Chapter 93
Laura and I were on the deck at Charlie's house, locked in a long, lingering kiss.
She pulled back slightly, just enough to look me in the eye. Her cheeks were flushed, her smile soft.
"So, today it's only the two of us?" Laura asked, tilting her head.
"What? I'm not enough?" I replied, pretending to be offended, a playful smirk tugging at my lips.
Laura laughed softly and rested her head on my shoulder. "You're more than enough. I was just surprised, that's all. I've gotten used to our entourage."
"Me too. I love them," I said, sounding completely innocent. "But they gave me those annoyed eyes when I try to kiss you deeply..."
"You are so shameless, Jake," Laura said, a little speechless. "And that only happened two times," Laura added, explaining it like she was defending herself.
"I was just joking. One time was just to annoy Carly—she was too chill that day. The other, I wanted to see you blush a little."
Despite how it might seem, I'm actually against over-the-top public displays of affection. I know how uncomfortable that can be for others. Most of the times they caught me kissing Laura or other girl, we were tucked away somewhere a bit more hidden.
I even bought another car—a modified Rolls-Royce with a divider between the passenger and driver seats. Pepper had one like that too, and it really came in handy for privacy.
Uncle Charlie ended up buying part of the adjacent lot and expanded the garage. Now it fits up to eight cars comfortably.
I have two cars, Alan has two, and—surprisingly—Uncle Charlie just has one.
He'll probably buy another one soon.
Later, we both settled into the beach chairs on the deck. Laura curled up on my lap. She was clicking through her MP3 player—the one with the tiny Marshmello keychain dangling from it, gently swaying with each of her movements.
"Happier, Friendzone, Alone, Faded, Titanium, Hear Me Now, Waiting for Love... and now Summer," she said, listing the tracks one by one.
She looked up at me with a soft smile. "Every time, it gets harder to choose my favorite."
"Now that you mentioned it," I said, shifting slightly in the chair, "I have a secret to tell you."
Laura looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "If it's that Freddie and Sam kissed, I already know."
"How? Did Cher tell you?" I asked, a little surprised.
"No, she knew too?" Laura replied. "I overheard them talking about it. I mean, they're not exactly the most discreet when it comes to whispering things."
"And you're telling me?" I asked.
"I'm 100% sure you already knew. And I don't see what the big deal is..."
"I know. But they..."
Laura rolled her eyes and smiled at me. "I know. I wouldn't tell anyone else."
I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. Just a small one.
But as I felt her begin to deepen it, I gently pulled back and grinned. "Nope, I didn't tell the secret yet."
Laura adjusted herself, sitting more upright in my lap. "This must be good—for you to postpone a make-out session."
"It is," I said, meeting her gaze.
Then I looked her in the eyes. "I'm Marshmello."
Laura blinked, then burst out laughing. "Really? How can you lie like that without even blinking?"
I smiled and simply said, "I'm telling the truth, Laura. I'm Marshmello."
Laura continued laughing, but then looked at me with an amused, suspicious smile. "Really, what is your game, Jake?" she asked. "Make out? Not that you couldn't initiate that whenever. Try to be funny? But you wouldn't say it twice." she paused, then continued, "A prank? But you're not really that kind of a person."
I spoke a bit more seriously now, though the smirk never left my face. "I'm Marshmello."
Laura stopped laughing and took a breath. This time, she just gave a half-smile. "You're not joking, are you?" she said, trying to process it.
I simply shook my head.
She paled a little, then looked deep into my eyes and stayed there for a moment. "Wait… no way. No. Freaking. Way," she whispered.
Then she let out a small scream. "You are the fucking Marshmello?!"
"Wow, you said a bad word," I teased, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm hyperventilating here, and you still have the gall to joke?" she said, a little annoyed.
I leaned in and pulled her into a kiss. At first, she turned her face away, still caught in her whirlwind of emotions—but then, she eased and kissed me back. We stayed like that for a while, letting the moment speak for itself.
Eventually, we pulled apart. Laura rested her head on my shoulder again, her fingers lightly brushing the MP3 player still in her hand. The little Marshmello charm swayed gently.
"I still can't believe this is you," she said with a smile, glancing at the charm before pressing play.
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Laura and I were on our way back to her house, riding in my new Rolls-Royce. Jimmy was driving, as usual, and had already raised the divider between the front and back seats, giving us complete privacy.
"You're the number #1 singer in the U.S…" Laura said, shaking her head.
"Nah," I replied, leaning back. "There's still a lot to conquer to be the number one—even if the momentum is mine."
I smirked and added, "Especially considering I haven't even sung yet."
Laura's eyes widened. "That's true. I forgot about that. I saw you singing, and you were really good. Why aren't you singing?"
"For the same reason I'm using an identity like Marshmello," I replied. "I don't want to be too famous. Not right now."
"You are unbelievable, Jake," Laura said.
I looked at her and chuckled. "This time, that line felt a little different."
"Ah, almost forgot," I said, turning slightly toward her. "Another reason I told you I'm Marshmello—was to invite you to my next recording session. I'm working on two new tracks this week. Want to come?"
Laura lost her cool for the second time that day. "What??"
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