Heartstopper

by Lauren Landish

  “Hard feelings?” Roxy asks, and I laugh.

  “Well, actually, hard feelings as in a fist fight between my father and grandfather.” I chuckle. “They buried the hatchet after I was born, but Dad was stubborn. He never let my grandfather shower me with gifts or anything like that. He did let Grandpa set up a college fund for me and for Sophie, and of course, his name helped open some doors.”

  Roxy nods. “Sounds like John, my stepfather. When he and my mom got together, I could have just mooched off him, but I had some good role models. I mean, after my biological dad died, Mom had to make it on her own for a long time. It taught me to be independent. What about you? What drives you?”

  “Sophie,” I say immediately. “Our parents died just after I finished college, and it pushed me. I mean, Dad always made sure I knew what a real day’s work was. I did plenty of afternoons splitting logs for the fireplace, mowing lawns, stuff like that. But when I was literally a month after graduation and suddenly, I’ve got a little sister to take care of . . . it made me grow up a lot faster.”

  Roxy’s eyes tear up, and I tilt my head, worried. “Are you okay?”

  She nods. “Just . . . I can hear it in your voice. You miss your parents.”

  I stop and have to look down at the table. She’s right. “There are times I don’t like thinking about it. I try not to remember the hard times. I just try to remember the stuff they taught me. My dad taught me how to be a man. My mom . . . well, if I’m not a total asshole, that’s her doing.”

  “Well thank you, Mrs. Stone, then,” Roxy says. “Because I think you’re anything but an asshole. Most of the time.”

  I laugh. “Most of the time.”

  “Oh, yeah. You know, if you want to meet an asshole, you should see my boss. Always making demands of me in the supply room, calling me into his office . . . total asshole.”

  I chuckle. Our food comes, and it’s as delicious as I expected. As she chews the last bite of her seared scallop, she sets her knife and fork down, looking directly at me. “Jake, thank you for letting me in more.”

  I reach across, taking her hand. “You’re worth it. You’re pretty special, you know that, right?”

  She blinks. I know I touched her, and it takes her a moment before she grins. “Yeah, well, you just remember that or else I’ll break a high heel off in your ass!”

  I laugh. “Come on, time for dessert.”

  “Wait, we’re not having dessert here?”

  “No, the real dessert,” I tell her, taking her by the hand again. We drive to Club Jasmine, where I lead her in through the back.

  “Here we are.”

  “What’s this?” she asks, eyeing the door that has a star with her name emblazoned across the center. It hasn’t quite dawned on her yet.

  “Open the door and you’ll see.”

  She looks at me, looking like her heart is suddenly racing, and opens the door. The breath escapes her lungs as the door swings open. “Ooh.”

  We step into her new dressing room. It’s equipped with a high chair, mirrors, a professional vanity for hair and makeup, and a clothing rack that is already filled with show dresses. “I checked your size and got you an entire wardrobe. Of course, you can pick and choose what you want. Roxy, you may not be a star yet, but you will be, and you’re already a star in my eyes.”

  “Oh, Jake . . .” she says as tears fill her eyes. “How?”

  “I had the crew paint and do all this during the day so I could surprise you. It only took them two days. I couldn't wait to show it to you.”

  “Oh, my God,” she whispers. She turns and pulls me into a tight embrace. “This is so sweet of you.”

  “Wait, that isn’t all,” I tell her. “I have better news.”

  Roxy pulls back, staring at me. “Don’t fuck with me. How can it get any better?”

  I tell her about Nathan’s call and the talent scout coming Saturday, and her jaw drops. “You’re kidding, right?” I shake my head. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Believe it, darling, because it’s happening. You’ve got a shot.”

  She presses back up against me, a tear escaping down her cheek. “Jake, all this . . . but what I want—I want to be with you. Your girl, and none of this hiding in clubs or private dinner restaurants, even if the food was orgasm-worthy. I don’t want to abide by the rules.”

  In this moment, I want to give her everything she wants. The whole world. I nod, pulling her close and kissing her tenderly on the lips. “You are my girl. But we still have to try to play by the rules in the office, at least for a little while longer. At least while you’re working there.”

