Chapter 39
Theo
“Jesse,” I say, voice surprisingly steady as I meet his eyes.
“Did you finally come to your senses and leave that asshole?” The wind paints a flush across Jesse’s defined cheeks as it swirls around us, blowing his blond hair across his face. It makes him look almost innocent to someone who doesn’t know better.
My expression stays blank, but inside I’m fighting the urge to recoil.
I swallow and look away while I gather myself.
“You hurt me, Jesse. I trusted you, and you took advantage of that when you tried to force yourself on me. Then you posted that stuff online and made me out to be a manipulative jerk.”
“You’ve got it all wrong, Theo. It was all for you.”
My gaze shifts back to his, searching for any flicker of real emotion in those eyes. It’s easy to let myself fall into the fear, and my voice wavers as I ask, “How can I trust you again?”
The words alone make me want to shudder, but I have to sell it.
He pulls his lips between his teeth, tilting his chin as he studies me. “I have to admit, I was surprised when you texted me.”
“I imagine you were,” I respond coolly.
A flicker of a grin twitches his lips as he scratches his chin. “After I thought about it, I realized it made sense, though.”
“Oh?” I ask, curious to hear whatever delusion comes next.
The smile that slips onto his face is so genuine it catches me off guard. It’s bright, almost boyish—the same one that used to fool me. “I know you so well. You understand that, right? You saw it? The gifts I sent you were to show you that, and you loved everything so much. The watch, the flowers…”
He steps forward, closing the distance until he’s in my space, licking his lips as his gaze drops to my mouth with that same obsessive hunger. His voice lowers, making my windpipe clench shut.
“The… panties,” he rasps. “Did you ever wear them?”
I fight not to run as his pupils swallow his eyes. “I… I didn’t get to, no.”
“But you loved them, right?”
“They were very pretty,” I whisper.
His face lights up, beaming like I just handed him the world. “See? I knew I just had to show you what was waiting for you. You were confused, but you knew we were perfect for each other. I knew you’d come around.”
I force another shaky smile. “Do you want me to give this a second chance?”
“God, yes,” he breathes in a rush, nodding frantically as he grabs both my hands in his. His grip is too tight, fingers digging in with desperate eagerness. “Yes, of course. You won’t regret it, Theo. I’ll make you so happy.”
I swallow hard, throat working roughly as I hold his gaze. “If we do this… if we’re going to try again, I have questions, and I need you to answer with perfect honesty.”
There’s a crazed light in his eyes as he nods. “Whatever you want to know.”
“Complete honesty, Jesse. No holding back, and no half-truths. I won’t get upset with you about any of it, but you have to prove that I can trust you.”
He pulls my hands to his face, and I fight the instinctive flinch at the touch. “Ask me anything.”
“Did you know who I was the night we met at Prism?”
There’s a manic excitement in his nod, like he expects this revelation to thrill me. “A friend of mine works in the bar there, and when your bandmates called to reserve space in the VIP section, he reached out to me. He knew how much I loved you, and they needed valets.”
“So you volunteered.”
He nods again, still wearing that dreamy expression. “You got out of your car and you just… smiled at me, and I knew we were meant to be. It was fucking kismet that put us both there that night.”
A sharp, sad pain hits my chest. “And then we danced.”
“All night,” he agrees. “Things were so perfect, and I knew you’d see it the same way.”
“What about the party?” I ask. “What about what happened in the courtyard?”
His face falls, eyes darting to the ground. “I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard, but I had to make you understand. You had to see. Dante was fucking with your head, letting you think he loved you when it was me who could give you everything.”
“Why that, though?” I ask, unable to hide my shiver at the memory. “There were other ways that didn’t involve touching me… trying to…” I swallow again as he stares at me, unblinking. I gather every scrap of courage I have left and force the words out. “Trying to force me to have sex with you.”
“Force you?” His brow furrows, voice dropping to something almost wounded.
“No, no, no, Theo… no. God, is that what you think? No, I would’ve made it so good for you.
Deep down, you wanted it. You just needed a push, that’s all.
I had to show you, because you weren’t listening…
you get that, right? That I had to do it? ”
“Of course,” I whisper, and his smile returns. “How did you find out where I lived?”
“The café. I knew you were a regular after our date, and I waited for you to come back. I saw you a few times, but I took my time. I was patient for you, but then you were so sweet, talking to that little girl, and I couldn’t wait any more.
