Page 128 of Make Me Laugh

Any tension from earlier this week is gone by the end, her legs thrown over my lap as she takes the last unmelted bite of ice cream.

We agree to take the deal together, because if not, Joey’s going to turn it down, and no one deserves this one more than her.

Enzo texts me as we’re throwing our empty cup and used napkins away.

Enzo

You two coming back?

Me

Definitely not

When we get back to our penthouse of the week, I toss Joey over my shoulder and haul her into my room. The little wave she gave like she was going anywhere other than straight to my bed was cute, but I’ve wanted to get my hands on her all fucking week, and now that I have the chance and at least an hour of alone time, I’m going to see how long it takes for her to beg me to stop edging her.

She does try her hardest, but I’m pretty sure she barely makes it ten minutes before I’m worried she might burst into tears from how badly her body needs a release.

We celebrate first, and then Joey sends the email accepting the deal with NBTWN Tequila after we break her orgasm record.

Joey might have said no cuddling, but it’s clear she meant only during the sleepovers she won’t let us have, because after sex, she always tangles into the sheets with me and spends however long she’ll let herself with her head on my chest. The scent of her hair relaxes me to a level I’ve only ever felt with her. I’m wide awake, but my eyes are closed, and my heart has returned to its slow resting rate.

She’s quiet too, but I know she’s not asleep, because her finger follows the path of a six-inch faded scar on my right ribcage from the accident. In this state of bliss, and without thinking, I break an unspoken agreement between us, bringing up the last rule Joey made when we started sleeping together in Philly.

“What happens when tour’s over?” I ask, my eyes peeling open.

Joey tenses. “Uh, well…” she starts, her fingers no longer tracing the multiple faded scars along my torso. “We film the end of tour video, tell our fans thank you, and then we⁠—”

“Go our separate ways?” I ask, my interruption causing her to sit up slowly like she’s surprised by my jagged response.

I sit up too, propping myself against the headrest.

“That’s been the plan, yes.” Joey answers like I’ve sat down with HR. “Hex and West Parker’s time on tour comes to an end. I scheduled filming time and already put it in the content calendar.”

I let out a long breath, wanting to tell her how little I care about the fucking content calendar right now. “I’m not talking about Hex and West Parker. I’m talking about me and you, Joey.”

She’s seconds from darting, and I know she wants to… But she doesn’t, and that matters. “I told you it’s just sex.” Joey’s voice is a whisper, one without any confidence in the words she's saying. “That I’d hurt you…” She’s frozen in place, the sheet wrapped around her body.

“Is that really all this is to you still? Because I don’t think it is…” I’m afraid of her answer. “It’s obviously never just been about the sex for me.” I can’t take the words back once they’re out, and I wouldn’t want to. “I know you’re scared, but Joey, I—” I bite my lip, stopping myself before I fuck this all up.

Joey has an almost deer in the headlights look, her wide eyes telling me something she’s not.

She hasn’t gotten another job yet. We’re less than three weeks to the end of this tour, and Joey still hasn’t lined anything else up… And why does she need to right away? She’s got plenty of deals and money coming in from her contract with me.

“We can see where this goes,” I suggest, reaching forward to get her to look at me. “It’s working really well. What if we just… try?” When I cup her cheek, her eyes fill with tears, instantly spilling over. “Baby, no.” I pull her onto my lap, her soft sobs cracking tiny fractures through my heart one by one. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

She curls into my arms, and I sit in the most brutal silence I’ve ever experienced until she puts me out of my misery.

“I’ve been offered a job,” she whispers so quietly I almost think I imagined it.

The room stills, and I’m not sure who moves first, but my arms loosen, and she looks up at me with her pink nose and puffy eyes.

I was foolish to think Joey wasn’t looking for jobs—of course she had been.

As if she can read my mind, she says, “I haven’t applied to a single job since coming on the road. I knew I needed to, but I was distracted…” I wish knowing she wasn’t actively looking to get away from me made this better, but it doesn’t, because it feels like she’s one step closer to fully cutting me off. “You’re the only person who knows.” My entire conversation with Frankie seems null and void because she doesn’t know about this new development. “I got the first email two and half weeks before we met but never saw it.” She slides off my lap, and when she’s no longer touching me, it feels like she’s a world away. Joey tells me about the second email she found in Baltimore, and then the phone call on Sunday while in Pittsburg. “I was offered the position on the spot.”

Her shift in mood makes so much sense now. “Oh,” I say on a breath.

“I haven’t accepted the offer yet.” She says it like there’s hope she won’t.