Chapter 6

Finally it was five o'clock and time to get ready to go to work. I paid extra attention to fixing my hair and it fell in waves down my back. My make-up was perfect, making my eyes look green instead of the hazel color that they normally were. I put on my favorite black leather mini-skirt, black kitten heels and tight emerald green tank top that hugged in all of the right places. I knew that the normal clientele at the bar would give me no end of trouble about grabbing my ass and hitting on me but looking good for Jack was worth it.

"Tori, are you ready to go?" I called as I walked towards the door, grabbing my keys and purse off of the table.

"Coming." Tori said as she came out of the bathroom. "Wow, Kat. You look great. Jack will love it."

"Thanks, that was what I was going for. You look great too." She had changed into skinny black jeans and a tight purple t-shirt that emphasized her already good-sized breasts.

We left and got to Joe's right on time. My shift started at 6 and ended when the last customer left, whatever time that happened to be. As we walked in the door I saw Jack and Aden talking in the corner, looking at the speakers set up next to the stage. Aden looked up first and pointed at us making Jack whip his head in our direction. He stood stock still for a minute just looking at us. He shook his head as if to clear it and grinned at me.

"Wow. You clean up nice." Jack said as walked over to us. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me on the cheek.

"You don't look so bad yourself Mr. Mercer." I smiled at him.

"God, you're tall. In those heels you are only an inch shorter than I am." He smiled hugging me tighter for a second and then let me go.

"How did the meeting with the talent agent go?" I asked.

"Well…um…I wanted to surprise you with an announcement at the end of the show tonight." He grinned at me mischievously.

"Alright. Keep your secrets. I have to go get the bar stocked for the night. Oh yeah, the band drinks for free tonight…what do you guys want?"

"I'll have a scotch on the rocks and Jack will have a beer…like we always do." Aden answered.

"Coming right up." I said as I turned to go make them drinks. The guys went back to talking and Tori followed me to the bar.

"You guys are so cute together." She grinned at me and hopped up on a barstool.

"Thanks. I'd like to think so." I smiled at I popped the top off of a beer and poured a double scotch on the rocks. "Will you take these over to them while I finish stocking the bar?"

"Sure." Tori said as she grabbed the drinks and headed over to the guys.

Just then Bobby walked in from the back room. "Hey Kat. You are going to get hell for that outfit. You know that right?" He said as he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah I know. I just wanted to look good for Jack tonight." I blushed furiously when Bobby laughed at me.

"You love him…don't you?"

"That's none of your business Bobby Mercer!" I exclaimed as I stormed off into the cooler to get beers and cool off before I tried to punch Bobby.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist." Bobby said, following me into the cooler. "You really do love him though, don't you?" he asked as he grabbed me around the arms and gently turned me towards him.

"Bobby…I… what I mean… well…damn it. Yes, I do love him. I've never felt this way about anyone before. He just makes me feel safe and happy in ways that I've never really felt before. Why do you want to know?"

"I guess I just wanted to try to warn you to not get too attached. Jack is a good kid, he just sucks at dealing with women. He is going to hurt you and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Thanks Bobby but I'm a big girl now. I think I can handle a Mercer."

"You are the only woman who could tame him. Good luck with that." Bobby said as he turned on his heel and walked out of the cooler. What the hell? Bobby is giving me advice about Jack? I think hell might just have frozen over. I smiled to myself and walked out of the cooler, carrying a crate of beers.

By the time 8 o'clock rolled around the bar was overcrowded with the regulars and about 200 Spare fans, waiting for the concert to begin. The guys walked out on stage and the crowd erupted in cheers. Jack began to sing and everyone who knew the song was singing along with him, almost to the point that you couldn't hear him. He looked so hot rocking out up on stage. He had a black t-shirt on with the sleeves cut off with a red skull in the center and tight jeans on that left almost nothing to the imagination. By the time they had sung through their set his shirt was soaked and he was gasping for air but looked absolutely gorgeous doing it. I grinned to myself, thinking just how lucky I was to get to take that home at the end of the night. They finished their last song and the crowd went wild. The guys were all grinning from ear to ear when Jack held up his hands to get their attention.

"Hey everybody, listen up. We have an announcement to make. The Spare's have just signed a deal to tour with Evanescence this summer and record a CD to be released around Christmas." The crowd erupted even more violently than before and Jack, Aden, Tim and their new drummer Micah bowed to the crowd. Jack searched me out after signing autographs for everyone that wanted one.

I put down the tray that I was carrying and I jumped on him, throwing my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. "I am so happy for you Jack. This is going to be great for you guys." I grinned at him and leaned down to kiss him.

"Thanks beautiful. I'm so glad that you aren't upset about this. You might want to think about getting down though…unless of course you like the whole bar seeing that you only have a tiny thong on under that skirt." Jack laughed when I shrieked in dismay and quickly stood up, pulling my skirt down at the same time.

"I have to go serve more drinks. We'll talk about this more tonight ok?" I turned around to see everyone behind me staring at me. I blushed furiously before taking a bow. All of the guys cheered while the girls sent glares that made me glad that looks couldn't kill. I could hear Jack laughing in the background and it made me smile.

The bar finally closed around 2 am and Jack, Tori, Micah and I all piled into my car to go home for the night. Apparently Micah and Tori had hit it off after the show and he was going to spend the night at my place. I knew that her parents would be pissed if they ever found out but at that point I was so happy that I didn't care what they said.

