“I’m really gonna miss you.” Jake said, looking up at the stars.
Tracy didn’t say anything in return, not because she didn’t have anything to say; Tracy had loads of thing she wanted to say to Jake; she just couldn’t quite string together the words to communicate all that was whirling around in her brain at that exact moment.
“That makes one of us Jake.” He said in a high-pitched voice that was supposed to sound like her.
Tracy turned her head to look at him.
Lying in the thousands, if not millions, of blades of grass, the naked night sky of New York City shined down upon them.
“Damn Jake! You can’t even give a bitch a minute to think?” She said, mock shock in her voice.
Jake let out a deep laugh, one that came from his belly and filled his chest and throat and busted out of him like millions of butterflies.
“You’re right, let me give you a moment to ponder whether or not you’ll miss me.” He said.
The sarcasm was thick in his tone, but Tracy chose to ignore it.
“Thank you! Now, am I gonna miss you….” She trailed off, looking up at the stars again.
Jake laughed, fully aware of the bit she was doing.
Folding his hands together, he rested them on his lower abdomen and waited.
“Take your time, don’t wanna strain that brain of yours thinking too hard.” He said with a laugh.
Tracy turned to face him again.
“Nigga!” She said dramatically, doing her best to keep her ‘don’t rush me’ expression in place.
Jake laughed as he held his hands out in front of him; silently saying, ‘I come in peace’.
“My bad.” He said.
She huffed, earning another laugh, before turning her attention back to the stars.
Of course she was going to miss Jake. Jake was the first person that came to mind when Tracy found out she’d be going on tour. For the last six months, the pair had seen one another every day. Whether Jake was dropping by the studio after school or work, or they were Face Timing while she was writing and he was between meetings, or they were out and about, exploring the city together; Jake and Tracy had been spending a lot of time together, and Tracy was going to miss seeing him every day.
Of course, they’d be Face Timing while she was on the road, but touring was hectic. Hopping from the tour bus to hotels, hotels to venues, city to city, state to state, sometimes Tracy lost track of time. Day in and day out, it was the same thing, meet-n-greets, shows, head to the hotel to crash, then onto the next city to do it all again.
Though she loved it, on tour it was easy to lose track of time. The days, weeks and months just blended and eventually, Tracy would come to exist in this weird universe where time was non-existent. This loss of time, coupled with the distance was a breeding ground for fights in Tracy’s past relationships. It was always; ‘how come you haven’t called me’ and ‘I get that you’re working, but you can’t even send a text?’. The road just did something to Tracy’s relationships; to be honest, Tracy’s whole career did something to her relationships. Egos would get bruised, and Tracy wasn’t a nurse, she didn’t have the time, nor the desire, if she was being one hundred percent about it, to tend to the bruised egos.
But with Jake maybe it would be different. He didn’t seem to hold that jealousy or resentment towards Tracy. Maybe that’s because he lived it once upon a time. While he’d never been a musician, traveling the world and selling out shows, once upon a time, Jake was a highly successful woman. In another life, he was walking through the world as someone who society assumed to be a woman, kicking ass and taking names, and men both at and below Jake’s level were threatened by it.
During the initial, ‘getting to know you’ or ‘talking’ phase of their relationship, Jake and Tracy talked a lot about the minefield that Jake had to walk through whilst trying to figure out his gender. On one hand, here he was, this highly successful woman, kicking ass and taking names. He was the poster girl for women’s empowerment, but he wasn’t a woman, and never had been. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. But on the other hand, he needed to live as his true self; he wanted his insides and outsides to match, but that came at a cost. Would people see his transition as a ‘business move’? Of course, that was fucking insane, who would undergo such an operation just for a few more bucks and career opportunities? That wasn’t Jake’s M O, but the suicidal ideation, the crippling depression that kept him bed bound for months at a time, and all the days spent crying and wanting nothing more than to escape his body, all came to a head. He knew what he needed.
Tracy often called Jake a ‘Hannah Montana boyfriend’, of course, he didn’t actually get ‘the best of both worlds’, but he knew what it was like to walk a mile in each shoe. He’d gone through life being read and treated like a woman; in business, and in everyday life.
Jake and Tracy connected on a level that was far deeper and more intimate than Tracy could have ever connected with any other boyfriend.
“I know it’s not gonna be easy, but I’m looking forward to experiencing this Hannah Montana relationship.” Jake said, as he reached out for Tracy’s hand.
Tracy let out a laugh before turning to look at him.
“This what?” She asked.
“This Hannah Montana relationship! You know the best of a long-distance relationship, and a relationship where we both live and work in the same city.” He said.
Jake statement gave Tracy pause; she’d never thought about it like that; Touring was kind of like having a long-distance relationship.
“A ‘Hannah Montana’ relationship. Huh. I like it.” She said, turning to look at him.
Jake smiled, his eyes twinkling brighter than the stars above them.
“Me too.” He said, just before pressing his lips to hers.
As they kissed, a sense of calm washed over Tracy. If she and Jake could keep having these open discussions like this, Tracy had no doubt that she and Jake could make it through a whole hell of a lot.
I wanna thank you for taking the time to read this story! Tell me, what did you think of Jake and Traci? Did you like them? Hate them? Leave a comment, and let me know! Of you did like them, hit that star! Follow the site to never miss a story, and if you’d like, you can buy a cup of coffee. A single cup is 4$ and goes a long way to help out the site. Thanks so much for reading!- C
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