Helpless

Suspicious Minds

I had been hesitant to talk to Christi about my relationship with Jen. Christi was overprotective. Even more so now that I had gone through hell and back with my previous relationship. Christi was always intuitive, even from the beginning. Warning me that the last relationship was no good for me. I didn't listen to her until it was too late.

With Jen, I wanted to make sure I protected her from all the crap I had gone through in the last couple of years. I didn't want the press to follow her everywhere. To make shit up about her. Even though she was famous in her own right and was born into a privilege and famous family herself, I wanted to shelter her from any harm. And that included my own family.

To my surprise, Christi really liked Jen. They had gotten to know each other that evening and even grabbed dinner together. Without me. That wasn't fun. But I was glad that Christi approved of my relationship with her. She raved about Jen the way I raved about her. That put my mind and heart at ease.

The next day, I was getting ready to shoot the last scene of the day, when I got a call from Lily-Rose.

"Hi, baby," I smiled. I missed my baby girl. I was happy that she had her own career and that she was seemingly happy doing what she loved best.

"Hi, dad," she responded. "What are you up to?"

"I'm getting ready to shoot my last scene for the day," I responded, fixing my shirt.

"Oh, that's cool," Red alert. Something was up.

"Why? What's going on?" I asked.

"Okay, well I heard from a little bird that you're dating again. Is that true?"

Here we go.

"Ah, you talked to auntie Christi, didn't you?" I sighed.

"Yeah, just yesterday," she mumbled. "Where did you meet her? Is she another up-and-coming actress?"

That was my daughter. Even more so overprotective than Christi. Lily-Rose wanted the best for me. And anyone that I dated moving forward, was gonna be a red flag. Until she gave me her blessing. She wanted to know everything. And even when I was just casually dating, which hadn't been all that often, she took it upon herself to figure them all out.

"No," I chuckled. "She's not an actress. She's, our producer."

"As in movie producer?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Wait, dad," she cut me off. "Isn't your movie producer Jennifer Hernandez?"

"How do you know?" I frowned. "Did auntie Christi mention that to you?"

"No, she didn't," her tone completely changed. "Dad! Jennifer Hernandez?! As in Hamilton's Jennifer? As in Tick Tick.. Boom's Jennifer? Are you serious?!"

"Alright, honey," I responded, trying to remain calm. I was really confused now. "Wait a second. Yes, that's the one. Is that--?"

"Dad!" she almost shrieked. "I love her! How did you meet her? Was she single? Did you ask her out?"

"We worked together," I smiled. "Yeah, I asked her out. She was single and I liked her. And she liked me. Apparently, you like her more than I do."

"Oh my God," she laughed. "That's so cool! She's so dope. I love her work and I've been wanting to work with her. She's so smart. I can't believe you two are together! Daaaaad! That's so epic!"

"Well, I'm happy you approve," I laughed.

"Well, I still gotta meet her and get to know her to approve. But the fact that you two are dating. I can't wrap my head around it."

"I have a feeling you want to meet her because you're a fan and not because you want to see if she's good for me," I smiled.

"Well, that, too," she laughed. "That's awesome, Dad. I'm happy that you're happy. You look so relaxed. You needed this. A good woman."

"Thank you, baby," I smiled.

"Well, I gotta get going. I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," I smiled. "Talk to you later."

My heart was about to burst. Even my daughter approved of my relationship. It was no secret that Jen was popular in the film and Broadway industry. I hadn't met anyone that didn't love her or that admired her creativity. And her intelligence. I was ecstatic that everything was flowing along just fine. Finally.

I had been invited to one of Jeff Beck's gigs that he was holding here in LA. I couldn't wait to play with him in what I considered, my hometown. I invited Jen but she was unable to go because she wasn't feeling well. And she had to finish up some work for the film. I was bummed but I understood. I wanted her to get better so that she could fully immerse herself in our music and our atmosphere. I also knew that our film had deadlines we had to meet, business wise.

"I'm about to head out," I walked towards where Jen was sitting. I kneeled and cupped her face in my hands before my lips crashed into hers. "I'm gonna miss you." I whispered.

"You're gonna get sick," she giggled. "And then you're gonna blame me after I've warned you that I'm sick."

"I don't care," I said before kissing her again. There was no better feeling than kissing those full lips of hers. She was perfect. And she always left me wanting more. In every sense.

"I'll see you a little bit later," I smiled.

"Take care and have fun," she called out before turning to her laptop once more. My workaholic.

When I arrived at the Greek Theater, I made my way back to where Jeff and a couple of friends were waiting for me. It was good to see them all. I knew that the press was waiting outside and even inside. Ever since I had won the trial in Virginia, the press had been on my ass about nearly everything. If they were bad before, they were a nightmare now. But I wasn't going to let them ruin my night. So, I ignored them.

The crowd was fantastic. They really made me feel at home and made me feel loved. I sang and played my heart out for nearly two hours. I knew that the next time I played, Jen would be front and centered and I couldn't wait for her to see me playing. She had loved our new album and played my songs every chance she got. I was happy that I made her proud.

Once the show was over, we walked backstage where our friends and a couple of people were waiting for us to hang out and chat. Drinks were being served but I wasn't much of a drinker nowadays. I had no need to. My good friend and ex, Kate Moss, was there. It was always good to see her. We developed a wonderful friendship over the years, and we admired and supported each other wholeheartedly.

"You did great," she smiled. She gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"And you look happy," she smiled. "Very happy. I heard you have a girlfriend now?"

"Yeah, I do," I smiled. "She couldn't be here because she wasn't feeling all that well. And she had work that needed to be done. But she'll be here next time."

"Good," she smiled. "I cannot wait to meet her."

As the night winded down, I made my way home. Well, back to Jen's house. I was spending a lot of time there with her and I was rarely at home. I didn't want to leave Jen's side.

I made my way upstairs over to Jen's room where she was sitting down in bed reading a book.

"Hey, baby," I smiled. "I'm back."

"Hi, how was it?" she smiled back.

"It was so much fun," I sat next to her. "It was a fantastic show. I wish you could have been there."

"Me too," she smiled. "I wanted to ask you." she said trailing off as she grabbed her phone. "Can you explain this picture to me?"

I grabbed her phone, and my heart sank. It was a picture of me and Kate. Kissing. Even though I knew that it wasn't what it looked like. I couldn't deny the fact that the picture did not look good for me.

I looked up and saw Jen's eyes filled with tears.