Shoutouts to Amanda and Michelle: Amanda for collaberating with me on the idea. We kinda pointed it out to each other at the same time, despite the fact that the poor girl doesn't even own the magazine. And Michelle, completely apart from Amanda and I, started her own story based on the lovely shirt [MESH! READ IT!]. And started posting it when she saw this one! Woo! So now it's Amanda's turn! Come on! Write a story about the shirt! All the cool kids are doing it!
Ooh, and an apology. This was an angst story. I swear. But something weird happened. *glares at Christian muse, who jumps, surprised and tries to look innocent* It turned sappy. Grr. Well, he kinda wavers. This chapter, however, is as sappy as the first chapter was angsty. Sorry. All complaints can be sent to my Christian muse.
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I blinked my eyes open and yawned. Something felt wrong here.
Where was I?
"'Bout time y' got up, babe," I heard a soft voice drawl. I rolled over towards the window and saw Jeff sitting in a chair in front of the window, watching me with a smile. He looked like an angel, surrounded my soft morning light.
Morning light? Ah, shit, it was morning.
"What time is it?" I asked, feeling around the nightstand for my watch. Jeff got up, picked up my watch, and handed it to me as he crawled on the bed next to me.
"It's only nine, but we should get on th' road soon."
"I stayed the night?" I asked with a sigh, putting on my watch.
"Y' make it sound like a bad thing," Jeff pouted exaggeratedly. Then, switching to a smirk, he added, "Took me long enough t' get y' t' do it."
"It is a bad thing," I groaned, putting my hands to my face and falling back.
"Adam gets y' every night. Ah think he can do without y' f' one," Jeff joked, gently running his fingers down my arm. "Ah'm beginnin' t' think you're cheatin' on me with him."
I dropped my hands from my face quickly and looked up to Jeff. He laying next to me on his side, grinning and propping himself up on his elbow. His currently red hair fell in cute locks from the loose knot on the back of his head and he was wearing only loose blue tiger striped pajama pants that seemed to fit him almost too well. It took everything I had to not grab and ravish him. Of course, that was what had gotten me into this mess to begin with.
"I promise I am not cheating on you with Adam," I sighed. Jeff sighed back at me, laying down and resting his head on my shoulder. Instinctively, I put my arm around him and held him.
"Oh, Ah see. You're cheatin' on Adam with me then."
"Jeff..."
"Ah know, Ah know," he joked again, moving his hand from my arm to my chest. He had such a nice touch. "Ah jus' can't figure out why y' never want t' stay with me. Matt obviously doesn't mind. Ah think he kinda likes stayin' with Amy an' Trish."
I smiled over Jeff's head.
"It's not that I don't want to stay with you, it's..." Jeff waited silently for the rest of my sentence. This wasn't the first time in our month long relationship that I was struggling to invent a tolerable answer to that question. And it seemed this would be another unsuccessful attempt. "It's just that..."
"Don't give me any bullshit 'bout morals, 'cause after last night, Ah know yours are as far gone as mine."
I grinned again, and kissed the top of Jeff's head. Jeff looked up at me, grinning as well, then pushed himself up and knelt over me on hands and knees. He was so adorable. He must have just gotten out of bed a short while ago because he still hadn't showered yet. I brought my hand to his chin and gently brushed his scruffy jaw, inviting him to a kiss that he readily accepted. Man, I had fallen - and fallen hard - for Jeff. I hadn't been this content in a long time. He brought something to me that I'd been missing for a long time, a kind of happiness that I'd never felt before. Of course, I'd never been in love before. Was this love? It was probably too early to tell for sure, but it was the closest I'd ever been to it, if it wasn't the real thing. I felt Jeff pull away from me slowly and I opened my eyes, still smiling.
"C'mon, Jay, we have t' get ready t' go."
"When I want to go, you say stay. When I want to stay, you say go."
Jeff grinned again and kissed me shortly before climbing off the bed. I sighed and sat up, looking around the bed for my clothes. It was time to go. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to unknot it slightly, as Jeff grabbed a duffel bag and went into the hotel room's bathroom. I climbed out of the bed as well and got dressed in my loose navy cargo pants. But I couldn't find my shirt.
