asking to marry my baby?”
I swallowed hard. “Yes, sir. When she’s ready, I hope to put a ring on that girl’s finger. And give you both as many grandbabies as she is willing to bless us with.”
“Well, fuck,” both dads said.
“Listen, kid. Let’s keep this conversation between us three for now,” Uncle Ax said after a moment. “We both know how stubborn she is. Just make it easier on yourself and keep quiet that we all know about you two. At least for now.”
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed and glanced down at my phone, looking at the background picture on the screen. It was one of the selfies we’d taken before dinner earlier that night. Both of us were smiling, but instead of looking into the camera, our eyes were on each other.
I traced my thumb down her cheek, wishing I had whatever superpowers Ma had so I could fix everything for us and I could just be with Shaw right then.
When the show was finally over and the three of us were on our way back to the hotel, Uncle Axton called his wife. From what I could hear of the conversation, Shaw and her mom were going to stay in New York for a day or two longer. Meaning if I didn’t see her the next morning, it could be days before I saw her again. I closed my eyes and tried to remind myself to stay patient, but it was so fucking hard when all I wanted was to grab her and bind us together.
In my room, I packed my cases so everything was ready to go the next morning, then dropped down on my bed and tried to call her again. But she must have turned off her phone because it went straight to voice mail. Muttering a curse, I decided to take care of that fucking picture and any other ones once and for all.
Calling Ma, I spent twenty minutes explaining everything to her and telling her my plan. She readily agreed to help me and told me not to worry about it. But fuck, I couldn’t not worry. If it didn’t work, Shaw might never talk to me again. Just the thought of never hearing her voice, her laugh—fuck, even hearing her yell at me—was enough to make me sweat.
I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant the next morning with Dad and Uncle Axton, and then we made the trip to the airport in silence. The flight home was long and boring without Shaw there to snip and sass me. The dads spent the time sleeping, but I needed something to do so I didn’t drive myself crazy. I pulled out my music journal and worked on a few songs in an effort to think about something other than Shaw.
Once we were back on the ground, I tried calling again, but her phone was still off. Uncle Axton told us goodbye, while Dad and I got in Dad’s SUV. “Your mom is at Shane’s,” Dad told me after checking his phone before starting the car, his brows pulling together. “Guess it’s just you and me for dinner.”
Grunting, I pulled on my seat belt and leaned back. “Let’s just grab some drive-thru.”
He sighed heavily. “It’s going to work itself out, son,” he assured me. “Just be patient.”
“If this was you and Ma, would you be able to patiently sit back?” I shot at him.
His shoulders tensed for a moment before dropping. “No, Jags. But you two are still in high school. You have time to figure this shit out.”
“I keep telling myself that, but it doesn’t help.” I wanted Shaw to be my forever, but I also wanted her to be my now as well. It was killing me not to be able to call her mine when I knew it was what we both really wanted.
That night, I slept like shit and tried in vain to get her to talk to me. She’d kept her phone off, and what I needed to say to her wasn’t something I wanted her to hear in a message, so I didn’t leave one.
She didn’t come back until Monday evening, so I didn’t see her again until after school Tuesday. Frustrated with her and the entire situation, I left before my last class, and after driving my car home, took an Uber to Santa Monica.
I was waiting in the student parking lot of her school when the bell rang. It was nearly fifteen minutes later before she walked out. Her head was down, her shoulders slightly hunched forward, as if she had the weight of the world on those slim shoulders. Seeing how defeated she seemed, I had to force myself to stay where I was and not just grab her.
Her gaze was on the ground when she reached her car, so she didn’t see me standing there waiting for her until the last second. I used her distraction and caged her in against the driver’s door.
Holding her by the hips, I lowered my head and buried my face in her neck.
“Jags!” she cried, trying to push me away. “What the hell are you doing?”
My fingers bit into her, afraid she would try to get away if I eased my hold at all. “Just give me a minute,” I murmured roughly against her flesh. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, and one by one, my muscles began to relax ever so slightly. “I need this so fucking bad, baby. I’ve felt like I couldn’t breathe the last few days. Now that I have you in my arms, I’m actually able to take in a complete lungful for the first time since Saturday night.”
“I’m sure Carmen would have been all too happy to give you CPR if you really needed oxygen so badly,” she snarled, still trying to push me away.
Even though her jealousy gave me hope, I hated that it was causing her pain. Skimming my lips over her shoulder, I lifted my head. “Give me your keys,” I instructed.
Her baby blues blazed angrily up at me. “No.”
“Dimples,” I growled warningly. “I need to show you something, and it will be easier if I drive since I know where we’re going. Give me your keys.”
