Chapter 21
21
Jasper
As I watched Malachi’s SUV disappear, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted. The night before had been perfect, but now the memory of us on the beach felt tainted because our private moment had been shared without our consent. My mind was a jumbled mess as anger burned deep within me as I thought about the paparazzi who believed they had the right to invade someone’s privacy simply because they were famous. At the same time, my heart broke for the man I loved who felt he couldn’t fully embrace his true self without fear of it negatively affecting his friendships and career. The only thing I knew for certain was he wouldn’t have to face any of it alone. No matter what, I was going to stand by his side, even if it meant going head-to-head with everyone else, including my brother.
Slowly, I made my way up the walkway to Jesse’s house. I had no idea what I was about to face once I walked through his door. At some point on the way over, he had stopped blowing up my phone, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. I really hoped he had been calling to check on us and wasn’t mad, but if he was truly concerned, wouldn’t he have texted after I hadn’t answered?
As I stepped inside, it was completely silent. “Hey.” I called out.
“Jasper?” Olivia responded. It sounded like she was in the kitchen, so I headed in her direction and found her sitting at the island, hunched over her phone. She looked at me with a sad smile when I entered the room. “Crazy morning, huh?”
I nodded. “You could say that. Where’s Jesse?”
“I’m not sure. He stormed out of here after you didn’t answer your phone a few times. I assumed he was going to Mal’s place.”
I supposed that was my answer about whether my brother was pissed or concerned. “Rina called him in for a meeting, so Jesse won’t find him there.”
“So, you and Malachi? What’s the story there?” She sounded genuinely curious rather than judgmental.
“We’re together.”
“Wow,” she breathed. “I had no idea he was into guys.”
I shrugged because there was no point in denying it now. “So, how mad is my brother?”
“Pretty mad.”
I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. “I don’t know why, though. It’s not like I’m dating some horrible guy. This is his best friend.”
“That’s exactly why.”
Twisting the cap off the bottle, I took a sip and said, “What do you mean?”
“His brother and his best friend, the two guys who mean the world to him, kept a huge secret from him.”
Damn, she had a point. I’d been worried about Jesse’s overprotective streak, and never really considered he would be hurt by us sneaking around. “Hopefully, he’ll come home soon so I can try to smooth this over.”
While waiting for Jesse to return, I decided to call my parents since it was likely they would see articles about Malachi and me online. While they had been surprised he and I were dating, my parents loved Malachi and were excited for us. I never once thought they would have an issue with us being together, and it felt good to tell them finally.
After I got off the phone, I was tempted to text Malachi and see how things were going at Rina’s because I was curious what was going to happen. Would he and Savannah “break up”? Would he make a statement about dating me, his bandmate’s brother? Would he deny it was him? He was wearing a hat after all.
Before I sent him a message, I heard the garage door opening, and my palms began to sweat.
“Baby, do we have a first aid kit?” Jesse asked, putting me on high alert.
Olivia jumped up from her seat where she had been waiting with me in the living room. “Oh my god. Why? What happened?”
I was already on my feet when my brother replied, “I punched that fucker. And then I hit the wall on my way out and split my knuckles.”
“You did what?” I roared, getting right in his face.
His eyes widened in surprise, but quickly transformed into an icy stare. “Get the fuck out of my face, Jasper. I’m pissed at you too,” he growled.
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” I shouted back.
His chest bumped against mine, making me take a step back. “You don’t think sneaking around behind my back was wrong?”
“Give me your hand.” Olivia pushed between us and started dabbing at his cuts with a wet paper towel. “Jasper, go sit down over there,” she commanded, pointing toward the barstool on the other side of the island.
“He better be okay,” I grumbled as I began pacing, too angry to sit down. “How did you even find him? He’s meeting with Rina.”
“He’s fine. I was at the office because Rina called us all in since Malachi’s actions have consequences for the entire band.”
I stopped in my tracks. “That’s what I don’t get. I know Malachi has an image that you all are determined to uphold, but you guys backed him into a corner. Why should it matter who he loves?”
“Loves?” Jesse scoffed, pulling away from Olivia.
“Yes, we’re in love,” I admitted. Maybe if my brother realized it wasn’t just a fling, he would be more understanding.
“You expect me to believe that? You and my best friend, who has never shown any interest in guys before or been in a relationship with anybody, just magically fell in love while we were on tour?”
The weight of all the secrets Malachi and I had been keeping from Jesse were crashing down on me. I knew I had to tell my brother the whole story because it would only make everything worse if he found out later.
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Enlighten me then,” he demanded, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
Taking a deep breath, I told him the truth about how Malachi and I had been together back in Boston and ended things right before they moved to LA. As it all spilled out of me, I watched my brother’s expression shift from shock to rage.
“So, you’ve been lying to me for five years?”
My heart sank as I saw the betrayal and hurt in his eyes. “We didn’t mean to hurt you. We just?—”
“Stop making excuses!” he snapped. “I can’t believe you guys didn’t trust me enough to be honest. Nice to know you two think so little of me.”
“Jesse, I don’t think …” I wrung my hands together, drawing his attention to them.
“Son of a bitch, I’m an idiot. You were doing it right in front of my face with your fucking matching tattoos. Did you guys have a good laugh about me being so oblivious?”
Before I could respond, he stomped up the stairs to his room and slammed the door behind him.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath and tugged at my hair.
“Hey.” Olivia rubbed her hand on my back soothingly. “Just give him some time. I’m sure you guys can work through this. You’re brothers.”
I hoped she was right. “Yeah.”
“For what it’s worth, I think it sounds like the perfect forbidden love story.”
I chuckled at her statement. “But how is it going to end?”
“That’s for you to figure out.”
Laying on the bed in the guest room, I pulled out my phone and finally sent Malachi a message:
I just talked to Jesse
He responded immediately:
How’d that go?
Not well
I’m sorry. Are you okay?
Not really. I told him everything going all the way back to Boston
You did?
Figured it was better to tell him now instead of him finding out later. But I ended up pissing him off even more. Please don’t be mad
I hoped he wouldn’t be mad at me, because I had done what I’d felt was right at the time.
I’m not. You’re probably right about him being more upset if you didn’t say something now
I blew out a breath, thankful he and I were okay.
Okay, good. How did your meeting go?
I’m still at the office. Rina’s sending out the statement. Should I still stop by after to talk to Jesse?
I don’t know how receptive he’ll be right now. Maybe he’ll have calmed down by sound check
You know you don’t have to be there. I don’t want to cause you any more problems
We had agreed to talk to Jesse together, and I wasn’t going to let Malachi shoulder the burden alone.
We’re in this together. I want to be with you
OK. Thank you.
A couple of hours later, I heard Jesse’s bedroom door open. I hopped out of bed and caught up with him in the hallway.
“Are you leaving for sound check?” I asked.
He continued down the stairs, not answering me.
“I’m riding with you.”
He spun around. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” He could be mad all he wanted, but I wanted to be there for Malachi and my brother even though he didn’t want me around.
“I’m not ready to see you and Malachi together. It’ll just piss me off more.”
“Too bad. You guys need to figure your shit out. You still have to perform together tonight.”
“Unlike Mal”—he pointed at himself—“I actually give a shit about the band and won’t allow my actions to fuck up everything we’ve worked so hard for. But if you’re worried about your boyfriend, I’m leaving in two minutes.”
We drove to the theater in silence. I was grateful he let me tag along so I didn’t have to order a ride, and I didn’t want to risk saying anything that might set him off again. All I could do was hope he would realize that no matter how angry he was at us for what we had done, it wasn’t worth losing a twenty-year-long friendship with his best friend.