12. Lucia
twelve
Lucia
“Where’s Liv?” I ask, carrying my dress over my shoulder as I walk into Rory and Cole’s home in SoHo.
“Said she’s running a few minutes behind,” Ella calls from her place in the kitchen, glass of champagne in hand.
I won’t bring it up, but I know we’re all going to need to help Ella let loose tonight. The fact that she’s drinking right now tells us everything we need to know.
“She just got to the lobby,” Rory chimes as she and Harlow walk over to join us.
Harlow gives Ella a sympathetic look, but she thankfully doesn’t notice. “What color dress are you wearing tonight, Ell?”
“Red,” she answers flatly before taking a deep breath. “Josh has always loved it when I wear red.”
“Makes the green of your eyes pop,” Liv says as she walks through the front door, resting her sparkly blue dress on a hook.
When she hears Liv’s voice, Ella brightens a bit, a teasing look on her face. “Why were you running late, Liv?”
“Oh,” she squeaks. “Just… lost track of time.”
I gaze at her, noticing the way her cheeks are turning pink, and I bust out laughing. “Livvy just got laid!”
“Oh God!” Olive hides her face behind her hands.
“I’m sure you were calling out to God,” Rory says playfully.
Harlow rolls her eyes. “Let’s not give Liv shit, guys. I highly doubt she’s the only one who had sex before coming here.”
Rory points her gaze at Lo. “Guilty.”
Harlow makes a disgusted face before composing herself. “Yeah… me too.”
“Not me,” Ella shrugs. “Just got my period so.”
Before the girls can comment on it, I jump in to spare Ella from having to unload right now. “I’m going on almost nine months with no sex, so I sure as hell didn’t get laid.”
“Your roommate is the king of fuckboys,” Rory laughs. “Can’t believe you haven’t jumped on that yet.”
“Why would I want to?” I question. “Ari and I are being amicable now, but we’re not friends by any means. I have no desire to jump on his dick.”
But maybe I do a little bit because he always walks around fucking shirtless…
Harlow looks at me in curiosity. “You’re being nice to Ari?”
I sigh. “We’ve agreed that to make living together tolerable, we need to not be at each other’s throats all the time. We’ve really only made small talk, but it’s more than we’ve done before.”
Ella smiles. “We all told you he wasn’t bad.”
“He’s still annoying,” I reply quickly. “But he might not be as annoying as I originally thought. He’s… tolerable.”
“I’m glad you two are mostly getting along then,” Liv adds. “Ari has always seemed like a nice guy to me.”
“What do you two talk about?” Rory asks.
“Not much,” I shrug. “Just little conversations here and there. I learned his birth name is Jae-Hyun, and he’s a hell of a cook, though.”
Ella looks surprised. “Ari isn’t his name?”
“No, it is. But the story is a bit more complicated than that.”
“I’m more hung up on the fact that he can cook,” Lo chuckles.
“So was I,” I laugh. “But he made some Korean dish—bibimbap, I think it’s called—and it was really fucking good. Spicy as hell, though.”
Liv cocks her eyebrow. “So he’s cooked for you?”
“Not for me, no. He just happened to cook and said he didn’t want to just make a single serving since he has a roommate.” I push myself off the counter I’m leaning on. “Now, are we getting ready or what? It’s New Year’s Eve. I’m ready to go dance my ass off.”
We decide to hit up the same club we went to last year.
The one where Matt decided not to join us because “he had to work the next day,” but really, he was spending it with his other girlfriend instead.
Cheating prick.
But I refuse to let thoughts of him plague my mind right now. We’re here to have fun. I look good, and I feel good.
My gold dress is skin-tight, hitting above my mid-thigh. The strapless bustier on top pushes my tits up and gives me more cleavage than I can usually manage. With my dark hair in soft curls, bright red lipstick on my lips, and strappy black heels on my feet, I look hot right now.
And I think Ari agrees.
I swear his eyes about popped out of his head when he saw me walk over to the VIP table we reserved for tonight.
He’s dressed more casually, but goddammit, if he doesn’t look good tonight anyway. Dark gray jeans, a long-sleeved black T-shirt, and those stupid glasses.
Those stupid, sexy black-rimmed glasses.
It’s honestly annoying that he looks as good as he does.
It’s starting to make me want him, and I hate it.
We mainly keep our distance from each other through the night. Like I told the girls, we aren’t really friends. We’re merely roommates right now, determined to not make our living situation utter hell.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t catch Ari’s eyes on me while I’m dancing. He always looks away quickly, going back into conversation with whoever he’s with at the moment, but I always notice.
I haven’t had somebody looking at me like that since I was dating Matt.
It feels kinda nice to have that again, and, surprisingly, I don’t really mind that it’s Ari doing it.
The night is fun. The drinks are divine. The dancing is slutty.
It’s all perfect.
That is, until I notice a blonde woman walking to the bar in the main section of the club.
Anna.
Matt’s mistress-turned-girlfriend.
Which means he’s around, too.
