Falling Down(137)

"You look relaxed," Jesse tells me.
I shrug. "Not really. I just want to get this done and resolve this bullshit."
He nods. "I can understand that. Your tats doing okay?"
"Yeah, they barely hurt anymore."
"You're such a hard ass," he says with a grin.
"Dimples," I say, standing on tippy toe getting nowhere near his face. He takes pity on me and leans down. I kiss one dimple, then the other. "You have no idea how sexy those dimples are."
"Luce, all I care about is you thinking they're sexy."
"It's seven-f*cking-thirty. Get a room," Xander growls as he enters the kitchen.
I pour him a cup of coffee and hand it to him. He grunts. Same goes for Ethan, Kennedy, Jace, and Trace. Meggie bounces in and I'm hesitant on giving her coffee. What's she going to be like with caffeine in her system?
"Pour it, f*cker," she scolds.
"Fine but no bouncing off the walls while we're recording."
She rolls her eyes, takes the cup of coffee, and leans against the counter.
Sera straggles in last looking gorgeous as always and I want to slap her. It's really not fair that she can practically roll out of bed and look like the super model she is.
I pour her coffee. "Bitch," I say. She flips me off.
"I'm totally feeling the love here," Trace says. Apparently sarcasm is everyone's friend.
"We should go," Frank says stepping into the doorway.
Everyone files out and I note Gio and Mike are here as well as Max.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"We're taking two vehicles," Frank answers. "We could have gotten a stretch limo or hummer but we figured it was best not to draw extra attention to ourselves."
"Good idea," Jesse says.
"Who's riding with me?"
Jesse just looks at me.
"Besides you, of course," I smile brightly then take a long drink of my coffee, burning my tongue and roof of my mouth. Fuck. Not a good start to the day. I'm anxious and I hate feeling anxious.
"Sera and Meggie," Frank says.
"Dude," Xander says. "We're going to be in an all-dick vehicle. That f*cking sucks."
"Get over it," Ethan scolds and climbs into their car.
"You think two black Town Cars following one another is going to be less conspicuous than a stretch limo?" I ask.
Frank raises his brows. "Wrong side of the bed this morning?"
I sigh. "I'm sorry. No. I'm just feeling anxious. I don't like feeling anxious, especially on such an important day, you know? I should be overjoyed and celebrating the fact we're finally starting to record, but instead I'm wigging out over this… this… shit."
He nods. "It'll be over soon."
"Until the next dramatic episode the media comes up with," Sera says.
"You'd think after six years of crap you'd be used to it by now," Meggie says.
"How often did you see my name in the media in a derogatory manner over those six years?"
She pauses. "Point taken."
I nod. "They even managed to hide some things I expected to be plastered on the front page yet Whitney whore is front and f*cking center."
"I wonder how much they paid her," Sera says.
"A hundred grand," Jesse says.
My head whips to the side, my gaze meeting his. "What? How do you know that?"
He shrugs. "Was on one of the gossip sites."
"You were looking at the gossip sites? What are they saying?"
"I was and you're better off not knowing."
I groan and lean into his side when he puts an arm around me and pulls me close.
"It won't matter in another hour or two. She better hope that check cleared."