Questionable Love (A Love Beyond Labels #2)

by Danielle Rocco

She signs her last text with pink hearts. Oh, I’m going to get that hug later, but I’m going to have to ask Jules to find out what time she’ll be at the center.

  Me: Find out what time my girl will be at the community center today. Don’t tell her why, or that I was asking.

  Jules: Funny, I was just going to text you. Mr. Stark wants to see you this morning over at Stark Records. He didn’t have your number, and I help out there, so I told him I’d call you. Are you going to surprise her and show up?

  Me: Maybe

  Jules: Don’t make her cry.

  Me: Shay even cries when she’s happy. My girl is emotional, but I don’t ever mean to make her cry.

  Jules: Well, she’s cried her eyes out for the last year, so make her laugh instead.

  Me: Did you make my girl self-conscious about crying?

  Jules: NEVER!

  She’s full of shit. That’s why Shay asked me if she looks ugly when she cries.

  Me: Just so you know, Shay looks absolutely beautiful when she cries.

  Jules: She had to ask you, didn’t she?

  Me: My girl tells me everything. What time at Stark?

  Jules: I will ask her about the center and text you later, and he wants you there at noon. God, she had to say something. Nothing is freakin’ sacred!

  Laughing, I hang up the phone and grab a quick shower.

  I STRIDE INTO STARK Records, looking a hell of a lot cleaner than a couple of days ago when I walked in a nervous fucking wreck. This time I just smile at the receptionist and head right up to the second floor. When I walk into Mr. Stark’s office, I feel much better when he smiles at me from behind his desk.

  “Jace, how are you doing, son? Is my daughter still being stubborn?”

  “I’m not far away from her anymore, so I’m good, but yeah, she’s stubborn as hell.”

  “She’ll give in soon.” He laughs. “If she’s anything like her mom, she’ll make you suffer the amount of time you made her wonder where you were.”

  “Is that how it works when you’re in trouble?”

  “It’s how my wife works when she’s not happy with me, and Shay’s a lot like her mother.”

  “Well, Mrs. Stark is a wonderful person, so if I have to live with the amount of suffering someone as sweet as she dishes out, then I can suck it up.”

  “I only had to live through my wife’s wrath once in all these years. I learned my lesson quickly.” He laughs again. “Have a seat, son. I sit down across from him and run my fingers through my hair. “I have a business opportunity for you. Shay says you’re good on guitar?”

  “She taught me, and I picked it up pretty easily,” I answer. He nods and stares at me.

  “You ready to put those lessons to use?”

  “I’m ready to work my ass off to take care of your daughter.”

  “All right, then I’m going to give you an opportunity to do that.”

  “I want to earn it, so don’t just give me something to do because you’re worried I won’t be able to take care of Shay one day. I might not ever be able to give her all of this, Mr. Stark,” I say, gesturing around his fancy office overlooking Los Angeles, “but I will work my ass off to take care of her. I will work day and night on bikes or teach guitar right alongside her. I will do whatever it takes to make my girl happy.”

  “I know you will, Jace. This isn’t a handout. This is an opportunity that came to me, and I thought you and Shay might be a great fit for it. If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out.”

  I stand up and shake his hand. “I won’t let you down. If it’s a good fit for Shay and me, then I’ll give it one hundred percent.”

  “Okay, I will give you the details as they come to me, but right now, work on getting my daughter happy again. It’s been a long year.”

  “I will, sir. My only goal in life is to make Shay happy.”

  FIRST KISSES

  “SHAY, WELCOME BACK,” Shannon says as I walk into the center.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t make it last week.”

  “Oh, we know you have a hectic schedule. Don’t worry about it. Besides, Tommy never showed up anyway.”

  “Is he here today?”

  “Yeah, he’s outside playing football with a friend,” she says, looking up from her paperwork with a mischievous grin.

  “I hope it’s a friend that’s a good influence.”

