Surrender Your Heart

For the next few days, Matt and Kylie became very close. They went on a few more dates that all ended with the two of them falling asleep on the couch watching some stupid movie. It was happening fast, but Kylie knew she was starting to fall for Matt. They connected too well for her not to.

This day was no different from any others, except it was a Saturday and so it was the guys’ and Kylie’s day off. Since they hadn’t had any real parties or anything, they decided to do one that night. Kylie was over at the house the guy’s were staying at, sitting on the couch with Matt when this was suggested. “We should party tonight!” Jack exclaimed.

Kylie rolled her eyes while she continued to let Matt trace little circles on her hand with his thumb. “Why Jack-o?” she asked, not bothering to lift her head from Matt’s shoulder.

He shrugged. “I don’t know; I feel like we never party.”

Matt laughed. “Yeah, okay Jack. You guys drink every weekend, and weekday. You party, just not with other people.”

“Exactly! I want to party with others! You guys bore me!”

Alex, who had just walked into the kitchen said, “Who bores you?”

“Everyone! I’m bored with you guys, no offense. Let’s go out and party with some people or something!”

Kylie shrugged, but then she remembered something. “Shit!” she exclaimed, pulling away from Matt slightly.

“What?” everyone asked her in alarm, confused by her sudden outburst.

“My cousin Jordan is coming in from New York today! We grew up together and were like sisters growing up. She called me a few days ago and told me she was coming, but I completely spaced and now she’s going to hate me!”

Laughing, Matt kissed her forehead. “She won’t hate you. I’ll drive you to the airport so you can pick her up. Calm down, babe.”

She frowned. She wanted her cousin to meet Matt more than anything. She was really close to her cousin. She used to live in California, and she and Kylie went to high school together. They were like sisters. They were still pretty close, but since Jordan moved to New York City for college, they rarely got to see each other. So she felt terrible for forgetting she was coming in for the first time in forever! “No, its ok. Just take me home and I’ll go. I want you to meet her; I want all you guys to meet her, but she’ll hate me if we don’t catch up first.”

Matt nodded, and so Ky said her goodbyes and then the two left. When Matt dropped her off at her house he said, “So, I get to meet family?” with a cheesy grin.

Ky smacked his leg. “Shut up; yes you do. Don’t screw up, or else we won’t be dating anymore. I value my family’s opinion greatly. Especially Jordan’s,” she told him seriously.
Matt’s smile faltered and she laughed. She leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek. “Kidding,” she said, her breath dancing across his skin, causing him to shiver. She pulled away, patted his thigh, and said “I’ll call you later and we can have late lunch or dinner or something with her. Sound good?”

Matt nodded and so Kylie climbed out of his car. He pulled out of the driveway, and she walked inside her house to clean up.

***

An hour later, Kylie was walking into LAX, looking around for the gate her cousin told her she’d be at. She didn’t need a gate sign to tell her which it was though. The loud “sqee” emitted from Jordan’s mouth let her know right away where she was. Ky spun around and was greeted with the big toothy smile of her blonde cousin. Jordan was more than a typical California girl; she had the blonde hair, the beach-y waves, and the year-round tan. All that was missing was her actually living in California again. “Jord!” Kylie exclaimed, holding out her arms to hug her cousin.

Jordan ran over and hugged Ky. “Ky-wee! I’ve missed you!!” she yelled, getting the attention of everyone within a one hundred foot radius.

“You freak,” she said, smacking her cousin on the shoulder once they separated. “New York has changed you into a giant freak.”

Jordan giggled and linked arms with her cousin. “I’ve missed you is all! And you know you like my freakiness.”

Kylie laughed and dragged the blonde over towards baggage claim. Once they found Jordan’s pink luggage, the two left the airport, talking non stop the whole way to the car. “So, what’s new with you?” she asked Kylie.

Kylie shrugged as she navigated her way out of the parking lot. “I have a sort of boyfriend.” She paused to let Jordan “squee” again, and then continued. “His name’s Matt; he’s the tour manager for a band I’m working in the studio with with Squire. He’s… amazing, to put it simply. You get to meet him later.”

