Temptations | ✔️

18

~Eden's POV~

Both Jagger and I settled back into a somewhat comfortable behavior with one another after a few days passed, though the occurrence between the two of us was certainly not forgotten. It was just...ignored, more like.

Though Jagger seemed more than fine with that, I was still a little bit embarrassed every time I looked at him, reminded of the fact that I had been rejected. It wasn't a big deal, I suppose, but I still found myself embarrassed because I had been the one to make the move. Making moves on a man like that wasn't something I ever really did, and the rejection had made me remember exactly why. It was embarrassing having to be around him once it was done with because I still was attracted to him.

I stood outside of Crumbl Cookies on Thursday after my shift had ended, waiting patiently for Jagger's car to pull into the lot to pick me up. A few different cars filed in and out of the lot over the time that I was waiting, some of the occupants inside of them glancing at me as I stood by the front door, fiddling with the sleeves of my cropped yellow jacket. It wasn't until about ten minutes later that Jagger's nice car pulled into the parking lot, maneuvering its way over to me until he parked in front of the curb I was standing on. He rolled down the window and I flushed when he smiled at me, hoping the slightly cool air was enough to make him think that the color in my cheeks was due to the cold air.

"Well, come on, birdie. You gonna get in or what?" He asked when I just stood there like an idiot, still fiddling with the sleeves of my jacket. I nodded my head and walked around the front of the vehicle before I climbed in the passenger's seat, pulling on my seatbelt once I got in. He waited until I had my seatbelt buckled and gave him a little thumbs up before he pulled out of the parking lot, beginning to drive back to his home.

The drive back to his place was a little bit shorter than usual, his large frame following behind me once we arrived and he let me inside before him. My converse gently thumped against the hardwood floor as I made my way into the living room, glancing at him over my shoulder when I heard him come following after me once the front door was securely locked again. Jagger's gray eyes met mine the second I took a glance at him, tossing the jacket he had worn to work on the back of the couch. "Are you hungry?" He asked me, cocking his head to the side in a way that made his earring jangle in the air.

"No." I answered softly. "Not quite yet, anyways." I added, deciding to take my jacket off as well. His house always seemed to be warm, so I assumed he didn't like to be cold.

He gave me a light nod and kicked off his shoes beside the couch, leaving them there before he plopped his broad body onto the couch, taking up an incredible amount of space on it. I joined him, sitting a safe distance away from him as I held my jacket in my lap. We sat together for a while before he spoke, leaning his elbows onto his widespread knees. The muscles of his strong biceps flexed attractively, making my skin warm as I tried not to ogle him. "Since we're both off tomorrow, I figured maybe you'd want to get out of the house for once...?" He said, a clear tone of uncertainty to his voice.

I scrunched up my nose. "That's okay." I responded with a shake of my head, as I had never really been the type of person that liked going out in general. Staying home was simply more comfortable, and it required far less effort.

"Although.." I began hesitantly a moment later, "I haven't seen my best friend in a while, since I've been so busy. She usually would come over to Silas and I's apartment, but..well, do you think maybe she could come here instead? Just for a little while?" I suggested hopefully, my teeth clamping onto my bottom lip. I felt a little bit bad asking him this, but I didn't exactly want to drive all the way back to my apartment and only stay there for a few hours before returning back here. That just seemed utterly pointless.

A brief moment of silence ticked on by. "As long as you promise me you won't be all noisy and shit around me, then.. I guess it's fine." Jagger sighed out, causing me to beam brightly in sheer excitement and happiness. "Yay!" I cheered, leaping across the bit of space between us to squeeze him in a big hug.

Caught off guard by my sudden embrace, Jagger tensed at my hug and just sat there, stiff as a board. I felt his fingertips brush against the fabric of my white tank top and I quickly realized that I was likely making him uncomfortable, causing me to immediately pull away. "Sorry." I apologized shyly, nervously rubbing my palms over my brightly colored plaid jeans. He just looked at me and shook his head, that pretty earring jangling once again. "That's fine, birdie. You just surprised me." He said, and his voice lowered into a murmur when he spoke again. "Though you seem to be doing that a lot, especially lately."

My face burned as I caught the words, deciding to pretend like I had not heard him say anything at all. "Your earring is pretty." I said to him, stating the first thing that came to mind. His lips twitched up ever so slightly. "Yeah?" He hummed, reaching up a large hand to gently fiddle with the piercing with two long fingers of his. "You like it?" He asked, to which I nodded silently. "I don't remember you having that the last time I saw you, but I guess that was a long time ago." I recalled. In fact, I couldn't recall him ever having a piercing until I first saw him again recently, after so many years.

"Mm, that's because I didn't have it." He snorted. "I got it pierced last year during the summer. Piss drunk, in fact. Just wanted something stupid to do, and then I decided I liked it once I was actually sober." He told me, causing my lips to tug up into a little smile. "A drunk piercing, huh?" I couldn't help but to let a giggle slip. "Sounds like something Silas would do." I said.

Not to my surprise, he laughed. "Where do you think the idea came from?" He responded playfully, earning a soft laugh from me. "Yeah, sounds about right." I snickered.

Jagger smiled at me and I felt my insides all warm and fuzzy again, making me realize how much closer he and I had grown due to the fact that I'd moved to hug him. My smile was weak, the tips of my fingers shaking when I forced myself to scoot away to put that distance back between us.

And if I wasn't mistaken, I almost could've sworn he looked just as upset about the increase in distance as I felt.