Convincing her (Jen and Lucas)

Chapter 380: Weekend at the Villa.

For the next three weeks, Lucas kept coming home earlier every day. His workload was gradually decreasing while David's was gradually increasing. Even Michael was taking on more responsibility than he had before.

On Thursday of the third week, Jen came home from university and found Lucas home already. She had to double-check the clock on the wall to make sure that she was not hallucinating.

He was lounging on the couch in front of the tv his expression showing that he was feeling too lazy to move. Jen put down her bag and went to stand in front of him. Only then did he finally notice her presence.

"You're home," Lucas said with a smile and reached forward to pull her down to sit with him. Jen flopped onto the couch, almost causing her to be exposed with how the skirt of her dress rode up her thighs.

"And you've been home, when did you come back?" Jen asked him when she was able to sit up from her state of disarray. She straightened out her dress and looked at Lucas, who had been looking at the pair of legs that were accidentally exposed by his actions.

"At noon," Lucas said and pulled her again, making her fall against him. At this point, she was too tired and lazy to move again.

"You should have told me earlier, I would have come home sooner," Jen said as she took his hand in hers and started playing with his long fingers.

"I didn't know I'd be back so soon. I don't have much work anymore. For the next two weeks I'm going to have to be a kept man," Lucas joked as he buried his face in her hair.

"Don't worry, I can afford to keep you," Jen said and kissed the hand she was holding. She then heard his laugh reverberate from his chest. It sounded so deep since she had her ear against his chest.

She raised her head to look at him and he looked down at her in turn, a smile still lingering on his lips. She pecked him on the lips and continued to fiddle with his fingers, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"Are you hungry?" Lucas asked Jen, who had been silent for a while.

"Mmmh, I was busy finishing up my assignment and used too much brainpower," Jen said with a pout and leaned heavily against him.

"Can I see?" Lucas asked her and Jen sat up, fully alert. 

"You want to see?" Jen asked as she looked at him with narrowed eyes. Lucas nodded honestly as he was curious about what she wrote. After hesitating for a bit, Jen stood up and went to open her bag, taking out her notebook before joining him on the couch. SHe paused for a few seconds before opening it and turning on the screen. 

"It's not perfect, I'm still refining it," Jen said defensively. This was the problem with being a student and dating someone who used to study what you are taking and was also at the top of their class.

"It's okay even if it's a mess, why do you think I'm here," Lucas asked and draped an arm over her shoulders before looking at the screen in front of him.

He became engrossed in his task and would occasionally nod while also furrowing his eyebrows once in a while. This just made Jen feel even more nervous than she did before.

He finished reading it in ten minutes, but just when she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he scrolled back up to the first page and started reading again! Jen wanted to run away, she was so nervous that it was as if the lecturer was marking her work in front of her.

After Lucas finished reading the essay a second time, he said nothing and just stopped looking at the notebook in her hands. He relaxed on the couch and continued to watch tv.

"Is it that bad?" Jen asked him.

"Hmmm? What are you talking about?" Lucas asked with a puzzled expression.

"The coursework," Jen said in frustration.

"Who said it was bad? I just wanted to see it and that's what I did." Lucas explained so logically that she could not refute his words.

"You have nothing to say about it?" Jen asked him.

"Did you want feedback?" Lucas asked her and she nodded.

"It's a good essay, there are just some things you need to refine," Lucas said and scrolled through her essay.

"You should provide some examples here, here and here," he said as he highlighted those areas. Jen looked at her screen with focus as she nodded at what he was saying.

"You also need to define this, this sub-point needs further elaboration and I'm not sure how this is relevant," Lucas said while highlighting the problem areas and leaving comments on her documents.

"Otherwise, it's good. Your writing style is straightforward, and you answered the question really well," Lucas said with a proud smile.

"But with all the corrections you listed down, it feels like it's no good," Jen said with a frown.

"You would still get an A with this work. It will just be the difference between an A that is worth 82% and an A that is worth 97%," Lucas explained.

"Oh, why not 100%," Jen asked.

"You could get 100% but these professors are a bit eccentric and they all have their tastes, so you should leave a margin of error," Lucas said and closed the notebook in her hands.

"Deal with it tomorrow, you are with me now," Lucas said and pulled her onto his lap before burying his face in her neck.

"Are you still going to work tomorrow?" Jen asked as she played with a lock of his hair.

"No, I'll only go when they call me," Lucas said. He finally had the chance to sleep in, he was not going to ruin it with his own hands.

"Oh, so we'll be able to spend time together then," Jen said with a smile.

"Mmmh, do you want to go to the villa tonight? We can stay for the weekend, then I'll drop you off at school on Monday," Lucas suggested.

Jen froze momentarily when she saw his eyes were blinking flirtatiously at her. It wasn't like she had made any plans for the weekend anyway, and she had said that she wanted to visit the villa before he left. 

Since the opportunity fell into her hands, she had no reason to resist. So she nodded in agreement with a smile.

"Then go pack up what you'll need," Lucas said and lightly smacked her hip twice. Jen got up from his lap and ran up to their bedroom.

She packed a medium-sized suitcase with all the things she thought she would need before closing it. Lucas walked in and found her sitting on her suitcase and couldn't help but smile in amusement.

"Is that everything?" he asked as he looked at her tired face.

"There are still other things," Jen said as she looked up at him.

"If we can buy it, then we'll buy it instead, don't worry about it," Lucas said and helped her up before picking up her suitcase.

"Let's go, we need to get groceries and everything else so we can't delay for too long," Lucas explained as he lifted her suitcase.

Jen looked back at their room as if she was double-checking to see if she forgot anything. Lucas held her hand and pulled her out of their room when he saw that she was not moving.

"We'll buy whatever you forgot, okay?" he asked, and the two of them left their home while holding hands. When they got to the parking lot, Lucas opened the door for Jen and went to put the suitcase in the trunk of the car before going to the driver's seat.

"Shall we go now?" Lucas asked as he fastened the seatbelt. Jen nodded in agreement and the two of them took off for the mall.

Rather than go do grocery shopping immediately, Lucas took Jen to one of the restaurants that were currently serving dinner.

He knew that they wouldn't be able to make it home on time so rather than starve her, he would rather they had just had their meal first. If they got hungry later, then they can fix themselves something small to eat.

Just like Lucas, Jen was also quite aware that she did not have much time to spend with Lucas. During this period, when his workload got lighter after each passing day, no one was happier than he was.

Because it generally meant that they could spend time together, they could sleep for a bit longer in the mornings and that Lucas can at least catch a small break before going back to university. 

Now they were going to the villa, Jen was already thinking about all the things she wanted to do. The one thing she didn't forget to take with her was a swimsuit.

She had decided that she must have a swim and try to use all the facilities in the villa, otherwise, who knew when she would get the next opportunity to visit the house? At this thought, she suddenly became apprehensive about Lucas leaving. Maybe they should have just practised as she had suggested before.

[.]