JENNIE

Arms wrapping around my body and legs tangling with mine woke me up. The bus was still, silent, but I had no idea if we'd reached our new destination, or if we were still in Jersey. Smiling, I stretched as best as I could, then cuddled into the chest behind me.

"What time is it?"

"Late," she murmured. "They're still tearing down the show. We'll leave sometime tomorrow. I missed you last night. I couldn't sleep without you next to me."

I turned around to face her. Due to the confined space, it took some effort. I bumped my elbow against the wall and almost kneed Lisa in the groin again. She was prepared for it this time though and nimbly backed away just in the nick of time. When we were facing each other, we melded back together.

Lisa cupped my cheek. "Hey."

Pulling her tight, I smiled against her lips. "Hey."

Lisa's lips danced against mine, her tongue lightly probing. Hoping we were the only ones on the bus, I clutched at her shirt, wanting it off. Leaning over me, Lisa helped me out and pulled it over her head with one hand. I shoved it in the corner and ran my hands up her bare back as she settled over me. "Hey," I said again, my smile brighter than before.

"Always so eager to undress me," she whispered, her lips traveling to my neck.

I suppressed a giggle as I closed my eyes and savored the feeling of her body over me, around me. I loved getting lost in her. As her fingers traveled under my shirt and across my ribs, she breathed in my ear, "Any troubles leaving the hospital?"

Hyperaware of her hips above mine, separated from me by multiple layers of clothing, I sucked in a ragged breath. God, I really hoped no one else was awake. "Aside from some fans telling me that they wished I'd never been born? No. No problems at all."

The tips of her fingers paused at the base of my breast. "What?"

She pulled back to look at me, concern in her eyes. I shook my head and tried to scoot down so that her hand would move up. Didn't work. "It was fine. I'm fine."

Lisa slid off to my side, her hand retreating. Knowing our moment was over, I sat up on my elbow. "They threatened you?" she asked, an edge to her voice.

I shook my head. "No . . . they just expressed their dislike. Nobody touched—" Remembering being shoved a couple of times, I changed my sentence to, "Nobody hurt me."

Lisa sat up as much as she could. It wasn't very much. She leaned over on her elbow as she rested on her hip. Even though it was dark, I could tell that she was deep in thought.

"Lisa, nobody hurt me."

She peeked up at me, her lips in a hard line. She was pissed. "This time. Nobody hurt you this time." Looking away, she muttered, "This is such bullshit. You're my wife." She looked back at me. "Rosé had us doing this meet-and-greet/concert for a high school that won some contest to have us there. It took all goddamn day. I was so freaking busy that the only person I had time to talk to was you. I hate that this has festered for so long. My silence isn't helping anything."

She looked angry and frustrated that she couldn't stand up for me yet, that all of this was snowballing so fast and she just didn't have time to react. Kissing her, I pulled her back down on top of me. "It's only been two days, and it's not your fault."

Lisa didn't answer me, just tentatively kissed me back. I could tell she was still stewing over the problem, a problem that I knew would still be there in the morning. Being together was what was important, and I wanted to enjoy the current moment with her. Threading my fingers through her hair, I pulled her into me. She let out a soft groan and kissed me back with a lot more intensity.

When her hips were in line with mine again, grinding into me at a delicious tempo, I let out my own exhale of ecstasy. Damn, I didn't care if we weren't the only ones there anymore. The guys all had iPods, anyway. I needed Lisa, and she needed me too. Her hand slipped down the back of my lounge pants, under my panties. I arched my back as much as I could in our confined space, silently begging her to touch me. In my ear, Lisa growled, "I want you."

That did me in. While the ache building in me pulsed to life, my hands slipped down to Lisa's zipper. Wanting to snuggle with me, Lisa hadn't gotten ready for bed yet. I was more than happy to help her finish undressing.

Groaning as I unfastened her jeans, Lisa husked out, "But I want you . . . safe."

