The Fan Ch. 08-09

Author's Note: This story is based on fiction, and all characters are 18 years of age or older. The setting for this story takes place in 2006 when MTV was in its prime as the source for musical information. Kind reminder that this is a novel length fantasy with a semi-slow burn. If you haven't yet read the first three installments, I encourage you to do so in order to immerse yourself in the romantic fantasy.

I would like to thank the various editors who have also taken part to make this story what it is today. A very special thank you goes out to my main source of inspiration, encouragement, feedback, and support, thatsbogus - a fantastic writer in his own right. I encourage you to check out his collected works if you haven't already. You will not be disappointed. Thank you for joining me and happy reading!

Chapter Eight

"Well I'm just gonna have to prove it to you, won't I?"

Lisa was waiting with Pat, Chase and Rachel at the kitchen table for their return and Lisa perked up when they entered the kitchen. "Hey you two, how was your ride?" she asked when they were completely inside.

"Good, very refreshing. I'll tell you, a Harley is second to none." Rowan answered, gravitating to Jax's labs who jumped up at their appearance, tales wagging as one.

"Have a seat, sugar, we were all havin' a glass of iced tea and playin' some Gin-Rummy. We'd love it if you joined us." Pat said with a smile.

Rowan eyed the tea warily, then declined politely. Jax smiled and took pity on her.

"Here," he plopped a bottle of water from the fridge into her hands.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile, then took an empty seat next to Rachel. The dogs settled their heads in her lap and Pat tsked.

"Them two should be outside," Pat grumped.

"Oh you, they've been outside all morning. Let them get in and get warm, you old coot." Lisa admonished gently. Jax sent them off to their beds in the family room just off the kitchen anyway to keep the peace while Pat dealt Rowan and Jaxon into the hand they were playing. She picked up her cards as each was delivered, tucking them into order.

"So how did you like Bartlett?" Chase asked.

"It's beautiful, especially the trees," Rowan said and then blushed when she caught Jax's eye. He smiled and very nearly blushed himself. Yes, the trees were especially beautiful this time of year, but never more beautiful than the sight of her writhing under one in orgasmic bliss.

Rowan cleared her throat and then broke their gaze, turning to Chase. "Did you grow up here, too, Chase?"

"I did, just down the road, about five miles from Jax's house. Jax and I met in grade school. What was it, second grade?" he asked Jaxon.

"I think so," Jax said, tucking a card into his hand.

"Oh wow, that's awesome to be friends for so long. But I thought you were older than Jaxon?"

"I was held back a year, actually, in kindergarten. I'm older but we were in the same grade."

"Yeah, and he was a big-un, back then" Lisa added. "He beat up Jaxon in the sand box and I called his mother and she made him apologize. They have been friends ever since."

Rowan laughed. "That's actually a really cute story."

"Maybe to you," Jaxon grumped, sounding much like his father at that moment.

"What are you complaining about? I can distinctly recall you gave as good as you got. I think I walked away with a bloody nose from that." Chase teased.

"Oh yeah... You're right. I forgot that," Jax grinned.

"Mmmhmm. I lived here all through my childhood. My parents divorced, though, right after high school and my mom moved to Memphis. She lives right along the Mississippi River. Big step up from Bartlett."

"Hey, don't you smart mouth Bartlet, now. Be mindful of what shaped you," Pat wagged his finger in a fatherly way and Chase apologized.

"It really is beautiful here." Rowan said to defuse the tension and Pat smiled. "It reminds me a lot of where I grew up, just smaller."

"Is that right? They have country like this out in California?" Pat asked. "All I've really seen is that concrete-jungle Jax calls home these days."

"Yes. I grew up in Northern California in a small town too, but not as small as this one. We had suburban areas, but they were surrounded by orchards and farm land. At the same time, we also had a pretty rich city center with lots of shopping and a local arts council. All the amenities of a mid-size city, but enough quiet spaces to hike or go horseback riding."

"Oh, that's cool," Jax said, his mind's eye blossoming with curiosity. "So which of the quiet spaces did you visit? Hiking or horseback riding?"

"Both, actually. While I lived in a little neighborhood with the next-door neighbors practically on top of you, my best friend grew up just ten miles down from me on ten acres of land with horses and chickens, fruit trees... the whole nine yards. She grew up on the back of a horse while I grew up on the back of a bike. She taught me how to ride a horse, though I'm not as good as she is, of course."

"Oh my, that sounds wonderful," Pat said. "It's nice when children get the chance to grow up outside. That doesn't seem to happen enough nowadays."

"I completely agree," Lisa said cheerfully.

"That's not something I can say I've ever done willingly, ride a horse," Jax added.

"You should, it's a lot of fun. Sometimes scary if you don't have the right connection with the horse or it isn't trained well, but Diana is a great rider and teacher. Her mom and dad train horses for a living, so their horses are the best. Very gentle, easy to ride, and so sweet. Almost like pets."

"Well, maybe you could take me riding some time," he caught her eye again and smiled that slow smile, the one he knew melted her bones. He was rewarded by the blush deepening and spreading across the bridge of her adorable nose. He just couldn't resist pushing all of her cute and sexy little buttons.

"That, um... yeah, sure. I'm sure I can arrange that if you come out my way," Rowan swallowed visibly and dropped her eyes. He started to say 'that's a date,' but then stopped himself. He didn't want to promise something he couldn't deliver. Just like that, his insides seemed to churn, so he turned to his cards.

"You okay there, honey?" Lisa said, noticing like mothers do when their child is struggling.

"Oh yeah, fine, just thinking. I have to fly back to LA soon, and I really don't want to."

"I know, honey. We will miss you too. The tour will start before you know it, though, so that's good."

"I don't know about that."

"Why?" Rowan asked.

"It's just, hectic, you know, chaos, show after show. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love it. There's something addicting about being on stage; the rush of sixty thousand people all hushed into silence simply because you're standing there with a mic, or singing as loud as they can to a song you wrote... it's both exhilarating and humbling at the same time." His eyes lit up when he spoke of the stage.

"It does sound like an amazing, yet exhausting, experience. How long does the tour last?" Rowan asked.

"Well, we're doing like, what," he looked to Rachel for clarification, "um, in the first leg, forty shows in like two and half months?"

"Sounds about right, yeah," Rachel said. "That's the North American leg. The next is the European one which is about 43 shows, and then we come back to North America for another 23 or so, then lastly hit up the Ocean and UAE sites for 16. We start in January and end in December."

"What? That's, that's," Rowan shook her head in disbelief, "that's crazy. I thought you said this tour is a two-year commitment. That's like over a hundred shows in one year all over the world. Is that even physically possible?"

Jax nodded. "The two-year commitment has already started. The contest and other press junket-y things are part of the whole thing. Before the album was even released, there's so much planning and preparation that goes into all of it. I've been in with the choreographer and dancers already, practicing with my singers and band... Yeah, it's already been a hard grind, but it's fun, you know? Once you get into the rhythm of it, it's not so unimaginable."

"You don't get any time off in between shows? I mean, not like a day or so, but at least a week or something to catch your breath?"

"There are some stretches in there when I do three or four shows all in a row. Sometimes I do two shows a day. That doesn't happen too much, though, because nowadays the concerts last right around two hours. Not like when I was first starting out with In-Time. You want to talk about crazy tour dates..." Jax shook his head and all the other heads nodded around the table in sympathy. "I think there was a stretch in there just going from venue to venue, show to show. We did everything to get seen and heard. Everything. No show or appearance was too small or insignificant. And you were right there with me, mom," Jax said, squeezing his mom's hand across the table. "I would not have been able to do any of that if you hadn't joined us, being underage."

"That was a very crazy time, but... it was worth it, right? Like your Gpaw always says, 'It's only hard 'til it's done,' right?"

"Damn straight. Now that the concerts are longer, they are more physically taxing, and, to put it humbly, I've kind of made a name for myself," Chase snorted at that and Jax chose to ignore him.

"I don't have to cram so many shows into a tour and I can keep all the traveling to one year. Thankfully Rachel, Chase and my mom - my handlers basically - help make sure all the production people don't work me to death. They find a few days here and there, a week off around the holidays to keep me sane. I usually have a month off between each leg of the tour to catch my breath."

"We sure do try, honey," Lisa said, patting his arm. "Not just for you, but for us too."

"We'll have some time off in between the first US leg and the European tour that kicks off late April in Northern Ireland and about another month between the third leg and the final one, the Oceanic routes." Rachel explained.

"And that is the part that I am kind of dreading." Jax said.

"Why?" Rowan asked.

Jax sighed and then picked up a card. "It's harder to tour in Europe and all over the Ocean because we don't get to ride in our comfy buses that much. I love my bus, it becomes like my second home." At Rowan's quizzical look, he continued.

"It's not really a bus, more like an RV with a little bedroom and bunks, a kitchen and a bathroom. We are all jammed together like an oversized family to the point where it's more like an extended camping trip. Only our goal is to put on a big production at the next RV stop rather than making smores and telling scary stories.

"I miss that when we are on the European circuit. We can do it for a bit if the shows are all right next to each other, like in England, but then we have to hop planes to get to the other shows in Germany and Sweden. That means we pack and move from hotel to hotel instead, which sucks. What also sucks is that you all lose: gin!"

"Awe!" Chase said, slapping his cards on the table.

"How!" Rowan said, looking at his hand indignantly. "You got gin in like five minutes."

"That's Jax." Pat said with pride, "He hates to lose at anything."

"Well, if we are going to go to BB King's, we should head out. You coming, Chase, Rachel?"

"Yeah, let me get a coat. Better than sitting here getting beat at cards. I call whatever seat is next to Rowan," Chase said and Jax rolled his eyes.

"See? Didn't even take ten minutes for this butthead to annoy me this time. What did I tell you?"

They rode out to Memphis in Jax's truck and despite Chase "calling it" in the kitchen, Rowan sat next to Jax in the front while Chase and Rachel rode in back.

Jax was trying very hard to keep his eyes on the road while simultaneously watching Rowan. Her joy as she took in the sights of his home town warmed him from the inside out and was irresistible. Rowan couldn't help looking left and right once they turned onto the historic Beale Street.

"Wow," Rowan exclaimed breathlessly, her eyes wide to take in every detail. "I love all the brick and glass. I wonder what it looks like at night."

"It's kind of breathtaking, truthfully, with all the neon lit up and flashing. I'm sure it will be lit by the time we are ready to leave BB King's." Chase replied.

