AN: Happy Wednesday, as usual thank you for the feedback. This chapter is really long and I kind of like it. It takes place over the course of two weeks and follows Kendelle and their growth. There's a bit of drama but I wanted to write something sweet. I'll leave you to it, there's an important note at the end. Thank you, enjoy and please let me know what you thought.

Happy.

That was the first thought I had when waking up. I was happy. Right away I could tell that I wasn't hungover. My head wasn't throbbing and my mouth wasn't dry. This time there was no confusion. There was just him. The first thing I saw when I finally opened my eyes was him. His blonde hair was mussed and a tired smile pulled at his lips. His arm was thrown around my waist and I was on top of his chest. Last night came back to me all at once. My smile matched his and I found my voice.

"Morning."

"Hi." His voice was scratchy and he kissed me on the forehead. "You okay after last night?"

Images of Kendall on top of me and ones of me on his lap came to mind. My smile widened a bit and I ran my hand through his hair.

"I'm good. How are you?"

Kendall ran his hand up and down my back. "I'm great, I'm just glad you're okay."

His concern was touching but not misplaced. Last night had been the first time I had sex since that night with Jett. For so long I had been scared to trust anyone with something so intimate. But last night was as easy as breathing. And here we were the next morning. The world was still turning and the sun still rose. And I woke up next to someone who actually cared for me. He kissed the back of my hand and his eyes were heavy. He stroked my cheek with the pad of his thumb and yawned.

"Waking up next to you feels right."

I sighed and fought a yawn of my own. "It does."

He kissed me again and I rested my head on his chest so I could see his face. The corner of his mouth twitched a bit like he was trying to contain himself.

"So I don't want to come on too strong or anything." He said sheepishly, his voice was low. "But we have, uh, we have some time before we have to check out."

I twisted around so I could see the clock. We had at least an hour before we had to leave and make the drive to South Carolina. When I turned back to Kendall he was biting his lip and his eyebrows were raised. The sheets were obviously tented. A small scoff slipped out and I shook my head, moving to straddle his lap. His hands came up to hold my sides. I leaned down, my lips were inches from his, my hair hung over my shoulders. He sat up a bit, his one hand moving to my chest. His pupils were wide and he looked hopeful. I bent down and my lips ghosted over his ear.

"We better make the most of our time then."

"Columbia! You guys have been incredible tonight, thank you! I have two songs left." I shouted into the microphone and laughed. "How about we throw it back to an old one?. Most of you might know it. It's a little song I call Animal."

This took the fans by surprise because they hesitated before bursting into cheers. Animal was from my second album, it was about falling for someone and trying to figure out where things were going. It was actually about Jett, I had written when we first started our relationship. For obvious reasons it had been a while since I sang it. But it felt right to bring it back.

"If you know the words sing along."

The music was dreamy and full of synth, I swayed to it and held onto the mic stand. I glanced over to the side of the stage to where Kendall stood. His arms were folded over his chest and his gaze never left mine. We had sung Night Like This earlier and it had been full of sexual tension. But now his face was red and his eyes were full of fondness.

"I am starstruck with every part of this whole story."

Kendall and I had come so far during the first half of tour. If someone had told me not only would we kiss but I'd end up having sex with him I would have laughed. I had been dreading spending the summer with him. But now he was everywhere, my mind, my room, and my bed. We had created this whole story of hate, to lust, to caring for each other.

"So if it's just one night, the animal inside let it live and die."

I tweaked the words a bit. I wasn't sure what was going to happen after the night before. But even if that had been it, it was worth it. Maybe we had been taken over by instinct more than emotions. The pessimistic side of me kept thinking it was too good to be true. But the way my stomach filled with butterflies when he smiled at me made me want to believe that it had been a good thing.

The song was romantic and had a slow build to it, in that way it was just like me and Kendall. It had been a long road to this point but then everything happened at once.

"The night is fading, my heart is racing. I hope it's more than just the animal inside."

My set finished with a final song and I left the stage. Kendall stood where he had been all night, he had a large smile on his face. He pulled me into a hug, nearly lifting me off the ground.

"I like that song."

"You do?"

"I like you." He said simply. After a quick look around the room, he kissed me. "I like you a lot."

My voice was soft as I spoke. "I like you too."

As it turned out, it hadn't been just our instincts. Florida may have been the first place we hooked up but it certainly wasn't our last. That night in South Carolina after his set, Kendall found me in my dressing room. He pushed me up against the door and buried his face in my hair. He wasn't as gentle as he had been the first time, not that I minded.

"Kendall, fuck." I held onto his shoulders and let my head fall back. "Ah! Shit."

He gave a low laugh. "If you thought it was a one-time thing you were so wrong."

And wrong I was. As we worked our way up the east coast, it seemed that we were together every second that we weren't onstage. We were in North Carolina and while everyone went inside the rest stop I pulled Kendall into my bunk. We had barely finished dressing when the guys came back. Kendall rolled out of my bunk after kissing the side of my head.

