by Claire Adams
She bit her lip. “Email. We are on emailing basis.”
“How?”
“His email is on the company’s website.”
I sighed. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I love you, you idiot,” she said, looking at me like I was crazy. “In my defense, he wasn’t supposed to rat me out. Tell your boyfriend he owes me one.”
“He’s not my boyfriend, you know that,” I sounded way too disappointed saying those words for my own liking so I cleared my throat and added with a firmer tone, “He’s just some playboy who is too used to getting what he wants and thinks all of this is a game.”
I wasn’t sure I believed my own words by this point. He was a playboy and this was a game; there was no doubt about it and he made no efforts to hide it. But somehow along the way, I had come to believe that he was actually a decent person. I couldn’t admit this to Stacey, though. I couldn’t even admit it to myself really. The better I thought of him, the more likely it became that I would get hurt when all of this was over, and I could not consciously do that to myself.
“A playboy who is playing games and for some mysterious reason makes you happy,” Stacy said after a few minutes, as though considering how wise it was to communicate that with me.
“What do you mean?” I raised my eyebrows.
“You are happy.”
“I am not any more or any less happier than I was before this contract.”
At least, I didn’t think I was! Not that I would ever describe myself as a particularly joyful person – but it was difficult to be when paying yourself through college, working crazy hours and having to worry about taking care of your mother financially.
“Aria, you know how much I love you, but you have been kind of miserable for a year now. Since that douchebag cheated on you.”
“I have not been miserable,” I said defensively.
“You kind of have, though,” she said while looking at the floor. “I barely saw you during the day cause you buried yourself in work and at night you would just turn on the T.V. and drift into your own thoughts. Ever since Zayden started hitting on you, you joke and laugh and have fun again! It’s like he gave me the old Aria back.”
“Stacey, if it was bothering you so much, why didn’t you say anything all year?”
“No, you are taking the wrong thing out of this. I was worried about you, Aria. I didn’t know what I could do for you. Nick and I spent so much time trying to play matchmaker for you behind your back, cause we thought dating would make you have some fun, feel better. But you never had the time so we were always too afraid to bring it up. Then one day you came home and told us your new boss was flirting with you and there has been a kind of slow and awesome progress since then.”
I was stumped. Really? Really? No. No way.
“Could you maybe for a second consider the possibility that I was doing better emotionally all on my own and it had nothing to do with some man’s pretend affection?”
Hurt was bubbling up inside me and I started tearing up a little. I wasn’t sure why this was bothering me so much, but it was. If I seemed happier, Zayden had nothing to do with it, and the fact that my very best friend thought that it did made me feel sick.
“Whatever you want to tell yourself, Aria,” she sounded like she was getting just as frustrated. “All I saw was my best friend getting happier and I did what I thought was best for her. You obviously feel differently so I promise to back off. I’ll remove Zayden from my email contacts. I don’t feel well so I’m going to go lay down for a bit. Have fun at your date and call me if you need anything.”
With that said, she walked back into her room, as tears started pouring down my face. There was no way I would wear the stupid dress now.
CHAPTER 8
ZAYDEN
I had never been to the neighborhood before and was surprised to see apartments cramped together so closely.
“Ned,” I rolled down the screen of the limo I had chosen for the night. “Is this the ghetto?” I joked.
I could swear I heard a chuckle but Ned was clever enough to turn it into a cough. “No, sir. Definitely not the ghetto. This is just a college neighborhood, mostly resided by students, who are on quite a budget.”
“Ah,” I said. I wondered if I should offer to let Aria rent one of my houses. She would never accept that for free, but maybe if I let her pay as much as she was paying for one of these places…
Why the fuck was I worrying about her living arrangements?
“Here we are,” Ned said parking next to a three-storied apartment building.
The lights were on in the third floor and I vaguely remembered Aria mentioning that she was in the top floor of her building. So that had to be it.
“I don’t know what to do now, Ned.”
He looked back at me with concern. “Are you nervous?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” I exclaimed. “Why on earth would I be nervous? I just am not sure whether to walk in or call her.”
“Just walk up to her floor and ring the doorbell.”
“Ah, right, the doorbell!” I laughed.
I walked into the building and looked for the elevator; finding none, I grunted my way upstairs. She’d better be in the third floor after the workout. Damn the flowers, I had forgotten the flowers in the car. I was not going to run downstairs and right back up just for that.
I rang the doorbell and was surprised to be welcomed by an extremely tall gentleman wearing horn-rimmed glasses.
“Who are you?” I asked feeling slightly annoyed. What was a man doing in her house?
“Who are you?” he laughed. “Just kidding, come in Zayden, everyone in a 50 mile radius of Atlanta knows who you are.”
“I am not sure this is the right place.” I looked at the guy quizzically. Could it be her brother, maybe? Unlikely, they looked too different.
“No, of course you’re in the right place, come on in, Aria is just getting ready.”
I guess I was in the right place after all. “Are you her brother?” I asked the tall guy.
“No, I’m Nick,” he said, as though that clarified his relationship to her.
“And you are here because…?”
“I live here,” he glared at me. “With my girlfriend.”
