#dbf!jayce

Tuesday. 

There had been the smallest hope that maybe, just maybe you would get to relax for the week. Nothing of interest really happened Monday. Your dad had taken the day off work to spend some time with Jayce. And while the two had disappeared early in the morning, doing whatever it is that guys their age did, your mom mainly sat on the phone— gossiping with her friends— and left you alone for the most part. So, without being bothered, you spent the time catching up on whatever you needed.

Then Tuesday morning came. 

Your dad had gone back to work. While your mom woke you up at a crisp, 9 am and told you the list of things she needed done before the party. Everything from food for the party to decorations to tablecloths to thank you notes, etc., all needed to be done within the next three days. 

You might just lose your mind by the end of the week. 

After ripping yourself from your bed, the first thing your mom had tasked you with was writing thank you notes— since invitations weren’t needed. Your dad had already walked the entire neighborhood to invite every neighbor to the party, four days ago. And while at work today, you’re sure he’s inviting everyone from work to the party as well.

After your mom handed you the book with all the names that she had written down for thank you notes, you got to work. Moving yourself in the craft room for some peace and quiet while your mom worked on getting a cake and several restaurants to cater for the party, so you and her wouldn’t have to cook, thankfully. 

Two hours later of writing thank-you cards for the entire neighborhood, folding the pretty envelopes up, and stacking them, you felt like your hands were going to fall off. An ache had set in but you were finally finished. Packing up all the notes and putting them into a nearby empty box before carrying them downstairs to your mother. 

“Where do you want these?” You ask, swinging the corner into the kitchen where your mom and Jayce sit at the dining table. 

“Just on the island there.” your mom replies, pointing to the edge of the island countertop she mentioned. “Thank you for doing those by the way!” Your mom adds. 

You nod, smiling just a little as you set the box down before glancing back at your mom and Jayce. Who still looks as handsome as he did two days ago. 

You assumed the two had just finished lunch with the empty plates sitting in front of them. 

You head around the island and to the fridge. You find the pre-made sandwiches your mom made for lunch, and pull one out to eat. Your fingers were still aching anyway, you needed to give them a break as much as you needed some lunch too. 

You’ve just sat down at one of the stools when your mom speaks up again. 

“After you’re done with that I need you to work on folding some party things your dad picked out.” Your mom states. 

You bite back a groan, instead turning your attention back to the sandwich. 

No time to rest. 

You eat your lunch while scrolling through your phone, tuning out the idle chatter that goes on between your mom and Jayce— since it was mostly about your dad anyway. But after you finish your lunch, you set your plate into the sink while mentally preparing yourself for the next task at hand. 

Once you had stood up, so did your mom. Busing herself with cleaning up the dining table and the kitchen. “Don’t forget the stuff you’ll need.” She says, beginning to wash the leftover dishes in the sink. With her head, she nods towards the bags of party supplies sitting beside the chair she had been in. But before you can walk over and pick it up, Jayce reaches for the bags instead. He stands up, holding the bags with ease in just one big hand. 

“Can I help you?” Jayce asks softly, looking directly at you as he stands beside the table. 

“Oh, we couldn’t ask that of you! You’re our guest, you should relax!” Your mom argues, waving off his request; while ignoring the fact that you too…were a guest. 

Jayce smiles, shaking his head at your mom's proposal to relax. “It’s okay. I’d rather help than just sit around here, kind of twiddling my thumbs.” He politely speaks, bringing his gaze back to you. 

Thankfully you had just finished your sandwich, because if you were still eating you would’ve most likely choked on it when his eyes meet yours.

“It’s not fair for me to just sit while you work so hard.” Jayce chuckles, moving to stand beside you. He stares down at you— he stares down at everyone— waiting for you to answer him. He wasn’t asking your mom’s permission to help with the party planning, he was asking you. 

“Uh yeah, I…wouldn’t mind the extra help.” You respond, slightly dazed. A strange feeling swells inside your chest. Strange enough, you can’t quite put your finger on what it is— or maybe, it was just too many to name them all. 

“Alright, after you.” He hums with a wide smile. As if he had been wanting you to say yes the entire time. 

You stand for a heartbeat longer than you probably should’ve before turning and leaving the kitchen behind. You take a few steps into the hallway before letting Jayce pass you instead, since he was kind enough to carry the supplies needed for the decorations and you didn’t want to get in his way. And it would give you the chance to look at him without him seeing. 

You stare at his broad back. The simple, cotton green shirt he wears hugs his body in all the right places— his shoulders, biceps, and his waist. You get the urge to touch him. To press your hands flat into his back, bunch his shirt up, and scratch the length down. It was…a very inappropriate thought to have about a man twice your age. 

But you notice something else besides how attractive and fit Jayce is. Still just a step behind, you notice the slight limp he walks with. You can’t help but wonder how he must’ve gotten it. Was it from sleeping badly on the futon? He hadn’t openly complained about his body being sore or being in any pain so you assumed it wasn’t but you could be wrong. You don’t ask about it. It wasn’t a topic for you to discuss or ask about anyway; not unless he wanted to talk about it. 

“I think it’s sweet that you’re helping your parents out.” Jayce says, snapping you out of your thoughts. 

You jerk just a little at his words but quickly recover when heading up the stairs. “I don’t really have much of a choice.” You respond.

Leaving the landing of the stairs, the two of you pass the bathroom, heading straight ahead for the craft room. 

“Growing up, I was always willing to help my mom but…I didn’t have a choice in it either.” Jayce comments, sympathizing with you, stepping out of the way to allow you to slide past him to open the craft room door. 

After opening the door for him, Jayce steps inside the craft room. He moves over to the closest desk, setting the bags down on top of the wooden table. 

You move around him, sitting down in the chair you had previously used when writing out the several thank-you notes. You open the bag Jayce had sat down, digging around briefly before pulling out handfuls of party favors your dad had picked out. Of course they were cute and all but everything had to be cut out and folded by hand. Your dad, always going above and beyond. 

“Why is that?” You ask casually, referring to his earlier statement about not having a choice either, beginning to stack the party crafts into piles. You watch out of the corner of your eye as he grabs the other chair in the craft room and sits down right next to you. 

“Well,” Jayce starts, helping you tidy up the stacks of decorations. “My dad passed away when I was really young. So it’s always just been my mom and I.” 

Your heart sinks. You freeze in your sorting, glancing over at him with a concerned look to your eye. 

Jayce softly smiles as your eyes meet, clearly understanding the sorrow you express for him. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” He reassures, turning back to the pile of crafts. 

Leaving it at that, you pick up the top card and flip it over to read the instructions. Jayce leans in closer to you, hanging just over your shoulder to skim the directions along with you. But his closeness makes your entire body begin to burn. Heat crawls under your skin as he sits right behind you. If you moved backwards, even just a little, you’re sure you’d press right into his chest. 

