Page 62 of Fall Apart

He snorts a laugh and rolls his eyes again, setting his coffee on the roof of the car. “Hate to burn Rome down for you, but I don’t jerk off in the shower. I don’t know why romance authors always do this. But I will die on this hill. It’s not happening.”

We debated this for the last hour of the drive from Salt Lake to Bend after listening to an audiobook the whole way. But he insists this trope is wrong. I don’t know why he won’t let me have this. It would be so hot to watch him in the shower. Just picturing his tattooed forearm working, his veins popping, his tattooed hand gripping his thick length, and his muscular form glistening in hot, steamy water is enough to get me worked up. I feel my thighs clench as my body reacts to my thoughts and him being so close to me.

But this is exactly what I don’t need since we’ll be staying in a house with his sister, brother, and Veronica for the next few nights. Grace knows about us, but we didn’t want to tell Veronica or Tanner yet. And after sharing a bed with him for the last two weeks, the idea of not sleeping with him every night, falling asleep in his giant arms,is almost unbearable. I’d be lying if I didn’t think about him sneaking into my room in the middle of the night.

Sitting here, I’m eye level with him. I watch as he holds his hand out to me and I eye it skeptically. I huff and grab it, hopping out and looking back up at him. “You’re no fun.”

He looks down at me, smirking and shrugs. “Already told you, I never said I’d be fun.”

“Yes. You keep reminding me.” I give him a light punch and a huff of laughter rumbles from his chest. “So, you’re still good with pretending like nothing’s happening in front of everyone, right? I’m just not ready to take that step.”

“Whatever you want. I’ll do whatever you need.” He sighs and shakes his head. “Besides, Tanner would give me so much shit if he found out and I don’t know if I have the patience for that yet.”

I let out a laugh. “That’s probably true, but thank you.” I place a hand on his chest, feeling his muscles through his black t-shirt. His gaze lingers on me and I feel my heart flutter. I inch closer to him, wanting to hug him and feel his warmth. I’m about to bury my head in his chest when a shrieking voice interrupts me.

“Oh my god! You guys are here!” We pull apart and I look to the front door of the beautiful, gargantuan house. It’s stunning but somehow so familiar. I don’t have time to place it when Veronica runs out towards us. She bolts up and hugs us both. “I have so much to tell you guys.”

“V, one sec.” I clear my throat and look at Clay, raising my eyebrows.

“Thanks for inviting me, V. Seriously, I’m happy to be here with everyone.”

“Good job.” I pat him on the back like praising a puppy that just sat down on command. “See? That wasn’t hard.”

She pauses, her lips parting, and her eyes darting between us. “Thanks? Glad you’re here too,” she says, almost like a question. She hums to herself, looking back at me. “What was that?”

Clay drops his head, sighing, and I grin back at her. “We made a deal. Since I don’t have you around everyday anymore, I’ve been bad about working out. So Clay, my new roomie, is my accountability buddy. And I’m helping him…” I wave a hand at him, prompting him to glare back at me. “Do less of that.”

She eyes us both for a second before continuing. “Yeah. Good luck with that, both of you. Anyways, like I was saying,bignews.”

“Is it about how awesome this house is? Because Tanner really came through with the hook up on this place.”

V grins back at me. “Yeah. You’re right. This place is awesome.” She looks over at Clay. “You already knew that though.”

I give him a puzzled look and he turns a little pink before V grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “Anyways, TJ’s in the house. Like literallyin the house.”

Suddenly, it clicks. Tommy Jacob - TJ - is the lead singer for the band Teal Tigers. Tanner befriended him while managing his property in Jackson Hole and I guess that’s how we ended up getting this place for the week. V and I hung out there with Tanner and Collin one night there in Jackson while TJ was out of town. Now I know why this place looks so familiar. It looks so much like his house in Jackson. More importantly though, V has had a rockstar crush on TJ since before I knew her. Looking back at her, I can’t help but laugh at how excited she is.

“You’re literally losing it, aren't you? But also, are we sure it’s still ok for us all to stay here?”

She nods eagerly. “Yeah, I might be fangirling hard. He wasn’t clear on why he’s here, but I’mreallynot complaining. And he was more than happy to have us.” She looks back to Clay, tilting her head. “But that does leave us a bedroom short.”

“It’s fine. I’ll take a couch,” Clay says in his gruff deep voice, before forcing a smile. He turns back to grab our bags before adding, “Princess needs the last bedroom for her beauty sleep anyways. Make sure it hasplentyof pillows.”

“There he is.” Veronica looks at me, raising her eyebrows. “Seems like you still have some work to do with him. I don’t know how you’ve managed to live with him for weeks.”

I feign a laugh, but deep inside I feel for him. I’ve loved almost every second I’ve been around this very misunderstood man. Suddenly I feel possessive, protective of him, remembering how being dismissed hurt him, something I can relate to all too well.

I look downat the hand held out in front of me, noticing the musical notes tattooed around the ring finger and the leather bracelet around the wrist. Then I take in the tall, fit man it’s attached to. All of it, from his shaggy unkempt hair to the silver and leather necklace to the cut off sleeves of his plaid flannel shirt showcasing his biceps and muscular forearms. It all screams grungy rockstar.

Tommy Jacob is here in the flesh, holding his hand out for me to shake, in the entryway of his house. I’ve seen pictures of him before, but they don’t do him justice. On camera, he always looked lean and slender, but in person, he’sbuiltwith well tanned skin and muscles everywhere I can see. The hair that always looked light and blonde in videos and pictures is more of a light auburn. It’s trimmed down to a medium length now instead of the shoulder length I remember from the poster Veronica had in our apartment in college. Instead of the beard I remember from that poster, he has a light stubble covering his square jaw with a few distinguished grays.

I mean he’s no Clay Chapman, but I get why Veronica fangirled over him for years.

“Hey, it’s good to meet you,” he says in a raspy yet silky, well worn deep voice. He smiles and huffs a laugh. “But I feel like I know you already with how much Veronica has told me.”

He takes my hand, kissing the back of it before shaking it in both of his. I laugh, feeling my cheeks go a little pink with his playful tone and gesture. “Thank yousomuch for letting us stay for the week.”

He scoffs and waves me off. “Nah, it’s nothing. Anything for the Chapman brothers.” He leans in closer to me, holding a cupped hand in front of his mouth. “But seriously, Veronica hasn’t stopped talking. Is she always like this?”

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