I quickly made my way backstage, searching out Jake who was sitting alone in one of the dressing rooms, feet propped up, drinking a beer and scrolling through his phone. I bit down on my lip, feeling my cheeks burn. I guess there was nothing wrong with one beer.
"Hey.." I said, knocking on the door. He giggled, putting the drink down on the side table, flashing me a smile.

"You don't have to knock. What's mine is yours." He said sweetly. "So.. how'd it go?" I shrugged, making my way over to him, sitting down close.
"Fine." I said simply. He held a questionable stare, wrapping his arm around me.
"Just fine?" He asked. I nodded, feeling my cheeks burn.
"Mhm.." I managed. He shrugged, reaching over for his drink again.
"So, he's not gonna try to kill me, is he?" He laughed. I smirked back at him.
"Last I checked, you were the one who punched him." I said, shaking my head. His smile grew, his cheeks burning red as he scrunched up his face.
"Yeah, well.." He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"So, when is your friend getting here?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder. He pulled me closer, gently kissing my forehead.
"Probably soon, actually. I said I would meet him outside if you wanna come with me. I can introduce you." He said enthusiastically. I couldn't help but smile. He was so cute when he got excited. I leaned in, gently kissing him on the lips. I felt his smile grow.

"What's that for?" He said softly, moving his hand onto my leg, pulling me closer. I shrugged.
"Nothing.." I sighed, staring back into his eyes. "I just.." I stopped, leaning in, kissing him again. He tangled his fingers in my hair, kissing me back.
"I love you, Jake."
"I love you more." He sighed, giving me a gentle smile. I shook my head, feeling my smile grow as I reached over, sliding my hand into his, intertwining our fingers.

"Come on" He said, motioning towards the door. "They're probably almost here." I nodded, following him closely as he lead us down the hallway towards the side doors. With it being closer to showtime, there was no way he could go anywhere near the front of the venue. Sometimes I missed us sneaking around, not having to deal with any of the fans, their eyes burning holes into the side of my head.

We waited by the door as he occasionally peeked out, until finally, I saw a huge smile spread across his lips, his eyes going wide. He pushed open the door, guiding them in.
"Damn, look at you!"
"Yeah, yeah.." Jake said, trying to contain his smile. I hung back, watching as the three of them made their way in, Jake quickly shutting the door behind them.
"So, Jess, this is Will, Will this is my girlfriend, Jess." He said, wrapping his arm around me, pulling me closer. I reached out my hand, flashing a smile.
"Nice to meet you!"

"And this is his wife, Addison.. and oh my goodness, who is this!" He said, his voice going up as he leaned in, beaming from ear to ear. He held up his hand to the baby girl sitting in Addison's arms. She smiled up at him, laughing loudly as she tightly grabbed on to his finger.
"This is Sophie." Will chimed in, gently messing up her hair.
"Nice to meet you too." I giggled, shaking Addison's free hand. She nodded, flashing me a smile.
"Can I hold her?" Jake asked enthusiastically, holding his hands out. Addison nodded, not hesitating to pass her off to him.
"Please." She laughed. "I need a break."

Jake eagerly took her into his arms, propping her up, holding her tightly.
"Well, aren't you so pretty!" He said, gently bouncing her up and down. Her laugh got louder as she clung to his shirt, trying to wiggle away.
"Oh, no no no, you don't wanna go up there." He giggled to himself, effortlessly maneuvering her back down securely into his arms.
"You're a pro." Addison laughed, reaching over, fixing Sophie's hair. He shrugged, keeping his eyes locked on her, sticking out his tongue until she started laughing again.

My heart jumped.
Oh no.

"I can't believe you have a kid now." Jake laughed, peeking over at Will.
"I know." He sighed. "And I can't believe you get to do this every night so.. I guess we're even." Jake shook his head, his smile growing.
"Hardly." He said softly, gently bouncing Sophie again. She reached out, grabbing on tight to his finger again.

"Jake has never been like this." Will laughed, turning to me. I felt my cheeks burn, a smile escaping my lips.
"This is the first I'm seeing it too." I giggled, my eyes glued to him. Sophie reached up, grabbing onto Jake's hair.
"Oh, no, you don't want that, your's is so much prettier, here, gimmie that." He laughed, gently pulling it out her hands.

