Page 109 of Charming Like Us

I’m not lying!

I make an aggravated noise through my clenched teeth.

Jack fists the back of my shirt, pulling me away.

She tosses the empty cup at him, and I smack it aside. “Back off!”

“What did you just tell my daughter?” Her mom emerges from the restaurant with a to-go container. She pushes the girl behind her back. “You’re grown men. You should know better than to be talking to a thirteen-year-old in the middle of the night on thestreet.”

I hear Donnelly in my head.Miss, we’re on the sidewalk.

He’d make it worse, but fuck I miss the laugh.

“I’m not trying to fight with a teenager,” I tell her. “And I’m also not the one who threw a milkshake on another person.”

Her eyes ping down to her daughter. “Claire?”

That’s my exit.

I spin around and walk alongside Jack towards…? “Did you park around here?” I ask.

“Yeah, two blocks down.” He tries to mop up the milkshake with his dirtied tank.

“Here.” I grip the back of my tee and pull the fabric over my head. I toss him the shirt. “You take all my clothes anyway, Highland.”

His lips rise. “You might not see this one again.” He wipes off pink liquid from his hair. “It’s a Summer Fest tee, right?” He inspects the festival logo while I study his reaction toeverythingthat just happened.

Jack…Highland…

He senses my silence as we walk. “What’s wrong?”

His plea to me. Before the kiss. He said,it’s you and me and anyone who tries to come in, you’ll help me keep out?

You’ll help mekeep out.

“You knew,” I realize. “You knew that if we kissed in public, in front of cameras, you weren’t just coming out. You knew you’d be confronting the Oslie rumors. You knew you’d be ‘the other man’ to Oscar + Charlie.”

Jack smiles softly. “Understanding public perception is part of my job. And the types of fans who pair you and Charlie are intense. So yeah…I had a good hunch it’d all blow up in my face.”

“And still, you kissed me?” He knew the cost of being with me was astronomically high, and I had no clue.

We stop next to a Mazda parked on the street.

He breathes in. “I would’ve regrettednotkissing you. Like I’ve regretted rejecting you in Anacapri.” He swallows hard, rests a hand on his head. “Not to beat around the bush, I’m scared.”

His fast heartrate.The one I felt after we just kissed in public. It wasn’t regret. It was fear. “About what?” I hold his longboard for him.

“Of having millions of enemies,” Jack says with reddened eyes, digging in his pocket for car keys. “It overwhelms me when I consider the hatred I’ve seen and filmed for so long is about to be directed at me.”

It’s crushing me knowing he’s probably right. He’s about to face a tidal wave of negativity. And what can I do?

“I’m trained for this. I’m going to protect you the absolute best I can.”I’m in for the long-haul, Highland.We edge closer, our legs threading as we hug. I press a kiss to his temple, tasting a hint of strawberry.

His fingers stay in mine for another minute before he lets go and unlocks his car. “Coming out tonight actually makes me feel better. Because at leastthatfear is largely gone…and I’m not in this alone.”

He has me.

Undoubtedly.