Page 42 of Holding On

“Ahh, the timing of the call is making more sense.” I hear him shuffling around in bed. Is he alone in bed? He has to be … right?!

“Where did you go out tonight?”

“We didn’t, we just had a girls’ night in,” Fiona answers after I don’t respond, still stuck on the mental image of someone else in bed with him.

Jack hums and I can hear something playing in the background. “Yeah, socials look awesome from tonight. You both did great. Hey, Tinsley?”

“Yeah?”

“You looked beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks. You did too.”

“I looked beautiful?” Jack laughs. The foreign sound makes me smile, despite my brief melancholy moment.

“You always look beautiful. Have you seen yourself? I don’t even have to see you to know you looked beautiful. Don’t you think so, Fi?”

Fiona laughs. “I’m not going there. I love you like a brother, Jack, but I’m going to go find some snacks for us in the kitchen and give you two a minute.”

“Talk to you later, Fiona,” Jack calls out.

“Ta-ta, Boss Man!” Fiona calls out and waves, leaving her phone on speaker in front of me in the dining area, with Allie now snoring in the background.

It was one of the rare times I got to talk to Jack without anyone else around, and we ended up talking that night—on Fiona’s phone—for over two hours. I know it was actually one hundred and twenty-three minutes because Fiona has reminded me of that fact more than once over the last year. We would occasionally get to have those phone calls, usually when one of us had a few too many drinks—often only me—but he always took my call. It was easier to touch base on texts, but those few phone calls were my lifeline more than once when I was walking through hell. It’s hard not to wonder if I could have gotten away from Rick sooner if I had only said something, but that’s not a productive thought, not now anyway.

Those phone calls weren’t serious topics; they were happy moments, and sometimes, they were the only happy I had amidst a lot of hard shit in my life. There may have only been a handful over the year before I had the courage to reach out and ask for help, but maybe they paved the way for me to be brave enough to do that. And maybe Fiona not only enabled me to talk to Jack that night but helped me in more ways than one because of it.

Jack

Fiona enabling you doesn’t really surprise me though.

Me

No, it’s not groundbreaking news—but the fact that I get to see you in a few days is! You better find a closet with a lock.

Jack

Your wish is my command.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“This is so much better than a closet,” I murmur into the side of her neck as I pull her back into me. “You were phenomenal tonight, Red.”

Tinsley tilts her head to look up at me over her shoulder. “Thanks, Jack. I love when I get to perform with Fiona, it’s so rare that it works with our schedules. Can you believe there were still stories getting run today that her and I are in a massive feud?”

“Just goes to show you that the press doesn’t really care about if a story is true, so long as it gets them clicks and views. If they knew the truth, no one would ever make such an outlandish claim about you two.”

“It’s really insane. She’s my best friend and one of my favorite people in the world.”

“Oh, really? And what am I?”

“Did you want to be my best friend, Jack? Should we get matching BFF necklaces?” She turns in my arms and giggles—my favorite sound.

“I don’t know about that. I’m not sure best friends do things like this.” I run my hand along her jawline, tilting her head back and guiding her face to meet mine.

The kiss is innocent enough at first, but quickly escalates, until I pull back. “What about your ribs? I don’t want to hurt you.” I’m panting, but I will always put her needs and wellbeing first—that’s nonnegotiable.

“Jack, I mean this in the nicest way possible.” She rises back up and nibbles on my lip ever so gently before pressing her forehead into mine and whispering against my lips, “I’m fine. Now shut the hell up and kiss me. This is not the time for talking.”