As his gaze continued to deepen, she found herself grasping for air. Little drops of sweat formed on her forehead as she felt her throat dry, she swallowed nervously.
"Well, well... What a sight to behold" Shaun uttered, his words were coated with sarcasm.
He too was stunned to see Jess in the hotel, little did he know that in this forsaken countryside, their paths would cross again. He was unsure if he would be amused or annoyed. Nonetheless, he is surprised. Jess looked different, the same but different, something changed in her he couldn't just put his fingers on what exactly. Then it dawned on him. She's looking radiant, is it her clothes? Her hair?
"What are you doing here?" She spat more firmly than she intended. She readily roamed her eyes to the front desk and see if it caught their attention. She sighed when no reaction was captured from the clerks.
The hotel was practically empty during that time, she was unsure if the other artists were already checked in or if she was just early, but she was grateful, she had not figured out yet how to tone down her anger towards Shaun and in such rare moment she can't be exposed to a crowd. Alexander's words haunted her when it suddenly prompted her mind.
"Remember that you have an image to maintain now, be careful about how you act"
She breathed. Thank goodness that everyone seems oblivious to the rising tension.
"I could probably ask you the same thing, I thought that this boot camp is exclusive for artists?" He responded while raising his brows. He has no idea why he's provoking Jess; their last encounter was unpleasant and having to bear that embarrassment about what she did with him in the cafe and even in the mall was enough to play some dirty tricks to get even with her. He knows it was immature but then again seeing how Jess gets riled up is such an adorable scene to watch.
A spark of tiny bolts rampaged within her; did he mean she didn't deserve to be there because she was not an artist yet? She stared at him menacingly, then she breathed deeply, there's no point arguing, they could not seem to talk casually anymore, she breathed again this time dismissing her previous demeanor.
Instead of getting worked up by his words, Jess decided to stare at Shaun intently and lingered there for a few seconds, she then noticed his discomfort.
She smiled inwardly. "Bullseye!" She thought to herself.
"I was invited..." she decided to respond, leaving the details to his imagination.
Shaun's eyes grew bigger as he checked if she was pranking him but there was no humor plastered in her pretty little face.
"Pretty? When did he start seeing Jess as pretty?" Shaun was baffled internally by his realization.
Earlier, he thought she looked more radiant, like she was different, he studied her, wearing a white summer dress that flaunted her creamy shoulders, and it seemed both got the memo of wearing white outfits, he smirked. Her reddening cheek added a glow to her face, he wanted to touch her. He remembered how much he wanted to pinch it when they were younger, such cute aggression that Jess allowed him to do it without complaint. Her long brown hair cascaded below her shoulders which complimented her even more. It suits to see her hair flow, she usually ties it down because of work and chores but seeing it like this, makes him want to run his fingers to her strands, feeling its softness. He knows it is still Jess overall, but something is intriguing in her currently. What could that be?
He cleared his throat as he tried to clear his mind about his curiosity, he had no time to deal with this, he was here to help soar his career even more, and he must not give in to any distractions. Shaun was about to ask who had invited her when an alluring presence stood behind him, for some reason Shaun felt the heaviness of its presence like a strong force pushing him to his knees, it didn't help when he saw Jess's eyes got fixated to whoever was behind him and instinctively Shaun looked around and was greeted by Rick Reed.
Jess was unsure how to react and for a moment everything was still as she took the time to observe. She realized that Rick was taller than Shaun, and though she saw Shaun's shocked face her eyes averted back to the tall man in a leather jacket! She smirked; how can he sustain that outfit in this punishing weather? If he was indeed uncomfortable, he did not give it away at all instead he was standing there in full confidence, she wondered if he was staring at her, she couldn't see his eyes at this point with his dark sunglasses on.
"Oh boy, Rick Reed you are a handsome devil." Jess thought.
He then slowly lifted his sunglasses and hazel eyes dangled in her consciousness, she swallowed.
"I am sorry I'm late; did you wait for me?" Rick asked casually and Jess was even confused if he was talking to her, but his eyes were never leaving hers, and without much thought, she nodded. Why did she say yes? She has no idea. Of course, she did not wait for him, but his eyes were so hypnotic that her neurons involuntarily sent command signals to her body parts.
