Hey guys, thanks for all of the awesome comments. You all are amazing, and you have no idea how much it means to know that you guys like my story.
As I mentioned eariler today, I'm going out of town for a horse show tomorrow, and I'll be gone until Sunday. Buttttttt I'm taking my laptop with me and I'll hopefully I'll get to pound out some new chapters if I have any downtime. And I might even be able to post - if the hotel has WiFi.
And as promised, here's the next chapter:
CHAPTER FIVE:
“Can I get you anything to drink?”
I looked up to see who the cheery female voice belonged to, and saw a stewardess with a drink cart. I politely told her no, and quickly texted Joe back.
U sent me a stewardess and soda? Original! ;) – Erin
Within just a few seconds, he replied.
Sry, surprise got delayed. NOW it’s on its way. XOXO – Joe
I snapped my phone shut and looked down the aisle toward the front of the plane. I saw Mike, the brothers’ manager, walking down the narrow aisle toward me. When he got to my row, he stopped.
“You’re in my seat,” he said, smiling. “The boys – well, one boy in particular – have booted me back here to coach. You’re now in seat 3B.”
It took a few seconds for my brain to process what he said. When I realized that he was seriously going to switch seats with me, I grabbed my carry-on, thanked him, and practically dashed to the front of the plane. I quickly found my seat, and sat down next to the adorable guy in seat 3A.
“Hey, stranger,” Joe greeted me with a grin, and then hugged me. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, sarcastically. “However did I last twenty minutes without you?”
“It must have been pretty difficult,” Joe joked. “Most people probably would have died after ten minutes.”
I playfully punched him in the arm. He smiled and grabbed the hand I’d used to hit him and interlaced his fingers with mine. Every time he touched me, whether it was a full-on hug or just lightly grazing my skin, electricity shot through my body and I wondered if he could feel the immense energy between us, too.
“Erin,” Nick piped up from his seat across the aisle, “Which is better – cotton candy ice cream or Rocky Road? Because Kevin here has it in his big head that Rocky Road is better. And I say there’s no way.”
“Definitely Rocky Road,” I said, laughing. “Cotton candy is gross.” Nick pretended to have a hurt look on his face, while Kevin did some sort of victory dance.
“She’s definitely a keeper, dude,” Kevin said to Joe. I felt my face get hot, and looked over to see that Joe was blushing, too.
The three brothers and I spent the next hour discussing the most random things – what old Nickelodeon shows they should bring back, why the New York Yankees are better than the Red Sox, whether or not Kevin should keep his hair curly or go back to straightening it, and what common songs we all had on our iPods. After a while, Nick dozed off and Kevin started texting someone on his iPhone.
While I enjoyed talking to Nick and Kevin, part of me was glad that they had become distracted with other things. It gave Joe and I time to talk privately.
Joe asked about my family. I told him about how my parents had divorced when I was five, but were now happily remarried to other people. I told him about my older brother and sister, and what colleges they were attending. I asked him about touring and what it was like, and he launched into detail about living in a bus and traveling all over the country. He explained that his mom and dad were usually on the road with him and his brothers, but were spending two weeks relaxing back home in New Jersey. After he said this, he started grinning like an idiot.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, laughing.
“The show we’re doing in Seattle tomorrow night isn’t a part of our tour,” he explained, still smiling. “It’s a special promotional concert for the new album.”
I nodded my head, remembering that their third CD was dropping the day after the show. But I was still not sure what he was getting at.
“We’re on a break from our tour,” he continued, “so we’re spending the next two weeks in Seattle to celebrate our album release. And if it’s alright with you, I’d like to hang out with you as much as I can in the next two weeks.”
Now it was my turn to grin like an idiot.
“Are you sure you won’t get sick of me?” I joked.
“Well let’s try hanging out for a couple days,” he said, smiling. “Then I’ll let you know if I want to run away from you or not.”
I would have fake-punched him again if our hands weren’t still intertwined, so I settled for making a sad pout instead.
“Awww, come on,” he said, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. “How about I give you five days before I run away?”
“Okay,” I said, grinning. “Deal.” We both laughed.
Joe kept one arm wrapped around my shoulders and for the next few minutes, we sat in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, though. It was … nice. Just being with each other was amazing. I had known him for only a few hours, but I already felt closer to him than most of the people I’ve known for years. It was both exciting and frightening at the same time. A part of me was extremely scared to allow myself to get this close to a guy so quickly. Every relationship I had attempted in the past had failed miserably. Every guy that I had gotten close to had bailed in the end, ripping my heart out as he walked out of my life.
My mind drifted to Blake, my last boyfriend. We had dated for eight months, and everything had been going so well. I can’t say that I loved him, but I definitely cared for him deeply. At my 18th birthday party in April, I had caught him sucking face with one of my so-called “friends”. I had decided that was the final straw, and vowed that I would no longer allow myself to get close to a guy. If I did, I was only bound to get hurt in the end.
I looked up at Joe, studying him. He had the faintest of stubble on his jaw line, and I noticed that a few freckles were sprinkled across the bridge of his nose. He turned his head, looked me in the eyes, and smiled. His eyes were the most gorgeous shade of light brown. And that smile. It was fully capable of melting your heart.
I smiled back at him, laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I was, indeed, scared to get hurt again. I didn’t even know if Joe liked me or not. It seemed like it, but for all I knew, this was how he treated every girl he met. I hoped and prayed that this wasn’t true, but how was I to know? After all, I did only meet him a few hours ago.
If Joe did like me, I knew that I would have to make a decision. Would I keep the vow I had made to myself and steer clear of a new relationship? Or, I asked myself as I drifted off to sleep, would I wave my white flag and surrender to the feelings I already felt for Joe?
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