"I can't wait to see it. I'm just so floored to be here, you guys. I'm a bit of a history buff. It's almost like taking a step into the past driving down this street."

"That's it exactly," Jax replied. "Some say it's the blues capital of the world, you know. I remember going down here when I was young and listening to the voices coming out of all of these bars and they were just... soulful.

"Historically the city's been a melting pot for all kinds of music, but most importantly the home of Stax Records producing Southern and Memphis soul. It's the home of Elvis but also of B. B. King. You've got rock and blues, but Nashville's right down the road so there's a mix of country thrown in too. In the sixties, Motown was this beautiful, polished sound, but if you traveled South you'd get that soul music that was altogether slower and rawer, grittier and dirtier." Jax waxed poetic over the history singing in his very veins.

"I see; it makes sense you'd come from a place like this with the music you write. You can hear all of that in your albums; soul, rhythm and blues, a little country twang... all of it. All of these historic sounds are just part of you."

"Exactly, there is just no escaping your upbringing out here. I can try to adopt a sound that is not me and I do, when I write for other people, but when it's my music, music I make just for me and not for my label or producers, it's Memphis soul all the way."

"That's beautiful when you think about it, that your home has literally become part of you, part of your art." Rowan smiled over at him her slow sweet smile and he felt the urge to capture her lips with his own. Instead he snapped his eyes back to the road, catching the turn in for BB King's at the last minute and turning just a bit more sharply than he intended.

"Dude, watch the hair back here, ok? Some of us can't be as naturally gorgeous as you." Chase barked once he righted himself again, making Rowan and Rachael laugh and Jax roll his eyes.

Jax pulled around into the back alley of the throbbing, pumping blues bar and parked next to the employee's entrance. He hopped out of the truck and stepped quickly to Rowan's door to open it for her and help her down. She accepted his gallantry gracefully and allowed him to take her hand while Chase and Rachel hopped down.

"We're here, and you are in for a good time. You haven't had fried chicken until you've eaten here or my granny's kitchen. You're going to love it." Jax beamed with pride at BB King's as the employee entrance opened.

"Hey Jaxon! How you doin' my friend. Long time no see?" The manager of the club was waiting to let them into the entrance and Jax offered his hand, gripping and then embracing the dark man.

"Tony, my man, how have you been?"

"Fantastic, just livin' the life. Come on in, we got a table ready for y'all in your usual spot."

"That's great, thank you," Jax said.

"It's good to see you too Miss Rachel, and Chase, you two been good to your mammas?" Tony led them through the door and into the dark, narrow hallway leading to the kitchen. While Rachael and Chase chatted with the manager, Rowan stepped closer and whispered up to Jax.

"Why are we coming in through the employee entrance?" Rowan asked innocently.

"So the paparazzi that usually stake the place won't get a decent pic. Whenever we eat here, it's like a standing thing that we enter this way."

"Oh, I didn't even think of that," Rowan said, her brow knitting. "So they are just like, always around?"

"Yes and no," Jax answered, running a thumb intimately over her crinkled brow and she smiled. "If I have unscheduled visits home, then they aren't here, but it was pretty publicized that I was going to be home for the MTV thing. That's why we saw that one this morning as we left the studio, and I'll bet my favorite guitar that there are at least two or three out front just in case I show up, which I almost always do when I come home."

"Wow... that sucks that you have to think about that stuff all the time," Rowan sympathized.

"Just something to be conscious of. I try not to allow the ever present cameras to rule my life, but I also don't want to give any of them any more cause to pay attention to you. If they see you walk in with us, like, that's it for you. They won't stop until they find out where you live, where you work... It's just better this way."

Rowan chewed her lip and Jax saw the conflict churn across her pretty face, feeling guilt roll over him in a sudden sputtering wash of feeling. He should have thought about the potential dangers to her real life at home before bringing her out into public with him.

As they passed through the kitchen on their way to the main dining room, he squeezed her hand and the disquiet eased from her face. She smiled at him and gave him a squeeze back. He stopped just before they entered the dining room, pulling her back while Chase and Rachel continued on with Tony to their table.

"Listen, uh," he swallowed and forced his shoulders back, "if you want to turn back, go home and just chill until your flight tomorrow, I'd totally understand. We could grab something to go from the kitchen or I could grill again. It didn't even occur to me that you wouldn't have cause to think about this stuff like I do," he stopped, unable to say what he should be saying instead.

He should be saying he would take her back home, let her get on the plane and then leave her alone and not see her again until his opening show in San Francisco. No calls, no visits, nothing, if that's what she really wanted. He should be saying that. He should be chivalrous enough to protect her that way, but just the thought of it made his heart thump oddly in his chest. He was selfish enough to want her to want to see him before San Francisco, to keep chatting on the phone with her, to be invited to visit and see where this deep attraction between them would lead.

Rowan smiled kindly and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, squeezing his hand even more tightly within her own.

"Don't worry about any of that. As my mother says, 'what will be, will be' and there's no sense in giving up on something when we haven't even had a chance to start.

"I'm here, Jax, with you, right now. Let's go eat chicken. Let them take my picture destroying a plate of what you promised is the most delicious chicken on the planet, other than your granny's of course." She winked and squeezed his hand. "No one would want to print that picture anyway, with me all covered in grease, chicken bones flying... not a pretty picture."

Jax laughed and pulled her forward for a quick hug. He turned and draped an arm over her shoulders and she wrapped her arm around his waist. Paparazzi be damned.

"I bet I can eat more chicken than you. From the size of you, it doesn't look like you've sent too many chicken bones flying in any direction."

"Oh, you have no idea. I got these hips and thighs from somewhere and it wasn't from eating celery."

He laughed at her witty quip again, shaking his head.

The inside of the restaurant was masterfully done with an old-time blues atmosphere; dark lights, leather booths, and a real wood dance floor before a stage where a live band played the old style rhythm and blues. Jax shook hands with a host of people and employees as they made their way to a secluded booth in the corner of the darkened room. Chase and Rachel were already seated on one side.

"Wow, this place is like stepping into the past. Just beautiful hardwood everywhere," Rowan said, sliding in ahead of Jax along the short leather seat. "And a live band! I don't think I've ever been in a restaurant with live music. It's like something out of a movie."

"It's special all right. We come as often as we can, really." Jax said, settling back into the seat and resting his arm along the top of the booth.

"Yeah, especially since Jax is a part owner of this place." Rachel said.

"Really, that must be nice to be a part of history." Rowan smiled at Jax and he shrugged his shoulders humbly.

"You know, I do what I have to do."

"What do you mean?"

"The place was close to going belly up and I couldn't just sit there and let that happen because, like you said, it's a piece of history. It's a piece of every Tennessean's heritage. I couldn't just let it disappear."

Rowan smiled up at him and he felt like all the work he had done with this place was somehow worth more now. He was getting lost in her eyes again which would have been embarrassing in front of the other watching eyes, so he cleared his throat and motioned for the waiter. A young gentleman in a crisp white shirt and blue jeans approached from the darkened corner of the room.

"Good evenin', how y'all doin here tonight?" Everyone nodded their heads with 'good' and 'fine' in response. "Glad to hear it, mighty glad. My name is Marcus and I'll be taking care of y'all. So what does everyone want to drink this fine afternoon?" Jax turned to Rowan to order first.

"Um, what do you have on tap?"

"Pretty much everything you can think of."

"Do you have any Sierra Nevada?"

"Sierra Nevada, no, I don't think we have, but I've sure heard of it. You familiar with that, are you?"

"I live near the main brewery in California so I've gotten pretty used to it. It's a shame you don't have it because it's a really good brew."

Jax's brows rose in surprise, he would never have pegged her for a beer drinker. Every moment he was with her she surprised him even more.

"It is, it is. We'll have to start carrying it. Is there anything else we could get for you though?"

"Um, do you have any suggestions; is there a local brew that I should try?"

"I'll bring you something, sugar, is a light, okay?"

"A blond would be perfect, if you have one, thank you."

"And for you?" He took the other's drink orders; all said pretty much the same, 'The usual.' When the waiter left they all fell into easy chatter because of the comfortable atmosphere.

The waiter brought drinks and read the specials before taking orders which were chicken all around. The food came promptly and everyone dug in finding themselves immersed in delicious food and laughter with story after story from Jax and Chase about their childhood antics and life on the road.

Without knowing how, Jax found himself snuggled up close against Rowan by the meal's end, her shoulder pressed against the side of his chest and they were hip to hip. A warm glow was flooding through him and he didn't think that alcohol was solely to blame.

Though Chase continually engaged the group in intelligent and amusing conversation, Jax found it hard to focus on what he was saying. He was suddenly very aware of Rowan beside him, her soft curves against his side though he didn't really understand how he managed to get so close to her. He peered around her to glance at her side of the seat and realized with a shock that it was he who had scooted so close to her because she had hardly any room on her end.

Deciding not to fight what was happening anymore he relaxed back into his seat beside her, letting his hand along the back of the seat fall to her shoulder. Shocks of delight ran through him with the feel of her softly rounded shoulder and naked skin of her neck. A tantalizing scent of her wafted up from the top of her head and directly into his brain. All of it was having a very physical effect on him just like it had for the past two days. The simple nearness of her was intoxicating enough to arouse him.

Rowan gave a gusty laugh in response to Chase's current story, making her ample chest bounce right under his nose and he groaned inwardly as he began to plump in his jeans. He hadn't felt a desire so strong and quick like this for anyone in quite some time, at least not since he broke up with Carmen. Even the last few months of their relationship he didn't feel anything like that for her; he couldn't, not after what had happened.

A new band stepped on stage playing more fast-paced songs and everyone ditched the tables to dance. Jax stood up and removed his thick sweater, setting it on the seat. He then offered his hand to the still-seated Rowan who took it with a glowing smile. He pulled her to her feet and dragged her laughing to the packed dance floor.

"God, it's good to have you in my arms again, baby." Jax whispered in her ear once he had his arms wrapped around her. Rowan lips parted on a gasp in response to the hot surge of pleasure that his whispered 'baby' produced. She licked her lips and speared him with her smokey green eyes, shaking her head before laughing. Her lush laugh and deep blush sent shivers down his spine.

"Oh that word... you know exactly what you're doing."

Has just smiled in response. If she only knew how much fun he was having learning how to push all her little shiver buttons. He greatly looked forward to discovering more.