I glance around the crowd nervously, and he spots me before I spot him, gesturing for me to come out to the main floor to talk to him. Without thinking, that’s exactly what I do.
“Good to see you, Luc,” he says, licking his lips. I can smell the alcohol on his breath.
The man is absolutely plastered right now.
“What do you want, Matthew?” I ask, crossing my arms.
His response is just to laugh. “Always so serious.” He places a hand on my shoulder. “Lighten up, Luc.”
My shoulders tense before I firmly shrug him off me. “Look, I don’t know why I’m over here because I have no desire to talk to you. If you need something, let me know now because I’m walking away.”
Matt stops me before I can. “Have you thought more about what I said?”
“What do you mean?”
“About living with me.”
I scoff. “Matt, you have a fucking girlfriend. You know, the woman you cheated on me with? Besides, I have somewhere to stay. I already told you I was moving in with Ari.”
He rolls his eyes. “You hate Ari.”
“No, I don’t,” I bite back, growing more fired up by the second. “I hated how he went about things the night we met him, but I never hated him. In all honesty, the only thing I hate right now is that he was fucking right about you from the very start.”
“I’ve changed,” he slurs, stumbling over his feet.
“You’re hitting on me while literally having a girlfriend. You haven’t changed a goddamn bit.”
Matt looks more annoyed. “I’d change for you then.”
I laugh derisively. “Oh, really? Did you know this is the club we came to for New Year’s last year?
The one where you told me you had to work in the morning, but you were really spending it with Anna?
If you wanted to change for me, you would’ve done it when we were together.
But you didn’t, Matt. You didn’t.” I jab him in the chest. “Because you don’t want to change.
Now, go find your girlfriend or something. I’m done with this conversation.”
I leave Matt reeling as I stalk off toward the VIP section again. Instead of returning, though, I head for an empty hallway. I need to chill out before I can join my friends again. I’m too pissed off right now.
The hallway seems to lead to an employees-only area, so I don’t venture all the way back, just far enough that I can be somewhat alone in the dim lighting. I close my eyes and rest my head against the wall, willing myself to calm down. I focus on my breathing and try to empty my mind.
But I’m not alone for very long.
“You okay?” I hear a voice say as they step into the hallway.
“Ari?”
He quickly strides over to me, coming to a stop directly in front of me. “Are you okay?”
“How did you know I was over here?” I ask, more curious than anything about why he followed me here.
Ari sighs. “I saw you talking to Matt, so I kinda kept an eye on the situation since I know he’s a prick. Then I saw you come over here instead. The rest of our friends are too drunk to really know what’s going on right now, so I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
It takes a few moments for the words to register.
Ari Morgan, the man who’s never liked me, was actually worried about me.
He watched me with Matt and then followed me to make sure I was okay.
We haven’t been living together long, but he’s been showing me glimpses of a different side of himself.
He isn’t exactly who I thought he would be.
I take a deep breath and finally reply. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just needed a minute to calm down after talking to him.”
“Did he say something to you?” Ari asks with an edge to his tone.
“Calm down, Casanova. He was just trying to get me to move in with him again.”
I watch as Ari clenches his teeth and balls his hand into a fist before releasing it. “He’s an ass.”
“Trust me, I know,” I say with a sad laugh. “I’m the one he cheated on, remember?”
Ari sighs. “I hate that I was right about that, you know.”
I glance at him in surprise. “No, I kinda figured you’d be happy you were right.”
“Fuck no,” he scoffs. “I was right about him cheating on you, Lucia. Anyone who would be happy about that is a shitty person.”
“And you’re not a shitty person, are you?”
Ari smiles at me softly. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for almost two years, Spitfire.”
We’re distracted now by the crowd chanting. “10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1… Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year, Lucia,” Ari says.
“Happy New Year, Ari,” I reply softly, slinking back against the wall.
“What’s still bothering you?” he asks, seemingly genuinely concerned.
“Nothing,” I shake my head. He looks at me questioningly, and I sigh before deciding to say ‘fuck it,’ and just let it all out.
“It’s just… irritating. When we came here last year, Matt didn’t show up, choosing to spend New Year’s with Anna instead.
Of course, he has to show up this year and give his mistress the New Year’s kiss I was denied then. ”
“Why is a New Year’s kiss important?”
I let out a breath. “It’s not. Not really, I suppose. But it’s nice to have someone to ring in the new year with. It’s been a while since I’ve had that.”
Ari appears to be mulling something over while looking up at the ceiling as if he’ll find the answers. He must be satisfied with what he sees because before I know it, he whips his head back down, closing the distance between us and sealing his lips over mine.
And I don’t stop him.
He pulls his head away and stares at me with wide eyes. “Fuck, I don’t know why—”
I cut him off by pulling on the collar of his shirt and bringing his mouth back to mine.
This time, we both give in.
Ari pulls my body against him as I swipe my tongue against his.
My heart beats rapidly as I allow myself to just let go and not think about it.
I’m kissing Ari Morgan, and I actually really fucking like it.