Take a bow (Jackson)

[Deleted]

Oh God, was she really going to go through with this? There were quite some people at The House, all who could judge her performance. Having been around as a waitress for a bit now, Kiara had often unintentionally eavesdropped on conversations while passing by, catching comments on whoever would be performing at that moment. It made her fear that this experience would completely wreck her self-esteem. Perhaps she should have opted to indeed do a duet with Tanner, but seeing that might only add to the nerves, she rather limited this during her first time on this stage. Nevertheless, her heart was beating at a rapid pace as a hand carefully moved the curtain, just enough for her to be able to peek through the opening.

The act before her was close to its end, and the blonde took a step back from the curtain. She inhaled deeply while hands moved as if they were pressing something invisible down. ”Come on, Ki.” She whispered to herself. ”You can do this. Don’t ruin this chance.” Because that was Kiara’s main concern. It was a wonderful opportunity and it would raise her income as well, so at least the girl should try. Hands soon smoothed over the black and white striped skirt of the dress as she tried to not lose her balance on the high heels due to being so anxious.

It did not take long for the person before her to slip backstage again, giving her a goofy thumbs up before he distanced himself further. Yeah, she could really use that. It was only a matter of seconds now, and she could not wait for them to be over.

[Jackson Haynes]

Jackson had an idea, and that was to visit Kiara at work. Calling up their babysitter, Jackson knew that this teen was going to be rich by the time Gabe was three. Absolutely. He had no idea what to expect as he parked his car at The House, but he had a small smile on his face. The ignition off, Jackson still sat in his car, adjusting his hair and trying on a smile. Hopefully Kia’s boss wouldn’t mind if he romanced her a bit. He hadn’t been doing enough of that lately.

Finally getting inside, Jackson was greeted by a friendly wait staff, but no Kia. Jackson was actually slightly underdressed compared to the staff in his jeans and t-shirt. He frowned a bit, leaning over to ask for her. His eyes went wide. He had to ask again where she was, and the sharp dressed man pointed to the stage. Lost in a daze, he ignored the man at the front, asking him if he wanted a table or not. Jackson’s fingers fiddled with the bracelet in his hand as he wandered in between the tables.

Where was she?

[Deleted]

It did not take long for a man backstage motioned for her to move after he had tucked a wireless microphone in her hand. For a moment Kiara reasoned that this was no bulletproof plan and that she should back out before she were to make a complete fool out of herself. But as the intro to Lenka’s Everything At Once began to play, there was no way back. Yet, the blonde stayed behind the curtain a couple more seconds. Merely a count before the lyrics were supposed to be sung, she finally stepped through and of course had to start sing right away.

As sly as a fox, as strong as an ox…

Blue eyes got squinted together as she attempted to look at the audience, but this made her grateful for the spotlight being aimed at her. It blinded her enough to not catch notice of any possible disapproving expressions. Who she did see, however, was Oscar behind the bar. One way or another he appeared to know the dance to this song, wordlessly encouraging her to do so as well. Ki was so not doing that though. What she did try was to loosen up, to try and have fun on stage. She did find herself moving a bit more (or, rather, sway) as the lyrics kept flowing from her lips, but definitely not to the extent that actual dancers did on this stage.


Oh oh oh oh all you wanna be is everything. As mean as a wolf…

Okay, so this wasn’t that bad after all. And the fact that some guys whistled in the background gave her confirmation it wasn’t that bad. It did make her slightly uncomfortable though, but surely she would be even more if she were aware of the perverse remarks being made between the two friends.

[Jackson Haynes]

Jackson eventually found a spot, but he couldn’t manage to sit down until she stepped up to the mic. This was unreal. He hadn’t been expecting this at all. When she said she worked at The House, she said she was waitressing. Maybe she got promoted or something? Either way, he was already proud of her, especially considering how nervous she’d been during MANifesto. He would never want to do what she was about to do now: sing, in public.

He remembered their yodelling, and he smiled as soon as she begin. Jackson hid his face behind his hands and he leaned forward, captivated and intrigued. Why hadn’t she told him she was singing tonight? Was she that nervous. Looking at beautiful as she did only helped to mesmerize him. He was here because he’d promised her more gifts in return for the ones for Christmas. His presence tonight was one, and that was a miracle considering the little guy at home.