"Now enough of that," she pushed him back and stepped to the rhythm. "Let's dance."

As he spun her around the floor, he was impressed by how well she moved. He greatly appreciated a woman with rhythm, that could dance as hot as she looked. She was in perfect time with the music, her movements quite fluid and graceful. She could probably sub as one of his background dancers in a pinch if needed, he mused to himself, that's how on beat she was.

The sight of her bouncing curves and sexy moves was getting him harder than he'd like in public, but it wasn't making him enjoy this date any less. In fact this was probably the best time he'd had in a very, very long time. This past year had not gone well in the heart department, and she was definitely a refreshing shock to an ill-used and aching heart.

"You know, you dance really well." Jax said, once the song changed to a slower beat and he was able to get her closer again. He pulled her into his arms and rocked with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, teasing his short hair with her fingers and sending chills over his skin, abandoning herself to the moment and leaving her self-doubts and worries behind.

"You're not so bad yourself. It's almost like you do this for a living or something." Rowan whispered conspiratorially in his ear. Her lips brushed his lobe as she did, sending chills along the nape of his neck.

Jax chuckled and pulled her closer with his hands by her waist and the small of her back. He was immensely enjoying the fact that she was treating him like any other guy and not the big star 'Mr. Jaxon Trentwell'.

She turned in his arms, pressing her back to his and grinding her hips in rhythm to the music. Jax nearly groaned aloud with the press of her against him.

She teased him a few more times and he turned her so they were chest to chest instead. He didn't want a repeat of this morning. No, it wouldn't do to spend himself in his pants on this packed dance floor. He still couldn't believe how quick and ready he came this morning just from kissing and touching. It was like he was a teen again and first discovering the delightful promise hidden with a girl's panties.

He was a full grown man now who usually had a very tight hold on all his faculties, but since meeting Rowan yesterday, all of that experience evaporated. He was that awkward rutting teenager on his first date all over again. It was both frustrating and marvelous at the same time. He wanted her so much, he was practically hard as a rock and ready to fuck her on this dance floor, even with all these eyes and ears around.

She pressed her chest against his, drawing him back to the present and moved her hips in a slow-rocking rhythm in time to the music. He felt the hard tips of her breasts through his shirt, studied the flushed, hungry expression on her face and was glad to know that she was just as affected by her little teasing grind as he was.

"If you haven't already noticed, I think you're the sexist thing alive," he breathed down at her.

"Oh yeah?"

"Definitely. What, you don't believe me?" Rowan shook her head playfully and Jax slowly smiled in a way that he knew would make her bones melt. She gave a little answering shiver and he knew his sexy smile had hit the mark.

"Well, I'm just gonna have to prove it to you, won't I?"

"How are you going to do that?" She raised her chin and lowered her lashes, giving a look that was just as impactful as his.

"Is that a challenge? Did you just call me out on this dance floor?" Jax's eyes glinted with lust and now a hint of something a little more reckless and dangerous.

Rowan's eyes widened, instinctively dancing away from the predatory male as he slid a step closer to her. He lunged and she laughed before dancing away, making Jax chase after her on the dance floor. Luckily the band played a faster song, hiding the playful flirtation of the two. They continued to dance, with Rowan leading him further and further to the edge of the dance floor in their little chase until, Jax noticed, they were within range of the doors leading into the kitchen.

In a spur of a moment's decision, he grabbed her by the waist and bodily lifted her through the doors. She yipped in surprise and he shushed her, whispering in her ear "Challenge accepted, baby."

Her 'O' of surprise turned into a gasp as he pulled her down the hall to where the employee break room, the offices, the employee bathrooms, and locker rooms were located.

He slipped inside one of the maintenance closets that shared a wall with the dance floor. It was a bit cramped inside with wall to wall shelving, but big enough that it gave him a little room to maneuver. Luckily, this closet was just for supplies and didn't house any of the cleaning machinery, so there was plenty of leg room. It also has the added benefit of not being monitored by any security cameras, a point he knew well, having reviewed the plans for the current system during the last owner's meeting.

He locked the door behind him, his eyes blazing at his own audacity, but he was a man possessed.

As he turned toward Rowan, she launched herself at him, kissing him fiercely and he kissed back for a heartbeat or two, plundering her mouth and tasting the sweet liquor of her breath. She boldly groped him through his jeans, whimpering into his open mouth.

"Jax, I want you so badly, please," she breathed.

"I want you too, baby, so much, all of you." And he did, so much. He'd wanted her since he first laid eyes on her earlier today, standing in the bright studio lights, looking so innocent yet inspiring such sinful thoughts with all of these lush curves and emerald eyes. He'd had a small taste under the willow, but it wasn't enough and he wondered, somewhere in the back of his mind if it would ever be enough. Maybe if he tasted her, plunged himself inside her, he'd be satisfied. Well, there was only one way to find out.

He turned her and pressed her against an open spot behind the door, free of shelving, bending his knees and spreading his thighs, so she was trapped between them. He stroked her breasts through the thin material of her top, bending his lips to the plump cleavage accessible in the deep V, burying his face between them and making her gasp.

"You have the most delicious breasts," he rasped. He pulled down one side of her blouse and bra cup away, exposing a hard beaded nipple to his ready mouth. He scraped the tender tip with the stubble of his jaw first and Rowan arched her back in surprise. He soothed the little hurt with his tongue, pulling soft, then hard on her nipple enough to make her whimper. Her hands fluttered at his back and neck, scrabbling over his head, pressing him further to her breast.

He turned and applied the same treatment to her other breast until she was a puddle of need in his arms. He pulled back to study her face. She was so beautiful with full, flushing cheeks and red-berry lips bruised from their kisses.

He kissed her again, gently this time, soothing her lips with his own while searching with hungry fingers for the juncture of her thighs. He had been tormented already with a brief taste of her and he was determined to taste her fully before he had to send her away, even if that was all she allowed him to do.

He cupped her through her jeans, feeling moisture already and vibrant heat. She spread her legs and tilted her hips up to him, offering up her soft mound to his big hand. He rubbed her, teasing what folds he could feel with his thumb.

"Let me taste you, baby, please..." he begged against her lips.

"Yes... yes," she gasped back, her mouth open and hot, cheeks flushed already, suffused with passion.

He stepped back and undid her jeans revealing her hot pink lacy thong. She caught his eyes, liquid emerald in the soft light of the desk lamp and he kept that eye contact as he peeled away her black jeans. Pushing his hands inside the waistband at the back, he paused in disrobing her to cup and squeeze her heart shaped ass in his big, calloused hands.

He slid her pants down her thighs but then waited for her to step out of her heels in order to remove them the rest of the way. As soon as she was pantsless, she stepped back into her heels and he smiled. She was so short compared to him, all feminine, graceful curves, but at least a foot shorter and seemed determined on closing that distance by staying in her ridiculously tall heels.

Jax took his time, probably more time than they had. They must be missed by Chase and Rachel at this point, but he didn't care. This fantasy about Rowan had grown since the moment he met her, the fantasy about what she must taste like, feel like, look like, since she walked into the studio yesterday and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from getting his fill of her.

He kissed her again, running his rough fingertips over the soft lace, catching pieces of it here and there in the callouses he earned from playing his guitar and lifting weights.

She gasped into his mouth when he found her through the thin fabric, hard and hot under his fingertips. He pulled away and slid down her body, kissing her exposed breasts, stroking her stomach, kissing the little dip of her navel, following the starry path that crossed over her right hip down into her panties, pulling them away and down her hips.

He sat back on his feet to get a good look at her pussy which dripped a glinting drop of clear liquid from her plump folds as he watched. She was so wet and bright red, clit plump and hard as a just ripe cherry.

"You are so beautiful, Rowan. So damn beautiful," he breathed reverently against her skin. She shivered and whispered a breathy thank you.

He wanted to see all of her. Splayed out, pussy open to his gaze and his tongue and looked around to find a suitable surface.

"Damn this space, there is nowhere to lay you down..." Jax thought for a second, breathing in her scent. He hooked her left leg, then her right, and threw them both over his shoulder so that she kind of sat on his shoulders while hers rested on the wall behind her. In this position. Once she was mounted on his shoulders, he cupped her ass and tilted her up so he could look his fill.

She had a stunning pussy, light blonde hair trimmed into a neat little V above a peachy mound. Her inner lips were delicate and slightly longer just in the center, a dusky rose tint at their tips. She was bright pink along her slit, turning deep red around her hard little clit which throbbed in time with her heart beat.

Holy fuck....

"I was wrong before," his voice, husky and thick, seemed harsh to his ears. "You aren't just beautiful, you are agonizingly sexy. Your pussy is so stunning, it's almost hard to look at you directly, like the sun."

He reached for her hanging inner lips, spreading them as wide as he could to see her wet opening. She was so wet it was hard to grip her lips, but when he tugged lightly on them, she moaned above him and her hips gave a little jerk. Button noted.

Jax bent forward and suckled her lips, undulating and alternating the pressure, and she moaned again. Thank goodness for the loud music of the band to mask her pleasure because he wasn't stopping for anything in the world.

He moved to her clit which was firm, warm, and pulsing slightly against his tongue. Using his lips and tongue, he suckled and teased her, marveling at her delicious taste, sweet and smokey, like rose-tinted charcoal and his cock jumped painfully in his pants. He resisted the urge to open his pants and stroke himself though, wanting this moment to last and if he did that, he'd cum much earlier than he wanted to.

"Yes, yes... please..." She whimpered above him and he moved back to her clit, suckling rhythmically, hard, then soft, over and over until her hips were bouncing up and away from him. She began tugging and pulling at his head with one hand and her nipple with the other.

"Oh fuck... oh god, Jax... ah..." she moaned as she came hard against his tongue and lips without warning, just spasm after spasm as she cried out above him, washing his face with more of her sweet juices.

He licked and sucked as much as he could, bathing himself in her wet heat and delighting in each spasm of her sweet little pussy, feeling each one in his own throbbing cock. When he didn't feel any more fluttering gasps from her pussy, he eased her back to her feet, holding her hips steady to ease her trembling legs.

"Holy shit... Oh wow..." she panted, gripping his shoulders to keep herself upright. "I knew it."

"Knew what, baby?"

"That your mouth could do so much more than sing," she purred.

Jax laughed, shaking his head at her ready wit.

