Rhythm of Heartbreak (COMPLETED)

Chapter 28

Jess was carefully checking Rick's face for any bruises, her mind couldn't phantom what Shaun had done earlier that night. She was applying a cold compress to minimize any possible contusion. She touched his face gently.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

His eyes remained tantalizing as he smiled sweetly for her. "This is nothing compared to the torture you are doing to me now." he teased while he was pointing at his injury. Her face suddenly blushed.

He pinched her cheek and kissed it. "You look so adorable when you blush".

"Rick, stop it" she complained without a hint of conviction. She then cleared her throat. "Are you going to press charges?" she dared ask.

He momentarily paused and stared at her. "Do you want me to do that?" he asked back.

Jess took Rick's hand and let him hold the ice pack she had secured for him earlier. His gaze followed her as she walked towards the kitchen area.

"Do you want some tea?" She called out. Rick replied yes while he was sitting on her apartment couch comfortably. He patiently waited for Jess to come back.

When she returned, she was holding two cups of chamomile tea and placed it carefully on the table. "Here you go" she stated.

He placed the packs on the side and sipped the drink she served. "Do you want me to press charges?" He asked again.

Jess was looking at Rick trying to read his mind.

"I wasn't the one who got punched but maybe you can talk it out first, both of you are big names in the industry. This scandal might be damaging." She verbalized.

"Are you trying to defend him and his career?" he asked with a hint of irritation in his tone.

Jess was unsure how he would end up in that conclusion, she was thinking about Rick's reputation too. The punch was an outcome, if the media knew what prompted such violence, her name would have surfaced, and more complicated things could have happened especially to Rick.

"This is not about Shaun at all" she defended herself.

He remained silent as he tried to assess his temper.

She shakes her head. "Rick, what do you think this is? What do you think of us?" She decided to ask, she wanted clarification from him. She's been living in a bubble for weeks now and her fragile heart can't take it anymore. His subtle jealousy makes her hope that there's more to this and hoping can be very dangerous.

His face was solemn as his eyes just stared at Jess, she was holding her breath, it could go either way, this was just an act of flirtation, or it could be deeper than that.

"What do you think of this that we have Jess?" He asked her instead.

She dropped her gaze. She battled if she wanted to be vulnerable in front of him, can she bear the humiliation if it turned out, it was all in her mind? She puffed some air. "You make me confused Rick and you make me hope, but I don't know where we should draw the line. You never verbalized your intention." Who am I to you? She thought as she tried to suppress the words. "I don't even know what you like, what's your favorite food, what your interests are. Where's your family" she stated.

For a snap, Jess saw panic in his eyes but readily masked it when he extended his arms and pulled her to him. "So, you want to know me, is that right?" he softly asked as his fingers played her bare neck.

She closed her eyes tightly; she was yet again drunk by his temptation. "Yes..." she answered.

He moved his face closer to her as his bodily heat radiated against her. He smiled. "You can just ask Jess. Ask me anything you want to know." He replied with a coarseness of his voice adding to her thrill.