Falling Down(74)

"Fuck, Frank."
"Yeah."
"Okay, what were we talking about? Oh, Jesse. What were you thinking about?"
He places my clothes on the bed and I start folding them. Jesse runs a hand across his two-day beard and it makes me want to bite him--strange urge.
"You know if you stay at the hotel, they're going to find you eventually. The staff doesn't get paid enough to keep those kinds of secrets and they all know that the paps pay well."
"They kept it quiet so far."
"Something's going on for them to pop up out of the blue," Sera tells me. "You can't expect them to stay quiet if it's more than just a you-and-Jesse thing."
"That's true and that sucks. I don't want to drive all the way from Santa Monica every day."
"They already showed up there today," Jace reminds me.
"That's true, too. This is such bullshit."
Jesse nods. "I agree. Which is why I was thinking you all should stay with us."
"What?!" I practically shout.
He shrugs.
"It's a good idea," Ben says. "We've got plenty of room and if Trace and Megan decide they want to hang out, we've got room for them too, as well as Frank and Max or whoever is with you for the day."
"Yeah, sounds good," Jace says.
I sigh and look at Sera. "I have to agree with them, Luce."
"Of course."
"I don't get it, Lucy," Jesse says. "You just stayed with me for the weekend. It's not a big deal to stay until things die down."
"It is a big deal," I whisper, continuing to fold clothes.
"Luce."
"It's a big deal to her, Jesse, because Lucy doesn't f*ck around. Lucy is a relationship kind of girl because she wears her heart on her sleeve and, from what I've seen, with some time she'll be in real danger of losing her heart to you," Sera tells him.
"She's not the only one in danger of that," Ben says.
My gaze zeroes in on Ben's as I place a white eyelet sundress into the suitcase.
"What do you mean?" Sera asks.
Ben looks at Jesse for a brief few seconds then back at me and Sera. "Well, Jesse doesn't f*ck good girls. Jesse doesn't have ladies stay in his room. Ever."
"He had Lucy in there."
Ben nods. "A good girl, right? Think about that. Another thing. He never gives out his code to his room or to the house for that matter."
I stand up straight and tilt my head to the side as Ben continues. I hear Jesse shift behind me.
"Jesse doesn't do sleepovers. Ever."
"And he had Lucy there for more than a weekend," Sera says looking past me to Jesse.
Ben nods. "So, as I said, she's not the only one at risk. Plus you can use our studio so you don't have to leave the house if you don't want to deal with the shit outside the gates."
I look down for a second. Wow. Okay. Well. Um. I've got no idea what to say, but I slowly turn to face Jesse anyway, meeting his whiskey gaze with mine. His face is riddled with the same vulnerability and uncertainty, hope and fear that's mirrored on mine.
We just stare at one another and I don't know what it is that calms me by looking at him, but something does.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
I blow out a breath and he smirks.
"How--"
He shrugs.
"But you don't--"
"I don't."
"So?"
He shrugs.
I nod and he nods.
"Don't break my heart, Jesse Kingston."
"Don't break my heart, Luciana Russo."
"You should pinky swear," Sera says.
"What are we twelve?" Jace asks with a laugh.