Just A Little Bit ✔️

18. Riley

Riley Jameson, In Real Life

Stephie calls this the honeymoon phase. She says our relationship won't feel as magical when it's been a few weeks, but I can't imagine loving Kinley any less. I feel like when time passes, I fall harder for her.

The days are long and busy as hell. In the span of a week, we've shot a music video for All The Things We Never Say, wrote a new song for the next Faraway Blues album, and played three shows. It's a lot to process and a lot to take in.

We have five days off before the tour continues, and Kinley and I are back in LA. We figured we should stay in the states since it wasn't much of a break, and I wasn't about to leave her side.

So far, I've held onto that promise. We haven't gotten out of bed since we flew in yesterday. We also haven't gotten dressed, and my naked girlfriend is definitely the best part of this vacation.

It's after twelve o'clock, and we haven't moved from this bed. Yet, that is. Kinley is hungry and won't let me hear the end of it. The only problem is that if we leave, the paparazzi will be hounding us every step of the way. We've been careful, but have yet to make a real public appearance yet.

I kiss the slope of her neck, following her shoulder. "We don't have to go anywhere."

"Riley," she giggles. "I don't even have milk. I've been gone for weeks."

"Let's order in."

"But I want coffee."

"You can order coffee."

"Not from my favorite diner."

I sigh. "Love—"

"Are you embarrassed of me or something?" she asks. It comes out light, almost like a joke, but her face falls in the time it takes me to answer.

"Of course not," I tell her, framing her face in my hands. Her hair slides through my fingers, and the smell of her shampoo is driving me insane. She's so beautiful, and talented, and smart, and kind. I could never be ashamed of her. If anything, she should feel that way about me.

"You're scared of the press," she guesses.

"Bingo," I mumble guiltily.

"They don't matter," she tells me. "So what if they take pictures and write about me? They can't be worse than the girls in my DMs."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

The idea of Kinley being attacked on social media makes my whole body tense. She doesn't deserve crap from anyone, but people are quick to attack anyone, even if they don't even know the person they've decided to go after. It's a horrible price to fame, for sure.

"A thirteen-year-old called me a whore yesterday," she replies, shrugging her shoulders. "I think she's a little jealous. Her profile picture is you two after a show."

I snicker. "Seriously?"

"Yep," Kinley says.

"Well, don't take it personally. They don't know the first thing about us."

She leans back into the pillows and takes a breath, thinking it over. "Do you think we made a mistake by going public?"

Sometimes I wonder that myself. It's not a problem on her part, but rather on mine. I want to keep her from getting hurt more than anything else, but that's not always an option. She's reminded me of that countlessly.

"No. It would be exhausting trying to hide. You don't need to be hidden. I want to love you and let everyone know about it. You don't need to be loved in secret. You deserve it to be on the front page, and since I put everything else in my life in the music, I want the fans to know who I'm writing songs about."