Jacob's Tutor | Jacob Day

Chapter 16

Warm sunshine spilled over Lily's shoulders. Her eyes were closed, but pale yellow still shone through. The soft hum of bumblebees drifted through the air, in unison with a lazy plane overhead. She leaned her slender neck back into the grass, sprawling her palms out into the emerald blades. The clouds must have begun to roll over the sun, because the golden glow behind her eyes shifted to a pale gray. A crisp chill of cool air whipped over her shoulders. The grass was shrinking, browning, drying up... Lily's eyes fluttered open against the sheets, and she realized she was cold in real life. The bed shifted, and Lily turned to see why. A halo of dark, messy hair was hunched over in the moonlight. Putting on a shoe? "...Jacob?" He straightened into a towering, shadowy figure. "Shit. Sorry Flower, I tried not to wake you," he whispered apologetically. Lily blinked, taking in her surroundings. Boy smell. Anime posters. Extra-long bed. Honestly, she was less freaked out to wake up here than she would have been a few weeks ago. She trusted him now. It was the two of them together, circumstances, and temptation that she was wary of. "Where are you going?" Her demanding tone was clouded by grogginess, which made it even cuter. "The gym." "And just what in the hell makes you think you're going to workout? You're sick as a dog." "Nah, I feel all better. You healed me." Lily wished Jacob could see her roll her eyes. "You were half dead 5 hours ago." Wordlessly, he reached a long way down and hoisted her out of bed so effortlessly that she practically bounced. "See? All better." "You could do that before." "You're right." Standing on her tippy toes, Lily reached up to feel his head. He leaned down for her as her palm met his forehead. Warm, but not hot— normal temp. Reading Lily's expression, Jacob smirked. Lily crossed her arms. "Seriously Jacob, even if you don't have a fever, you're going to make yourself worse if you don't take time to rest." He sighed, and Lily heard him hold back a cough. "I look like a damn toothpick." (He didn't, at all). There was a slight difference, which she thought only she noticed, but she didn't say that. "Okay, fine, but I'm coming with you." He placed his hands on her shoulders lightly, and she stared up at him defiantly before she even knew what he was going to say. "Nuh-uh. It's super early. Go back to bed." With the help of the faint glow from the nearby lamp, Lily could see his expression was concerned. He wanted her to get a full night's sleep, and he didn't want to be the reason she didn't. But Lily wasn't one to budge. "I know how hard you push yourself. What if you get dizzy and faint? Or what if you—" His hands slid off her shoulders in defeat. "Okay, okay, easy. If it'll make you happy." "Either that or I sit here, freezing cold, worrying about you." He bit back a smile, both because he realized he kept her warm all night and because she cared about him. "You could wear my sweatshirt." "Um, I'll wear your sweatshirt, but I'm still coming with you." "You're not stubborn at all," he said, tossing her one of his hoodies. She caught it swiftly. "Oh shut up, you're so stubborn you can't even wait 'till you're better to work out." Jacob had crossed the room to get his gym bag, but Lily still heard his muffled laugh. "How did you even wake up in the first place? I didn't hear an alarm." "My body's on a clock." "Is it like... 4am?" "4:30." "Good lord." Jacob ignored that. "Uhh, it's probably gonna be like two hours. What are you gonna do?" "I'm gonna work out... What did you think?" Lily saw his tall frame straighten in the darkness. "Oh? Do you have something to wear?" He was terrible at hiding the surprise in his voice, but he was polite nonetheless. So he doesn't know this side of you yet, Lily. How cute. You'll show him. She spoke slowly. "I always keep a spare set of workout clothes at the gym." For moments like this, when I end up sleeping in an influencer's bed that I'm not even dating and then wake up at the crack of dawn to workout with him, her brain relayed sarcastically. She didn't know what she was doing or how they kept ending up in these situations together, especially when both of their intentions were innocent. But she didn't have time to think about it now. Jacob crouched down next to his gym bag again, remembering who he was dealing with. "Of course you do."

A/N: Thank you guys for reading! Please remember to vote if you enjoyed it! And in the comments, let me know if you prefer I post shorter chapters more often or longer chapters less often!