Author's note: Sorry if the story is progressing a bit slow. Trying to establish the characters a bit more before getting into the steamy stuff ;D. Also, I'm a bit of a foodie so please bear with me. Thanks everyone for the helpful feedback and comments, I really really appreciate it. I'm trying to reply but it seems its taking a while to go through. Enjoy!
Part 2: The Deal
Sophie sat up when he left, and quickly adjusted her clothes feeling flustered and a little agitated. She tried to compose herself before he returned.
Jason returned to the living room, the faint creak of the door hinges fading as he stepped inside. Sophie was sitting cross-legged on the couch, her arms wrapped loosely around a throw pillow. She looked up as he entered, her cheeks still faintly pink from their earlier encounter.
"Who was it?" she asked, her voice a touch uneven despite her attempt to sound casual.
"Just some solicitors," Jason replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked past her toward the kitchen. "Wanted to talk about switching internet providers or something. Told them we weren't interested."
Sophie nodded, her fingers absentmindedly picking at the pillow's edge. She felt like the room was still charged with the energy of what had just happened. Her heart hadn't quite settled, and the lingering warmth of his touch was hard to shake.
Jason grabbed his water bottle from the counter and leaned against the kitchen doorway, his gaze settling on her. "You alright? You've been kind of quiet since..." He trailed off, gesturing vaguely toward the wrestling mat.
Sophie let out a short laugh, though it sounded more nervous than amused. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... catching my breath."
He raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Uh-huh. You sure? You look like you're still trying to process that I won."
She threw the pillow at him, her grin breaking through her flustered expression. "Please. I let you win, obviously."
Jason caught the pillow with ease, chuckling as he tossed it back onto the couch. "Sure, Soph. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Her smile lingered, but the tension in her chest didn't fully dissipate. Part of her wanted to laugh it off, to return to the easy banter they always shared. But another part couldn't ignore how close they'd been—or how her pulse had raced for reasons that had nothing to do with competition.
"So... rematch later?" she said, trying to steer the moment back to safer ground.
"So soon?" he asked looking at her in concern. "You don't want to rest up a bit more after that devastating loss I handed you?"
"Shut up, Jason! You're so annoying," Sophie huffed, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder and lifting her chin with an exaggerated air of defiance. "Plus, you distracted me."
Jason smirked, leaning slightly closer. "I don't know, Soph. You seemed to enjoy the distraction."
Her jaw dropped, and her face turned a brilliant shade of red. "I did not!" she shot back, her voice a touch higher than usual. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, but the way her gaze darted away and lingered on the floor for a moment betrayed her nervousness.
Jason caught the subtle tell and chuckled, clearly amused. "Sure, sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself."
Sophie glared at him, the heat in her cheeks refusing to fade. She looked away sulking slightly.
Jason stepped closer and placed a hand gently on her shoulder, only for her to shrug it off with a sharp motion. "Aw, come on," he said, his tone softening. "I'm sorry I teased you."
She turned back to him, her glare sharp enough to cut glass.
Unable to resist, Jason reached out and gently tapped her on the nose with his fingertip. "Boop," he said, a playful grin spreading across his face before he burst into laughter.
"That's not funny!" Sophie protested, her tone indignant as she tried to maintain her scowl. But the corners of her mouth betrayed her, twitching upward despite her best efforts.
Jason's laughter only grew as he stepped back, arms raised in mock defense. "Oh, come on, you can't stay mad after a boop. It's scientifically impossible."
Sophie let out an exasperated sigh, finally breaking into a reluctant smile. "You're such a dork," she muttered, shaking her head.
"Maybe," Jason shot back with a wink, "but at least I'm a lovable one."
She rolled her eyes, her annoyance all but forgotten as she shoved him lightly. "You're impossible."
"And you love it," he quipped, dodging her half-hearted attempt to swat at him."Don't think this changes our deal."
"Our deal?" she asked hesitantly. What did he mean? Did he mean--? Her heart fluttered at the possibilities.
He raised his eyebrows. "The dishwashing? For a week? Don't tell me you forgot about it already. I won like less than 5 minutes ago."
She turned pink, in all the excitement she had forgotten all about the bet they had struck. She groaned audibly. Of course, that deal. She sank further into the couch as the memory hit her. "Ugh. I totally forgot about that."
"No way," Jason said, laughing as he stepped closer. "A deal's a deal. You lost, so dishes are all yours for the week."
"Great," Sophie muttered, covering her face with her hands. "Guess I'm not getting out of this one, huh?"
"Not a chance," Jason said, plopping down on the armrest of the couch. "You're on dish duty, starting tonight."
She peeked at him from between her fingers, her face still pink. "You're lucky I'm nice, or I'd 'forget' to rinse everything properly."
He rolled his eyes. "You do that already."
Sophie grabbed the throw pillow again and began smacking him. "I do not! Take that back!"
Laughing, Jason wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her onto his lap, keeping her arms at her sides. Sophie's pulse quickened as she felt his embrace.
"How about this? Since you pinned me first, even though that was a practice round and I was totally off guard from your unprovoked blitz attack.." She gave another annoyed huff. "I'll treat you to that burger place you wanted to go anyway. The Stackhouse?" he finished.