"Man, looks like you've gotten soft." Will called out. Jake rolled his eyes, gently rubbing Sophie's back.
"I have not." He sighed, rolling his eyes, a gentle smile escaping from his lips. I saw Sophie's eyelids start to get heavy as she rested her head on Jake's shoulder, reaching her hand up and clinging onto his shirt again.

"Will, I think we need to take him home with us." Addison joked. "She never sleeps."
"I guess I'm just boring." Jake laughed, gently rocking her back and forth, moving his hand up behind her head.
"You're gonna be an amazing dad one day." Addison chimed in, questioning for him to hand her over. He shook his head, giving her a gentle smile as he held on tighter.

"Oh, Jake doesn't want kids." Will laughed. "He's made that clear many times." Jake bit down on his lip, peeking over at me, giving me a gentle smile. I held my stare on him, smiling back, feeling my heart beat faster.
"Ugh, what a wasted gift." Addison said softly. "Well, you can come babysit anytime. We'd be more than happy to have you." Jake nodded, gently rubbing the back of Sophie's head.

I felt my heart beating faster as he gently rocked her, peeking over at me, biting down on his lip, containing his smile. I smirked back at him, feeling my cheeks burn as I subtly shook my head. He giggled to himself, gently leaning his head on Sophie, his eyes getting wide, pouting his lip. I shook my head again, my smile growing.
"No." I mouthed.

But I couldn't deny just how adorable he looked. And so happy. I had never seen him like this before. I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he effortlessly carried her down the hall like he had done this a million times, leading us all back towards the dressing rooms.

"So this is where the magic happens, huh?" Will asked, looking around. Jake slowly sat down on the couch, holding Sophie close.
"Barely." He laughed, peeking down at her, softly moving her hair out of her face. "It's nowhere near as glamorous as on tv."
"But still." He sighed, continuing to walk the room. "I used to play too." He said, turning to me.
"Oh yeah?"

He nodded, his eyes moving over towards the wall of photographs of previous bands who had played here.
"Do you still play?" I asked, sitting down next to Jake. Will shrugged, peeking back at us.
"Will still plays all the time for Sophie." Addison chimed in. "She loves it." He nodded, smiling back at her, then brought his attention back to the photos.

"What I'm hearing is that you have good taste." Jake whispered to Sophie, gently rubbing her back. "Will is an amazing guitar player, honestly, we thought if anyone was gonna make it, it was gonna be him." Will sighed, smiling again before making his way over, sitting down in one of the other chairs across from us.
"Yeah, well.. life happens." He said quietly. "At least one of us did it." Jake bit down on his lip, nodding, bringing his attention back to Sophie who was now drooling on his shirt.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Addison said, reaching over for her. Jake shook his head, flashing her a smile.
"No. It's okay." He laughed. "I'm gonna have to get changed for the show anyway. She can stay for a few more minutes."

Then there was a knock on the door.
"Long time no see!" Josh called out, letting himself in, Sam and Danny following closely behind. Will got up, going over and wrapping Josh in a tight hug, doing the same as he made his way down the line.
"This is insane." Will said. Josh shrugged, smiling back at him.
"Yeah, you never really get used to it. So it's cool when people from back home can come out. Makes it seem normal for a few minutes."

Josh's eyes then moved down to Jake.
"Well that's new." He laughed, making his way over.
"This is Sophie." Will said softly, careful not to wake her. Josh leaned down, gently rubbing his finger across her hand.
"Hi Sophie." He whispered. "I can't believe you're the one with her." He laughed, looking over at Jake. He smiled, overly cautious of his every move.
"Yeah, well.." He said softly, his cheeks burning.
"Jake has never wanted kids." Josh said, backing away, going over towards the fridge, grabbing drinks for everyone. Jake shook his head when he held one out to him.

"So, you excited for the show?" Sam asked, grabbing a drink.
"Absolutely. I can't even tell you the last time we've been able to get out of the house because of this little one over here. She typically doesn't do well with strangers." He laughed.
"Well, he's clearly a natural." Addison said. "It's a shame you don't want any of your own one day." Jake's smile grew as he peeked back over at me. My cheeks burned as I leaned in closer, gently rubbing Sophie's head, brushing her hair back.
"Well.. people can change." He said softly, holding his stare on me. I couldn't help but smile, feeling my heart beat faster.

"What about you, Jess?" Addison asked, turning to me. "Do you think you'll ever want kids one day?" I bit down on my lip, feeling my cheeks burn. I glanced over at Jake, who was already staring back at me with a captivating smile. It was contagious.

"Yeah." I said softly. "I do."