Page 227 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
Like his focus is split. I can feel it. That tension in him. That edge that hasn’t settled since yesterday.
He looks up suddenly, like he felt me watching him.
“Are you ready?”
I blink.
“For what?”
He lifts the phone slightly.
“I’m about to post.”
Oh.
That. My stomach tightens again, but this time it has nothing to do with nausea.
“Okay,” I say quietly.
It feels small when I say it. Simple. But I know it isn’t. I know exactly what it means. It’s just a photo. That’s what I keep telling myself.
Just a photo of our hands, fingers laced together, his thumb brushing over mine. No faces. No identifiers. Nothing that screams who I am to the world.
Just enough.
Just enough to say he’s not alone anymore.
Just enough to start something that can’t be undone. And that’s what makes my chest tighten.
Because Jackson isn’t quiet. He isn’t hidden. He’s visible. He’s watched. He’s wanted. And the last time that kind of attention turned on me... I have to swallow the thought before it finishes.
The sex tape.
The comments. The way it spread. The way it consumed everything. The way it took me apart piece by piece until there was barely anything left.
I can already see it happening again. People digging. Pulling it back up. Re-sharing. Re-telling. And this time, this time it won’t just be me.
It will be us. A warm, steady hand covers mine. I hadn’t even realized I’d gone still. Jackson’s eyes are on me now, searching.
“Hey,” he murmurs. “Are you okay?”
I force myself to breathe.
“I’m okay,” I say, and this time I mean it more. “Just… nervous.”
His grip tightens slightly, grounding.
“That’s fair.”
He studies me for a second longer, then nods to himself.
“I’ve already spoken to my mom,” he adds. “We’re going to get ahead of it. Media strategy. Control what we can.”
A small, tired smile pulls at my mouth.
“It doesn’t matter how much we try to control it,” I say gently. “It’s going to come up. The past is there.”
I don’t flinch when I say it. That’s new. That’s… something. His jaw tightens, but his voice stays steady.