"So much more. That was only the tip of the iceberg." He stood up then, feeling a bit of a head rush with so much of his blood settled in his dick.

"My turn," she reached for his belt with trembling fingers and fumbled so much that each accidental touch of his cock through his jeans sent white-hot throbs through him. He stilled her hands.

"It's ok, you can take a breath, I'm good for a moment. Besides, I got what I pulled you in here for. I've been dying to taste you since you first whispered you were wet in my arms yesterday."

"Oh?"

"Hell, yes. It was so frustrating being able to feel you and smell you and not taste you properly. I haven't been able to get that out of my mind all day. Granted, now that I have, I just want to do it all over again."

He reached down and fondled her sensitive pussy, dipping one long finger into her opening and she whimpered. Twisting his finger, he pulled forward on the front wall of her vagina expertly until he found that hard, spongy spot and pressed. She gasped and fell forward, her head hitting his chest.

"Sensitive, so sensitive..."

"Mmmm... I'm sorry baby," he pulled his fingers from her and sucked them greedily, making her blush spread further down her chest and her eyes grow wide.

"You're so bad," she breathed.

"And you taste so good," he breathed back, the air crackling with his focus and deep need. Her hands returned back to his belt.

"Please... I want to taste you too..." his balls clenched and he leaned forward, kissing her deeply. She readily accepted his mouth wet with the taste of her.

It was his turn to whimper as she sucked his lips, gathering as much of her own self as possible from his open and willing mouth. Just like that he was nearly desperate to cum.

He helped her free his cock. Undoing the buckle, button, and zipper with trembling fingers, he pulled his balls, tight with the looming orgasm, free as well so that his full package hung clear in the open V of his pants. His cock plumped the rest of the way now that it was free from the tight confines of denim. She immediately reached for him and her hot little hands seared his throbbing flesh.

"Oh my god, Jax, look at you. You're gorgeous, so thick... fuck," She panted, tugging a little hard in her enthusiasm and making him wince.

"Oh no! I'm sorry. I'll fix it," she pushed a hand against his chest and he stepped back. Dropping to her knees, she kissed the little sting her hand caused before engulfing him in her open mouth. He grunted and grabbed her head, fisting a hand in her loose blonde hair. She was so full of that same frantic lust-filled energy as he was which translated to hard, fast and needy.

"Slow, uh," he grunted, "slow down baby. Unless you want this to end in about thirty seconds," he gasped down at her. She looked up, meeting his eye, slowing her plunging mouth to lick and suckle on his fat-ridged head instead.

"Holy hell, you looked so damn good with my dick in her mouth," And she did; emerald eyes flashing with need, sweet cherry, bruised lips spread, rosy cheeks hollowed out, hot pink tongue flashing and laving to her heart's content.

When she slowed and concentrated, it was almost worse than her frantic sucking because it was so, so good. His knees almost buckled and he flattened one hand against the wall above her head and thrust forward.

She took him as deep as he could go, about three quarters of the way down, sucking him in and bobbing back, before sucking him in again, cradling his balls gently as she did so. In less time than he liked, he felt that tingle at the base of his spine which warned of an oncoming orgasm, so he pulled back, stilling her delicious sucking. She whimpered and reached for him again.

"Wait, if you keep that up, I'm going to cum," he rasped out over the muffled sound of the music bouncing through the wall. She stopped and looked up.

"Don't you want to?" She asked, all sweetness and greed, her tongue darting out to collect the drop of pre-cum clinging to his tip.

"Oh, god, yes... yes I do. Very much, but we might not be able to do more if I do. I'd need time, you know, time we don't have here."

"Who said I wanted or needed more right now. Maybe this is all I want, your cock in my mouth, hand in my hair..." she threw her head back, biting her lip and rolling her hips, her face wet with saliva and precum, full of concentrated desire.

"I want your cum down my throat... please."

A heady feeling stronger than the thrall of pure lust swept over and through him at that look, at those words and he nodded his head, unable to speak.

"Good, now no more interrupting me," Rowan stroked his cock again, suckling the tip and he groaned deep in his chest, pushing forward once more. She took him deep again, suckling and teasing with her lips and tongue making his knees wobble.

He leaned forward until both of his forearms were resting on the wall, propping himself up. From this angle he could mostly see the back of her head as she bobbed up and down on his cock, her right hand stroking away in rhythm to her bobbing head. She stopped to lick and suckle at his balls once, but continued with her stroking, then returned to his cock.

"Fuck, yes..." Jax felt himself building again to that peak, his hips thrusting gently forward without thought, reaching for more of her warm throat instinctively.

Rowan, sensing his need, hummed and plunged further still, pulling him to the very back of her throat and gagging slightly on his length. She pulled back and gasped, then plunged forward again and again relentlessly. He felt the spasms start at the base of his dick, his hips thrusting forward out of his control as he came.

"Ugh, baby... fuck," he grunted, coming spurt after spurt into her open and willing mouth. She slurped and swallowed, pumping his cock with both hands through his orgasm until the very last spasms finished.

His breath heaved and his thighs shook as he pushed off the wall, stilling her strokes by placing his hand atop hers. She looked up at him and kissed the head of his cock gently, licking the last of his cum from the tip.

"I..." Jax started, his breath catching. He stopped and took a deep steadying breath before continuing. "That was the best fucking head I've ever had. Goddamn."

Rowan flashed those sexy emerald eyes at him and smiled. She daintily wiped the corner of her lips with her finger and sucked the leftover moisture from the tip. She tucked his softening cock back into his pants and began to dress herself. As soon as they were dressed properly, he pulled her into his arms to grip her ass, and kiss her hard, tasting himself and her on their breath.

"Damn," he said into her soft mouth.

"I know. That was... like nothing I've ever experienced, that's for sure." He nodded his head in agreement. "But how do we leave now? Like, how do we get out of here without everyone in that kitchen knowing what we just did?"

"You're so cute." He smiled and pinched her behind, still nestled in his hands.

She jumped at the pinch and slapped his arm playfully. "Hey, it's a legitimate question."

"It's ok. I chose this spot because it's the furthest from the kitchen and shares a wall with the dance floor to hide our noise. We could each sneak out and go use the employee restrooms separately, wash up and make our own way back to the dance floor. No one would be the wiser, scout's honor."

She resisted rolling her eyes at him barely and lightly pinched a nipple instead.

"Ow!" He yelped, rubbing his chest in feigned pain. "Trying to take a souvenir there?"

"Yeah right, that did not hurt," she smirked. "But still, it's not polite to tease someone about their very real fear."

"What is there to be afraid of?" He asked, grabbing her hands to keep his nipples where they were.

"You realize we just had sex in a public place?"

"Semi-public. There's no one here but us."

"No, but there are a couple dozen people out there, or more."

"God, you're adorable."

"Look, you may have sex out in the open all the time, but I've never ever done anything like this. It's new to me." The slight tremor in her voice ended his teasing and he pulled her into his arms for a squeeze.

"I'm sorry. If I had known you would be this upset about it I wouldn't have pulled you in here. You're completely right. It is a public space... that I partially own."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot."

He laughed and she giggled along with him.

"And I don't, you know," he added.

"Don't what?"

"Don't have sex in public all the time."

"That doesn't mean you haven't had sex in public none of the time, though, right?" Rowan asked, tilting her head to look into his eyes.

Jaxon smiled slowly, images blooming in his mind. If she could only see into his head. Or better yet, it was probably better she couldn't if she reacted this way to public sex.

"Weeelll..." he hedged, rubbing his chin to hide his grin.

"Uh-huh, thought so." She laughed. "Despite what this may seem like, I'm actually not all that experienced with the wild and crazy sex it seems you get up to."

"You're right in assuming that I've taken advantage of my celebrity once upon a time, but that was once upon a time, when I first gained fame with In-Time. The novelty of groupies wore off a long, long time ago, though. And, this is far from 'wild and crazy,' but I can understand how you're feeling."

"Really? This isn't wild and crazy? Jumping each other in the back of a crowded restaurant or club, whathaveyou?" She ran a hand down the side of his face, rasping his beard growth with a manicured fingernail. Her voice was soft and sincere, but also full of wonder.

"Yes, really. This is fairly tame." He caught her hand and kissed her palm, biting the pad of it briefly to enjoy the quick inhalation of breath he knew it would inspire.

"Well not to me. I've never done anything like this. I've never flown half way across the country to meet an international super-star with the voice of a god. I've never made out under a tree, and dry humped my way to orgasm....

"Before I met you, I never even believed anything like this was possible in any realm of my reality. I never penciled it into any of my planner pages, I can tell you that. All of this is... so new... and so..." she threw up her hands and threw her head back with a laugh... "Wild! You're so wild, Jaxon!"

Jaxon smiled, his heart spilling something bright and hot, suddenly filled to bursting with joy at the sight of her happiness.

"Well now you're wild and crazy too, and you're so fucking adorable and, so, so beautiful, baby," He leaned forward and drew her to him. He squeezed, picking her up so just her toes touched the floor and kissed her. His kiss was full of all of the joy pouring from his heart and into her.

Suddenly, his phone chirped and buzzed in his pocket and he reluctantly set her down again. He checked the message quickly, the little square of light illuminating the small space between them.

"Damn, that's Chase." He shoved his phone back in his pocket and grabbed her hand. "We've been missed. We better head back."

They double timed it to the employee restrooms, washed up and made their way back to the dance floor, slipping in from the same way they left. A few moments later, Chase barreled down on them.

"Where've you two been?" He asked suggestively, his brows waggling in their direction.

"None of your business," Jax responded cooly, pulling Rowan away and back into the throng of other dancers, losing himself in her rhythm once more.

The later the hour got, the more packed BB King's became and the more eyes witnessed Jaxon Trentwell dancing with lucky contest winner Rowan Winters. They were so wrapped up in each other in their own little stolen corner of the dance floor that only Chase and Rachel noticed the increase of patrons was disproportionate to the time of day.

"Jax!" Chase shouted over the music once he had muscled his way to them on the dance floor. Once he had Jax's attention, he continued. "I think it's time to go, man. Take a look around you. It's getting a little too hectic in here. I don't think they're here for the band, brother."

"You're right," Jax said, looking around. He was suddenly very aware of how many people surrounded him. Everyone was being respectful and not disrupting him, but he sensed it was only a matter of time before the fans who wouldn't respect his space arrived now that it seemed the word was out he was here.

