by Moody, Diane
“Jason, why are you doing this? First you’re trying to blame God and now yourself? There’s no way you could have known this was going to happen now. Gevin and Rissa want to get married. What’s so difficult to understand about that? He’s older, Jason. Why shouldn’t he want to get married and settle down? I think it’s great that he found someone like Rissa and knows this is the real thing. That’s probably pretty tough to discern in your business.”
He rolled his neck. Her comments clearly only agitated him more. She folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath. Just let him talk.
He threw the cloth in the sink and turned around to lean against the counter, bracing his hands on the edge behind him. “I’m just not ready. Not now.”
Her heart ached for the disappointment in his face, his every move. “Have you talked to any of the other guys yet?”
“No. I thought about it. Then I decided, why ruin their break too?”
His cell phone rang from the living room. “Geez, I don’t even want to answer that.” He looked up at her, his eyes asking should I? Hannah shrugged leaving the decision up to him. It rang, then rang again.
He left the room, his steps heavy. Hannah dropped her head onto her folded arms on the table. Oh God. Please help him.
“Hey! When did you get in? . . . Yeah? . . . Did Tracey come with you? Good, it’ll be good to see her.” Jason walked into the kitchen, holding the tiny phone to his ear. “JT,” he whispered.
Hannah sat up. Jason crossed his eyes. The slightest hint of a smile crept up his face. He winked at her and her heart skipped a beat.
“Okay, we’ll see you in a few minutes. Tell Mom to fix you guys a turkey sandwich or something . . . Okay, see ya, man.” He disconnected and put the cell in his jeans pocket. “Well, Hannah, how would you like to meet JT Malone?”
“Hannah, Jason—come on in. Y’all want a sandwich?”
Laura was in her element. Dressed in a navy designer tracksuit with her blonde hair twisted in her signature French braid, she set plates heaped with sandwiches in front of her guests.
Hannah tried to swallow. I can’t believe it. I’m nervous again. After everything else, I’m reduced to a basket case of nerves. Trembling, no less! She avoided eye contact with JT as long as she could, afraid she would blush twelve shades of purple.
Jason grabbed his buddy in a bear hug, slapping him on the back. “Hey JT . . . Tracey— get up and give me a hug, woman!” As Jason moved to embrace JT’s girlfriend, Hannah took a chance to steal a peek at Blue’s famous bad boy. With a huge smile planted on his face, he approached her. He was shorter than she’d expected, but well built. A thin dark beard lined his jaw, accented by multiple earrings on each ear. His close-cropped hair was a dark shade of burgundy. Suddenly she was gazing into those puppy dog eyes that made girls all over the world melt like butter.
Me included.
“And you must be Hannah.” His raspy voice snapped her out of her fog. “Laura’s been telling us all about you. I’m JT, Hannah, nice to meet you,” he said taking her into a warm hug.
“Hi JT,” she croaked. Oh God, please don’t let him feel my heart beating against his chest!
“Hey, you’re shaking! Come on in and warm up,” he said, leading her by the hand toward the kitchen table.
Yeah, that’s it. Shaking from the cold. Right.
“Mama Mac, how about some hot tea or something? This one’s shaking like a leaf.” He pulled the chair out for her and she sat down. She looked up to see Jason snickering silently behind JT’s back. Great. He knows I’m star struck. She shot him a warning glare.
“Hi Hannah, I’m Tracey—and thanks guys for remembering to introduce me.” JT’s girlfriend was attractive in an eclectic sort of way, just as Hannah would have expected. Jet black hair in a short blunt cut. She had her own share of piercings, though most were tiny studs confined to folds of her ears. Her ready smile helped put Hannah at ease.
JT ducked behind Tracey’s chair and wrapped his arms around her neck. “I didn’t forget you, babe, you just beat me to it.” He planted a kiss on top of her head.
“Tracey, you look really familiar,” Hannah said, finding her voice again.
Tracey tugged at JT’s tattooed arms around her neck. “I was a background dancer in the Who’s It Gonna Be video. We hit it off from the moment we met, didn’t we, honey?”