You turn your head ever so slightly to look at Jayce, holding your breath. 

You don’t know why his presence unravels you so much. You’ve known him for a few days and yet it feels like years. He gets under your skin— in a really good way— far more than anyone else has ever done. You wanted to know more about him, to know his likes and dislikes. You wanted him to touch you; to crave you. 

And it was a terrible thing to desire, knowing the circumstances. You were younger. You were his friend’s daughter. He was here to reconnect with said friend and here you are wanting to kiss him so bad you can almost taste it. Guilt sends a sour shiver down your spine. 

Jayce must feel you staring at him, or maybe you’re just too quiet for his liking, because he turns just as slightly to look at you. His gaze is soft; tenderness lies in the shine of his hazel eyes. A charming smile settles on his lips, followed by the soft hue of a red blush spanning across his tan face. 

Jayce opens his mouth to speak but you’re not sure if you can hear what he has to say and think about anything other than crawling into his lap, touching his chest, feeling his hands— 

“If I cut these out, will you fold them?” You blurt, disrupting the air that had built up between the two of you. Using your last little bit of semblance and clarity to keep yourself from doing something rash. You rip your eyes from him, turning to focus on the craft in your hands instead. 

Jayce, seemingly still dazed from the energy you two had just shared, nods out of the corner of your eye. He leans back into his chair as he awaits to help. 

You throw open a couple of desk drawers, a little harder than you meant to, in search of a pair of scissors. When you finally manage to find some, your fingers tremble and you curse yourself. Shakily cutting on the dotted line, working in the silence you created, before handing Jayce the cut out product. 

After several minutes of calming your nerves, focusing on just cutting out projects and handing them to Jayce to fold, the quiet quickly becomes more unnerving than him inside your personal space had. 

 “So just you and your mom, huh?” You ask softly, trying to fill the void of silence with anything. 

Jayce hums in response, still working on the crafts you hand him. He folds every piece expertly along the lines. Almost a little too good at it. 

“No spouse waiting at home for you?” 

Anything but that. 

You could’ve said anything but that; too late now. 

Jayce awkwardly clears his throat before following up with an embarrassed chuckle. “No I uh, no,” Jayce responds. He keeps his eyes glued onto the project in his hands. “I’ve always been too focused on my studies and profession.” He admits with another half-assed laugh. 

You cut along your lines, nodding your head, keeping your attention heavy like iron on the project in your hands as well. You don’t know what it is about Jayce, but being around him suddenly turns you into an idiot as much as he turns you into a needy mess. 

“What is it that you do?” You ask, changing the topic you shouldn’t have brought up in the first place. 

“I’m a professor. I teach technical physics at Piltover University.” Jayce replies, finally turning his attention just a smidge in your direction. 

“You teach where you went to college? That’s a little ironic, don’t you think?” You laugh and he follows suit. The air between you two is, fortunately, refreshing once again. 

“It is,” Jayce agrees, a wide smile on his lips as his laughing settles down. “The professor who had taught me, retired after I graduated. And I just took over.” 

“You’ve been teaching since you graduated? You must really enjoy it.” You chat, more relaxed as you tend to the party favors. 

“I do. I enjoy seeing all the bright faces ready to learn each year. I also like to teach things I’m passionate about.” Jayce beams, folding the craft in his own hands. “It’s humbling, so to speak.” He adds, lifting the craft towards the light, examining his handiwork. 

You turn your attention to look at him, glancing at his handiwork as well. It was perfect. You suppose after years of teaching and folding countless papers, you’d be good at origami too. 

“Well…” you trail, flipping the latest cut out craft in your hands back and forth. “Do you think you could teach me how to fold these as well as you do?” 

Jayce leaves the admiring of his completed craft to look over at you. He studies your face briefly. Eyes scanning over the softness of your face but then he smiles wide, nodding his head. “Of course I will,” Jayce says, chuckling a little before he scoots his chair over closer to you. “Can’t say no to you. Not when you ask so sweetly.” Jayce teases, holding his hand out towards the craft you hold. 

You suck in a sharp, shallow breath. If there ever was a time you wanted to throw out the rule book, it would be now. The way his voice dips when he speaks, specifically when he mumbles about how he can’t say no to you. You’re tempted to push that boundary, to see how far you really could go before he said no. Would it be kissing? Touching his thigh? Undoing his belt— 

Your palms sweat at the thought and you resist the urge to wipe them on your pants. Electricity tickles your spine but you ignore it, doing your best to instead tune into his teachings as you hand off the craft to the older man. 

And it was harder than it looked. 

You had watched Jayce first fold every inch of the craft up together, until it formed the shape it needed to, before attempting it on your own. The first few folds were okay, a little uneven but well enough you didn’t have to start over. But as you progressed, it fell apart faster and faster with each fold. Its intended purpose is to stand up by itself, without needing any support of some kind, but you clearly didn’t get that memo. Watching as your ‘finished’ project falls apart the second you take your hands off of it.  

Jayce sits watching, amused the entire time. He doesn’t laugh or say anything to tease you at your attempt. Yet he still smiles, entertained— but pleased— by you trying your best. And instead of taunting you, he just picks up the craft and unfurls it, smoothing out the edges and handing it back to you; silently telling you to ‘try again’.

It’s after your third attempt and your second mangled up craft that you’re damn near about to rip your hair out. Your patience wears down to a thin line as you can’t just quite grasp how to do what he’s telling you. You’re about to toss the craft back to him and just continue on cutting them out instead, but Jayce settles a hand on your wrist that stills you. 

His hand is warm, like the sun, despite the AC blasting in every inch of the room. Not to mention, his hand being almost larger than your entire wrist. The sight leaves you a little dizzy. 

“Here, let me see if I just can’t…” Jayce muses, lifting his other hand and attempting to guide your hands in the correct way. It’s slightly awkward with him sitting kind of in front of you, kind of beside you. Leaning over your hands, attempting to guide your fingers along the correct folded lines to complete the craft. But it’s just as messy as if you were doing it yourself; a little uneven here and there, folding the wrong line first, unfolding everything to start again. 

“I’ll admit it’s…a little more complicated to do backwards.” Jayce sighs, laughing at his own mess up. 

But you can’t focus on anything but his warm touch. And the way with every shift, his hands gently brush against your own. How easy he folds and turns and intertwines your fingers like it’s all casual to him. And it probably was casual to just him— and anything but casual to you. 

“Do you mind?” Jayce asks a little timidly, gesturing in the space between the two of you briefly. He gets up from his chair, loosening his grip ever so slightly, until he moves to stand behind you instead. He hangs into your personal space once again; and once again you feel like your entire body is radiating fire. 

