Page 36 of I Just Want to be Yours

The joint still rests at my lips as I let out a breath of laughter. This girl is something else. “I’ve never said that to anyone, and now that I’m here”—I gesture to whatever the hell is around us—“I’d rather tell her in person.”

“That’s fair.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Yeah? You’re not going to give me more shit for that?”

The corner of her mouth lifts, and she tucks a strand of pink hair behind her ear. “I don’t think anyone would give you shit for that.”

I guess she’s right, but I feel like shit for not telling Margot before I left. It’s not like I didn’t know then. I think I was overwhelmed with the band going on tour and spending every waking moment with her.

“I’ll tell her next time I see her,” I finally say with a nod.

Mya punches the air, like she somehow made this happen—and I guess she did. I smile and hand the joint back to her. “To new friendships.”

Taking it from me, she winks. “And to love.”

20

margot

Jackson:

I’m always thinking about you.

A small smilepulls at my lips as I stare at the text he sent just after one in the morning, but it doesn’t ease the ache in my chest. I hate feeling so distant from him. Not so long ago,hewas my alarm clock. I miss waking up to his hands—hismouth. It doesn’t matter what sound I choose for my alarm on my phone. They’re all obnoxious and cold compared to waking up next to him.

I’m up thirty minutes early, because even though Braden diagnosed my car with a dead battery, I didn’t have time to run out and get one yesterday. I’ll have to Uber to class this morning, so I want to give myself some extra time.

Before dragging myself out of bed, I send Jackson a quick text.

Margot:

I hope you have a great show tonight.

I add a heart emoji and press send. I wish I could surprisehim like I did his last tour, but there’s too much going on between work and classes.

After a quick shower, I style my hair and throw on yoga pants and a T-shirt for class. Grabbing my keys off the hook, I head out the door and hurry down the front steps as I open the Uber app on my phone. There are drivers all over this city. I should be able to catch a ride without a problem.

A car hood in front of me slams as my feet hit the pavement, and I look up to find Braden standing next to my car. He casually rests his elbow on the hood as he crosses his ankles, leaning against it with a pleased smile curling at his lips.

“What are you doing out here so early?” I ask with a tilt of my head. He’s barefoot in nothing but sweatpants, and I try not to look at the muscles that shape his torso.

“I figured you’d want to drive yourself this morning,” he says as he tosses me the keys.

I blink, my eyes jumping from the keys to him. “You fixed my car?”

He lets out a low laugh. “Don’t give me that much credit. It was only the battery.”

Sure, maybe a battery doesn’t take a lot of mechanical skill, but he stillfixed my car.I’m frozen in place, not sure if I should scold him or thank him.

I should thank him. I should definitely thank him, but this feels like . . . a lot.

My feet are still stuck. “You drove to the store and picked up a battery this morning?”

He nods.

“And then you came here and installed that battery all so I could leave on time?”

Another chuckle leaves his lips. “I saw how stressed you were yesterday morning. I figured for everyone’s sake, we should avoid a repeat.” I let out a breath of laughter and fidget with the keys in my hand. I’m still not sure how I feel abouthim doing this, but before I can debate whether I should feel guilty about something I didn’t ask him to do, he adds, “You owe me for the battery, but you can pay me whenever.”

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