“Maybe you’ve gone deaf. Let me clarify. Fuck. No. I’m not going anywhere with you.” She pushed me, and this time, I willingly took a few steps back. Turning, she opened the door and tossed her bag into the passenger seat.
Deciding I didn’t need her keys after all, I picked her up and opened the back door. She screamed and kicked while I struggled to get her wiggly ass in. By the time I had the seat belt fastened around her, I was out of breath and so fucking turned on, my cock physically ached.
I slammed the door, quickly adjusting myself as I glanced around. The parking lot had steadily emptied while I’d been waiting for Shaw, but there were still several vehicles spread out. I saw a few girls standing by some girlie convertible with their phones poi
nted in my direction, their mouths hanging open in shock, but they hadn’t even tried to help my girl. I was glad they hadn’t interfered, but it pissed me off that they hadn’t bothered to assist her.
What if I’d been some rapist or kidnapper? Didn’t they care that I could have hurt her? Was videoing me more important than saving someone?
Figuring they would get a good payday from their video if they sold it, I sighed and got behind the wheel. Starting the vehicle, I reversed from the parking spot. Once we were on the road, I hit the Bluetooth on the steering wheel. “Call Mieke Carmichael.”
“What the fuck are you calling Mieke for?” Shaw complained from the back seat. I knew better than to let my guard down. Just because she wasn’t fighting me now didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to attack me as soon as we got to where we were going.
“Hey, Shaw.” Mieke’s voice filled the car. “What’s up, sugar butt? Are you doing okay? I know—”
“Mieke, it’s Jagger,” I interrupted as I made a right turn. “I have a huge favor to ask. Shaw and I were just videoed, and it’s probably about to hit social media—if it hasn’t already. Can you make it disappear?”
I heard her sigh heavily. “You owe me so big for this,” she muttered. “Consider it done, but only because I figure Shaw can’t take much more at this point. Just don’t bitch at me when I call in the favor.”
“Thanks, Mieke.”
“No problem. Tell Shaw I said hey, and if she needs to talk, I’m here. I know she must be losing her mind right now.”
Before I could ask what she meant, she hung up. I lifted my gaze to the rearview mirror. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she looked out the side window, but I saw her chin tremble, and my gut clenched with trepidation.
“Did something happen?”
“How long is it going to take to get wherever we need to be?” she tossed at me instead of answering my question. “I need to get home.”
“It may take a little bit,” I told her and focused on the road once again.
She was quiet the rest of the drive, and I kept glancing in the mirror at her. Something was bothering her, but I didn’t know if it was all because of what happened Saturday night or if something else might have happened. It seemed as if Mieke knew what was going on, but she lived in Nashville. She and Shaw were friends and talked at least once a week, but if something was really bothering my girl, she would talk to Violet about it before she would Mieke.
I found a place to park in front of Ma’s building and got out, taking Shaw’s bag with me. Opening the back door, I reached in to offer her my hand, but she slapped it away. I stepped back and let her out. After locking up the car, I guided her across the street and into the building.
Security took a minute to get through because people were still coming and going steadily even though it was the end of a normal person’s workday. Others got on the elevator with us, but Shaw and I were the only ones to get off on the floor where Ma’s office was.
As we left the elevator, Rachel, my mom’s assistant, was already waiting for us. Seeing me, she smiled. “Everyone is already in the conference room,” she informed me. Her eyes landed on Shaw, and her face softened. “Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”
Shaw only shook her head and turned in the direction of the conference room without my having to urge her. “Let’s just get whatever this is over with,” she muttered.
Rachel gave me a grimace. “Good luck,” she said quietly.
“Thanks,” I said, blowing out a heavy breath. “Looks like I’m going to need it.”
She patted me on the arm. “I’m sure she’s just got a lot on her mind, considering.”
I froze. “Considering what?”
Her brows pulled together. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” I demanded. “Have I missed something, Rachel?”
She pressed her lips into a hard line and shook her head. “I’m sure you’ll know all about it soon enough. I just assumed—”
“Jagger,” Shaw snapped. She was standing in front of the conference room door. Hands on her hips, she tapped her foot impatiently. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m not about to go into that room blind without you. Let’s go so I can get home.”
“I’m coming, baby.” I jogged down the hall to her, but instead of reaching for the door, I caught her by the hips and pulled her into me.
She was stiff against me, and I could feel the tension coiling her muscles. Lifting one hand, I tipped up her chin so she would meet my eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong, Dimples,” I commanded softly.
“What’s wrong is that you brought me here for fuck knows what, and I need to be home,” she snipped. “God forbid that something happen in anyone else’s life. Jagger has a problem that needs solving, so let’s solve it and fuck everyone else.”
