You're the One - Part 1 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 140: Jessica

A Few Days Later

"You excited to get home?" Jake asked, gently running his fingers up and down my arm. I nodded, peeking up at him.
"I'm excited for you to come home with me." I said softly, reaching over for his hand, intertwining our fingers. A smile escaped his lips.
"You know, if you want.. I can see if we can get another hotel room." He giggled. "Last time was really nice, and we are here for two nights again." I shook my head, sitting up.
"Actually, I was kinda hoping.. you'd stay at my place." I said, biting down on my lip. His smile grew as he reached up, gently holding my face in his hand.
"I'd love that." He sighed, pulling me down into a gentle kiss. "I think we're gonna be there soon if you want to start getting dressed." I nodded, hopping out of bed and going over to my suitcase. I couldn't help but smile as I meticulously picked through, careful not to ruin the neat folding Jake had done after he washed my clothes.

I couldn't wait to live with him.

"Oh, you're not gonna steal from me today?" He laughed, propping his head up. "I love when you wear my clothes." I smirked, my cheeks burning.
"I think it would be better if I was wearing my own when we see my dad." I said, peeking back at him. "He knows what's mine." He bit down on his lip, nodding.
"Yeah.." He sighed, rolling over towards me. "Is.. is he gonna come to the show tonight?" I shrugged, pulling a clean shirt over my head.
"Do you want him too?" I smiled, peeking back at him. "I still have to call him." He nodded, his cheeks burning.
"I.. well, I want to talk to him. I feel like.. the last time we talked, it.. it didn't go very well, and I just.. I don't understand why, and if he doesn't like me, well.. I don't see the rest of that conversation going too smoothly."

I went back over to him, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He stared up at me with that same dazed look. I stared back, getting lost in his big, brown eyes, gently touching his cheek.
"I need you to know that.. sure, in a perfect world, I would love for you two to be close but.. I don't care what anyone says." I said softly. "I want to marry you." His eyes lit up, his smile growing as he leaned in, his hand moving behind my neck, pulling me into a soft but loving kiss. My heart jumped. I moved in closer, kissing him back harder when I felt his hands move down to my waist, swiftly pulling me towards him, positioning himself over me.

"Jake!" I laughed as he covered my face in a series of kisses, flashing me smile, spreading from ear to ear.
"Well, you know we're not gonna have a minute alone for the next few days." He giggled, his eyes moving down to my lips. He was right. I reached up, pulling him back in to a passionate kiss. His grip on me got tighter as his lips moved down to my neck, his kisses getting harder. I sighed, tangling my fingers in his hair, gripping tighter.
"Mmm.. how much time do we have?" I asked, smirking back up at him. His smile grew as his hands glided down my chest, grabbing onto the bottom of my shirt, lifting it over my head and tossing it back over towards my suitcase. My heart started beating faster as he stared back at me, biting down on his lip, containing his eager grin.
"Enough."

Later That Night

"You were amazing." I mocked as Jake ran off stage and into my arms again. He shook his head, playfully rubbing his nose again mine.
"It's not the same if you don't mean it, Jess." He giggled, his cheeks burning. I sighed, pulling him into a quick kiss.
"You know I always mean it." I assured him. He wrapped his arm around me, kissing my forehead.
"Good." He beamed, leading me backstage.

I plopped down on the couch as Jake quickly got changed, cleaning himself up and tying his hair into a loose bun. I bit down on my lip, my cheeks burning. He always looked so cute with his hair up. He slid on his jacket, grabbing his bag and turned back to me.
"Ready?" He asked, motioning towards the door. I nodded, following him over, sliding my hand into his. He smirked down at me.
"What?" He asked. I shook my head, keeping my eyes forward.
"Nothing." I said, containing my smile. "You just.. you look cute." His smile grew as his cheeks burned.

