~Joan~
“What the hell? He actually said that?” I asked, watching Rhoda shrug as she popped a strawberry into her mouth.
“You get it, right? Told him to fuck off,” she said. Even though I was a little annoyed, I couldn’t help but smile.
I trusted Rhoda to handle Aaron, at least on the phone if not in person. There was no way her birthday party would happen without me being there-Aaron knew that. And yet, what did he do? He asked her to blacklist me. Unbelievable. Especially when I thought Aaron and I were finally getting along.
“So, what do we do?” I asked, folding my legs underneath me on the couch. Rhoda had stopped by right after my shift, and I could tell she planned to stay the night. Honestly, I was glad. I’d missed my best friend more than I cared to admit.
“I don’t know. Use a club?” she muttered, then looked up at me. Our eyes locked, and a silent conversation passed between us before we both burst out laughing.
“No way,” I said, shaking my head. “Not after what happened in Spain. Clubs are off the table.”
“You could use my apartment,” I offered, though I knew how ridiculous it sounded. Rhoda gave me a look of disbelief, and I raised my hands in surrender.
“Jo, are you serious? Your apartment wouldn’t even hold twenty people, let alone a hundred,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“A hundred?” I muttered, arching an eyebrow.
“Joan, I’m a social butterfly,” she teased. “I have colleagues coming, friends from college and high school, and Lucas, of course.” Her eyes sparkled when she mentioned her boyfriend. “We’re looking at a hundred-plus, easy.”
I pursed my lips, trying to think.
“What if I don’t go?” I asked, half-joking. Rhoda froze mid-chew, glaring at me.
“What the hell are you talking about? My best friend has to be at my party,” she said firmly.
“Fine,” I said with a grin, sitting up straighter. “But what if we mess with Aaron? I’ll show up halfway through the party. By then, he can’t throw everyone out, and he’ll just have to deal with it.”
Rhoda tilted her head thoughtfully but shook it after a moment. “You don’t know Aaron like I do. He’d throw everyone out without a second thought.”
Oh, I knew Aaron well enough. He cooked like a dream, fucked like a horse, and had the kind of body you wanted to sketch over and over again.
Heat crept up my neck as the thought surfaced, and I quickly looked away. If Rhoda ever found out about Aaron and me… well, it wouldn’t end well. But what could I say? The man sparked my creativity in ways I hated to admit.
“You’re his sister,” I said, trying to redirect my thoughts. “If he’d ruin your twenty-sixth birthday party, what kind of brother does that make him?”
Rhoda sighed. “I can’t believe I’m turning twenty-six,” she muttered.
“Don’t remind me,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll hit twenty-six in two months. You get to be the old one first.” I wrinkled my nose playfully, and she chuckled.
“Well, your plan isn’t terrible. But what if he finds out?”
“Unless you’re going to tell him, he won’t.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
“All good, then,” I said, smirking.
“I told him to fuck off,” she repeated, and I laughed.
“Fix that yourself,” I teased, watching her pout. If she played her cards right, she’d have her party at Aaron’s place. And if not? Well, Aaron would definitely hear from me.
—
Later that night, while Rhoda snored softly behind me, I stared at my phone, unable to sleep.
Motherfucker. Why the hell would you tell Rhoda to blacklist me from her invitees?
I sent the text to Aaron, my frustration bubbling over. Then I waited. And waited. My phone stayed silent, though I could see the message had been read.
Of course.
Why would he try to blacklist me from Rhoda’s party? I wanted to know if he still thought of me as the girl that influences his sister badly.
The girl who makes her acts reckless or if he was doing this just to get back at me for flirting with Denzel.
I’d collected the man’s number from Aaron’s Secretary but I was yet to text him. I wasn’t really interested in hanging out with a man right now and the only hanging out I do with Aaron is in his bed.
What we have is a deal. Once my book gets completed, I’d call it off. That’s if Aaron doesn’t before me.
I’d move on and probably get in touch with Denzel but for now? I was pretty stuck with Aaron, even though we were going to part in a few months.
The idea of that… Well, it sucks. But we’d have to move on and pretend nothing ever happened between us, for the sake of his sister.
I hate you
I typed, pressing send before shutting my phone off.
Lying on my side, I stared into the darkness. I felt… nothing. Not even the usual irritation I used to feel whenever Aaron’s name came up.
Just emptiness.
“I hate Aaron,” I whispered to myself. Maybe if I repeated it enough, my heart wouldn’t get any ideas. Maybe if I told myself I was only using him to finish my book, it would start to feel true… again.
“I hate Aaron.”
And that was it. We couldn’t be anything more.