12. Moonlight + MaryJane

Part 1/2 for this update bc ILY

I really don't want to process any of the crap I've been dealing with lately. I just want to escape for the night. I'll face all this drama head on tomorrow, but for right now, I'm done.

I let myself zone out as I pull into Jayce's driveway, shelving all of my emotions for the night, promising to take them down, dust them off and deal with them tomorrow. Walking into the house, I find that it's not quite as packed as I'd expected, but there are still at least a hundred seniors here, with a handful of juniors - me being one of them.

Zeroing in on the beer in the kitchen, I chug one down and start feeling less stressed within minutes. I nod to a couple people I share classes with, but for the most part, I don't know anyone here. That's the only downfall of being unsocial - when you randomly decide to emerge from your shell for a night, you don't feel very comfortable.

"BODY SHOTS!" Adam, the first guy Jayce had beaten up for me, bounds into the kitchen wielding tequila and limes. Girls and guys alike perk up and make their way towards Adam, who is already putting salt on a girl's chest.

Oh my fucking god, everyone here is a horny sack of shit.

Including me.

Damn it.

I swiftly down two shots and duck out of the kitchen before I can get dragged into sucking salt off some sweaty person I barely know. I wander through the house, passing people I've seen but have never talked to and eventually make it into the living room, which is pristinely decorated. I count 10 people gathered in a circle, playing spin the bottle. Apparently we're all 12 here.

I spy a small, empty deck area on the opposite side of the room, through a set of French doors. I step into the cool night air, instantly wishing I had spiked hot chocolate or a hot toddy to keep me warm.

I lean on the stone railing, look out at the vineyard, which is bathed in silver starlight, and take a deep breath. Now that I have some alcohol coursing through my veins, my mind betrays me completely and starts thinking about Jayce.

The amount of self-control it had taken to not let him kiss me at the ball was absolutely unheard of for me. If I could go back and relive the moment, I'm not sure I would have been able to resist twice. All I can think about is his big, brown eyes and wild hair, his golden skin and intoxicating smile.

Why is tipsy Fallon so fucking powerless to his damned man charms? Trying to get him out of my head, I groan and bend at the hips to rest my forehead between my hands on the cold stone balcony railing.

"Everything okay?" A voice breaks through the silent night air.

My heart jolts in my chest and I look up, shocked from realizing I'm not alone out here after all. Jayce (of course) is leaning against the house, dressed in all black, with what appears to be a blunt in between his fingers. My stomach knots as I take in his incredible appearance.

"What are you doing out here?" My heart is still racing from the surprise.

Jayce chuckles. "I live here?"

"Right," I smooth my dress down as heat pricks my cheeks.

His head tilts back and rests against the wall as he looks up at the sky, "I didn't think you'd come."

Jesus fuck, his jawline is so damn perfect.

"Free alcohol," I shrug, tipping the beer bottle toward my mouth.

He smiles and shakes his head. "And here I thought maybe you came to ask me to finish what we started at the convention center," his voice is bored as he continues staring at the sky.

"Jayce..." I sigh, wishing he could understand.

Silence.

"It's too complicated," I offer, picking at the label on my beer bottle.

Silence.

"What did you mean, when you said that I don't get the effect I have on you? What effect do I have on you?"

"How the hell could it possibly be too complicated?" He ignores my question but finally lets his eyes meet mine. He pushes himself off the wall and saunters over to the balcony, leaning next to me.

"You mean, aside from the fact that I barely know anything about you, your dad treats me like I'm a piece of garbage, and that I'm in the middle of unriddling a letter my dad wrote to your dad 10 days before he died?" I blurt before I can bite my tongue. Damn beer. "You're right, Jayce. It sounds like something that would be super simple," I cross my arms over my chest and huff. Thankfully, tears don't come at the mention of the letter. Must be the adrenaline.

Jayce is silent for several long moments as his features become more and more puzzled with every passing second. His eyebrows scrunch together and he runs his fingers through his hair, "What are you talking about?"

Then it dawns on me. He's just as clueless about the drama as I was at the beginning of this week... And now, I'm going to have to explain everything. Fuckin' shit. Way to go, Fallon.

I exhale loudly and slowly, unsure of where or how to start. "So, you know how your dad acts like a total dick to me?"

"Oh, he's not acting," Jayce spits. "He's a dick. But, yeah, he's particularly nasty toward you."

"Right," My nerves build inside my stomach and throat. "Anyway, long story short, your dad and my dad used to be best friends, and they actually started Duende together," I gesture to the vineyard as shock and disbelief colors Jayce's face. I continue, "But my dad was lawyering full time so he wasn't around a lot, and your dad got pissed and made my dad sign over his ownership. So, everything should have been resolved when that happened, but for some reason, my mom still hates your family, and your dad very clearly still hates me."

"Tink," Jayce breathes, a serious expression on his face. "You're fucking with me, right?"

I shake my head and pull up a photo of my dad's note on my phone, handing it to Jayce. "I found a note that my dad wrote to your dad 10 days before he died," I decide I shouldn't mention the fact that I stole it from his garage, and that's the only way I know that the note even exists.