"Good call, Chase," he said as he pulled Rowan off the dance floor and back to their corner table. He retrieved his navy sweater from the table and Rowan snagged her purse.

"We have got to git, guys. Let's move."

"But wait, don't we need to pay?" Rowan asked, reaching for her wallet and Jax pointed his finger at her.

"Don't even think about it, sweetheart. No." He said gently, but firmly.

"But, you bought snacks this morning," Rowan protested, pouting.

"What's happening, now?" Chase asked, intrigued.

"She's trying to pay for supper, or a part of it," Jax said, pulling cash from a well-worn leather bill fold.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Chase said, adding money from his wallet to the pile on the table.

"You're getting to pay!" Rowan protested. "What the hell, that's not fair."

"Oh, sweetheart, this is the South, it is more than fair. You are our guest and you do not pay. It would be so rude to even think of asking you especially if we have the ability to cover it. Now, if you became a regular and wanted to 'get the next time,' that'd be different. But this is your first time here, first time at BB King's, no. It's on us." Chase said resolutely and Rowan sat back.

"Give up, Rowan, these boys are more stubborn than mules heading to the gelding shed," Rachel said, and Rowan laughed.

"You know, that's a better excuse than 'ladies don't pay when escorted by a gentleman' that Ma at The General Store said to me this morning. I'll accept that. And next time, it's on me."

"Deal," Chase smiled, charmed by her resolution that there would be a next time.

The double stepping continued to the truck as Jax ushered everyone out the employee's entrance to the back alley. As they reached the truck, Rowan noticed the glint of light off glass from the front of the alleyway and she turned her head to hear a furious clicking sound.

"Jax, is that what you were talking about earlier?" Rowan tugged on his arm after he opened the door for her and pointed Jax toward the source of the noise. He squinted, making out a faint line of people with the glinting lens of a camera and he quickly, but gently ushered Rowan into the car and got in himself.

"You know, after almost three hours, I thought they would have gotten tired and left." Chase said.

"Yeah well... everyone's got to make a living I guess," Jax replied, putting the truck into gear and speeding off down the street.

"Living? My ass," Rachel snorted from the back seat. "They stalk you because they're assholes, pure and simple."

"Not all of them are. You can't judge them all just because of the one negative experience you had, Rach," Chase admonished.

"It wasn't just one, ok? They stalk us to the point that we can't even get in our cars and leave places unless we run some of them over. I've had a right scare a few times with Auntie Lisa when Jax wasn't even with us. No appreciation for personal space, no manners... And they shout antagonistic stuff at us all the time to get a rise out of Jax, like all that shit with Carmen last year -"

"Rach, give it a rest, will you please?" Jax said tersely, but Rachel was not to be deterred.

"All I'm saying is that decent people don't go snapping at other people and shouting obscenities at them so they can get a random picture of you scowling or flipping the bird. That's why I don't like them. If they just took our picture, that'd be one thing, but it's never just the picture. Now I'm done. Rant over."

"Wow..." Rowan began but Jax shook his head.

"Don't listen to her. She's making us sound like the snobs we so desperately do not want to become, which is hard to do living in LA. It's so easy to forget that most people are decent folks when you live out there among some not so decent folks on a daily basis." Chase said.

"Hey, no judgment here. I have never been stalked by people desperate to take my picture at any cost, so I have no opinion of them either way. I'm just glad you and Lisa were ok, Rachel. It sounds like you had a scary experience a time or two."

"Well thank you, Rowan, for your support. I like this one Jax, she's a keeper." Rachel said, leaning forward to pat Rowan on the shoulder then turned to glare at Chase "Unlike you. When are you going to stop letting this one come around?" She asked Jax, digging her elbow into Chase's ribs and making him yelp.

"If you don't need me any more," Chase squeaked out, "I'd like to be dropped off at my mom's please before Rachel digs her way to my spine."

Chapter Nine

"I guess I'm realizing how good it feels to be alive."

After dropping Chase and Rachel off at Chase's mom's place in Memphis right off Riverside Drive, Jax drove Rowan around to point out the historic sights on Beale Street as promised. Rowan was entranced by every landmark he pointed out, like the Memphis Rock n' Soule Museum at the intersection of BB King Avenue, or the "Father of the Blues" WC Handy Home and Museum, the Historical Daisy, and the WDIA Radio Station.

She asked in depth questions all along his little tour. He tried his best to be a proper tour guide and answer them all, and for the most part, he could, but mostly he reminisced with her. He shared stories of his first experiences visiting each spot, describing everything he'd seen.

He learned from her too when they passed the Withers Collection Museum and Gallery, The Lorraine Motel, the I AM A MAN Plaza, Clayborn Temple, and Mason Temple; all areas associated with The Civil Rights movement. He even parked at the Mason Temple, the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's final speech to listen to her expound on the beauty of "I've Been to the Mountaintop." He was awed by her reverence, her passion, listening intently as she quoted lines, radiating reverence for MLK's artistry with rhetoric and the written word.

To finish off his tour, they drove along the riverfront, heading just outside the city until reaching a semi-secluded spot he knew well at a small boat-dock along the Mississippi River. He parked, positioning the truck toward the horizon to watch the last traces of the sunset wink out over the water.

They watched in silence for a heartbeat or two, holding hands and soaking in the moment of near perfect peace. The sunset was beautiful, but he found her all the more breathtaking to watch. The falling light painted her hair in a shimmering mix of golds, and her green eyes seemed to radiate joy.

"It's so much bigger than I thought, the river," Rowan breathed in awe.

"I hear that a lot from people who didn't grow up here. This piece running along Memphis is about half a mile wide, or so. Right now I'd say it's wider because of all the rain we've gotten recently."

"It's just majestic, especially the way the light hits it. It's so beautiful," Rowan breathed reverently into the quiet space of the cab while her eyes roved over the landscape. They watched a few fishing boats head out into the twilight from the nearby dock, disrupting a pair of herons near the shoreline.

He watched them take flight, their bright white feathers reflecting the pink and orange hues of the sunset. She pointed them out, cooing over the colors. Jax squeezed her hand, rubbing his guitar-roughened fingertips over the delicate skin.

"They are beautiful," he breathed back, drinking in her face. "And so are you."

Rowan smiled at that and squeezed his hand back.

"Thank you for changing your plans to be with me a little longer," he added.

"Are you kidding? No thanks needed. Thank you for making it possible."

"I'm sorry we didn't park and get out at all of those places so you could have a proper look down Beale Street. You wouldn't be able to see much with me if we walked down the street holding hands."

"It's ok. Totally ok. This was just as good. Thank you for showing me around."

"So," he began after another serene stretch of sunset watching, "how are you feeling with everything?"

Rowan met his eyes, that bright light and energy reaching out to him from the green depths. A pleased smile playing about her lush lips.

"How thoughtful of you to ask, Jax. You know, I really think I'm doing ok with all of this, truthfully. I've said and done more with you than I have with anyone in almost a full year, but it isn't freaking me out like I thought it would. The opposite. Like I said, it's all just so... crazy. Wild and crazy. That's the only way I can think to describe it."

"All of it? I thought you were just talking about under the willow and the back room at BB King's."

"That was wild and crazy, but it's everything..." she turned away from the sunset to meet his eyes that hadn't left her face.

"Just being here with you and feeling..." she took a deep breath and looked away, falling quiet. He wondered why she stopped herself, but gave her the space she needed. If she wasn't ready to share, he wouldn't push her. She took a deep breath and laughed at herself, then met his eyes again.

"I'm a huge planner, Jax. None of this fits into my plans. I'm not saying that to complain, the opposite actually, but I'm not much of a risk taker."

"No?"

She shook her head and bit her lip. "I've been on a path, you know? Like, I knew what I wanted to do since I was five. I came home from kindergarten and told my mom I wanted to be the teacher instead of the student. And it's more than that.... My childhood was, shall we say, less than idyllic, but very typical? Let's say that, typical."

"How so?"

"I had a lot of responsibility early on as the oldest of three. I have two younger sisters and both of my parents have worked their whole lives. My dad was a career mechanic and owned a smog shop that was open till six five days a week.

"My mom was a Certified Nursing Assistant at a big hospital in the next town over. She worked night or swing shifts most of my childhood, so it was just the three of us a lot of the time from when I was about twelve. I made us dinner, did the dishes, helped them with homework, made sure they had baths, read bed time books..." she trailed off and then caught the look of concern on his face.

"I'm not complaining, far from it. I love my little sisters. They needed me, and I'm glad that I could be there for them. I would sacrifice a lot for them, and I did. I didn't have much of a social life all through middle and high school, true, but it was worth it to help my mom and dad raise my sisters. They were worth it." She ducked her head and laughed. "It seems so silly now, though."

"Why's that?" he leaned toward her, drawn subconsciously in the settling quiet, with the light pouring in and painting all the little pieces of her.

"I just..." she looked up and met his eyes again. "I guess I've realized how much of life I've missed, if that makes sense. You've been all over the world. Millions of people listen to your voice every single day. You literally change lives with your talent, just like Mica said. You're just... you're larger than life and I guess I'm realizing how good it feels to actually live."

Woah.

Jax drew in a breath that caught in his throat. He felt punched in the gut not only for her words but for the quality of her voice in the moment. The sincerity of it hung in the air around him, comforting and alluring at the same time. He felt the urge to reach out to her for the hundredth time again and pull her to him, beneath him. He settled instead for taking her fidgety hands with his own, holding her right with his left and stroking her palm. Those brilliant eyes dilated at his touch, and she sucked in a breath, rubbing the back of his hand.

"That uh..." he cleared his throat. "That is a huge compliment. Thank you."

She smiled and turned back to the sunset, playing with the loose skin of his knuckles, giving little circle massages with her finger tips.

"Do you feel like talking more about that, the reason why you haven't felt alive. Is it all just due to your sisters and the planner or does it have to do with that ex you mentioned on the phone last night?" Jax asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Then he silently cursed himself for doing so, because her eyes dimmed and she looked away.

"I will of course tell you anything you want to know, but it's..." she sighed and looked down at their clasped hands, taking the time she needed by turning his hand over and tracing the fine lines in his palm with the smooth rounded edge of one finger.

"You're right to guess that there's more to not feeling alive than an empty social calendar in high school and not following a plan I made for myself in kindergarten. You're spot on with the ex. How did you do that, by the way?"

