Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

I cautiously cracked an eyelid as I felt a body shift beside me. Bright sunlight made me wince and groan. My head was aching and I was mildly nauseous.

"There's Aspirin and a glass of water on the table," Jacob said quietly from behind me.

"Thanks," I mumbled. I opened my eyes long enough to see where the Aspirin and the water were, then closed them again. I downed the pills before rolling over and snuggling nearer to Jacob, burying my face in his chest.

After a few seconds, my eyes opened involuntarily. "Umm..." I lifted my head to look at Jacob. "Why are we in bed together?"

Jacob stretched luxuriously, stifling a yawn. "Don't you remember?"

"No."

"You drank so much that I'm surprised you didn't get alcohol poisoning. I brought you back here and you asked me to keep you warm."

"Oh. Makes sense. I always freeze when I'm drunk, no matter how hot or cold it actually is."

Jacob fidgeted, suddenly uncomfortable. "What's the last thing you remember?"

I frowned. "David bugging Matt until he and Jimmy agreed to sing with you guys. Why?"

"There was a bit of a confrontation with Brian," Jacob said hesitantly.

My stomach gave a funny little lurch. "What happened?"

"He heard David offering to pack up my equipment so that I could get you out of there and he volunteered to take you back to the hotel. I told him no, but he insisted."

"And?"

Jacob shrugged. "Matt and Jimmy handled it."

I exhaled loudly. "Damn. I'm going to have to talk to him again."

"Or call the cops," Jacob muttered.

"For almost seven years, Brian was the person who took care of me every time I was sick or hungover or anything like that. He thought he was going to be doing that for the rest of our lives."

Jacob snorted.

"He loved me, Jacob," I said. "There's no doubt in my mind that he did. He just...strayed. He let the fans' perception of him create his reality. Most of the rumors about the Avenged guys were bullshit, but Bri started acting the way everyone assumed he acted."

"That's no excuse," Jacob protested.

"I know!" I exclaimed. "Jesus, Jacob, don't you think I know that? But maybe all he needs is a dose of reality and he'll calm down."

There was a pause during which Jacob just stared at me. "You're going to forgive him," he said finally. "You're going to accept what he did and take him back."

"I'm not accepting it! I need closure! Otherwise, my life is going to be spent dwelling on what happened and how I still love him and how all I wanted was something to make it go away." I blinked back tears. "I need it to go away."

Jacob reached over, wrapping an arm around me and drawing me in against his body. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"If you need to go back to Cali for a while, you'll always have a job with us if and when you come back."

I smiled. "Thank you, Jacob."

"You're welcome, baby doll."

We both jumped as someone pounded on the door.

"WE BROUGHT BREAKFAST!" David yelled, and I could hear laughter that sounded very familiar.

I glanced at Jacob. He grimaced. "Did I mention that Jimmy is Dave's new best friend?"

"Shit," I mumbled, throwing back the blankets and getting to my feet. I trudged to the bathroom for an attempt at making myself presentable while Jacob answered the door.

"Jordan?" There was a light tap on the bathroom door preceding Jimmy poking his head into the room. His eyes were squeezed shut. "Are you decent?"

"Yeah."

He slipped through the narrow opening and leaned against the door. I couldn't look at him. Out in the main room, Jacob and David were conversing softly.

"Did Jacob tell you what happened last night?" Jimmy inquired.

I nodded.

"I'm not trying to butt in on your business," Jimmy said slowly. "But, Sunshine, you really need to take care of this."

"I know," I said, voice barely above a whisper. "And I'm going to. I'm going to talk to him again, set him straight...give us both closure."

Jimmy approached me, cupping my face in his hands and making me look up at him. "Did you ever think that you could end all of this by forgiving him?"

"Every day."

"Then why don't you? Jordan, he treated you like a goddess. He never did anything wrong for six years. His fame got to him, he screwed up--"

"Three times!" I interjected. "He messed around with three other women, Jimmy."

"Do you know how many girls he was with before he met you?"

I shook my head.

"One. And it was serious. He met you and guess what? It was serious." Jimmy sighed. "Jordan, I'm not excusing him, but he feels like he missed out on something by not having a few more casual flings. I'm ashamed to admit it, but the rest of us used to give him a bit of a hard time for being a romantic."

"He was my first and only. I tried to fool around with Cody and I couldn't."

"Because you're still in love with Brian."

I didn't say anything. Jimmy was right.

"If you decide to forgive him, make him work for it," Jimmy urged. "He claims he'll do anything to prove that he loves you and that he'll never fuck up again. Take him at his word. But give him the chance, okay?"

"Okay."

Jimmy kissed the tip of my nose. "That's my sunshine. Now let's go eat."

*****

I glanced towards the hotel for about the fortieth time in two minutes.

"Jordan." Jacob straightened from signing a girl's shirt. He capped the Sharpie and handed it to her with a smile, then faced me. "Darlin', relax. He'll come."