"Jeff?"
"Mmm?" he responded. He was brushing his teeth.
"Seen my shirt?"
I heard water run, then, "Nope."
"What did we do with it? I need it."
"Why?" he asked, simply.
"I'm not going to walk down the hall of a hotel half naked."
"Ah s'pose that might not be good."
"No, probably -"
"They'd all start fightin' over your gorgeous self."
I smiled. "No, I'm serious, Jeff."
"Me too. Ah bet there'd be blood spilled."
"Jeff..." I couldn't help but laugh as I started digging around the blankets looking for my shirt. It had to be here somewhere.
"Ah'll have t' make a sign - property of Jeff," Jeff declared. I smiled grimly to myself. Yeah, 'property of Jeff.' Adam would break that sign over my head as he kicked my ass out of his life. "Hey, that's it."
"What is?" I asked, halting my search.
"A sign. Wear my shirt."
"Funny," I said, resuming my search. Jeff had gone to some store in New York for a photo shoot with Matt and Amy recently and found this red loose mesh shirt with black trim that he was wearing last night. I was making fun of him for it, saying the shirt was hardly there and he might as well be naked. Well, one thing led to another and he found himself that way shortly.
"No, Ah'm serious. It's time t' tell Adam where his lovin' man is gettin' his sugah."
Jeff was joking, of course, he had no idea that Adam didn't know about us. But somehow that statement made me freeze. I sat down on the bed, thoughtfully. Here I was, lying to the two men I loved the most. Jeff, by letting him think that everything was normal - and Adam on the same grounds.
"Jay?"
I looked up quickly and found Jeff standing in the doorway of the bathroom with a concerned look on his face. "Yeah?"
"You ok?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I smiled hesitantly as if to demonstrate. That seemed to be close enough for him.
"Then here," he said, tossing his red mesh shirt at me. I caught it, surprised. "Go on."
I held up the shirt with disdain. "I said I wasn't going to walk down the hall half naked."
"It's a shirt."
"It's a fishing net."
"Y' want t' see my fishnets?"
I closed my eyes and shook my head with a smile. "Jeff..."
He just grinned. "No, really. Ah want t' see ya in it. Ah bet you'd look good."
"You also think I'd look good in nothing."
"True."
"Jeff..."
"C'mon, f' me? Jus' try it."
"Fine, fine. I'll put it on."
Jeff smirked and crossed his arms over his chest as I put on the shirt. I looked back up at Jeff and he grinned. "Ah was right. Come look in a mirror."
I sighed and went over to the bathroom with Jeff. When I got in front of the mirror, I did a double take of surprise. Hey, that wasn't too bad... all things considered. I noticed Jeff watching my reaction with a smile. He wrapped his arms around my waist and set his chin on my shoulder. "Ah think y' look sexy."
"Of course I do. Still doesn't say anything about the shirt."
"At least you're callin' it a shirt now."
I grinned and turned in Jeff's arm, to face him. "Fine, fine, it's a shirt. But I still have to go."
He pouted. "Aw, Jay..."
"No, really. My stuff's still in Adam's room."
"All right," Jeff sighed and let go of me slowly. I started to take off the shirt to give it back to him but he stopped me. "No, really. It looks good on you. Better than on me. Keep it."
"Jeff," I started to laugh, but he had a proud grin on his face. So I just shook my head with a smile. "All right."
"Ok, then go back t' y' precious Adam."
"Jeff..."
"Ah'm kiddin', babe." He kissed me, as if to prove it. And it was effective.
"Ok, I'll see you soon, kid."
I stepped out into the hall and my smile dropped immediately.
Adam will not recoginze the shirt. Adam will not recognize the shirt.
I repeated this to myself several more times before I actually mentally debated whether it would be better to go back in this shirt or no shirt at all. Would Adam notice? Of course Adam wouldn't notice, guys didn't notice that kind of thing. Did they?
"Hey, Jay. Nice shirt. Isn't that Jeff's?"
I looked up quickly, no doubt with fear in my eyes. My reaction made Matt drop his smile.
"Um, yeah, it's Jeff's," I stuttered. "He gave it to me."