"Wait, I need to smoke," Kendall told them as we walked out into the front of the bus.

"Dude we've been here 20 minutes, you couldn't smoke then?"

"I was preoccupied."

"With what?"

The wolfish smile Kendall gave and the way I fought a snicker was telling enough. Carlos and James laughed at this but Logan wrinkled his nose.

"On the bus? Ugh, I'm going to have to buy earplugs. My bunk is next to yours."

"Don't be dramatic Loge." I teased and tousled his hair. "I'll buy you a pair myself."

Out of respect for the guys, we really did try to tone it down. Keyword: try. But in Virginia, I looked up from whatever song I was working on and found him staring at me with that stupid smile and green eyes. In Delaware, he was playing a video game with the guys all I did was stretch and his face hardened. We worked our way out of the deep south and found that even though the heat had diminished our feelings hadn't. After another sold-out show, we found ourselves smoking out back.

"The fans seemed really excited about Night Like This," I said, blowing a plume of smoke. "More so than usual."

Kendall stole the cigarette from me and took a drag. "I noticed that too. They aren't dumb, they probably see the tension."

"You're right. I guess we'll have to be more careful." I nodded to him. "You especially, you're the one who keeps trying to feel me up."

He tugged at the front of his jeans and cleared his throat. "It's not my fault. I can't control it."

I looked down at his hand and back up. "I can't stand you."

He whispered in my ear, making me shudder. "Sure you can't. You're definitely not thinking about me right now."

"I'm n-not." I blew smoke in his face. "You're the one doing all the thinking."

He laughed at this. "Trust me, Elle, there is no blood going to my brain right now."

I dropped the bud. "I never said you were thinking with that head."

Kendall put one hand on my hip and pulled me close. His lips were soft against mine and he tasted like smoke. His stubble rubbed against my cheek and his fingers dug into my side. I pushed up on my toes to reach him better, my hands were tangled in his hair. It wasn't long before I found myself in his bunk trying to catch my breath. He chuckled and I rolled over to shush him. He fell asleep, his arm still around my waist.

Being with Kendall was still a shock, having sex, in general, was a major step forward for me. But there was something about him, this energy that lured me in. Underneath that arrogant, judgemental exterior he had when we met was someone sweet and caring. Unlike with Jett, sex was never just about him. He knew how to make my toes curl and asked what I wanted. He wasn't shy when it came to compliments.

"God, Elle. So pretty, so, so pretty." He groaned into my ear as he rocked into me. "Fucking beautiful."

Kendall brought out a different side of me. That video made it seem like I was easy but I had prided myself on not being a spectacle in public. I would never have had sex somewhere so open before this summer. But I found myself slinking out of the studio bus with him. There was a blush on both of our faces. Kendall managed to make me feel safe after what had happened to me and for that I was grateful. That wasn't the only benefit though, songs were coming out of me faster than ever. For once I was truly happy and wanted to share that with everyone.

"My reputation's never been worse." I flashed Kendall a private grin. "He must like me for me."

I had written this song on the bus as we were leaving Florida. Kendall had made me feel so safe the night before and I couldn't get it out of my head. He made me feel like I was in control. Thinking about it now made my stomach swoop and my face nearly hurt from all the smiling.

"Is it too soon to do this yet, is it cool that you're in my head? Because I know that it's delicate."

The fans seemed to like the new song and while I was glad about this, I only cared about one reaction at that moment. Kendall came out onstage for our duet and I got my answer. Our hug was brief but he held the mic away from his face so he could mumble into my ear.

"For what it's worth you're in my head too. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you."

I wasn't the only one with a new song that night. For the past few days since that night in Orlando, Kendall had been private about what he and the guys were working on. In fact, I wasn't allowed in the studio bus while they were. Unless I was recording, or more likely having sex with Kendall. So when unfamiliar music started near the end of the set I was confused.

"D.C.! How are you guys feeling tonight?" James asked causing them to cheer.

"You guys are troopers it is 98 degrees and you are still on your feet." Logan commended. "I hope you're wearing sunscreen."

Carlos snickered at this from where he stood on a platform. "Yeah, or you'll end up sunburned like Logan."

Kendall sniggered. "Because you guys are still having a good time despite the heat, we thought it'd be the right time to play you the new song we've been working on. Let's just say it's been a hot summer so far."

Electric guitars and horns kicked in. It was different from what they had been putting out recently, it had a good vibe to it though. I could picture myself singing it in the car. Logan started it off, singing about a girl in a tank top and cut-offs. But then Kendall took over, making sure to catch my eye. His smirk was wide and satisfied.

"My appetite for you is insatiable. If I said I didn't want you on me I'd be lying." He thrust his hips a bit to the beat of the drums. "We can go all night. You're a phenomenon, I feel it coming on."