  “I think he’s a great guy.”

  “Well, that’s good. I’m going to get him so we can work on his math.”

  “Have fun,” she says as I walk away.

  I walk out back, and just like Shannon said, some boys are playing football. I can’t help but wish Jace were here, especially now that he can be. I stand under the tree where first kisses took place and watch as the boys get into a huddle to get their game plan together, then I yell, “Tommy!”

  PRETTIEST GIRL I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE

  WE BREAK OUR HUDDLE as soon as we hear the prettiest voice in the entire world.

  “Tommy!” she yells over to us.

  I look at all the guys and tell Tommy, “She’s mine today, but if you need any help with anything, you let me know.”

  “No problem, Jace,” he says. I slap him on the back.

  “Thanks, bro.” I walk out of the huddle, and just like the very first day I met her, I walk straight up to the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in my life. She literally makes my heart beat right out of my damn chest.

  WEDNESDAYS WILL ALWAYS BELONG TO ME

  MY BOY. WHAT IS HE doing here? I can’t help the giant smile on my face as he walks toward me, just like he did the first day I met him. I stand firm, with my hands on my hips, and history repeats itself as he lifts the bottom of his shirt, exposing some ridiculously amazing abs while wiping his sweaty face. He’s totally messing with the torment vibe I’m trying to keep going. I put my shoulders back and show him that tough little girl stance that first greeted him back in the day, but he’s not a boy anymore, and just like back then, that jet-black hair and pale blue eyes pierce my heart into a billion little fluttering butterflies in my stomach with just how he looks at me as he walks with that old familiar swag he had at thirteen years old. Yup, just like I told Jules way back then. I’m in absolute love with this boy!

  Don’t let all his sexiness sway you, Shay. Stick to your guns, girl. Your boy hurt your feelings, and he’s got to suffer, but look how cute he is, just like our first meeting cute. I’m going to at least give him that hug he wants. I can do that. But no more than that, Shay!

  “Hey, pretty girl.”

  I twist my long waves around my fingers and look everywhere but at his cute face.

  “Oh, hey,” I say nonchalantly. He chuckles with that low laugh that always makes me swoon. “What are you doing here?” I glance at him, trying hard not to look into those eyes that touch my soul every time they glance my way.

  “Wednesdays will always belong to me. Did you think I’d let you hang out at our place without me?”

  I reach into the pocket of my tight jeans and pull out my coconut chapstick and roll it around my lips. He moans as he stares at me.

  “Are you trying to torture me?”

  “How is me putting on chapstick torturing you?” I ask, pocketing it and returning my hands to my hips.

  “Because I want my girl’s coconut lips on me, and I haven’t been able to do that for a very long time. You know how I feel about your mouth.”

  “You could have had my lips on you days ago.” He can’t argue with that. It’s the truth, and he knows it. He groans and tightens his jaw. “You can go play with the boys. I’m here to work with Tommy,” I say with a sassy tone.

  “Don’t be sassy,” he says with that loveable grin.

  “I’m not being sassy.” I shrug casually.

  “Yeah, you are.”

  “Tommy is giving you the day off this week.” He looks around at the empty field.

  “We need to talk.”

  “Text me,” I tell him.

/>   “No more texting, Shay.”

  I shrug my shoulders again and slide to one hip. “Write me a letter?”

  “No more love letters either,” he says. That makes me frown. “Don’t get sad on me. You’ll always get letters from your boy.”

  “Do I look ugly when I frown?”

  Without warning, he picks me up and holds me against him, putting my back against our tree. “You always look pretty to me, no matter what kind of face you’re making,” he whispers into my hair. “I told you I’d get my hug, baby.”

  “You just stole it.”

  “Just like I stole your heart right here in this very spot with that pretty little ponytail in your hair.”

  He’s so damn right! He stole my heart the first time I saw him!

  “Now, let me come home so we can talk about everything that happened over the last few days.”