He uses your fingers to unfold the half destroyed craft. His hands now lay over the entirety of yours, swallowing you in his grasp. 

“You start with this line here.” Jayce guides, smoothing the first fold into place. 

His words caress the shell of your ear, almost as if he’s speaking directly into it. He continues to guide your fingers to properly finish the party favor but you can’t focus on anything. Fuck all if you’d even be able to remember his teaching’s for the next craft anyway. 

Your eyes stare at his hands. The craft seemingly invisible, even in your own grasp. His fingers are tan, just like the rest of him, and thick. Twice the size of your own and it makes your insides flutter. Even the callouses built up on his hands from years of working brought  goosebumps flaring across your skin. 

After several folds later, you’ve imagined…far too many sinful things involving his hands to be considered appropriate, before Jayce interrupts your impure thoughts. 

“And this is the last fold.” Jayce hums playfully, clearly enjoying this. It was either because he enjoyed helping and teaching you to understand the craft, or it was because he knew he was making you squirm. 

You weren’t complaining. His hands were still tangled with your own. The entire interaction has you practically panting and out of breath, as if you’ve run a marathon. And that was either thanks to him touching you or your own inappropriate thoughts about him touching you…elsewhere. 

“See? Not so hard. You did great.” Jayce praises. You can’t see it but you can basically hear the smile he wears. Unconsciously, he rubs his thumb gently against the back of your hand. His other hand smooths down against your wrist. 

And the touch sends a river rushing through you. You press your thighs together, hopefully unnoticed, and chuckle a little nervously. “Yeah, thanks for the, uh, lesson.” You reply, just barely covering up your voice with another low laugh, just to hide the trembling behind your words. “I think I’m better at the, uh, other thing so…I’ll leave the folding to you.” 

Jayce laughs that charming laugh of his, hopefully oblivious to your woes; or maybe he was just faking it. Wanting to see you unravel beneath him. 

Without thinking, his thumb brushes against your skin once more as he shamefully lingers just for a moment longer, before he removes his hands from your own. And once he untangles from your body, cold sweeps in over you at the lack of his warmth. 

The sudden chill of the air conditioning rushes over you like a winter storm. Watching as he, the sun, moves to sit back in the chair he had gotten up from. And who knows how long ago that was. How long had his hands lasted on your own before he finally pulled away? It felt like seconds but also like an eternity— leaving you desperately wanting more. 

But this was not the time nor the place to act on whims. 

Shaky hands continue to work on just cutting out the crafts and handing them off to Jayce to fold. The feeling of his hands against your own replays in your mind like a distant memory. Hazy and foggy, leaving you dazed and questioning everything you’ve ever known. 

Meanwhile Jayce speaks enough for the both of you now. His words fill the space between the two of you while you manage to nod along, with the occasional ‘mhm’. 

It’s on the very last craft you cut out that you come back to your senses. Like you’ve just been woken up out of the sweetest dream.

“Is that everything?” Jayce asks, a smile on his face as he looks at you. 

“For now, at least.” You respond, a nervous laugh leaving your lips. You feel bad for tuning him out for the last…what you can only assume is an hour or better. “Thank you again, for everything. I really appreciate it.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I enjoyed it…and your company.” Jayce states in a tone you can’t quite recognize at the moment; but he moves on, standing up with a stretch towards the ceiling. 

You curse yourself for staring at the little bit of skin on his lower abdomen that reveals itself with his stretch. Ripping your gaze away and quickly pushing yourself up and out of your own chair, you keep yourself busy by collecting the several party favors you two had worked on. Gently putting them into a large box that happened to be lying in the craft room, unused, making sure they don’t come undone and ruin a lot of Jayce’s hard work. 

“Want me to carry it?” Jayce asks, handing you a couple of the crafts, gesturing to the box. 

You debate it for a second. He had already helped you with plenty and you’re not sure you could continue to ask more from him. Even if there was something…intimate you wanted to ask for help with, you wouldn’t. But it wouldn’t stop you from teasing him at least. 

You shake your head, smiling a little as you lift the box into your arms. “Not unless you want to carry me with it.” You flirt, glancing in his direction. 

Jayce pauses for a moment. His hazel eyes search your face. As if he’s trying to figure out if you’re serious or not; as if he’s mulling the idea over in his head. And after another heartbeat, a smirk splits his lips, flashing a sharp canine that makes your heart throb catching sight of it. 

“Tempting.” Jayce teases in a hushed voice. Speaking so softly you think for a moment you’ve imagined him saying it. 

You can feel your face burning the second the words leave his lips. You don’t get to respond though before Jayce is making his way to the door. He leaves you behind, breathless and speechless in every possible way; watching his back as he disappears into the hallway. 

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆˚࿔

After the tense afternoon, it felt like time moved slower. You had sat on edge anytime Jayce was near, as if waiting for him to tease you even more…or force you to change your underwear again. And yet you wanted to be near him. Craving and wanting his attention more and more with each passing moment. He was in every sense of the word, intoxicating. 

By the time dinner came around, your entire body was exhausted from wanting him so badly. 

You sit quietly at the table, enjoying the meal your dad had made after coming home from work. And while Jayce sits next to you— casually, as if you’re the only one going crazy for him— you pretend that everything is perfectly normal.  

“So what did you do today?” Your dad sarcastically asks, biting into the dinner he proudly made. 

“We cut out and made all those damn party favors you wanted.” You sigh, rolling your eyes as your dad laughs loudly. 

“Jayce was kind enough to help out too!” Your mom praises. 

Jayce embarrassingly waves off your mom’s words before rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “It really wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t mind helping out and it was fun. I had a nice time.” Jayce comments, momentarily glancing in your direction, before returning his attention back to the meal. 

Your dad laughs again, nodding his head in approval. He had seen the finished product of the crafts for himself before dinner, so now he knew why they looked so well done. “That makes sense! Jayce has always been good with his hands.”

This time, you fucking choke. 

Air catches in your throat, throwing you into an abrupt coughing fit. You cover your mouth with your hand, turning your face away from every single pair of eyes that look at you at the sudden noise. You cough into your hand, reaching for the glass of water closest to you. Swallowing large mouthfuls in hopes to ease your coughing; it only helps a little. 

You’re in the final stretch of your coughing fit when a large, warm hand settles on your back. Jayce gently pats your back, attempting to help soothe your coughing, before his hand smooths down the curve of your spine. Then he repeats the same notion again, feigning innocence of just helping you out. You want it to mean so much more. 

