Page 96 of I Just Want to be Yours

I stop chewing. “What did you do?”

She bites her bottom lip, her green eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun. “First, a disclaimer. You know all I care about is the success of the band, and I know allyoucare about is thesuccess of the band. Well, that and one other thing, but I won’t bring her up.”

“Mya.” My voice comes out as a warning.

She waves her last comment away. “I know. I know. I’m not allowed to talk about her, but she’s part of it. Sort of.”

“Mya,” I say again. Even the indirect mention ofherfeels like a stab to the chest. It’s been nine days since Margot and I broke up. Nine days since I put my cards on the table and told her I’m still hers. Nine days since she answered with an apology. The whole thing has left me feeling raw. I snapped at Mya after the breakup when she mentioned her and eventually had to come clean. The other guys don’t know we broke up. I can’t bring myself to explain it again.

Mya takes a moment, and it looks like she’s bracing herself for how I might react, which only makes my heart beat harder in my chest. I don’t think I’m ready for Margot to be a part of anything just yet. I told myself I’d give her two weeks. After two weeks I’d text her. It’s been killing me to give her this space, but I know she needs it. If there’s any chance of getting her back, she needs time to miss me first. I take another bite of my fry and wave my hand for her to continue.

When she does finally speak, her words come out in a rush. “So, you know that song you wrote about Margot?”

I nearly choke, but even as I cough through it and shake my head, I know the heat in my ears is a dead giveaway. “I didn’t write a song about Margot.” Her name feels heavy on my tongue. It’s probably the first time I’ve said it since my conversation with Mya about everything.

Mya gives me a leveling look. “Fine. You know that song you wrote about that girl you love?”

My eyes narrow. “What’s your point, Mya?”

She holds my stare before shaking her head. “You know what, I’ll just show you.”

“Show me wha—” I stop talking as she holds out herphone to show a video of me sitting outside the RV, softly playing and singing the song. “You filmed me?”

“Yes, I filmed you. I always film you guys for socials, but this song is good, Jackson. Really good.” She points to the screen she’s still holding out toward me. “And I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

I look closer, noting the numbers on the side of the screen and freeze. My eyes jump back to Mya. “Over half a million people liked that video?” I can’t even wrap my head around that big of a number. And for a song I whipped together in a matter of days? To be fair, most of it was already written, but I changed a few of the verses after we broke up.

She gives me a satisfied smirk now that I’m finally catching on. “And over 2.4 million views.”

I blink. “What?”

She grins. “Yeah.”

I shake my head in a desperate attempt to clear it. “What does this mean?”

“It means we’ve gained over two hundred thousand followers in the past week, and the numbers are still climbing.” She looks over at Brian. “And it means that guy’s phone has been ringing off the hook with people asking when the song will be released.”

I force a laugh. “Released? I don’t even know if it’s finished.”

She steals one of my fries. “Well, you better finish it because he’s going to want the band in the studio as soon as possible so he can drop this single.”

Even though I can hear the words she’s saying, none of it makes sense. “He wants to make it a single?”

“He’d be stupid not to. It’s what the people want.”

I shake my head. “The people.”

She chuckles. “Yes. At least half a million of them. And that’s after only hearing an acoustic segment of the song. Canyou imagine how many people will love it once the guys get in on it?”

Brady looks over at us, finally pulled from whatever he was talking about with Marty and Dave. “In on what?”

“Jackson’s song,” Mya says. “A really good one. It’s about love and heartache, and it has a grit to it that keeps the American Thieves sound. He’ll play it for you. He’s a viral sensation.”

Dave cocks an eyebrow, amusement shaping his features. “Oh, yeah?”

It’s hard for me to fight my own smile when I say, “I’ll play it for you later apparently.”

Dave winks. “I’m looking forward to it.”

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