"Well, if you could keep that same enthusiasm for me tonight, that would be great." He laughed, leading us out of the venue.
"What do you mean?" I asked, peeking up at him. He shrugged.
"I mean.. the fact that we're going to your ex's show.. it would be nice if he saw this too." I sighed, grabbing onto his arm, pulling him in closer.
"Have I ever made you feel bad around him?" I asked. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually shook his head.
"No.. you haven't. I'm sorry. I'm just.." He shrugged.
"Look, I don't wanna see him either but.. it's just.. a thing.. with my family. We'll hang back, he won't even have to know we're there. And then we can go back to my place with my dad, okay?" He nodded, smiling back down at me.
"Okay." He said softly. I leaned up, gently kissing his cheek.
"And I can talk you up all night." I said. "Whatever you need." He smirked, keeping his eyes forward.
"Thank you." He whispered.

When we got to the venue, Jake slipped his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. A smile escaped my lips as I guided him through the crowd, leading us to the bar towards the back of the venue.
"Do you want one?" I asked. He hesitated, eventually shaking his head.
"No, it's alright." He said simply. I gave him a gentle smile.
"Really, it's okay. I'm putting you through enough." I giggled. He smirked, shrugging back at me.
"Alright, maybe one to get me through tonight." He laughed.

I handed him his beer as I grabbed his hand, pulling him to the side. He was quiet as he slowly panned the crowd.
"Do you remember playing venues this small?" I asked, peeking up at him. He smirked, shaking his head. He knew what I was doing.
"Nope." He said, playing along, his smile growing. I giggled to myself, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"I didn't think so." I sighed. It was a small gesture, but I knew that the occasional ego boost here and there always made him feel better.

"Hey Sweetheart!" I heard. I picked my head up, looking around where I saw my dad making his way over to us, beer already in hand. My stomach then dropped when I saw my mom closely trailing behind him. I shot him a look, but he quickly shook his head. I knew that meant we'd talk about it later. I held my glare on her, but she was oblivious.

"There's my girl!" She yelled, coming over and wrapping me into a tight one-armed hug. I could tell she had already been drinking. She was always too loud when she had one too many. She reeked of cheap perfume and hairspray, burning my eyes as she lingered a little too long.
"Hi, Mom." I said simply. She backed away, her eyes shooting over to Jake.
"And this.. this must be.. Josh?" She asked. My stomach dropped.
"Jake, Mom. This is Jake. My boyfriend." I said sternly, my face feeling like it was on fire. She flashed him a smile, pulling him into a tight hug.
"O-oh, hi!" He laughed, reluctant to hug her back.

"So, you guys excited for the show?" She yelled. "I told Travis you guys were coming! He is so excited to see you, Jess. You should've seen him, so adorable." My whole body went cold. So much for secretly ducking out right after.
"Mhm.." I managed, taking a sip of my drink, grabbing Jake's hand again. He intertwined our fingers, squeezing tighter.
"He's been writing a lot new stuff lately. It's so good. I think you're gonna like it." She said, winking at me, wrapping her arm around my dad's. I stared up at him, flashing him another confused look. He sighed, shrugging.

He had a lot of explaining to do.

And then the lights went down, and the music began. The cheers echoed throughout the room as one by one, the band stepped out onto the stage. I leaned my head on Jake's shoulder as I felt him tense up, taking a big sip of his drink. He peeked down at me, giving me a gentle smile. Reaching up, I pulled him into long kiss.
"I love you." I mouthed. His smile grew.
"I love you." He sighed.

"Hello everybody!" Travis yelled as he finally made his way out onto the stage. In that moment, it sounded like the screams had doubled. I looked around, confused. They had never had this many people at their shows before.

"We are girlfriends, thank you so much for coming out tonight!" My heart dropped. Even just the sound of his voice made my stomach turn as I was instantly brought back to a year ago. I felt Jake's grip get even tighter as he held a neutral expression, biting down so hard on his lip, I was surprised it hadn't started to bleed.

"So, word is we have a special guest here tonight. She knows who she is.." He said, a satisfied grin plastered across his face. My cheeks burned bright red, my heart now pounding in my chest.

"This one's called Jessica."