James and Carlos took the lead on the chorus. They went on about how it was going to be a hot summer, full of fevers and intensity. Something told me Kendall had a good hand in writing this song. The horns gave it a jazzy feel and their dancing was loose, their hips shaking.

"Give me a taste of the unthinkable." Kendall made a lewd gesture towards me. His tongue swiping between the two fingers he held up. "Come on baby let's cross that line."

A spike of embarrassment went through me and I shook my head at him. Next to me, Liz tutted and rolled her eyes. Liz, ever the genius, had figured out things for herself the morning after. Kendall wasn't in his room when Kelly went to find him. After getting over her initial concern for my safety and well being she was actually kind of proud. But hadn't said anything in the week and a half since.

"He's bold as hell. You should have heard him after your new song." She told me as we watched them perform. "The guys kept teasing him about it and his face was beet red. I actually kind of like him. He was a dick at first but he's winning me over."

I was chewing my thumbnail and grinned to myself. "He makes me happy."

"Good, you deserve it."

Back onstage the song was at its peak. They were all breathy and it was mostly just the drums and them clapping. Kendall was sweaty and ran a hand through his hair, which was limp.

"I-I feel the heat, can you feel the heat?" He waved his hand in front of his face. "It's gonna be a hot summer."

And a hot summer it was. The air was stagnant, not even the slightest breeze to offer some relief. Despite this I found myself standing outside by the back door near the buses. Kendall had showered first and I had every intention to catch him. He smoked after every show so when he stepped out, humming to himself I ambushed him.

"Well, hello." He greeted, blowing out a mouthful of smoke.

I took the cigarette from him tossing it onto the asphalt. I kissed him intensely. His response was instant, his hand drifted down to the back pockets of my shorts. He squeezed my ass and the other hand came up to hold onto my face. His tongue brushed against mine before I bit his lip.

"Come on," I mumbled, taking his hand. "Have to be quick."

He wrapped his arms around me from behind, trailing down my sides and stomach. I punched in the code to open the bus door and pulled him up the stairs. My hands were frantic as I tugged his shirt over his head and kissed him.

"What's gotten into you?" He seemed amused. "Not that I mind."

I shrugged. Maybe it was me making up for all the time I hadn't been having sex and maybe it was the heat. But either way, I was impatient. In one swift movement, I shoved everything off the counter and hopped up.

Kendall scrambled to unbutton his jeans and I pushed them to his ankles. I kissed him once more, tangling my fingers in his damp hair. It was almost too much. Between the smell of his soap and the smoke which I had come to love and the feeling of his hands under my dress, I was hooked. I felt bold.

"Right here." I groaned, pulling my dress up my legs. "Please."

He looked surprised. "H-Here? You sure?"

"Only if you want to." I squirmed and tilted my head.

"Trust me, I want to."

That was all we needed because I let him grab onto my hips and stand between my legs. I wrapped them around his waist. He let out a low sigh and his eyes fell shut.

"Fuck, Len."

It felt like my heart was going to burst from how hard it pumped. "So good Kendall."

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh, s'perfect." My voice was high pitched and I braced myself against the cabinets with one hand. "Kiss me."

Even though his movements were rough the kiss was almost gentle. I could feel his smile against my face and he held my chin, it was sweet. It wasn't just sex, I felt connected to him, physically and emotionally. I pressed my lips to his shoulder and he moaned into my ear.

"Shit, you're so pretty. So fucking hot." His words ran together and stared at me, his eyes were half open but a bright shade of green. "So perfect."

We were so consumed with each other, so lost in our own world that everything around us was a soft blur. Heat pooled in my stomach, Kendall's breathing was heavy and his cheeks were red from the exertion. He buried his face in my shoulder and his hips jerked, he squeezed my hand and held it over my head. We had become so intertwined that we were in perfect sync. The only thing that existed was the man in front of me, his eyes were fixed on mine and he kissed me repeatedly. It was just the two of us until we nearly shot out of our skin.

"What the fuck!" The voice bellowed. "Put a fucking sock on the fucking door. On the counter?"

I managed to catch a glimpse of Carlos rushing back out the bus. My attention was quickly taken over by Kendall finishing with a grunt and a string of curse words. His chest heaved and he pressed his forehead to mine. He chuckled a little as I followed, clawing at his shoulders. He gave a lingering kiss and tried to catch his breath. I pushed his hair back and smiled breathlessly.

"That was good." I cleared my throat. "Really good."

He nodded in agreement and pulled his pants back up. "More than good."

"Carlos is pissed," I said, sliding my underwear back on. "I almost feel bad."

Kendall slumped against the counter, he was sweaty. "I don't care and I don't feel bad."

We looked at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles. "Worth it."

He lazily brushed his lips across my forehead. "Absolutely.

After a thorough cleaning of the counter and an apology to Carlos, we rolled out of DC and to our next stop. The tour had sold out in Virginia and Delaware. The Maryland show marked the official halfway point of the tour. The summer was flying by and it was hard to keep up. The next award show in New York was coming up and the excitement was contagious. The past few days of the tour had been brutal because of the heat. So I was grateful for a day off, my head was spinning. It had been almost two weeks since Orlando and Kendall and I were inseparable. It felt like we were tethered by some invisible thread, that we were bounded by our chemistry.