I paused and looked at her face. Her eyes were blazing with desire, her lips were parted, and her breath was fast. I knew she wanted me, but I also knew she was still concerned about me. "Lisa, don't worry—"

She cut me off. "I heard you talking to Taehyung about fleeing back home. You were joking, but . . . maybe that's a good idea. Maybe you should head home until I have a chance to set this straight."

I couldn't believe she was actually suggesting that. "No, I want to be with you. Home is wherever you are."

Lisa slid to my side again. "I want to be with you too, but I can't stand the way people talk about you. It makes me want to kick every single one of their asses. And I don't want you around me if it's dangerous for you." I started to object, but Lisa cut me off again. "I saw that girl slap you, Jennie, so don't tell me it's not dangerous."

I closed my mouth and changed what I'd been about to say. Voice calm, I told her, "You said we needed to carve out time for each other, otherwise none of this mattered. You remember telling me that?"

Lisa sighed. "I know, but that was before things got so messed up." She ran a finger across my cheek. "And who is to say that anything will change when I do make another statement. They're so curious about my life, they might still hound you. They might still hate you, call you names. I can't handle that. I can't do my job if I'm constantly worrying about you. I just want you safe, even if that means we have to be apart."

She looked really guilty at playing the job card, but I knew she was frustrated with the situation and was being totally honest with me, and I respected her for that honesty. My answer to her was just as forthright. "And I just want to be with you. I can handle being mobbed. I can handle being photographed. I can handle being ridiculed. And I can even handle being slapped . . . on occasion." I grabbed both of her cheeks. "What I can't handle is people forcing us to behave in a certain way. People forcing us to be apart. We're not playing their game anymore, remember? We've fought too hard to be together. It's us against the world, Lisa, and they don't dictate our relationship. We do."

A slow smile curved Lisa's lips. "This attitude you've got right now is very attractive."

I laced my arms around her neck and brought her lips down to mine. "Then stop trying to send me away, and make love to me."

Eagerly returning my kiss, she finally helped me take her jeans off.

When I woke up sometime later, I was naked. I felt around for my clothes, but couldn't find them anywhere. That was alarming, since there weren't a whole lot of places for clothes to hide in our small cubby. Opening my eyes, I looked around for my pajamas. It was lighter, so I could clearly see everything around me, and I still didn't see them anywhere. Sitting up on my elbows, I noted that the bus was moving.

Lisa was asleep beside me; if I'd woken up before her, then she really hadn't slept well the night before when I was away. Her clothes were nowhere to be seen either. What the hell? I clearly remembered shoving our clothes in the corners, because I didn't want them falling in the aisle again.

I nudged Lisa in the ribs. She made a noise that sounded like, "What?" but she didn't open her eyes.

"Lisa? Are our clothes on the floor?"

Maybe we'd been so caught up in the moment last night that they'd fallen out despite my precautions. Lisa cracked an eye open, then yawned. "What clothes?"

I laughed at her. "The clothes neither one of us are wearing."

Lisa smiled and rolled over to put her head on my chest. "Those are my favorite kinds of clothes."

Her hands started traveling up my body, and I closed my eyes. Mmmm, her hands felt nice. Feeling playful, Lisa grabbed the blanket with her teeth and exposed my chest. Before I could stop her, her mouth was sucking on my breast. God, what was I missing? Forcing her head away so I could think clearly, I glared at her. "Could you take a peek and see if they're on the floor?"

Lisa's eyes were locked on my chest. "You sure you want me to do that?"

Giggling, I pushed her shoulder away. "Yes, please find them."

Lisa peeked her head out of the curtain, then instantly returned. She was frowning. "There's nothing out there."

I sat up, looked at all four corners, and even under the sheet. There were no clothes. "Where's our stuff then?"

"I don't—" Lisa stopped talking, then sighed. "I'm gonna kill that fucker, new dad or not."

My eyes went wide as I tucked the blanket under my armpits, completely covering my chest. "Jackson stole our clothes?"

Lisa cocked an eyebrow in answer. I wanted to be mortified that Jackson had peeked in on me while I was sleeping, and I really hoped I'd been fully covered by the blanket, but Jackson being a jackass was so wonderfully normal that I ended up bursting out laughing. Normal was good. Normal was great. I almost wanted to kiss Jackson. Almost.