"It just makes sense. You're not only gorgeous, you're fun and funny, talented, smart, and have this killer laugh that makes my stomach flip every time I hear it. It doesn't make sense why you would be single. Not in my experience."

Her mouth opened and she blushed. "Wow, thank you. You say the nicest things to me."

"It's just the truth," he traced the edge of her blush with his free hand and she ducked her head, the corner of her lips turning up pleasantly.

"Thank you." She looked back up, settled once more.

"The story with my ex though... It's really a simple story..." she began. "Boy meets girl, girl falls for boy, boy breaks girl's heart by being a cheating scum..." she laughed softly in a self-depreciating way.

"He was my high school sweetheart, you know? I fell in love with him at 16. He was my prom date, my date to grad night, we lost our virginities to each other... We even made it through freshman and sophomore year at the same junior college together. I gave him everything I had with total faith and trust for five years... Then he broke that trust in a big way." She took a deep breath and broke off, her chin trembling as the last words fell away.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." His voice was quiet, gentle. When she just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, he knew she didn't feel like continuing, so he gave her an out by shifting the focus his way.

"I understand completely how you're feeling, if it helps, not that it would, of course. But, uh, I've experienced the same thing myself." He offered, and squeezed her hand, bringing her eyes back to his.

"Oh yeah? Well that sucks."

Jax laughed. "Yeah, it does. We weren't together nearly as long as you and your ex, but it still sucks to be cheated on, to have your trust broken."

"I'm here to listen, too, if you feel like sharing," she added when he didn't continue.

"Why am I not surprised that you don't know who I'm talking about," he shook his head. It wasn't ironic. He really was not surprised by her lack of knowledge when it came to his personal life anymore, but it was still refreshing each time he was reminded that she wasn't that kind of fan.

"It wasn't my first girlfriend ever, but my first public one, the first other celebrity I dated. Brianna."

"The pop artist?"

"Yeah, we had both 'made it big,' I guess around the same time. We had been in the public eye for a couple of years, anyway. I had just turned 18, and being the youngest member of the group, that meant that my mom no longer had to be my shadow. I was free and on my own for the first time in my career, really. I met her through our record label and it was the same for her, freshly 18 and freshly free. It got super serious, super fast... declarations of love and all that. But hey, we were kids, what did we know about love, right?"

Rowan nodded in agreement, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. He paused to watch a boat float by. Despite the topic of their conversation, he couldn't help but be subsumed with peace.

"Anyway, it very publicly ended because of this guy. One of her back-up dancers released a story about fucking her in the middle of a set during her current tour. Kind of stalled her career for a bit and made my life a little living hell. Hounded by press night and day for a good three months. Probably trying to catch me in a mental breakdown or something."

"Oof," Rowan grunted in sympathy.

"Yep. Celebrity sucks sometimes."

They shared a quiet communal moment of commiseration before curiosity got the better of Jax, and he couldn't help but ask a follow-up question about her love life.

"So there hasn't been anyone since your ex until me?"

"Well," she glanced at him from under her lashes, "I didn't say that."

He laughed at the tone in her voice. "Oh really? Do tell."

"There was a moment there where I felt the urge to get revenge. I'm not saying that I let my slut flag fly, but close. I was so hurt and so angry that I tried to erase that hurt with petty, meaningless sex for a very short period of time when I first got into my university. Thankfully, I realized how empty it made me feel before any real damage occurred physically or emotionally. After a few random hook ups, I realized that I'm not cut out for casual sex."

"No?" he prompted, hoping for more.

"No. It's too emotionless to the point where I was feeling used. Not to mention that 'bro-sex' is just awful, bleh," she stuck out her tongue.

"What do you mean by that?" Jaxon laughed.

"I didn't have the money to attend a university right away. It's so much cheaper to get all your undergrad gen-ed done at a junior college and then transfer to a four-year university. There's no frat or sorority scene in any kind of significant way though, at a JC. Most of the fellow students at my JC were people I had graduated from high school with anyway, like my ex. All the people I had grown up with my whole life. It just felt like two more years of high school, really.

"So when I got to my university, it was the first time I even met a 'frat bro,' and wow." Rowan waggeled her brows and Jax chuckled. "The female hormones in me were not prepared. There I was, freshly single with a broken heart and these guys... all above average, right? They all go to the gym and tan and get all luscious-looking, like you." She winked at him and he smirked. "Don't worry, that's where the similarity ends, I promise."

"Ok," Jax laughed. "If you say so."

Rowan rolled her eyes. "Needless to say, going from constant sex with my ex to exactly nothing after the break up," she shook her head and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"It was incredibly easy for them to get me into bed. Once there, though..." she pulled a face and Jax laughed. "It was terrible. I never orgasmed with any of them. None of them even took the time to ask if I did, or even tried to get me off. I was just a receptacle for sperm. They didn't care about me."

"I can't even begin to imagine that, anyone not caring about you."

"Thank you," she squeezed her hand, her voice small in the quiet cab. "It was an eye-opening experience, that's for sure. I realized that my own sense of self-worth wouldn't allow me to take that kind of shit from the casual hookup 'bros' anymore.

"I know it's a bit prejudiced to lump them all together like that. I'm sure there are some very nice frat boys out there who take their time with their chosen girl of the night, but I guess it was just my luck that I never happened to meet any of them in my short foray into their world."

"I can see why that experience would be so frustrating. You're right to feel that way though. It's bullshit that they didn't take the time to make sure you were satisfied too. That was completely selfish. No woman deserves to be used like that."

"Wow... where did you come from?" she breathed, her heart in her eyes.

"Huh?" He asked with a little crooked smile.

"The way you talk about women, the way you treat me? It's so wonderfully refreshing, is all. I'm definitely not used to it."

"That makes me really sad to hear. You're a very passionate woman, Rowan. I know we just met, but I can tell that you give your whole self to every situation. To the conversations you have, to each kiss, every laugh... you don't hold back and I imagine that it can feel less than gratifying if your partner doesn't do the same."

"Huh..." she smiled, that light dawning once more in her eyes. "I never thought of it that way, but I think you're right. I wonder if that's why we click so well? You give over all of your little pieces too."

"I am a passionate person, yes, but there's something about you which doesn't allow me to hold back those pieces like I usually do. Woah, see, like that. That's not something I would usually ever willingly offer, but I can't help but spill my guts to you," Jax said, his heart in his throat.

"Thank you for trusting me with those pieces. I won't break any of them. I promise," she said quietly, seriously, meeting his eyes. He kissed her hair, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion that threatened to break through and choke him.

"And you?" she asked. "How are you feeling?"

"More than okay," he smiled, "surprisingly."

"'Surprisingly'? Is that a good surprise or..."

"A good surprise. We've talked about it before, but I don't usually interact with fans on a regular basis. My last several girlfriends, hookups... what have you, were all people from my world, the world of celebrity."

"Why is that?"

"For one, like you, I learned the hard way that casual sex with fans is not all that satisfying and rewarding." He paused as the memories washed over him, trying to pick the right ones out to share. Rowan, ever perceptive, gave him an easy out.

"It's ok if you don't want to go into details. I don't need to hear about any of the orgies you've had on the road," she teased.

"Ha, you're giving me way too much credit, there," he laughed. "Nothing like that. I was in a group with four other guys, remember? Not a whole lot of room on a bus for orgies, and I was too young for a lot of my In-Time career for that to happen. Hard to chase tail when your mom is on the top bunk."

Rowan laughed, her eyes sparkling. "I bet. So no orgies, I can accept that, but no groupies?"

"Well..." Jax hedged, "not necessarily. When I turned 18 and was set free of parental influence, I fell into that insta-relationship, right, with Brianna. After she cheated on me in a very public way, I may have taken advantage of all the women throwing themselves at me a time or two. It's hard not to notice when grown women flash their tits at you on stage or press their bared breasts up against the side of our tour buses."

"No way!" Rowan gasped.

"All the time. And it's not just that. Once we had 'made it big,' right, we practically needed a snow shovel to remove all of the bras and panties thrown on stage with women's names and phone numbers written in them."

"That's wild!" Rowan laughed and he chuckled along with her.

Outside, the light was fading as the sun sank steadily lower. More night fishermen were using the dock now. The sounds of splashing as the boats launched added to the little magical bubble of comfort and peace Jax found himself in.

"But how did they reach you?" Rowan continued after the laughter had subsided. "Like..." she shook her head. "I can't even imagine being brave enough to throw my bra or panties on stage. How did those fans get to you after the show?"

"You gotta remember that I was the youngest. The four older guys in the band knew all the ins and outs of groupie sex long before I was old enough to even think about it."

They squinted as a truck's headlights swept into the cab as it left the dock. Jax raised his hand to shield Rowan's eyes and she gave him an appreciative smile, then reclaimed it and brought it back to her lap.

"Go on," she prompted, and Jax laughed. "What? This was just getting interesting."

"Ok," he smiled. "So we had roadies, right? The guys who set up and took down for us. If a fan caught the eye of one of the guys, it was easy enough to point her out to one of the roadies who'd pack her up and drop her off at the hotel, when we stayed at hotels. And there really wasn't any time for that early in our career anyway, packed on a bus like we were. Not nice ones like I have now. There was hardly room enough to stretch out and sleep with five guys and my mom on those early tour buses. Besides, all we did on the bus between shows was sleep. Those early days of touring were freaking exhausting as hell."

"I bet. But you did do that though? Had a roadie pick up a girl that caught your eye from the crowd and drop her off at your hotel?" She gave him a sideways glance and then turned back to the activity on the water.

"I mean... yes. From time to time." He said haltingly, feeling a little self-conscious. He scrubbed his free hand over his short hair and returned her side-ways look. She was still smiling that small smile, waiting.

"Well, ok. Honestly, a lot of the time, actually, after Brianna until I was about 20," he stumbled, "so for a two year period there I had... quite a lot of groupie experience." She gave him a crooked little smile.

"Hey, you try being free from your mother for the first time in five years and freshly single. Tits flashed at you left and right..." he tried hard to keep his self-consciousness from his voice, but he wasn't as successful as he'd hoped, because Rowan nudged his shoulder with her own, then kissed his hand.

"I'm kidding! What kind of hypocrite would I have to be to flash my tits at you and then be mad that other girls were doing the same thing. You are irresistible. I don't blame them one bit, nor do I blame you one bit for giving in to your teenage hormones. You are too easy to tease."

