Jimmy hadn't really given much thought to where he and Jessie could go. All he'd wanted was to get out of there and give Kyle and Kay some much needed privacy. In normal circumstances, he'd take her to the club Tom worked at, but since she was famous and shouldn't be seen with him, that was off the table.
Simply walking down the street with her proved to be difficult. Why was it so crowded? It was so much harder when a big part of him wanted to take her hand. Which was so weird. He'd never been the hand-holding type. As much as he thought back, he couldn't remember one single instant when he'd held Izzy's hand. But this was so different. He felt in control for one thing.
Jessie didn't question his tactics of avoiding busy streets, nor did she complain or comment when they ended up in a park. Fortunately, it was empty since it was dark, and they could navigate the paths in peace. It became even harder not to take her hand.
They reached the playground and lingered there.
"So, um..." She looked around.
"I'm sorry, but it's not like I can take you anywhere."
"This is a nice place."
"It's a park."
"Believe it or not, I haven't exactly been in many parks." She walked to the swing set and had a seat, wrapping her fingers around the chains.
He leaned his back against the metal frame, watching her swing back and forth. "Me neither. Never had time for parks." Or anything fun for that matter. His childhood sounded bleak even to him.
The thought that he had parents, that Kyle could be his brother, haunted him. Kyle obviously came from a rich family. Or one that had been rich at some point. If it was true, why had they thrown him and Tom away when they actually had twin brothers. The thought was sureal.
"I'm really sorry," Jessie whispered. "This must be really hard to take in."
"Which part exactly?"
"Having a long lost twin brother. A family."
Huh, she'd read him well. It heated up his hallow chest. She tended to do that a lot.
"Your family apparently sucks, too."
"Yeah..." Her voice faded and she took in a deep breath. "I'm not sure they ever wanted me, or they wouldn't have always treated me like a bother. Like I didn't belong with them. They used to lock me up, you know. In closets, or any place from which they couldn't hear me scream."
He narrowed his eyes, his muscles tensing. "What?"
"It's not a big deal anymore. I learned to cope with it. After a while, I craved to be away from them so I would misbehave on purpose. I got to know them and manipulated the situation. Even this marriage to Kyle... If it wasn't Kyle, it would've been someone else. Someone of their choosing. I got lucky because he's not an idiot and it worked out so well."
"Jessie, that's still awful." It was beyond awful.
"It is, but I'm so used to awful this is like a blessing." She raised her eyes to look at him. "And I met you, even if for a short time."
The idea of parting with her stung. It was an uncomfortable thorn in his heart, forcing it to somehow beat around it. But it beat when he thought it never would again, not after what happened with Izzy.
And once he came to that realization, the world seemed brighter some how. He wasn't dead. He didn't have to sail through life like a robot anymore, go through the motions. He could feel again and, for some insane reason, it was because of her.
"We're a right pair, aren't we?" she asked with a sad laugh.
"Don't be sad."
"I can't help it. I'm grateful really, for meeting you, for having my first kiss with you. But..." Her green eyes shone like emeralds. "I wish it didn't have to end."
He wished that, too. So much it hurt. So he walked to her and kneeled in front of the swing. She looked down at him, her eyes so filled with hope. It set him on fire and all he wanted was to hold her. He didn't see why he shouldn't. After all, they didn't have much time left, and he didn't think he could be more infatuated with her anyway. He raised the missing inch and kissed her. She kissed him back immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck. It felt amazing, like it always did, like innocence and hope and fire. So much fire.
"How?" she breathed, pulling away the tiniest bit. "How am I supposed to move on from this?"
"I'm just your first, Jessie, you can find better."
She shook her head, her curls dancing in the night. "It's not an experience thing. It's a you thing. There's no other reason I feel like this."
"Feel like what?" He couldn't breathe as he waited for her answer.
She didn't answer right away and it was torture. Though, to be fair, he loved watching her, how her feelings showed on her face. The confusion, the hope, the heat... She liked him. He liked her.
"Like I've never felt before," she finally whispered.
He couldn't agree more. He'd never felt like this before either and he wasn't sure just what the hell it was or why. But he could see something inside her, something that drew him to her in unexpected ways. Like a memory long forgotten of orange curls and green eyes. From a time of happiness and safety. Put it couldn't be a memory because he'd never had that.
The distant rumble of motorcycles had him tensing. Jessie frowned too as the sound stopped, replaced by heavy footsteps which seemed to be heading their way.
"Maybe we should go?" Jessie asked.
"Yeah, maybe we should."
But they didn't get to before a large group or men made their way towards them. The stench of alcohol accompanied them.
"Awww, our spot is taken," one of the men grunted. He had a bottle of what looked like vodka in his hand.
"Nah. We have ourselves some playthings," another one disagreed.
Jimmy took them all in. They were large and about six of them, but they were drunk, rowdy and uncoordinated because of the alcohol. They weren't a threat even if they got violent.
"We'll be leaving," Jessie said, wanting to stand, but he pressed his hand on her knee to keep her in the swing.