"What kind of day off includes an interview?" James griped as he shuffled out of his bunk and into the kitchen.

"We got to sleep in, it's a day off." I countered, pointing at him. "Enjoy it."

James muttered about how waking up before 9 am was basically torture. Kendall scoffed at this as he slid into the seat next to me, he pushed a steaming mug into my hands. I gave him a small smile and a quick kiss, since the other night we really made an effort to tone it down.

"Thank you." He motioned for me to taste it and when I did I gave a thumbs up. "The right amount of honey and ice water. You're learning."

"You make her tea now? What's next a back rub?"

The four of us turned to see Carlos rolling his eyes. Personally, I tried not to laugh. Kendall had said the exact same thing to James when he brought me coffee one morning before the tour started. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"She's cute, so yeah," Kendall stated with a shrug. "Don't be bitter. You'll find someone to make you tea."

He shook his head and pulled a bowl and cereal out of the cabinet. "I'm not bitter, just scarred for life."

"Did you really not hear them from outside the bus, Los?" Logan looked up from his phone. "Seriously, it was kind of obvious."

"I had headphones on!" He insisted for the thousandth time. "I walked in to grab my charger but no Kendall was literally balls deep."

I spit tea back into my mug and coughed. Next to me, Kendall's face was red and his lips were pressed into a line as he held back a laugh.

"Listen, we said we were sorry." Kendall began, "Honestly, it was an in the moment decision."

Carlos rubbed his fists into his eyes. "The image of your ass is burned into my brain."

"We cleaned the counter and it won't happen again. Just show Kendall your ass and you'll be even."

Kendall instantly vetoed this. "Absolutely not. I'd never sleep again. Not that I do now."

"Mmm, this is true."

"Ugh, you two are so domestic it's rotting my teeth." Logan gagged dramatically. "Get a room."

Without missing a beat or shifting his eyes from mine he gave Logan the finger. "We have one, you're just in it."

And there it was again then, that spark. Kendall smirked and patted my leg, it was like all the air had been sucked from the room. I smiled at him, it was wide and my heart skipped a beat. Deep down, I felt something I hadn't felt in a very long time. I was falling for him and I think he was falling for me too.

"Good morning, I'm Tess Austin! I'm coming to you from Ocean City and I'm joined by none other than Big Time Rush and Elle Harper." She spoke into the camera and turned to us. "Thank you for having me."

"We're excited to have you."

The presales for both of our albums increased with each song we put out. This was exciting but Gustavo wanted the fans to have a better look at what was going on behind the scenes. That's why we were all sat in the studio bus doing this interview. I didn't mind though, it had been a while since we had sat down with someone. The guys and I led Tess around the bus, showing her various things.

"Elle, what's your favorite thing about the studio bus?"

My first thought was how Kendall and I had hooked up on the couch. He must have thought this too because he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.

"I would say the mixing board is my favorite thing." I swept my hand over the complicated collection of buttons and switches. "This is where Gustavo works his magic and makes everything sound incredible. He's been teaching me a few things, so I'm getting into the production side of things too."

This was true and I was extremely proud of it. In fact, I had been working on a little something when the bus was empty. The guys had no idea and I liked it that way. It would make for an even greater surprised when I finally debuted it. Being so hands-on for this album was a big accomplishment for me. When I was younger, I had been told what to write about and everything else was handled for me. But this time, like many other aspects of my life, I had control.

After showing her the recording booth and all the instruments we circled back to our seats. Tess steered the interview to our personal lives, I hated to admit it but I was anxious. It felt like it was obvious there was something between Kendall and I. The questions were benign enough, it was the usual ones to start. The best part of tour, what were our tourmates like and so on. All softballs that I could answer in my sleep. But when Tess asked James about the flirty comments he had been leaving on an actress's posts and Logan about a sexy selfie we took with a fan, I knew where this was going. She had just finished questioning if Carlos felt the same about a model who said he was her celebrity crush.

"So, Elle you've been releasing some killer songs. Most of them make it seem like you're seriously crushing on someone. Care to give us any hints, is it one of the Big Time Rush guys?" She leaned forward and every set of eyes in the room were on me. "You have made out with all of them."

A nervous laugh escaped and I tossed my hair. "They're all sweet. But, uh, we're all friends. The songs are about a combination of experiences, no one in particular."

She didn't seem to believe me but turned to Kendall. "Speaking of friends, the two of you seem pretty close."

Kendall looked like a deer in headlights, his jaw tensed and he refused to look in my direction. "Tour does that. It makes people close."

"Yeah, but you two seem pretty close." She held up a picture of him kissing my cheek in Orlando when I had won for Song of the Summer. "The fans seem to like you two."

