Jagger & Chloe Bonus Scene
Thank you for reading Against the Chords!​
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This is the epilogue bonus scene for Jagger & Chloe!
Chloe
The late morning light slipped across my living room, catching the stream from the coffee we’d forgotten on the table. I lay curled on the couch, my head using Jagger’s lap as a pillow, while his fingers drifted lazily through my hair, brushing the bare skin of my shoulder. Every so often, his touch skimmed over my temple or traced the inside of my arm, like he was mapping me all over again.
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After last night I was sure he knew every single inch of my body. Once we got home—late as we hung out at his dad’s house for a long time—it was like he wanted to prove he loved me over and over again. I’d lost track of the orgasms.
I closed my eyes, letting my tired muscles melt into the moment. For years, I’d told myself I didn’t need this. Didn’t need him to be whole. I’d built a life without Jagger Hunt, convinced I was strong for it. Maybe I was. But right now, with his breathing slow and steady above me, I knew what I’d really been missing.
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Home.
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“Do you ever think about us back then?” I whispered, not moving, afraid if I did he’d stop.
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His hand stilled for a beat, then slid back through my hair. “Every day. And every day I think about how I’ll never take this for granted. Or hurt you again.”
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The words sank deep, squeezing my chest until it ached in the best possible way. Almost eleven years ago, he’d broken me. Today, he was the reason I was whole.
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“Won’t you miss living in California?” Deep down, it was a tiny worry I had. That he’d move here and miss what he had out there. I supposed I could always move there with him.
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“Not at all,” he said with all the confidence in the world.
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“Really?”
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“Really.” His palm flattened as it ran down my arm. “I wasn’t really living out there. I was existing. Professionally everything was going right but personally… I’ve told you. I was a shell. Where you are is my home because you’re my home.”
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For ten years, I’d thought those words were gone forever. Hearing them now was like stitching my heart back together, piece by piece.
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I pushed up and slid closer to him. His arm stayed around me and his hand came to rest on my hip. “I could move there.”
His dark eyes settled on mine. “You want to?”
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I bit back a smile. “No. Not really. But I would.”
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He shook his head. “No, baby. California is most definitely not what’s best for any of the guys. Me included. I like it here. You’re here. The house will be done soon. That’ll be ours.”
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I furrowed my brows, my heart thudding against my chest. Was that an invitation? Did he want me to move into the banker’s house with him? There was only one way to know.
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“Was that an invitation?”
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A smile formed on his lips. “Absolutely. We don’t have to move in there. I just assumed you’d be down for it because you love that house.”
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“I do love that house.”
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Jagger used his free hand to cup my cheek and push his fingers into my hair. “Did you think I want to move in there without you? With you was always the plan.”
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My lips parted as I tried to think of something to say. “You bought that house when we were just friends.”
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He shrugged. “I had hope. After all, you couldn’t seem to stay off my dick.”
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My eyes widened and I slapped his chest. “That’s not… Well, I guess it’s true but…”
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His deep chuckle was quiet and warm. “I’m not complaining. Never would. My dick is at your disposal anytime you want it.”
My face heated. Still. I wondered if there’d ever be a time my face didn’t flush with his words.
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“Don’t you think it’s too soon?” He raised an eyebrow. “To move in together. I mean we literally just got together yesterday.”
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“Baby, you’re fooling yourself if you don’t think we got back together as soon as I came back here. Or at least at the wedding.”
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The wedding I’d kissed him at. It’d been dumb at the time but felt oh so right.
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“Plus, we’ve known each other longer than we haven’t.”
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“That’s not true.” I shook my head. “We have known each other the last ten years.”
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“Bullshit. We’re basically the same people. Just older.”
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“Well, a lot happened in ten years that we don’t know about,” I countered.
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He sighed. “Listen, I’ll tell you anything and everything about the last ten years. But we can do that while living in the same place. If you don’t want to move in together now, or you don’t want to move into the house—”
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“I want to,” I cut him off. “I want to. The where doesn’t matter, but the who does.”
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Jagger leaned over and kissed me softly. “Then we’ll make it happen. Until then, I’ll stay here because I’ve spent too many nights without you and there will be some in the future, so as much as I can help it, I don’t want to sleep without you.”
“So then that’s that.”
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He gave me a grin then leaned in to kiss me again. As his tongue slid against mine, I climbed into his lap. When his hands pushed under my shirt, there was no doubt this was happening again.
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Maybe it was the ten years apart. Maybe it was the ten years wasted. Either way, we couldn’t get enough of each other. And I didn’t think we ever would.