Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Aubrey
After brushing through my long blonde hair, I slipped into my brand new strapless, black and white floral print, A-line waist dress. Tonight was special because my best friend, Penelope, was having her first exhibition at a well-known art gallery.
Penelope Carson and I met in college when I accidentally bumped into her and knocked all her books out of her hands. Sometimes, I could be clumsy. She forgave me, we had coffee, and a friendship was formed.
As I grabbed my shoes from the closet, I heard the front door open, and my Aunt Charlotte’s voice filtered through the apartment.
“I was at the store and picked you up some fruit and more K-cups,” she yelled.
“Thank you.” I smiled as I walked towards the kitchen.
“Ah. Penelope’s art exhibition is tonight, isn’t it?” She grabbed hold of my hands.
“Yes. Ian should be here soon.”
“You look beautiful, Aubrey. That dress is perfect.”
“Thanks. Penelope helped me pick it out.”
The front door opened, and my other best friend, Ian, stepped inside.
“Wow. Who’s that sexy woman standing right before me?”
“Oh, stop, Ian. You know I’m way too old for you,” Aunt Charlotte spoke.
“Damn, Charlotte. You’re always turning me down.”
“You two have fun and tell Penelope that I said congratulations.”
“We will.” I kissed her on the cheek.
“Are you ready to go, Madame?” Ian asked.
“I’m very ready.” I hooked my arm in his, and we walked out the door.
Ethan
The last place I wanted to go tonight was an art exhibition. But I promised my friend, Charles, that I would go with him since his girlfriend, Lexi, was out of town visiting her parents. He was an art fanatic and always looking for something new.
“Will you relax, Ethan?” Charles spoke as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
“I’m fine, Charles. I just had a bad day at the office. Everything that could go wrong did, and I lost a lot of money.”
“What did you lose? A million or two? That’s chump change, my friend.” He smirked.
“Money is money.” I sighed.
“By the way, Lexi wanted me to tell you that when she returns, she’s introducing you to her friend, Greta. She wants us to double date.”
“Tell her no thanks. I’m not interested.”
“She’s smoking hot, man. Tall, toned, long dark brown hair, exotic eyes. She looks like she just stepped out of a Playboy magazine. I’d fuck her if I weren’t with Lexi.”
“I have plenty of women I fuck. I don’t need to get involved with a friend of Lexi’s. That’s just asking for trouble.”
“Doesn’t matter. Lexi already thinks you’re a douchebag.” He smiled. “Ethan, it’s been?—”
“Don’t, Charles. You know exactly where I stand. Now change the subject, or I’m leaving.” I scowled.
“Fine. It’s your life. Be miserable.”
“I’m not miserable. I live my life the way I want, and nobody will change that.”
He rolled his eyes at me and sighed. “Let’s go look at some art.”
I grabbed a glass of champagne from the waiter as he passed by and decided to look at what this new artist had to offer. Since I was here, I might as well make use of my time. I left Charles standing there as he was looking and went over to the other side of the gallery, where a few more paintings were displayed. As I was standing there looking at a specific painting, I heard Charles call my name from across the gallery. When I turned around, I accidentally bumped into a woman standing close behind me.
“Oh, excuse me.” I lightly touched her arm and could not take my eyes off her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been standing so close,” her innocent voice spoke as she looked down.
“Please, don’t apologize. I shouldn’t have turned around so quickly.”
She was stunning, absolutely gorgeous, and absolutely fuckable. She stood about five foot eight, had beautiful long blonde hair, emerald eyes, and, from what I could see in that dress, the body of a goddess.
“Ethan!” Charles shouted again as he waved his hand in the air.
“Again, I’m sorry.” I walked away and headed over to where Charles was.
“What were you doing over there? Who was that woman?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I practically knocked her over when I turned around to see what the hell you wanted.”
“Oh. Sorry about that. Look at this painting. Isn’t it beautiful? Do you think Lexi would like it?”
“Sure. It’s nice. Why don’t you take a picture and send it to her?”
“Nah. I thought about that, but I want it to be a surprise. You know, for when she comes back from Minnesota. A little ‘I missed you’ gift.”
“She’s only been gone a week.”
“I know. But for us, that’s a long time apart.” He arched his brow. “I think she’ll like it. I’m going to track down the artist and make her night.” He smiled.
Charles and I had been best friends since we were ten when his family moved into the townhouse next to mine. His parents owned a couple of dry cleaners, which did very well until his father developed a gambling problem and lost everything, including the family home. Charles didn’t let it affect him. He was in college at the time, getting his financial degree, and after he graduated with honors, he went to work as a financial analyst on Wall Street. His girlfriend, Lexi, was a nurse in the ER at Mount Sinai Hospital. They met the night I brought him in after some guy beat the shit out of him for hitting on his girlfriend. In Charles’ defense, she left out the fact that she was there with someone. That was over two years ago, and he and Lexi have been together ever since. As for me, I loved women, and I used the term lightly. I loved their bodies and the pleasure they gave me. That was about it. I couldn't care less about their feelings, jobs, life, or what they liked to do in their spare time. I was a user, and I used women for what I needed, craved, and what they could do for me. They were a tension reliever. Some people did meditation, did yoga, listened to music, or took pills. Not me. I had sex. Hard, fast, and rough.
I stared across the gallery at the woman I almost knocked over. She was still standing in the same spot, staring at that painting.