You manage to clear your throat, finally calming down, yet Jayce lingers. He continues to rub your back, from your shoulder blades to the small of your lower back, until goosebumps begin to rise on your skin. He does it so effortlessly. Slipping into your bubble, touching your body, teasing you. 

“Are you alright?” Your mom asks, worry laced in her tone, as she hands you a napkin. 

At the sound of her voice, Jayce abruptly removes his hand. Once again, a chill creeps over your body at the lack of his warmth but you ignore it. Taking the napkin from your mother and wiping your mouth clean. 

“Yeah,” you finally respond, taking another breath to settle down— and not from the coughing this time. “Just swallowed wrong.” You lie. 

You didn’t really enjoy lying to your parents but it wasn’t like you could tell them the truth. Not after spending the entire day, day-dreaming about Jayce’s hands and fingers. How thick they were, how far they would reach, how wide they would stretch you—

After a few more seconds of silence, your dad continues on with his story as if nothing happened. Telling a story about how Jayce used to work on anything and everything mechanical or electrical; taking it all apart just to put it back together. Something innocent yet you could only imagine the worst of things.

For the rest of dinner, you don’t say a word. You manage to nod and hum occasionally in response but that’s it. When you finally speak, it’s only to tell your parents that you’re going to head to bed. You desperately needed to lie down, after everything that has happened. 

You leave behind the noise and cleanup and head back to the spare room, exhaustion setting into your bones with every step. Your body aches the second you throw yourself onto your bed. You immediately grab a pillow and curl up with it, taking a deep breath as you press your face into the pillow. 

It’s only moments after you’ve laid down and began to scroll on your phone, that Jayce enters the room. 

“Hey,” Jayce says softly, closing the door behind him, walking further into the room. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He hums as he takes a spot up on the very edge of your bed, sitting down beside you. Far enough to leave some distance but close enough either of you could easily close the distance, if needed. A warning, yet an invite. 

You smile, setting your phone down onto the pillow beside your head. “Yeah, I’m okay.” You respond, sitting up and leaning back onto the palms of your hands. 

“You looked a little…tired before leaving the table.” Jayce states, mirroring you by leaning onto the palm of his own hand. 

Of course he had noticed. He seemed to notice anything and everything about you, even when you tried so hard to hide it; he saw right through you. 

It makes you feel like you were the only thing in the entire room that he wanted to look at. Truly like a professor trying to solve a problem by memorizing every detail of the equation. 

You bite at your bottom lip, unable to meet his gaze. And you know he’s staring at you, even now. His gaze feels as hot as if it were his hands caressing your face. 

“I…” you attempt, trying and failing to come up with some kind of lie to tell him. Why were you tired anyway? Because your body had craved something it couldn’t have? Because you had craved him the entire day? Yeah, telling the truth was definitely out of the question. 

“Is it about what your dad said?” 

You suck in a sharp breath at his soft words. A heated blush crawls over your entire face. You swear you could feel the warmth of your blush spread to the tips of your ears and down the back of your neck.  

Jayce laughs at your reaction. He knew it was the truth, even without you saying a single word. “Don’t think too much of it.” Jayce chuckles, the hand he doesn’t lean on picks at some invisible piece of lint on the cover of your bed. 

With your curiosity piqued, you swallow a lump in your throat. Glancing between his handsome face to the spot he seemingly found so interesting at the moment. “Yeah? Why not?” You ask cautiously, finding your voice. 

Jayce stills in his digging at the blanket. Clearly you can see the gears in his head turning, debating on how he should answer. A second of eternity passes as you await his answer. 

“He’s right…but I’m out of practice.” Jayce finally says, clearly alluding to something else that didn’t involve cars or technology. 

Your heart throbs inside its confinement. It presses right against the curve of your ribs, hard enough you think maybe he can hear it drum. 

You barely see the blush highlighting his cheeks before he turns away and stands from your bedside. You watch his thumb rub circles into the inside of his wrist. He stands there, contemplating that whatever he’s about to say is the right— or the very wrong— thing to say. 

“Maybe…I could use a lesson. Or two.” Jayce finally mutters but he doesn’t wait for you to answer before he heads back to the bedroom door. His hand hovers over the doorknob, as if he wants to say more but instead he just dips his head and exits the room. 

He leaves you staring at his back once again. Always running away, right as everything was getting so good. 

You fall back into the fluff of your pillows, staring up at the ceiling with your heart now in your throat. For the rest of the night, until you finally succumbed to sleep, you would debate whether he was serious about the matter, or if he was just teasing you. To test you. 

And despite every god forsaken morale dilemma going on inside you at the moment…you hoped he was serious.

Wednesday.

The last few days had been…bearable. Even when you had to “work” on your week off or listen to your dad tell the same college stories over and over again, it was fine. And a small part of you knew exactly why but you weren’t going to say it; didn’t want to jinx it. 

The events of Tuesday played in your mind like a loop, every chance it got when you stopped moving or doing any task; Jayce’s hands against yours, the easy conversation, the soft glances, the hidden confession. Any time your mind wandered back to the day before, a sickly sweet feeling would burn beneath your skin. Butterflies fluttered and danced in your lower stomach, not helping you in the slightest— all they did was make you jumpy. Excited and giddy at the thought of bumping into Jayce…and more importantly, getting the chance to continue the events of yesterday. 

But it wasn’t the best time to be thinking about everything that had happened between you and Jayce, not when you were out running errands with your mother. 

“So,” your mom interrupts into your latest play-by-play of yesterday. “Your dad wants something red. Look out for any red party stuff.” She adds, shuffling through a stack of celebratory cards. 

You nod in response, searching for a table cloth on a nearby shelf with stacked fabrics stuffed into it. You're a few minutes into searching for some red cloth when your mom steps beside you and speaks up again. 

“You and Jayce seem to be getting along well.” Your mom comments. 

You jerk your hand away from the fabrics you had previously been looking through, as if they’ve suddenly burned you, knocking a few of them free of their home on the shelf. The fabric tumbles to the floor below and you rush to hurriedly clean them up. 

“What, uh, do you mean?” You blurt, bending down to gather up the spilled fabric. You nervously pull the fabrics into your arms before stuffing them haphazardly back into the layers sitting on the shelves; silently apologizing to whoever would have to fix your mess later. 

You wonder if she’s seen something you tried hard to cover up. Or did Jayce say something to her, before ever saying anything to you? Was it just that obvious? 

“You know your dad and I were worried about you sharing a room,” your mom sighs, helping you fix the pile you messed up. “But it seems like you and Jayce get along fine.” She declares, proudly speaking of you…as if she had expected from the beginning that you wouldn’t get along with him. 

You sigh a breath of relief. Your shoulders relax as you realize it wasn’t something else, just her worries about your shared room. 