The bracelet was another. He just hoped she liked it.

There were a few catcalls, but Jackson could only smile. She had nothing to worry about, the crowd was a bunch of morons. Still, he couldn’t help but glare at them subtly. “My girlfriend’s trying to sing a song,” he said, leaning over in his spot to someone looking especially interested.

[Deleted]

Based on her body movements, uncomfortably shifting her weight from one leg onto the other, it was not too difficult to connect the discomfort to some of the male reactions coming from the audience. Kiara did manage to keep a small smile plastered upon her red lipstick lips though, slowly having eyes adjust to the strong light being aimed at her while on stage. The people present at The House became more visible, but she never scanned the crowd too long.

The guy being spoken to, located at the table next to Jackson’s, turned his head as the other one spoke up. His expression was one of degradation, momentarily taking in his appearance before a smirk broke the silence between them. ”She is way out of your league, bro. Besides, I'm going home with that one tonight, so don't even bother.” He even laughed at that, unable to believe this guy could even considered it an option. With a shake of the head, his gaze drifted towards Kiara again as the song neared its last minute.

By that time, however, the blonde had her gaze skimming the crowd again. And it wasn’t before long that it drifted past Jackson… and straight back to him a split second later. It might have been obvious that she did, given she stumbled over the following three words while never tearing her eyes away from him. What was he doing here? Oh God, would he be mad for her not having told him?

[Jackson Haynes]

Kiara was beautiful, Jackson really couldn’t blame the guys’ reactions, and you know, she worked at a place known for the sexiness. Her dress was cute more than anything else, but that wouldn’t stop men’s imaginations from running with it. Jackson wasn’t an exception to the rule, he just didn’t want to be an animal.

“We’ll see,” Jackson was, a winning smile on his face as his silent bet was made. This guy had plans, but Jackson didn’t care that much, considering that he knew more than this guy. But if he got any smart ideas... Jackson looked at the guy full on, his eyes morphing into vertical slits. The “competition” looked stunned for a second, and Jackson gave him a worried look. “What? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

His head snapped over to look at Kiara, she’d lost her place. Was someone bothering her? But she was looking right at him, and he stared back. There was no way she would be able to see that he was smiling, so he gave a little thumbs up and was the first to clap when the song was over.

[Deleted]

As soon as Jackson did give the thumbs up, Kiara let her gaze drift back to the rest of the audience to finish off the song. Afterwards she didn’t move for a couple of seconds, finding it rude to do so while receiving an applause. After a small bow, however, the blonde tried to keep it hidden just how eager she was to disappear behind the curtain again. The rush of adrenaline made her forgot everything for a second, but it did not take long for her boyfriend’s image to return to her memory. Thumbs up must mean that he was not agitated, right?

Despite the fact that, yes, “competition” had seen something similar to a ghost, he did not seem fond to just leave it at that. A few counts before the song had come to an end, he had quickly moved to the bar to order a small bottle of water. With that in his hand, he moved towards to door that led backstage, simply to await the pretty blonde and to make it clear who the winner would be tonight.

As soon as the door opened and the girl stepped out, he immediately moved forward to offer it to her. And, will you look at that! She was smiling at him, shyly even! Little did the man realize that Jackson had moved over as well and was standing a couple of feet away. It was not until he spoke an ”For you” that Ki actually looked down at the bottle of water. ”Oh, um, thank you.” He received a smile and opened his mouth again to speak, but the girl already excused herself and slipped past him… towards that weird guy. What?

Kia stopped in front of Jackson, momentarily placing the drink on a nearby table while making eye contact. ”Hey. What… what are you doing here?” She did sound delighted though. Not upset about it.

[Jackson Haynes]

Once the applauding was over, Jackson stood. Many others stood as well, either to go to the washroom or grab a drink. He headed to where he thought the backstage might be, eager to see his girlfriend and congratulate her. She deserved it. No, she more than deserved it. For now, he pocketed the present and tried to sift through the crowd.

