See Her (Turn it Up #1)

Chapter 37

37

MAYZIE

O n my yoga mat in front of the living room TV, I’m a conundrum of excitement and tranquility as I do my calming breathing and stretches, with one of the nation’s morning shows lightly burbling in front of me.

Jack told me last night that there was yet another change in the schedule, and that they are going to be making an appearance on one of the morning talk shows today.They’re in Houston right now, but See Her has become a regular fixture with the country’s listeners, and the fact that Turn it Up can be caught on tour with The Shock Wave is creating a lot of buzz.

Rich and Sabrina, two of the hosts from America Live, flew out to be on location to do a piece on the “hot new band”.They typically do the more fun segments on the show, which is fitting because they have a great banter with each other, as well as the guests they interview. Sabrina is a bubbly platinum blonde, while Rich is slightly older with more of a laidback sense of humor.They’re going to interview the guys about the song, and what touring has been like for them.

Finally, a commercial break concludes, and I pause my session to sit down on my mat when I see a camera angle panning to Rich and Sabrina, seated kitty-corner to the band. Sabrina looks glamor ous, as always, in a red halter style jumpsuit, and begins speaking first.

“Good morning to all of you back in New York, and to all of you at home! Rich and I are here in Houston, just one of the many stops that The Shock Wave is making on their sold out Dreams and Schemes tour!”

“Right, and we were able to catch up with their chart-topping opening act!” Rich chimes in. He’s in a dark blue suit with a red tie, and is sporting his usual short, dark haircut. “We’re here with the band Turn it Up, whose song See Her has been rapidly climbing the charts, and winning over listeners all over the country.”The camera pans out to show the guys all sitting to the left of them. They have assembled them so that Chris and Josh are sitting in taller chairs behind Matt and Jack.

While Matt is sitting closer to the hosts and leaning in a bit, Jack is resting his elbow on the arm of his chair, his chin resting on his hand.His smile is kind but quiet, and I’ve always been in awe of how he is in real life compared to his stage persona.I bet it’s hard for America to wrap their heads around it, too.What they normally see is this adrenaline-fueled rock star with hair that hangs dramatically in his face, singing hard and throaty into a mic on stage. And now they’re seeing the regular Jack, who is sweet, humble, and camera shy.

“Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, guys,” Rich finishes.

“So… take us through what these last few weeks have been like for you.” Sabrina excitedly waves her hands around after salutations are out of the way. “Having your first single take off like a rocket, and then jumping on tour with one of the biggest musical acts in the country can’t have been easy. How has it been going?”

Matt does most of the talking, with Chris and Josh adding to the conversation. Chris, of course, is being his silly self and getting laughs out of everybody. Jack speaks up here and there, but you can tell he’s happy for the spotlight to be on the other guys.

“Now, the song,” Rich says, straightening up and leaning forwar d a little, like he wants to get down to business, “has been a smash hit. I want to talk about the video you released with the single that has broken a million views on YouTube now, and the number is still climbing.”

“Yeah,” Matt nods, shifting in his chair as he delves into how much the guys liked the concept and how fun it was to shoot. As he’s talking, the view on the TV goes to a side-by-side view of the conversation and snippets of the video.

“It’s an amazing video,” Sabrina says, leaning forward and placing a hand on her chest. “About ninety of those views were by me.” The guys all laugh. “Seriously. You guys are all so brilliantly showcasing your talent with your personalities; it really pulls in the viewer.” She nods at all of them appreciatively before continuing. “And the glimpses of the dancer were such a nice touch. It makes for a solidly alluring video. It was a great way to debut yourselves as a band.”

It's at that moment, the camera so happens to catch Jack’s reaction to Sabrina mentioning my appearance in the video. A slow smile pulls across his face, and even though no one is around, I feel my cheeks warm at the adoration in his expression.

“Oh boy,” I say out loud to myself as Sabrina leans her arm on the side of her chair and then points her manicured finger at my husband.

“I saw that, Jack,” she smiles slightly, only making him smile wider and turning his face more into his fist. “Is there something we should know about that dancer?”

Finally, Jack straightens up and clasps his hands in front of him.

“Yeah, she’s my wife.” His response is met by a collective aww from both the hosts and the rest of the guys. The second screen goes to a candid shot of Jack and me, hugging on the set of the video shoot. I had no idea it had been taken.The photo gets more gushing from Rich and Sabrina before it fades back to showing another clip from the video. It’s the clip where the band is pla ying, and Jack is watching me with an intense look in his eye.

“Oh, so that’s real right there,” Rich says, smiling and gesturing at the other screen. “That look, you’re not acting there.” More soft laughter comes out of Jack and the guys.

