Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Jessica’s POV

The steam followed me out of the bathroom, a ghostly trail that dissipated into the cooler air of the bedroom.

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I was wrapped tightly in my fluffiest towel, the terrycloth damp against my skin, my hair dripping onto my shoulders.

I had spent twice as long as usual under the spray, trying to scrub away the feeling of Aaron’s fingers on my chin and the lingering heat of his gaze.

The room was quiet, lit only by the soft, amber glow of the bedside lamps.

Aaron was leaning against the headboard of his own bed, scrolling through his phone, looking infuriatingly relaxed in just a pair of grey sweatpants.

I stopped in my tracks, clutching the knot of my towel over my chest.

“Close your eyes,” I commanded, my voice sounding smaller than I intended.

Aaron didn’t even look up at first, his thumb lazily flicking over the screen.

Then, he slowly tilted his head back, his dark eyes meeting mine with a look that was part amusement, part sheer exhaustion.

He let out a soft huff, a half-smirk tugging at his lips..

“Seriously, Jess?” He rolled his eyes, finally tossing the phone onto his duvet.

“Just get dressed. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. We’ve lived together for four years, and I’ve known you since we were kids. The modesty act is a little late to the party.”

“It’s not an act,” I snapped, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks again. “It’s called boundaries. Something you clearly have a strained relationship with. Now, eyes shut, pervert.

“Pervert?” He chuckled, a low, dry sound that vibrated in the quiet room.

“I’m sitting on my own bed, minding my business. You’re the one standing there in a towel. But fine. If it makes you feel like a Victorian maiden, I’ll look at the wall.”

He turned his head away with a dramatic flourish, staring intensely at a framed print on the far wall.

I didn’t wait for him to change his mind. I scurried into the walk-in closet, the wooden floor cool beneath my bare feet.

Inside the small, enclosed space, I leaned my back against the door and took a shaky breath.

The scent of his leather jackets and expensive cologne was stronger here, mingling with the fresh, floral scent of my own clothes. I needed to move out. No, I needed to stay.

My brain was a mess of contradictions. One minute I was terrified of him, and the next, I was looking for reasons to be in his orbit.

I pulled on a pair of soft cotton shorts and an oversized t-shirt-the universal uniform of “I’m done with the world for today.” As I brushed my damp hair, my mind drifted back to the cruise.

Two days. Two days until I was trapped on a ship with him and his family.

I finished my hair and stepped back into the bedroom, expecting to find Aaron asleep or back on his phone.

13:14 Mon, Jan 12 t

Chapter 45

Instead, my heart nearly vaulted into my throat.

He wasn’t on his bed. He was sitting on mine.

Not just sitting-he was perched right on the edge, his weight dipping the mattress, his hand resting barely inches away from the pillow where my secret was buried.

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Panic, cold and sharp, sliced through the lingering warmth of the shower. If he shifted back, if he decided to lean against the headboard, he’d feel the lump. If he moved the pillow to be comfortable…

“What are you doing?” I asked, perhaps a bit too sharply.

I tried to soften my expression, moving toward the bed with a forced casualness that felt like I was walking on stilts.

“Please go away. This is my side. My territory.”

Aaron didn’t move. He didn’t even crack a joke. He just lifted his gaze, and the playful spark from earlier was gone.

His expression was unreadable-heavy, serious, and tinged with something that looked like nerves. That was the most unsettling part. Aaron Tyrone didn’t do nerves.

“I need to talk to you,” he said.

I stopped a few feet away, my hands gripping the hem of my shirt. “Can’t it wait? We’re both dead on our feet, Aaron.”

“No,” he said, his voice firm but quiet. “Sit down.”

I hesitated, eyeing the pillow. I sat on the very edge of the mattress, as far from him as possible while still being on the bed.

The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

I wondered if he’d found the toy. I wondered if he’d seen the search history on the laptop we sometimes shared. I wondered if he was about to tell me he was moving out.

The thought sent a jolt of cold reality through me. Where would I go if he did? I hadn’t saved nearly enough for a deposit, let alone monthly rent.

I’d become so comfortably, dangerously dependent on Aaron that I’d completely blinded myself to the truth-that one day we would part, or worse, one day he’d simply wake up and decide he wanted me out.

The walls of the room suddenly felt like they were closing in.

I took a discreet, shaky breath, trying to steady my racing heart and praying that “moving out” wasn’t the news he was about to deliver.

The silence was so heavy I could hear the ticking of the clock in the hallway. Finally, Aaron broke it. He stared at his hands for a second, then looked back at me.

“I have something to share with you. Something… big.”

My stomach did a slow, sickening roll. “Okay?”

“I got a call today. While you were in your exam,” he started, his voice gaining a bit of strength. “It was the scout from the Lions. The pro team in the city.”

I felt the air leave my lungs. The Lions. They were legendary. They didn’t just pick up college kids; they picked up future

icons.

“They’ve been watching the last three games,” Aaron continued, a shadow of a smile finally touching his lips.

13:14 Mon, Jan 12

Chapter 45

“They liked what they saw, Jess. The consistency, the stats… the way I lead the line. They offered me a spot. A developmental contract with a guaranteed move to the main roster by mid-season.”

He paused, letting the weight of it sink in.

“I start the following year. February. It’s official. I’m going pro.”

For a second, the world felt like it had stopped spinning. This was it. This was everything he had worked for since he was sixteen years old.

The late nights at the gym, the brutal practice sessions in the rain, the pressure of his father’s expectations-it had all led to this moment.

“Aaron…” I whispered. “That’s… that’s incredible. You did it.”

I should have been jumping for joy. I should have been hugging him again, celebrating the fact that the person I lived with -the person I’d grown up with-had just achieved the impossible.

But as the words left my mouth, I felt a different kind of coldness settle over me. It started in the pit of my stomach and spread through my limbs until I felt like I was made of ice.

I was frozen. Literally incapable of moving my face into a genuine smile.

My mind, which had been worrying about a silly toy under a pillow, was suddenly yanked into a dark, jagged loophole. Kennedy.

The name echoed in my head like a death knell. I remembered the conversation, the cold, clinical way the offer had been laid out. The deal I’d been backed into.

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13:15 Mon, Jan 12