That sent a wave of fury through my whole body, as though someone very close had stabbed me in the front. Aria was his girlfriend! She had told me she was single, had she lied? Had she made up the whole story for money? Wait, if she really was such a scheming bitch, she would be smarter than to have her boyfriend hovering around the apartment when I was due. And he didn’t mind that she was going out on a date with me?
“And you’re… okay with this?” I asked Nick.
“With what?”
“My deal with Aria,” I said, assuming he knew.
He shrugged. “I mean it’s pretty unorthodox, but hey, you’re helping her out and that makes you a pretty awesome dude. Why wouldn’t I be okay with this?”
What kind of sick and convoluted world had I walked into? Was I growing old? Were college kids this casual with exchanging their partners now days? It seemed like a cool concept, on the one hand. To have one’s cake and eat it too. But on the other hand, why even bother to make a commitment to one person if straying was expected and accepted? From a epistemological standpoint it simply seemed like a waste of time. They could just do what I do and sleep around. I shook my head in confusion and was looking around the house when Aria walked out of her room. Seeing her, I temporarily forgot that I was upset at her for lying about being single. I forgot about Nick. I forgot about everything. I barely even noticed that she had defiantly decided not to wear the dress I had sent her – and I’d have been foolish to expect otherwise anyway – because right now she looked better than a starry night’s sky. She was wearing a green one-piece dress that came right above her ankles, with a low-cut neck that contoured her breasts to perfection, and a cream-colored blazer on top of it. It wasn’t very immaculate, a
s far as attires go, but she accessorized it beautifully with a silver pendant, her hair tied up into a classy bun, and her make-up accentuated with deep red lipstick to match her hair. I was almost glad that she had chosen not to wear what I had sent.
“Hi,” she smiled serenely at me. “You find the place okay?”
“Yes,” I smiled back at her. “Well, Ned did. Should we get going?”
“Sure.” She waltzed over and grabbed my arm with a soft touch. Before we walked out of the apartment, she told Nick, “I will probably be back late, tell your girlfriend if she asks, I am not entirely sure we’re on speaking terms right now. See ya, Nick!”
My initial reaction was to grunt at the very sight of her talking to him but about three seconds later it registered: she was referring to Nick’s girlfriend in third person, which meant that it couldn’t possibly be her. The rush of relief that ran through my veins was overwhelming.
Why did I care so much? I had screwed many girls that were in relationships.
“So Nick is not your boyfriend?” I couldn’t help myself from asking.
She burst out laughing. “You thought Nick was my boyfriend? Oh God.” She laughed for a couple of more minutes before adding, “Didn’t I tell you I was single?”
I shrugged. “You could be lying. People lie all the time.”
“Speaking from experience, huh?”
“I have never lied… to you,” I looked straight into her eyes. That wasn’t quite true, as I had lied to her about my interaction with Wilson, the loan officer. She didn’t need to know that, though. And it’s not like it was a lie that hurt her in any way. She was still getting the money she needed, and I was getting what I wanted: a chance to seduce her. If she ever found out – and I couldn’t think of any way she would – she wouldn’t exactly be able to be mad. However, knowing her, she would find a reason to be furious about it. The thought of it gave me weird pangs in my chest. As we hopped into the car, I tried hard not to let my thoughts drift in that direction again.
“These are for you,” I handed her the purple orchids I had forgotten in the car.
“Thanks!” She seemed pleased with my flower selection this time around.
“A drink for the ride?” I asked, producing the same bottle of champagne from our dinner a few nights ago that she had enjoyed so much.
Her face lit up upon recognizing the drink. “You shouldn’t have gone through all that trouble.”
She actually thought I was trying.
“Yeah I should have. How else would I get that look to appear on your face?” I grinned. “But I have to be honest, I didn’t have to do anything at all to acquire the bottle.”
She laughed. “Yes, yes, I am aware of you and your rich ways. Which reminds me, am I dressed up to standards for your Gala? I’m returning you the dress you sent.”
“Of course you are,” I shook my head, but with a smile. “Like I said in my note, I wouldn’t have cared if you came in ripped jeans. But to answer your question, you look more beautiful tonight than I have ever seen you.”
Her face got pink as she mumbled thank you. “You look pretty good too,” she said looking out the window.
“Are you talking to someone in the street?” I teased.
She looked me in the eye this time. “You are a very handsome. I am really looking forward to spending this evening with you,” she spoke softly.
I was startled by those words, not at all expecting her to be so solemnly candid in showing signs of affection. Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite affection, but some admiration had to be lingering somewhere if she was willing and excited to spend an evening with me. That made me very enthusiastic, so much so that I almost wanted to skip the whole evening and just spend it with her, however she wanted.
I was becoming weak.
---
“What exactly is this auction for?” Aria asked, as we walked in almost holding hands. We were brushing our fingers against each other’s, which made me feel all kinds of desires. It also scared the shit out of me because I had never come close to holding a girl’s hand after my ex.
“For cancer research,” I said and nervously added: “I forgot to mention, I will be giving a speech on behalf of the organizers. Usually I ignore speaking arrangements, but I love this cause and the non-profit hosting this probably gets the highest percentile of my yearly donations.”