Cody sauntered past us, his hands full of luggage to add to the pile growing close by on the sidewalk. The flight back to Alabama was leaving in an hour and a half. I still hadn't decided exactly what I was doing; I had to talk to Brian before a choice could be made. Jimmy was supposed to be bringing him out, but I'd been waiting fifteen minutes and there was no sign of them.

"Heads up," David said as he emerged from the lobby. Jimmy and Brian filed out behind him.

Brian stopped in front of me. Everyone else moved farther down the sidewalk to give us the illusion of privacy. Personally, I didn't care if they heard our conversation.

Brian shoved his hands into the pockets of the ripped-up jeans he wore. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah." I took a deep breath, shifting my weight from foot to foot. "Bri...we've got to do something. I can't stand this anymore. I thought we were over, but now...I feel like all we're doing is waiting and I don't know exactly what it is we're waiting for. There needs to be some kind of conclusion, some kind of closure."

"An end, you mean?" Brian queried.

I lifted a shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Stay here," he blurted.

My brow furrowed with puzzlement.

"I won't ask you to come back to California," he said, his dark eyes wide and pleading. "And if you go back to Alabama, I'll take that as the final nail in the coffin."

"You want to stay in Texas?"

"It's neutral ground. There's no one here to influence us. We can be together and work through everything...or perhaps discover there's nothing left to work through."

The latter option seemed to cause him pain. My own heart ached at the idea.

"Fine," I agreed. "I'll stay here with you."

Brian smiled, a small smile that nevertheless brightened his eyes. I'd forgotten exactly how gorgeous his smile was.

Tearing my gaze from his face, I muttered "I've gotta tell the guys goodbye" and hurried over to where Lynam and Jimmy were gathered.

"So?" Jimmy demanded. Jacob, David, and Cody were staring at me expectantly.

"We're going to stay here, in Texas, together to see if there's enough left to save," I informed them.

"Good," Jimmy said approvingly. He left to join Brian, who was about to go back inside.

"Uh, we're going to finish bringing out everything," David said after catching sight of Jacob's expression. "C'mon, Cody." The two of them vanished into the lobby after Brian and Jimmy.

Jacob's jaw was clenched, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You're mad?" I guessed.

His blue eyes flicked to me and away. "No."

"You're the one who said I could go back to Cali if I needed. How is this any worse?"

"I'm not mad," Jacob insisted.

"You're sure as hell acting like you are."

"I'm disappointed."

"You're disappointed?" I echoed incredulously. "Why? Because I'm trying to figure out whether or not I can be with the man that I, at one time, planned to spend the rest of my life with?"

Jacob shook his head. "Forget it. It's complicated."

"It is not! I love him, Jacob. What would you do if it was Liz? You'd fight for her, right?"

"After she messed with three other people? I don't know. I think by then, it would be time to stop fighting."

"I'm not saying I forgive him."

"Yet."

"So what if I do? It's my life, not yours."

Jacob laughed softly, but not like it was funny. "You think it's easy to watch someone you care about fuck up her life?"

"Whatever." I hugged myself, hating that tears were tightening my throat. "You may be right. If he and I work it out, it could be the biggest mistake of my life. But I know that meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me and that being with him makes me happier than anything else...most of the time. It's worth it, Jacob. It's all worth it just for the chance to be that happy again."

I turned to go. Jacob's voice stopped me. "Jordan."

His arms encircled me and I felt his feather soft hair against my face. "I love you. And if you ever need me, you can call me, night or day, and I will fly back out here."

I hugged him tightly. "I love you, too, Jacob."

"Oooooh! Can I get in on this?" I recognized David's voice just before a second body pressed against my back and arms wrapped around both Jacob and me. David squeezed us tightly.

"Ow! Dave!" I protested, attempting to elbow him in the stomach.

Laughing, he dodged my attack and swatted at my ass.

"Children!" Cody scolded playfully, appearing from the direction of the hotel.

"The cab should be here in about five minutes," David announced to Jacob while draping an arm over my shoulders.

Jacob nodded.

"I'm gonna miss y'all," I said.

"Let me give you something to remember us by," David said. In the next instant, he'd shoved his mouth against mine.

Jacob and Cody both catcalled. I squirmed and struggled and finally got free. Breathless, I glared at David. He smirked.

"You're an ass, Dave," I grumbled, wiping a hand across my lips.

"You loved it," he retorted arrogantly.

I rolled my eyes and shifted my attention to Cody. "Bye."

"Bye." He hugged me and brushed a kiss across the corner of my mouth. "I'll see you later."

I again stepped into the comfort of Jacob's arms.

"I really hope it's not a mistake," he whispered.

"Me, too," I whispered back.

He kissed my cheek and pulled away. Tears were now trickling down my face. I didn't bother to dry them, knowing they wouldn't stop so easily.

"I love y'all," I said.

"We love you, too," David replied seriously.

I spotted a cab easing out of traffic to glide up to the curb. After one more hug from each of the Lynam guys, I left them to load their luggage into the cab.