CHAPTER 24
JETTE
“So what do you think?”
Jette stared in disbelief at her friends in front of her in the crowded dressing room.
Finley was standing directly in front of her, her warm gray eyes glowing with eagerness.
Sav and Paulie were flanking her on either side, both grinning from ear to ear.
She ran a hand through her damp tousled curls and took another beat to let the question sink in. “I, uh,” she began.
“Jesus, Fin. Give her a second to think. You can take some time to think about it,” Sav cut in, giving a quick nod to Finley. “But the rest of us are in if you are,” she amended with a grin.
Jette nodded her head excitedly. “I’m in,” she finally agreed.
Finley let out a high pitched squeal of delight and pulled her in for a tight hug.
The smell of her perfume enveloped Jette, the fragrance a comforting delicate blend between masculine and feminine.
Jette could feel the slight sheen of sweat on her back as Paulie and Sav formed a group hug around her.
She glanced over her shoulder just in time for Paulie to plant a swift kiss on her cheek.
“I just need to let my friends back home know that I’ll be gone a little longer than planned,” Jette said between chuckles.
Not like she was worried about that part at all.
It was no secret that Emery was her biggest cheerleader.
He would’ve done almost anything if it meant Jette got to keep living out her dream on tour.
“Of course, of course,” Finley chimed in.
All of their arms were still sticky from the combination of sweat, hairspray, and whatever else had lingered on their skin since the show ended.
“It’s only a couple extra weeks. But the European tour…
” her voice trailed off as a dreamy expression crossed her face.
Sav and Paulie were excitedly covering their foreheads with the backs of their hands, swooning for dramatic effect.
Jette laughed. Really, genuinely laughed for the first time in weeks. It felt good.
The past few months on tour had been an absolute dream, one that Jette was certain she’d have to wake up from eventually.
But now there didn’t seem to be an end in sight.
She’d accepted Fincher’s offer. She was officially extending the North American tour with them.
The European tour dates still had to be confirmed, but if everything went according to plan—and it usually did, if Natalie was at all involved—she’d be on a plane to London by the end of the summer to finish out the year with a complete tour of the entire continent.
Eight weeks across twelve different countries.
It all felt too good to be true and Jette still felt a tremor of hesitation in her chest. Like she was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“We can talk over the logistics later,” Finley said. “And I know there’s like, a million other things to talk about first, but god damn, I can’t wait to go on tour.”
Paulie snorted, “You realize we’re still actively on tour for like another month, right?” Sav laughed, a blush darkening her cheeks as she glanced around the group.
Finley rolled her eyes, scoffed, and playfully pushed Paulie’s shoulders.
“You know what I mean,” she chided. Jette leaned into Finley’s shoulders affectionately, understanding the excitement that was still sitting high in her own chest. It didn’t feel real.
None of this did. “You’re sure it’s not too much?
” Finley looked to Jette for reassurance.
“I don’t want it to be too much if you’re at all hesitant about being away from home for too long,” she pressed.
Jette shook her head insistently. Any hesitation she’d previously had wasn’t related at all to the idea of being away from home.
“It’s not too much,” she stated. “This is my fucking dream.” The group laughed along with her.
“I don’t care about being away from home.
There’s nothing really keeping me in Philly, anyways.
” The words came out around the permanent lump in her throat.
The band quickly tossed their belongings into piles, leaving behind an organized chaos that they could continue sorting through tomorrow.
It was just one of the benefits of playing back-to-back shows at the same venue.
Jette had just finished shoveling the last of her things into the backpack at her feet when the same friendly stagehand from earlier knocked and sheepishly poked his head into the room.
His cheeks flushed a bright pink even though his eyes were glued to the floor, not risking a chance at accidentally seeing more than he intended.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he began before clearing his throat.
“Nat’s on the walkie calling for Jette?” She turned to face him, still crouching over the open bag between her legs.
“Is everything okay?” she asked. She lugged the bag over her shoulder and moved to stand in front of him in the narrow doorway. He gave a nervous shrug.
“She said she has someone here to see you at the merch table? I think she said the name but I couldn’t understand what she was saying and,” his voice cut off unexpectedly.
“To be honest, she intimidates the hell outta me. I really don’t want to make her repeat herself,” he admitted, anxiously rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.
Jette chuckled to herself and gestured for him to lead the way.
Jette made her way down the dark hallway racking her brain for who could have possibly shown up to the show.
She didn’t have any friends in the city.
Not anyone that she’d kept in close contact with anyways.
The stubborn double doors slowly groaned open as she pushed against them hard with her shoulder and it took a moment before her eyes adjusted to the bright lights overhead.
When she stopped squinting, the room quickly came into focus and she immediately locked eyes with Natalie who was still hovering by the cluttered merch booth.
Her dark brows came together in confusion as Natalie jutted her chin in the other direction, continuing to fold the stack of shirts piled in front of her.
Jette turned in the direction Natalie had been pointing and froze.
Her vision blurred and dimmed around the edges as that familiar shade of red hair caught her eyes.
Her throat went dry and tight and it was everything she could do to not gasp in surprise because damn, she’d missed the way those emerald eyes lit up in her presence.
It felt as though the floor under her feet shifted and suddenly Jette couldn’t remember how to walk.
Her feet refused to move, keeping her firmly grounded to the spot.
Reese gave a tentative smile and Jette felt a rush of air leave her lungs.
She stood by the exit door, casually leaning against the wall.
A light wash denim jacket hung loosely off her shoulders and black jeans clung to her soft hips in the most alluring way.
Jette felt hyper aware of how disheveled she must look.
Damp hairs were still clinging to the back of her neck and she quickly swiped narrow fingers over her cheeks, wiping away any traces of smudged makeup.
She couldn’t tell if she was returning a smile back to Reese.
It felt like her entire body was numb and unresponsive.
Her heart, however, was all too responsive.
It pounded in her chest and the sound of blood rushing in her ears drowned out all other noise.
“Hi,” Reese said finally, stepping away from her place against the wall.
The quiet greeting came out like a question.
She took a few tentative steps forward, only stopping when she realized Jette was still frozen in place.
Jette nodded, still struggling to string words together coherently.
It felt like ages had passed as they stared at each other from several feet apart.
Jette’s brain finally sorted through the wide range of emotions coming at her in every direction, like waves crashing into the shore.
She could feel her own lips curving into a small smile and the feeling made her bruised and battered heart flutter.
Reese looked at her like she was the only person on earth and fuck, if that didn’t hurt like hell.
After weeks of distance between them, Jette hoped this ache in her chest would’ve faded.
But here, standing in front of Reese who looked so devastatingly cute, Jette felt the old wounds reopen.
Fresh and stinging like salt in a cut. Right in the depth of her chest. Reese stared at her gently, undoubtedly waiting for Jette to say something back.
But every thought in Jette’s mind was still jumbled in shock.
Her pink lips parted before she tried to speak again. “I tried to text you,” Reese offered.
Jette hadn’t even had the chance to answer the text that she’d opened just before going on stage tonight.
It was still sitting unanswered in her pocket.
“I saw it,” Jette said in a single breath.
The words came out in a hoarse and stilted whisper.
Reese closed her mouth, pressing her lips into a straight line as she nodded.
Her hands slid into her pockets, a movement that might’ve looked casual if Jette didn’t know her so well.
Jette knew she did it to hide the trembling of her hands, to hide the way anxiety rattled her limbs.