Morning sunlight spilled through the open balcony doors in soft golden streaks, warming the sheets and making Haley squint the second she opened her eyes. She groaned quietly and rolled onto her back, still half asleep, one arm stretching lazily across the bed beside her.
It was empty.
Her eyes blinked open a little more.
The sound of distant waves drifted in through the balcony along with warm ocean air. Haley pushed herself up slowly, hair messy from sleep, the white sheets slipping slightly around her as she looked toward the balcony.
Jack stood outside wearing nothing except a pair of black shorts, one hand resting against the railing while the morning light caught against his shoulders and messy hair.
Haley completely forgot to blink for a second. Her eyes went all over his back muscles, slowly moving down to his butt and those legs.
'Okay… wow.'
She shamelessly stared at him while waking up properly.
Then, like he somehow felt it, Jack turned around.
The second he spotted her sitting there, his expression softened into an easy smile. "Hey, beautiful."
Haley smiled instantly, still sleepy enough that it came out softer than usual. "Hey, handsome."
Jack walked back inside slowly. "Sleep well?"
"Like a baby," she murmured while brushing hair away from her face.
Jack walked over to the bed and leaned down to kiss her softly.
Haley immediately lifted both arms around his neck and kissed him back with a sleepy little smile against his lips. Before he could pull away properly, she tugged him forward hard enough that he lost balance and landed beside her on the bed.
Jack laughed. "Wow. Aggressive this morning."
"You were standing outside looking all…" Haley gestured vaguely at him while grinning. "Like that."
"Like what?"
"Hot," she admitted shamelessly before kissing him again.
Jack smiled against her lips this time, one hand sliding naturally against her waist while she curled closer to him. The kisses stayed lazy and warm, the kind that only happened when there was nowhere else to be yet.
Haley ran her fingers through his hair while Jack trailed soft kisses along her jaw and down to her neck, making her shiver happily. She removed the blanket and shifted closer until their legs tangled together, enjoying the warmth of his skin against hers.
He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, his thumb brushing lightly over her cheek. "You know, I could get used to waking up like this every day... with you by my side."
Haley felt her heart flutter at the sincerity in his tone. She leaned in and captured his lips again, pouring everything she felt into the kiss. It started sweet and slow but quickly grew more passionate as Jack responded with equal enthusiasm, his hand sliding up her back to hold her tighter. They stayed like that for a while, trading lazy kisses and quiet laughter.
Eventually, they broke apart just enough to breathe, foreheads resting together. Haley traced small patterns on his chest with her fingertips while he kept one arm wrapped securely around her. "Last night was awesome," she whispered. "The party, the fireworks, Beyonce... all of it. But this right here might be my favorite part."
Jack smiled and pressed another gentle kiss to her forehead before finding her lips once more. "Mine too. I meant what I said during the speech. Having you here makes everything feel right." He kissed her again, savoring the moment as if the rest of the world outside the suite did not exist.
They spent the next stretch of time lost in each other with soft touches and lingering kisses that spoke louder than any words. Haley felt completely at ease in his arms, the kind of comfortable happiness that came from knowing someone truly saw her and loved her exactly as she was. Jack held her like she was something precious, his fingers occasionally brushing through her hair while they exchanged quiet whispers about nothing important and everything that mattered.
Eventually, the kisses slowed, and they simply lay together, her head resting on his chest as he traced lazy circles on her shoulder. The balcony doors still let in the gentle sound of waves and distant city noise, but the suite felt like their own private bubble. Haley closed her eyes for a moment, perfectly content to stay wrapped up with him for as long as the morning would allow.
Jack kissed the top of her head and tightened his embrace slightly.
He looked down at her when she shifted slightly against his chest, her fingers still absentmindedly tracing patterns against his skin. He could feel the way she relaxed more with every passing second, like the world outside the suite kept drifting further away the longer they stayed tangled together.
Haley tilted her head just enough to look up at him properly. "You know," she said quietly, a small sleepy smile tugging at her lips, "I expected this to turn into morning sex."
Jack laughed softly under his breath. "Yeah?"
"Mm-hmm." She played with a strand of his hair between her fingers while her expression softened again. "But this…" Her voice lowered slightly as she searched for the words. "It's hard to explain, but I just want to stay like this." She hesitated for a second before adding more quietly, "Does that sound weird? I never felt like this before. I mean, I loved our first time and... it's just... I don't know how to say this..."
Jack's expression changed immediately. The teasing disappeared from his face, replaced by something softer and more careful. His hand moved slowly along her back while he looked at her like she had just said something important.
"No," he said gently. "It doesn't sound weird at all."
Haley held his gaze for a moment, like she was checking if he really meant that.
Jack brushed his fingers lightly through her messy hair before continuing. "I get it." He glanced briefly toward the open balcony where sunlight shimmered against the water outside. "My life's been so loud lately. Sets, flights, interviews, premieres, meetings…" He looked back down at her with a faint smile. "Then you're here, and suddenly everything feels quiet again."
