Chapter 69 More than Jealousy

Chapter 69 More than Jealousy
Rachel Jennings,

He stared at me as if I were crazy or had shouted a curse word. I confess that Lexie's idea irritated me when I first heard it, but it made more and more sense. We had already kissed, and there was no one else I could trust. As ridiculous as it sounded, this was the only solution. If someone had told me months ago that I would ask Jayden Park to take my virginity, I would certainly have shot that person, or said they were delusional, which is exactly what I'm doing.

"Have you hit your head? What's going on with you? Wasn't it you who said, what did you say again?" He pretended to think, bringing his tattooed hands to his chin before quoting my own words. "No way, not even if I were the last man on Earth?" He repeated, pouting in indignation at my words.

"Well, it turns out you're not the last man on Earth, but you're the only one I trust," I confessed, realizing I said something I wasn't even aware of.

His gaze softened, and I saw his pink lips curve into a slight smile.

"So, you trust me?" He asked, and I noticed he was pleased with that information.

"I spoke without thinking," I retorted immediately, and he narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

"You do trust me! You do!" He repeated like a child, and I crossed my arms denying it, but when he started tickling me, I knew it wouldn't last long. "Come on! Admit it!" He insisted, and I laughed as his fingers crawled like spiders over my stomach.

"Okay! Okay! I trust you!" I admitted, and he immediately stopped, leaving me breathless.

"It's good to know that," he affirmed, giving a smug smile, and I rolled my eyes.

"So, are you going to help me or not?" I asked, annoyed, and he pretended to think, drumming his long fingers on the steering wheel.

He bites his lips, and I get excited, imagining it's a good sign, but then I hear his voice in a lower tone than usual.

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea, Rach. I mean, the last few days have been very intense, and you yourself said we should separate things," he explains, and I shrug.

"I know how to separate things very well, Jayden. It's just sex. Unless you're going to get all emotional again," I teased, and he rolled his eyes before starting the car again.

"Emotional, yeah right. I just didn't want to hurt you, but the truth is, I'm just not interested. Like I said before, I like girls who know what they're doing," he asserts, shrugging. "I leave virgins to those who like and have the patience to teach; I don't have that," he finishes, and I stare at him incredulously.

I don't know why I was surprised he was being a jerk, it's in his DNA, and it would never change.

"Great, then I'll find someone else to teach me," I affirmed, pouting, and turned away from the window to avoid looking at him, but he chuckled, mocking.

"As if you're going to sleep with some random guy," he taunts, and I roll my eyes.

"Well, any random guy won't be as much of a player as you, so the risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases is much lower," I retort, and he clicks his tongue, annoyed.

"Still, you're here, dying to have sex with me!" he scoffs, and I fake a laugh.

"As if I wanted to have sex with you! It was Lexie who came up with that idea!" I explained, and he raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yeah, but it's not Lexie who's here in the car with this damsel-in-distress look, flirting and with a sweet voice asking 'have sex with me, Jayden?'" He mimics my voice with an irritating tone, and I shift in my seat, annoyed.

"Me, damsel in distress? You're crazy! And I'm not using any charm on you! You know what? This idea was stupid, and we'll never talk about it again!" I declared, crossing my arms, and he nodded in agreement.

"Great, because I'm not going to sleep with you!" He repeats, and I roll my eyes, staring out at the New York landscape passing quickly by the window.

When we arrived at the shelter, I slammed the car door a little harder than usual when getting out, and Jayden flinched with surprise.

"Do you need to take it out of my car?" He asks, approaching to stroke the door I slammed, and I raise an eyebrow disdainfully.

"Be thankful I'm not taking it out on you!" I grumbled and walked away, but I could hear him laughing.

"Never thought I'd see you so worked up about wanting to sleep with me!" He says as I open the shelter door, and I turn around irritated.

"I don't want to sleep with you! For the last time, that was a stupid idea, and I must have been completely crazy!" I shouted, and only when I entered and saw the other volunteers laughing did I realize how loudly I spoke.

Jayden drove me crazy with his teasing that I was already out of myself. I smiled awkwardly at everyone there, and when I turned, I saw Jayden was red from laughing so hard. I wanted to kick him, but I just pinched his arm, and he stopped laughing, rubbing the spot that turned red.

"Why so much aggression, dear?" He asks, and I roll my eyes.

"I'm not your dear, jerk!" I muttered and walked away.

It was very hard to stay mad at Jayden in the animal shelter. He seemed to have a natural gift for the dogs and even danced with them, making up little songs while soaping the dogs, who occasionally reciprocated with some licks on his face, making him smile. I watched from afar, and I couldn't deny it was adorable. I couldn't stop smiling as I saw him invent nicknames for the little animals according to their personalities and melted when I saw that he wasn't disgusted by the shelter animals and occasionally showered them with kisses.

There were many details in Jayden's personality that fascinated me, and as much as I tried to avoid it, I have to confess that he made my routine much more enjoyable. Whenever he looked in my direction, I wiped away my smile. After all, he was conceited enough; if he saw me all melted for him, he would definitely mock me, and I would have to punch him in the face.

Today, I stayed in the administrative part of the shelter, so I was doing the inventory of shelter donations. We've been in the red for a long time, which means we haven't been able to take in new animals, but today when I looked at the numbers, something had changed, and I smiled to see that an anonymous donor had made a generous contribution. That really changed my mood, and when I looked back at Jayden, he was with a small female dog.

"I'm going to wash your bum now, but it's with all due respect, Miss," he said before starting to wash the dog, who growled at him, and I laughed, almost falling over the books.

The accountant, a woman with long black hair and a tired look, smiled at me and shook her head disapprovingly before commenting, "This dog doesn't know what she's missing. There isn't a part of me that I wouldn't let Jayden wash."

She said it in jest, but my mood soured. I scowled, and she seemed to realize she had said too much.

"Sorry, I didn't know he was your boyfriend," she said, genuinely embarrassed, and I pouted.

"Me, date that mutt? God forbid!" I grumbled, and she chuckled.

"I wouldn't mind barking at him," she persisted in her joke, and I squirmed in my chair, uncomfortable.

"Keep your comments to yourself, or share them with anyone else who appreciates them. I don't want to know what you would or wouldn't do with a college kid," I replied curtly, emphasizing that he was a college kid, so she'd realize he was too young for her. But that only seemed to spur her on more, as she bit her lip but nodded and turned back to her computer.