"Oh, you don't have to, beautiful."
The men came closer, leers on their faces.
"Your boyfriend can go, though."
"Hey, isn't she that famous singer on them posters."
"Fuck," she breathed.
"It's alright," he whispered.
She frowned at his words. "I know that. Now don't move."
"What?" Her request caught him by surprise.
"Don't. Move."
The men had reached them, laughing about what they would do to them. Mainly rob them and take Jessie. It would have really unsettled him if he didn't know he could take those clowns out, no problem.
What he didn't expect was for Jessie to shoot out of the swing and hit the man who'd made a grab for her in the throat. He wheezed and stumbled back into one of his mates. Jessie charged into their midst, precise and deadly. It took him a few seconds to wrap his mind around the fact that she thought she was saving him. Which was a sweet thought, but he was saving himself.
When he stood, the men closest to him stumbled back, most likely shocked by the height and built of him. The hesitance was all he needed to knock them down. It didn't even take more than a well placed hit to the liver to send them to the ground. In a matter of moments, he and Jessie were standing in the middle of a circle of moaning drunks.
"Let's get out of here," he said, taking her hand and pulling her away.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins, giving him an all too familiar high, the one that usually came with his fighting training and tournaments. Next to him, Jessie was picture perfect calm, but as soon as they reached a clump of trees, she pulled on his hand to stop him.
He did, turning to her, but not letting go of her hand. He didn't think he could.
"Are you alright?"
"Of course," she said, sounding surprised. "They didn't even touch me."
"You're amazing," he said.
"I'm amazing? You're amazing. Wow! I didn't know you could fight. Though..." She eyed him up and down. "I guess I should've guessed."
"I had no idea you could fight either. You were so brave!"
She huffed and waved him away. "We weren't on any danger even if you couldn't whopp their asses. Because I knew I could."
Hell yeah, she could. And in that moment, something so obvious dawned to him, he couldn't believe he hadn't accepted it earlier. He was definitely in love with her. Her bravery, her strength, her beauty and her intelligence. He was an idiot, but he didn't care.
When he took her other hand, she smiled at him and her eyes seemed to shine brighter than any star.
"I'll say it again," he said. "You're amazing. In every possible way."
Her smile turned sad. "No, I'm not. I'm sheltered and have so many issues. I haven't even figured myself out--"
"And you think I have? I've been so busy surviving, I have no idea just what the hell to do with myself!"
"What are you talking about? You're the tech guy. You can fight. You know how to do things. Not to mention that you're the hottest guy I've seen in my life." She nudged his shoulder with her fist. "Hotstuff."
"Sunshine."
For a second, they just stared at each other. Then they kissed. It felt different than before, much deeper and filled with meaning. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe it was the new word floating around his head, but he never wanted to let her go, never wanted to kiss anyone else.
Something flashed behind him, like lightning. His first impulse was to turn around and face the potential danger, keep Jessie safe, but she held him in place, her eyes wide and desperate. More flashing lights and he finally realized they were camer flashes.
"Shit," he breathed, but didn't move.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered desperately. "I really hoped they wouldn't find me."
"They should leave you the hell alone." He didn't even want to turn around and see them. So, instead he picked Jessie up, holding him against him.
"What are you doing?" she asked, though she curled around him right away.
He loved holding her like that. He should do it more often. But not when they weren't alone. It was dark though, so he could use that in their advantage. He sprinted between the trees, leaving the paparazzi behind.
Jessie giggled against him as he navigated the trees, flashes still going off behind them.
"Good idea. Outrun them."
"I think I might have the home turf advantage." In a matter of minutes, they were out of the park and into the street. Fortunately, he knew the area well, so he put her down and they navigated a few dodgy streets until they were finally alone.
"Ugh, why does that keep happening?" she asked the moment they stopped.
"Fame?"
"Fame sucks."
"It sort of brought us together."
She grinned. "Okay, it doesn't suck anymore." But her smile fell almost immediately. "Great. Now the papers will be filled with pictures of us on top of the whole Kyle and Kay thing. It's a PR disaster. Macy is going to kill me."
That did suck. They'd pretty much tanked the plan when Macy had clearly asked them to stay there.
"I think I need a drink. Do you know a dodgy bar or something?"
That actually wasn't such a bad idea. He did know a place where the owner was a friend who could keep quiet.
"I might know a place. How would you like to sing karaoke for beer? Discreetly."
She narrowed her eyes and she looked so amazingly attractive. Yep, he was whipped. "Discreetly?"
"I know the owner. I could bribe him for silence and we could pretend we're not--" He halted right before he let out the killer word.
She tilted her head, the hope in her eyes soothing his soul. "But we are, aren't we?"
There was only one right answer.
"Of course we are."
🌗🌗🌗
Some people are luckier than others I guess. But all the effort into letting Kyle and Kay have privacy. And yeah, Jessie is badass.
Two badasses obviously made for each other.
Let's get back to more lovey dovey stuff. And the media disaster.
Don't forget go vote and comment for support!