  Roxy looks at me with hope in her eyes. “Oh, my God, do you think it can happen?”

  “I know it can. I have faith in you.”

  She shakes her head, tears swimming in her eyes. “I . . . I don’t know how to thank you. You’ve done so much for me. Thank you so much.” Roxy swallows, then wraps her arms around my neck.

  She kisses me on the lips, and I pull her close. “You are more than welcome. Now blow their minds so I never have to see your ass around the office again.”

  She grins, giving my ass a squeeze. “That’ll be one thing that’ll suck about getting a deal. I won’t be seeing your cute ass around the office either.”

  “Nope,” I say, patting her ass back. “But you’ll get to see more of it.”

  “Then they won’t know what fucking hit ‘em.”

  Chapter 18

  Roxy

  “Your own dressing room?” Hannah asks in disbelief as we step inside. She looks around, her eyes going to the clothes rack. “Whoa. This is fucking amazing.”

  It’s Saturday, and my nerves are frazzled. I’m trying to get ready to perform. Except this time, the stakes are higher. I couldn’t believe when Jake told me about the scout. This is all happening so fast that I feel like my head’s spinning.

  Hannah is in shock too. “It’s gorgeous!”

  “Isn’t it?” I say dreamily. “I still can’t believe Jake had all of this done for me.”

  “Hmm,” Hannah says, tapping her lips, her eyes flashing.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Nothing, I’m just not surprised at all. Have you seen the number of people who are packing in here to see you?” She turns around, checking out the rack of dresses, and I can tell that she thinks there’s more to it than that. She’s just giving me time to come out with it.

  My phone buzzes, and I see it’s Mindy. I’d texted her about my show. “Hey, it’s my sister.”

  “I’ll let you two talk. Nathan’s got a great seat reserved for me. No way in hell am I dancing with you on stage tonight,” Hannah jokes. “Have fun.”

  I give Hannah a quick hug as I pick up Mindy’s call. “Stick around. Min?”

  “Hey, how’s my Grammy-winning sister doing?” Mindy asks. “You ready?”

  “Fuck no, but hearing you helps,” I admit, relief flooding through me. “Can you believe this?”

  “Nope. Hey, turn on your camera.”

  It takes me a few seconds, but when I do, Mindy’s face pops on screen. Her face has a little more weight on it than the last time I saw her, but it looks good on her. “Heeeey guuurl,” I greet happily.

  “Hey, mini me, what’s going down?” Mindy asks. “And who’s the babe next to you?”

  “Mindy, this is my best friend, Hannah. Remember, I told you about her when I first moved here? She’s my roommate.” I put the camera on Hannah. “But you’re blind. I’m the babe.”

  Mindy laughs. “How long do you have?”

  “I don’t have long,” I admit. “You want to help me pick out my outfit?”

  Mindy nods, and I hand my phone to Hannah as I go over, pulling out a tight black number with a cutout.

  Both of them reject it, and I go through several more before we all settle on my outfit, red and silver, and I grin. Mindy’s grinning too. “Okay, I’ll let you get ready. Kick some ass for me!”

  We hang up, and Ha
nnah gives me a hug. “Kick some ass for me too. I’m gonna go get my seat.”

  She leaves, and I quickly get ready. Just as I finish my vocal warmups and stretch, there’s a knock on my door. Jake sticks his head in, grinning when he sees me. “Hey, I don’t want to distract you, so . . . just knock them dead. I already know you’re amazing. Just show them what you show me.”

  “Show them my boobs? I don’t think this is that kind of show,” I tease, and Jake blushes. “Thank you. I’ll see you afterward.”

  Jake leaves, and three minutes later, I go to the wings of the stage. Surprisingly, I’m not nervous at all anymore. The DJ is supposed to play my music, but I’m getting a band soon. It’s a total pipedream, but I’d love to have my old one from Trixie’s.

