If It Means a Lot to You

Jeremy’s POV:
I looked down at Rose’s sleeping face, taking in her peaceful features. She was curled up against me, still deeply asleep. I was running my hand up and down her back even though I knew it wouldn’t wake her up. I was quick to learn that she was a deep sleeper back in California; the guys and I would be loud and she’d wake up hours later and not know what had gone on in her own living room.

“Rose, wake up,” I whispered, shaking her. She made a noise and buried her face in my chest. “Rose, time to get up.”

“I don’t wanna,” she whined, her voice muffled.

“You have to get up at some point.”

“But I like it here.” I chuckled.

“I like it here too but I have plans for us.” She looked up at me with sleepy blue eyes.

“What would that be?”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe we could grab a bite to eat, maybe find a park and lounge around for awhile. Find a theater and catch a movie.” Rose smiled, her hand moving to rub the sleep from her eyes.

“That sounds nice.” She yawned.

“Touring taking its toll on you after three days?” She looked at me through one eye and I grinned. She shook her head.

“No. I just didn’t sleep well last night. I had trouble falling asleep.”

“Oh well we can hang out another day so you can rest.” She shook her head.

“No. I wanna spend the day with you.” Rose reached upward and placed a kiss on my lips. “I’m gonna go get ready.” She rolled out of the bunk before disappearing out of sight. I sighed before following her and heading out to the front lounge.

“About time you two woke up,” Neil joked, looking away from the game he was playing.

“I’ve been up for awhile. Rose just woke up not too long ago,” I shrugged. “Where is everybody?”

“Alex and Josh went to go walk around with some of the other bands and Rachel and Kevin went off to grab a bite of breakfast.” Neil tossed me a controller. I looked at the screen to see him playing Call of Duty.

“Just a game or two. Rose and I are gonna go out today.”

“Oh la, la, la.” Neil wiggled his eyebrows.

“You’re a freak, Westfall. You know that?”

“What are you and the lady gonna do?” I shrugged as the game started up.

“Just do whatever there is. Get some breakfast, walk around a park, catch a movie. The usual, of course. What about you and Rachel?”

“I don’t think we’ll do anything today. She said she wasn’t feeling well. She thought maybe something to eat would make her feel better.” I heard a door open and I saw Rose coming out of the small bathroom.

“Hey, Neil,” she greeted cheerfully. She took a seat next to me.

“Hey, Rose,” Neil greeted in return. “How is my second favorite girl?”

“Doing pretty good. Looking forward to today as I know Jeremy just told you.” She smiled up at me as she spoke.

“That’s good. I’m sure the rest of us are going to be bored on the bus before sound check.”

“I’ll bring you back some food, how’s that?”

“Awesome!” Rose giggled before she looked at the TV screen.

“Of course you guys would be playing Black Ops,” she said, shaking her head.

“We’re guys. What do you expect?” I playfully retorted. Neil and I finished up the game we were in. “Ready?” I asked Rose. She nodded. “We’ll be back later.” Neil called his good bye as we left. I took Rose’s petite hand in mine and started leading the way to a nearby IHOP. She swung our intertwined hands a little.

Rose’s POV:
“Table for two please,” Jeremy requested. The waiter led us to a booth in the back. I sat on one side and Jeremy sat opposite to me. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that I hadn’t moved to open my menu.

“I always get the same thing,” I explained. “Plain pancakes is enough for me.”

“Well you should be adventurous and try these Cinnastacks,” he suggested. I made a face. “What? Don’t like cinnamon or something?” I shook my head. “Freak.” I threw a sugar packet him a retaliation.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. McKinnon.” He smirked before leaning over and kissing me softly. The waiter came back over.

“You guys ready to order?” he asked us. We nodded. “What can I get the lovely lady today?”

“Pancake Platter, please,” I requested. The waiter looked to Jeremy.

“Cinnastack,” Jeremy said. The waiter took our menus before walking away. Jeremy reached over and took a hold of my hand. I looked over at him, smiling. “So…”

“So…” I mimicked. “How long is this tour?”

“Another three weeks.”

“And then we’ll be going our separate ways.” My voice was quiet. Jeremy looked at me, his brown eyes holding my gaze evenly. He gave away nothing, keeping his composure.

“I’ve thought about that every now and then.” He glanced down at our hands before looking back at me.

“When it does come to that, I’m going to be flying out to California as often as I can. I don’t care about the price of tickets, I don’t care that we’re states and miles apart. I’m going to spend as much with you as I can.” I smiled, tears welling up. I got up and moved over to sit next to him. I kissed him deeply.

“You don’t know how much that means to me,” I whispered. “And I know you mean what you say.” He kissed me once again.

“I’ll never let you go.”