“Yeah, everything is fine,” you reply, trying your hardest to mask your anxiety that had skyrocketed and has now crash landed. “No need to worry.” 

She takes your word for it, nodding with a smile before turning to continue on down the aisle, leaving you with sweaty palms and a racing heart.  

After finding the last minute things your dad had wanted, you and your mom don’t delay in returning home. It was nerve wracking, for you at least, but it wasn’t entirely a hassle to join your mom to the craft store. You’re only slightly annoyed now that you didn’t get to stop for coffee but it had been fine otherwise. Still, you looked forward to being back home…more so because that meant you would have the chance to be around Jayce some more. You were excited, up until you actually stepped foot into the house. Where you realize that Jayce is gone. You can’t help but hope that Jayce is just out on his own errand run and not avoiding you after his supposed confession from last night.

You slump just a little, setting down a few bags that were your moms and not your own, before going back and getting any bags left in your mom’s vehicle. 

After squishing the disappointment of Jayce not being there, you just decide to busy yourself with more party work. Carrying all of the new supplies up to your old room. Somewhat proud of yourself as you’ve actually put the craft room to good use the last few days. 

You work until your fingers begin to ache. Writing out the several index cards your mom planned to put up around the house to sort of be a guide for the guests going to attend. And just when you’re about to call it quits and put everything up, a knock on the doorframe startles you. You expect your mom to be at the door but when you look over your shoulder, you're greeted instead by Jayce. 

You jump a little at the sight of him, excited chills running down your spine. You turn to face him, unable to stop the smile from spreading across your lips. You try to play it cool— as if you could around him— with a little wave. “Hey.” 

Jayce smiles back, taking a step into the room and closer to you. And as he does, you notice that he holds two plastic cups in his hands. 

“Hey,” Jayce greets, a timid smile on his lips and the start of a blush staining his cheeks. “I wasn’t sure if you liked coffee or tea, or if you’d want either, and since I didn’t know…I got what the lady at the counter recommended. I hope you like it.” Jayce rambles, extending a coffee cup towards you. 

You take the cup from him, letting your fingers linger against his as you accept the gift, briefly glancing at the order written across the cup. 

“Thanks,” you mumble, before taking a sip. Whether it was too sweet or not sweet enough, it didn’t matter; the caffeine was exactly what you needed. And it tasted even better coming from Jayce himself. Knowing he was thinking of you, even in the smallest of ways, it made your heart skip a beat. “This is perfect. I didn’t get to stop earlier for anything so…thank you.” You hum, appreciating the small gesture. 

Jayce smiles big, pleased you didn’t hate what he had brought you, and nods in response. He glances quickly across your face before looking at the several bags of craft stuff laid out onto the desk. 

“Need some more help?” Jayce asks sweetly. He doesn’t wait for your answer though as he drags the chair he had sat in yesterday beside you once again. He settles into the chair, setting his own coffee cup off to the side. 

You try your hardest to keep from smiling too much. The giddy feeling beneath your skin because of his presence returns, making your entire body buzz with renewed energy. “Wouldn’t mind that at all.” You respond, reaching to dig inside the desk drawer for an extra pair of scissors, handing him the tool once you retrieve them. 

“Do I owe you for the coffee?” You ask, making light conversation as you work. 

“No, of course not. Your company is enough anyway.” Jayce replies—flirting— glancing in your direction. 

You blush under his gaze but roll your eyes. “Maybe I should start charging you for my company if you enjoy it so much.” You sarcastically say, tossing a cut out party favor onto the desk, the beginning of the pile. 

“Ha, ha.” Jayce fake laughs, stacking his own craft on top of yours. “You’d like that.” He teases right back.

You don’t answer him, fearing you’d say something that will make you look like an idiot, so you just smile in return. 

And together again, you work on the party favors you and your mom had picked out. Jayce cuts out whatever you ask of him, while you two playfully chat. Messing around here and there, flirting, and ‘accidentally’ brushing hands when you both reach for the same craft. 

You told yourself the entire time that he was just being nice. Or that deep down, he just really, really liked the attention. You weren’t going to let yourself believe that maybe he wanted more than playful banter. Not until he made the first move…if there ever was a first move to be made. 

⋆⁺⏾ ⋆˚࿔

After spending another afternoon with Jayce, time seemed to fly by. Before you know it; your coffee cup is empty, the party favors are entirely finished, and you have spent several hours just…talking with Jayce. Who spoke only when you didn’t and looked at you like you were the only thing in the entire room. And when he did speak, he mostly told stories about his own college days or things about his profession. 

Sooner than you realize, it’s time for dinner. And while you and Jayce had worked in the craft room upstairs, your mom had fixed dinner, preparing a meal big enough for at least eight people. The strangest thing though, it didn’t feel like it was going to be a chore to eat around your parents. Not with Jayce sitting at the same table.

You take the time to help set the table for dinner before you find your usual spot. Suppressing your giddiness when Jayce sits next to you, since now you were no longer sitting alone with him in the craft room. With your parents present, the last thing you needed was to say something stupid in front of them. 

You‘re quick to zone out on the conversation between your parents, it was mostly about the finishing touches to the party anyway, trying your best instead not to stare too long at the man beside you; it didn’t help when he was so damn handsome. It was almost unfair how handsome he was. Even at his age, even with the graying, he looked better than most guys your age ever could. And it drove you crazy. 

You can’t help but think about all the events that have happened in the last few days once again. The flirting, the brushing of hands, the soft words Jayce spoke, did all of it mean something? Or was it again, just him enjoying the attention? You wanted to know but you weren’t sure if you could muster the courage to flat out ask him; not yet, anyway. 

You worry your lip between your teeth, getting a terrible idea that could ruin whatever was between you two…or worse, get the two of you caught and possibly in trouble. But you wanted to push your luck— wanted to see his reaction. 

Under the simple guise of shifting in your chair, you sneakily brush the side of your leg against Jayce’s. You lay enough weight against him, so he knows you’re doing it on purpose, while keeping your outward appearance uninterested. Even with you pretending that everything is normal, and that you’re not doing something that isn’t as innocent as it seems, your pulse pounds in your throat. 

You linger against him for just a split second longer before moving your leg away and back underneath you. 

You wait for just another second before you sneak a glance in his direction and it takes everything in your power not to smile or laugh at the sight of him. You can see the tension lining his shoulders that hadn’t been there before. He hides his mouth behind the palm of his hand, doing his best to also act as casually as he can while he listens to your dad ask him some kind of question you had no interest in. 

You had been a mess, thanks to him, the last few days…this time, you wanted to see him fall apart for once. 

