Temptations | ✔️

17

~Eden's POV~

Things became incredibly awkward and uncomfortably tense between Jagger and I after what happened the night before. I was embarrassed and even a little bit humiliated by the fact that I had so brazenly tried to kiss him and then been rejected.

I ate a bowl of cereal by myself the next morning, having woken up before Jagger did. The dining room was quiet aside from my quiet eating and the occasional clink of my spoon against the bowl, so it wasn't hard to hear when Jagger began making his way down the hall. He came wandering into the dining room as he headed towards the kitchen and I quickly looked away when I caught a glimpse of his eyes on me when I glanced at him, ducking my head down as I continued to eat. I was absolutely embarrassed, and I didn't want to look at him after what had happened last night.

Truthfully, I had no idea what I was thinking trying to kiss a man like Jagger. Not only was he Silas' best friend, which probably made it a very bad idea to begin with, but he was too handsome. He could have anyone he wanted, and that clearly wasn't me.

Jagger strolled on by without saying a word, an action that was hard for me to say whether I was relieved or upset by. Nonetheless, I finished off the last bit of my cereal before I stood from the dining table and pushed in the chair, grabbing the empty bowl from the table. I turned around and jumped in surprise when I saw that Jagger was standing in the entryway between the kitchen and the dining room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

My mouth went dry as I looked at him, clutching at my bowl tighter. He just stared right back at me, not saying a word, all while I tried to think of something to say to break the silence. "So, um," I mumbled, hesitating before I took a step towards him. "You have to work today, right?" I asked, watching as his gray eyes narrowed at me. At first I worried that maybe he was annoyed or angry with me, but then he simply nodded his head, his face smoothing back into a normal, calm expression. "Yeah, I do." He responded, trailing his gaze down the length of my figure. "Are you all good here?" He asked, flicking his gaze up to meet mine again. I just looked at him for a moment, wondering if that was his way of asking if I would be fine here on my own until he got back.

"Yep." I said with a little nod. "All good." I assured, wandering into the kitchen to put my bowl in the sink.

When I turned around again, Jagger was already gone, causing my heart to sink into my stomach. Some part of me had been hoping that he and I could actually talk, but maybe I had been foolish to think that. I mean, I doubted that the conversation would even be a legit one, what with how tense things were between the two of us. If I'd known that this would happen, I probably never would've tried to kiss him in the first place. That was what I told myself, anyways.

Oh, well. I thought to myself. At least I won't be dumb enough to make that same mistake twice.

**

It wasn't until several hours later that Jagger got back from work, the sound of the front door swinging open and then shut all I needed to hear to know it was him. I sat on the couch, watching the Regular Show and fiddling with the denim of my denim short overalls.

Jagger entered the living room from the entry way, his gray eyes landing on me when he spotted me on the couch. I refrained from looking at him and instead just continued to stare at the TV, not quite paying attention to the show now that Jagger was back, and especially now that he was looking at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I couldn't help but to notice the way that he just stood there in the entry of the living room, looking at me yet not saying anything. I couldn't take it. His gaze was overwhelming me, making it impossible for me to resist from flitting my eyes over to his.

"Hi." I said softly, unsure if I should be the one to speak first. I didn't even know what to say, and I could tell he knew that because he let out this low sigh and walked around the couch to join me. He sat down beside me, too close for my peace of mind, so I scooted away enough for there to be space between our bodies. Him being close is evidently a big reason I end up trying to kiss him, I realized. It was best to keep some distance.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" He asked me after he had sat down, the sudden topic and the fact that he was actually speaking to me causing me to blink in surprise. I hesitantly shook my head. "No, not yet. I figured I'd wait until you got back home. Your shifts end at the perfect time for dinner anyway." I told him honestly, my blue green eyes unable to keep still when looking at him. Each part of him was so handsome that I never knew which part of his face to focus on. "You should pick what we eat." I stated, hoping to maybe be able to get rid of some of the awkwardness between us.

He looked at me for a moment and then smiled at me with the naturally mischievous, sly smile that he always seemed to have. It always made it hard to say if he was up to no good or not.

After he had picked out a local sandwich shop that delivered through Doordash, Jagger placed the order and then looked over at me. I fiddled with my fingertips and swallowed thickly, staring at him in the eye with all the courage in me that I could muster. He crossed his arms and leaned his elbows onto his knees, making the muscles in his strong arms flex as he did so. "What's wrong, little bird?" He murmured to me. I couldn't tell if he was simply playing stupid or if he truly wasn't sure. Either way, I didn't want to tell him the truth.

So I just gave a light shake of my head instead, shrugging my shoulders. "Nothing." I said as if I had no clue what he was talking about. "Should something be wrong?" I asked, cocking up a dark brow at him. The both of us knew exactly what was wrong, but he didn't mention the incident either.

Jagger stared at me for a moment. "No." He muttered, his brows slightly furrowing. "No, I guess not."