23

exactly like jack said, they were in miami to work. all they've done since they got here the other night is go to the studio, meet with the video director, and go back to the studio. deja and jasmine have been free to go and explore the city and nightlife, while sierra has been stuck to jacks hip because he keeps coming up with reasons as to why he needs her around; he wants her input on the video; wants inspiration for the video; wants to see the video from a 'woman's perspective'. total bullshit.

sierra sighs loudly, tired of sitting in meetings that have nothing to do with her. her phone is only so entertaining, and after switching between twitter and instagram for thirty minutes, there's not much new content you can expect. she's scrolled past the same seven photos on instagram, so far.

jack looks over at her and puts his hand on her leg. she gives him a look that says can we go? and he responds by rubbing her knee. sierra sighs again and slumps back in the office chair.

they sit at a long table, his entire team around him, along with chris' team. jack barely does any talking, and she wonders why they're even here if neelam is just going to handle everything anyway. she wants to be outside, at the beach and enjoying this vacation with her man and best friends. but instead, she's been trapped inside for the past two days, her hair and makeup done with nowhere to go.

"i'll be right back," she mutters to jack, standing up from her chair and adjusting the skirt she's wearing. she quickly excuses herself from the room, locking eyes with a guy on the oposite side of the table. she saw him come in with chris, and paid no attention to him. he smirks at her and she rolls her eyes before walking out of the room.

sierra reads the signs on the wall, finding the bathroom quickly. she enters and immediately pulls her phone out of her purse and dials dejas number because she knows jasmine probably won't answer if they're out having fun. lucky for her, deja picks up after the first few rings. "hellooooo!" deja sings. it's loud in the background and sierra physically deflates.

"you have to get me out of here, i literally want to die," sierra says dramatically. she hears a lot of shuffling on the other end and then it's exponentially quieter.

"what are you even doing?" deja asks.

"nothing! jack is just a fucking hater," she pouts, leaning against the counter. she knows the real reason he doesn't want her to go out is because of what always happens in miami. and all of her friends are single, which means he doesn't trust them in these times. "i just want to have fun. he's ruining my life."

"girl, fuck him! we'll pick you up, just text us the address!" jasmine yells, coming out of nowhere. "it's literally spring break—you deserve to relax and have fun. if he don't like it, he can kick rocks." she adds. sierra smiles to herself, and immediately sighs after.

"i just want to go to the beach," sierra mutters.

"i'm not even playing, send us your address and we'll be there. why are you literally sad on vacation—you can do this shit for free in atlanta," jasmine scoffs. "send us the addy right now."

"okay, okay. i'll see you guys soon," sierra says. they say their goodbyes and sierra quickly sends them her current location, feeling slightly guilty for ditching jack, but this is her vacation too, and she brought her friends only to barely even see them. she deserves to enjoy herself.

sierra walks out of the bathroom with her head in her phone and she only looks up when she she bumps into a hard chest. first, she notices his sneakers, and then she takes a few steps back to look at who it is—the table guy. "my bad," sierra says, pulling at her skirt again. his eyes rake over her in a way that makes her feel exposed, and she crosses her arms over her abdomen.

"nah, you good baby," he says, flashing her a smile. any other day, sierra would probably find him attractive and entertain it. he has nice brown skin, pearly white teeth, and a beard—every box is checked. but shes dating jack, therefore he's nowhere on her mind. "what's your name?" he asks, taking half a step closer to her.

"is that important?" she asks, starting to walk away from him. she hears his footsteps behind her, and then he's grabbing her arm. "get off of me!" she says, hitting his hand away from her.

"chill, bruh. i'm just trying to get to know you," he says. sierra looks at him in disgust and rolls her eyes.

"i have a boyfriend," she says. she knows he saw her walk in with jack—everyone in that room knows who she is.

the guy scoffs. "fuck that gotta do with me?" sierra opens her mouth to respond, but the door to the meeting room opening makes her stop and look over.

jack emerges from the room, in search of her. his eyes land on her and he relaxes, but then he notices chris' friend behind her. his back straightens as he walks over to them. "sup, bro?" he says, nodding at the guy.

"not much, man. we were just talking," he replies, wiping his nose. sierra rolls her eyes and crosses one leg in front of the other. jack nods at the guy and puts his hand on the small of sierras back.

"i know, bro. you're good," jack says, but sierra can tell by the way he chews on the toothpick in his mouth, the way he stares down the other guy, and the tightness of his jaw that it is not at all okay. she's grateful that the guy gets the hint and starts walking away, but she's annoyed that it took the presence of jack to work. "that's what i thought." jack mutters, sliding his arm around her waist. it kind of turns sierra on with the way jack easily dismissed the guy. "see, that right there is why i didn't even want to bring your here in the first place." jack says, looking down at her.

sierra glares up and him and removes herself from her grasp. "quit treating me like a child, jack. you're not my fucking father," she says. "and i'm tired of fucking being here and being in all of these pointless 'meetings'. this is my last spring break ever, and i haven't done anything memorable!" she says, throwing her arms up. jack just looks at her with a bored expression that only frustrates her even more.