Kendall was stuttering over his words so I swooped in, a bit defensive. "Actually, what that doesn't show is how these guys kissed my cheek too. I won an award they were proud of me. They're my friends."

"Exactly, Elle's great but we're friends. The person I'm dating certainly wouldn't appreciate it if I was with her. No offense Elle."

Even though my stomach sank, I laughed. "No, of course. I get it."

Tess didn't seem to expect us to shut down her question like that. There was an awkward pause before she asked us about the remainder of the tour dates. We would head to the Northeast for a week or so before hitting spots in the Midwest we missed the first time. Then it was a few days worth of traveling to the Pacific Northwest before we doubled back to Minnesota and then to Canada. She wrapped up the interview and thanked us for having her. Liz and Kelly ushered her and her cameraman off the bus.

"Now that we finished that, it's officially a day off," James exclaimed leading the way down the aisle. "It's time to relax."

The five of us piled into the back room for a movie marathon. Out of habit, Kendall had tossed me the same Minnesota Wilds hoodie. It had been too hot to wear the past few days and I pulled it over my head. I was laying in his lap and his arm was around me, but I was uncomfortable. Kendall had told me he and Jo were on a break. But he told Tess he was dating someone. Normally, I wouldn't care about an interview answer but from where my head was resting I could see his phone. He and Jo were texting.

We haven't talked in a while. She wrote, adding a frowning emoji.

His reply was quick. Sorry, been busy with the tour and stuff. How's the movie?

It's good, Jett's an ass but it's going well.

Okay, so they weren't declaring their love for each other or anything. It was polite conversation at best and he wasn't exactly my boyfriend so I couldn't be upset. And she thought Jett was an ass, which was good. She deserved some credit. I wasn't the jealous type anyways. But Jo's next message made me bit my lip.

I miss you, I'm sorry I've been a bitch.

I peeked out of the corner my eye to see his reaction. His face was neutral at first but he smiled a little after a moment.

A little bit. But miss you too.

Oh. So he missed her too? I couldn't really blame him, they had been dating for years and were best friends. Jett and I been the same way during the best part of our relationship. But this just made me feel guilty. I never wanted to be the girl who broke up a couple. That was the last thing I needed after the video and while I tried to make a comeback. He tucked his phone into his pocket, he held onto my hand and kissed the back of it. I shifted a bit, just because I needed something to get my mind off of the interview and texts.

"Shit, did I wake you?"

I looked up and saw him smiling down at me. "N-No, you're good."

The movie dragged on but I didn't watch any of it. All I could think about was what my next step was. Kendall could be with Jo if he wanted to. They had been dating longer than we had been sleeping together, or whatever we were doing. But still, I was really starting to fall for him and I didn't want this to blow up in my face.

The movie ended and James got up and stretched claiming he needed a nap. Carlos and Logan wanted to find something to do later so they went out to the kitchen to research it. That left Kendall and me alone in the back lounge. I sat up and he leaned in to kiss me, I turned my head.

"You okay?"

My only response was a shrug and he frowned at me. He stared at my face, trying to figure out what I was thinking.

"Elle? What's wrong?"

I looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I've worked really hard on my album and fixing my image."

"Yeah, of course. You're doing a great job."

"When things first fell apart I was called every name in the book. I promised myself I wouldn't let myself get called those things again. And even before then I never wanted to be that girl."

"What girl?"

I shifted and played with my fingers. "I don't want to be the girl who breaks up a couple."

This didn't answer his question because his eyebrows were still drawn together. "What couple?"

"You and Jo." I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Today during that interview you said the person you were dating wouldn't be happy if you and I were a thing. And I saw you texting Jo. I don't care who you're with but I won't be the girl who's a homewrecker. I just won't."

"Me and Jo?"

So, he was going to play dumb? I shook my head and pushed myself off the couch, I crossed my arms. I didn't have time for this, I didn't want it to be a fight but I needed to know the truth. I didn't mince words as I spoke.

"Yeah, I thought you were on a break."

"Oh, the texts from just now?" He carded his fingers through his hair, realizing what I was talking about. "Elle, listen-"

There was a lump in my throat. "I won't break up a couple."

"Jo and I- there's nothing between us." He held my arms. "Listen to me, there's nothing there. We're not a couple. I only said those things because of exactly what you just said. If people found out we were together and that Jo and I split up, they'd blame you. They'd say you broke us up. I don't want that for you. So I kept it vague and made it sound like I was taken."

He waited for me to say something but I was wary. He sighed and stared at me, his face was honest and his voice emphatic as he spoke.

"You've been working so hard on your comeback. I don't want any of my drama to get in the way of that. It's not fair to you. So I took the attention away from you. And those texts? She texted me first and I only replied to be nice. I swear you're not going to be that girl or whatever."

I felt immense relief at this. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're working so hard babe, I don't want to fuck it up for you." He seemed sheepish and his face was red. "Actually, I asked Kelly how to handle the press and stuff. I don't ever want to get in the way of what you do."

