Jenna's POV
I woke up with a heavy sigh, my mind immediately replaying the events of last night. Felix’s kiss.
That arrogant jerk.
I sat up, running my fingers through my hair, still irritated by the thought. How dare he steal a kiss from me? The memory of his lips on mine made my skin flush, but not from affection—more like frustration. I wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, or why I didn’t pull away sooner.
What annoyed me even more was the way my body had responded. My lips moved on their own, following his lead, as if for that brief moment, my brain had completely short-circuited. I hated that. Hated how Felix could get under my skin so easily. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. He was just… Felix. A business partner. Someone I was supposed to keep at a distance, nothing more.
Yet, there was a nagging part of me that couldn’t shake the kiss entirely. The way his hand had cupped my face, his breath mixing with mine—it was all too intimate, too real. I closed my eyes and groaned. Get it together, Jenna. You’re not some lovesick girl.
But still, the thought lingered. What did Felix really want from me? Was this just a game to him, or was there something more?
I pushed myself out of bed, determined to clear my head. I wasn’t going to let Felix mess with me like this. I had more important things to focus on—like moving forward with my life, without Aiden’s drama and definitely without Felix complicating things further.
As I stepped out of my room, I saw Felix sitting on the couch, massaging his temples. He looked like he was still nursing a hangover from last night. I took a deep breath, deciding to pretend nothing had happened between us. It was better that way—less complicated.
I walked past him, trying to avoid any sort of interaction, but of course, he just had to call out my name.
"Jenna," his voice was groggy, but still carried that undeniable confidence.
I stopped in my tracks, inwardly cursing. Can’t he just let it go? I thought to myself, but I turned around, forcing myself to keep a neutral expression. "What is it, Felix?"
He rubbed his forehead, looking like he was struggling to get his words together. "About last night..."
I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. "What about it?" I asked, trying to keep my tone cold and indifferent. The last thing I wanted was to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much that kiss bothered me.
Felix sighed, clearly uncomfortable. "Look, I was drunk. I didn’t mean to—"
"I don’t care," I cut him off, my voice sharp. "It’s forgotten. Just don’t do it again."
He blinked at me, surprised by my bluntness. "Forgotten?"
"Yes," I said, more firmly this time. "It didn’t mean anything, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Understood?"
For a moment, Felix just stared at me, as if he was trying to read my expression. Then, he nodded slowly, but his smirk started to creep back. "Understood? But if I remember correctly… you kissed me back," he said smugly, his tone filled with that familiar arrogance.
I swallowed hard, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. I quickly averted my gaze, refusing to let him see how his words got to me. Of course, he would throw that in my face.
"Don’t flatter yourself, Felix," I shot back, trying to regain my composure. "You were drunk, and I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly either."
He leaned back, still watching me with that irritating grin. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jenna."
I could feel my annoyance bubbling up, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. "Believe what you want," I muttered, turning my back on him once again. "Just stay out of my way today."
But as I walked away, I couldn’t shake the way my heart raced at his words. Why did I kiss him back? I mentally scolded myself, trying to bury the confusion swirling in my mind. There was no way I could let Felix get under my skin again.
Not now. Not ever.
A few hours later, I headed straight to work as a graphic designer, determined to put the events of last night behind me. I need to focus now, I reminded myself as I sat at my desk, booting up my computer.
The soft hum of the office, the quiet clattering of keyboards, and the faint chatter of colleagues filled the space, but I tried to drown it all out. My task for the day was to finalize a project for a client—clean, sleek designs that required my full attention.
But despite my efforts, my thoughts kept drifting back to Felix. His arrogant smirk, his teasing words about the kiss. Why does he always have this effect on me? I sighed, shaking my head as I tried to push him out of my mind.
I clicked through my files, pulling up the client’s mockups and setting my hands to work. The familiar motion of creating lines, choosing colors, and perfecting layouts usually calmed me. But today, my mind felt restless. I couldn’t help but replay the kiss in my head—the way Felix had caught me off guard, and worse, the way I had let it happen.
“Focus, Jenna,” I muttered under my breath, forcing myself to snap out of it. I had deadlines, and the last thing I needed was to let Felix disrupt my work.
But even as I worked, a nagging thought lingered. Why did I kiss him back?
I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was my coworker, Kara, smiling down at me with a curious look.
"Hey, Jenna! You, okay? You’ve been staring at the screen for a while," she said, tilting her head slightly. "Everything good?"
I blinked a few times, trying to shake off the remnants of my earlier thoughts. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” I replied, forcing a smile. “Just... a lot on my mind.”
Mara raised an eyebrow, sensing something was off. "Are you sure? You’ve been a little out of it lately. Anything you want to talk about?"
For a moment, I considered telling her everything—the kiss with Felix, the confusion swirling in my head—but I decided against it. It’s too complicated to explain, I thought, and the last thing I needed was more questions.
“Nah, I’m good. Just work stress, you know how it is,” I said with a shrug, trying to play it off casually.
“Alright, well, if you need a break, let me know. I’m heading to grab some coffee in a bit,” Kara said, giving me a reassuring pat on the back before walking away.
I let out a deep breath as she left. I really need to get my head back in the game, I told myself, turning my attention back to the designs on my screen. But even as I tried to focus, the memory of Felix’s kiss lingered like an unwelcome guest in the back of my mind.
Why can’t I just forget about it?