To say that we were all growing up would be an understatement. It wasn't like we'd changed much over the last three years, if anything, it was just like high school with more freedom. We could drink, we definitely partid and aside from bus call, before and after shows we were allowed to do whatever we wanted. The only downfall to all of this was sharing the bus with everyone else. It seems like we've been constantly on the road since we graduated and that barely left any time for Ember and I to be romantic. Sure, there was sex. Awkward, quiet sex. Sometimes there was drunk sex. But unless I managed to sneak her away without the guys or we had a hotel room for the night, we were more like best friends than anything else. That sometimes serves as a problem.


Rian and Cass were openly together now and very openly in love. She was working her way up in the music world, as well, and we'd even had the pleasure of meeting up with Hayley who was a few steps ahead of Cass. Zack mostly kept to himself, he'd drink and go nuts with us, but he had his own agenda. Just like Alex, this often meant Ember and I had to put up with their one-night-stands. It was frustrating that those two could do whatever they want, but Ember and I were kept in check. Probably because she worked for the band - She got treated just like a crew member.


Days like today were really the best part of being stuck with the guys. Hanging out, on the beach, doing absolutely nothing but soaking up the sun. Did I mention how tasteful it was to watch Ember frolic around the water with her much more adult body in a tiny black bikini? It didn't even bother me that everyone else was checking her out, 'cause she was mine.


"Dude," Alex grinned, plopping down on the towel beside me. I watched his eyes trail to Ember and a smile formed on my lips. "Why'd you get out?"


"Water makes me hungry. Came to grab a snack."


He glanced toward the bag of chips beside me and nodded his head. The truth actually was, I'd been in such a rush and so excited over the magazine that I totally forgot to take my meds today. I didn't feel any different, honestly, just a little more anxious over the fact that I forgot them. The simple fact that I didn't mind Alex staring down my girlfriend was a big step for me, drugs or not. Maybe, after the last three years, I'd actually gotten better. It was definitely something to dwell on.


"Well. You've eaten. Onward to the water, sir!"


Alex snickered as he stood up and kicked sand on my legs. I felt strange, like I was actually on the same world as these guys. Like I could fit in without it being forced. Grinning, I pulled myself up and took off after Alex. He was already in the water, climbing on Zack's back as everyone else just kind of hopped around in the waves. With my arms extended, I ran straight into Ember and caught her just before she hit the waves. She looked at me with a huge smile, her dark eyes shining against the sunlight. It was like I was seeing her for the first time, all over again. Only, she wasn't a pissed off seventeen-year-old and no one really thought of us as step-siblings anymore. We were just Jack and Ember.. Until the guys got drunk, then we went back to being brother and sister. Yuck.


"You know, you're not supposed to get back in the water so soon after you eat."


"Maybe I was just trying to find a reason to get mouth-to-mouth from you."


Ember giggled and locked her arms around my neck. She pressed her body against mine and our lips connected like the waves to the sand. The tide was washing up around us and the heat from the sun perfectly hid my cold chills. For the first time since I've hit my twenties, my mind is free. It was a sensational feeling, one that I could get used to.


"Guys-" Rian poked Ember on the shoulder, forcing us to break apart. "Fans."


We turned our heads to see a group of girls, rocking their swim suits, bouncing up and down on the sand as they waved us down. Fuck, I loved the rockstar life. Ember smacked me on the shoulder and rolled her eyes, and had it not been for Alex waving back at them, I would have been the one who got in trouble. But when I heard their small feet splashing through the water, a smirk formed on my lips and I decided to be like the Jack I was before my brain got sick. I grabbed Ember's hand and began running through the water, tugging her along. Rian and Zack had joined us, laughter falling from their lips.


"The fans are attacking!" I cried, throwing my arms in the air as I high-stepped. "Run, Alex, run!"


My best friend died of laughter as he ran just a few feet ahead of the screaming girls. His eyes were locked on their bodies, so at least one of us got to enjoy that perky side of fame.


It's not like I needed them anyway. I had Ember, and maybe, Ember could have a brand new me.

Notes

Where did all of our readers go?! WE ARE BACK!
-Jess.