Right Back to You

4. Pop Sensation

Kyle glanced at the picture of him and Kay that Jessica had passed him. Kay had his crown on her head, smiling at him, looking so happy.

How? How could it have all gone to shit so terribly? In less than six hours since that photo was taken, he'd been picked up by Max and sent to Chicago. Kay had been taken as well by her parents, moved heaven knew where. Happiness followed by ultimate misery.

"Where did you get this?"

Jessica scooted a little closer to him, her movement impaired by her tight dress. "When my parents announced that they expected me to marry you, I actually looked you up."

"How nice," he mumbled. "My parents only bothered telling me you existed about an hour before you showed up."

Jessica sucked air through her teeth. "I'm sorry about that. Sorry you have to put up with this. Put up with me."

He turned to look at her, because she was the least problematic aspect of this entire affair. After all, she'd offered to help him find Kay.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Out of all of this. Your plan."

"To find myself," she said. "To get away and be happy with who I am."

The affirmation and the sadness in her voice threw him off a little. From the little he had seen, she actually seemed confident and energetic.

"You're not?"

She heaved a sigh. "There are so many things I don't like about my life. About myself. Hell, I don't even like my name."

"You don't?"

"You should hear how my mother says it." She propped her fists on her hips and turned to him with her small nose pointed upwards. "Jessi-cah!"

Kyle couldn't keep in a laugh. "I like your name. You can shorten it to Jess. Or Jessie."

She faltered, tilting her head. "I actually like Jessie."

Truth be told, she looked more like a Jessie than a Jessica. It suited her. "I can't believe no one's called you that before."

She sighed again and it was heartbreaking. "I've never had many friends. My parents would never let me make any, always pushing me, forcing me to make music."

"Are you any good at music though?" He titled his head, watching her.

Her hair really was orange, and by the reddishness of her eyebrows, it was obviously not died. The tiny curls gave her a quirky air. Her face was round and she had freckles on the bridge of her nose and her cheekbones. Kay had freckles too, but a lot less. Jessie was beautiful. Tall, even if not as tall as Kay, and lean. The muscles in her arms were visible as she leaned back on her hands and her stomach was flat.

Yes, she looked great. And her personality made her look even better. But she wasn't Kay and Kyle had to admit that, even if she liked Jessie and could acknowledge her beauty on an intellectual level, he felt zero attraction towards her. Love definitely made him blind.

"I'd like to think that I am." She turned to look at him again. "I know you are. I've actually listened to some of your songs."

"Maybe I can listen to some of yours."

"You'll get sick of them if you'll agree to go on tour with me."

Oh, right. There was that, too. "I don't know about that..."

"Look, just think about it, okay? You don't have to give me an answer right now. You just met me. You don't even know me. And I'm basically suggesting that we run away from home together."