“That’s it!” Hannah interrupted. “Tracey, you’re the one he stepped on, aren’t you?”
“You remember that? See, JT—she saw it too!” Tracey teased. “I told you guys we should’ve done one more take. Nobody listens to me!”
“I didn’t step on you, Trace. You accidentally put your foot under mine,” he corrected. He turned to look at Hannah. “Can I help it if she’s a klutz?”
Hannah felt Jason’s hands on her shoulders. “Tracey, the whole world saw him step on your foot, so don’t let him give you grief about it.” It was good to hear him laughing. She lifted her hands to rest on his.
“Hannah, the thing is,” JT continued, “I’m surrounded by these wannabe dancers day and night. They never listen to me, they never listen to Rissa or Gevin—”
Hannah looked up at Jason. A trace of pain dashed across his face. Just as fast, he covered with nonchalance.
JT stopped. “What?”
“So what made you guys decide to come up early?”
Nice cover, Jason, Hannah thought.
“Since you didn’t show for Christmas I wasn’t expecting you ’til the party.”
Tracey reached for her glass. “I talked JT into spending Christmas with my family. We were there for a couple of days until he started climbing the walls.”
He reached over to take her hand. “Yeah, one too many aunties and uncles for me. Hey, speaking of relatives—is the big guy in town?”
Jason took a deep breath and patted Hannah’s hand then moved to his chair. “Yeah, Gevin stopped by with his family last night.”
Silence.
Hannah watched as JT waited for more, his eyes squinting as he studied Jason. JT glanced across the table at her. She returned an innocent smile then looked away.
“Okay, JMac. What’s going on here? Spit it out.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh yeah, right, and I don’t like jewelry. What’s the deal? Is something wrong with Gevin?”
“Not at all, JT. He’s fine. Couldn’t be better.”
More silence.
JT shoved his plate aside. He folded his arms on the table. “Are we gonna sit here and play games all day or are you gonna tell me?” All pretense of humor had left his face.
“We’ll talk later, man. Okay?” Jason answered quietly.
“No! I wanna know now. What’s the matter?”
Tracey rolled her eyes. “JT, just chill—”
“Babe, if you’ll please stay out of this?” his response, quiet and measured.
“I said later, JT,” Jason interrupted, his tone stern.
“Geez, Jason, it’s not a hard question. Knock off the suspense, okay?”
“I promised Gevin I’d let him tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Jason exhaled. He rubbed his face with both hands. He looked up at Hannah for support, then made the announcement. “Gevin’s getting married.”
“What?! Gevin?” JT bellowed. “Who’s he marrying? I didn’t even know he was—wait!” He snapped his fingers. “Just a minute. Rissa. It’s Marissa, isn’t it?”
Jason nodded his head, that sheepish grin on his face. “JT, you’re too smart for your own good.”
“Rissa! I knew it! I had a feeling about them . . . but man, has he been discreet or what? So when’s the big day? When is he announcing it to the press? That snake! Why didn’t he tell us?”
Jason was laughing. “Yo, JT! Chill! You’re gonna hyperventilate if you keep this up.”
“This is wonderful!” Tracey joined in. “What a perfect couple. I’m so happy for them! But
what a surprise, huh?”
JT threw his head back. “Oh man, I’m in total shock here! Is Rissa in town? Are they coming over?”
“I’ll call them and get them over here. He’s gonna be chapped that I told you but, oh well.” Jason pulled out his cell phone and auto-dialed Gevin’s number.
JT was still shaking his head. “Oh my, oh my, oh my. This is unbelievable. Hannah, were you here when they told Jason?”
“Yeah, it was pretty incredible.” She silently warned herself not to say too much. “I really enjoyed getting to know Rissa. She’s so sweet. And they seem really happy together.”
“They’re on their way over.” Jason closed his phone. “Sooooo . . . . looks like another long night, right Hannah?” His eyes widened again with mischief. She stood to slip beside him. He pulled her to his side. “Here we go again. Guess you better fasten your seatbelt, babe.”
Babe? A tingle slid down her back. He’d never called her that before. Maybe it’s just the power of suggestion with JT saying that all the time. Or was it something more?
