Wicked (Now Available on Amazon, Eden Books, Apple, B&N and Kobo!)

Chapter 8 💋

Aaliyah

The impatient knock on my door on Friday night told me that Jacob Wells had finally decided to take some time off from his busy schedule and pay me a late-night visit. He hadn't come to see me for almost a week and had ignored all my texts so I decided to ignore him as well even though it was hard for me. I really wanted to see him. I'd missed him more than I had thought was possible after the way our last meeting ended.

"Aaliyah?"

He said my name in that familiar, rumbling voice of his and I bit my lip a little. I remembered when that voice had broken years ago and I hadn't been able to stop staring at him because he had stopped sounding like a little boy and it had been both weird and fascinating at the same time.

Jacob didn't wait for me to call out like I usually did and let himself in, locking the door behind him before fixing his stare on me. I'd been watching Justice League Dark: Apokolips War on my laptop but I muted it and frowned at his tall figure.

"I didn't say you could come inside," I muttered in as frozen a tone as I could manage even though my body burned for him whenever him and I were in the same room together.

He didn't reply but walked casually over to my study desk and picked up a paperweight to give his attention to. Rolling my eyes, I leaned back and continued watching the movie. If he didn't care about talking to me then I shouldn't waste my time on him. Not even one single apology would fall from his lips. I knew that because I knew Jacob Wells.

It was hard to concentrate with him looming like that though. At first, he just randomly picked stuff up from my desk and studied them. But then, he sat down on the chair and studied me. It blew my focus a little when I saw the way he was looking at me.

"What?" I snapped at him, refusing to forgive him so easily.

Jacob smiled at me. He actually smiled. "You're so beautiful," he told me with feeling and unbelievably, I felt myself blush.

I never blushed. I'd said things to guys much older than him that firmly pushed me beyond the boundaries of blushing. And yet, I couldn't stop my cheeks from growing hot due to the effect of his words. Swallowing, I looked down at the movie again and breathed slowly to calm my racing heart. There was silence from his side for a whole minute and when I glanced back curiously, I noticed him staring off into the distance with a gloomy expression on his face.

He was the beautiful one. Honestly, there was no other way to describe him. His short, blond hair which he sometimes liked to dye a darker shade because he claimed the natural colour was too golden for him, the eyes which were such a bright shade of blue, you felt someone had taken a highlighter and coloured them in, the sharp features and strong jaw and his tightly muscled body. Sometimes I wished I could draw as well as I wrote. I'd make a thousand sketches of him.

"Are you okay?" I couldn't help but ask softly. He just looked so sad, sitting there lost in thought like that with his long legs folded under the chair.

He looked handsome in his dark jeans and fitted yellow t-shirt and the scent of his cologne drifted over to me. I wished I could hold him then and kiss him senseless.

Jacob blew out a breath and fiddled with a pen of mine before speaking. "Aali, things have been a little rough lately. My dad's leaving on Sunday to go to Australia for three months. Mom wouldn't let me go with him. It sucks. And I have a game tomorrow night but...the shitty situation at home is making me lose my motivation."

I blinked at him uncertainly, starting to feel worried because there was nothing in this world that was important enough to make Jacob Wells lose interest in soccer. Except for his father, I guessed. But then, I had always known how close they were, how much his dad meant to him. Of course he'd be upset.