” He reaches up and brushes my hair from my forehead, fingers lingering too long. “You’d be such a great dad.”
My pulse spikes at the obsessive gleam in his eyes, and I pray I haven’t made a catastrophic mistake by doing this.
“I followed you home,” he clarifies, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“Why didn’t you just come over and speak to me?” I ask, forcing my voice to stay conversational. “We could’ve talked about all of this back then… cleared the air.”
“You weren’t ready.” The words land flat and final, and he doesn’t elaborate.
“What about the note you left on Dante’s car?” I press. “How did you find me when I was staying with him?”
“Don’t say his fucking name,” he hisses, fingers tightening in my hair and yanking my face toward his. Fear flashes across my expression before I can hide it. His nostrils flare as he sees it, and something flickers in his gaze.
Regret, maybe, or shame.
He releases me abruptly, head dropping toward the ground. For several long seconds he stays like that, eyes fixed on the grass and breathing deliberate. When he looks up again, he’s calm, and another surge of fear hits me at the chaotic shift in his mood.
A lopsided smirk tugs at his lips and he chuckles—actually chuckles—like he’s remembering something fond.
“That was a tough one. I was stumped for a while, but then the two of you went out, and that guy took a selfie with you and… him. He tagged the band and mentioned the name of the bar. When I saw where you were, I waited for you to leave. I dropped everything for you, baby.”
“And the studio?”
He shrugs. “Same thing. Once I figured out where you were staying, I hung out until you finally left. I wanted to talk to you so bad, but the other guys were always around you. They wouldn’t understand, Theo. They won’t let us be together.”
“Let us?” I repeat.
He touches my chin, tilting my face toward his again. “You’ll have to leave the band behind, you know. No one else understands what we have. You get that, don’t you? That you can’t have both?”
“Of course,” I whisper.
Relief makes me dizzy as he finally steps back half a pace, giving me room to breathe. “When the band started doing interviews, I saw the lineup schedule. I made my post and sent it over to the man doing the interview. He was very interested in talking to me.”
“I’m sure he was,” I mutter, bitterness leaking through despite my best effort to keep it locked down.
“I had to get your attention, and it worked. We’re here now.” He falls quiet for a second, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear while staring at me in that same unnerving way. “What else do you want to know, Theo?”
I thumb through the questions in my mind, certain I’ve gotten everything I need. The evidence sits right at my fingertips—recorded, damning, and ready to end this.
Time to bow out.
“Thank you for being so open with me,” I say, offering another small, timid smile. Even though I have what I came for, there’s no room for cockiness or false confidence. “I think that was all my questions.”
“Good.” He studies me for a beat, then frowns. “You’re shivering. Let me take you home and get you warm again.”
My blood turns to ice. “Take me… home?”
His grip on my hand tightens, squeezing until pain spiderwebs through my fingers. “You don’t think I’d let you leave after it took me so long to get you back…” A dark flicker crosses his face before the smile snaps back into place. “Do you?”
“Jesse, I can’t… go home with you. Not yet. We can’t rush into things, and I need a chance to process everything.”
What I really need is time to get this recording to the police station. My fingers itch to check my pocket, to verify the phone’s still there, capturing every word, but if he finds out what I’ve done…
The caustic bite of his cologne burns my nose as he steps closer. He pauses, nostrils flaring as anger flashes in his eyes. “Are you toying with me?”
I try to pull my hand free, skin burning with the friction. “N-no, of course not, but I don’t even have my things, and—”
He growls, yanking me forward so my body slams against his. “Do you think I’m fucking stupid? You aren’t leaving.”
“You’re scaring me,” I say, forcing calm into my voice, trying to reason with whatever part of him still thinks this is love.
“And I’m sorry for that,” Jesse replies, tone almost gentle, “but I’ll have to make it up to you later.”
“Later?” I whisper.
“You’re coming with me.”
“No, I’m not!” I rip my hand from his grip and stumble back. His long legs close the distance before I can even move, looming over me again, every trace of the polite, kind mask gone.
Why did I think that a crowded, public place would work as a defense against him? My plan seems so foolish now, so naive for thinking he’d let me walk away. It’s ridiculous I ever thought this might be easy.
“Jesse, stop, please,” I beg.