47. THE ONE WITH THE FRIENDS
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
THE ONE WITH THE FRIENDS
Comment: Who else is a Hex fan and is going to one of the Detroit shows? I wanna meet some other bookish friends and do cute bookish stuff before night two!
Comment reply: YES PLS
MotorCityBooks comment reply: Should we host a Hexed pregame?
When I open my eyes, I’m no longer on West’s chest.
My heart falls, thinking he got up in the middle of the night and left, but when I roll over, he’s sprawled on his stomach, arms tucked under one pillow, with another over the back of his head.
I scoot over, pulling the extra pillow off, and throw myself over his back, burying my face in the crook of the shoulder his head is turned towards.
West groans a sleepy sound, but it’s content, a blissful hum. He reaches back with his hand, rubbing his fingers against my scalp gently.
The innocent touch has me crawling over him, wiggling under his arm, and letting him pull me into his chest as he adjusts our position. I nestle in and place a soft kiss on his throat. “Morning, Joey baby,” he mumbles.
“Morning,” I whisper back.
We lay in silence for a while, enjoying the quiet morning before the long weekend of shows ahead.
Not long after we wake, the floorboards to the old house announce our morning alarm before she does. “Jooooosette!” Frankie’s footsteps follow her long bellow of my name.
“Should I…” West shifts, but I shake my head.
“She knows. They all know. They’ve been betting on us since Philly.” I tug the duvet up, covering more of our naked bodies.
A knock with a Frankie-beat sounds, followed by her voice again. “Have you seen—” The door creaks open, and she pretends to be surprised. “Oh, my Lanta! Found him!”
Frankie’s standing in the middle, flanked by a smiling Kell and a stone-faced Enzo.
West slips his arms around me, trying to hide all of me from view.
“Nothing to see here.” He rolls onto his elbows, hovering over me, and peeks down to see my naked body underneath his.
Biting his lip, he breaks into a dimpled smile.
“Now, me on the other hand?” He peeks over his shoulder.
“I think breakfast is served, if you all don’t mind getting the fuck out? ”
From where our friends are, I’m definitely completely hidden from view, but I hear Frankie’s size six foot stomp. “No way, you got her all day and all night. Put your dick away and give me my best friend, Westifer!”
West sighs an exaggerated sound. “Why did I even invite her here?” He mumbles it loud enough for everyone to hear.
I slap his arm, peeking around to see Frankie tapping her foot. “I thought you were excited for free comedy shows for the rest of your life?”
Frankie crosses her arms and sneers, too cute to look angry. “Whose side are you on, Josette Elizabeth?”
“Yours, always, Frankie Lou.” In a quick transition, I push West off me, who huffs when he hits the bed, grabbing the blanket and covering my chest before anyone can see, then sit up.
Kell tsks, shaking his head. “Damn, tough luck, Bud. Better luck next time!”
Frankie smiles triumphantly, but switches gears quickly. “So, this?” She motions to us. “We’ve known since before the two of you did, but I’d like to thank you for making me $100 richer.”
Enzo changes the tone. “What’s the plan here?” He glances at me. “I trust you have one.”
I haven’t had a plan since the moment Frankie dragged me to a West Parker comedy show. Thanks for the reminder, Enzo!
I swallow, trying to find the right words, but West leans himself against the headboard and surprises me. “Respectfully, Enzo, fuck off.” He doesn’t react, his jaw ticking once as West continues. “There doesn’t always have to be a fucking plan for everything.”
Frankie glances over her shoulder, feeling the shift in the room.
“Okay, so let’s not do this, please and thank you.
” She smiles at all of us. “West and Jo are adults. They can fuck if they want, but…” Holding her pointer finger up, her neon pink polish chipped, Frankie nods at Enzo.
“He has a point.” She gives me a tight-lipped smile I know has some sadness behind it.
“Tour is over in a few weeks. What’s next?
Are you two riding this thing out as long as you can…
Or?” My best friend’s hazel eyes dart between me and West. “We’re asking because we’re on your side.
We need to know what to say, what not to say.
Are we congratulating you? Is this just sex? ”
Frankie might be scatterbrained and the type of ADHD who forgets to take her meds for days on end, but she’s not dumb—she’s one of the most intuitive people I’ve ever met.
“Enzo isn’t great with words, which is why I told him to let me talk.” She glowers over her shoulder, returning to us with a smile. “Remember, I was the one forcing her hand the night you met her, but I do think this needs a plan. Even just a tiny one.”
I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with our best friends, naked in bed with West. At the start of this tour, I never would have expected to be this comfortable with three men in their twenties, but they’ve never once made me feel unsafe.
They’ve all respected me as an important part of this team since day one, making sure to include me on even the smallest decisions.
Plus, I post more for the internet to see than what this blanket is allowing them to.
When the tour is over, when I go back to Jo Daniels, corporate executive, I’m not just leaving West… I’m leaving Enzo and Kell too.