  “No, I’m not going to let you come home yet.”

  “You’re not being fair to me.”

  “You weren’t fair to me when you didn’t tell me you were being released.”

  He sighs against my neck, and just his warm breath touching my skin has me ready to give him anything he wants. I love him, I need him, and I want him forever, and fighting my desire to be back where we belong is proving to only torture me as well.

  “Please,” he begs, holding me tight in his arms as my Converse-covered feet dangle under our tree.

  I WANT THOSE LIPS

  I HOLD HER SO DAMN tight against me, and breathe in all that happiness she has always given me. “I want so much more,” I say, setting her down as she gently cups my face.

  “I want to give you more, too, Jace.”

  “Don’t think about anything but what your heart is telling you.”

  “My heart will always beat for you, but it’s hurting because you didn’t trust me and let silly rumors affect a promise you knew meant the world to me.”

  Leaning into her palm, I place a soft kiss in the center of her pretty hand. “My heart hurts, too, Shay.” I look into her eyes. “Do you know how hard it was for me to be locked away while some movie star was stealing my time with my girl? I never lost my trust in you. I know you would never hurt me like that, just like I know you know how much love I have for you, and I would never hurt you like that either. But, when Landon told me what he heard and that there were pictures, it was like when Cole slapped me in the face every chance he got that I wasn’t good enough for you. I know you love me, but my stupid childhood insecurity made me break that promise. I was so confused by what Landon was telling me and knowing you got drunk—I knew it was the night that you had drunk, and I’m sorry. I just freaked out that something could’ve gone wrong, and I let my emotions get to me. It’s been a long year away from you.”

  I pace our tree and pull at my hair. “I truly just wanted to show up at your door with a clean shave, some regular clothes, looking like the boy you fell in love with. I didn’t want to walk out of prison and see you standing there, looking at what I was while I was there. I wanted you to see me, just your boy, not a guy walking out of prison.” I wipe at the tears I can’t help but shed.

  “But, that’s the thing, Jace. You were my boy walking out of that prison, the boy that I loved every single second you sat behind those walls, and I wanted to be on the other side when you finally walked free of our nightmare. I wanted to wrap my arms around you and breathe in every bit of you that was taken away from me. I’ve been living in a tortured state right along with you, and maybe I wasn’t behind metal bars, but I was in my own personal hell every day, too. And, no movie stars, fancy parties, or music career could ever take the pain away that I was going through. I wanted my boy, the only boy I will ever love, to walk out of those doors and hold me in his strong arms and tell me, ‘Don’t cry, baby. This is a good thing now.’ I wanted you to see the girl that has loved you through everything and always will to be standing there waiting for you. But, that’s not what happened. You completely gutted me by not letting me have that moment with you.

  “Every night I worried about your safety, and then you were jumped in there, and I was haunted by your face being hurt. I tried to be understanding of why you took me off the list, what you were so adamant about, and you promised me over and over again when I asked to visit you that you would be right back in my arms the moment you were released. And, then, I find out you were released, and you were just gone, completely silent! You silenced us, Jace! You promised me you would never put silence between us again, so I guess that makes two broken promises.”

  My brief hope of reconciling is crushed as she storms off, causing my breaths to slow and become uneven. I start running after her.

  “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me, Shay…”

  She wipes harshly at her face, and I’m dying inside from what I did to her. She opens the door to the center and walks swiftly through the room where all my heart-shaped love was created, and again, my heart is breaking.

  “Please stop. Let me hold you and make us okay again. Please, Shay.”

  She doesn’t stop. She walks through the front door and into the parking lot to her car, and when she turns to me with tears pouring out of her eyes, I pull her into me. “No, let go of me, Jace,” she cries. I shake my head no back and forth, out of breath.