A thrill went through me at the word babe and my sour mood softened. It was incredibly sweet of him to be so concerned about my career and to try to help me through it. I felt foolish for overreacting like I had. He was grinning at me, his face was kind.

"I'm crazy about you Elle. I just don't want what I do to affect you."

My lips pressed against his and I smiled. "Thank you, this all means a lot to me."

"Although, the fans are right. We do look good together."

I reached for my phone and pulled up something I saw earlier. It had made me smile and bury my face in my pillow out of embarrassment. I held my phone out to Kendall.

"They are. Look at this."

Onscreen was a picture of me at the Orlando award show. Kendall and I were onstage and I was giving my speech. Kendall was standing next to me, he had a lovesick grin on his face and hearts in his eyes. It was the way any girl would want to be looked at. I read the caption out loud, I had committed it to memory.

"When the whole world is looking at her, he looks at her like she's the whole world. Seriously, I ship #Kendelle more than anything else, how he looks at her gives me chest pains."

Kendall was quiet and wet his lips. When his eyes met mine he had an expression similar to the one he had in the photo. "Wow."

"They think we're cute, they want us to be together."

He returned my phone and held my waist. "We are cute and you're blushing."

"Am not."

He tucked my hair behind my ear and held my face. "You're beautiful."

I wanted to sink into him but I stopped myself. "We should keep things to a minimum in public, just until the tour is over."

He let out an exaggerated groan. "I think I'll be able to manage but it's going to be hard."

The awkward mood that had settled over us just moments before had vanished. I laughed and let him kiss me gently. I was never one to get tongue tied and mushy over a guy but a nervous electricity crackled in my veins.

"You won't even try for me?" I teased, tapping him on the nose. "I thought you looked at me like I was the whole world."

"I do." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and tightened his hold on me. "And I'd do anything for you, Eleanor."

A day off on tour was never really a day off. There were always interviews, songs to record, or some kind of social media promotion to be done. Gustavo and I spent the better part of the afternoon working on the two songs he was going to take the lead on. Working with someone so iconic was still mind-blowing and it was easy to see why he was so legendary. The smallest idea for a lyric quickly blossomed into a full song. I hummed a small tune and Gustavo could hear the whole track in his head. Working so closely with him was an honor, something I never thought would happen when I was in hiding.

"I think we made a good dent in this today. The first song is pretty much written and I'll come up with some rough tracks with the band." Gustavo announced putting down his pen and pushing away from the table. "I'll get back to you with the rest of the second song and hopefully we'll record in Philly."

"Sounds like a plan, thanks, Gustavo."

I gathered my things and headed to the door, Carlos and Logan wanted to check out the beach now that it was cooler. I was trying to remember where my swimsuit had gone when I found Kelly.

"Kelly, I have a question."

"What's up?"

I trusted Kendall but I wanted to be sure. "Did you help Kendall figure out what to say about us?"

She laughed for a moment. "Don't tell him I told you but he was really flustered about it. He said he didn't want to fuck anything up for you, I think his exact words were, 'because she's working so hard and I can't ruin that for her'. He said it was really important that any rumors don't get out of hand."

"Well, thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime and for what it's worth he gets this dopey look on his face when he talks about you."

It was my turn to have a stupid smile as I thanked her again. Hearing it from someone else made what he did that much sweeter. So when I joined him and the guys, I took his hand in mine.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

I simply shrugged and kissed his cheek. "For what you said earlier. For wanting my comeback to go well."

A smile spread across his face and he hugged me. "I told you I'd do anything for you. Don't mention it."

It was evening when we finally made it to the beach. The sun wasn't beating down on us and most of the tourists had cleared out for the day. The guys were happy to splash around in the water but I hung back on the sand and read. I watched as Kendall messed around with his friends, throwing his head back with laughter. It was by far one of the best sounds I had ever heard. I took a few pictures when they weren't looking. I wanted to remember this summer forever and had been taking pictures throughout. I was stretched out on my towel, watching the waves roll in. The sun was setting slowly but surely, bathing us in a golden light.

Kendall sat down next to me, shaking out his wet hair. We were in a fairly empty part of the beach and the people that were there were well into their retirement years. It was safe to say Kendall hadn't remembered our conversation from earlier, and if he had he didn't care. His put his arm around me once again and moved closer. When I looked up he was taking a picture of me and I gave him the finger. He pushed me and pestered me into posing for a picture. His lips were pressed to my cheek.

"Having fun?"

"It's peaceful that's for sure. Well before you came and tried to take my picture." I answered and nodded to his friends who were tossing around a football. "They seem to be having fun. Are you?"

"Sitting with you, at the beach, on a day off? I'm miserable." His tone was dripping with sarcasm and I shoved him. "How could I not enjoy myself? I have you next to me."

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Glad I can entertain you."

"How long has it been since Florida?"

