"Wow, this is... a lot." I let out an airy chuckle, looking around the extravagant rooftop in disbelief. I knew Chris was going to go all out for my twenty first birthday, but this is too much.

If it was up to me, I'd much rather have a night in with some close friends than have an all-out bash full of people I hardly even know just to put something out to the media.

"You don't like it?" Joslyn asks concerned.

"No, it's not that I don't like it, it's just... all too much, don't you think?" I laugh, gesturing around. "Chris really went overboard."

The rooftop reeks expensive with the beautiful view that overlooks all of Vegas, high end outdoor furniture, sparkling in ground pool, and a fully stocked bar at each end of the large area.

Not saying anything, I notice Joslyn has her eyes cast down, starting to nervously fidget with her fingers.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She gives an unconvincing smile.

Looking over at Shay, I try to read her to see if she knows what's going on. She's looking at Joslyn skeptically, acting as if she has something to say.

"What's going on?" I ask, knowing somethings up.

Shay lets out a sigh, looking up at me. Just as she's about to speak, Joslyn cuts her off.

"Shay," she says in warning, giving her a threatening glare.

"Joslyn," Shay challenges.

"Alright, someone tell me what's going on," I demand, folding my arms, flicking my gaze back and forth between them.

It's silent for a moment, the both of them having a stare down.

"Chris didn't do any of this. He made Joslyn put the whole thing together," Shay finally blurts out.

"Shay!" Joslyn scolds.

"What?" Shay says. "Alex deserves to know, and Chris shouldn't get all the credit for this after you're the one that worked your ass off."

"Wait," I say, trying to process everything. "You put all of this together?" I ask, turning to Joslyn.

"I mean, Chris asked me to help and I ran everything past him," she says, nervously tucking a tendril of hair falling out of her high ponytail behind her ear. "I'm sorry if you hate it," she whispers, looking down at the ground shamefully.

It all makes sense now, why she was acting so anxious about the party all day.

"Hate it? Joslyn, this place is insane! This is one of the best parties I've ever seen," I admit genuinely, hoping I didn't upset her with my previous comments.

"You don't have to say that." She shakes her head, looking up at me with those big hazel eyes, making my heart sink.

"No, I'm not just saying it! This place is seriously so awesome and I couldn't imagine having a better party. I guess," I let out a puff of air, scratching the back of my neck. "I guess I just personally pictured my birthday more low key, but I knew that wasn't going to happen anyway. But this is the next best thing," I admit, hoping to comfort her.

"Promise you don't hate it?" she asks, voice small.

"Scouts honor." I smile, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you," I whisper into her hair.

"You're welcome. Happy birthday," she mumbles into my chest before pulling away, smiling.

"Uh-oh," Shay says, gaining our attention.

Following her gaze, I look to the front entrance to see my father walking in, right towards me.

"Here we go," I grumble.

"Oh look, Joslyn, appetizers!" Shay says, dragging Joslyn towards a waiter, wanting to get the both of them out of this awkward situation.

"Hi, son." My dad saunters up to me, grim smile on his face. "Happy twenty first," he says, presenting me with a bottle from his precious wine company.

"Thanks," I grumble, awkwardly taking the bottle.

The air around us is thick with uneasy tension, neither one of us knowing what to do or say. I haven't actually spoken to him since the first day of tour and the last I've seen of him was all over the tabloids.

He shoves his hands in his pockets, awkwardly shifting on his feet. His gaze goes over to the girls, eyes lingering on Joslyn. "So, who's the pretty brunette you were hugging a minute ago?" He asks, lip slightly tugging up.

"Don't you dare even look at her," I growl, instantly becoming protective. I swear, if he even makes a move towards her he's a dead man.

"Whoa there, killer," he says, putting his hands up in defense. "I was just wanting to know who my sons little girlfriend is."

"Unbelievable," I say, shoving past him to head towards the open bar. I'm going to need it with him around tonight.

