Page 82 of Pursuing Desire

I smirk. “Hell yeah, they planned this. They want their ratings.”

Jess laughs shortly. “They’re like this little two-bit TV station that no one watches. Like any of this is going to matter. Their viewer base is pretty small.”

“You’re probably right. At least we don’t have to worry about all the people we know seeing the show.”

She huffs out an annoyed breath. “Yeah, I guess. It’s my family I’m concerned with at the moment. Not friends.”

“It’ll be fine. You’ll see,” I say encouragingly.

Jess points to the right. “We need to turn here.”

I hear the trepidation in her voice and want so much to comfort her. All I can do is hope it’ll be okay. This is the last thing we need to get through.

We turn off the main road and then onto a smaller road. We pass several older homes sitting on large lots of land. The wraparound porches and flower beds out front give a homey and welcoming feeling to the area.

It’s much more rural than I expected. Even though I’ve lived in the city my entire life, I’ve never been to this area. I’m surprised at how different it feels here versus Manhattan.

“Turn left, then the second driveway on the right,” Jess mumbles.

With my hands on the steering wheel, I make the turn onto the small lane and drive for a few seconds. The house comes into view. “The one with the blue siding?” I ask.

She nods. “That’s the one. Time to drum up some fake enthusiasm.”

“Ah, come on. Won’t be so bad. I’ll be there, after all. And doesn’t that make everything so much better?”

Jess cracks a small smile. “Sure. If you say so.”

We pull up and before I can even stop the car, I see a man and a woman come rushing out the front door, big smiles on their faces. The woman is probably around fifty-five years old. She has short, curly, light brown hair, similar to Jess’s. The man appears slightly older, his brown hair covered in streaks of white.

Taylor is already parked on the side of the house. When we pull up, she hops out of her car, camera already out.

I feel Jess stiffen beside me. Though we are now parked, she hasn’t made a move to get out of the car, and it seems like she has no intention of doing so.

Sighing, I exit the car and walk over to her side. I see her face through the window, and it kinda breaks my heart. She looks terrified. I can’t help but feel we’re about to be fed to the wolves.

I open the door and take her hand.

“You got this,” I whisper encouragingly.

She doesn’t say anything but slides out of the car. Hand in hand, we turn to her parents, who are rushing toward us.

She drops my hand before her parents seem to notice.

“My baby girl! What a nice surprise,” Mrs. Roberts says as she rushes to Jess and wraps her in a big hug.

“Hi, Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t call first.”

“You never have to call. You’re welcome anytime. You know that,” Mrs. Roberts chides.

Her dad steps up next and waits for the women to stop hugging before rushing in for his own hug. “Jess, so good to see you. It’s been too long.”

“I know, Dad. Way too long.”

Her dad steps back from Jess and looks at me. His eyes narrow questioningly. “And who are you?” he asks boldly, his chest puffing out.

I stick out my hand. “I’m Dax Anders, sir. I’m Jess’s . . . friend. It’s nice to meet you.”

Her dad ignores my outstretched hand. Instead, he turns back to Jess.