Jackson scoffed at the other guy’s sad attempt at getting his girlfriend to go home with him. He didn’t really make any further remarks, because Kia came straight to him. His attention span only went so far.

“Hey,” he said, picking up her hands with his. “I didn’t know you could sing like that,” he commented, but he felt like he was being watched. The other guy hadn’t left just yet, but hopefully he would get the hint soon and not ruin the night. “I came to visit you at work. I just, didn’t expect you to be up on stage.” He explained. The smile on his face indicated that he wasn’t upset, not even a little.

“Are you still on shift?” He asked further, the look on his face pressing. If she was, then he’d save the bracelet for later.

[Deleted]

As soon as Jackson took her hands in his, she gave them a gentle squeeze, able to feel how her own cheeks heat up at the positive comment. Well, now he knew. Kiara wanted to state that out loud and also start her explanation as to why he had not been informed about this, and he pretty much implicitly seemed to search for that answer to begin with. ”I just sort of did not want you to be here and witness it if it were to turn out to be a disaster.” So luckily it had not gone wrong! ”But I’m happy you are!” She quickly added, to avoid wrong assumptions.

At the question, a thoughtful look appeared. ”Honestly, I’m not even sure.” Kia chuckled, looked around for a moment, but then figured she was off shift since no one had given her orders on what to do after the performance. ”I believe I’m not though. Why? Gabe is with Lacey, right?” Of course he was. Jackson would never leave his son unattended. ”She can’t stay for long?” Oh, or maybe there was a surprise? Nevertheless, she was pretty curious and made it more obvious by slightly dipping her head to the side.

”Do we have to go home?”

[Jackson Haynes]

Jackson smiled softly. “If you were really that bad, you wouldn’t have tried.” Obviously someone, probably her boss, saw something in her and he saw the same thing. A positive, vibrant young woman. And she was perfect. Jackson pulled Kiara into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “You were great,” he said, and he meant it. And he wasn’t mad, at all. He was just surprised. He was expecting her to be waitressing!

Jackson nodded. Their, er, his son was in good hands. “I was just wondering…” but Kia kept talking and Jackson chuckled. “No we don’t have to, that’s why I’m here.” He said, giving her a ‘duh’ sort of look. Reaching into his pocket, Jackson put the pretty trinket in his girlfriend’s delicate hands. “Present number three,” he said, and then slipped his hand into his pocket again, a small note hidden as Kiara looked at the bracelet.

Gift four was bigger than any other gift he had ever given anyone.

[Deleted]

In Kiara’s opinion, Cynthia had not given her a lot of choice. She was not going to try to explain to Jackson just how strong her dislike towards men was and how those two things were linked. Besides, the embrace that followed was so much more important. ”Thank you,” she whispered in response to the compliment and placed a quick peck along his jawline before pulling back slightly again. She was about to reach for her drink, to ask if he wanted something as well, but instead Jackson placed something in her hands, bringing a curious look to her face as eyes fell down.

One by one fingers gave away more of the trinket, and in turn her smile grew brighter every single second. ”It’s so beautiful.” Her thumb momentarily caressed over the blue beads before put it around her wrist, inspecting it a couple more seconds before a wide smiling face looked up once more. She could have verbally thanked him, but instead went for the better options. Kia leaned in, closed eyes as soon as they had settled on his lips and then planted her own upon them. She let it linger just long enough before the soles of her feet fully rested on the floor again.

Jackson didn’t have to buy her anything, and he most probably knew that, but she did like this random surprise. ”You specially arranged a babysit to come and give me this?” Because, honestly, that was so incredibly sweet.

[Jackson Haynes]

“I thought you’d like it,” Jackson said, glad for the smile on her face. He had a hard time trying to figure out what girls liked, and Kia wasn’t just any girl. When he bought the bracelet, he’d had a lot of help. Basically he had given the salesclerk a full description of Kiara that turned into a mini autobiography. But it had worked, and now Kiara had a great Christmas present.

And he was getting kissed in return, and that was definitely a good thing. Jackson kissed her back enthusiastically, his arms wrapped around her small waist. When they pulled away slightly, Jackson was left still holding Kiara close. Over her shoulder he saw the other man’s jaw drop. Maybe it wasn’t hard to believe they were dating after all.

