You know," Emma said gently, "getting back with your ex is like reading the same book twice. You already know how it ends, but you still read it again hoping it's a revised edition."
Jayden let out a low chuckle, nodding slowly. "That's a valid point."
"I read that book over and over again," he added, a half-smile on his face. "And yeah... it ended the same way every time."
Emma's arms folded loosely in front of her. "You know, it's not your fault you chose to give her a second chance. A lot of people keep trying to fix broken things just because they remember how good they looked before the cracks."
"But did I ever deserve to hurt that way?" He asked
Emma smiled faintly. "You've got a good heart, Jayden. It sucks that someone didn't know how to treat it right, but it's still yours. And anyone who ends up with you after all this is getting someone who's been through fire and didn't let it turn him cold."
Jayden smiled fully this time. The last sentence got to him.
Been through fire a lot of times and it didn't turn him cold.
He didn't say anything else. But the silence between them felt full of trust.
"You hungry?" Jayden asked, reaching his hand out toward her.
Emma blinked, surprised by the shift in topic. "A little. Why?"
"I ordered some fruit salad. Should be here any minute," he said, giving her a small grin.
She slipped her hand into his, letting him pull her gently up from the chair.
"Fruit salad, huh?" she teased. "That your idea of a romantic dinner?"
He chuckled as they stepped out of the room. "It's healthy. Light. And you literally just got out of a pool—I figured anything heavy would be sabotage."
"Smart man," she said, letting her fingers linger in his.
They walked into the living area, the sound of their steps soft against the polished floor. The space was dimly lit, warm-toned, and surprisingly quiet, just the faint hum of the city in the distance.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang.
"That's the food..." Jayden said as he let go of Emma's hand and walked to the door, Emma just stood where she was.
As Jayden opened the door, a loud squeal followed.
"Oh my gosh, I'm such a huge fan!" the delivery woman said, practically bouncing with excitement.
Emma watched from her spot, half-expecting something like this.
Jayden chuckled softly. "Everyone is," he said with an amused smile.
"Can I get an autograph?" she blurted out, already pulling a bold marker from her pocket.
"Uh..." Jayden hesitated, but before he could say anything else, she practically shoved the marker into his hand.
"Sign here," she said eagerly, pointing to a spot above her boobs.
Jayden blinked, momentarily thrown. "Oh... You sure about this?"
"Mark me, darling," she told him, like she'd been waiting her whole life for this moment.
With a small, slightly surprised laugh, Jayden signed his name at the top of her chest, then handed the marker back.
"Here's your food," she said, handing over the takeout container with one hand.
Jayden took it, still marveling at how she'd managed to hold it all along. "Thanks," he said, a little bemused.
"Thanks for the generous tip on the app—you're amazing!" she said, beaming at him as she turned and walked away.
As soon as Jayden closed the door and turned around, he found Emma grinning at him from ear to ear.
"Hungry?" he asked, raising the takeout bag.
"Sure," she said with a laugh, her eyes still sparkling from the unexpected show at the door.
Jayden had served their fruit salad into a bowl, and they sat on the floor with the bowl placed on the center table.
"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Jayden said, stuffing a few grapes into his mouth.
"Sure," Emma replied.
"Uhmm..." he began, struggling to find the right words. "You have a terrible effect on me. I can't seem to control myself around you."
"Get to the point," she said, shooting him a sharp look.
"I'm just saying... with me, you could lose your virginity anytime," he told her. "Would you be okay with that?"
"Do you want it?" she asked.
"Want what?" he asked back, confused.
"My innocence."
"Do you want to give it to me?" he pressed, leaning closer.
"You'd have to earn it," she said firmly. "You'd have to make me feel special, make me believe I truly mean something to you. Only then can I give you my innocence."
"And don't you dare lose control around me," she added, her eyes narrowing into a fiery glare.
They were done eating now, and Jayden had cleared the plates. He turned on the tap and rinsed off the dishes.
"I should probably get going now if I'm going to make it back home before dark," Emma said from where she sat at the dining table.
Jayden wiped his hands quickly and walked over to her.
"I know we didn't talk about it, but... is it possible you stayed the night? No pressure, though," he said gently.
"I don't have clothes," she replied.
"You can wear something of mine," he offered.
"Wait—lemme check with Mandy and see what she says."
Emma grabbed her phone and walked to the staircase. Sitting on the steps, she dialed Mandy's number.
"Hey," Emma said as soon as her best friend picked up.
"You took him in yet?" Mandy teased, trying not to laugh.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Emma snorted loudly, making Mandy giggle.
"What's up? I didn't think you'd remember me," Mandy said playfully.
"He asked me to stay the night," Emma confessed.
"What?" Mandy asked in shock.
"Is that wrong?" Emma asked nervously.
"No, no, no!" Mandy said quickly. "As long as you didn't push it and he asked on his own, that's actually a good thing."
"How do I even do it?" Emma asked, and Mandy instantly understood.
"Well, for starters, call your mom and tell her you're staying over at mine. She won't ask questions and you know that."
"That's exactly what I was going to do. Just wanted to check in with you first."
"You know I'll always support your decisions."
"Love you," Emma said before ending the call.
She immediately dialed her mom. It was past five, and she wasn't sure if her parents had returned from the seminar they'd attended earlier.
"Heyyyy..." her mom answered, her voice sounding hazy.
"Am I disturbing you? Are you guys back yet?" Emma asked. She heard her mom give a low groan before answering, "Yes."
"Mom, are you...?" Emma began, but stopped midway, bursting into laughter when she realized.
"Could you maybe just stay at Mandy's till tomorrow? Trust me, you don't want to come home tonight," her mom said between moans.
The crazy part was that her mom wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was having sex at that very moment.
"Are you drunk?" Emma asked, but there was no response. Just the unmistakable sound of groans.
"Stop moaning in my ear," Emma muttered before hanging up.
She walked back to the dining table and sat beside Jayden.
"Are we going to share a room?" she asked with a playful side-smile.
Jayden took her hand in his and smiled back.