The Contract

25

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

"Georgia," he said softly. "This can't exactly come as a surprise. I mean, we've been spending so much time together lately. This last month or so has been amazing. I .. Feel like I know you so well. You're such a great person. You have so much depth to you and there's so much more than a pretty face to you. I'm honestly in awe of how much I've come to care for you in such a short time. You're like magnetic.. I-"

"Jesse!" I interrupted him, cutting him off. "I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. You've been.. My saving grace the last month or so.."

"Don't you have feelings for me too?" He asked, grasping my hands in his own. I was taken back to a very similar moment when Harry had done something along the same lines to me. He had asked me numerous times if I had feelings for him and I pushed it off until we couldn't fight it anymore. And then when we finally did get together it exploded in both of our faces. I wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for him. I'd be just okay. I would be just barely surviving because of the idea of living life without him would be just okay. It wouldn't be enough to fill the hole in my heart but I would be getting on okay. I would just be.

I glanced up into Jesse's electric eyes. His gaze held mine and I could find myself being happy with him if I imagined it enough. I could move on with Jesse. He could be enough.

"Jesse, I.."

He looked at me so hopefully. His lip was pulled in between his teeth as he gazed down at me, only breaking our eye contact when he blinked.

"Georgia! We need you back here! There's been a wardrobe malfunction with one of the guys, hurry up!" Lou called to me.

I glanced up at Jesse. "I'm sorry, I."

"Go, we'll talk later," he said, squeezing my hand softly.

I nodded before jogging over to Lou. Harry appeared sweaty and breathless next to Lou. He stripped off his shirt that was ripped on the hem around the neck. I stared at him, drinking in the sight of his chiseled chest and defined abs. The deep v cut of his pelvic bone above the waist of his tight black jeans. He was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and used the ripped shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. If Lou wasn't standing right next to us, I don't know what I would have done but I haven't felt more turned on in a long time.

"Georgia?" Harry asked, his gravelly voice even raspier from singing his lungs out on stage.

"What? Oh, right, shirts, uh," I grabbed the first shirt off the rack and tossed it his way. He pulled the shirt over his head, taking away the delicious sight of his chest from my view. Fuck.

"Thanks, baby," he pressed a lingering kiss to my cheek before turning from Lou and I and rushing back towards the stage.

"Wow, that was," Lou started. She must have seen everything written on my face.

I held up my hand. "Lou! Please.. Don't say anything. I know, I know. Actually I don't know."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not that complicated, Gee."

"I know. I need to go find Tina though, and sort things out with her," I sighed.

"Gee!"

I glanced at Lou before I turned away.

"He still loves you," she said.

I smiled at her wistfully. "I wish that was true."

I turned away from Lou and wandered slowly through the building following the screams of the fans and the music as it got louder the closer I walked towards the side entrance to the stadium. No matter what city we were in or what country, it was always the same. The screaming fans, the same songs played in the same succession, the same everything. The outfits were different and there was different event staff but the boys just kept going through the motions. That's what it felt like anymore for me, too. Like I was just going through the motions. This felt so familiar. No one knew I had done this for every concert - walked through the hallways towards the stage only to turn away before I saw them perform. I just couldn't take those final steps. Tonight, I could though.