West’s arms are crossed loosely over his chest, and when I look over, he’s already watching me. He won’t say anything until I do, letting me make the decision to share the news when I’m ready.
I take a breath and let it out through my mouth. “I…” I look down at myself, then back to my friends. “Didn’t think I’d be telling everyone this naked in bed next to West, but I guess since we’re all here and on the topic.” My nerves spike, nausea rolling my stomach.
West slowly shifts his leg under the blanket, his thigh pressing against mine. The warmth of his skin soothes me, reminding me that I have every right to be excited about this. I shouldn’t let one door closing mean the next opening has to have this dark cloud looming behind it.
“I accepted a job with Hell & Hollow Publishing in Boston this week. I start the first week of January.” Until now, West was the only person I’ve talked about it with, and anytime it’s brought up, he doesn’t let me feel guilty or allow his feelings about what this means for us get in the way.
He knows this is exactly what I’ve always wanted—the job of my dreams in an industry I had no idea I’d end up in. Not just Corporate Jo’s… Mine. I want this.
But what if I also want something else and don’t know how to let myself have it?
“Say you swear,” Frankie says calmly.
“Swear,” I nod, and the word’s not even out of my mouth before she’s jumping up and down.
“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! JoJo! I wish you were clothed, and I didn’t know that you two had filthy, kinky, six-orgasm-having sex in that bed last night, because I wanna hug you so bad!” She shuffles over to me anyway, throwing her arms around me.
I hold onto the blanket for dear life.
Kell’s eyebrows shoot up. “Six orgasms?”
Enzo purses his lips, giving West an impressed look.
West shrugs coolly like he doesn’t want to flaunt his new record so bad right now. I thought I was going to pass out after the tenth, and my muscles were sore for days afterwards.
Frankie has tears in her eyes when she pulls away. “I’m so proud of you. Wow, okay.” She wipes a stray tear and laughs. “Jesus, will the two of you put some clothes on? I can’t cry in a room where two people are naked.”
She ushers Enzo and Kell from the door, peeking her head back in before closing it. “Please don’t take too long. I need details. Bad.”
Once we’re alone again, I feel a tension build in the room between us… and it’s not coming from West. I let out a breath and bury my face in my hands with a groan.
I’m really fucking bad with emotions.
The bed shifts, and West’s arms slip around me. I feel his lips place a kiss on my bare shoulder. Even though I shouldn’t, I melt into him. “I should be excited about this,” I whisper. There’s a sense of guilt mixed into my excitement, and it’s definitely outweighing the positives.
“What makes you feel like you’re not excited?” West’s voice is soft, his touch softer. I don’t think I’ve ever been this comfortable with someone in my entire life.
My hands fall from my face, and I cock my head to look at him. West’s eyes are the prettiest shade of blue, and every single time he looks at me, I can tell he sees me—he doesn’t look through me.
“Because how am I supposed to be excited about leaving you?” The words fly out of my mouth, and I can never take them back or reverse the clock to a time where I hadn’t said them.
Something inside me screams to retreat, to run before it’s too late. There’s still time to protect yourself!
West brushes a strand of my hair back, and I don’t think there’s anything he can say that will calm the anxiety starting to build.
I know he sees the panic forming behind my stare, because West fucking Isakson knows me like I’m his favorite book, and he’s spent the last seven weeks doing nothing but rereading it over and over again.
He bites his bottom lip, which I know means he’s thinking about what he says, and I know that about him, because West has become my favorite book too.
“As if I won’t be waiting right where you left me when you get back.
” West cups my face, and I close my eyes, nestling into his hand.
I feel West shift closer, his lips pressing against mine for as long as it takes the heart to beat, and then they’re gone.
“I take my job as a Good Boy very seriously.” My favorite West smile creeps across his face, but his hand falls away, and he leans back, giving me space I thought I once needed.
“Don’t let me stop you from celebrating the thing you’ve spent your whole life chasing, Joey baby.
Be excited. I’m excited for you, and I know it doesn’t mean as much coming from me as it does Frankie, but I’m proud of you too.
” He doesn’t tell me he’s sad or that he wants me to stay, but he doesn’t need to. “Jo Daniels, CMO. Sounds hot.”
I puff a puny breath of air that might be considered a laugh. I’m not sure what to say, so I do what I do best when I need time to process and say nothing at all, shutting down.
West hops off the bed, and I don’t even have it in me to enjoy the view. Which is tragic.
He doesn’t deserve someone who can’t commit. West deserves someone who loves him as much as he loves them…
When I look up, he’s in his sweats from last night. “You should take the night off. Go do something fun with Frankie.”
I shake my head. “West, no. I have a job to do.”
He shrugs nonchalantly, resting his hand on the door knob.
“Which you’ve done, every single day since coming on tour.
” A cocky smile lights up his perfect face, and I know whatever he says next is going to annoy the hell out of me.
“Unfortunately for you, technically I’m still your boss for a couple more weeks. It’s not a suggestion, Joey.”
I glower, fully planning to argue until West opens the door. “Frank, Joey has the day off!”