Facade - Jacob Elordi

eleven

The lights shined bright through the open windows of the penthouse. I stood by the window just watching everything twinkle and settle down for the night. After finishing my third cup of water, I heard Jacob leave his room. His shadow standing tall beside my small stature in the window. I didn't speak or move while I let his shadow engulf mine as he walked closer. The air became thick as his presence breathed over mine.

"You hungry?" He asked standing inches from me.

"A little," I admitted softly as I kept my eyes on his reflection.

He stood behind me in only sweatpants, his freshly showered body glistening with the city lights. The musk of his body wash filling my nostrils. Instantly, I noticed the grime layered from the hours out in the town on my own body.

"I'm getting us something."

"Can I shower first?" I asked, turning around and leaning on the window so our bodies didn't touch.

"If you want," Jacob shrugged. "If it's longer than 10 minutes, I'm going to bed."

"10 minutes?" I asked bewildered. "It'll take me 10 minutes to step into the shower."

"The clock is ticking," He said making a ticking sound as I pushed past him to race to my room.

After such a long day all I wanted to do was take a nice long shower to decompress, but of course Jacob can't let that happen. It took all of me to not stand under the scalding water for longer, but I rushed out of the bathroom, quickly drying my body and wrapping a towel around my hair. Not knowing how long I had been bathing, I left my towel around my body, meeting Jacob setting up the common area with our food.

"How long was that?" I panted, probably looking crazy.

"14 minutes," He said as he continued to unpack food from the takeout boxes.

"Well, it looks like you didn't go to bed," I scowled realizing he never planned to go to bed at all. He just wanted to see if I would comply.

"Four minutes is a lot of time, Miss Charlotte," He said walking over to me. "Don't you think?"

"Considering I was getting clean, no," I challenged him.

"Go get dressed. You have one minute."

My jaw dropped at the demand. It was probably a bit dramatic as the alcohol was still pumping fiercely through my veins. I looked at him as if he was joking, but his face didn't falter.

"You're joking, right?" I laughed.

"50 seconds."

I rolled my eyes, rushing back into my room to throw on the first thing I saw. My hair cried at the rough brushing I subjected it to, probably ripping out half of it in the process. I threw my brush down and stared at myself in the mirror.

What the fuck am I doing?

I'm not playing these games. I did enough of that with Filip. Instead of running back out the door, I sat on my bed, feeling the soft comforter between my fingers. What's the worst that could happen if I don't come out in one minute? My body sunk into the soft mattress as I rested my body for a minute, not hearing any sound coming from the common area. My eyes got heavy underneath the silk sheets, making it hard to continue any thoughts about leaving the room to join Jacob. I decided to shut my eyes for a second, knowing the danger of falling asleep.

I heard footsteps echo down the hall, stopping at my door. It creaked open, my eyes closed with half of my face hidden underneath the comforter. I was prepared to be rudely awakened until soft steps pattered to the other side of the bed. The mattress dipped, causing my body to shift slightly with the weight of his body. I felt the blanket cover tightly over my shoulders, a soft hand brushing the hairs out of my face. My body stiff as a board. The bathroom light clicked off, leaving my shut eyes in complete darkness, the curtains drawn with one swift motion. The energy in the room wasn't malicious as my jaw unclenched and I sank deeper into my bed. The door softly shut, leaving a peaceful aura as his footsteps got quieter down the hall. His door shutting soon after.