More than Music

36

Jared slid his arm into mine, and every nerve in my body woke up. “Come on, I’ll take you back to your room. I need to walk off some of this energy before bed anyway.”

“You don’t need to do this,” I said as we moved to the elevator together. “I can get back by myself.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I make sure you get to your room safely. I can’t have my guitarist injuring herself again.” He winked and hit the elevator button while I leaned against him, taking comfort in his strength. His breath ruffled my hair as he quietly added, “Besides, I’m worried about you.”

The elevator door opened, and we stumbled in. “Really, Jared, I’m fine. It’s just a twisted ankle, not that big a deal—”

The door shut and his lips were on mine, cutting me off mid-sentence. His kiss was tentative and searching, a question he wanted me to answer, but I was so surprised I just stood there while my brain caught up to what was happening.

He pulled away and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Sorry. I’ve wanted to do that forever, and when I saw you fall…”

My mouth opened but no sound came out. I swallowed and tried again. “You’ve wanted to do that forever?”

“I know it’s a bad idea. We have to stay single while we’re on the show, and the guys would kill me if they found out, and you’re into that Sean guy anyway…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away.

I’d never seen Jared be anything but cool and confident, and it sent a thrill through me, knowing I’d done that to him. The elevator didn’t move, waiting for us to hit a button, but suddenly I didn’t want to go back to my room anymore. I grabbed the collar of Jared’s jacket and pulled him down to my mouth, kissing him hard, showing him that he was the one I wanted.

We broke apart long enough for me to whisper, “It is a bad idea, but I don’t care.”

“Good. Because I can’t resist you any longer.” And then our mouths met again.

We kissed like we were drowning and our only hope of living was each other. He devoured my mouth with his tongue and lips while I tangled my fingers into his thick hair, drawing him closer. Knowing we shouldn’t be doing this only gave our passion a desperate edge, a recklessness that had us gasping and clawing at each other, like we had to cram everything into this one brief moment we were alone. His hands slid down to cup my butt and lift me to his height, my back slamming against the side of the elevator, my skirt riding up to my hips. While he pinned me to the wall and teased me with his mouth, I smoothed my hands across his rough jaw, down his neck, along his broad shoulders. After weeks of fighting my desire for Jared, I needed to touch every inch of him, with my fingers, with my lips, with my entire body.

The elevator started moving, though neither of us had pushed a button. It said, “Lobby,” and reality came crashing back, like a bucket of water had been tossed on us. We broke apart to opposite corners, breathing heavily. I yanked my skirt down just as the door opened.

Lacey, the blonde country singer from Fairy Lights, stood there wearing the sexy school uniform she’d performed in when she’d sung “Mean” by Taylor Swift tonight. Her eyes honed in on Jared as she sauntered in and hit the button for her floor.

“Hey there,” she said, her voice accented with a Southern twang.

“Hey.” Jared’s hair was messy, but otherwise you’d never be able to tell he’d just been kissing me.

She touched his arm with a pink fingernail after the door closed. “I heard you’re the guy to see if a girl is lonely at night.”

Her words spread like ice in my blood, cooling my passion instantly. Did Jared get this a lot? How many girls’ rooms had he visited in the few weeks we’d been here?

“That’s me,” Jared said, but he sounded tired. “How old are you anyway?”

“Seventeen.”

He took her hand off him. “Sorry, we only serve eighteen and up here.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” She flicked her hair and looked at him from under her long, fake eyelashes. “It’ll be our little secret.”

“I’m sure your mother would love that. She has to be here while you’re on the show, right?” He moved around her to stab the button for my floor, like he couldn’t wait to get away. I accidentally let out a faint chuckle, and she glared at me. Oops.

“Whatever.” She crossed her arms and turned her back to us, and it was a very long ride to her floor.

After she got out, Jared let out a long breath. “What she said…just ignore her. That’s not me.”

I met his eyes but didn’t respond. Jared had a reputation he had to maintain for the show, but I couldn’t tell how much of it was based on truth and how much was an act. I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Was the real Jared the one I saw when we were alone or the one I saw flirting with other girls and getting texts from them wanting to hook up? And now that I’d stopped kissing him, all my reasons for staying away from him came back to me. There could be no us; there could only be me and Jared, two separate entities, as long as we were on the show.

We made it into my room, and he leaned against the doorframe, not stepping inside but not leaving either. He dipped his hands into his pockets, fixing me with a smoldering gaze as he waited for me to make the next move. I could invite him in, but I knew where that would lead. Despite how much I wanted him, we couldn’t let things go any further tonight.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked, with a quirk of his lips that hinted at a hidden offer behind his words.