“Nothing is more important than you.” I stroked my thumb down her cheek, and her lashes fluttered closed. She couldn’t stop herself from leaning into my touch, but it only lasted for a few seconds before she was jerking away from me. Grabbing the conference room door, she pulled it open forcefully and stomped inside.
“What the hell is this?” she demanded as I walked in behind her. Hands on her hips, she glared around the room at all the girls sitting at the conference table. “You!” she hissed when her gaze landed on Carmen. “What are you doing here?”
I glanced at Carmen, and she fidgeted nervously in her seat. “Um…”
Shaw turned her glare on me. “Explain. Now.”
I closed the door and then leaned back against it, making sure she couldn’t storm out. “I knew you wouldn’t listen to me about that text you saw the other night, so I decided to make them tell you about it instead.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I looked at the twelve girls sitting at the table. “Tell her. All of it.”
They all remained tight-lipped. Some because they were too embarrassed to admit what they’d done. But a few of them were pissed they even had to be there. If Ma hadn’t taken care of getting them to the office, I doubted they would have shown up.
“Well?” Shaw said, turning toward the girls. Her gaze went back to Carmen. “I don’t have time to wait around here all day. I need to get home.”
Still, they all remained quiet. “Carmen,” I bit out. “This is because of you. Tell her.”
She giggled nervously. “It was just a joke.”
“A joke,” Shaw repeated, her brows drawn together. “You text guys those kinds of pictures as a joke? Aren’t you scared they will end up on the internet or something?”
“It was the first time I’d ever done it,” Carmen muttered. “No one else had won the game yet, and I’d been drinking a little. My friend was telling me how he hadn’t cracked yet, and I guess I got brave.” She shrugged. “It was a stupid idea. I’m just glad Jagger is a decent enough guy not to use that picture against me.”
“Won?” Shaw shook her head. “Won what?”
“It’s a game we’ve all been playing,” Variety, the seventeen-year-old who had sent me a picture of herself topless explained. “We, the senior girls at school, have been trying to tempt Jagger for months now.”
“Tempt?” Shaw parroted. “How have you been…” Her eyes widened. “You have all been sending him nudes?”
Carmen and Variety both nodded, while some of the other girls lowered their heads in shame. “He didn’t hook up with Gretchen at some party,” Carmen explained. “And Stacy got the stupid idea that we should try to do what Gretchen couldn’t. The first one to text him and then hook up with him was the winner. But it’s been months, and no one has gotten so much as a reply text back from him.”
“If that slut couldn’t even suck his dick and he won’t even respond to our texts, then he must be gay,” Stacy, one of the few girls who was pissed about being there—and whom I wouldn’t even give the time of day—shot me a scathing look.
Shaw snorted. “Or he just has taste.” Turning, she marched straight up to me. Standing on her tipt
oes, she thrust her hands into my hair and pulled my head down.
I met her kiss with one of my own. My hands went straight to her ass, and I turned her so I was pressing her into the door. I forgot about the others in the room as I kissed my girl the way I’d been aching to since I saw her earlier. She tasted so fucking good, I couldn’t contain my groan. I could get drunk off her sweetness alone.
A sharp knock on the door had me lifting my head. Breathing hard, I met Shaw’s glazed gaze. “Don’t run away,” I growled as I stepped back and moved her aside so I could open the door.
Ma stood on the other side. I hadn’t seen her at all in the last two days because she’d been so busy. We’d talked on the phone and through texts, though, so I’d known this whole thing would go off without an issue. But now that I was seeing her for the first time, concern for my mom made my gut knot up. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she was pale. Ma looked physically sick and run-down, and that scared the hell out of me.
“Ma?” I choked out.
She gave me a tight smile. “Did everything go the way you wanted?”
“What’s wrong?” I asked her after nodding. “Is everything okay? Are you sick?”
“Just tired, baby boy.” Her green gaze went to Shaw, who was standing beside me. Her blond hair was wild from where my fingers had tangled in it only moments before, and her mouth was swollen from our kiss. “You good?”
Shaw shrugged. “Are you?”
“Ask me again once she’s stopped having dark thoughts,” Ma told her.
“Same.” Shaw’s shoulders drooped. “I really need to get home. I promised I’d keep her company. She doesn’t want me to because I guess she feels like I’m babysitting her, but she doesn’t understand that I want to be there for me just as much as for her.”
“Why do I feel like I’ve missed something major?” I muttered to myself, glancing between the two of them in confusion.
Ma sighed. “If you’re finished here, take Shaw home. I’ll make sure these girls get home safely. Your dad is having dinner at Mia’s, and I’m going to be here a little longer before I head to Shane’s. Will you be okay on your own for dinner?”
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