Didn’t matter. She liked the sound of it.
She liked it a lot.
They were settling into the loft when the doorbell rang. Just returning from the restroom, Hannah was closest to the front stairway. “Jason, do you want me to get it?”
“That’d be great. It’s probably Gevin and Rissa.”
As she skipped lightly down the steps, her cell phone vibrated in her jeans’ pocket just as someone hammered the doorbell making it ring incessantly. She dug the phone out of her pocket, noticed it was a text message from Kylie. She started to read the message when she heard someone yelling, “Open up! We’re freezing out here!”
“Come on in, I’m comeeeeeen—” Hannah flew off a step, her phone catapulting out of her hand as she bounced off every step on her rear end. It didn’t hurt, but she felt like an idiot. When she finally came to a stop at the base of the stairs, she was too stunned to move. The front door opened.
Suddenly, imagining what she must look like, she burst into laughter. Hannah looked up through her tears expecting to find Gevin and Marissa.
“HAPPY NEW Y—whoa! Who the heck are you and what are you doing?”
Jackson Greer stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of her. Hannah’s eyes flew wide open as she tried to catch her breath to stop laughing. Seeing his face for the first time—here like this—mortified her, making her laugh even harder.
“Hannah! Are you okay?” Jason’s voice floated down from the top of the stairs. She looked sheepishly back at Jackson. One of his eyebrows was raised. He looked like he’d seen a two-headed freak at the circus.
But he’s so much more handsome than any of those pictures I had plastered on my walls back home! I had no idea he was so tall. Course, anyone’s tall from down here.
She tried to regain her composure. “Nice to meet you, Jackson. I’m—” She lost it again, the sheer embarrassment making the laughter wheeze out of her. The harder she tried to stop, the harder she laughed. Her stomach began to ache.
She felt Jason’s hands under her arms attempting to lift her. He must have forgotten how ticklish she was until she lurched at him, still unable to catch her breath. Her sudden movement caused him to lose his balance so that he fell, landing right on top of her. He rolled back beside her, losing control as well. Finally, he caught his breath and looked up at Jackson. “Hey Jax, how’s it goin’?”
A giggling face appeared peeking out from behind Jackson, her long brunette hair swinging as her head tipped sideways to see what was going on.
“Alli!” Jason shouted, “Come on in! I want you to meet Hannah!”
Another round of laughter made it impossible for him or Hannah to get up. She couldn’t even see Jackson much less Alli for the tears blurring her eyes.
Alli tucked her arm under Jackson’s, her smile broad. “Nice to meet you, Hannah. Wow, you make a great first impression.”
“Yeah—unforgettable, isn’t she?” Jason cried, finally catching his breath.
Hannah completely forgot about her cell phone and the message she never read from Kylie.
Chapter 10
Gevin and Marissa arrived moments later, joining the fiasco in the entryway. After massive hugs and high-fives, they all drifted back upstairs to the loft. Hannah couldn’t believe the noise level coming from so few people. Then again, these guys were used to screaming fans and music at decibels beyond the endurance of the average Joe. Or Jane.
The pizza delivery guy unloaded an armload of pepperoni, supreme, and veggie pizzas which quickly disappeared.
“Tracey, what I don’t understand is how these guys stay in shape,” Hannah mused, wiping her mouth. “They’re stuffing their faces every time I turn around. Jason’s been eating since the minute we met—his mom’s home cooking, her turkey dinner on Christmas day, Patty’s calzones, ice cream—”
“Hey!” Jason jabbed her in the ribs. He stood up to strut like a WWF wrestler. “Do you see one ounce of fat on this body? Huh? I ask you—is this not a lean, mean fighting machine?” He continued posturing, striking all the signature body-builder poses.
“Jason, sit down. I’m still eatin’ here. Do you mind?” Rissa shouted over the music.
And so it began. Jason stripped off his shirt and grunted like a linebacker, hopping onto the wide hearth. JT and Jackson followed suit, ripping off their shirts and throwing them like prizes to the girls who shouted fake groans in response, hiding their eyes from the onslaught of bare-chested men.
