49. Sienna
forty-nine
Sienna
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask for the millionth time as Jace sighs, his chest rising and falling slowly as he tries to get some sleep.
“Angel, I was fine six minutes ago when you last asked,” Jace says quietly, holding me tighter with his left arm.
I eye the lavender cast on his right wrist and frown.
I should’ve been there. Had I been there he would’ve gotten help quicker or maybe wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the first place.
“Stop it.”
Looking up at him, I furrow my brows and pout. “Stop what?”
“Stop pitying me and blaming yourself. That asshole was going to hit me regardless,” he huffs, kissing my forehead.
I know he’s right, but a piece of me just won’t accept that.
“Well, are you hungry? I can call for some grilled cheese and maybe I can find a way to get cookies in here and—”
Jace’s small laugh stops my rambling. “I am fine. Besides, you practically died. I should be the one asking if you’re okay.”
At the mention of my allergic reaction earlier, I sigh. I know it was something I had gotten from Daisy, but I highly doubt she gave me something that she knew I was allergic to. It could’ve just been an accident.
A nearly tragic one…
Jace shifts us in the bed to where I’m laying fully on his chest.
“This is the life…” he mumbles, kissing the top of my head as I relax into him.
I wish we could stay like this forever, cuddling and living quietly .
“Yeah…too bad I have the showcase tomorrow,” I say, wrapping my arm around his waist as he makes a gruff noise.
“Nuh-uh.”
“What do you mean?” I raise a brow at him as he pulls away from me, pulling out his phone.
Jace smirks down at the screen, typing away before responding smartly.
“You heard me, you’re staying here. You almost died not even three hours ago, and you think you’re about to go prancing on stage tomorrow?
We don’t even know how you ended up having the reaction, and I’ll be damned if I watch you almost die again. ”
My resolve softens as I look at him. “Do you think that I’m going to just crumble up and die if I hit the stage tomorrow? It was an allergic reaction! People have them all the time . I’m okay , Jace.”
“You’re okay now, but a few hours ago, I thought you were dead, Sienna. So, the answer is no. I already emailed your professor— you’re not performing tomorrow, and that’s the end of it.”
When he looks up from his phone, his brow raised at me as if to say test me , my stomach does a flip.
Jace had gotten rid of his shirt the moment we’d gotten settled in the hospital bed, his blonde waves tousled and mussed from him running his fingers through it, and he’d been wearing black rimmed blue light glasses.
I frown at him. Fine. If he wants to be that way, then so be it.
“No is still no, babe…Keep pouting, though,” he says with a small laugh just as the door to the room opens.
“How’s my favorite sick bitch and…you? I guess. How ya feeling, Si Si?” Georgia asks, rounding the corner to my side of the bed as Jace groans.
“Uh…Thank you for asking about me, seeing as I broke my wrist! Besides, why are you here?! We could’ve been naked!” he exclaims, folding his arms awkwardly over his chest.
“Gross, dude. This is a hospital.” Dereks familiar voice calls out as he appears behind Georgia, entering the room still in athletic wear.
Snickering, I look between Derek and Georgia .
“How was the game?” I ask, steering the conversation from a blondie meltdown as Derek steps in.
“Kicked their asses, as usual. How’s the asshole beside you?” he asks with short laugh as Jace flips him.
“Grumpy as usual.”
The December air chills around Derek and I as we briskly walk towards the entrance of a cafe just a few minutes from campus.
One thing that I’ve learned about Derek since we’ve become reluctant friends is that the kid can eat. He’s always snacking or sending me videos of new food places.
He’d even made a group chat with Georgia, Jace, and I where he only sends food recipes to try. The chat was originally made to remind everyone not to spill Jace and I’s secret until we were ready, but it soon turned into Derek’s personal recipe book.
“Look at this one, Heart Jr., I think this would be good, too!”
Ahh…that too. He’s given me a nickname.
Rolling my eyes, I follow the big oaf around, checking my phone as he goes on and on about the pastries around us when I get a text.
Daisy
I’m so so sorry about what happened at practice! I know we haven’t been able to see one another because I left last week to visit my grandma but can we please talk??? I’m sorry
Sighing, I swipe out of our texts. Yesterday, I did our showcase dance alone for our professor after Daisy hadn’t respond to my texts for the past week.
And after a few hours of grilling from Jace, Georgia, and Derek while I was in the hospital, we’d all come to the conclusion that my dance partner had given me a strawberry infused drink.
I know that she didn't mean to, you know…almost kill me, but I’d rather eat drywall than talk to her right now. Sure, she didn’t mean to give me something that I’m deathly allergic to, but she also left me there after I collapsed.
The EMTs told us that I was alone when they found me, Daisy was nowhere in sight. Something is up with that girl, and I can’t place a finger on what it is…
“So, do you have a plan for your birthday? Georgia told me it was on New Year’s Eve,” Derek questions as we sit down at a booth, three eclairs on his plate.
I tilt my head at him, smiling a bit. “You and G are getting closer.”
He sighs dramatically. “That’s because we’re keeping you little nympho’s secret. I need someone to talk about it with.”
“Mhm…Right.”
He and I eat the rest of our pastries—or more like I take one of his eclairs and he grumbles throughout our small lunch break.
Jace claimed he’d had a small surprise for me today, so when we finish up with lunch, I head over to his house with the guys. I’ve never truly been here, but he’d sent over the address claiming it was needed for “list purposes”.
When I get to the house, the first thing that I notice is the empty driveway, save for Jace’s car.
Odd.
My car door swings open and Hercules himself stands in the doorway in all his glory.
“Welcome home, angel.” Jace grins broadly, holding out a hand for me. Narrowing my eyes at him, my hackles raise.
He’s up to something.
“Hi? What’s going on?” I muse, grabbing the held out hand.
“We’re about to have the best sex of our lives—no one's home and I can finally show you my real room. Besides, we still have a few things on that list of yours to tick off.”
His words process instantly. My eyes flicker to his for a brief moment, and before I know it, our lips are slamming against one another in broad daylight .
I’ve been waiting for this part of my list—rip off clothes like in the movies.
Jace hoists me up, my legs immediately wrapping around his waist as his hands cup my ass—our kiss unbreaking.
I sigh into the kiss as he walks me up the porch stairs of his house, and when he sets me down on my feet, my smile is bright and wild for him.
Jace doesn’t hesitate to kiss me again, his tongue playing with my own as my fingers fumble to rip off his shirt.
We’re kissing and pulling at one another's clothes, a feeling of pure euphoria washing over us as we tangle ourselves around one another. We’re going at it like rabbits, grinding and tugging at each other, so deeply enthralled in our kiss that we don’t pay attention to anything around us.
At this moment, I only see him and he only has eyes for me.
We grind, slamming against a wall. My mouth leaves his momentarily as he begins to tug on my shirt, and that’s when it happens.
A low gasp stops us in our tracks. My eyes widen opening to find Jace looking down at me with a confused face just as someone screams.
“OH MY FUCKING GOD—”
Fuck…
This can’t be happening.
Jace goes stark still, his mouth slightly agape as he winces.
“Sienna?!”
Shit.