The Enforcer or The Mafia Prince

Chapter 44

Jessica pulled back from Tristan.

"Tristan, what," she questioned.

"Please," Tristan begged. "Please, just let me kiss you a moment."

Tristan pulled her back to him. Twice today, Jess had expressed that she was his girlfriend. Even if their relationship wasn't traditional. Even if the reason they were together wasn't love. Tristan wanted her. More than anything, Tristan wanted her to love him. But, he'd settle for where they were. Tomorrow, he'd show her things about himself that he'd never told anyone. Would she like the real him? Tristan was afraid. Right now, he needed the comfort he found in touching her.

Tristan's lips felt buzzy by the time he pulled away and placed his head against hers.

"Jess," he murmured.

"Hmm?" Jessica had closed her eyes. She looked relaxed but was trying to calm her rushing heart.

"Tomorrow, I'd like to take you somewhere. Just you and me. Is that okay?"

Jessica sat up and looked down at Tristan. His brows were knitted. Jessica realized that whatever he wanted to do was important to him. He was afraid she'd say no.

"Okay, when do you want to go?"

"I'll pick you up at noon."

That night, Jessica struggled to fall asleep. She kept tossing and turning, each moment wondering what Tristan had in store for them. What could mean so much? Jessica's alarm went off early the next morning, startling her awake. She'd forgotten to change her alarm. Gia didn't teach beginner yoga on Saturday. Restless, Jessica got up and decided to do yoga on her own. She found a YouTube channel that catered to beginner yogis and followed along. Jessica didn't know if Gia had been more challenging or if her body had started adapting already. But the video was easy enough to follow up that Jess did a second one.

At the end of two hours, Jessica still wasn't tired and decided to get ready for her date early. Jess searched her closet, recalling that it would be chilly again today. Come to think of it, Tristan hadn't given her any hints about their day. She shrugged. Jess started to text him but felt shy. It suddenly felt awkward to text Tristan. That was odd. It hadn't felt like that for days.

Was he making her nervous? Jessica recalled her first morning at the condo. She thought back to that moment when she'd first taken a good look at him. Her stomach fluttered. Tristan was unreasonably handsome. He was fit and muscular but still lean. His eyes were piercing blue. The most lethal feature was his long black hair. Not long enough to tie up, but Tristan's hair was long enough to grab. Jessica loved it. Her mind wandered off to that old joke. If you like someone and think they're less attractive after cutting their hair, it was lust. Jess tried to picture Tristan bald. Would she still find him handsome?

The thought made Jessica think of Declan. Would it be the same the other way around? Jess tried to picture Declan with long hair. Before she realized what was happening, Jess was comparing Declan and Tristan again. What was she doing? Declan had made his choice. She forced herself to stop and think about Tristan. If Jess had to tell the truth, Tristan would look handsome with any cut. He had that type of bone structure that looked good with anything.

Ping!

Jessica looked at her phone. How was it already ten thirty? Tristan's message popped up.

"Where whatever's comfortable. We're going to spend the day together without worrying about other people."

Jessica smiled. How'd he know what she'd been wondering? She pulled out a cute corduroy dress in pale blue and paired it with white chunky sneakers and a sweater. It was a cute combination for a cold spring day. Tristan arrived as Jessica was finishing her hair. She opened the door to see he'd had a similar idea. Tristan wore pale blue jeans with white sneakers and a gray ribbed sweater. They matched. Looking at one another, the couple laughed. It had been unintentional.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'm finishing up my hair. I'll be right out."

Jessica left her phone up on the coffee table and rushed back to the bathroom. She was curling her hair to give her ponytail some sass. While she was doing so, her phone lit up. Tristan looked down, not intending to snoop. The name Liam Ryan, though, caught his attention.

"You really don't care at all that I ended things with Sophia for you? I want you to go out with me."

Tristan felt sick. Why was Liam texting Jess? How'd he get her number? Impatient, Tristan marched into Jess's room without knocking. She was singing to herself while spaying something on her hair. The sudden intrusion caught her off guard.

"What's wrong," Jessica asked. Tristan's face was pale but filled with anger.