  I shake my head. I can hear Nathan out there. He introduces me with his normal gusto. “And now . . . she’s baaaaa-aaaaaaaack!”

  The crowd goes wild. It’s like Nathan’s catchphrase now. “Here she is . . . ROXY!”

  “I can’t believe how awesome you were!”

  They’re the first words that Nathan says to me as I get off stage, and I can feel it. I had the whole crowd, and the place was so packed there wasn’t even much room to dance.

  I grin, then bite my lip nervously. I was hoping he’d say something about the exec coming to watch the show. “Think anything is going to come of this?”

  Nathan grins and pats me on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go up and see Jake. He’s been charming that guy’s ass off.”

  I laugh, some of my tension relieved. “So you think he liked it?”

  “The guy is fucking deaf if he didn’t. You know, I don’t even like pop or any of that shit, but your voice . . . it’s hard not to enjoy it.”

  Nathan takes me upstairs, where Jake’s sitting with Hannah and some guy who I assume is the talent scout. Seeing me, Jake gets up, so handsome that even with all of my nerves I’m feeling breathless watching him approach me to give me a kiss on the cheek. “You were amazing, Angel.”

  The scout nods, standing up and shaking my hand. “Honey, you were hot—like fire out there. My boss is totally going to be in touch!”

  He heads for the stairs, and I force a smile as Jake rubs my arm and talks softly. “See, you just had to have faith.”

  It makes me feel better, but I’m not going to get my hopes up too much. If it happens, it happens. Hannah touches me gently on the leg, noticing I’m not quite jumping for joy. “Relax, I heard him gushing earlier. They’re gonna call.”

  Before I can reply, there’s a huge commotion down below. Jake and Nathan’s heads whip around, trying to see what’s going on. I see it quickly, two guys fighting over a girl. She’s small, with coal black hair that to me looks like a wig.

  “Hey, cut that shit out!” Nathan yells. It’s useless. We’re in VIP and there’s too much noise down below, but security is getting to them.

  Meanwhile, Jake is squinting hard at the girl. “What the fuck?”

  Without warning, he takes off, dodging people as he plunges down the stairs. The look in his eyes and the way he’s so in a rush fill me with worry, and I go after him. I don’t know what’s happening. Is the asshole who tried to drug me back?

  I reach the floor of the club, gasping for breath, trying to keep up with Jake as he makes his way toward the commotion. He’s grabbed ahold of one of the dudes, and the other one’s disappeared off into the crowd. I’m sure security will get him.

  Suddenly, Jake stops, and the other guy shakes his way free, right into John’s grasp, of all people. Jake, however, looks stunned as he reaches out and grabs the girl who was in the center of the fight by the arm. “Sophie?”

  “J-Jake,” the girl says, pulling off her wig to reveal hair just like Jake’s.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I . . . I came with a friend and—”

  Jake looks furious, and he points at the guy John is holding. “How old are you? And don’t you dare lie to me.”

  The guy struggles, but he sees something in Jake’s eyes. “Nineteen!”

  Jake’s eyes go ice cold. “John, get him out of here.”

  “Wait!” Sophie cries as they begin dragging him away. Thankfully, they’re dragging him toward the front door and not the back. She rushes off into the crowd after her brother but is stopped by another of the bouncers. I watch as she struggles violently against him. He’s not hurting her. He’s just not letting her pass.

  “What the hell just happened?” Hannah says from behind me. I turn and see her and Nathan approaching, Nathan peeling off to talk to the security guy.

  “A family squabble,” I said, not really knowing much else yet. I just know Sophie’s in high school and shouldn’t be in here.

  Jake comes back, his face as serious as I’ve ever seen it, staring a hole at Sophie. Jake says a few quiet things to her and Nathan, who nods and starts leading Sophie toward the back of the club.

  “Jake, what’s going on?” I ask when he gets close.

  “I’m taking Sophie home,” he says, his eyes still burning, but he manages a smile. “You did great tonight.”

  “Wait,” I say, grabbing his arm. “Can I go with you?” I can't let him go like this. I’ve never seen him this mad before.

