Chapter Three
Jessa
"Holy shit!" Gwen says, staring in shock at the envelope that was just dropped off for her. Her eyes are so wide, I'm a little concerned they might actually fall out of their sockets. I've never seen her speechless before now. "He gave us his tickets to the benefit tonight!"
"I'm going to murder him," I growl, instantly suspicious that Jax is still trying to get me to the benefit. It's barely even nine in the morning. I'm not nearly awake enough to deal with any of this. Especially since I barely slept last night. I tossed and turned all night, replaying every second of our conversation.
Jax doesn't give up easily and is stubborn as all hell. I should have known he was up to something. He was way too agreeable last night. He was a perfect gentleman after the karaoke party wound down about half an hour after he sent my world into topsy-turvy orbit. He waited for me to clean up and then escorted me to my car to follow me home.
"Um, you're going to marry him and have his babies!" Gwen shouts, spinning to look at me like I'm crazy. With her hair in a hot pink nightcap and her old robe hanging open over her Mighty Mouse pajamas, she still somehow manages to look more put together than I do. "He gave us tickets to the benefit tonight. Do you have any idea how much these things cost? Thousands!"
"He's just…wait. Seriously? Thousands?"
She bobs her head in an excited nod. "A single ticket was two-thousand dollars. They sold out in a matter of hours. Everyone wants a piece of the Holy Trinity." Her face scrunches up. Like me, Gwen doesn't date. She says men will only interfere with her plans for her life, but I think it's because her mom has a long history of falling in love with all the wrong men. And because she's secretly in love with my brother. "It's crazy how insane everyone is being about them performing together."
"You would be too if you'd seen them perform together." I squeeze past her to shut the door to our apartment since it's still standing open. Kasen, Bentley, and Clayton sang Tennessee Whiskey together last night, and I don't mean they got up there and gave it their best shot. I mean they sangthe hell out of that song. It was incredible.
"Stop rubbing it in!" Gwen cries, throwing herself down on the chaise part of our plush sectional. We may be broke college kids, but we hit the flea markets like professionals. We've been able to work magic in this place on flea market finds. Everything is comfortable, cozy, and inviting. It feels like a real home instead of an off-campus apartment with bad pipes and not nearly enough hot water. "I'm never getting over the fact that you spent an entire night in the same room with Cami. You are not allowed to tell me all the gory details."
"If you say so," I say, shaking my head at her. One minute, she tells me she doesn't want the details. The next, she's demanding I tell her every little thing that happened. She's insane and I love her for it. If she weren't going to Nashville with me, I'd be devastated. Living with her has been the best part of the college experience.
"We are totally going tonight," she says.
"Um, no. No way." I shake my head, adamant. There's no freaking way I'm going to this concert tonight. The odds of me falling into Jax's arms in front of my coworkers is way too high. He remembers trying to kiss me. He still wants to kiss me. The man I've been in love with for four years wants to kiss me. And I turned him down.
What is wrong with me?
I plop down on the couch next to Gwen.
Ruby comes running out of the bedroom to jump into my lap. She turns in a circle before laying down and then narrowing her eyes on me. I grab the blanket off the back of the couch, knowing that's what she wants. She likes to burrow. I swear, she has more blankets than I do.
"I can't go alone." Gwen looks at me like I'm crazy…which I don't necessarily disagree with right now. My mind has been reeling since last night. Nothing makes sense. Jax has feelings for me. Or thinks he has feelings for me. Or something. I'm not sure. I was so afraid I would end up admitting that I've been in love with him for four years that I ran from the conversation exactly like a frightened little rabbit.
He's called me a rabbit since I met him. My nose twitches when I'm stressed out or don't like something. He thinks it's hilarious. I do not agree. I can't hide anything because my stupid nose twitches and tells the world exactly how I feel. It's so annoying!
"Make Cyrus go with you."
Gwen's eyes get big.
"Why not? You guys are friends." Okay, friends is probably pushing it. The two of them argue about everything under the sun. If Gwen says the sky is blue, Cyrus argues that it's actually not. If Cyrus says he wants pizza for dinner, Gwen automatically wants Chinese. They've been driving each other nuts since Gwen and I were sixteen.
Gwen went on a diet that year after meeting a music producer. Cyrus told her he thought it was stupid for her to be so hung up on what other people thought of her and that most people never make it as musicians. He didn't mean it the way it came out, but she took it as him saying she doesn't have what it takes. They've been at odds ever since.
Neither of them will admit it, but they're in love with each other. I think it really bothers Cyrus that he's in love with someone so much younger than him. He's always been so protective and noble and genuinely good. He doesn't know what to do about the way he feels. Neither does Gwen. They're both stubborn. So they pick at each other and drive each other crazy instead.
But if Gwen asked Cyrus to go with him, he wouldn't say no. He never says no to Gwen.
"We are not friends," she growls on cue, scowling daggers at me. "He's bossy and opinionated and rude. Do you know he stole my lunch last week? He just let himself in and ate it."
I bite my lip to keep from laughing. One of these days, she'll figure out that he does things like that just to get her attention. She tries to ignore him, which pisses him off. I can't wait until they finally cave. They'll be good for one another. Cyrus keeps Gwen grounded and she keeps him from being too rigid.
"I love you but I'm not going. Jax will be there." I want to see him so badly.
"Are we to the part yet where I tell you that you're insane and that you should go get your man?" Gwen asks, still poring over the tickets in her hand.
"Nope."