After mingling around for a bit and getting a few drinks in my system, I spot Joslyn and Shay on the dance floor. I make my way over to them, carrying three shot glasses with me.

"Cheers!" I say, handing them each a glass. We all clink glasses and throw back the burning liquid.

Dancing with them, I can't help but think back to line dancing in Nashville with Joslyn a couple of weeks ago. After that night, I stayed a couple more days with her and even went out on the road with her for a week to visit her brother's band. I'll admit, living in a small van, crammed in the back seat with Joslyn for a week was anything but glamorous, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I'd much rather spend my break out in the heat and crammed in the back seat of a van at night watching Friends than be back home in New York.

I loved getting to be around her family, and just her in general. She gives me this sense of normalcy and it's always nice for a change. With her I don't feel like Alex Walker. I just feel like Alex.

"How's your twenty first going so far?" Shay asks over the music.

"Perfect!" I shout. "All thanks to Joslyn." I smile, slinging my arm around her shoulder which causes her to blush a bit.

"How was that whole thing with your dad?" Joslyn asks standing up on her tippy toes to whisper in my ear, her hot breath fanning my skin causing an involuntary shiver to run down my spine.

"He's a dick," I blurt, feeling the alcohol start to take effect.

I can tell she's trying to bite back a smile at my bold statement.

"Hey, man!" Someone comes up behind me, clapping my shoulder.

I turn around to see none other than Brody Roberts standing behind me. He's roughly my age and a singer too. People have been pinning us against each other for years now, both of us competing for the top of the charts. He's got more of the bad boy image going on, and I'm not too fond of him. I think he's kind of a jerk, letting the fame go to his head.

"Hey." I nod to him in greeting, playing nice. I know he doesn't necessarily like me, nor do I really like him. I'm not even sure why he's here.

"Happy twenty first." He grins, handing me a shot glass to cheers with him. "It's a shame the pool isn't being put to use." He mischievously grins after we've both taken the shots. "How about we get this party started?"

Before I can comprehend what he's doing, he lunges forward, tackling me, and we both go toppling into the pool. Resurfacing from the warm water, I hear everyone gasp but then break out into cheers when Brody triumphantly pumps his fists in the air.

Prick.

His actions open up the flood gates for random people to start jumping into the pool fully clothed.

Pushing my wet hair off of my forehead, I look up to see Joslyn's wide eyes full of concern. "Are you ok?" she asks, kneeling down to the edge of the pool to examine me.

"Yeah." I huff, swimming over to her at the edge of the pool. She sits down, taking her shoes off to let her feet dangle in the water.

"I'm going to kill Brody," Shay growls, taking a seat next to Joslyn and putting her feet in too. "It took so long to get you ready!" she whines.

I could care less at this point. Sure, I'm pissed that Brody pushed us into the pool, but I have to admit the water feels great.

"Come in, the water feels amazing," I say, gripping the back of Joslyn's smooth calves, slightly tugging on her legs, urging her to come in the pool.

"No!" She giggles, pulling her legs back.

"Why not?" I pout.

"Because, someone has to play lifeguard. Alcohol and swimming don't really mix well," she says, giving me a pointed look.

Playfully grinning at her, I let go of her legs and take a few steps back in the pool. "Uh-oh, I think I'm going to need a lifeguard! Somebody save me!" I joke, letting my body fall back into the water, listening to the sloshing of the water all around me before resurfacing. I look up to see Joslyn rolling her eyes at me, trying to keep an unamused look on her face.

Making my way back over to her, I feel something heavy cling onto my back. When I look behind me, it's some random chick that's jumped onto me.

"Happy birthday, Alex," she says seductively in my ear.

"Uh... thanks," I say, gently trying to pry her arms and legs off of me. She looks offended by my actions, but I could care less. Letting out an annoyed huff, she lets me go and swims over to Brody, going to shoot her shot with him.

I swim back over to Joslyn. She's biting at the corner of her lip, her hands in her lap, absentmindedly playing with her fingers. I grab both of her hands, trying not to get her flowy olive green dress that makes her hazel eyes look almost green wet. "You sure you don't want to come in?" I try to coax her one last time.

