White Sheets | ✓

extra chapter: j e a n

author's note: this was first published/posted on the august 2017 wattpad block party.

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Jean Fredericks was the embodiment of a temptress.

With soft, creamy skin, lustrous, wavy hair that was the color of the night sky, mesmerizing green eyes, and a sinful mouth that did wonders to a guy's manhood, no guy ever thought of refusing her enticing offer to spend the night at her place whenever she asked them to.

They always answered yes. Saying no to her was the worst kind of blasphemy that would ever escape a man's lips.

The need to be in control of her emotions was her primary objective whenever she made an arrangement with a guy. She even had a mantra to stay focused and not get distracted along the way—keep the lust burning, but never get too attached.

It wasn't a hard thing to keep up with, really. Almost everyone she'd hooked up with since high school was pretty chill with their set-up. There had been a few instances wherein she let herself bask in the intimate atmosphere of cuddling after doing the deed—to this day, the mere thought of being committed to someone and wanting more scared her shitless.

She didn't mean for the cuddling session to be a lengthy one; but at that moment, though, her own mind betrayed her and told her to stay put for a few more minutes. And as much as she pushed that memory into the deepest part of her mind, it never failed to haunt her, to remind her of her stupid mistake.

Relaxing in bed and being cuddled by a guy she kinda had feelings for felt... good. She was never going to say it out loud, but she'd be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy it. That intimate moment of temporary bliss she had shared with someone she only called whenever her hormones demanded to be satiated was one of the most exciting yet terrifying highlights of her life.

She could still remember the way his arms had encircled her waist as he pulled her closer against his chest, the way his breath tickled the sensitive spot of her jaw when he pleaded for her to stay a little longer. Refusing numerous guys' requests to stay for breakfast or to let them drive her back to her apartment wasn't new to her, but hearing the quiet desperation resonating in his voice made her change her mind for the first time.

And for some reason, her mind and body craved to have a taste of intimacy, even just for a little while.

So she'd stayed with him.

If only she had listened to the nagging voice inside her head, screaming at her to get the hell out of the guy's apartment and didn't give in to her own selfish whims so easily, then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be having such a hard time trying to erase all sorts of conflicting emotions whenever she faced Allen and talked to him.

The moment he collapsed on top of her, buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaled deeply, then looked up at her through his lashes and muttered, "You're even more beautiful when we're this close." after twenty heated minutes of exchanging bodily fluids, she felt every fragment of her jaded walls crumbling down at her feet, slowly turning into a messy pile of ashes scattered on the ground.

It was the best less-than-ten-words compliment anyone had ever told her.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, her quiet breathing became erratic. And worst of all, tears slowly pricked at her eyes, betraying her usually calm façade. Alarmed, she bit the insides of her cheeks to keep her tears at bay. She wasn't going to let him see her cry, just because he said she was beautiful.

Jean was already used to hearing compliments about her beauty and her skills in bed. But why did his words strike some kind of weird emotion in her? The unusual feeling that lingered in her chest was stronger that before, it was more unsettling.