I Hate You, Mr. Boss-Man [18+]

063

TW: This chapter has small depictions of somnophilia, so if you're uncomfortable with that, please skip to the next chapter.

Katherine

Happiness.

It was all I had as I stared up at the ceiling. Happiness coursed through my veins, traveling up to my brain as I lay on the bed. It was almost as if my body were floating, and nothing could take that feeling away. 

"What are you thinking about?" 

Jesse's voice echoes around me, close but so far away. I slowly sit up, meeting his eyes from across the room. There he stood, arms crossed, shoulder resting against the door frame from the bathroom. Nothing but sweatpants covered his body, and I had to stop myself from ogling for too long.

"Is it safe to use the bathroom now?" I ask, dodging his question for a moment. He'd spent the rest of the night trying to dry up the sopping floor from our time in the tub. To say that it took him forever would be an understatement. 

"Don't do that," He dictates, shaking his head with a smirk. Jesse pushes off the frame, heavy footsteps making their way toward me. "Don't deflect with another question. I know you better than you think." I watch him sink onto the bed beside me before his expression turns serious. 

"I didn't want this gift among the others," Jesse swallows hard as he reaches into the pocket of his sweats, pulling out a small velvet box. "This one's special."

I look up at him with widened eyes, and my heart begins to pound against my chest as he places it in my palm.

"W-what is it?" I stammer, running my thumb along the edge. My hands began to shake as I held it close. The size didn't match the dimensions of a ring, so it didn't startle me too much, but I was still worried about the contents inside.

"It's been in my family for generations, passed down through the years, and well," His eyes flicker to mine, flashing a soft smile, and he playfully shoves my shoulder with his. "Open it."

I take a deep breath and slowly open the lid, revealing a delicate silver necklace with a small opal pendant. The rest of my breath catches at the base of my throat, a knot forming as I gently touch the chain with the tip of my finger. "Jesse," I whisper, meeting the adoring gaze in his eyes. "You shouldn't have..."

"It was my great-great grandmother's," He reveals, dismissing the look of disapproval on my face. He knew how I felt about expensive gifts. Jesse reaches for the necklace while the box is still in my grasp, his fingers undoing the clasp as he gestures for me to turn around.

I turn my back with a sigh of defeat, taking my hair in my grasp to lift it above my neck.

"My grandfather had given it to her before the war. He was only twenty when he got drafted, and my nana had just turned nineteen." His hands come around me, looping the necklace under my arm, then around my neck.

"The way my mother tells it, they couldn't stand one another, having been set up on a blind date or something along those lines. Anyway," He continues, his fingers brushing against the nape of my neck as he secures the clasp.

"On the day they finally admitted they had feelings for each other, my great-great-grandfather gets called for duty." Jesse takes my hair from my grasp, letting it cascade down my back. "It was a promise. A promise that when the war was over, they'd find each other again. And now, it's my promise to you."

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I turn around to face him, my heart swelling with emotion. "I...I don't know what to say," I mumble, reaching up to touch the pendant that sat up against my chest.