You allow yourself to smile, just a little, pushing around the leftover salad on your plate, feigning to be listening to the conversation to keep up the act of your own casualness. You give it a few more heartbeats, before you push your luck again. You bump your knee against his, sliding your leg the length of his own before returning yourself back into your own personal space. 

You don’t have to look at him to know he’s tense and straining against the table. But you steal a glance in his direction anyway, surprised to catch him already looking at you. 

The second your eyes meet, Jayce gives you a small look that could only be read as a warning. And you so badly hope it’s a simple warning in the way that means; “we’re going to get caught” and not in the way of “you’re taking things too far”. 

You look away at the same time he does. Your heart still races but no longer with anxiety but instead with the thrill of seeing him unravel. You turn your attention to the glass of water in front of you, taking it in your grasp as you settle back into your seat, returning to your uninterested state. 

And you sit still, giving him the illusion that you were done playing footsie. Taking the time to converse with your mom as she asks you about any party stuff you might remember them needing. And after several minutes, when you think Jayce is comfortable again, you slide your foot across the back of his calf. Putting more weight behind your actions than the first time, wanting him to know you mean it. You press firmly against his leg, sliding down along the length of his calf until your foot catches the bottom cuff of his pants. You’re just slipping your foot beneath the pant leg of his sweatpants, brushing against his shin, when you get to enjoy the very visible shiver that passes through his shoulders. And for a moment, you think Jayce might melt beneath your touch with how red the tips of his ears shine. 

Good. You wanted to see it happen; wanted to see him want you just as badly as you do, while being unable to do anything about it. But when you trail your eyes along his handsome face, expecting to get a solid, stern look thrown in your direction at any second, but no. This time, Jayce doesn’t glare at you.

He acts. 

He leans back in his chair, hands slipping under the table and out of sight. Where he moves to lay a hot, heavy hand against the thick of your thigh. He squeezes it, as gently as he can—with what little restraint you assume he has—as his warning instead. Then as quickly as it comes, he removes his hand and takes it back into his lap. 

The motion stops you entirely. You bite down on the inside of your cheek, rougher than you meant too. You retrieve your foot and sit stiff as a board inside your seat while continuing to play pretend that everything is fine. 

If there ever was a time you thought maybe you’d pass out, it would be right then and there. It was fun to tease him, until he put you in place. 

The memory of his touch lingers on your skin while the not-so-innocent thoughts you had yesterday return in a flash of heat.

A single touch. That’s all it took to turn you into a goddamn mess. 

The flirting, spoken under his breath was one thing; passive compliments spoken quickly enough to leave you wondering if there was any truth behind them. But touching? And touching somewhere so intimately? Yeah, that was an entirely different story. 

The bare skin where he had grabbed burns in yearning for more. You swallow hard, digging your nails into the palms of your hands, trying to keep your breathing from becoming wild and chaotic as need begins to soothe beneath your skin. 

You’re only relieved when dinner time is over. You’re the first to get up from the table. Shooting out of your chair so fast it leaves you a little dizzy—that’s because of Jayce— as you offer to help clean up. Assuming that if you busy your mind with cleaning up, it would distract you from thinking too hard about Jayce’s touch.

It doesn’t help. 

Even after finishing cleaning up, you still can’t think straight. You needed to take a breather and calm down. It was bad enough to be doing something so risqué in front of others you shouldn’t have but for him to touch you so intimately too…you just needed to step away for a moment. 

Leaving Jayce behind in the company of your parents, you go back to the spare room to change. Having packed your swimsuit for this exact reason; to relax in the pool or hot-tub when you found the time. And now was definitely the time. You sneak by the kitchen area, making your way outside to the backyard. Where you decide to take your mind off of…everything with a little late-night reading inside the hot-tub(instead of your usual spot in bed). 

You lay your towel on top of the wooden table hanging off the side, putting your phone down right beside it before you climb into the hot-tub. 

A deep sigh escapes your lips the second the warm water greets you. You stretch your arms and legs out, working out all your muscles to help yourself relax, before you slump back against the edge. Grabbing your phone from behind you and settling down to do some reading for the next few minutes.

And, thankfully, reading does help you take your mind off of things. You get lost into your book within the first chapter, and by the second and third, you’re totally enamored and forgetting the world around you. But by the fourth chapter, the sound of the back door sliding open catches your attention. 

You look in the direction of the noise, expecting to see either your mom or your dad, but for the second time that day; you’re instead greeted by the sight of Jayce. He walks on the path leading to the hot-tub but freezes when he quickly realizes that he’s not alone. 

Even in the night and from your spot in the hot-tub, you can see the faint red blush across his cheeks as he stares for a heartbeat too long, before looking away. 

Your face probably matches his. Beat red and hot at seeing him after what happened at dinner. And now getting to see him in a bathing suit…you fear god might be testing you.   

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were out here.” Jayce says, nervously chuckling as he rubs the back of his neck. He keeps his gaze away from where you sit; finding an interesting rock to stare at instead, being as respectful as he could. “Your dad mentioned the hot-tub just a little bit ago, and I thought it would be nice to relax in, after—“ Jayce cuts himself off, another nervous laugh. “But I see it’s occupied and I’ll leave.” Jayce rambles, turning on his heel to walk back inside.

“No, wait!” You call after him, before you can really consider what you’re asking for, and he stops at the sound of your voice. “You can stay. I don’t mind the company.” You add, unable to stop your voice from cracking in desperation. 

Jayce stands still. Both of you knew it probably wasn’t a good idea, especially after what happened under the table earlier, but like a siren's call; you always seem to be drawn to each other, no matter what. 

“I’m just reading anyway.” You speak up again, hoping to convince him that you weren’t planning to tease him like you had at dinner. Really just trying to come up with anything that would get him to stay. 

After everything, you still wanted to spend some alone time with him.  

You watch him slowly turn back around. Watching the gears in his head turn as he contemplates the idea of staying. And after a few, painful seconds tick by, he finally decides on joining you, taking a step towards the hot tub. You can’t help but smile, scooting over just a little to the side he doesn’t stand by. 

Jayce, somewhat shyly, mirrors your smile. His thumb brushes across his wrist, fidgeting, before he drops his towel next to the edge of the hot-tub. He grabs the hem of his shirt and every bit of blood rushes to your head before you jerk your head to look away. A blush settles on your face and you’ll be damned to say it’s anything but the heat from the water. 

You force your eyes to stay glued to the screen of your phone as he enters into the other side of the hot-tub, listening to the water part to allow his body in. And you don’t look up, or over at him. You didn’t need to see his bare chest right then, it’d just make the throbbing worse. 