Matt smiled again. "Ah'm not accusin' y' of anythin'. Sounds like somethin' Jeff would do."
"Oh, I know," I continued quickly. "You just startled me."
"You all right, Jay? Y' seem a little... nervous."
I took a breath. "I'm just distracted."
"Well, Ah won't hold y' up. Ah need t' make sure Jeff's gettin' ready. Sometimes he's a little... well... not very..."
"Punctual?" I asked with a smile. "Don't worry. He was practically dragging me out of bed this morning."
Matt laughed.
"Maybe you're finally doin' what Ah've been tryin' t' do f' years now," he said, patting my shoulder. "Keep it up. See y' around."
With that, he stepped into the room I had just left. And I hit my hand to my forehead. Hell, if Matt noticed... Of course, he recoginzed it as Jeff's because he was with Jeff when he bought it. Yes, that had to be it. Adam would not notice. Making this my mantra, I went back to my room, digging around in my pockets for the room key. Here goes everything.
Adam, as it turns out, was standing in front of the mirror, wearing a towel and harshly dragging a brush through his hair. There was no way to hide from him, so I might as well take my punishment, whatever it may be. "Dude, you're going to rip out all your hair if you keep that up."
"Might be better off that way," he muttered, frustrated with his hair just like everytime he had to brush through it after a shower. I smiled, and went over to the bed where I was supposed to have slept last night. Adam's reflection, I noticed after a second, was watching me with a grin. "So? Dish."
"Dish what?" I asked, feigning naiveity. I must have been as red as Jeff's shirt.
"Who were you with last night?"
"What makes you think -"
"You have that 'I just got laid' look."
I could feel myself blushing now. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
"Trish?"
"Adam."
"Nora?"
"Adam."
"Amy? Matt'll kill you."
"Adam!"
Adam's smirk dropped and he turned to me with a look of surprise. "You didn't."
I wasn't sure what he was implying, but I didn't like the sound of it. "Jesus, Adam, I didn't do anything."
The grin returned. He was laughing at me. "You didn't sleep with any of the girls, did you?"
Play it off, Jay. He has no idea, otherwise he wouldn't be smiling. "No! I didn't!"
"You got a ringrat."
"I didn't -... a what?"
"A fan. You slept with a fan last night."
I rolled my eyes and turned away. "Jesus, Adam."
"You did!" he exclaimed, certain he'd figured it out. So what do I do now, agree with him or let him keep guessing until he realizes the truth? "Did you even know her name?"
Adam sat down next to me, ready to pump me for information. Goddammit, I didn't want to lie to him. I rubbed my forehead, a headache deveolping. "Adam, I didn't sleep with a fan."
"You don't have to be ashamed," Adam was still grinning. "I'm sure all of the guys have considered it from time to time. Was she hot?"
"I said, I didn't -"
Before I could finish my sentence, Adam grabbed me in a sideheadlock and gave me a brotherly noogie. "Way to go, kiddo. But let's make this a last time."
I pushed his arm over my head, annoyed. He just smiled at me. "I'm going to make it my personal duty to find you a good woman."
Oh, that was just what I needed. Adam must have noticed my face fall 'cause he quickly amended his statement. "Not that you need my help, of course."
"I don't need to find a -"
"Come on, man, you've been acting all weird lately. Maybe a girl will get you out of your funk."
"Who says I'm in a funk?" I asked. I regretted it right away. My defensiveness might make Adam suspicious. The last thing I needed was to make Adam try to figure out what was going on.
His smile dropped again. "Look, I just noticed you acting differently. Is there something wrong?"
"No," I said, looking Adam in the eye to try to convince him. His look of concern once again dissolved into a smile and he punched me jocularly in the shoulder.
"Then cheer up. You just got laid."
With that, he got up and started looking for something to wear from his travelbag. I shook my head with a slight smile. Well, he was right as usual. Still smiling, I grabbed my bag and went to take a shower. Near disaster avoided again. Damn, this was stressful.
I started undressing, shirt first. It was then that I realized that Adam hadn't even noticed Jeff's shirt. I smiled again and folded the shirt lovingly in my suitcase.