"Just one more bite?" Jared waved the fork with the last piece of cheesecake in front of her, "Oh no, cheesecake for lunch and it's not even noon yet, if we keep going like this, a crane is gonna have to hoist me up to the ceiling, remember that little fat boy in Charlie and the chocolate factory?..I mean, you can just stick that piece of cheesecake straight on my ass, that's where it's gonna end up anyway" she leaned back with her hand on her stomach. "That's ok, I love your ass! Don't get me started on your ass, or I might just schlep you back to the hotel and have my wicked way with you there again, it's a healthy diet you know, sex morning, noon and night" he grinned and licked the piece of cheesecake seductively before he pushed it in his mouth. "Careful what you wish for, because if it keeps snowing like this, we just might be condamned to doing just that" she frowned as she looked out of the window where outside the snow was coming down heavily, the entire circus was travelling up north today, thank god they were working with two stages and two different crews, maybe she could suggest for Sean to be working on the first stage while she worked on the second, that would be such a relief. "Naahh, the show must go on, it always does" he still looked at the snow with those big, boyish blue eyes that perfectly reflected the icy blue outside, "have I told you how happy I am with what you have done to my show? I mean, you singlehandedly turned what started out as a disaster into a giant success, and what a success, did you see that crowd last night? It was absolutely mental!" the 10 year old boy went into full on modus. "Of course I was right there above you, remember? That was all you and Shannon who did it, your energy was through the roof, I loved seeing my man on stage and so did another couple of thousand girls along with me" she grinned "are they usually this..enthusiastic?". Jared leaned back in his seat, this had always been a real touchy subject in the past "Uhmm..yeah, they're a wild bunch" please don't ask me about the gazillion times that all that enthusiasm was translated in the bedroom, that's the past, you're a fresh start. "Oh I see..that uncomfortable huh? Ok, well..let's talk about something else then", what? You're not gonna judge or be suspicious? "I'll say this one thing though" she leaned over the table "can you not do it again for as long as we're an item? I'm just not that good at sharing I'm afraid", he swallowed hard when he heard her say that..good, because I absolutely refuse to share you too. "And I guess it is expected of me to fly under the radar? to be a ghost on this tour?" that stung, not her words but the reality of it, "keep 'em keen, keep 'em dreaming of that rockstar prince charming that'll suddenly appear all single at their doorstep, I understand, it sells more tickets and more albums.." his hand shot over the table in a flash to cover her mouth. "Stop!..don't..you're mine, do you hear me? Mine, and I don't care who knows, I'm not gonna hide you, Harper, no fuckin' way" he sternly said, like he had suddenly lost his sense of humour. "It's not like I've been hiding you these last couple of days..we've been holding hands in public for everyone to see..I mean, I haven't done that since..Cameron.." he pulled his hand back from her mouth, "oh wow so I got the VIP treatment then" Harper snarked but then his phone rang again ending their little squabble.
To emphasize what he had just told her, he ostentatiously took her hand in his and started walking, despite the snow the city had come alive "you're shivering" he looked at her as he tried to keep them both upright on the slippery sidewalk. Duh, when was she supposed to go shopping for another coat? It's not like she had the time, or the money for that matter, "come on" he steered her towards some fancy boutique, wait a minute..oh what a beautiful coat..no, no, I can't possibly afford this. "I love it, do you?" Jared nodded approvingly from his seat as she walked out of the cubicle that bursted at the seams with new, shockingly cool outfits she had just tried on, "don't make me do this, Jared, of course I love it, I love it all". All of a sudden he got up and walked off without a word, wait, where are you going? no..NO.. she tried to follow him but was held back by one of the shop assistants who was asking her in German if she wanted to try that other outfit on as well. No, she didn't want to try anything on anymore, leave me alone, where was he? Had he left? "get dressed, we should go" he suddenly appeared again with some kind of annoyed expression on his face as he sat down again, took his phone and focused on that while she retreated back inside the cubicle, what the hell was going on?. She quickly changed and zipped up her leather perfecto, grabbed her bag and rushed out to find Jared standing at the door already still on his phone, "trouble? Something wrong with the lights?" What else could it be? Oh wait, maybe Sean had started another mindfuck with lies about last night, she grabbed his arm to steady herself as she stepped out onto the icy pavement. "No" he didn't even turn around to face her "nothing wrong with the lights" he waited until she was steady again and started walking, "if this is about Sean and last night, then.." she gasped as he suddenly stopped in his tracks and this time he did turn around to look at her, oh that frown, it wasn't Sean, fuck, she was in trouble. "Last night and Sean? I don't like the combination of that name and those words..I was with you last night.." he squinted his eyes seeing how pale she suddenly had become, "we were at the club together.." she could barely catch her breath as she saw the wheels in his head turn "you went back to the hotel early..and he was there too?..was that why you went back to your room instead of mine?..so you could meet up with him?..". Harper shook her head "No, no of course not.." she tried to stay calm and explain, but she felt her anger rise, without even asking what had happened he put the blame immediately with her? "wow ok, silly me for thinking 'I love you' also meant 'I trust you', but clearly I was wrong, I'm going back to the hotel, I'm freezing and I'm upset and I sure don't want to keep discussing this out here on the street, I don't think we're that public yet, are we?". Her eyes were shooting daggers at him before she turned and ploughed to the edge of the sidewalk, whistled through her teeth and the cab stopped right in front of her, "wait..Harper wait" he rushed towards her, "you know what, you take the frikkin cab, I'll walk, I need to let off some steam" she pulled open the door and then turned on her heels and stomped away from him, leaving him completely stunned.