"What the f**k is this s**t?" Tristan slammed Jess's phone on the counter. Worried he'd broken it, Jess picked it up. Frantic, she turned it over. No cracks.

"What the hell, Tristan?"

"Why is Liam texting you?"

"Huh?"

"Don't act stupid. How did Liam get your number?"

Jessica had to think for a moment. She had forgotten that Liam Ryan had her contact information and had been texting her. She furrowed her brows.

"You looked at my phone?"

"I didn't mean to. You left it on the coffee table. When he texted you, it lit up, and I looked down. Don't act like I did something wrong. You're the one texting other men."

"Texting other men?" Jessica took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. This was unreasonable. "Tristan, first of all, I'm not texting other men. Even if I were, we're not dating, so it'd be none of your business."

Tristan slammed his hand on the counter. Jess jumped back at his reaction. Why was he so angry?

"Not dating. We're not dating? We spent all day yesterday telling the world we were, and you won't even try?"

"Try what?"

Tristan made a clawing motion with his hands before grabbing his hair in frustration. He saw the fear on Jess's face and tried to compose himself.

"Jessica, why won't you give me a chance?"

"I am giving you a chance. That's what we're doing right now."

"Then why are you texting Liam?"

"I'm not texting Liam. He's texting me."

"Then why didn't you block his number? Why didn't you tell me that he's been messaging you?" Tristan felt he'd caught Jessica in a lie. Was she another Sophia? Why had she kept this from him? Jessica rolled her eyes and passed her phone back to Tristan.

"The password is 0301. Read the messages if you're so concerned. I didn't tell you because I forgot. It's been a busy week, Tristan."

Jessica pushed him out of the bathroom and went back to finishing her hair. She wasn't going to let Tristan's hissy fit ruin their day. Tristan sat on the edge of Jessica's bed and started to key in her code. He stopped. Jessica was right. He was being an asshole. Tristan could ask her what was going on without being a jerk. So, he sat there and waited. Jessica opened the door to find Tristan staring at the bathroom door.

"So, did you read them?"

"No."

"No? You almost broke my phone but didn't even look to see what was going on."

"I decided that I wouldn't look. I'm going to ask you what's going on. I'm going to trust you to tell me the truth."

Jessica put her hands on her hips and looked at Tristan. The midday sun was right overhead. Her room was bright, but the light shimmered off the surrounding buildings. It gave the room an artificial feel. Jess didn't like how Tristan had worded his explanation. Still, she knew he was trying. Had it been two weeks ago, he'd have had someone hack her phone without listening. Jess sighed.

"Okay. Since you're asking and not yelling at me, I'll explain. Liam found me on w******p and messaged me on Tuesday. It took me a minute to even recall who he was since I didn't give him my contact information. I find him obnoxious, manufactured. He's not a real person. I'd completely forgotten he'd done so. On Wednesday, I went shopping with Gia for stuff for my mom. On Thursday, I had therapy and a date. Yesterday was, well, yesterday. A lot had happened. I'd gone to bed early on Tuesday night and forgotten he'd messaged me until yesterday. But I kept getting distracted with other things."

"What did he want?"

"That. Well, he told me he was breaking up with Sophia and kept asking me out. I told him no and intended to block him."

"He told you he was going to break up with Sophia?"

"Yeah, but like I said, I forgot until yesterday. Even then, I kept getting distracted."

Tristan ran a hand through his hair. "Next time something like that happens, I need to know."

"What? Why?"

"Jessica, I don't know how you see us. To me, you're my girlfriend. I'm not seeing anyone else. I don't want anyone else. I'm loyal to you. Even if this were a relationship of circumstance, I want the best of them for us. It bothers me when other men text you. Also, we could have gotten ahead of the issue yesterday had I known he told you that."

Tristan's admission stunned Jess. She had kept saying they were together yesterday but thought of it more like a job. Jessica hadn't realized that Tristan was taking her seriously.

"Do you really like me that much?"

"You have to ask?"

"Tristan, please, answer the question."

"Jessica," Tristan stood up and walked to Jess. He wrapped a hand around her lower back and pulled her close to him. "I'm f*****g crazy about you. You'll see today, I promise."

Jess didn't protest or push Tristan away when he kissed her this time.