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

Chapter 169: Answer Your Calling

The next morning, I woke up to Jake still passed out, one arm wrapped around me, quiet snores coming from his messy hair that flew with every breath. I slowly maneuvered my way out of his grip, brushing the hair out of his face and gently kissing his forehead before making my way out into the main area of the bus, silently closing the door behind me.

I saw Sam sitting alone at the kitchen table, his face buried in a book.
"Hey.." I said, going over to the counter, making myself a cup of coffee.
"Well, good morning." He said plainly. Peeking over at him, I noticed he kept his head down.

I brought my cup over, sitting down across from him.
"Whatcha reading?" I asked, taking a sip. He shrugged, peeking up at me with a smirk, finally shutting the book and sliding it out of the way.
"Nothing." He sighed. I nodded, holding my stare on him, my smile growing.

"So.. Sadie..." I said jokingly. He nodded, his cheeks burning red. "She sure seems... enthusiastic." I laughed. He shook his head, giggling to himself.
"Yeah.." He groaned, now looking out the window. "She was all by herself, I.. I was just being nice." I nodded, taking a sip, keeping my eyes locked on him.
"Mhm.." I said, raising my eyebrows.
"I'm serious!" He laughed, playfully kicking me under the table. "I mean, you of all people know how Charlotte is, right? And you were new once too. You remember how it feels." I felt my face get hot.

"Yeah." I sighed. "But you guys really didn't give me a second to be alone." I laughed. "But.. she seems sweet. And she's.. cute." He shrugged again.
"I guess." He said softly.
"Could at least be a little fun, if anything, right?" I asked. His face dropped, his cheeks getting red again. He was quiet for a moment, still refusing to break his stare.
"I don't wanna do that anymore." He muttered. I felt my heart start to beat faster, taking another sip in hopes that the mug would hide my blushing face.
"Oh.. no?" I asked. "Why not?" I knew why. He shook his head, his smile growing.
"Jess.." He sighed, shooting me a look.

I knew what that meant.

"You can do whatever you want, Sam." I said simply, now looking out the window.
"That's not true." He muttered. I then felt his leg gently brush up against mine. My heart jumped. I quickly moved away, staring back at him wide-eyed.
"Sam.." I whispered. "Stop." His face dropped, his eyes moving down to his hands, now awkwardly picking at his nails.

"Look, I know it's not easy, but I just think we-"
"Not easy." He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Jess. How long are you gonna let this go on for?"
"I'm not doing this again." I snapped, getting up from the table, glaring down at him. "I'm sorry for what happened between us, or.. what didn't happen, but I'm engaged now. And I'm happy. And.. if you can't be happy for me then.. I can't keep pretending that we can be friends. You're the one who pushed me to talk to him, and now you're angry that I'm happy?"
"I am happy for you.." He mumbled. "But.. it's not that simple. As your friend, I'm happy.. I'm so happy for you Jess, but as-"
"There is nothing more." I said, quickly cutting him off.
"Yes there is." He whispered, staring up at me with sad eyes. I held my gaze, feeling my heart beating faster.

"Sam, I don't want to lose you but.. if us being friends means disrespecting my fiancé, then-"
"I don't want to lose you either. Look, I'm sorry, okay?" He said, biting down on his lip. "I.. I love this. I don't want to lose this."
"Then.. you have to stop. I love him, and d-"
"Jess, you-"
"And don't.. tell me that I don't. I know how I feel. And I chose him. You and I both know how I feel about this. We've talked about this. You know I take marriage seriously, especially after what happened with.." I stopped myself, feeling tears come to my eyes, but quickly wiped them away.

"Either you can be my friend and be happy for me.. or we can go the rest of this tour without speaking. It's your decision. But.. he comes first. He will always come first." He finally stopped, holding his melancholy stare on me. I could tell there was still plenty left that he wanted to say, but I was thankful he decided not to.
"That's fair." He sighed. "I'd want you to feel the same way if you were with me."

I nodded, now avoiding his eyes, grabbing my coffee, and bringing it into the back room. When I slid open the door, Jake was sitting up against the pillows, staring back at me with a gentle smile. My cheeks burned as I carefully crawled over to him, placing my cup down on the end table, and cuddled close under the blankets. He pulled me even closer, giving me a long kiss on the forehead.

"We don't have to talk about it." He said softly. "But.. thank you for that." My heart started beating faster as I pulled him into another kiss.
"I knew what I said yes to, and I'm happy with my choices." He nodded, his smile growing.
"Me too."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into another kiss when I felt his lips curve into a smile.
"So.. what's up with that Sadie girl?" He laughed, pulling me up against him. I shook my head, giggling to myself.
"That's what I was trying to find out but.. it doesn't really seem like he's interested." I sighed. He shrugged, smirking over at me.
"Well, I think she's way more interested in you anyway." He laughed. I playfully shoved him.
"She's sweet. She's just.. excited." I laughed. "But.. that'll go away."

"What does that mean?" He asked, wrapping his arm around me. "You're telling me you don't like being on the road with me anymore?"
"I mean.." I started. He stared back at me with curious eyes. "The idea of us finally getting to stay at our place just sounds nicer and nicer every day. I'd like some more.. privacy." He laughed, shaking his head.
"Jess, at this point, I don't really see what the difference is, they've heard it all." My cheeks burned as I stared back at him wide-eyed.
"Jake!" I yelled, shoving him again. He pulled me back in, hiding his face in my neck. I could feel his lips curl into a smile as he sighed, gently running his fingers through my hair.

"I can't wait to move in too." He said softly. "As soon as the tour is over.. then we can finally calm down and take a break and.. it'll just be me and you." I really couldn't imagine what life would be like, just him and I. It was rare if we even had a night alone together, without anyone being on the other side of the door.

"And you know, I was thinking.." I said, sitting back up. "Since Valentine's day is coming up soon, and since I've noticed you haven't mentioned it.." I joked. He bit down on his lip, smirking at me. "I was wondering.. maybe.. whatever city we're gonna be in.. if we could get a room together for the night.. alone." He held his stare on me, his smile growing as he reached up, gently running his fingers through my hair again.
"I just want you to know.. just because I haven't mentioned anything.. doesn't mean I haven't thought about it." He laughed, pulling me into a gentle kiss. I nodded, biting down on my lip. "But.. I do love that you're thinking about it too."

"Of course I'm thinking about it." I giggled, clawing into his lap. "It's my first Valentine's day with you." His smile grew into a wide grin, his cheeks burning red as he reached up, holding my face in his hands, pulling me into a passionate kiss.

I then started to hear his phone vibrating on the end table. I peeked over, but he quickly turned my face back to him, pulling me into another kiss. My smile grew as I reached up, tightly tangling my fingers in his hair, kissing him back harder. I felt him sigh, getting visibly annoyed as the phone continued to ring.
"It's okay." I giggled. "You can answer it." He took a deep breath, gently moving me off his lap, reaching over for his phone.

"Hello?" He snapped. I sat back, trying my best to listen, but I couldn't make anything out. Then he perked up, his eyes getting wide.
"I'm what?" He said, his smile growing. My heart started beating faster.
"Yeah, yeah.. I know.. but.. okay, cool. Yeah. Awesome! Thank you so much!" And then he hung up, placing his phone back on the table.

"So.. who was that?" I asked eagerly, moving closer to him. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes lighting up, his smile growing into a wide, toothy grin.
"That was.. someone from Total Guitar Magazine. They.. they said that.. I was nominated for Guitarist of the Year."