21. Sienna
twenty-one
Sienna
I blink hard as sunlight beams down on my face, temporarily blinding me.
Sunlight?
Groaning, I roll out my neck and stretch letting out a loud sigh as my muscles loosen and I roll around my bed, the smell of vanilla and leather engulfing me.
Wait…
Vanilla and leather?
I come to an abrupt stop in my rolling and open my eyes. A scream ripples from my throat at my unfamiliar surroundings before another scream drowns it out.
Jace comes running up the stairs into the loft, shirtless with grey sweatpants hanging loosely off his waist, wearing a hockey helmet and defensively holding a hockey stick.
“Why are we screaming?!” he yells before pausing, taking me in from the way I clutch the blanket to my frightened expression. When his eyes linger on my hand a little longer, brow furrowing, I realize one crucial thing.
I’m naked .
The scream that rips from my throat is instant, “Why am I naked?!”
“You’re naked?!” he asks, pulling off the helmet. “Can I see?”
Scoffing, I hike the cover up higher. “ Why am I naked Jace?!”
He sighs, putting the helmet and stick down, “I don’t know! You had on that cute little dress when I put you to bed… Look at this by the way.” He grins, jogging over to the bed, uncaring of me being in my underwear as he plops down beside me, shoving his phone in my face .
I gape in horror at the screen.
Jace’s lockscreen is an image of me, obviously from last night, knocked out with my mouth ajar and spread across the bed wildly.
A purple bonnet covers my hair and my makeup is off except for a smudging of mascara near my eyes.
I cringe, noting the small amount of drool near my mouth and look away from the phone.
He put me to sleep?
That doesn’t explain how I…Oh!
Images of me getting up from the bed and stripping down to my underwear before crawling back in next to him flashes in my mind as my cheeks warm.
So maybe I stripped out of my clothes while we were asleep…Big whoop…
Jace sighs, pursing his lips as he stalks away from me around the room before tossing something at my head. I grimace as I peel the blue SFU hoodie away from my face. “If this is your way of getting me in your clothes, you could’ve asked nicely.”
“Trust me, I want nothing more than for you to be naked in my bed…but I also have breakfast on the stove right now, so…”
At the mention of food, my stomach growls and my sense of smells heighten.
The smell of something sweet and savory makes my stomach growl even louder.
In an instant, the hoodie Jace had thrown at me is over my head and I’m following him down the stairs to the kitchen.
The hoodie is warm against my skin and huge, with its material stopping just above my thigh.
Sitting on the kitchen island, facing Jace while he cooks, I admire him. His back muscles flex as he whisks something in a bowl, humming a tune that I can’t place.
The air in the loft this morning is peaceful and calming, a complete contrast to the man before me.
“Now, I’ll be so honest with you right now…This might taste like shit.” He chuckles, still facing the stove as he pours a liquid into a pan, the pan sizzling lowly .
“Derek usually cooks and meal preps for us at the house, and since I live there more than here, I never have to cook,” he says, smiling as he turns to face me, a hint of powder on his nose and hands.
I scrunch my nose.
Derek?
Derek Perez?
He must sense my confusion, because without thought, he elaborates.
“He’s the guy who took you home after the football game.”
I scowl immediately. I don’t hate Derek, but I don’t like him, either. He’s never given me a reason to like him, especially with him not being active in Delilah’s life.
Jace continues speaking, clearly unaware of my thoughts as he turns back to the stove.
“He’s one of the kindest people I know. Without Derek, a lot of us on the team would be lost. He helped Blake last year with his issues and always gave me a shoulder to yap on.
His daughter’s like my niece now, too. You taught her dance class… Delilah Perez.”
I can hear the fondness and smile in his tone even though he’s not facing me.
“I would’ve thought that you’d be interested in him since he’s someone you’d go for.”
At this, my nose crinkles, disgust flaring in my gut.
“Annoying and an asshole?”
“Nah, kind and nurturing. Your personalities are very similar, and I think you’d probably be friends.
Derek’s been raising Deli solo since he was seventeen, and has been raising us hockey heads for three years now.
If anything ever happens to me, I want you to know that you can trust him to be a good friend. ”
I allow his words to resonate with me for a minute. Did I have it all wrong about the douchebag? Or is Jace only saying this because they’re friends? I know what I saw and heard, but what if I was wrong to immediately assume Derek is a bad parent?
