Chapter 552 You're Not Gonna Go for it?
"I wanna kiss you," Elara said with a smile, locking eyes with him, her look all sincere and passionate. "You cool with that?"
Jesse froze, totally caught off guard. "Kiss?"
"Yep," Elara nodded, still smiling.
Jesse didn't even hesitate. "Nope."
"I'm not gonna kiss you here." Elara lightly touched his lips with her finger, then moved it to his cheek. "I'm gonna kiss you here."
"We're not really..." Jesse started to protest.
Elara cut him off, "Just tell me yes or no."
"I don't agree," Jesse said seriously, a faint blush creeping onto his usually cool face. "I got stuff to do. Do whatever you want."
Jesse turned to leave, not planning to stick around.
Elara blocked his way, pinning him against the wall. "Hold up."
Jesse's breathing got a little shaky.
Elara was super close, and when he looked down, he could see her eyelashes and perfect skin.
"First, tell me why you don't agree," Elara pressed, going for a slow, steady approach. "Do you feel disrespected, or think I'm taking advantage of you?"
"Neither," Jesse admitted.
"Then what's the deal?" Elara asked.
As she spoke, she moved even closer, so close they could feel each other's breath.
Jesse's heart started pounding, and he felt really uncomfortable. "Just, no."
Elara insisted, "I wanna know why."
"I'm not your real boyfriend. Kissing me isn't good for you," Jesse finally said.
"To me, a pretend boyfriend is still a boyfriend," Elara had figured out Jesse's mindset. "I'm gonna kiss you."
Jesse's heart had never raced this fast before.
Seeing him so tense, Elara poked his waist. "I'm not forcing you. Why so nervous?"
Jesse pressed his lips together, staying silent.
"Are you shy?" Elara asked knowingly.
"No," Jesse was stubborn.
"Yeah, right," Elara teased, poking his skin, which was even better than a woman's. "Look at your face, it's so red."
Jesse instinctively looked up, feeling nervous again. He stepped past Elara to the sink, and when he saw in the mirror that everything was normal, he realized he had been tricked.
He looked at Elara, trying to seem stern.
"Can I kiss you next time?" Elara asked again.
"No," Jesse refused firmly this time, not even sure why his usually calm heart felt a bit chaotic. "I got work to do. You go watch TV."
Elara offered, "I'll stay with you."
Jesse shook his head. "No need."
"I wanna stay with you," Elara had plenty of excuses. "If you don't let me stay, then charge me rent. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty living here for free."
Jesse pressed his lips together, his cool eyes showing a hint of emotion. After some thought, he wavered. "Fine, but no kissing."
"Okay," Elara agreed quickly, her bright eyes full of energy. "As long as you don't agree, I won't kiss you."
"Alright," Jesse responded lightly.
After that, Jesse worked overtime in the study, while Elara sat beside him, watching him work.
Maybe it was because she was wiped from the day's events, or maybe she just hadn't slept well the night before, but Elara soon dozed off, her whole body slumping onto Jesse.
Jesse thought Elara was messing with him again and was about to say something when he noticed her eyes were closed.
Her long eyelashes cast shadows under her eyes, her skin soft and smooth, looking super sweet.
Watching her, Jesse instinctively brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. Realizing what he had done, he quickly pulled his hand back.
After a moment, Jesse turned off the computer, carried her to the master bedroom, and tucked her in before heading back to the study to keep working.
When Jesse finally finished, it was really late. He was about to grab something to eat when he saw a message from Mark.
Mark: [Are you really planning to stay single for life?]
Jesse: [?]
Mark: [I found out that Elara hasn't dated anyone in years, just like you. You two were desk mates before and know each other's personalities well. Seriously, you're not gonna go for it?]
Jesse: [Can we talk about something else? I have something I need to ask you.]
Mark: [Shoot.]
Thinking about Elara's behavior during the day, Jesse hesitated before typing: [If a girl always wants to kiss someone, what does it mean?]
Mark: [How would I know? I'm not a girl.]
Mark: [Did someone kiss you?]
Mark: [Who kissed you?]
Mark: [Does Elara know about this?]
Mark sent a bunch of messages in quick succession.
Jesse replied casually: [I'm just asking, no one.]
Mark: [Don't let just anyone kiss you. If she tricked you into bed, you'll be done for.]
Jesse wanted to say that Elara wasn't like that, but he couldn't reveal that it was Elara who wanted to kiss him.
Mark: [By the way, if you have time, keep an eye on Elara. I'm worried her previous blind date might cause her trouble.]
Reading this, Jesse felt a bit confused and immediately called Mark. Why was there suddenly a blind date and trouble?
As soon as the call connected, Jesse asked, "What did you mean by that?"
"Elara didn't tell you?" Mark was surprised. "About the weird guy she met on a blind date."
"No." Jesse pressed his lips together. Not only had Elara not told him, but she hadn't mentioned anything about her current situation.
After thinking for a moment, Mark decided to explain, "When Elara first came back, her dad thought she was getting older and set her up on a few blind dates. One was with a wealthy heir. Elara didn't like him, and he harassed her for a while."
"When did this happen?" Jesse had never heard about it.
"Just in the past ten days," Mark had learned about it during a casual conversation. "According to Elara, that wealthy heir even went to her workplace a few days ago."
"I'll protect her," Jesse promised.
Mark wanted to ask how he planned to protect her, but Jesse had already hung up.
Jesse's calm eyes showed more emotion. He could find out if he wanted to, but since Elara hadn't told him, he shouldn't casually investigate her affairs.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