"we've only been here two days, chill out," he says. she wants to scream and stomp her foot like a child so badly, but she's a grown woman. instead she clenches her fists in front of her face before releasing them.

"ooh! you piss me off so bad. i can't wait for those bitches to get here," she mumbles, pushing her hair over her shoulder. jacks eyebrows furrow at the last part of her sentence.

"excuse me?"

sierra looks at him out of the corner of her eye. "you heard me," she says, fixing her brown crocheted top.

jack moves the toothpick to the other side of his mouth and crosses his arms over his chest. "don't tell me you called your friends," he says, shaking his head. an annoyed smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

shrugging, sierra pulls out her phone as it buzzes in her purse. we outside the text from jasmine says. "bye," sierra says. jack scoffs and follows after her, practically on her heels. "bro, leave me alone." she says exasperatedly.

"i told you earlier that we're going out tonight. cant you just wait?" he asks, grabbing her by her elbow. he holds her firmly in place, and she doesn't fight to be let go.

"i'm tired of waiting, jack. i want to have fun and hang out with my friends," she says. it's like shes talking to an authoritative figure, and he's not that at all. why he's acting controlling and possessive over her lately makes no sense. "so i am going to enjoy myself, while you do whatever it is you've been doing for the last few days." she says, pulling her arms out of his grasp.

jack nods and moves the toothpick around. "bet," he says. sierra turns on the balls of her feet and practically runs out of the office building and into the humid florida sun, finally free to do as she pleases.

-

jack buttons the last button on his blush pink LV shirt and then clasps a watch on his wrist. after sierra left him alone at the meeting, they had come up with a concept for the already best friends video and planned to start shooting later in the day when the sun starts to set. the director predicted at most, two days of shooting.

urban comes over to jack and they dap each other up. "what's up?" urban says.

jack only shakes his head—he's been in a shitty mood ever since she left. part of him understands why she left; he would have too if the roles were revered, but he also is frustrated with her because he's just trying to keep her safe and keep their relationship steady. it's not like he doesn't trust sierra or her friends, it's just that they're all in miami and her friends are single. needless to say, he has no faith in them.

he wants sierra to have fun, and if they get this video down in the allotted time, the things he has planned will all be worth the wait.

"whats up with you?" urban asks, sparking up a blunt. he takes a hit and jack holds his hand out. "no fucking way." urban says with an amused smile, passing over the joint. jack takes one hit before passing it back. he wanted to feel loose, but not entirely high.

"nothing, man."

urban scoffs. "if it's about sierra just say that. i mean, i already know it is, so just be real," he says. jack stares at him and pokes his tongue in his cheek. "she coming to the shoot?" he asks.

jack shrugs. "i don't know, i haven't talked to her since she left," he says, checking his watch.. "and that was six hours ago."

urban raises his eyebrows. "uh-oh. it might be over for you," he says jokingly. jacks heart drops to his ass and he gives urban a deadpan look. "i'm just kidding! but you should definitely call her, i mean, we are in miami. you know what they say." urban says.

"fuck off," jack mumbles, going over to his clothes from earlier and digging his phone out of his jeans pocket. he quickly dials up sierra number and puts the phone up to her ear.

she answers slower than he'd like, but he's relieved when he hears a quieter background. "yeah?" her voice is less hostile, but her attitude definitely didn't go away.

"you good?" he asks, licking his lips. lets out a dramatic exhale.

"why wouldn't i be?"

"relax, i'm just asking a question. are you coming to the shoot?" jack questions.

"do you want me there?"

jack rolls his eyes. "of course i want you here. are you coming or not?" he doesnt mean for it to come off so harsh, but it does.

"if you're going to be like that, then no," sierra replies. he hears clattering, and realizes she's at dinner.

"i'm sorry, baby. i want you here, really. i'll send you the address," he says gently. he glances over his shoulder to see if urban is still there, but he's alone.

sierra takes a moment before responding. "aight," is all she says before she hangs up the phone on him.

sierra scrolls through her phone and rests her head against the window in the back of the car. she clicks on urbans instagram story and perks up when she realizes it's a video. it's mostly of him, but then he moves the camera and nemo pops up, along with the background of a ton of women. "the fuck?" she mumbles, replaying it.

"what?" jasmine asks, looking over her shoulder. sierra shows her friends the phone and watches their faces change in unison. "that's your man?" jasmine asks with raised eyebrows, the question aimed at both of them.

deja gives her a look and sierra sighs, putting her phone in her purse and crossing her arms over her lap. "you know what song it is?" she asks. sierra shakes her head and they give her the same are you out of your mind? look. "you don't know the song?"

"no. chris brown is in it, though," she says. sierra hasn't even heard his album besides the whats poppin remix—that was pretty inevitable. she's avoided it since it dropped three months ago, and she's afraid of playing it and hearing something that she doesn't want to hear.

deja immediately gets out her phone and starts typing, and seconds later, the beat of a song starts. the chorus begins and jacks voice starts playing out of the tiny phone speakers.

jetson came in with a FN two girls with him, told me he ain't got a preferencesat them both down and I asked a few questions met last week and they already best friends already best friends (friends)met last week and they already best friends (friends)met last week and they already best friendsalready

sierra listens to the song, unmoved as he goes through the chorus. it's nothing of substance, and she sits there bored until his verse starts. she knows he can't be talking about her at first because: 1. she's not a freshman and 2. she doesn't go to georgia state. jack didn't even know her when she was a freshman in college.