"Well..." Jax sighed and then laughed at himself. "It's not easy being raised the way I was to accept that I gave in to those hormones so regularly. I was raised to respect women and that's kind of the opposite."

"How so?" Rowan asked, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. He squeezed back, feeling less judged and more inclined to share. This was something that he hadn't really ever talked about with anyone before, not even Chase, much less Carmen.

"Sleeping with a new girl every night, town to town, place to place... Not only did it begin to feel disrespectful, the novelty wore off real quick. I started to feel guilty that I couldn't remember some of their names and it became kind of unsatisfying. There was no connection, like you said. It was more just scratching the horniness itch after a while and less about connecting with who they were as people. Not that I ever got a chance to see who they were as people."

"What do you mean by that?" She curled an eyebrow curiously.

"They were groupies, fans, hard-core fans, Danni-type fans. Not fans like you. I was a notch on their bed post. The only personality they had was adoration. Everything was praise, everything was 'yes, yes, please, please, I love you' when they didn't. There were some that were more whole, more people like, but generally, each one was star-struck too much to reveal their personality. It got to the point where it felt just like masturbation rather than sex with a partner."

"Oh my goodness," her eyes grew wide. "That would definitely get old quick."

"Exactly," he paused to watch a boat drift by, lights all ablaze now that the sun was very nearly set and true dusk had crept in.

It was beautiful out here near the water. Water birds coming in to roost among the reeds, the sound of waves hitting the shore as the boats passed by out for night fishing mixed with occasional laughter from the decks or from the people off loading the boats at the dock. It was all around a good atmosphere for a confessional frame of mind.

"So I guess groupies and 'bros' are kind of the same thing, casual personality-less sex," she mused.

"I guess so, which is why after my groupie stint I made it a rule to not go down that road anymore. I've really only dated women from my world, other celebrities." At her expression, he continued lest he sound like the complete snob he probably was.

"It's just easier, I think, because we tend to have the same demands on our time, the same schedules and the same experiences that make it easier to connect, I guess. I met my last girlfriend at a VMA after party."

"I see, so it's easier to meet and interact with celebrities because they are part of your everyday life."

"Exactly. I haven't had the opportunity to really spend time with someone from the real world in a non celebrity/fan dynamic since I was a kid, before all this fame."

"None? Whatsoever? What about when you come out here?" Rowan asked. "The way people treat you out here seems like it would be easier to meet a regular person and get to know them intimately without it exploding all over the media."

"When I was younger and I'd come home for extended periods between tours, yes, that is true. I've had a few hookups with girls from my hometown. With my schedule, though, it would never last and it was always casual. You're the first fan that I've done anything with since I was twenty.

"Really?" Rowan was surprised. "That's interesting and more than a little flattering that you'd bend the rules for me."

"You're worth it, worth the risk. And it's so easy to want you, to talk to you, I've never met anyone like you" he breathed her way.

"What do you mean?"

"You're so... real, I guess. In all meanings of the word. There's so much about you which brings me down to earth."

"Oh my god," she blushed again. "That's actually a really lovely compliment." Rowan smiled that bright smile which spilled into her eyes and all over him. "I'm going to miss all your copious compliments you pour all over me. They do wonders for the ego."

Jax started to reply then found he couldn't speak. There it was, the reminder she was about to leave, rendering all her loveliness he couldn't help but praise completely inaccessible for at least three months.

Instead of speaking, he cleared his throat and tried to let the feeling go. He couldn't stop it from coming, her leaving, his leaving. Why focus on that when he could use the time he had to study her, learn all about her, listen to her sweet voice spill her heart's contents out into the air while he spilled them right alongside her.

They fell silent again, lulled by each other's heartfelt confessions and the peaceful scenery. The flurry of boats departing from shore had died down and stalled until it felt like it was just the two of them, floating in space. Rowan began to study the stars that were just beginning to show, leaning forward in her seat.

"Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight," she began in a little sing-song, whispery voice.

"What's that?"

"Just a little nursery rhyme my mother always said. You heard of it?"

He nodded his head and she continued, "I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight. Make a wish Jaxon," Rowan closed her eyes, made a wish under her breath and then looked at him with a small smile. Her voice was sweet and beguiling. Her eyes, catching the light of the freshly risen moon, were luminous, and pulled him in.

"I don't need to make a wish," he said softly, his voice deep and full. "I've got everything I want right here."

Her eyes grew round at that and her chin trembled. He crossed the distance between them and pulled her face to his for a lingering kiss.

Her lips were soft and fragrant, smelling of his own body which heated his blood all over again. He supposed he should be surprised by that, that he wanted her so soon after already having those lips wrapped around his hard dick just over an hour ago. He was sure she must smell and taste herself on his lips as well, but it seemed she minded about as much as he did because she leaned into the kiss. She tilted her face to pull him deeper and whimpered against his mouth.

It was difficult to get the angle he wanted in the front seat of the cab, but he angled his torso enough to half cover her along the bench seat, pressing his right pectoral into her left breast. He nearly groaned as that lush globe shook and shivered against him.

He slid his right hand up under her soft, blonde hair and gripped the nape of her neck, feeling the little beating pulse just below her jaw line with the rough pad of his thumb. Her pulse felt quick as she breathed into his mouth. He marveled at her readiness, her easy response to his simple touch, detecting no artifice, no performance, just need.

That need spelled him, sparked his own, but he pushed his desire aside, intent on absorbing this moment and committing it to memory. He wanted to make her happy by giving her more of what she had missed with all those other guys, and plant himself in her memory too.

She gripped the front of his dark gray T Shirt to pull him closer, her fingers trembling. His grip on her neck tightened and she whimpered again, pulling at his tongue. With the back of his free hand, he stroked the tops of her breasts before turning his hand over to palm her right breast. He slipped his hand beneath the V of her top and captured the peak between his first two fingers, rolling it back and forth while he massaged her flesh with his thumb.

She gasped into his mouth, her nipple puckering and beading beneath his ministrations. He pinched the hard little tip once more before pulling back, drawing his hand over the subtle roundness of her stomach, down to her hips.

Oh god how he wanted this girl, this sweet, bright, and beautiful girl. He just had his cock in her mouth after her pussy dripped down his chin, but that didn't diminish his want, his need for her one bit.

"Do you know how beautiful you are to me, Rowan," he whispered, his voice thick, husky, full of desire. "You've seduced me, Rowan. I want you. I want you to feel good, I want to make you feel good, to cum again and again, and watch you as you do. Do you want to cum again, for me baby?"

Her eyes dilated, nostrils flaring, she nodded her head, her mouth formed the word 'yes' but didn't make a sound.

Watching her face, he palmed her taut thighs, digging his thumb into the tender muscle just inside the juncture of her hip. She tilted her hips and spread her legs to give him better access and he dropped his hand to cup her heat. She whimpered again and rolled her hips against the flat of his palm. She felt so plump and hot in her tight jeans. An image of her fat peachy mound he could feel so deftly beneath his hand flashed before his inner eye, recalling her beautiful pussy in stunning detail. She rocked wantonly against the heel of his hand and his cock pulsed in response.

He tugged at the button on the waistband of her jeans until it popped free, easing the zipper down far enough so that he could slip his long fingers beneath her panties. At his first touch, her folds were damp, giving evidence of how much she was enjoying his attention.

He felt lower, parting her folds, and running his middle finger along her seam until he found the little well-spring, circling her opening as best he could beneath her tight pants. His own pants grew uncomfortably tight around him as he continued to fondle her hot little pussy.

She lifted her hips and slid her pants down lower to expose more of her mound to his questing fingers. He teased her folds fully then, slipping and sliding along their wet, plump lines until he thumbed her hard little clit. She buckled against his hand with a whimper.

"Yes, yes, please, Jax, put your fingers in me. I want you in me," she purred.

"Damn," he cursed, his cock hard and needy.

She gasped as he slipped his middle finger past her slick folds. Instant searing heat greeted his questing finger. He dipped in and out, testing her tightness, her readyness. She was open and willing, hungry for more, spreading her legs as far as possible with her jeans pulled across her thighs.

He sunk the two middle fingers of his right hand between those plush folds, reaching for that sweet spot inside. God, she was so responsive, her hips thrust forward in time with his pumping fingers. She was completely lost to sensation, to passion, her head thrown back, eyes closed, mouth open as he finger fucked her. He added the pressure of his thumb to her clit and within minutes, she was clenching his fingers tightly, in rhythmic bursts, drenching his hand in the process.

"Oh, oh!" She cried, almost in surprise, and her eyes snapped open, hips arching off the seat, just awash in pleasure.

He felt on the verge of orgasm himself, watching her, even though he hadn't touched himself once. She was so fucking sexy. He wanted her so, so much. He had yet to feel the core of her surrounding him, hadn't watched that beautiful expressive face melt into pleasure while his cock drove her to the edge and over it again and again.

He felt almost a primal need to see what she felt like, what she looked and sounded like. He pulled back to suggest they find a more secluded place and caught his breath. The light of the nearly full moon had turned her hair into a halo of platinum light, and her emerald eyes were half-lidded, full of ecstacy.

"You are so beautiful, I just can't stop saying that because it's so true." He stroked his thumb along her jaw and she blinked, coming back to herself. "I mean it, just... I can't help myself. I love watching you cum."

He suddenly felt overwhelmed, as if he needed to confess the motivation, the reason for his depravity. Here he was, pawing her in the front seat of his truck on public property where anyone could see, just like a teenager copping a feel for the first time. The moon was now bright enough that anyone with a good telephoto lens could capture this look on her face, this very private, provocative look that had his cock so hard in his pants.

Rowan shook herself free from the cobwebs of her orgasm, squeezing her thighs back together and trapping Jaxon's large hand between them. He chuckled and squeezed her mound back, making her gasp before he pulled his hand away so she could pull up her pants. She slapped his chest lightly and then stroked his face.

"You don't have to help yourself, Jax. If I didn't want you to kiss me, touch me, I would tell you to stop. You're so beautiful to me too, inside and out." She kissed him again, softly this time and reached for his crotch, feeling the hard length of him. He stilled her hand with his own.

"You don't want me to touch you?

"Oh I want you to, I always want you to, but only if its something you want. I never want you to do something you don't want just to 'get me off' or whatever. Remember, I'm not a 'bro.'" He smiled and she dipped her eyes to his still hard crotch.

"That is never a problem. I love touching you, too, watching you cum."