The look Lisa gave me made it clear that she thought I'd officially lost my mind. Maybe I had, but Jackson's mischief was so much better than a complete stranger telling me I was worthless garbage.

Giggling, I pushed Lisa's butt with my knees. "Go get some new clothes for us."

Lisa groaned as she stuck her legs out of the curtain. "You want me to go out there naked?"

I held the blanket tighter around me. I may think Jackson's joke was funny, but I did not want to sit here with no clothes on with only a thin fluttery curtain as cover. "Do you care if you're naked, Lisa?"

Lisa gave me a crooked grin. "Not really." She leaned over to kiss me, then hopped out of the cubby. "Back soon."

Covering my face, I laughed into my hands. God, I hoped she managed to get into our bags without too many people seeing her. She was gone longer than I thought she would be. If it were me, I'd be running. Curious, I peeked my head out of the curtain. I couldn't see anybody, but I heard them. Some of the guys were still snoring, and some of them were in the lounging section. I could hear Gibson crying too. Our things were in the other direction, in a closet near the bathroom. Just as I was wondering where Lisa was, she reappeared from the curtain separating the cubbies from the back of the bus. She was fully dressed, laughing to herself. I wondered why until Jisoo stepped out of the curtain a second later. Oh God, had she seen her naked?

Jisoo smirked as she walked by her. Leaning down when she passed me, she scuffed up my hair and murmured, "Your wife's got a nice package." She looked back at Lisa, winked, then returned her focus to me. "Lucky girl."

My face filled with heat. Yep, she'd finally seen Lisa in all her glory. Awesome.

After Jisoo left, Lisa squatted in front of me, clothes in hand. "Here you go." She laughed. Where I would be mortified at being caught in my birthday suit, Lisa was just amused.

When we walked out to the lounge, Jackson was watching Jisoo discretely breastfeed Gibson. A few days ago, I would have expected him to have a scandalous gleam in his eye while watching an act like that, but he wasn't looking at Jisoo in a devious way. In fact, he wasn't looking at Jisoo at all. His eyes were locked onto Gibson, and a small, peaceful smile was on his face as he watched her eat.

Lisa interrupted his moment by smacking him on the back of the head.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Jackson scowled.

Lisa pointed back to the cubbies. "That's for nabbing our clothes."

Jackson laughed and turned back to Jisoo, who was giggling uncontrollably now. "Oh yeah, that was awesome." He held his hand out to Jisoo and she gave him a high five. Turning back to Lisa, who was studiously ignoring my semi-exposed sister, Jackson added, "Gibson wouldn't go back to sleep so I paced the bus with her. We couldn't resist when we saw your jeans poking out of the curtain."

Lisa gave me a dry look at Jackson's explanation. We? He and Gibson were partners in crime now? Still laughing, Jisoo murmured, "You're the best Dilf ever, Jackson."

Leaning back in his seat, Jackson looked like a king upon his thrown. "Thanks, Milf. You're not so bad yourself."

Their pet names made me cringe. "Ugh, couldn't you guys find words of endearment that were actually endearing?"

Jackson snorted as he looked up at me. "What, like Snookums?" Brightening, he twisted back to Jisoo, "Hey, Milfums, it's my turn next, right?"

Jisoo gave him her best seductive smile. "Oh, don't you worry, Dilfums, I'll be satisfying you later."

Feeling a little nauseated, I turned away from the pair. God . . . never mind, they could keep their pet names, so long as I didn't hear them say anything like that ever again.

Lisa sat down next to Evan while I went to get us some coffee. I was going to need a little pick-me-up to get through this day. When I got back, Lisa was holding Gibson. Seeing how natural she was with her made me stop in my tracks. She was standing in the middle of the bus, swaying as she rocked her. And she was singing to her. It was low, and I couldn't quite make out all of the words over the video game Holeshot was playing, but from what I could tell, she wasn't singing a lullaby. she was singing a D-Bags song. My favorite D-Bags song.