"turn it off," sierra says after the chorus starts up again. jasmine and deja share a look before deja pauses the song.

"i mean, it's a good song," deja says meekly.

"i never said it wasn't," sierra mumbles, looking out the car window at the dark night sky.

the car comes to a stop and the girls file out of the car. sierras mood has been teetering on ruined ever since jack called her, and she's almost completely there now that she knows what she's about to walk into.

jasmine and deja links their arms through hers and she sighs resting her head on dejas shoulder. something unspoken passes through them, and sierra knows that they'll have her back no matter what.

their heels sink into the sand, so they stop and take them off. sierras heart feels heavy with every step because she's afraid of what she's going to see and how she's going to react. when jack shot the video for warsaw, she was upset for days.

the girls make it to the set and stand off to the side. jack and chris are in the middle of shooting a scene together, and surrounding them are dozens of women in bathing suits and dresses. chris grabs at a few of them and dances with them. jack mostly pays attention to the camera, but at the last second, he grabs what sierra considers to be his 'love interest', and she starts twerking on him.

sierra crosses her arms over her chest and clenches her jaw. "cut!" the director yells, and jack looks up from the girl and locks eyes with sierra. his face falls and he quickly lets go of the girl and steps off of the stage and heads over to sierra.

"i do not want to talk to you right now," she says lowly as he approaches her. jack reaches for her and she puts a hand up between them. "did you ask me here to embarrass me?" she questions, holding back her anger and the frustration tears that want to fall.

"can i just talk to you? please?" he pleads. sierra glances at her friends who give her slight nods that let her know that they're on her side, always.

turning around, sierra walks out of the set and back towards the way she just came from. "i cant go hang out with my friends because you don't want me to shake my ass, but some random bitch can do that to you?" sierra asks, raising her voice once they're a good distance away. jack just stands there, his mouth moving as he tries to find a rebuttal. "oh, okay. i see how it is." she says, nodding her head.

"sierra, it's just for a video," he says, keeping his voice calm.

"i dont give a fuck! why the fuck did you ask me to be here if you were just going to throw it in my face? just to embarrass me?" she asks frustratedly. jack reaches for her again and she takes a step away from him. "quick fucking touching me, i'm not playing with you." sierra says.

jack sighs and holds the bridge of his nose. "can you just calm down? please?" he says. sierra scoffs and raises her eyebrows at him.

"i am calm. i could have laid your ass out on this sand, but you're still standing so be grateful," she spits. jack rolls his eyes and takes a deep breath. "i don't know why you're acting like you don't have any sense lately, but you need to find some—quickly. becau-" sierra stops talking when she notices urban timidly approaching them.

"uh, they're looking for you, jack," urban says, standing a few feet away from them as if he's afraid that if he gets closer, he'll be caught in the crossfire.

jack drags a hand down his face and nods. "alright," he looks over at sierra and drops his hands at his sides. "i'll talk to you later?" he says, but it's more of a question.

"fuck you," she says with a roll of her eyes. jack opens his mouth to say something back, but thinks better and closes it. "i wish you would." she says to his back as walks away. sierra watches him dap urban up and then disappear onto the set, his shoulders slumped.

urban lingers, glancing over at sierra standing alone on the dark beach. "you alright?" he asks, walking over to her. sierra shrugs, her eyes welling up with tears. a breeze passes through and she hugs herself at the waist, goosebumps forming on her brown skin.

urban offers her the blunt in his hand, and she looks at it with narrowed eyes. she's not anti weed, but she prefers to stay away from it. except for tonight.

she takes the blunt from him and takes a hit, holding in the smoke for a second before blowing it out. it's like smoking hookah, but not. a single tear slips out of her right eye, and she quickly wipes it away.

an amused smile takes over urbans face as sierra takes a second hit of the blunt before handing it back. "what?" she asks, coughing a little.

"you feel better, huh?" he asks. sierra lets out a light laugh and shakes her head.

"you're crazy. i feel the same."

"just wait," urban insists. they both know that she'll maybe get a small effect because she barely smoked anything. "he cares about you a lot, you know that right?" he says softly after a beat of silence.

sierra snorts. "he doesn't act like it."

"i think he's a little afraid of you. just don't take anything that he does in the video to heart—it's just an act," urban says, taking another puff of the blunt. sierra downcasts her eyes to the sand that she's burying her toes in.

she believes urban, but there becomes a point in time where it's no longer an act, and she doesn't know if she wants to stick around to see everything change.

——

mwahahahaha btw i skipped jacks birthday in the story because it wouldve been a boring chapter just know that he's 24 now and sierra is still 21 (will be turning 22)!!

thoughts? questions? comments? concerns?

excuse any mistakes :)

EDIT: THANK YOU FOR 2k VOTES. I LOVE U SM. FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR YALL