"Three weeks or close to it anyways," I answered and turned away from watching the ocean. "Why?"

He stood up and brushed the sand off him. "How about we get out of here?"

I took his hand and he helped me gather my stuff. We trudged through the sand laughing as we slipped a few times. When we made it to the boardwalk we put on sunglasses but he kept a hold of my hand.

"What are we doing?" I asked through a chuckle as he led me down the path.

"I just realized it's been three weeks since we started sleeping together and even longer since we finally stopped lying to ourselves." He explained as we passed several small shops and stalls. "And I haven't taken you anywhere. I don't know anything about you really."

This was true, most of the things we had learned about each other came from interviews. I was still laughing and I held up my hands, unsure of what he wanted. "Ask me anything."

He snapped his fingers as we stopped in front of a food stall. "Favorite ice cream flavor?"

"Banana."

"One banana and one cookie dough, please." He fished money from his wallet and leaned against the counter as we waited. "When's your birthday?"

I took the cone and thanked the girl behind the counter. "December 19th. Why do you think I like winter so much? When's yours?"

"November 2nd."

"A Scorpio, that explains a lot honestly." He made a face so I continued. "You're a leader."

We continued our walk asking questions between licks. He thought it was cute that I checked my horoscope every day.

"Where do you want to travel? And not just go on tour there, but actually see the sights."

My answer was immediate. "Paris. I've been a few times but I want to disappear there for a while. How about you?"

"Japan, no question."

It turned out Kendall and I were more similar than I had thought. We both wanted to help the environment, we shared the same dream of having our own record labels and both liked horror novels. I asked him about growing up in Minnesota and what he really thought about Hollywood.

"It's changed my whole life so I'm grateful. But sometimes I miss how easy things were back home, much less drama. I'd probably be in the NHL as a center by now of the band hadn't happened. Before BTR, I was being scouted by a few schools."

I tried to picture Kendall as a college student. I could see him joining a fraternity and studying with Logan in the library. "What would you have studied?"

"Business? Maybe Psychology. What about you?"

"English for sure. I wanted to be a teacher if I wasn't doing this. But I wouldn't have met you if I hadn't been famous."

He squeezed my hair and continued questioning me. He grilled me about my childhood best friend, a girl named Jessica who I still kept in touch with. What was the ultimate goal of my career, it was a Grammy for Album of the Year. And if I could know one thing about the future what would it be. I had to think about that for a while. We walked in silence, our ice cream slowly melting.

"I would say when I die but that's morbid." I wondered out loud and stopped to lean against a railing. "Maybe if I ended up happy. That way I'd know no matter what things would be okay."

He stood next to me and sat on the ledge. "That's fair."

A question popped into my head and my voice was teasing. "What's your middle name?"

"Donald." He cringed at this. "It was my grandfather's name."

"We both sound like old people. Eleanor and Donald."

He shoved me. "We'd be a cute old couple."

"Speaking of old, what are you going to do when you're old with tattoos?"

"What do you mean? I'll be a badass grandpa obviously."

The thought of a grey-haired Kendall with a sleeve full of ink was amusing and I pointed to the one on his wrist. "I like this one a lot and the sugar skull one."

"This is for the fans actually. They always make bracelets so I got this one as a symbol."

I ran my fingers over his skin. "I bought you one would you wear it?"

"Maybe."

That's all it took for me to drag him into a shop. It was a tiny thing, one of those touristy places that sold cheap souvenirs. I tried on a large sun hat and smiled as Kendall took my picture. I grabbed him a matching one and we took a selfie. I looked through the shelves of tee shirts, beach towels, and seashells. The two of us agreed to buy the other one a souvenir. I was satisfied with two small black and white string bracelets. One for me and one for him, it was cheesy but I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I handed over the money for them. We met back outside the shop, small paper bags in hand.

"One, two, three."

I opened the bag and found a small keychain that had my name on it. The other side was a photo of the beach. I clipped it onto my bag right away, Kendall had the same idea about matching gifts because he had one too. He rolled his eyes and laughed as he saw the bracelets.

"We match, it's cute. You had the same idea." I defended as I tied it on his wrist. "Besides, I'm more than a fan. I don't think the tattoo does me justice."

He scoffed at this and tied mine on. "I'd say you're in your own categories when it comes to fans. Thank you, I like it a lot."

Speaking of fans, we hadn't run into any since coming to the beach. I wondered if that had to do with the time of day and our sunglasses. I loved meeting fans and interacting with them. Especially since they had stood by me during everything, but it was nice to be unseen for once. But when Kendall and I were sat at a table sharing pizza and waiting for the guys, I wasn't too upset when a few younger girls came up to us.

"Elle?" One asked shyly, "Is that you?"

I smiled and wiped my mouth clean. "Hi, how are you?"

They all shrieked and started talking at once. "We're okay."

"S-Sorry to bother you guys but we thought it was you. We went to your show last night, it was really good."

"Hey thanks, I'm glad you had a good time." Kendall greeted with a wave.