“Yeah… Is that dumb?” He asked, still unsure of himself. Jackson slipped the piece of paper into her hand. “Remember how you asked me what’s at the top of my bucket list?” He asked. Gabe coming into his life couldn’t have been better timing in hindsight. “I’ve always, well, wanted to have a family. Of my own…” His words faltered and he simply looked at her. On the little piece of paper, very little was written in his scrawled handwriting.

You + me + Gabe = my family

[Deleted]

Dumb? Chuckling at that question, Kiara shook her head. ”No. I think it is very very sweet.” And even more than that, but she would babble for at least fifteen minutes straight to get that across if he let her. The smile grew curious again and slight disbelief was obvious as he slipped the piece of paper into her hand. Her expression seemingly asking him: another present? Ki could easily check for herself, but Jackson’s words kept eyes firmly trained on his. She could only nod to confirm she remembered having asked that, frowning as Jackson continued. What was he getting at?

It was not until silence (between them at least) took over again, that her gaze reluctantly travelled down to the little piece of paper. Kia had to twist it around since the writing had been hidden at first glance, but once she could read what he had put down in words for her, the blonde didn’t react for a couple of seconds. She just blinked at it. Eventually though, a soft happy chuckle could be heard and she finally looked up at him again. If he did not know better, there might be some tears threatening to brim. Tightly wrapping her hand around it, both arms soon snaked around her boyfriend’s neck.

”Our family.” She whispered near his ear, smiling while nuzzling her face into the nape of his neck and planting a couple of loving kisses in the process. This little piece of paper? It was going to be cherished the rest of her life. ”I love you.” Ki purred, like usually whenever she was very pleased with him, pulling back just enough to make eye contact again. Her bright smile was still there as she brought their foreheads together. ”You’re the best thing that’s ever been mine.” And she would do her best to keep it that way.

[Jackson Haynes]

“Okay good,” he said, visibly relaxing. “I don’t want an excuse to have to visit my girlfriend on the job.” That didn’t mean she could visit him though. When he was posing in front of the camera, he didn’t need to be distracted. It would completely ruin the shots. At least that was done for now, he’d done a couple shoots last weekend. The photographer had commented on his baggy eyes and how that needed to be righted before it went to photoshop. Jackson was having a hard time with everything, but he was trying to be positive about it all.

Music filled the House, and people were milling about around them, but that didn’t matter to Jackson. The man who had been interested in Kiara had sulked away, and now it was just the two of them. Worried at her lack of reaction, Jackson frowned. Maybe he shouldn’t have let her in like that, that’s what ruined his last relationship. He was a man who actually had feelings. But then she smiled and he sighed a breath of relief. This whole evening turned into him being kept on his toes.

“You make me happy,” he said at the same time she mentioned their family. He laughed, his eyes squeezing at the corners when he smiled like this. “I love you too,” he said, his hand clasping around hers. He’d missed being with her, and little Gabe had a tender way of getting in the way of things. What Jackson had in mind tonight involved only the two of them. “I’ll always be yours…” He said, his voice gruff. Maybe they’d get out of here after all.

[Deleted]

God, Kiara loved that smile. It was just so perfect. This gift, as meaningful as one could get, did say more than she had ever anticipated to receive. To her it was to extra confirmation that Jackson wanted to keep her in his life, especially since he included her within the father-son connection. Tenderly placing a hand upon his cheek, another kiss followed and then a soft whisper against his lips. ”How about we get out of here?” Because if the blonde was no longer needed at The House, she much rather went home were no people were moving around them every single second.

And given Jackson had easily agreed, it did not take long for the two of them to head home. Kiara was glad she had opted to ask for a ride earlier that day, meaning it did not require two cars to drive back to the apartment. She hoped Lacey wouldn’t mind that they were back this fast, but Gabriel should be asleep by now, so technically the evening wasn’t that thrilling anymore for their babysitter.

Once there, Kia secured the small note in her wrist again, most probably having read it a thousand times on the way back, then undid her seatbelt and slipped out of the car. ”I hope he’s asleep.” She mused knowingly with a little grin.