Facade - Jacob Elordi

thirteen

I woke up early desperately needing water, finding myself wandering into the kitchen to grab an ice cold glass of the city bleached liquid. Barry slept soundly on the couch as my eyes fixated on the sun slowly rising past the buildings. The pink skies welcoming my tired consciousness back to earth. The house was dead silent aside from the soft snores of the young man before me. There was no sign of Jacob, yet.

I decided to sit on the balcony with my water and call Lana in privacy. It was early, but this might be the only time I could find to catch her up before our day started.

With a blanket wrapped around my shoulders, I dialed her number as I closed the door to the balcony. I paced around the pool, remembering just hours ago that I was deviously thrown in my Jacob. I now smiled at the thought.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered the call.

"Lana, I'm so sorry to wake you up, but I thought I would give you a call before we got busy today," I apologized, happy to hear her voice.

"You couldn't wait until the sun at least came fully up?" She groaned as I heard her stretch across her bed.

"I just miss you," I cooed, trying to win her over. "I needed to hear your voice."

"Yeah, yeah. So tell me everything. How's the job so far?" She asked, clearing her throat.

"It's definitely interesting. I've only been to one house and it wasn't hard. Jacob has this thing where I don't know what I'm doing for the day until an hour before, so that's been just great," I noted sarcastically.

"Have you been having fun? You're never up this early. I can't imagine the time schedule you're on," Lana noticed my change of sleep pattern.

"It's been okay. Barry decided to show up last night at dinner and he was being a dick as always. Jacob and Barry are a duo that when they're together, they know how to get under my skin. I almost quit," I admitted, leaving out the part where Jacob had his way with me against the wall. She doesn't need to know about that poor decision. I know she wouldn't care, but I can't find it in myself to tell her the CEO of the company I work for had his head between my legs and I enjoyed it.

"You'll come around to Barry," Lana encouraged me. "You have to now. There are worse men out there."

"That is debatable. You're supposed to be on my side and tell me I'm right," I groaned, knowing she's probably correct. But how would she know anything about him? She's never really interacted with him at the country club.

"All I'm saying is that you have a great fucking opportunity, so don't let Barry of all men make you ruin it," She spoke wisely.

"I guess. I'll have to make nice because I signed a year contract with Jacob. I just struggle to find a bone in my body that wants to be nice to him. It makes me question Jacob's integrity hiring someone like Barry," I paused. "However, I met Jacob's hometown friend, Wesley. He is the complete opposite— a joy to be around."

"I'm glad you're finding your people. I'm sure you'll be glad you stuck it out in a couple months. Just don't forget about us!" I could never. I wouldn't be here without her and Brandon— and Jacob's persistence.

I glanced into the penthouse, seeing an empty couch where Barry was once sound asleep.

"I think Barry is awake. I'll let you go back to sleep and I'm going to enjoy my last moments of serenity out here," I laughed as we said our goodbyes.

The sun had perked up further into the sky, now shades of orange in front of me. I snuggled my face into my blanket, enjoying the warmth of its rays. I could honestly fall back asleep, but I have so much on my mind. I'm anticipating our plans for the day. The possibility of working alongside Barry makes me want to pull my hair out. The thought of seeing Jacob after last night and act normal made my stomach turn.