Right Back to You

6. Backlash

The newest romance on the music scene

"Kyle, I'm so sorry."

Who is Jessica Stefani's new man?

"I didn't think this would blow up like this."

A secret engagement?

"I should've warned you that this could happen."

Kyle Grant and Jessica Stefani. A match made in music heaven?

It was everywhere. Kyle didn't think there was a single newspaper in the city which hadn't covered his supposed relationship with Jessie. And most of the articles had the same picture. The two of them cuddled together in the rain with him holding her hand and glaring at that ugly-ass ring. Of course, the photo didn't show that he was glaring. It just made it seem like they'd just gotten engaged in the rain, down some seedy alley.

"I'm so so sorry." Jessie dropped her head on the kitchen table and covered it with her hands as if trying to hide from the pile of newspapers. She now wore ripped jeans and a red tank top, looking a lot more like a seventeen-year-old than last night.

Kyle dropped the one he was holding and picked up another. Yep, same news story. The world was really going great if everyone was fixating on this.

"You're pretty famous, I have to give you that," he said. It was still to surreal for him to say more.

"Yeah..." Jessie didn't seem convinced. "My parents have been sinking a ton of money into this PR crap. It was bound to show results at some point. I just... I didn't want to drag you into this mess."

He wasn't sure about the mess. The pictures were bad and grainy. He was also mostly an accessory to Jessie and it felt so weird.

"Good morning!" Maxi came strolling into the kitchen, Jessie's mom on her heals. "Looks like you kids had a full night out."

Kyle was so close to completely ignoring them and walking out, but it was rude and pointless.

"Jessi-cah!" Jessie's mother said and it was every bit as annoying as she claimed. "You should have waited! Our official announcement about your engagement was supposed to be released in a couple of days." Even if the words were scolding, the woman's expression looked satisfied.

"Sorry to ruin your plans," Jessie mumbled.

"You don't have to apologize," Maxi claimed. "I think we can all remember what being young and excited feels like. After all, I got married at your age!"

Jessie threw Kyle a sideglance, but he didn't feel the need to get into family history. He also couldn't stand the smug look on his mother's face. She probably thought that she'd showed him, been the perfect match maker and he'd been an idiot not to trust her fabulous instincts. The stupid woman really thought he'd instantly fallen for Jessie and was now patting herself on the head.

"Yeah, sure," Jessie finally said. "Why not?"

"You don't have to be rude, Jessi-cah!"

Jessie mumbled a curse under her breath, but didn't outright comment. Kyle could feel her stiffening though and he took her hand under the table to calm her down a little. She jumped and stared at him with wide eyes, but didn't pull back.

"This tour has really been planned at a bad time," Jessie's mother commented, having a seat at the table with them.

"Don't worry, Maria," Maxi said. "Kyle's not going anywhere. He'll be right here when Jessica returns. And, after all, distance makes the heart grow fonder."