Tryst - Forbidden Hearts Series

23| JJ, Jay, & Jackson

Ring-ring-ring

Ring-ring-ring

I groaned as I turned over in my bed. What the fuck. . . I knew who it was without even answering. I got London very early this morning and I just wanted to fucking sleep. I knew I should have called Ryan, or at least emailed him to let him know I was here, but I literally fell into the bed and passed out.

I reached for the hotel phone and laid back against the pillows. "Ry, I'm sorry I didn't call you, but--"

"Guess again, JJ."

I frowned. There were only one female with a voice like that -- and only one female who called me JJ. And Ryan called me Jay. "Aunt Gwen? How did you--"

"You think you can just pop back in London and not give me a shout? You should be ashamed of yourself Jackson Reese."

I ran my hand over my face. What. The. Fuck. Was happening? "Yeah, I -- uh, I'm sorry. I just got here early this morning. How exactly did you find out that I was here?"

I had a pretty good idea, but I was too jet-lagged to put two and two together. For one, I didn't sleep at all on the plane ride over here. I couldn't sleep. I sat in my cramped seat and thought about everything that's happened over the past two years. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't worth it -- that nothing that's happened between Harper and I was worth the pain I was feeling.

But it was the opposite. Every kiss, every touch, and every 'I love you', was so fucking worth feeling like my heart was being ripped from my chest. Now I just needed to learn to live without her. I already knew there was no way to do that, so I simply realized what I already knew -- that I was pretty much screwed.

My aunt's chuckle came through the receiver, pulling me back from my thoughts. "Ryan called me to let me know after you stopped at his house yesterday. He was worried about you."

Goddammit, Ryan. "Did he tell you why I was here and what's been going on?" I really hoped my brother didn't run his mouth to my aunt. If anyone was going to talk about what happened with my personal life, it was going to be me.

"No, JJ," she answered softly. "He didn't. But he did tell me to keep an eye on you."

"Of course he did."

"Even if he didn't, I want to see you. I haven't seen you since. . ."

My chest tightened. I hadn't seen any of my extended family since my mother passed away. My Aunt Gwen was my mother's younger sister. They had been very close growing up. I couldn't count the number of times that I spent my afternoons at Gwen's after school while my mum was working. I actually looked forward to it.

"Yeah," I said, my voice rough with emotions. "I'd like to see you, too. It's been awhile. Do you want to meet me for dinner here? There's a restaurant in my hotel. Is eight o'clock okay?"

"That would be lovely, JJ. Eight's good. Oh, and I'm sorry that I woke you."

"It's alright," I chuckled. "I should probably get up anyway."

"Agreed. I'll see you soon, luv."

I hung up the phone and started at the ceiling of my hotel room. I was really here, wasn't I? In London? There was a whole ocean between me and Harper now. I missed her more than ever. When Gwen called me and woke me up, I had been dreaming about the night of the rehearsal dinner for Ryan and Harper.

I remembered spending the day groveling and trying to convince her that kissing that girl had meant nothing. It was the truth. I only did it because I was terrified about the feelings she awoke inside of me and I pushed her away. The she drove off in the rain. I went after her and we ended up in that little motel. She barely wanted anything to do with me.