She put a hand on my shoulder. It was definitely affection this time. “You’re an amazing guy.”
“I’m alright,” I said with a straight face.
“Nope, really amazing. I look forward to your speech. I will be embarrassing and whistle and make you wish you had never-“
“Zayden!” An old, balding man approached me. “How are you doing, my boy?”
“Hi Mr. Kirk, I’m doing good. It’s nice to see you!” I looked at Aria and pointed, “This is Ms. Aria Roberts, my date for the night.” Then I looked at Mr. Kirk. “Aria, Mr. Kirk is one of our oldest business partners, and when my dad was alive, one of his best friends.”
Upon hearing those words, Aria wrapped her hand around mine and I felt her warm, soft skin.
Mr. Kirk’s face lit up. “Wow, what a beautiful girl! What do you do, dear?”
She looked nervous. “I am finishing up college, studying to be a loan officer. I also work at the bank.”
“That’s great,” Mr. Kirk said, with much less enthusiasm and started walking away. I had never quite taken someone plain to a public event like this. Sure, I fucked all the young women that worked for me, but that was usually confined to the walls of my own house; I never dared take a teller out to a coveted event like this one.
These things were boring beyond belief though, and her company, with her snarky humor and challenging attitude, would provide a lot of entertainment. I enjoyed having her around.
“I think you’re being judged pretty hardcore right now,” Aria looked at me with amusement.
“You aren’t… offended?”
She laughed. “Why should I be? I am sure he’s used to seeing you with supermodels. Everyone is. It is quite amusing watching people’s reaction. I never quite realized this before, but messing with rich people is fun.”
“Fucking rich people is even better,” I winked.
“Okay I practically led you to that one,” she shrugged. “What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?”
“I’ll grab one for you,” I said and started walking but remembered something. “You’re not twenty-one.”
“Meh, it’s just a matter of a few months, nobody will care.”
“I hear it’s impossible to get a comfortable king-sized bed in jail,” I retorted.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, if it’s such a big deal-”
“I’m teasing you. Champagne okay?”
“Grab me a beer,” she grinned. “Let’s see how your acquaintances will react to a working-class girl who also shamelessly drinks beer at a classy event.”
I chuckled. “You are crazy. I don’t think they even have beers at this thing. I can ask Ned to-“
“It’s okay, you don’t have to make everything happen at the snap of your fingertips. Get me anything you want.” She put her hand on my shoulder again and smiled. Her touches were distracting.
I returned with two glasses of red wine and handed her one. “So I have to make a speech in like five minutes, you think you’re going to be okay on your own for a little bit?”
“Of course not. Oh wait, I’m not a five-year-old that needs constant adult supervision,” she pulled out her tongue. “Break a leg.”
“Don’t interrupt my speech if you need anything. You’re on your own. We can always screw later.”
She covered her face with both her hands. “Zayden, go make your big important speech.”
CHAPTER 9
ARIA
I took a huge gulp of my wine as Zayden proceeded to the mini-stage that had been crafted in the middle of the room. It was a very interesting taste; bitter, but rich enough to make
my whole mouth feel like velvet. I was already starting to get a bit buzzed from a few sips. I looked at Zayden adjusting the mic and took a deep breath. The plain black suit fit his lean body immaculately, and the dark blue shirt made his eyes pop. His skinny black tie was slightly loose and I wondered how it would feel to undo it. And then his shirt. Aria, focus. I slapped my own forehead and frowned, trying hard to pay attention to the words now coming out of his mouth, rather than his mouth itself and just how succulent his lips looked.
“As many of you know, I lost my grandfather to cancer,” Zayden was saying. The room was utterly silent, every pair of eyes concentrating on him, as though he was reciting the next set of global constitution. What must it feel like, commanding any room you walk into? Someday, I would find out. I may never make it to Zayden’s status – I wasn’t born with the right set of luck in order to get there – but someday I would become successful enough to have a room full of people care about what I am saying.
“It was my complete honor to sponsor this gala, and I want to thank you all so much for your generous contributions to this truly wonderful cause.” It was obvious that this truly meant something to him, that he actually cared. There was a rumor around the office that he turned down an offer to speak at a local TED talk, so the fact that he was willing to come over here and take the time to address these people for the sake of cancer research was oddly heartwarming. He was definitely a much better person that he led himself and everyone else to believe. As he spoke with passion and intensity, I began to feel a very uncomfortable knot in my chest. It was a knot of feelings beginning to develop. I always thought he was attractive, but that’s simply an objective fact; he was attractive like the sky is blue, and I was also certainly very grateful for all that he did for me. But somehow, it was beginning to feel like there was more, like I appreciated him for who he was outside of who he was with me.
I was in trouble.
When he finished his speech there was an applause that lasted for minutes. People were cheering him on and screaming his name.
“Now let me invite Ms. Cameron Elizabeth, the head organizer of tonight’s grand event, to begin the auction,” Zayden said and stepped aside to speak with an older blonde women on the stage. I was surprised to feel a tap on my shoulder, since I didn’t really know anyone else at the party. I turned around to find Mr. Kirk smiling at me.