That made something warm spread through Haley's chest.
She shifted higher against him until her chin rested lightly near his shoulder. "Quiet's nice," she murmured.
"Really nice."
For a while, they stayed like that without rushing to fill the silence. Jack's fingers kept tracing slow circles against her shoulder while Haley listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her cheek.
Haley smiled to herself after a minute. "You know what's weird?"
"What?"
"I used to think relationships were supposed to feel dramatic all the time." She let out a small laugh. "Like movies. Big fights, jealousy, people running through airports for some reason. Although I've already gone through the jealousy and running through the airport phases."
Jack grinned slightly. "Airports are very emotional places."
"Yep." Haley smiled before her expression softened again. "But with you…" She looked up at him carefully. "This is my favorite part. Just existing together."
Jack stared at her for a second like he was trying to memorize the moment.
Then he leaned down and kissed her again. Haley melted into it immediately, one hand sliding against the side of his neck while his arm tightened around her instinctively.
When they finally pulled apart, Jack rested his forehead lightly against hers and smiled.
"We're really good at this," he murmured.
Haley smiled back instantly. "At kissing?"
"At us."
That hit her harder than she expected.
Her smile softened into something quieter as she looked at him, and for a second she didn't even try hiding how much she loved him.
"Yeah," she whispered. "We really are."
...
//Haley's Confession//
Haley sat curled sideways on the couch with a soft smile that kept appearing every few seconds, like she physically could not stop it. One of her hands played absently with the sleeve of her oversized hoodie while she stared off somewhere into her own thoughts for a moment before laughing quietly to herself.
"Okay… so…" she started, already sounding distracted by the memory alone. "We basically spent the entire day hiding in Jack's room."
Her smile widened instantly.
"And honestly? It was perfect."
She leaned back deeper into the couch, looking completely relaxed now.
"We woke up late because we stayed up forever talking after the party. Then we ended up just lying in bed for like… I don't even know how long. We were kissing, cuddling, talking about random stuff, then kissing again…"
She paused briefly and laughed under her breath.
"Like, actually disgusting couple behavior."
Her expression softened after that.
"Which I loved, by the way."
She tucked some hair behind her ear while looking down for a second, almost shy about how happy she sounded.
"We had breakfast out on the balcony while the ocean was right there in front of us, and somehow even eating pancakes turned romantic because he kept stealing food off my plate just to annoy me."
A small grin appeared again.
"And then later we took a bath together, which sounds way hotter than it actually was because half the time we were just talking and splashing water at each other like idiots."
She shook her head lightly while smiling to herself.
"Then lunch showed up and we ate in robes like rich retired people."
Another laugh slipped out before her voice softened again.
"And after that… more cuddling."
She looked down briefly, clearly replaying it all in her head.
"And… a lot of kisses."
For a second, she completely drifted away into the memory, smiling quietly to herself with that soft, warm look people got when they were remembering something they already knew would stay important to them forever.
"It's weird," she admitted more quietly. "We didn't even do anything huge all day. We just stayed together."
She looked back up slowly.
"And I think that might've been my favorite part of the whole trip so far, of course, other than our first time."
A small silence followed before she blinked herself back to reality and laughed softly.
"But then we realized we couldn't spend our entire Miami vacation locked inside one room like emotionally attached little gremlins."
She smiled again.
"So we finally decided to leave the suite and actually go enjoy the beach and the evening like normal people."
Then her eyes narrowed slightly with playful suspicion.
"…although," she added carefully, "I really hope we don't run into his girl friends again."
She pointed lightly toward herself.
"Because I'm emotionally stable…"
A beat.
"…but only to a certain extent."
She smiled.
"Am I a little possessive of my boyfriend and want him all for myself?" She asked with a dangerous smile. "Hell yeah. He's mine."
//Haley's Confession End//
...
[Meanwhile]
The paparazzi had been sitting inside his car for almost six hours.
At first, the waiting felt exciting. Rising star, private resort, birthday week and famous guests everywhere. There had to be something worth selling eventually. A messy argument, a drunken celebrity, maybe a secret hookup if luck decided to cooperate.
Instead, he spent most of the afternoon sweating through his shirt while eating overpriced chips and watching rich people walk in and out carrying beach towels.
Still, he stayed.
Because Jack Preston was becoming impossible to ignore lately.
Everywhere the guy went, headlines followed. Movies making hundreds of millions. Award wins. Best-selling books. Interviews going viral every other week. People loved him right now.
Which also meant people would love watching him fall.
Not to mention, his girlfriend started to earn her name in the fashion industry. Though not as fast as Jack, she was still slowly getting up there.
The paparazzi adjusted the camera lens resting near the steering wheel and checked the resort entrance again. "C'mon," he muttered under his breath. "Give me something messy."
Then finally, around five in the evening, movement near the front entrance caught his attention.
//
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