You hear him sigh a sigh of relief as the water soothes his aching muscles. But the groan that follows sends a shock down your spine. You think of anything— math homework, your grandparents homemade pie, the coffee shop you want to go back to— anything but the sound he makes. Keeping your mind, and body, in check as he relaxes on the opposite side of the hot-tub. You’re just lucky there’s more space than you remember because god forbid if your knees touched again right now— 

“Sore?” You blurt out, trying to break free from your racing thoughts, interrupting the brief silence between the two of you. You assumed he wouldn’t bring up what happened at dinner anyway, so you had to fill the space with something before you wanted more than just “company”.

Jayce chuckles, cupping up and rubbing warm water into his shoulder with one hand. “I have to remind myself I’m not young anymore. I can barely keep up with you.” He sarcastically sighs. You can hear the smirk in his tone. 

You let the comment soak into your skin as much as the hot water does, something you would unscramble later when you were alone in bed. You half-ass chuckle, rolling your eyes at his statement. “You’re not that old.” You state in a matter of fact tone. 

“Tell that to my shoulder,” Jayce laughs. You hear the rustle of him breaking through the water, finally glancing up from your phone to look over at him. You watch his strong hands smooth down his left knee, kneading into a large scar across his shin. “And my leg.” He hisses, rubbing out the tension that’s built up beneath the skin.

You can only imagine the lingering pain from such a massive injury, even as old as it looked. “What happened?” You ask before you can remind yourself how rude that sounded. Eternally, you are smacking yourself in the forehead with the palm of your hand. “Sorry, I’ve suddenly lost my manners.” You mumble, avoiding his gaze to try and hide from the embarrassment of being an ass. 

“No, it’s okay,” Jayce replies, laughing softly as he lowers his leg back into the water. 

The thought of him hiding it from you crosses your mind before you realize it's a ridiculous thought…you hope. 

“It happened right after I turned thirty…it’s an old thing.” Jayce retells, eyes drifting off as he relives the moment of when and how he got the injury. He doesn’t say anything else about it but you watch with an attentive gaze as his fingers absentmindedly run over the scar across his knee once more.

Now you really feel like an ass for bringing it up. 

You nod a little before falling quiet, turning your attention back to your book, now that you’ve finally calmed down but officially humiliated yourself. Where you swear you reread the same page at least three or four times before Jayce speaks up.

“What are you reading?” Jayce asks, curiously.

Well, at least you were right to assume he didn’t want to talk about what happened at dinner.

You clear your throat, straightening your shoulders out as he asks about your book. “Oh, it’s a novel.” You reply. You glance over in his direction while lowering your phone, debating whether or not to tell him what your book was about. Or if he’d even be interested in it. Your parents thought it was…childish but it was something you’ve enjoyed since you were a kid. 

Seeing how well you and Jayce had been getting along these last few days, there was no harm in telling him. “It’s…a fantasy novel. Like, dragons and magic and stuff. It’s kind of lame, I know.” You admit with a small, nervous laugh. 

Yet you would’ve thought you had just told Jayce he won the lottery with the way his eyes widen and light up at the mention of fantasy. 

It makes your heart skip a beat. 

He leans forward, lips tilting up with an infectious, cheerful smile. “I love fantasy! What’s the book? What’s it about?” He asks excitedly. 

Your heart skips a beat. You pause for a second, thinking maybe he’s making fun of you but the glint to his eye says otherwise. You slowly smile, setting your phone down onto the wooden table beside the hot-tub before testing the water between the two of you as you scoot closer to him. 

And when he doesn’t move away, you smile just a little wider. Oh, you would absolutely love to tell him anything and everything about your book. 

So you do. 

You and Jayce talk about the fantasy series you’ve currently been reading for what feels like hours. Surprisingly, Jayce has already finished the book the two of you talk about. But he’s still kind enough to leave out any and all spoilers as he speaks about the series. And god do his hazel eyes shine as he speaks about magic, wizards, and everything in between that he’s loved since he was a child too. 

And somewhere in the middle of ranting about your favorite parts of the book, the things that you dislike, and what you want to happen in the next book; you and Jayce had moved closer together. Now, the two of you sit right next to each other. Shoulder to shoulder. Laughing together, joking around as Jayce badly imitates a character you both have a strong dislike for. 

By the time you’ve finished laughing, your sides hurt. You really hadn’t expected to have such a good time while at your parents house. You had expected to be just a little bit miserable and annoyed with your parents by the end of the week so that when next Sunday came, you’d be relieved to go home. Now the feeling of dread lingers in the back of your mind…because a small part of you didn’t want Sunday to ever come. You wanted to sit right next to Jayce and laugh, flirt, talk, and accidentally bump knees together for just a little while longer— or forever. 

But it was evident you also wanted a little more than just the friendly conversation. And with his own soft confessions and the mutual flirting; the thoughts and feelings you had tried hard to ignore were now slowly beginning to scream from within you. 

More than ever now, all you wanted was to kiss him. To taste his lips on yours while you touched his chest and he held his hand against your back. You wanted to feel his hands brush against yours again. To feel the pads of his fingers grip your thigh once more like he had at dinner. You wanted him to touch you and kiss you back so badly you could almost taste it. 

The sound of his dying laughter brings you back down to earth and away from your inner thoughts. You focus onto his handsome face again, having no idea how long you had been staring off into space. 

You flush but play it off, smiling in his direction. “This is…really nice.” You hum sweetly. 

“It is,” Jayce agrees with that charming smile of his. He lifts his arm out of the water to examine his now prune-like fingers. “The wrinkles, not so much.” 

You laugh, just a little, nodding your head in agreement. Your fingers were also getting a little too pruney for comfort but that really wasn’t what was on your mind. 

You were hyperaware of his skin touching yours now. His arm pressed heavy into your own while his knee and thigh brushed against yours every so often. Wondering if this is how he felt back at dinner when you enjoyed your little game of footsie.  

You were a fool. Reading too much into things and believing that it was more than what it actually was— an accident. Just because you wanted more, that didn’t mean he did; and you had to remind yourself of that. 

“Yeah,” you chuckle nervously, trying your best to keep calm the more your bodies touch. “We should probably get out.” You add, not even trying to disguise the sadness in your tone.

“I…don’t want to.” Jayce mumbles under his breath, shifting just ever so slightly to turn and fully look at you. No longer stealing sideways glances. He wanted to be heard, and seen. 

His words surprise you. Yet they make your entire body feel hotter than the water has all night. You swallow hard. Briefly picking at something invisible that lays across your nails as you try to step lightly into what you think might happen.

“Me either…” you tentatively respond, dragging your gaze from the water and over to him. And when your eyes meet his once more, you swear he steals any and all air from your lungs. He’s even prettier if that were possible. The moon hangs behind him, creating a halo around his head. The soft ambient light from the hot-tub casts a sharp shadow across his handsome features.

