loved by you // j.b

thirty-four

☆ thirty-four: mistakes aren't always a bad thing ☆
word count: 1317

My lips were parted in shock as I stared down at my phone. So many thoughts were circulating through my mind, but no words were coming out of my mouth. I just stood there, reading comment after comment on the post of Justin and I kissing.

  We had been careful up until last night. Although we had never discussed what we were, we had tried our best not to show any physical affection in public that could be misinterpreted by the media. Of course people are bound to speculate, but we practically laid this out on a silver platter for them.

  We were living in the moment with one another; carefree. We weren't being mindful that anywhere we go, someone is always watching. Luckily for us, the picture was snapped quickly and secretively. The quality was blurry. Luckily, there weren't any distinguishing features that proved it was us.

I bit my lip between my teeth as I unknowingly paced back and forth. As much as I shouldn't care about the negative things people have to say about me on the internet, some of these were bothering me.

Justin is so out of her league, there's no way this is real... She'll never be Selena... Bet she's only in it for more fame and money... I knew it! They're always hanging out... You can't even tell if that's really them, the quality sucks!..

"Hey," Justin spoke, breaking my attention from my phone, "Don't go there." He approached me from behind, turning my body around to face him. "Go where?" I asked.

"Into that headspace... Reading the comments," he said gently as his hands caressed my shoulders and arms. Instead of responding, I looked to my feet. His hand traveled to lift my chin up to look at him, "Rylee."

I reluctantly looked up at him with the smallest hint of tears brimming my eyes. Justin had never seen me cry, and I damn sure didn't want him to now. Before either of us could speak, he ran his thumb against my cheek and planted his lips to mine.

Suddenly, all of my worries floated away. His kiss was like a drug, completely distracting me from anything other than euphoria. He pulled away, gently resting his forehead on mine. "We'll figure this out," he whispered. I nodded against him, closing my eyes and inhaling deep.

Interrupting our moment, and possibly coming to the rescue, Scooter rang Justin's phone. "Hey," he spoke, walking away to get some privacy as they talked.

I tucked my hair behind my ears and decided breakfast might be a temporary solution. Leaving Justin upstairs to find an answer with Scooter, I walked downstairs to be met with Grace in the kitchen. She didn't say anything, just showed me a sympathetic smile.

  "Wanna talk about it?" she said in almost a whisper. I shook my head, attempting to shake the reality out of my mind. "Actually, I think breakfast is all I need right now," I spoke as I opened the refrigerator door to examine what all we had.

  "I can get behind that!" she gleamed, slapping her hands on the counter. Twenty minutes of preparing eggs, bacon, small waffles, fruit, and avocado toast flew by and a breakfast feast laid in front of us. Almost as if on cue, footsteps stomped down the stairs and Justin entered.

He took a long inhale, closing his eyes dramatically as he approached the kitchen island with the feast of food. "This smells so delicious," he sighed as he plated what he desired.

"Rylee figured breakfast would help a little," Grace smiled, tearing a piece of bacon with her teeth. I looked up at Justin with the question I wanted to ask nearly burning me alive. He placed a kiss on my forehead as if to tell me everything would be okay.

While I was hoping breakfast would lighten the mood, it was easy to tell the tension was thick. My nerves were so all over the place, I could only pick around at my plate. Grace finished rather quickly and excused herself, knowing there was a conversation between Justin and I that needed to be had.

As she disappeared up the staircase, Justin and I immediately looked at one another. "What did Scooter say?" I squeaked out, so nervous that my hands were beginning to tremble. Seeming as if he was nervous himself, he took a deep inhale.

  He turned his body towards me and grabbed my hands. "So, there's two options we have here," he started, "We can ignore the rumors and continue on like it never happened, or we can confirm that it's us and let the world know."

  I gulped. Don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than to shout from the rooftops that I'm in love with this man... But is that what he wants? I closed my eyes before looking back up to him, "What do you wanna do?"

  Instead of speaking, he turned to look away for a minute and I completely lost my appetite. I stood up, gathering my plate and began walking to the kitchen. Justin stood up in a hurry, rushing to my side as I placed the plate on the counter.

  "Babygirl," he whispered as he turned me to face him and caressed the tops of my arms, "I wanna be with you... All the time, every second of every hour. I think about you constantly, Rylee. I mean, I even see you in my dreams."

  I looked up at him, the slightest presence of tears lining my eyes. He cupped my face, placing a single kiss upon my lips. "I want to be with you, but are you ready for that?" he asked as he swiped my cheek with his thumb.

  Puzzled, I looked at him with furrowed brows. "I saw the way those comments were affecting you earlier... People are going to say things. Some will be supportive, and some are going to be hateful. I would give anything if I could protect you from that hate, but it's inevitable. Honestly, I want nothing more than to show the world how much I lo-," Justin spoke, stopping abruptly once he realized what he almost confessed.

  My eyes widened a bit at the hint of the 'L word' on his tongue. He smiled, looking away from me while blushing a bit, "How much I care for you."

  "Justin," I whispered as I leaned my forehead against his, "I would endure all the hate in the world if it meant I got to be with you. I know people are gonna say things regardless, and I'm trying to learn how to deal with that... But I don't care. I'm tired of hiding how much I lo-."

  A smirk grew on my face as I pulled back so he could see me playfully picking at him, "How much I care for you."

  A cheeky smile spread across his face as he pulled me into him and planted his lips to mine. His arms wrapped around me, holding me to his chest as if to represent that I was his and no one else's. Our lips moved with such synchronicity that it was a magical feeling.

  He pulled away, smiling widely as his hands cupped my face again. "Just to clarify, you're mine?" Justin smiled. Unable to keep a straight face, I turned to look to the side. "I thought I already was, but it's good to put a label on it," I giggled.

☆ author's note ☆
— hey everyone! long time, no update lol. i apologize for leaving you all on a limb here, but i have finally broke the writer's block. i hope you enjoyed this chapter! i hope you all had a safe new years and a good start to 2024! anyways, more to come <3