In one united effort, Alli, Hannah, and Tracey threw the shirts back at them with a barrage of cat calls.
“Put ’em back on!”
“I’m still digesting here! Do you mind?”
“Give us a break!”
Behind the pretense of complaints, Hannah couldn’t help peeking at the idols of her adolescent years, admiring their muscles and biceps. Don’t know how they do it, but these guys obviously work out. A lot. Realizing she was holding her breath, Hannah forced her eyes away from Jason’s six-pack, then quickly looked back, trying hard not to stare.
And for the first time, she noticed the tiny line down the center of Jason’s chest. A slender, pale scar, the remnant from surgery years ago to repair a hole in his heart. How well she remembered that scary event. Every Blue fan around the world held a collective breath as they waited for news from his team of surgeons. Had he made it through the surgery? Would he be all right again? Could he still keep up with the stress and rigors of the crazy lifestyle he led? She brushed off the memory, interrupted by Alli’s laughter.
“How’s a girl supposed to eat with all this going on?”
Alli’s sarcastic remark brought Jackson off the hearth. He plopped himself on her lap, the image of wounded feelings.
“You’re mocking me, Alli? Making fun of me? Your one and only? I—I think I might just—yes, yes. Here come the tears. Here they come. I’m crying here! You made me cry!” His sniffs and snorts didn’t fool any of them.
Jason stepped down slowly, acting indifferent. “That’s okay. I’m man enough. I can take it.”
“Poor baby,” Hannah cooed. “Did we hurt your little feelers? Come on, sit down and I’ll make it all better.” She patted the seat beside her. Jason wriggled his eyebrows at the others and squeezed in next to her in the Lazy Boy. “Yo, Jason—a little snug for both of us here. Do you mind?”
He grabbed her, plopping her on his lap despite her protests. “There. Now we’re all better.”
Gevin and Marissa shook their heads at all the antics around them. The two were stretched out on the floor, propped up on their elbows still eating. “What am I gonna do with these guys?” Gevin asked her as if overwrought. “I try and I try to teach these boys. Tell them it’s time to grow up. And do you see what I get? It’s nothing but work, work, work for me. Never a moment’s rest.”
Marissa wrapped her arm across his shoulders. “I know, honey, I know. And a fine job you do, baby. But look what you’ve
got to work with? There’s only so much you can do.”
JT pulled his shirt back on. “Jax, I don’t know about you but I’m still in shock about these two.” He tossed a nod toward Gevin and Marissa.
Jackson, still sitting shirtless on Alli’s lap, shook his head. “I know, man. All those months on the road, acting like such ‘professional acquaintances.’ Geez, guys—why all the secrecy? What’s up with all the subterfuge?”
Gevin picked a piece of pepperoni and popped it in his mouth. “Jackson, where does it say we have to tell anybody anything, man? We just kinda liked the privacy, y’know? Right, Rissa?”
“Right, baby,” she said kissing his greasy lips. “Guys, here’s the deal. We didn’t want all the hassle and hype and publicity until we knew we were really sure about it. You know how it is out there. We just decided to sit on it until we were ready to take the plunge. And when Gevin proposed—”
“—and she said yes—”
“Well, we decided it was time to move on to the next step. And here we are.” She beamed, tapping her head against his.
JT sat on the floor leaning back against Tracey’s legs. “Well, I can only speak for myself, but I couldn’t be happier. Rissa? Gevin? All the best. I love you guys.”
“Me too,” Jackson said. “Hey wait—does Sergio know? Where is he, anyway? Still in Hawaii?”
Jason rolled his neck. “Yeah, last I heard from him, he was planning on staying most of this week. But he’ll be here for the party on New Year’s.”
“I bet he’s having a wonderful time.”
Hannah didn’t miss the sarcasm in Alli’s comment.
“Don’t you know it,” Tracey groaned. “I’m just glad he’s there and we’re here.”
“Wait, I don’t get it,” Hannah said. “What am I missing here? Who wouldn’t want to be in Hawaii?”
They all looked back and forth at each other. Finally, Jason tightened his arms around her waist. “It’s not Hawaii. It’s Liza. And you’ve not yet had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Liza.”