Lovin' The Benefits

(1) Persuasion

I hoist myself onto the counter, crossing one ankle over the other. I grip the edge, a small pout portraying on my lips as I stare at the back of his head.

He fishes around the refrigerator, looking for something to satisfy his thirst. He closes the door with a sigh, still empty handed. He crosses in front of me to leave the kitchen, purposefully ignoring the looks I throw him.

I let out a sigh. "But why?" I whine, the end turning up dramatically.

"Because I said so," Jeremiah replies in a calm voice, turning around and giving me a pointed look. He faces away from me and continues out of the kitchen, muttering something I couldn't make out.

I jump down from the counter, landing lightly on my toes. I scurry out the kitchen after him to see him already heading up the stairs. I groan and follow behind him. By the time I make it to the second floor he's gone.

I stomp down the hall to his room, making it imperceptible that I was doing so. I roll my eyes, letting out a silent huff as I open the door to his room.

I eye his figure lying in the middle of his bed, his head facing the opposite way. I stand in the doorway, folding my arms across my chest. "I'm not going."

"Yes, you are," Jeremiah says immediately, remaining in the position stretched across the bed.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," he says in a heavier tone, slightly moving on his side to look at me over his shoulder.

"But why?" I ask for the hundredth time, it seems like. I make my way across the room and flop onto the bed beside him, looking at the side of his face. "You never give a straight answer." I now saw that he was typing away on his phone, probably only half listening to me which irritated me to some extent.

"Chloe," he says sighing, locking the screen to his phone and then tossing it beside him on the bed. He sits up, a half annoyed expression on his face. "We're all just gonna hang out and I want you with me; why don't you wanna go?"

I fold my arms across my chest. "Because," I say sharply, diverting my glare to the window. "I don't like her."

"You never even gave her a chance," he says exasperatedly, throwing his hands up.

I shrug solemnly. The truth is, I do like her. She's a really cool person. I just didn't like her with him. "So?" I ask, ducking my head a little. "I'm still not going."

He runs a frustrated hand down his face and groans loudly. "Fine, I don't care." Standing from the bed, he walks over to his closet. "I'm still going though," he tells me, opening the door and flicking on the light before walking inside.

My mouth falls open as I scramble from the bed. I walk into the closet after him, watching him search through a row of hanging shirts.

"I'm thinking I should go with a Hollister shirt," he says to me, pulling down a red, white, and grey plaid shirt. "Or maybe this one?" He gets a blue Aeropostale tee with the huge logo on the front and then turns to me holding both. "Which?"

I sigh, folding my arms, and face away from him. "You look better in plaid," I mutter, visibly upset.

"Yeah, I like this one too," he says, hanging the Aeropostale shirt back up. He glances over at me, then down at several stacks of pants. Pulling a random pair from the top, he quickly discards them and the shirt to the floor, taking a step towards me. "Baby."

Refusing to look at him, I turn my attention to his many shoes that lined the floor. Nike, Nike, Vans, Jordan's, Converse, Vans, Sperry's, Nike, Converse, Vans, Converse, Jordan's, Sperry's, Vans, Jordan's, no, no, no, definitely not, no --

I bend down, stopping my search. I pick up the pair of hi-top converse shoes, studying them. They were all black in color, but the lower outer edge was white. These would definitely go nice with what he was wearing tonight. Sighing, I place them next to the clothes and strain a smile before turning on my heels, preparing to leave.

He grabs my wrist before I have a chance to fully make it out of the closet. He pulls me back in, turning me around to face him. He looks down at me, his eyes growing darker as he places his hands firm on my waist. As if he had some kind of power over me, he pulls me towards him, knocking my body with his crotch. "How about this," he starts in a low, husky voice, sending chills through me.

I lean my body into him, feeling my knees go weak as I struggle to keep my breathing even. My eyes lock onto his, not willing myself to do anything else.

"You come with me tonight," he says, one of his hands moving slowly from my hip down my body. "And I'll give you a little reward afterwards." His hand now fully on my ass, he gives it a tight squeeze.

I let out a lust-filled sigh, biting down on my bottom lip. My hand instinctively reaches out, toying with the elastic band on his gym shorts.

He leans in towards me, his lips lightly brushing mine. Suddenly, he lets me go, taking several steps back. "So, is it a deal?" he asks, smirking teasingly at me.

I blow out a huge breath, running a hand through my hair flustered. "What if I say no?" I challenge, tilting my head to look at him.

He raises one of his eyebrows, making his way back over to me. He places his lips next to my ear, speaking in a hushed tone. His breath tickles my ear as he speaks. "Then we don't kiss or touch each other . . . for a week."

My mouth falls open horrifically as I step away from him. "You wouldn't!"

He shakes his head, laughing, as he brushes past me out of the closet. "You know I would," he says as I trail behind him.

"But that isn't fair," I protest, following him across the room and into his ensuite.

"It's fair, babe," he says, walking across the tiled floor and over to the shower. He pushes the knob up and then pulls it out, causing beads of water to fall from the shower head and steam to emit.

I groan, turning around and walking out of the bathroom. I grab his keys from the dresser and pick my phone up from the nightstand. "I'll be back in half an hour," I mumble, ignoring his outstretched arms. I walk out the room and then head for the stairs.

"Chloe-kins," he calls out as I make my way down the stairs. "Don't be mad!"

I left the house, unlocking his truck as I walk towards it.

"Baby," someone yells behind me and I turn to see Jeremiah with half his body hanging out his upstairs window. "You forgot something!"

"What?" I ask, shielding my eyes so I could see him clearly.

"I love you," he says, giving me a giant smile.

A blush rises to my cheeks as I give a sheepish grin. "I love you, too," I tell him, blowing a kiss in his direction. I wave goodbye as I get inside his truck and start it up. After adjusting the seat and mirrors, I back out and head to my house.

Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I'm definitely thinking this is a bad idea.