24

LUCIA

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, my cheeks staining pink as I tried to process the fact that Jeremy was in my home, wearing my clothes and sitting on my couch.

It all felt a little too intimate, and it made the blush on my cheeks deepen even more. I cleared my throat loudly, trying to think of anything else but that.

“Are you hungry?” I asked him despite the fact that I didn’t cook for shit. We would have to figure that out if he was, in fact, hungry.

Jeremy shook his head at that. “I’m not. I had some food at the restaurant earlier.”

I paused in my tracks, my brows rising. “The restaurant? Do you mean the one where we ran into each other several times?”

“That’s the one.” Jeremy answered, giving me a sheepish smile, but my brows rose even higher.

“You saw me at the restaurant, didn’t you? That’s how you were able to trace my house. You followed me.” I complained, although my tone didn’t have any bite to it.

I still felt bad about the fact that I left him out in the rain for hours even though it was technically not my fault.

He chose to stay out there, and I did ask him to go home. But I still felt guilty nevertheless.

“I’m sorry, Lucia,” He said in a quiet tone, his expression extremely apologetic.

“I know it was wrong of me to follow you to your home. I didn’t mean any harm, I promise. I just wanted to see you. To talk to you.” His voice was quiet and gentle, and my heart softened instantly.

“Fine. We’ll talk later. Once the rain goes down, you should go home. I can lend you a coat if you’re cold.” I said sternly, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Come on, Lucia. It’s almost midnight. Are you going to send an innocent college student out that late?” He said, his expression feigning innocence, and I could not help but roll my eyes as I could see the tricks he was trying to play.

At the end of the day, he had a point, though. He was my student and it was my responsibility to look after him.

I let out a sigh, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “Fine. You can stay, but you’ll have to sleep on the couch. I don’t have an extra room.” I said, and he nodded his head eagerly, an excited smile making its way onto his lips.

“I have no problem sleeping on the couch. Thank you.” He answered, and I nodded before muttering.

“I’ll go get you a blanket. Hold on.”

Without waiting for his reply, I made my way back into the room, grabbed an extra blanket and pillow before making my way back to the living room and handing the items to him.

He took them with a smile, making its way onto his lips. “Thank you.” He replied, and I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

“Well, goodnight.” I said before turning around and slowly heading towards my room.

“Lucia,” I heard Jeremy call just as I was about to open the door. My heart skipped a beat in my chest because of the way he called my name, and I slowly turned around, my heart rate increasing by the second.

I looked at him expectantly, my cheeks staining pink, and his expression turned from unreadable to unsure.

“Uhm. Goodnight.” He finally said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, and I nodded before entering my room, shutting the door gently.

I let out a sigh before collapsing onto my bed, beneath the covers, and just as I predicted, I couldn’t get enough sleep, and I kept tossing around the bed.

I knew it had to do with the presence of one person in my home. Jeremy. He was only a few feet away, and yet I could not touch him. I could not kiss him.

It was nothing short of torture.

I kept tossing and turning for what felt like hours, and when I was about to give up on sleeping for that night, I heard my door knob turn and the door open quietly.

I lay completely still, holding my breath as my heart began racing in my chest. I saw what appeared to be Jeremy’s shadow stand in the doorway, and it looked like he hesitated for a few minutes before finally tiptoeing into the room and shutting the door quietly behind him.

I couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to as I stayed completely still and to my surprise, I watched him through half-closed eyes, tiptoe towards my bed with his pillow and blanket in his hands.

I heard the bed dip as he crawled quietly next to me.

“Lucia. Are you asleep?” He whispered, and I instantly shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

It was a miracle that I still managed to stay still when I felt him wrap his hands around me. I nearly moaned at the way his warmth enveloped me, but I managed to keep my mouth shut as he cradled and snuggled into me under the covers.

I felt so warm and safe, and before long, I drifted off to sleep with a contented smile on my face.

The next morning, my eyes fluttered open as the sun streamed in through the windows. It was a saturday, which meant that I did not need to go to work.

A low yawn escaped my lips as I stretched my limbs, and it took a little while for me to recollect the events of last night.

A low gasp escaped my lips, and my eyes widened when I eventually did. I remembered Jeremy crawling into my bed when he thought I was already asleep.

My eyes darted to where he was supposed to be, but it was empty, and I hated that I felt so disappointed at the sight.

I couldn’t help but shrug as I slowly got out of bed, stifling a yawn. He probably had gone home. It was for the best anyway. He had suffered enough last night.

Since it was a Saturday, I intended to take things easy and just relax as much as I could. Maybe watch some movies on n*****x most of the day.

The prospect of lazing around the entire day pleased me so much that I darted into the bathroom and brushed my teeth before taking a warm shower.

I was getting dressed in some casual clothes when I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. My heart rate sped up as I instantly stopped what I was doing, my eyes darting around in alarm.

What the fuck was going on? I thought I was alone in the apartment. Was someone here with me? Could Jeremy still be her?

I wore the rest of my clothes before hurrying out of the room and heading straight to the kitchen.

I knew for a fact that someone was in my kitchen as the aroma of fried eggs and bacon was heavy in the air and it instantly wafted its way through my nose.

I was not proud of the fact that my stomach growled in both hunger and appreciation.

When I reached the kitchen, a small gasp escaped my lips as I froze at the sight in front of me.

Jeremy stood in front of my stove, whistling and making some food, but that was not what was shocking about the entire situation. What had me gaping at him was the fact that he was shirtless.

My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as they raked his extremely toned physique. I could see every curve of his biceps, triceps and muscles as he worked and it was so attractive that I gulped, unable to say a word.

He slowly turned around and I nearly turned to a puddle where I stood. His well defined abs and broad shoulders were enough to drive me completely mad.

I was so entranced with his body at that moment that I didn't even care that he had caught me staring.

“Morning, Lucia,” He said with a lively smile on his face, but when he caught the expression on my face, his smile slowly disappeared.

“I’m sorry I used your kitchen without telling you. I just thought you might be hungry when you woke up.”

I scoffed internally. Little did he know that him using my kitchen was the least of my problems at that moment.

I shook my head, waving my hand dismissively as I tried to compose myself.

“It’s fine. I’m not mad.” I answered, suddenly taken aback by how relieved I was to find out that he was still here.

Jeremy seemed to fill up the tiny kitchen with his presence and it was oddly comforting for some reason.

“Are you sure?” He asked, his expression still unsure and I nodded, giving him a small smile as the poor guy looked so worried.