One girl was clearly the bravest because after her friends whispered to her she giggled. "Uh, my friends and I totally ship you guys."

"Ship us?" Kendall questioned.

"We think you two are cute together. People are calling it Kendelle, get it? Kendall and Elle combined is Kendelle."

My face was warm and Kendall cleared his throat. "Sorry girls, we're just friends."

They seemed a little disappointed by Kendall's answer so I gave them a dramatic whisper. "His friends are much cuter."

"Speak of the devils and they shall come." He muttered and pointed behind the girls. "Look who it is."

The girls turned, screeching again at the sight of the other three-fourths of Big Time Rush. We all grouped together for some pictures and autographs and I took the time to take a solo picture with each of them. They thanked us profusely before saying they needed to get home. As they walked away I let out a breath of relief. I was grateful they hadn't seen Kendall and I holding hands or anything. I really wanted to keep this private for as long as possible. While the guys were eating Kendall whispered to me.

"I think we're cute together." He said grabbing my hand. "I mean we have matching bracelets for fuck's sake."

My lips curled into a smirk. "You heard what I said your friends are cuter."

He glanced around and kissed my hair, leaning his head on me. "Liar."

"Fine, you caught me." I hummed. "You are pretty cute."

Now that we had finished the southern leg of the Count Me In Tour, we were headed to the Northeast. The drive from Maryland to Philadelphia was only two hours but part of the highway had been closed because of an accident. After washing the sand and salt from our bodies everyone settled in. The sun had gone down but it wasn't too late, it was just after midnight. Logan, James and Carlos were getting high and playing a video game in the back.

"You should wear that all the time."

I jumped and saw Kendall sitting in the kitchen's booth. I just showered and pulled on an oversized Big Time Rush teeshirt I had stolen from their merch table. It covered my thighs and slipped off my shoulder.

"Should I?" I asked reaching for a bottle of water.

He nodded, his eyes trailing over my bare legs. "Something about my face on you is hot. It's the better version of you wearing my clothes."

"You're ridiculous. I had a good time today, it was fun." My voice trailed off.

"I'm sensing a but."

I fiddled with the cap of my water. "Like I said, it was fun. But maybe we should try to be private about it like we agreed on earlier. Those fans could have seen us kissing or holding hands We have to act like we're just friends."

He swung his legs out of the booth and stood up. He towered over me and held my hips. "I know. I'm sorry, it's just hard to not be near you. But I promise from now on I'll keep my hands to myself."

"Just in public." I reminded him gently. "Don't think I don't have trouble keeping my hands to myself either."

He bent down to kiss me. "That's reassuring."

"Trust me, between those eyes and your dimples it's a struggle."

This embarrassed him because he scratched his head and laughed. "So would my bunk be private enough for the two of us?"

"Friends can share a bunk."

He led the way and help me climb up. We picked a movie to watch on his laptop. He rested it on his stomach and held me against his chest. Spending time with Kendall was relaxing. He ran his hand up and down my back and pressed the occasionally kiss to my hair. In a way, this meant more than the sex did. It proved what Kendall and I had was deeper than our physical connection. Looking back, it seemed like Jett never wanted to do anything intimate that didn't involve taking our clothes off. But Kendall was more than happy to lay in bed together. I finally felt safe again.

I was falling for him. Hard.

My eyes had grown heavy and we yawned at the same time. He shut his laptop and pulled the blanket over my shoulders. His thumb brushed across my cheek and down to my bottom lip. He gave me that fucking smile, all sweet and full of dimples. His green eyes were warm and his voice was hushed.

"You're so beautiful."

He leaned down to kiss me. It was tender and romantic, his arm circled my waist and I was pressed against him. I smiled and ran my hand up the back of his neck and into his hair. When we parted, there may as well have been hearts in his eyes.

"Night, Kendall," I said quietly.

"Goodnight, Elle."

He reached up to turn off the light. His hand reached down to find mine. Our fingers were intertwined, my head was resting on his chest. The rocking of the bus lulled us to sleep. We laid there in the dark, our hearts beating to the same steady rhythm. As if we were one.

AN: Kendelle seems to be really falling for each other. And Elle feels safe enough to have sex again and a lot of it at that. My favorite parts were the morning after scene, the scene on the bus when they hooked up on the counter, when Kendall tells Elle he wants to protect her image and the beach date. I just felt like they needed to go on a date since they've been hooking up for a couple weeks. What were your favorite parts?

This chapter was a bit longer because I will not be updating next week. I will be out of town and the next group of chapters is really, really important. I want to have a little extra time to get them just right. I hope this long, smutty and fluffy chapter tides you over until the week of the 25th. We are reaching the main action (laughs evilly) and I'm excited for you guys to read it.

Looking ahead, chapter 21 features Kendall and Elle trying to maintain their public images. It will be fun, trust me.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you liked best and please stay tuned until the week after next.

See you soon and thank you!