Lisa peeked up when she saw me. I'd never seen a more exalted smile on her face. My sister was right; this person needed a child to love. I felt a little shaky as I sat down next to Jisoo and put our coffee cups on the table. Was I ready to give her one? Every maternal instinct in my body was screaming Yes, do it! But I needed to use my head here. If we had a child, we would have to be apart. A baby on the road was one thing, but a toddler? A school-age child? That was something else entirely. It wasn't as if I wanted to spend my entire life on the road, but I wasn't quite ready to give it up yet. Aside from the Niki drama and the cramped sleeping quarters, I liked my life with the D-Bags. And maybe it was selfish of me, but I wanted to be Lisa's only love for a few more years. Then maybe we could have a whole busload of kids.

Jisoo slung her arm around me as we both watched Lisa and Gibson. She was just beginning another song for her when she suddenly froze. Her face contorted and she held Gibson a foot away from her chest. "Uh, she doesn't smell so good anymore."

Jisoo let out a yawn-laugh mixture and started to stand, but, shocking the hell out of me, Jackson popped up and beat her to it. Rescuing Gibson from Lisa, Jackson scoffed, "Wuss." Holding Gibson like a football, he walked into the back with her.

Twisting to Jisoo, I asked with all seriousness, "What did you do to Jackson?"

Twirling a dark brown lock around her finger, Jisoo gave me a lazy smile. "It wasn't me. That little girl has got him completely wrapped around her finger. I never thought I'd see the day."

I understood the feeling; I never thought I'd see the day either. A tame Jackson. I almost didn't know what to do with that.

I looked out the window to see that the bus was rolling through the packed streets of New York City. Skyscrapers were everywhere I looked. As I took in the size of the city, I began to imagine the millions of people living there. How many would come down to the venue just to torment me? I was positive that paparazzi would be there today in force. Lisa said everyone was curious about her life, but maybe it was really me they were curious about. I was the enigma. Was I a casual fling that Lisa had been playing with the last few days, or was I more? That's what everyone wanted to know.

While I debated what to do about that, Lucas emerged from the cubbies and threw his hand up in a wave. As I waved back, Lisa got a phone call. she was reluctant to answer it, and I realized why seconds after she did. "Niki," she coolly intoned. After a moment's pause, she furrowed her brow, then said, "Yeah, everyone but Jackson is here, why?" Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Fine." Holding her phone out, she stared at it blankly, then asked me, "How do I put this on speaker?" I contained my smile at Lisa's lack of technical know-how. Sometimes she seemed more like a ninety-year-old than a twentysomething rock star.

I adjusted the phone for her, then Lisa put it on the table. Jackson was still in the back with Gibson, swearing from what I could tell, but we motioned for Evan and Lucas to join us. "You're on, go ahead."

Niki's bright voice burst from the small device. "Well, first off, I just want to say how much I miss all of you! Things have been so hectic, I feel like I rarely see you."

Lisa and I exchanged dubious glances. While it was true that Niki had been just as busy as Lisa lately, that wasn't the reason for her disappearance, and we both knew it. Niki was playing up the "wounded lover" act. Whenever any camera was on her, she appeared sullen, teary-eyed. I'd even seen photos of her dabbing a tissue into the corner of her bloodshot eyes. Her duet with Lisa was now filled with longing and heartache, and while she stayed close to Lisa's side at the meet-and-greets, the band had told me that her demeanor laced the room with tension. That DJ who had so long ago told us Niki couldn't act was wrong. She had the betrayed girlfriend role down pat. Of course, from what I'd gathered during the rare moments she'd been candid with me, it was a role she'd been in before.

She was perfectly happy now as she squealed, "I just couldn't wait until the tour stopped to tell you all the fabulous news!"

"What news?" Lisa asked, her voice weary. Sometimes great news from Niki wasn't that great.

Niki giggled like a little girl. "I just got off the phone with Nick . . . and your album shot to number two on the charts, right below mine." She squealed again.