A light jab hit her stomach when Rick smiled showing her perfect white teeth and then he chuckled. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I have a last-minute arrangement I need to complete before they send me away for 15 days" he explained.
Ahhhh, what a scene! "It's alright" she responded. Then suddenly a moment of clarity enveloped her. What's happening to her? Why is she playing along with Rick Reed? Jess didn't exactly know.
He suddenly moved passed Shaun and carefully touched her elbow as he took her stuff and guided her away ignoring Shaun in the whole process. Rick then led her back to the front desk and submitted the paper she had answered earlier, took her keys, and headed towards the elevator. It was so swift that Jess did not even have the time to process everything. She then looked around and saw Shaun still in the same spot as he was watching all the actions maneuvered by Rick.
As the elevator completely closed a sudden chill wrapped around her. She slowly distanced herself from Rick and attempted to take her bags, but his grip was strong. He did not utter any more words till they reached her floor, they walked side by side as Rick sought her room number when he found it, he opened the door for her, then without permission ushered himself inside the hotel room and placed her luggage carefully on the floor.
Silence fell as each of them weighed the other, but it was Jess who broke the stillness first.
"Thank you for the assistance," she said.
"You're welcome." Uttered his short reply.
Silence once again.
Jess was about to ask Rick when he suddenly paced towards the door and made a motion of goodbye.
"Wait!" Jess started stopping in his tracks.
His eyes met hers, brows raised.
"What was that earlier?" she asked, taking her courage in.
His gaze dropped but went back to her eyes again. "What about earlier?" He clarified.
"The last time I checked we were not really on friendly terms but earlier you seemed amused and even greeted me, took my bags, and escorted me to my room like a gentleman. I was wondering what that was about?" She narrated.
Instead of answering her, Rick walked towards the balcony like he owned the place and opened her windows, she did not know why but she followed his actions and moved towards Rick. She saw him close his eyes as he feasted on the sight in front of them.
Beautiful. A voice said in her head which she later wondered if she was referring to the view or Rick Reed. She felt nauseated.
"How did you know Shaun Hays?" He asked while looking at her.
She looked away and stared at a distance instead. "Why are you asking?" She replied with another question.
"He named me as his nemesis and was adamant to destroy me. Or within those lines" Jess saw Rick smile showing no trace of feeling threatened at all.
Shaun said he would destroy Rick. He was serious about it before.
"So, how come you know him?" He asked again.
She sighed. She has no intentions of spilling the bean to this man, she barely knows him and besides she does not really trust this guy, but then again, she feels that it's good to share some emotional turmoil with other people without giving it all. So, she said in pure honesty.
"He is the person who took everything from me, and I want him to pay ten folds for what he did" she stated. She was stunned to hear herself deliver those words naturally and she was even more shocked that it didn't bother her what Rick would think of her.
For a moment Rick observed her expression and saw a spark of hatred in her eyes. Her lips were tight as she said the words out loud, her cheeks were flushed, maybe because of the heat or her anger. He clasped his knuckles trying to contain his desire to feel her skin.
The kiss he stole from her during the awards night continued to haunt him. Why he did that was beyond him. What was even more shocking was how much self-restraint he did, not to kiss her lips instead.
He breathed. "You know, you have to be careful with your desires of hurting someone because you don't know that it's already you who gets destroyed in the process..." he stated as his emotions were still, Jess was doubtful if the statement was even for her or more for him.
"I know..." she replied softly.
He moved closer to her. Jess moved a step away, but Rick was quick to capture her waist as his eyes diverted straight to her. She wonders if Rick can hear her heartbeat as it is pounding loudly in her ears. Why does this man have this massive effect on her?
"Rick..." she whispered. She wanted to tell him to back off and stop his flirtation, but no words came out. Her wide gaze continued to just stare at the hazel eyes unaware of her surroundings.
She suddenly felt his arms untangled from her as he moved further away. He smiled this time.
"But... it does not mean we can't have fun with it right? Do you want to make Shaun pay for everything he did to you?" he asked solemnly.
She nodded unable to still find her voice.
He then smiled. "Then, I have a perfect plan on how we can make that happen" Rick concluded as Jess just stared at him tongue-tied.