“No, sir, I’m not,” Jack says, shaking his head and smiling.I swear my entire body swells up, and I feel like I might float off my mat. The reassurance I’m getting from the way Jack lit up at the mention of me filled all my tanks to the brim, and I feel like it’s fueled me to get through the rest of the tour. It also makes me miss him more, if that were even possible.

“That seems like a sweet son-in-law I have there,” my mother pipes up from the kitchen, making me jump just a little. I forgot she was there for a moment. I turn to grin at her over my shoulder, and see her watching the screen wistfully over her coffee cup.

I huff out a small sigh, but there’s a smile with my eye roll as I turn back to watch the interview wrap up.

Jack

We just played one hell of a show in Baton Rouge, and I should damn well be headed to the raging after party the hotel has planned, but dammit…

“My throat’s a bit sore. I think I should sit this one out,” I tell Matt as he hits the button for the elevator.

“The front man not showing up to an after party is not a good look,” he reminds me with an admonishing eyebrow. Whatever. He’s fucking with me, and I know it.

“Neither is a lead vocalist who can’t sing because he went out and fucked up his voice by socializing and pouring alcohol down his throat all night,” I point out .

His eyebrows go up as he crosses his arms. “Hey, good one. I call dibs on it next time,” he says, holding a finger up.

“Yeah, but not tonight,” I mock lecture, as I back away in the direction of my room. “You’re on babysitting duty with the other two,” I chuckle, referencing Chris and Josh, who hauled ass straight to the party almost right after our set. They’re both probably two shots in by now, at least.

I wave at Matt as he strolls onto the elevator car, and he gives me the bird as the doors close.

He knows I’m lying out my ass, but I don’t care. My throat doesn’t hurt; hell, I feel fine. I feel better than I have this whole time since Maze left. Since we talked things out after that major hiccup, we’ve been in such a good place. We both feel more secure and on solid ground. We communicate as much as possible, and flirt like hell whenever we can.

I send her pictures of Matt and me goofing off, and one of me pouting in bed without her, and she’ll reciprocate with one of herself in bed with the dogs curled up beside her in my spot. I’ll make her laugh by putting my lips to the camera when we’re FaceTiming and she’ll do it back.It’s like we’ve gotten our groove back, and I fall more in love with her, knowing that we can get through rough stuff now.

The band’s schedule is still slammed, but I find ways to let her know I’m thinking about her.And if we miss each other, we don’t freak out, we just make up for it later. I sometimes even call or FaceTime her when it’s late and I know she might be sleeping, just to make sure we connect.

Speaking of which, I breathe in a healthy breath and let it out slowly as I approach my room, ready to settle in for a night of relaxing and talking to my wife – all night, if we can swing it.

Once in the room, I strip down to my boxer briefs and slip between the crisp hotel sheets, thankful to not be in a bunk tonight.

I know Mayzie’s likely asleep, but she gave me permission to call and wake her. Sometimes, the middle of the night is literally the on ly time I get to talk to her, and she is so sweetly accommodating.

I send her a FaceTime request, and though it takes a few seconds, I finally see the call connect and hear her drowsy voice.

“Hey… hang on,” she murmurs and the rustling of covers makes me almost feel like I’m lying there in the dark with her.

“Baby,” I prod. “I can’t see you.”

“I know, hold on,” she fumbles and fidgets some more, and finally the bedside table lamp pops on, illuminating my sleepy-looking wife, complete with bed hair.

“There she is,” I breathe out as she lazily smiles back at me. Fuck, she’s a sight for sore eyes.

“Hiiii…” she lightly sings back at me, and it’s the perfect fucking antidote to my heart that misses everything about her. Her flowery vanilla scent, her soft, warm skin, the way she makes me laugh… I could go on for days, and my dick is already getting hard in my boxers at the sight of her in a navy tank top with her hair splayed on the pillow. When she turns on her side, her perfect breasts push together, showing me some beautiful cleavage that isn’t helping the situation any.

"Sorry I woke you, sweetheart."

"It’s okay,” she coos, her grey eyes still glassy with sleep. “How was the show tonight?"

"Amazing. It was great. Baton Rouge’s a great crowd. They were a lot of fun."

"That's so awesome. Are you in a hotel tonight? It looks like it."

"Yeah, thank God. The bus is killing me." Not to mention the bunk doesn’t offer much privacy to talk to her.

“Where are the other guys?” she asks of my bandmates.

“After party.”

“You didn’t want to go with them?” Her eyes are a little more open now, slightly reflecting the light from her phone screen.

“Hell no,” I huff out. “I’ve been to two this week already, and it’s the same fucking thing every time. I swear to God , they’re all blurring together. I needed a night off to just be with you.”