Jaxon sucked in his breath as her husky whisper sent chills down his spine and straight towards his cock.

"I'm very glad to hear that, and I can tell that it wouldn't be an imposition on your part, trust me. But, I'm happy just making you happy right now. Watching you, feeling you," he leaned in and inhaled, "smelling you... That's enough for me at the moment. Besides, what I want to do... Well, we don't have room to do properly. I'm forever fondling you in inappropriate places."

"And I believe you even more now, you know, that you slept your way through your tours with groupies." she teased.

"Oh really? Why's that?"

"You are insanely skilled. I've, well..... I've never come from someone else's fingers before. You know how to do everything so..." She exhaled and laughed. "You're extremely talented at so many things including making me come."

"That's really sad to hear. I don't think it comes from my experience so much as my desire to make you feel good. It takes patience and attention more than skill, in my experience. It doesn't hurt that we seem to have this connection too. I imagine it makes things just as intense for you as it does me."

"Yes, absolutely. So, so intense. All of you... complete sensory overload for me in the best way possible. When you touch me, talk to me all low and yummy like that, it's hard to think in complete sentences."

"I'm so happy to hear that baby, I feel the same way." He leaned forward and kissed her, softly, sweetly. Not enough to pull either of them back under, but enough to let her know how special she and this moment was to him.

The phone in Rowan's purse rang, ending their gentle kiss, and Jaxon smiled when he heard his own voice singing out in her ringtone. She blushed then shrugged at the look on his face.

"Well, what do you expect? I'm a fan after all," she giggled as she pulled the phone from her little purse's front pocket. "It's my friend Diana," she said.

"Answer it please, I'd like to thank her, if that's ok?"

Rowan answered, cutting off the song.

"Hello," she said, listening to the other end for a few seconds. "I'm sorry I didn't call you. My flight was postponed until tomorrow morning. I'll be home around noon if you're able to pick me up at the airport, that would be amazing." Rowan listened to her friends response for a moment, then smiled.

"Great! Thank you. But hey, I've got someone here who would like to speak with you, mind if I put you on speaker?" she nodded to herself as she listened to the reply then touched the button to open up the call.

"You're on speaker now. Diana, say hi to Jaxon, Jaxon, say hi to Diana."

A scream erupted from the phone in her hand. "Ohmigod, ohmigod, Jaxon?! HI!, oh wow, hi!"

Jax laughed deep and rich, "Hi Diana. I've been wanting to talk to you. I'm glad you called."

"No shit!? Oh, I'm sorry, what in the ever-loving hell, Ro-Ro, don't just spring Jaxon Trentwell on me like that!"

"Oh, like how you didn't spring this MTV stuff on me right? Turnabout and all that Di, now shut up and let the man talk, please," Rowan giggled.

"Ok, ok, ok... Just breathe girl, just breathe" a long breath sounded through the phone as Diana talked herself into calming down. "Ok. I'm better now. So, Mr. Trentwell, may I say how very nice it is to hear from you."

Jax shared a smile with Rowan. "Well thank you. It's nice to hear from you too. I've been wanting to thank you for sending in Rowan's video clips. She was and is a very welcome surprise. Thank you for being the catalyst of our meeting."

"I don't even know what to say to that, how about 'you're welcome'? Yes, let's go with that," Diana rambled on the other end of the line. "You're welcome to my best friend."

"Di!" Rowan scolded.

"I didn't mean it like that! Well, maybe a little, but I meant you're welcome for what I did to help you get to my best friend. Was that better?"

"Barely," Rowan scolded again, rolling her eyes and Jax shook his head.

"I am curious though," he started, "why didn't you submit yourself for this contest too?"

"Oh I did," Diana scoffed. "I just wasn't picked for whatever reason. And, by the way, you've just confirmed that the things sent to you don't actually reach you."

"Oh hush, Di, don't be rude," Rowan said aloud then mouthed "I'm so sorry," to Jax who mouthed back "It's ok" and then winked.

"Can you blame me for not watching over fifty thousand videos or something like that? So sorry to crush your hopes and dreams, there Diana," Jax teased back, laughing at the huff of indignation Diana breathed into the phone before she broke into laughter herself.

"I know, I know. I'm just teasing. You sound like you can hold your own over there, Mr. Trentwell."

"Call me Jax, please."

"I'd love to. There is so much I'd love to talk with you about, so much to ask you, but for some reason I can't think of a single thing. Thank you for picking Ro-Ro. I called because the announcement just aired on TRL and I hadn't heard from her all day, so I had to check in."

"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about that," Rowan said.

"Yeah, me too actually. Oops. I meant to watch that. I hope someone on my team did."

"You two FORGOT to watch it? I see. Very Interesting," Diana intoned and Jax shared a little secret smile with Rowan.

"Well... it got... we were busy," Rowan finished lamely.

"I gathered that. Doing what, hmmm?" Diana's tone didn't lessen its suspicion..

"None of your beeswax," Rowan tittered.

"All right, keep those secrets then, Ro-Ro," Diana gave in. "Did you share your poem with him yet?" Diana asked and Rowan jumped.

"What's that?" Jax asked, instantly curious and somewhat cautious. Did Rowan come with an agenda?

"It's nothing, just this silly poem I wrote in response to your song 'Come Around.' I had zero intention of even bringing it up." Rowan glared at the phone, her face pinking.

"It's not silly," Diana said indignantly. "It's beautiful and a lovely tribute. Jax, she was trying to think of a way to let you know what your music meant to her if you two didn't actually get to talk. We had no idea what it was going to be like when she got there, so I told her to bring a copy of that poem along with her and like, slip it to you somehow as a thank you. It's a great piece of work and a sweet way to say thank you without being too gushy. The poem was even nominated by her professor to be presented at the Spring Fine Arts Symposium. She didn't even want to bring it, but I made her."

"Nice," Jax was instantly intrigued. "Ok, now I have to see it."

"Yay!" Diana enthused, "you'll love it."

"I didn't bring it with me."

"I put it in your carry-on bag," Diana said immediately.

"I know, I saw it and took it back out. I left it on the counter in my apartment."

"Which is why I took a picture of it for just such emergencies. One sec," the sound of tapping could be heard and then the phone lit up in Rowan's hand with the incoming message. "And now you have it again."

"Di, please stop doing this kind of stuff," Rowan said with a touch of resignation and exasperation at her friend's continual interference in her life.

"What? Prompting you, supporting you, loving you unconditionally? I am hurt, truly hurt that you would reject such kindness."

"Oh shut up," Rowan said and Jaxon laughed listening to the two. They sounded a lot like Chase and himself, always egging each other on, but at the end of the day, they had a bond that could not be broken. Something more like siblings than best friends.

"Fine, it's up to you. I can't make you read it, but I could read it to him," Diana drew a breath, but before she could get a line out Rowan stopped her.

"No, no, stop. I'll read it if it means that much to you both. Now will you stop being a pain, please?"

"Ok, I'll let you two go, but Ro-Ro, you call me the minute you get home please, and I'll pick you up. I love you."

"Love you too, Di,"

"Bye, Jaxon. It was so good to hear your voice!"

"That goes the same for me," Jax said, and it was true. She seemed like a firecracker, that one, just full of verve and vivacity.

Rowan hung up the phone and fell still and silent, chewing her lip in that delicious way she had. Jax decided to take pity on her.

"You know, you don't have to read it to me if you don't want to, if you feel too vulnerable. I get that feeling frequently whenever I share a song that's super personal with someone for the first time. Some of my songs never see the light of day. They are just for me, like my diary. So, if it's like that for you, you don't have to read it," he offered. Jax took her hand and squeezed it, that odd swelling of emotion back in his throat.

"It's not about that for me though. I have no hesitation being just as truthful and vulnerable as you are with your music. I trust you. I just feel so inadequate compared to your ability with verse."

That was not what Jax was expecting. She was hesitant to share because she thought he was a better writer than her?

"Hey, no judgment here. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you that writing is a process. No first draft or even tenth draft is as good as we think it could be. Most of my works spend months going through edits and are almost unrecognizable by the time the world hears it. So even if it's raw, I'd still like to hear it, if you're willing to share."

"Ok," Rowan took a deep breath and opened the message Diana sent. She took a breath and began:

"Plucked strings, strong and true,

Are the first to greet the ear,

Then syncopated beats meet

A cymbalist hiss, subtle yet clear.

Next, with a plink of keys

A smooth melody emerges

Made more complete by the

Talented, velvet-throat which surges

Bursting into an insightful chorus,

Each skillfully voiced note

Brings an image into focus

Leaving me consumed with feeling

Two verses describe the story

With a refrain in-between

What's given is taken back

Karma subsumed with meaning"

Rowan finished and immediately started chewing on her lip. Jax captured her chin with his thumb to save her lip from being bitten in two.

"Holy shit, that was beautiful." With his heart in his throat, he leaned forward and kissed that bitten lip, drinking her in.

"Thank you," she said once he released her mouth.

"I could totally tell it was about 'Come Around.' I could almost hear the start of the song with the way you described it."

"It is one of my favorite songs you've ever written. I love every part of it." Her eyes were speaking volumes, demure in her humility.

"It was just wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing that with me." He was the one who felt consumed with feeling now. Who was this girl? He'd spent just about 12 hours total in her presence since he met her, but it felt like he was discovering more about her than he had his last girlfriend of two years.

Rowan had such depth, such soul, and set it right on the surface. There was no artifice or pretension - she gave of herself so freely. When she liked something, she shared her joy, when she wanted him, she told him so, and showed him. Even now, when he begged for another piece of her psyche, her poem, she gave it to him, peeling back that layer and revealing all that lay underneath with an impressive humility. People with talent like hers in his world weren't shy about sharing it in whatever form it manifested. He was awed by her, shocked by her, and knew he was falling and falling deep.

He was saved from examining that stark realization further when Rowan squirmed in her seat.

"I hate to miss any more of these stars, but if it is at all possible, I do need to make one pit stop before we head back to your mom's house. All the drinks I had tonight are ready to make an encore."

Jax laughed. "I got you, hold on." Jaxon quickly texted a friend on his phone. If he was lucky, he just might satisfy two birds with one stone; find a place for her to use the restroom, and finally satisfy the ache his most recent encounter with her delicious pussy had inspired. He started the truck, then flipped around and sped away from the water, down Riverside Drive and back into the heart of Memphis.