Jace twists around, a bright smile decorating his handsome face as he holds out a fork with a fluffy, fried dough on it to my face.
“Taste,” he says, eyes dancing with intrigue as he holds the food to my mouth .
My eyes remain locked with his as I lean forward. I’ve never been fed by a man before, and as my lips coat the fork, Jace’s eyes darken. I decide to play with my meal, slowly pulling the dough away with my teeth. I watch as he gulps, watching me intently.
As the flavors of the dough begin to settle in my mouth, my chewing falters. Rather than being the sweet pancake that I thought it would be, it’s salty. I grimace as I swallow the piece of food.
“So?”
“Stick to painting.” I grin, curling my lips to not burst out in laughter as Jace’s smile drops and he flicks my forehead.
After deciding that we’d be better off ordering breakfast, Jace places an order for delivery from Doug’s Diner. We sit in the living room eating our breakfast and watching movies.
My leg rests casually across Jace’s lap as I eat my chocolate chip pancakes and scroll aimlessly on my phone. The silence between us is comfortable, almost like we both know that as soon as we talk, our comfortability will be broken, but that doesn’t stop the blabbermouth beside me from speaking.
“We need a game plan,” he tells me without preamble, sliding in closer to me so now my thighs are over his lap as I shove another pancake into my mouth, nodding for him to continue.
“Your list—I mean, today, we’re doing nothing. But if we want to get everything on that list done, we need a schedule, especially with the hockey season starting back up next month.”
The thought of winter sports quickly approaching leads my mind back to the Winter Showcase. I haven’t seen or heard from Daisy all weekend, but I know that I can’t afford to miss any more practices.
“I thought we had a plan? You and I meet weekly to get the list done, I don’t work at the studio until we finish?
” My words come out more like a question as I lean to put my plate down on the coffee table.
I'm about to move my legs from their spot on Jace's lap, but his tightening grip on my thigh halts me in my tracks .
“We do, but what about my hockey games?” his voice is a bit softer as he asks this, a small pout to his lips as his gaze remains locked on the forgotten movie playing on the TV.
So that’s what this is about…He wants me to be there for him. A small smile dusts my lips as I lean forward, grabbing his chin and tilting his gaze to me.
“I’ll be there for you, Jace. I promise.”
His eyes roam over my face, softening as his shoulders slacken a bit.
All of my feelings over the past ten years crash over me like a tidal wave as he looks at me like that .
I gulp as he licks his lips, leaning forward to rest his forehead on mine, our breaths syncing up with one another like we were made for each other.
“That’s all I wanted to hear, angel…” His words are soft, tugging at my heartstrings. I allow myself to fall down the rabbit hole of them, closing my eyes as he places a gentle kiss to my forehead, his warmth remaining stamped against my skin.
Jace Heart, what are you doing to me?
“Now! Let’s talk about Fall Fest.”
That snaps me out of my softened mood. He immediately gives me a rundown of the three day fall centered event here on campus.
Since we’re keeping whatever this is between us a secret, we have to be extra careful with how we go about doing the event.
There’s no need for us to get caught with our pants down if we can help it.
After deciding on a meet up spot, a few activities to do, and my list, we start a new TV series together about a hidden queen in a school for assassins.
We’re just about to start the third episode when both of our phones go off simultaneously, his ringing with a call, and mine a text.
Cleo
Where you at girl?
I’m thinking we make bows and donuts tonight
Oooh or we could watch the new F1 docuseries
Eren looked so hot in the teaser omgggg!!!!!!!!!!!
Guilt immediately trickles down my spine as I respond to my cousin, lying through my teeth as Jace gets up to answer his call—most likely from his mom.
Me
At practice, can’t tonight /3
I watch as Jace goes, still shirtless because apparently wearing shirts is illegal in the Heart household.
My eyes track his movements as thoughts of his entire body plagues my mind.
His hands are probably my favorite feature—besides his face, of course.
They’re muscular—if that makes sense—with thick veins and long, slender fingers.
Those are the hands of someone skilled whether with a hockey stick, paint brush, or in the bedroom.
When Jace returns back to the couch, he looks dazed, his sketchbook and pencils in hand, and I already know that the conversation wasn’t one that he wanted to have.
“Tough talk—” My phone dings again. Thinking it’s from Cleo, I immediately open it only to frown when I realize it’s not.
Daisy
We have shit to do
Monday night, no games, and no dicks.