"Good morning."
Jake's voice was the first thing I heard when my eyes snapped open.
I blinked up at him, his soft blur of a body coming into focus. He was leaning against the bed, a plate of food in his hand, his teasing smile curled around his lips.
"Wait… good morning? Did I overslept?" I questioned, sitting up in bed.
He smiled, putting the plate on the bedside table. "Can't blame you. You were too tired." His voice was tainted with mock teasing.
That's when I remembered my parents. I sprang up from bed.
"Did they come already?"
Instead of answering, he just chuckles.
"What? They saw you? Did you tell them?" I asked one question after another.
Jake shook his head. "Not yet. They said they'll be out for a week. Have you forgotten?"His brows furrow in confusion.
"A week?!" I exclaimed, raising my voice.
He looked truly puzzled. "They didn't tell you?"
"Tell me? Tell what exactly?" I growled, scratching my head in annoyance. "They said they'd just head to the company for a matter of urgency. And they told me that you'll never leave me until they return."
"That's why I'm here for a week," he replied, shrugging his shoulder.
"So you knew?" I questioned, looking at him suspiciously.
He held up his hands in self-defense. "Wait, why does your tone like blaming me for not telling you? I thought they informed you of everything, okay?"
"Ugh, unbelievable," I grumbled, pulling on my hair in annoyance.
"Okay, okay, stop. We can't do anything about it, so just stay here with me. Eat this before it gets cold. We have a lesson later." He handed me the plate with a smile, clearly trying to calm me down.
"A lesson? What type of lesson?" I raised a brow, teasing him.
"Here you go again," he sighed. "This is an actual lesson. They told me to tutor you for a week. Study sessions. Proper training. The whole thing."
I groaned. "So basically, they're attempting to kill me. Like it's that easy, right? They expect me to learn everything in one week? I'm not a machine, Jake."
"You signed up for this, didn't you remember?" His voice dipped into fake seriousness.
"You're supposed to be on my side!" I whined, dragging out the words.
"Okay, okay, calm down," he said, inching closer, like that would magically fix my mood.
"Calm my ass—" I started, rolling my eyes, but then he leaned in and kissed me. Just enough to make my brain hit the shutdown button.
"Hey!" I shouted, flustered.
"So? Will you calm down now?" His smug grin was impossible to ignore.
I rolled my eyes again, but this time grabbed the plate from him. "Fine. Hand it over."
Later, after breakfast, we went to the library. The rain outside make me want to read books again and just sit in the couch.
We wandered the books in the shelves, looking for where to start.
"So, where do we start?" I said, looking at the shelves.
Jake was going to make a suggestion when I pressed a heavy, old book into his hand.
"Here."
He stared down at me, perplexed. "Philosophy?"
"Yup. One of my favorites of all time." I grinned, observing his eyebrows shoot up in incredulity.
He chuckled and shook his head. "You're really something, you know that?"
"Don't smile at me."
"What? Is smiling illegal or something now?"
"Yes. Particularly in front of me. Unless you'd prefer me to eat you alive because you've hypnotized me," I said, teasing him by placing my hand on his chest.
He smirked because of what I did. "Eat in what way?" Then he held my chin up.
I just smiled and remove his hand on my face. "Lesson, Mr. Margaux."
"Fine, fine," he chuckled, spreading his hands. "But seriously? A book on philosophy? How is that going to help you run a business? You need to be learning about numbers, people, statistics."
"Boring." I poked my tongue out. "That's too boring."
"You signed up for this," he groaned.
"Whatever," I replied, already scanning through the pages.
Somewhere in the middle of our study, my stomach rumbled again because of hunger. Well, I'm always hungry. But sometimes not with food but with him. Okay, just kidding. I'm hungry for real.
"Hey, aren't you hungry?" I said, playing it cool.
"Just tell me you're hungry, you don't have to drag me into it." He said, eyes still on the pages of the book and annotating it.
I rolled my eyes again and stood up. "Fine. I'm hungry. I'll go cook—"
"No." He rose from the floor, pulling my arm with a hand. "I'll cook. Stay here." He said in a cold tone, removing his reading glass.
"I'm not someone who will just listens to you, Mr. Margaux," I said, stepping closer with a teasing tone.
He leaned down, his face was so close now. "Stop joking around, young miss. You've got a lot to learn. Starting with how to control your obsession."
This guy… sometimes he's soft, sometimes he acts like nothing touches him, but most of the time, he's cold and full of attitude.
What has gotten into him?His mood changes faster than the weather.
"You want to be my obsession, right? So why are you complaining now?"
"I said that by mistake," he shot back. "You better control yourself before you regret it. Or worse… end up looking like some obsessed girl chasing after a man."
His words hit like a rock, sinking straight into me.
"I can control it," I answered firmly with full of disappointment in my voice.
"Oh, really? Then prove it," he challenged, raising his brows like he was so sure I couldn't.
"You seriously want me to stop?"
"Yes. Because I'm here to teach you, to guide you. If you can do that, it'll make your parents very happy."
He's serious? All this… just for my parents?
"Alright then, Professor. Fine. I'll behave," I replied in a cool, flat tone.
"You're serious?" he asked, laughing like I was joking. Was he mocking me?
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you think I am?"
Did he really think I couldn't?
In the kitchen, he dug through the fridge looking for something to cook.
"What do you want to eat?" he asked.
"Bacon, Professor," I said, sitting down in a chair with the book open in my lap.
"Can you put away that book and talk to me?" he said it like he's pissed.
"I'm reading, Professor. Your duty is to teach, not to chit-chat with your client," I retorted, not bothering to look up.
He grunted. "You're really taking this seriously?"
I grinned behind the pages.
"Let's see about that," he continued proudly.
Minutes later, he came back with a plate of bacon.
"Here. Eat."
"Thank you, Professor." I took it, still maintaining the playful charade.
After eating, we went back to the study room. I grabbed my notebook, but remembered that I didn't have a pen.
"I'll just get my pen, Professor."
"Wait," he called out, but I pretended not to hear him, I continue going to my room.
By the time the day was over, I was tired. Jake escorted me to my room.
I didn't bother to look onto his face and forced a smile.
"Goodnight, Professor," I uttered, ready to close the door when his hand held it.
"Let's talk," he said in a deep tone.
"It's bedtime, Professor. You should sleep too." I said in a casual tone.
"Are you being serious right now?" His brows were furrowed.
"This is what you wanted, is it not?
"No… not this. I didn't know that you're taking seriously what I said." He rubbed his head, annoyed.
"I can stop myself. But don't get me wrong if I stop for good." I said then let out a deep breath.
"I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted to concentrate… to not cross boundaries. I'm here to assist you. I know that. But… you're making it difficult to think clearly. I just want you to be prepared," he muttered softly. "But if you're thinking of it incorrectly, I can't blame you. Just… don't push me away like this."
I smiled softly and leaned forward, placing a soft, quick kiss on his lips. "Good—"
A sharp loud bang resonated from the front door, interrupting me.