I laugh as I snatch the note away, moved by the sweet sentiment. I sit down and happily dig into the delicious food.
“What did you do to him?” She teases, as she walks around the spacious kitchen, admiring Aiden’s new apartment. She tosses a grape into her mouth. “I missed you so much.”
Walking around the bar top, I throw my arms around her neck. “I missed you too. How did it go with Brian?”
She flicks her wrist in the air dismissively. “Awful, I’m over him. That’s why I need a girl’s night. Plus, we’re in the city, which means better clubs!” She cheers, sliding my fake ID across the marble countertop.
“I don’t know, Ash,” I hesitate, sliding it back to her, unsure what Aiden will think.
“I’m not taking no for an answer. You may be staying here and doing God knows what with my brother, but you’re still my best friend and I have the power,” She declares.
We glide through moderate traffic thirty minutes later, arriving at a swanky boutique.
“So why are we here?” I run my hands along the fabric of a navy-blue dress. My fingers clasp against the price tag as I turn it to her.
She doesn’t flinch. “Shopping,” She states in an obvious tone. She pulls out the black card from her wallet and dangles it. “It’s Aiden’s.”
I shake my head. “You can use it, but I’m not.”
“He said you would say that.” She laughs. “I promise he gave me this card specifically for us to get something nice to wear tonight,” She assures.
I relax a little. I don’t want to spend his money, but if he insists.... Plus, I’ll wear it all the time.
“He knows we’re going clubbing?” I’m a little disappointed he doesn’t care if I party without him. I kind of like his jealous side.
“Not exactly...”
I roll my eyes, waiting for her to elaborate.
“He may have specifically told me we aren’t allowed to go “out-out”, so I may have told him we’re going out for a really nice dinner. Which we are! He made the reservations, but after that...we’re going out!” She grins and shrugs. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
I’m already thinking of a million ways to cancel tonight.
“His driver is taking us to dinner, but we will just get out of that.” Her grin is mischievous.
After hours of shopping, we stuff our bags into her backseat and make our way back to the apartment. I spy the guard from last night talking to a woman I don’t recognize; her scarlet hair is perfectly curled as it lays against her crisp and skintight white dress. The dress is short, more suited for a night out. She huffs as she makes her way towards the exit.
Ashley hands me her bags and runs off. “I can’t wait until we get up to the room. I have to pee now!”
I catch the lady’s ramblings as she hurries past me. “I’ll just fucking call Aiden myself.”
I grab her elbow instinctively, surprising myself. “Aiden?”
She stops, tilting her head to the side as she studies me. She raises her brow, a fake white smile plastered on her face. “Yeah, you know him?”
“Yeah.” I frown. “Why do you want to talk to him?” I ask in a venomous tone, my cheeks burning as jealousy floods through me. She could be a business associate or something, I need to calm down.
She crosses her thin arms over her chest and looks down at me. “He was supposed to have me over last night, but he never called.” She pouts. “Be a doll and tell him to call me. My name’s Rebecca.” Smiling, she turns on her heels and heads for the door. Her brilliant red hair bounces as she exits, the color matching my mood.
Anger boils deep inside of me. She was supposed to stay the night with him. How much betrayal can I handle? What’s worse now is that we shared the most intimate moment of my life. No one has ever seen me the way Aiden did last night. But he’s seen plenty of girls, who spread for him probably nightly. How am I special? I’m not.
I try to hide my anger when Ashley returns. The guard escorts us onto the elevator. I straighten myself up and plaster on a smile. Screw it, I’m going out tonight. We obviously aren’t exclusive so who is he to say what I can and can’t do?
I lean into Ash, so only she can hear. “So what club are we going to?”
Aiden
∞∞∞
After a million handshakes and talks of business investments, I wonder how long this meeting will last.
My meetings usually take place in an office, yet here I am, a whole city away from Emma in an overly lavish home. I didn’t want to deal with the pointless conversations and the sleazy women these men throw around to help them secure high-profile investment deals, but it is a big account.
I check my phone when it buzzes with a text. Why did the girls refuse my driver? The thought of Emma being out at night in the city without protection pisses me off. The driver I hired doubles as security.
I step onto the balcony and call the restaurant to see if they made it to their reservation. Lighting a cigarette, I calm when I hear that they’re there. I wonder what Emma bought today. I hope she didn’t refuse my offer to pay. I know from Ashley that she and her mom get by on the little money her mom’s florist shop makes, and the thought of her doing without upsets me.
I hope she likes the lingerie set I got her. I found them online this morning and sent my shopper to fetch it for her. Imagining her wearing what I bought her makes my dick get hard. She’s so fucking sexy and innocent. The things I want to do to her drives me fucking wild, but I need to be patient.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, remembering the call from my