"No." She laughs, shaking her head. "Shay already has one client down, I don't think she can take another," she teases. Before the party, we all got ready together and Shay insisted on doing Joslyn's makeup, and she looks gorgeous. She looks gorgeous without makeup, but it was a nice surprise seeing her go the extra mile.

"Fine," I huff in defeat.

"But, why don't you get out," Joslyn asks, standing up and slipping on her strappy heels that make her legs look fantastic. She extends her hand out to me. "You've had a few drinks and I don't want you getting hurt," she says, giving me a soft, pleading expression.

I don't fight her on it, taking her hand and pulling myself out of the pool, soaking wet.

After drying off and mingling around some more, I spot Joslyn at the edge of the rooftop by herself, leaning against the railing and looking out over the view of the city.

"Hey," I say, walking up beside her, absentmindedly resting my hand on her lower back.

"Hey." She gives me a soft smile in return.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself?"

"No one here wants to talk to a boring little assistant." She chuckles with a shrug, referring to all the celebrities and bigwigs here.

I frown, furrowing my brows. "Well, it's their loss," I admit. "Cause I think you're pretty great."

"Well, thanks." She giggles.

"Where's Shay?"

"I don't know." She turns around to look at the crowd, leaning back against the railing. "She went to go mingle with some people."

I nod, scanning the crowd for the silver haired stylist. No luck.

Looking over the crowd, everyone seems to be smiling, laughing, and having the time of their lives. This has got to be the best party I've ever been to. I can't believe she put this all together.

"Hey," I say, standing in front of Joslyn, wanting to have her full attention. I stumble a bit, the alcohol making me feel light on my feet.

She quickly reaches for me, bracing me by gripping my biceps with her small, delicate hands. "You good?" She giggles, making sure I'm steady.

"Yeah." I let out and airy laugh, feeling like an idiot. "I just... I just wanted to say thank you," I say sincerely, wanting her to know how much I appreciate everything she does for me. "For everything. This is seriously the best party I've ever been to. I know I said it was too much in the beginning, but that's just because I'm not really a party kind of guy. I'd rather just stay in and have dinner or something, but this was the next best thing. I can't believe you did all of this."

"It was Chris's idea, really. I just helped put it together." She shrugs humbly, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Still, this was the best party ever. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She gives me a soft smile, her hazel eyes burning into mine.

I take a step forward, resting my hands on the railing, caging her between it and my body. "You look beautiful tonight," I admit with a whisper, the moment becoming that much more intimate.

I hear her breath hitch in her throat. "Th-thank you," she adorably stutters, her cheeks turning a bright tinge of pink.

Feeling brave, I lean down and rest my forehead against hers, brushing our noses against each other. Taking in her presence, I realize just how much I care about her, and how much she must care about me. I know she's my assistant and it's her job to look out for me, but she does so much more than that. She actually cares about me and treats me like a real human being.

Before my brain can catch up with my heart and the alcohol, my mouth starts talking. "Kiss me," I whisper, my voice coming out as a plea.

Fluttering my eyes closed, I inch forward, itching to finally have her lips on mine. Before I feel her lips against my own, I feel her hand flatten against my chest, stopping me from going any further.

"Alex," her voice sounds strained as her breath fans across my face. I open my eyes to see her wide ones staring back at me with such vulnerability. "You're drunk," she whispers painfully.

I feel like a hundred buckets of ice water have been poured over me, realization setting in.

She's right.

Quickly backing away, I profusely apologize before turning on my heel to walk away, sobering up fast.

What the hell did I just do? To Joslyn of all people! I am officially the biggest asshole on the planet. She doesn't deserve that. She doesn't deserve some drunken asshole pinning her and asking her to selfishly kiss him in that state.

I can't believe I just did that.

In just a few quick strides, I make my way to the other side of the rooftop, finding a large potted plant to spew out the contents of my stomach, utter guilt and embarrassment coursing through me.