As Jayce reads it, the color drains from his face. "Fuck," he exhales after he finishes reading it. He suddenly wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a warm, strong hug.

I instantly melt into a puddle of goop as I feel his strong body against mine, his arms holding me close to him. I encircle his solid torso with my arms and he rests his head on the top of mine.

"I'm so, so sorry, Fallon," his voice is weighted with grief. "I had no idea about any of this, I swear... I don't really know what to say."

I breathe in his scent of clove and perique and savor his hug for a moment longer before pulling away so as to not lose my mind completely.

"It's whatever," I shrug. "I've already cried over it enough. I just really want to get to the bottom of it. That letter set off so many questions and I have to get them all answered."

He hands my phone back. "It says that my dad thinks Tom Jeffers planned something with your dad. What does that mean? Who is Tom Jeffers?"

"I don't know what it means," I shake my head, mostly trying to get my thoughts back in order after having physical contact with Jayce. "But Haven found out that Jeffers is the business lawyer your dad hired to rewrite the ownership agreement all those years ago. Haven and I are going to visit him tomorrow to see what we can find out."

"I'm coming with you."

I scoff and fold my arms over my chest, "Like hell, you are."

"Fallon, you can tell me no a thousand times, but this is a huge fucking deal. And whether you like it or not, you just involved me. So, I'm coming," he looks down at me intensely, challenging me to come against him.

"Whatever," I grumble, knowing better than to argue with him on this. "At least now you know why anything between us would be too much damn work."

He raises an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Mmhmm."

His brown eyes reel me in as he studies me for a moment before saying, "We're not our parents, Fallon. We don't have to carry on their fight. Especially when we don't even know what their fight is."

"You really don't care? Seriously?" I retort, shocked at his disregard for blatant facts. I'd heard that rich kids often don't feel much loyalty toward their parents, but I didn't take him for one to toss his family's beliefs out the window over something as trivial as a friendship.

"No, I don't, and you shouldn't, either!" His eyes are wide, his voice loud and passionate. "You want to know what effect you have on me, Fallon? Do you really want to fucking know?"

I'm taken aback by his outburst, but curious for his answer, nonetheless. I nod, my stomach doing backflips while my heart races.

"You overwhelm me, Fallon Rhodes. And you don't even fucking know it. Everything about you - your smile, your voice, your passion and drive, your attitude, the way you look at me, even the way you smell, not to mention your bangin' little body... It's frustrating as hell," he finishes, roughly running his hand through his hair and shaking his head back and forth, his eyebrows mashed together.

My cheeks are bright fucking red and I swear my heart is going to burst out of my chest. Between his tone and his angry expression, I can't really tell if he just finished getting mad at me or telling me he likes me.

"What are you saying?" My voice is small and my stomach is a mess of knots. I feel like I can't breathe.

"I'm saying..." He seems determined, yet still unsure. "I'm saying that I think this–" he gestures between us. "–Whatever the hell this is? The next move is up to you."

I take a deep breath, my insides churning furiously. Is this really happening? Does Jayce Solis seriously have a crush on me?

I feel like a giddy middle schooler, but despite that, I know what I have to say.

"We can't be anything serious, you know that," I tell him plainly, barely able to get words out of my mouth for fear that my heart might jump right out. "There's too much going on, and I can't risk anything getting in the way of my future."

His face hardens. "I understand."

"No, Jayce, listen," I start, but he holds up his hand to silence me.

"Just don't."

An uncomfortable silence falls between us.

After several moments, he finally lets out a small laugh and rolls his eyes as an uncaring smirk masks his face. "What a party, huh?"

"Yeah, it's great," I spout bitterly, feeling embarrassed, upset and happy all at the same time. "Could you not smoke that right next to me?" My nose curls at the smell of burning reefer.

"It's not mine," he says, but he puts it out anyway. "I was holding it for a friend."

"Uh huh, and you're also a virgin," I roll my eyes, calling his bluff.

"I'm serious!" He says, cracking a carefree smile as if he didn't just pour out his heart to me.

Ugh. That damn smile. The sexual tension between us is so fucking thick, I could cut it with a butter knife. Why the hell do I get this way around him?

"Jayce," I place my hand on his forearm and hear his breath catch in his throat. "I understand what you feel for me. I feel it for you, too. But, that doesn't change the fact that you've never been able to be a one-woman man. I don't want to surrender myself to that kind of drama. And I'm not willing to sacrifice what I want for a relationship that won't last."

His expression is blank as he seemingly ignores my words and looks me over from top to bottom, "I should make sure no one is having sex in my parent's room," he informs me before walking back toward the house. He pauses in the threshold of the French doors and looks at me over his large shoulder. "Save a dance for me later?"

I roll my eyes again, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

He grins, more to himself than to me, before disappearing inside.

The shittiest part is, now that he's gone, all I want is to be near him again. He always has been and always will be too much drama, too much hurt waiting to happen. But, alone on the porch, I feel even drunker, less capable of controlling my Jayce-thoughts, and more needy than ever.

This is not going to end well.

~~~

THE NEXT CHAPTER HAS STEAM. VOTE AND GO SQUAD GO!! 🏇