  Jake looks like he’s about to say no, but then he nods curtly. “Okay. Five minutes, grab your stuff. The car will be out back.”

  Chapter 19

  Roxy

  Other than the purr of his engine, it’s totally silent the whole way to Jake’s penthouse. This is my first time coming to his place. I would be ecstatic under normal circumstances, but this is like a dark cloud on my happy moment. In the rearview mirror, I can see Sophie fuming. Her hands are balled into fists, and they press hard into her thighs. She’s probably going to have bruises there tomorrow.

  I want to comfort her, to tell her everything will be okay, but I know that to her, I’m a total stranger and it’s not going to mean shit. I don’t even know if Jake’s told her about me.

  Finally, at a stop light, Sophie can’t take anymore. “I can’t believe you did that!” she snarls. “You didn’t have to treat Jax that way!”

  Jake clenches his jaw. “Can’t believe I did that?” he asks in disbelief. “You snuck into the club with a nineteen-year-old boy with fake IDs. I had every right to throw him out on his ass. He’s lucky I didn’t call the police on him. Wait . . . Jax? That Jax? I thought you met him in school! What’s he doing at your school if he’s nineteen?”

  She ignores that part. “He’s only two years older. I’m turning seventeen soon. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  Jake’s grip on the steering wheel tightens but I see him take a deep breath to try and relax. “Do you realize what you did? Do you know what could’ve happened if you were caught with a fake ID?”

  Sophie’s scowl softens somewhat. “Just a fine.”

  “Maybe. But if they wanted to make an example of you, they could get you for a felony.” Jake says. “That’s not something you want on your record.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Sophie says softly.

  “Not to mention that if the cops know that you’re my sister, they’re going to assume I let you in on purpose. The club could lose its liquor license over that.”

  I look into the rearview mirror, and I see her fidgeting. I think it’s setting in how serious this situation is.

  “You need to think about—” he starts, but I interrupt him.

  “Jake,” I say softly, placing a hand on his arm. “Let’s talk about this at home?”

  He swallows and relents. I can tell he’s both upset and worried. It’s obvious Sophie means a lot to him. “Okay. At home.”

  Sophie falls into sullen silence the rest of the ride. We reach his penthouse and go inside. I’m floored by how opulent it is. It’s like everything in my apartment has had the volume turned up to eleven with a sprinkle of fairy dust thrown on top.

  “This is beautiful,” I begin to say, but I’m inter
rupted by a sharp cry. I spin around to see Jake grabbing Sophie’s purse that she just put down.

  “What are you doing?” she cries as he opens it and takes out her phone.

  “Taking away your phone for now. There has to be some kind of consequence. I can’t believe—”

  “Give that back!” she yells, trying to snatch it away from him, but he yanks it back, stepping away and putting the phone in his jacket pocket.

  “No. You’re going to have to earn it back, and I don’t want you talking to Jax. He’s a bad influence on you.”

  “You can’t do that!” she says, struggling against him. She lunges, but he holds her back with an arm. I place my hand on my throat, unnerved by how Sophie is acting. I want to do something. Anything. But I don’t feel it’s my place. This isn’t my home, and as much as I feel for Jake, I’m not part of this family.

  Jake holds his voice steely. “I can, and I will. You’re my responsibility.”

  “Fuck you!” Sophie screams. “You’re not my daddy!” she says, running to her room, crying her eyes out. Her door slams, and a sudden silence falls over the room.

  Jake’s shoulders slump when she’s gone and he looks despondently at the floor. Tears burn my eyes, and I go over and place my hand on his shoulder. “Jake?”

  “She’s never told me something like that before,” he says quietly, and I can hear the pain in his voice. “I’ve never tried to be a replacement for Dad, but . . .”

  “Jake, I’m so sorry,” I say. “I know you care.”

  “It’s not your fault,” he says. “I haven’t been paying attention to what she’s been doing. I’ve just been so busy with . . .”

  His uncompleted sentence hangs in the air, and I fill in the gaps. He’s been busy with his new job, the club, and me. “Let me go talk to her.”