“Damn right I do; I would have shanked you if I didn’t.”

Kylie laughed. Jordan continued to catch her up on her life in the Big Apple while she drove them back to her place. Jordan continued to talk while they unloaded her luggage from the car, and didn’t even stop when Kylie’s phone went off. She answered because it was Matt. “Hey babe, what's up?” To Jordan, she mouthed Matt to get her to shut up. She did.
“You home yet? The guys want to go out for something to eat so I figured we could all go together?”

Ky nodded. “Sounds great; Jordan and I will meet you at the diner by the studio in fifteen minutes.”

The two hung up and Kylie smiled at Jordan. “Feel like meeting a few guys?”

***

Matt pulled into the parking lot of the diner and all the guys piled out. He took his time following the band members in front of him into the restaurant. Alex hung back though and walked besides the tour manager. “So, meeting family? Big deal, isn’t it?” he smirked at his friend.

Matt rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Alex. It’s not that big of a deal; it’s just her cousin.”

“Who she said was like her sister. It’s a big deal, dude.”

Matt shook his head and took out his phone. “It’s not a big deal,” he said and started to text Kylie to ask her where they were, but Alex grabbed the phone from him and held it out of his reach.

“It is too a big deal.”

“Why does it have to be a big deal?” Matt asked while the two stayed back from the rest of the band, who had all went and got seated at a booth. “And even if it is a big deal, so what? We’re dating. I like her. Thing’s are going good. So who cares?”

Alex shrugged. “Fine, you’re right. What’s it matter? It’s not like you’re leaving anytime soon to go back to the east coast.”

Matt instantly shut up. Alex sighed, but didn’t apologize or say anything else. He just moved walked over to the booth. Matt stayed back to wait for Kylie. When she finally arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing her made him happy. He was a little worried because he was almost certain he was falling for the girl, but there was nothing he could do about that now. “Hey you,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “And you must be Jordan,” he said to the blonde standing next to Kylie.

Ky smiled at her cousin. “Matt, this is Jordan. Jordan, this is Matt, my…” she trailed off, not sure how to address him. Was he her boyfriend? Were they just dating? What was going on?

“We’re dating,” Matt filled in for her. He gave Jordan a quick hug.

“Nice to meet you,” Jordan said to him. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you in the past half hour.”

Kylie rolled her eyes and blushed. “Can we go sit now? I’m starving.”

Jordan nodded along with Matt and the three went to sit with the rest of the band. Once everyone ordered, Kylie decided to formally introduce her cousin. “So, guys, this is Jordan, my cousin from New York. Jordan, this is Jack, Rian, Alex, and Zack, the band I’m working with with Squire.”

Jordan introduced herself again and told the guys it was nice to meet them, her gaze catching Jack’s from across the table. She smiled at him, and if Kylie hadn’t been watching closely, she would have missed it. Could Jordan be flirting with Jack? She shuddered on the inside, and tapped Jordan on the shoulder. “Well?” she asked Jordan, her voice barely above a whisper.

The blonde New Yorker nodded and leaned in to her cousin. “I like him; he seems really nice, and he obviously likes you a lot. Just…” she trailed off, trying to get her words right.

“Just what?”

“Be careful, okay?” she finally said, the protective, cousin-ly side coming out of her full force.
Kylie rolled her eyes. “I know what I’m doing, Jord.”

“I know, I’m just—”

“I know what I’m doing,” she repeated, her tone final.

Jordan nodded and turned away to talk to one of the guys. Kylie turned to face Matt. She leaned into him and said, “She liked you. You got her seal of approval.”

Matt grinned, his dimples showing. “Really?”

Kylie nodded happily. “I guess you’re sticking around for a little while longer.”

Matt laughed at her and kissed her forehead, making her smile and reassuring her that she did in fact know what she was doing.

At least, she was pretty sure she did.