Between You & Me || Luke & Jai Brooks

Chapter LII - Unconditional

I run straight into Jai's arms when I see him. It was a short flight to Melbourne, just over an hour, and the whole time all I could see was Jai's face. Real life is better though.

Feeling Jai's strong arms around me is like that time I picked him up from the airport 3 years ago all over again. Only Luke was there at the time and I ended up holding hands with them both at the same time. I almost laugh out loud at this. How ridiculous, that that ended up being my biggest problem.

But this time I'm not going to rush it, I'm not going to go too fast and fuck it up. Because Jai never seems to fuck it up with me, he's always there when I need him to protect me or just hold me. And now I need him to hold me and not let go.

*Jai pov*
Holding Meghan is like nothing I've ever dreamed of. Being able to hold her tight, kiss her head and not have to worry about Luke standing beside me watching over her. Being able to kiss her like I did in LA without having any conscience stopping me, because every part of her that belonged only to Luke could now belong to me. But I don't, because I'm taking it slow. Our proper first kiss will be as a couple, and because we both want to, not because I've just woken up and she was caught by surprise. No fuck ups this time.

Meghan's the first to pull away but she's beaming up at me and rises onto her toes to put her arms around my neck briefly and kiss my cheek. Automatically I feel my cheek flush and fuck I want her so badly and all she did was kiss my cheek.

I thought not being able to have her would make me want her more, but honestly I don't think I could ever want her less.

*Luke pov*
"Hey," Miranda's perfect fingernail taps my shoulder. "Are you awake?"

Am I awake? Did I get any sleep last night?

"Yeah." I say, yawning fakely. I'm not tired at all, despite being awake all night. I feel like shit, like the shittiest person ever. And it's taking all my strength not to turn and curse the woman next to me out. I turn to look at her now, and she smiles widely.

"Thanks for that, Luke. Last night was amazing."

I feel it coming, but the flashback hits me before I can stop it.

"Luke, last night you were amazing." She replies softly.

I smile again, and feel my eyes light up. I hook a strand of her hair around my finger and tuck it behind her ear, then travel my finger all the way down her jawline to tilt her head up.

I blink fiercely to remove the image of Meghan from my mind but it hovers there faintly in the background and my vision is tinted red. How could I fucking do this to her? Miranda's still there, waiting for my reply, and I force a smile. "Thanks." I say stiffly. "But I really have to go now. I was thinking of catching a flight up to Melbourne to stay with my mum for a while, before we're able to continue the tour."

She just nods. "Would you like me to fetch you breakfast?"

Fuck, no! "Nah, I'll be right, thanks. I'll let myself out." The smile is forced again but I work to make my tone reasonable, and she seems to be fine with it.

"Okay, babe. Door's right down the hall!"

"Thanks." I repeat, and almost sprint down the tiled hallway and out the door, pausing only to grab my clothes and then shut the door quietly. I check my watch on the way out, surprised to see that it's only 8. The sun's barely risen. I hop straight in my car and head back to our hotel, where I know Beau will be waiting with a million questions. Luckily, Jai left for Melbourne as soon as we found out we were stuck here. Jai would be like a nazi if he found out where I'd been. And so he should. Because I'm a fucking idiot.

*Meghan pov*
I wake up the morning after in Luke's bed. Weirdly enough, it doesn't feel weird. It feels kind of normal. In a weird way. Because normal is weird, in this situation. I feel nothing. It's like sleeping in a sibling's bed, or a friend's, because you're too tired to go home for the night. But it's Luke's bed, so shouldn't I feel something?

Weird.

But I get up like normal and yawn, laying against the creaky headrest. Funny to look around at this room and remember his old room that he shared with Jai. To remember the old life that we shared, before the Janoskians and any other drama. Outside I can hear footsteps on the floorboards and the clock is flashing 8:00, so I swing my legs out of bed and slowly stand up.

Like usual, I get a familiar head rush, then my hair catches my attention in the mirror. "Oh, fuck!" I laugh under my breath, desperately trying to smooth out the wild curls around my face. My fingers catch in the knots and each tug pulls out hair, making me wince. "Shit." I sigh, and grab my gown from behind my door, heading across the hall to the bathroom.

As my hand touches the bathroom door handle, I feel someone grab my waist, and Jai pulls me in for a tight hug, resting his cheek briefly on my head. My hands fly up to cover my face.

"God damn it, Jai!" I laugh. "Don't look at me!" He spins me a little, lifting my feet from the floor.

"You're so beautiful though!" He replies, bending down to level his face to mine, hands tugging on my own. His eyes are alight and he looks bright and cheerful for once, at 8 in the morning.

"No, oh my god. And why are you up so early, hoe?"

He laughs loudly and pulls my hands down to my sides. "I want to spend the day with you, gorgeous. I don't have forever with you!"

My mouth twists stubbornly. "You have as long as you like." I say, and watch Jai's expression sink a little, his eyes seeming to darken. His head shakes slowly.

"You and me both know that isn't true." He replies quietly. Then he seems to perk up, his eyes brightening again. "But I've got a good idea of what we can do tonight, anyway!"

Making a mental note to bring up this subject again later, I raise my eyebrows. "And that is...?"

"Soccer!" He says excitedly. "There's a game on tonight at AAMI, Victory vs the Sky Blues!" His eyes are locked intently on mine and I can tell he's satisfied by my level of interest.

"Oh, great! I haven't been to a soccer game in ages!"

He beams, and his smile reminds me of why I'm here. Unconditional love.