“Awww…” her eyes crinkle at the sides with her smile, and I just relax back and enjoy the glow of the lamp on her side, illuminating her skin just right. Fuck, I want to see more of her. FaceTime is a blessing and torture at the same time.

"So, what did you do today?" I ask, shifting in bed and settling in more.

"The usual boring stuff. Did some yoga, did some work. Annie came over for dinner."

"I'm glad you had company, just sucks it wasn’t me.” I let out a heavy breath. We’re silent for a few minutes, just looking at each other, and I’m perfectly content, until it settles over me how much I yearn for it to be in real life. "I miss the hell out of you,” I add on, finally breaking the quiet.

"I miss you too, baby.” Her voice is barely over a whisper, and her eyes soften to a shade darker.

"Baby, where's my smile? I hate when you're not happy and smiling."

"You mean this one?" she grins, making her eyes crinkle again.

“Aww shit, there it is.” I feel a grin of my own widen on my face, and the ache in my chest relax just a little as I bring my other hand up to take a screenshot. “Hold it right there for a minute, baby.”

She obliges for me as I click off a shot of that beautiful sight. “That’s going up in my bunk,” I declare, raising an eyebrow at her which makes her snicker, and my gaze is pulled back to all the skin she’s showing. It might as well be gravity, and my cock is aching for her so bad it’s agony. And because I seem to be a glutton for this particular brand of torture, I go for broke.

“Wanna do something for me?” I ask.

“What’s that?”

"Take your top off.” I smile hungrily at her.

"What?!" she lets out an exasperated laugh. "Are you serious? "

"I'm dead serious. I want to see more of you."

"Jack, we could get hacked!"

"We won't. And if we do, I'll track the fucker down and pound his ass."

She shakes her head coyly at me.

“Come on, baby, please? I’m dying over here,” I plead like an adolescent. “I miss you so damn much, and I want to see your skin so I can imagine it here in this bed against mine.” It might be the death of me, but it’d be worth it.

She gives a silent giggle that makes her shoulders bounce slightly as she rolls her eyes. I feel a small rush of adrenaline when she sets the phone down and I hear her fumbling for a second before picking it back up to show me she followed through with my request.

She nestles into the pillow again, completely topless. Her glowing skin stretches smoothly across the planes of her chest, accentuating her delicate collar bone and her graceful shoulders. But when she lifts an arm to push a few stray strands of her brown hair out of her face, she gives me a brief glimpse of her full right boob, and my cock damn near explodes.

“Okay, now you’re taking it too far,” I huff in frustration, threading my hand into my hair, gripping at the strands to keep myself from blowing like Mt. St. Helens.

“What?” Her eyebrows stitch together in confusion.

“Nice try. You know what you’re doing.”

“What? I’m not doing anything.” Her eyes go round, acting oh so innocent as she rubs a hand down the side of her neck, letting it trail down her chest.

“Mayzie, I swear to God,” I grit out through my teeth and grab onto my dick, unable to stop myself. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, then open them to see her eyes narrow with a knowing smile.

“Are you grabbing yourself, you bad man?”

“I can’t help it, you’re not giving me much of a choice here,” I defend , trying to rub the urgent ache out of my dick. It’s not helping.

“I did what you asked me to,” she reminds me, lifting a bare shoulder at me.

“I didn’t tell you to touch yourself, baby,” I guffaw lightheartedly.

“What, you don’t like this?” she teases, her fingertips lightly dancing and grazing over the skin of her chest.

“Fuck,” is all I can manage to breathe out, as I shamelessly start working my cock. “Baby,” I swallow hard. “It’s been too damn long since I’ve been inside you. Do you know what you’re doing to me?”

“Do you know what you’re doing to me ?” she returns softly. I hear a low rasp in her voice which I’ve learned is a sign she’s as turned on as I am.

“Are you wet for me?” I husk out, my breath already picking up. “Shit,” I curse when I see her hand go below the camera view as if she’s checking.

“Yeah,” she wheezes out, blinking slowly.

“I’m so fucking hard right now,” I report in a low growl, not giving a single fuck how vulnerable I’m coming off.

“Yeah?” Her arm is moving in slow measured strokes.

“Oh yeah,” I groan.

“What should we do about it?” Her eyes are sending a million messages. She wants this as bad as I do, but wondering if she should. She’s as desperate as I am but feeling shy about it; vulnerable and self–conscious about our awkward setting and it slows me down just enough. I’m still harder than granite, but not on the brink of combusting like I was a second ago. While it’s a bit unconventional, this could be a beautiful thing. She just needs me to take control.

“Lie back,” I gently order in a hoarse whisper, and when she obeys, shifting herself and the phone to give me an aerial view of her resting back against her pillow, follow it up with, “that’s my girl.”