  “I can’t ever let you go,” I cry into her neck. “I will spend the rest of my life making this up to you.” She tries to pull out of my embrace, but my love has too strong of a hold. “Get it out, baby. Cry and scream, and if you have to, hit me until you get it all out,” I tell her, but feeling her go limp under my hold. I let out the longest breath as she sobs uncontrollably in my arms.

  “I pictured you every single night cold in a little tiny prison cell. I pictured you alone when I had everyone around me. I hated every second we were apart. I thought something happened to you or that guy in prison had you killed when you got out. I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know where you were. I just wanted to know where you were…” She cries so hard through her strangled breaths as she tells me how she feels, and I know in this moment, that nothing will ever hurt me like hearing the voice I love more than anything sound like this in my arms. I pull her back a little so I can see her face, seeing the absolute devastation in her eyes from everything I’ve put her through since beating Cole to the point of getting thrown behind bars. I wipe away her tears with my thumb, and just stare at her for a moment.

  “I’m so sorry,” I mouth to her, unable to say it aloud.

  She lays her head back over my heart. “I just wanted to be with you. I only ever wanted to be with you. It’s like when we were kids, and you always protected me. I just wanted you to let me be your protection for once, you know?” she whispers.

  “Shay,” I say quietly, rubbing her back. She gasps through her tears, and I tighten my jaw and close my eyes. “You’ve been protecting me since the day I met you. I might be the strong one physically, but make no mistake, baby, your love has been protecting me since I looked into your pretty eyes. No matter where I’ve ever been, dirty apartment, cold prison cell, or in the middle of nowhere in another state, just knowing you love me, and how much you care for me has always been, and always will be, all the protection I will ever need.”

  She lifts her face from my chest. “Even through the hurt, I will always fight for you.”

  “Me, too, Shay. Me, too.” I look down at her wrist. “I want your charm bracelet on that wrist.”

  She looks at her wrist, then back at me. “I really lost it, Jace. I want my bracelet back, too.” Then she lets her head fall back to my chest.

  “I’ll get you a new one.”

  “I don’t want a new one. I want the one you worked so hard to get me.”

  “I’ll get you the same charms.”

  “No, it won’t be the same.”

  “It’s not lost. You’ve just been so upset you can’t remember where you put it.”

  “It means so much to me, and I just don’t feel right withou
t it.”

  “I’m going to pray really hard we find it,” I say. “Why don’t we go home, and I can spoon you while you rest? You’re all cried out. I just want you to feel me right now so you know everything is okay.” I kiss her head and smell her soft hair. She wraps her arms around me, letting out a shaky breath as she breathes me in. “Come on. Let’s go spoon.”

  “Nice try, sneaky boy.”

  “How am I sneaky?”

  “You know you’re trying to get your way while I’m upset.”

  “I don’t want my way, Shay. I just want to be with the girl I love, the girl I’ve been separated from over a year. I just want you.”

  She stands on her tiptoes and whispers into my ear, “I always want you, too, but I’m not ready to give you more yet.” Then she places those pouty lips to my neck and gives me the softest kiss.

  “You are still torturing me,” I whisper, hardening in my jeans. “You have no idea what you just did to me.”

  She giggles. “I know what I can do to you.” She slides down my body, pulling out of my embrace, and gets into her car. She looks up at me, and my eyes widen.

  “I know what you can do to me, too. I want those lips tonight.”

  “Nope, you aren’t getting them yet, bad boy.” She smiles brightly, and I don’t even care that she drives off, leaving me standing in the parking lot of the community center with a damn hard-on. I’m just glad my girl is actually smiling again.

  DON’T BE POUTY

  THE NEXT MORNING I wake up to a text from my boy telling me to wear hiking clothes. I open my front door and pink hearts are everywhere, just like he’s done since he came home. Well, not home really. I haven’t let him in the door yet. I gather all his love in my arms and put them onto our bed. When I walk out front, he’s pulling up on his bike. God, my boy looks incredible. He pulls his helmet off and talks to me over the roar of his engine as he pulls me by the waist to him.