We all go out of the car and Jack and Micah stumbled up the stairs while Tori and I hung back a little. "Are you sure about this thing with Micah? I mean, you guys just met tonight." I stared at her intently.

"Yeah…about that. He and I have actually been dating since my freshman year of high school. He was a senior at the time but we really liked each other. Anyway, we've been together for almost 4 years now."

"Wow. How did I not know about this?"

"I never told you or gave any hint that I was dating anyone because I didn't want you telling my parents. They would never understand." She smiled at me apologetically and I laughed.

"Next time just tell me so I'm not totally out of the loop. I'm not as awful as you seem to think that I am. I promise I won't tell your parents anything that they don't absolutely need to know. Alright?"

"Alright. I promise. Let's go find those boys of ours before the do anything stupid." We jogged up the rest of the stairs to find Jack and Micah sitting on the floor outside of my apartment giggling.

"What's so funny?" I asked as I unlocked the door.

"I don't remember." Jack giggled again, slowly coming to a standing position, swaying slightly from side to side. Micah was almost as bad and Tori helped him stand and let him lean against her as they walked in to the apartment.

"You are very drunk Mr. Mercer." I said, wrapping my arm around his waist and leading him into the house.

"No I'm not." He giggled again as he stumbled and almost fell. "Ok, maybe a little." He conceded.

"I'm putting this one to bed. I hope yours isn't quite so bad. Good night." I said as I walked into my bedroom and kicked the door shut behind us. Jack stood on his own and pulled his shirt off over his head.

"Kat. I want you." He said, staring at me blearily.

"I don't think so Jack. I wouldn't want to take advantage of you." I smiled at him and pushed him down into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. I knelt down at his feet and pulled off his boots and socks. His pants quickly followed and he was in nothing but boxers. I could see that faint effort he was making to rise to the occasion and I laughed. "I don't think he's up for it Jack. Wake me up later when you aren't quite so drunk." I stripped and got into bed. Jack curled up against my back and draped an arm over my waist, lightly cupping my breast.

"Kat?"

"Yes Jack?"

"I love you."

I stiffened against him but he was already asleep and didn't notice. It took a while for me to fall sleep but I finally drifted off.

"Kat?" I jolted awake when Jack said my name.

"What time is it?" I said, wiping the sleep out of my eyes.

"4." I could feel him smile into my shoulder as his lips rested against the ankh I had tattooed on my shoulder blade.

"What's up?" I groaned and snuggled back into his chest.

"I am." He said as he pressed his hips into my lower back.

"Oh. I see. And just what am I supposed to do about that Mr. Mercer?" I smiled to myself and rolled over to face him.

"I could think of several things, right off hand." He grinned at me.

I smiled back at him and pushed him on his back, rising up to straddle his thighs. I leaned down to kiss him and he cupped my head in his hands, holding my head in place.

"Katrina, I meant what I said earlier. I love you." He looked deeply into my eyes, not letting me look away. "You make me want to be a better person."

"Oh Jack. Are you sure about this? I mean we've only known each other for a couple of days, how can you be sure about us yet?" I was desperately trying to keep myself from telling him that I loved him but my resolve was quickly draining.

"I know Kat. I knew the moment I saw you that you were different." He looked up at me and I could see a tear trailing down the side of his head, merging with his hairline.

"I …I don't know what to say." I sighed and collapsed on top of him, hiding my head in his shoulder.

"Say you love me. I can see it in your eyes Kat. I know you do." He pleaded.

"Of course I love you Jack. I just don't know if there's a future for us." I lifted my head and locked eyes with him. "You are leaving in what, two months and are going to be gone indefinitely? How are we supposed to be together when you don't even know where you will be from day to day?"

"Kat…Come with me." He looked up at me hopefully.

"Jack, you can't honestly expect me to drop my life here and follow you like some groupie." I shook my head in disbelief.

"You have the summer off don't you? Why don't you just come for a month and see how you like it?"

"Yes I do have the summer off but I work 40 hours a week during the summer, sometimes more, just to be able to afford to live during the semester. I can't just drop all of my commitments and run away Jack. This is your dream Jack. You have to do this for your self. I will be waiting here when you come home." I smiled through the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I don't know if I can do a long distance relationship Kat. I'm just not that kind of guy."

"Don't think of it as a relationship. Do whatever groupie catches your eye, I'll just be your Detroit groupie." I tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace.

"I don't want to do that to you Kat."

"So, what, you just want a clean break then? Can you honestly tell me that you never want to see me again?" I looked at him and he shook his head no.

"Then let's just enjoy the time that we have together and worry about the future when it gets here. Okay?"

"Alright." He agreed meekly. I kissed him and he very gently flipped me over so that I was lying underneath him. He trailed kisses from my forehead all the way down to my ankles and back up to stop at my neck. He sucked on my neck under my left ear until he was satisfied that he had marked his territory. He looked down into my eyes questioningly and I nodded in approval. He slid into me in one gentle motion. Throughout our lovemaking he treated me as if I was a fragile piece of crystal that might fracture at any moment. For the first time I felt like I was truly loved and not just an object of lust. When we were done, he rolled of off me and curled up behind me, both of us quickly falling asleep.

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