The quiet that follows is almost suffocating. Both of you are sitting on edge, waiting for the other to move or speak first. Your desire to kiss him comes rushing back harsher than it had before. And although he doesn’t speak, his eyes confirm that you two share the exact same thought. One of you just needed to make the first move. 

And this time, you weren’t going to let him slip away. 

“Jayce…” You utter his name, softer than soft, and it’s enough to put everything into motion. 

The world melts away. Nothing else mattered but the two of you in that moment. Like magnets, the universe pulls you two closer together. Both falling perfectly in sync. 

In the back of your mind, you can’t help but wonder if you’re moving too slow or too fast. Fearing you might run into him with how eager you are to have him as your own. But when you’re inches away from his handsome face, you quickly lose the thought. 

Your eyes match his, darting across his face to take in every detail now that the two of you were so close. You glance at his lips, up at his hazel eyes, back to his lips in rapid succession. Silently yearning for more and more until you feel his hand finally slide along the side of your neck, shifting to caress your jaw, thumb brushing across your cheek as he finally leans in closer to finally kiss you. 

You close your eyes, brushing your fingers in turn against his forearm, gently grabbing onto his wrist. Guiding him closer and closer and closer—

But before the fireworks, before your lips fully connect—getting just the faintest brush— Jayce suddenly untangles. His hand jerks away. You open your eyes to watch as he scrambles to put space between the two of you. He shoots out of the water like he’s been bitten by something. A large, scarlet blush taints his cheeks as he looks anywhere else but at you. 

“I! Uh,” Jayce stutters, breaking the energy built up around the two of you. Quickly coming to realization as to what just happened…or what was about to happen. “I think that’s enough relaxation for me tonight. I’m, uh, going to head to the room.” He chuckles awkwardly, hurrying to get out of the hot-tub. 

You sit dazed. Staring at his broad back as he climbs over the ledge and bends down to grab his towel. You watch him half ass dry himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist. 

You didn’t want to see him go; didn’t want to let him go. Not again. 

“I’ll join you!” You blurt, standing up before you can even think about what you’re doing again— what you’re chasing after. You exit the hot-tub before he can protest. Gathering your things up in a rush to stand by his side. 

Jayce doesn’t say a word but he waits for you anyway. A gentleman, despite the embarrassment growing between the two of you. 

You didn’t know what to expect on the walk back into the house but it certainly wasn’t the unnerving stillness between the two of you. Especially after what happened. It’s quiet. Beyond quiet. The silence that hangs between the two of you is suffocating— but in the worst way possible now. It feels ice cold compared to the heat you had just experienced moments ago. And Jayce feels distant even when casually walking beside you or briefly holding the door open for you. Even the house was dead quiet. Your parents must’ve already gone to bed…which plays into your, and his, favor after the events that followed outside. 

When the two of you get back to the spare room, Jayce doesn’t say anything as he heads for his large bag. 

You do your best to pretend like everything is normal, fishing out a new change of clothes from your suitcase. You wanted out of this swimsuit— you wanted him to take it off— and a shower. 

Jayce continues to stay quiet on his side of the room. The only sound that comes from either of you is the clothes you pull out of your respective bags. 

You don’t know what else you were expecting to happen. You shouldn’t have been expecting anything at all, to be honest. And yet, a small part of you expected so much more. 

You once again imagine kissing him. Lying in bed together, tender and soft, full of laughs while his hands lay secure across your body.

God, you just needed to forget it. Needed to put some space between the two of you, for the second time that night, so you could figure out what the hell was going on in your head. And heart. 

The only problem is, when you turn to leave, so does Jayce. You both reach for the door handle at the same time. His hand lays heavy on top of yours. The contact makes both of you jump, jerking your hand away from each other. 

“Sorry um,” Jayce fumbles, trying his best to clear the lump out of his throat. “I didn’t mean to just uh, wanted to shower…but after you. You go first.” He says with a gesture towards the door. 

“You can use the shower up here. I’ll go to the one downstairs.” You say, trying to lighten the tension in his shoulders just a little bit. It doesn’t work. He nods to your words but he still seems…distant. 

Your heart continues to sit in your throat but you do as he asks. You open the door first and head down the hall and make your right. You two part ways when he stops at the upstairs bathroom. The door shutting and locking behind you sends a nervous chill down your spine. 

You make your way to the downstairs bathroom, squishing down the thought of ruining whatever you and Jayce had built up the last few days, all in a single moment. In fact, what was going on between you two? Sunday night you were causally forced to share a room together, now you were planning to make out in your parents hot-tub? Hoping for more like you were some horny teenager? 

You shake off the thought, pushing into the downstairs bathroom. You strip and take your shower quickly but the shower doesn’t really help. Your mind races the entire time. You flip back and forth between ruining a relationship you didn’t know you needed and the image of Jayce above you. 

By the time you’ve finished your shower, you think you’re worse off than before. Getting dressed in your pjs before heading back to the room. The shower still runs upstairs when you pass by it, so you just head to the room quietly.

Closing the door behind you, turning the lights off, you curl up into bed. You’d be concerned about sleeping with wet hair tomorrow, for now you’re more concerned about falling asleep before Jayce gets back to the room. 

Several minutes of steady breathing and attempting to count sheep tick by until you finally feel the pull of sleep. 

And just when you’re about to succumb to sleep, the sound of the door handle clicking jolts you awake. You know it’s Jayce but in a panic, you don’t know why, you pretend to be asleep. Staying tucked into the thick of your blankets, eyes closed, listening closely as Jayce enters the room. You give him the illusion that you were already asleep. It works. He doesn’t say anything— you’re not even sure if he would— while he just moves somewhere off into the room. 

Seconds tick by and your heart beats hard in your throat. And just when you think he’s gone to bed, the warmth of fingers touch your face. He brushes some of your wet hair back and you have to bite your tongue to keep from flinching, or leaning into his touch, or doing something that’ll make everything a little worse. But just as quick as it comes, it’s gone. Jayce gently pulls his hand away, leaving you alone once more. “Dammit…what am I doing…” Jayce whispers under his breath, somewhere behind you. 

You strain to listen to him as he moves away from your bed. Listening to him rustle the bed sheets around before getting into the pulled out futon and finally laying down to sleep. 

Every single bit of your blood rushes hard and fast beneath your skin. Your mind begins to work overtime, trying so hard to figure out what he was doing and what he meant. Did he like you? Why would he freak out about kissing but then turn around and touch you so gently? Should you roll over and confront him? God, you wanted to kiss him, wanted him to hold you, wanted him to make you his. Did he feel the same? 

You weren’t getting any sleep tonight.

@ 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐙𝐄𝐕𝐑𝐑𝐀 | 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖/𝐎 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