It’s Only the Beginning

(Hart's POV)

With her hands still wrapped around my neck, she pulls back a bit to look down with a lift of her eyebrow. "Um..."

I missed those red cheeks.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't remember to put on my briefs before waking you." I smirk.

I did in fact remember, I just thought it would be more fun if I... forgot.

"I don't mind." She mumbles under a shy but tempting smile. She hurries to change the subject, struggling to hold eye contact. "Um, what time do we have to be... where are we going again?"

"We're almost at the hotel and we can check in in about-

I glance at my watch.

"Fifteen minutes. We'll stay there for a little over two hours, then we'll go to rehearsals."

"What's after rehearsals?" She yawns.

"Well, I would suggest sight seeing, but that may be a bit... tricky."

"It's fine. I understand. Wait, where are we?"

Jesus, did I not tell her anything? Oops...

"Tampa, Florida."

"Oh, cool. Well, I'm not too hurt about not getting to go sight seeing. I've been here a few times." She informs me.

"I promise I'll take you sight seeing to see the good stuff." I smile.

"Like what?" She eagerly wonders.

"We still have many places to travel to on the tour. There's Texas, La, Vegas, Paris, Italy, London."

"Oh my god!" She squeals a bit and jumps out of bed.

Is she aware that she only has her panties on and nothing else? I mean... I'm pretty certain she's forgotten, but I'm sure as hell not gonna remind her.

Do you really blame me?

"Sorry, I know I sound like a little kid right now but, oh my god! I can't believe you. I mean, you gave me this amazing opportunity to finally get out of Pickens. Then you want me to sing with you on your tour. And now I get to go to all these crazy places I've only dreamt of going to. And it sounds so cheesy but, the best part of it all is that I'm doing it with you. And not because you're-

"Hart Sloan, I know."

She grabs my hands. "But seriously, Hart. You don't know how much all of this means to me. How much you do."

I kiss her longingly from her words effect on me.

"I am so fucking glad I met you." I say mindlessly pulling our lips apart, only for them to pull right back together. "You don't know how much you mean to me either, you know? I know it's fast but... I just don't think I care." I hug her momentarily as a speck in her ear. "You treat me like a normal person and that means the world to me."

"Well, you are a normal person, last time I checked." She smirks after she's teased me. "Even though you don't look it." She admits through a giggle.

Alright... I have to remind her at some point.

I chuckle. "Um... we've got a busy day ahead of us, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get anything done with you naked, still."

"Oh, god." She throws herself off of me and immediately covers up with the first thing she she's. Which is my black, sheer shirt. "Sorry, I completely forgot."

"It's alright. I've seen you naked before, remember?" I can't stop smiling at her innocents.

"It was dark! And this might come as a shocker, but I'm not as confident as you." She throws her hand in my direction.

"I'm not as confident as you think." I assure her.

"Hart, you realize you're totally naked right now, right?" Her brows pull together.

"I thought you didn't mind?" I remind with the lift of my eyebrow.

"I don't, it's just... can you put something over it so I can think straight?"

I can't contain my smirk, so I wear it like a badge of honor. "Yes I can." I pull some fresh briefs out of my bag and put them on. "Better?"

"Yeah." She smiles. "Anyway, what I was trying to say is... I'm just not as comfortable to be as open as you are when it comes to being... well, naked." A not so subtle blush invades her checks.

"I understand. And don't have to be. I just don't want you thinking that you have anything to be ashamed of. You're absolutely gorgeous."

She huffs in disagreement.

"You are." I try to convince in all seriousness.

At a lost of words, she pulls me forward and kisses me.

"I'm gonna get dressed." She starts to unbutton her shirt. Well, really it's my shirt but, you know what I mean.

"No, you should wear it. Believe me, it looks better on you." I explain in all honestly.

Her eyes toss in a roll. "And what if someone notices that it's your shirt that you wore last night?"

"They won't." I hope. I just like the fact that she's wearing my shirt way too much for her to take it off. It looks too damn sexy for her not to wear it. And unfortunately, the cameras will be pointing at me for the most part, most likely, anyway.

"Fine. Only because it's really comfy." She buttons it up a bit.

"But... you might want to throw a bra on? Just a thought." I try to keep a straight face as I make my suggestion.

"Yeah, might be a good idea." She gives me a nod of her head.

After we're all dressed, we discuss what we'll be doing for the shows.

"So you'll open up for me so people can see how great you are alone. Then I was thinking we can do a couple songs together and a cover. Any suggestions?"

"Shallow from, A STAR IS BORN. Is that okay?"

"It's perfect. Now, I thought we could try Failing together." One of my own songs.

"I love that one." Jordyn agrees. "And Signs of Time."

Another one of my slower songs, filled with more emotion.

"You read my mind." I grin at her.

"What do I sing to open up for you? My songs?"

"Yes. They need to hear your songs. And I need to hear more of them. Could you sing some more for me when we arrive at the hotel? So we can have an idea what you'll be practicing for rehearsals."

"Yeah, but I only play the guitar and piano so we might have to add some final touches to the songs." She explains.

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry." I kiss her forehead. "The show doesn't start until nine tonight, so we'll have plenty of time to get everything ready, including ourselves."

"Shit! I forgot my makeup and a curling iron." She huffs. "What the hell am I gonna wear?" She burst out a million worried questions.

"Sh, don't worry." I take her in my arms and her head relaxes on my chest. "Just breathe. I'll get it taken care of. I promise."

"Wait, what if they hate me? What if I fuck up your show? What are people gonna say about us? Do we need to hide it? Do I need to like... sign a contract of something?" She finally takes a much needed breath.