Lisa and I looked at each other, then the phone. "You reached number one?" I asked, shocked that everything she'd orchestrated had actually succeeded in getting her just what she wanted.

"And the D-Bags are at number two! Isn't that fabulous?"

Lisa leaned back on her hip as she absorbed it all. Her expression was as blown away as mine. Niki and Nick had totally manipulated the public into believing a sordid, phony romance. In their desire to be on top, they had completely ignored anyone else who might have gotten hurt in their schemes, and it had ultimately paid off for them. It didn't seem fair, and it definitely wasn't right. Jisoo and the guys were squirming with excitement, and obviously wanted to act elated, but seeing Lisa's and my faces, they stayed quiet.

Closing her eyes, Lisa scrubbed her face with her hands, then ran them back through her hair. When she reopened her eyes, her emotions still seemed mixed—elated and frustrated. While Niki waited for our group to explode with excitement, Lisa turned to me. "I really miss Pete's," she said.

Niki heard her and seemed confused. "This is incredible news. You should all be jumping up and down, screaming your bloody heads off, not pouting like I just told you your best friend moved away."

Lisa frowned as she stared at the phone. "The public thinks my wife is a whore. I'm really not okay with that. And now that you got what you wanted, and Nick got what he wanted, it's my turn. And I want you to admit the truth. All of it. From the very beginning."

Niki inhaled a deep breath. "Here's the thing, love. If we confess that we fabricated our entire relationship to bump sales, there will be a public backlash that will negatively affect us both. The scandal will stay with you for the rest of your career. Do you really want that monkey on your back?"

Lisa closed her eyes. "This scandal was your doing from the very beginning." She opened her eyes. "And now you're asking me if I'm okay with it? I was never okay with it!"

Her voice all business now, Niki told her, "You went along with it, Lisa. No one forced you."

Her jaw dropped. Mine did too. No one forced us? We'd been bullied and manipulated at every corner. Lisa had done what she could to persuade the public, but she'd been way outmatched in this game.

"No one forced . . ." Lisa couldn't even finish that statement.

Exhaling in frustration, like we were raining on her good-news parade, Niki told us, "Look, I only said that the truth couldn't come out. I didn't say that Lis-Nik couldn't end. If you're so bent out of shape about it that you can't even enjoy being on top of the world, then we'll 'break up' after the tour. I'll be heartbroken, but I'll quickly move on, and when everyone sees how happy I am with my new beau, you and your wife will be free to date in peace. Problem solved."

My thoughts were so jumbled, I stuttered a few times before I could speak clearly. "How does that solve anything? I'll still be the other woman who broke you up."

Niki sighed. "We'll be at the venue soon. I just wanted to call and . . . congratulate you on your success." With another forlorn sigh, the line disconnected.

Everyone at the table stared at the phone in silence. Jisoo was the one who spoke first. "She's really not going to help you guys at all, is she?"

Lisa shook her head. "No, she was never gonna help us. We have to fix this on our own."

Jisoo grabbed my hand and squeezed. She'd seen firsthand just how despised I was.

Jackson and Gibson finally rejoined our group while Evan and Lucas exchanged conflicted expressions; our drama aside, the band's success was amazing, something we should be celebrating. "Why the fuck does everyone look constipated. Bad coffee or something?" Leaning over, he peered inside my half-full cup.

Lisa was contemplative as Evan filled Jackson in. Jackson flipped his lid when he heard the D-Bags' album was number two. Afraid he was going to drop his daughter in his exuberance, I quickly stood up and plucked Gibson out of his arms. She smelled like baby powder.

Jackson tossed his hands in the air as he jumped up and down. "Whoooooooooo! Number two, baby!" He ran down the aisle of the bus screaming. If any of the members of Holeshot were still sleeping, they weren't anymore. Laughing, our bus driver shook his head.

It was hard to not get caught up in Jackson's enthusiasm. Evan and Lucas joined him in the center of the bus while Lisa stood up and walked over to me. The grin on her face was completely worryfree. Our drama could wait; the guys needed a minute to bask in their accomplishment.

