Page 59 of That Bubbling Feeling

Noted.

She peeled off the top of the frosting and set it on my nightstand. The spoon dove in and pulled out a giant lump of sugar which she stuck between her lips. I loosened a sigh and pulled her into me, letting her snuggle in as she ate another spoonful under the protection of my arms.

“It really hurts, you know,” I said, undoing my hold so she could sit up straight as I took her mind off of things. “Punching someone.” I touched my own knuckles, which were raw and bruised from the impact of Justin’s fake nose.

She giggled. “I know.” I hardly wanted to know how. “First time?”

Obviously. “No.” I cleared my throat and lowered my voice to a cold irony. “No, I fuck up dudes all the time. It’s just a standard Tuesday for me.”

“It’s Friday, Jojo.” She took another sugary bite and put the container on the nightstand.

“I’m a famous musician, Kai,” I said in my typical tone. “Other people usually do the thinking for me.” If only. Thinking, overthinking, seemed to be the only talent I couldn’t stop exercising if I tried.

“Ah, right.” She shoved one of my shoulders with a set of stiff fingers, brandishing her white teeth. “I forgot. You don’t run on clocks, you run on rock and roll.”

“That’s right.” I chuckled as I stood and placed myself behind the closet door to change into my pajamas. I pulled off my T-shirt and replaced it with a cleaner one. Scratching my hair and running my hands over my face, I took a second to breathe in the silence, shielded from Kai’s view. Today was the most exhausting day I’d had in a while, and it was days like these I found it hard to regulate myself, but her presence helped.

“Thank you, Jojo,” she said from behind the wood.

I stared at the hanging shirts in front of me; some mine, some hers. “For?”

“For today. And for everything, always.”

“Of course, Kai.” I stripped off my jeans and replaced them with my pajama pants, standing in the dark coolness of the closet a moment longer as I adjusted the drawstring.

“I kinda wish…” She paused. “I just kinda wish he wasn’t the last person to touch me.” She chuckled, and I could hear the smile in her voice. I hated it, but I couldn’t judge her for how she processed this. “I wish someone would kiss my neck all over if only to erase him. Maybe that’d…” I peeked out from behind the door to find her looking down at her lap, picking at her nails. “Maybe that’d help.”

I hid myself once again, stealing a few more moments in my place of solace. “Maybe.”

She puffed a breath, and I knew she was laughing to herself as if she believed her feelings to be silly. This was a perfect example of how much she cared and how little she’d let herself recognize it. I was glad, though, that she at least felt like she could talk about it in front of me.

“Maybe you should do it.”

It was my turn to laugh. What a ridiculous thought. “Yeah.” If I ever want to drive myself insane by getting a taste of something I could never truly have, I’ll let you know. I shook my head and smiled as I finally stepped back out into the room, approached my bed, and got under the covers.

She grinned at me. “What?”

“You’re such an idiot.”

She giggled and perked up. “What?! Is it so bad? The thought of kissing me?”

I couldn’t help the snort that escaped me. She’d officially lost it. Kissing her was my ultimate dream, so it was amusing to hear her think I believed it anything less than a miracle. It was even more amusing that she made such outlandish jokes about it. Me kissing her? Yeah, sure. Right after I became president and dyed my hair blonde. I wasn’t enough of an idiot to take this for anything more than it was, a joke.

“Oh, fuck you,” she said at my lack of answer. Her teeth were on full display. “You should be so lucky.”

“I should be so lucky?” I leaned up on my elbow to lock my gaze on hers from my reclined position. “I’m a famous rock star, Kai. Haven’t we established that? You’d be the envy of girls everywhere.” Lies. Any fan who came within three feet of me in real life would quickly realize I leave much to be desired.

“Sounds like a win-win.” She cocked her head and stared at me with a look so sweet, I almost disintegrated. “My neck gets patched up; we get to piss off the masses. What’s there to lose?”

“Ha!” I lay down fully and clicked off the light on my nightstand. Maybe she was on a sugar high from the frosting or something. Wild girl. “Besides our friendship and our sanity?”

“Hey, turn that light back on!” she whined. “I can’t convince you to kiss me without the help of my good looks!”

I cackled, and I could hear her reactionary hum.

“But really,” she continued. “Turn that back on. It’s way too early to sleep.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you have plans to kiss me until midnight?”

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