"Jordyn please, calm down. They are not going to hate you. Everyone loved you last night. You are not going to fuck our show up. And as for ourselves, if you feel more comfortable hiding the fact there's an us, that's alright. There's no rush. But I want to make it clear to you that I am in no way ashamed of you. You know that, right?"

She has to know that I could never be ashamed of her.

Ever.

"Of course I know that, Hart. But if we did show the world we're... that's the thing. We just met. We're not supposed to know what we are, not yet anyway." She sighs in frustration. "I think we should wait until we know each other better before we put a label on anything."

"I completely agree." I smile a sweet smile that assures her I'm speaking the truth.

"So... how do you think everyone's gonna react to me going on tour with you? What should I expect?" She interrogates seriously.

"Um... There's a possibility you'll receive about a billion DM's from people you haven't talked to in years-that treated you like shit, not to mention, but apparently want to know how you've been." I pause briefly to roll my eyes at the annoying memory. "People will begin to see you differently, but no matter how they see you, remember who you are. They can't take that away from you unless you give them the power to." I warn.

"Alright." She smiles warmly looking up at me. "That doesn't sound too bad. It'll just take some getting used to."

I love how ready she is for all of this. It just proves that she was in fact born for something bigger then her small town. She has so much to offer to the world. But not only the world, to herself as well.

"So, you still planning on telling you're parents everything tomorrow?" I wonder gently, trying not to push a heavy explanation out of her.

I would want to know where she was if I were in her parents shoes, but I would also not give her a reason to leave in the first place.

"Yeah... unless you think I need to tell them today?" With worry spilling across her face, she starts pacing.

"I honestly don't know, love. But I'm gonna be right here no matter what you decide. Alright?" I place my hands on her shoulders to stop her nervous pacing, then slide my hands down her arms until I'm met with her little hands.

She exhales with a nod. "I think I want to wait. I just want one night to escape, one night to be with you without anyone trying to ruining it."

"That sounds perfectly reasonable to me." I kiss her softly, causing a smile to curl on her desirable lips.

The bus stops, naturally making us lose our balance for a moment. Of course, it to takes Jordyn a bit longer than myself to gain it back.

She's so damn adorable.

"Time to go." I grab her bag off the bed before getting to mine. "We're gonna need to get you a suitcase."

"Probably a good idea." She pauses. "Is there gonna be like a hundred people out there with cameras?"

"There might be a few." I Sugarcoat it.

"Hart?" She sees right through me.

"Okay... two hundred, max." I throw my hands up lightly.

"Alright. That's not that bad. And even if it is, I can take it. It's fine." She calmly assures me.

I love how calm she is about it, but that might change once see is actually put in the situation. People screaming your name. Asking you personal questions like it's nothing. I mean, how on earth is it normal to ask a total stranger if they're screwing a model?

Damn assholes. I'm not the pig the social media makes me out to be.

"Alright. But if it gets too much for you, just grab my hand. I'll be right there with you." I assure with a soft smile.

"Hart, we're not ready for people to know about us, yet. I can't just grab you hand the second I get uncomfortable." She explains politely.

She is right, I suppose.

We don't even know what we are, how would we explain us to the rest of the world?

I should really give her more credit. She's strong. She doesn't need me holding her hand every step of the way. But if she needed me to hold her, all she has to do is ask.

"Yeah, that's a good point." I sigh as the fact that I'll have to hide my affection for her sinks in. "You may have to remind me not to touch you when we're in public. If not, I might kiss you or something, accidentally." My voice drops lower in disappointment, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, it won't be forever, Hart. Remember that." She reminds me, running her hands through my hair, then holding my face in her warm hands.

"You know, I thought I would be the one helping you through this, but I think it's the other way around." I say before I lean down and kiss those perfect lips that fit beautifully with mine. "We better get going, love."

A security guard greets us at the front of the bus. "Hello, I'm Will." Noticing my full hands, he smiles and reaches out his hand towards Jordyn first. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"You too. I'm, Jordyn." She informs shaking his hand.

I set my suitcase to the side and introduce myself with a handshake. I grab our bags while Will explains to us that we're already checked in. After he hands me our room key, I thank him before glancing at Jordyn.

"You sure about this?" I just have to make sure one last time. Her life's about to change. I just hope she's prepared for how much.

She pulls me into her, kissing my lips. "I'm positive." And without warning, she walks out the bus door.

Don't wait up, love.

I smirk at her eagerness and follow in her footsteps.

As soon as I'm out, I hear a mix of reactions. Some are gasping, some are screaming my name, and others are just screaming. The flashing of the devils cameras blind me a bit, making me lose sight or Jordyn.

Once I spot her, my heart rate goes back to normal. She's perfect safe in a wall of security.

Thank god.

Hopefully the Paparazzi will have no choice but to take the Security guards pictures instead of Jordyn's.

About thirty seconds later, we're inside. The noise fades as we make our way through the hotel. Peace and quiet welcomes us as I shut the door to our suite.

"Alone at last." I grin and set down our things before I wrap my arms around her, finally able to devour her lips. Once I've got my Jordyn fix, I remember I need to get some food into her. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes!" She's exclaims, quite excited about food and it's adorable.

I chuckle. "Okay, anything on the side?"

"Bacon and Orange juice, please."

"You got it." I kiss her cheek.

"I'm gonna take a shower before I eat." I nod as she walks around until she finds the bathroom. I catch her stage whisper, "Holy shit!"

I'm assuming she's surprised by the massive bathroom. I was the same way when I was new to all of this, as well. I was so innocent to this life, just as Jordyn is now. It's her innocents that is irresistible to me. Along with every other thing about her.

I'll be damned before I let her go.