As the boys jokingly pushed each other around, Lucas looked back at Lisa. "Number two, Lis! We're number two!"

Seemingly at peace, Lisa laughed and took Gibson from my arms. "I know, man. It's crazy." Smiling at her band mates, Lisa bounced Gibson as she swayed from side to side. I swear Gibson smiled at her.

Evan was clearly dazed as he shook his head. "Number two . . . right behind Niki Zefanya. Six months ago, I never would have pictured that happening."

Jackson started grunting and thrusting his hips in a provocative way that made me want to shield Gibson's eyes. "Not me. I always knew I'd be banging on Niki's backdoor one day."

The members of Holeshot trickled into the lounge area of the bus while Jackson was simulating sex with Niki. They each barely gave Jackson more than a cursory glance before sitting down; they were used to his antics. When Jackson started "climaxing," I quickly sealed my ears shut so I wouldn't have to listen to it. It was bad enough when I accidentally heard the real thing; Jisoo and Jackson were not quiet lovers.

Jackson bowed to all of us once his erotic performance was done. I couldn't help but laugh along with Jisoo and the guys. Jisoo clapped. Jackson's crudeness was beginning to grow on me. I kind of liked it, not that I would ever in a million years tell him that. It would only encourage him to try harder to gross me out.

Shaking his head, Lucas clapped Jackson on the back. "It's nice to see that becoming a husband and father hasn't changed you in the slightest, cuz."

Jackson sniffed and tucked his pale, chin-length hair behind his ears. "Did you think it would?"

After the laughter died down, Lisa looked at each band member in turn. Seeing her expression, Evan and Lucas gave her their complete attention. Lucas smacked Jackson to get him to stop goofing off. Once they were all looking at her, Lisa said, "Tomorrow morning, we're going to a radio station to perform. We're scheduled to play two songs, pimp the album and the concert, and leave. I don't want to do that. I don't want to sing." Still bouncing Gibson, she looked over at me. "I want to talk, and I want to tell them everything."

I swallowed as my nerves spiked. "You want to go on air, behind Niki and Nick's back, and tell the world what they did? How they manipulated you?"

Lisa nodded. "And I want to tell them exactly who you are to me."

A smile crept onto my lips at the same time that my stomach rose into my throat. "Then I'll talk with you. We'll do this interview together."

Lisa lifted an eyebrow. "Are you sure? It's one of the largest radio stations on the east coast."

My smile shifted to a frown as I thought of speaking into a microphone that would be heard by thousands of people. "Yes, I'm sure. If you're going to do something as reckless as throw your record label and the biggest pop star on the planet under the bus, then I'm going to be right beside you." I lifted my wrist to show her the tattoo of her name branded on my skin. "I'm done hiding. And now I have to go throw up."

Lisa laughed at me as she leaned over and kissed me. After we pulled apart, Lisa turned to the guys. "This affects you too. If I tell everyone what we did to boost sales, it could hurt us. Niki was right about that—the stigma could follow us for years. Are you guys okay with that?"

I watched the other band members carefully. Lisa was right, this affected the entire band, and Lisa didn't want to see them suffer. That was one of the reasons Lisa had played along in the first place.

Walking over, Evan picked me up and squeezed the life out of me. "I hated hearing all that Lis-Nik crap, so I'm thrilled it's about to be over."

Lisa nodded, then looked over at Lucas. Lucas wasn't always as easygoing as the others, and she took the D-Bags' career very seriously. As much as I hated to admit it, Lisa and I were about to wrap the band in a scandal that could end up really harming them.

Lucas held Lisa's eye, but didn't speak. Feeling the tension, Lisa shrugged, and told him, "I'm sorry, Lucas. I really didn't expect any of this . . . and I won't come clean if everyone's not onboard."

Smiling, Lucas slugged Lisa's shoulder. "You're doing the right thing, man. Don't worry about it." He pointed at every D-Bag. "We just have to make sure the next album rocks so freaking hard that all of this doesn't mean a damn thing."

Lisa clapped his arm. "Deal."