Chapter Seven #2
“Give him a go, Nate. I think he’ll give the house a better energy flow, which, in turn, will help you.”
“Yes! Must help energy,” Whisper says and turns, suddenly racing off into the living room again.
I jolt back at his sudden movements and watch him pick up pieces of furniture and start rearranging.
Small things at first. A vase here, a potted plant there, and I stare with a frown as Matt smiles and grins the entire time, nodding as if he has a clue about what’s happening.
“Ah, this… this will give high energy and flow to stairs, yes?” Whisper says, picking up an indoor ficus and moving it right to the edge of the staircase.
I wince and purse my lips, wondering what the hell kind of quack this guy is.
Does he actually know anything about Fung Shui at all?
Because to me, putting a tree at the bottom of a staircase is not only going to stop flow, it’s going to be awkward as fuck for us to get around.
“Really?” I ask under my breath.
He moves to the coffee table and stands looking at it, shaking his head.
“No, this no do. I move it to create harmony. It flow through room.” So he pushes it up against the wall, where it will be completely useless and basically in the way of everything.
I shake my head in confusion. All the while, Matt nods his, and I continue to wonder what fucking twilight world I’ve walked into.
Has Matt lost his ever-loving mind?
“Matt!” I ask, and he chuckles.
“This is great. Whisper is a fucking legend!” he calls out.
Whisper’s head shoots up, glaring at Matt, and Matt winces and shrugs. “Sorry, Whisper, no swearing. Got it.”
“Good, sexy boy, you get it. You have good ju-ju. You make brother more… cool, calm, collected.”
Matt dips his chin in agreement and smiles. “I will, with your help, Whisper.”
“Oh, the things I teach you, young sexy boy. We go far, we go so, so far.”
I scoff and shake my head again as I look at Matt.
He believes this shit Whisper is spouting.
To me, it’s a damn joke, so I walk away. “This is bullshit. I don’t need this,” I say as I head outside, but as I pass, my toe stubs on the moved coffee table. “Mother fucking fuck balls!” I call out, jumping up onto one foot and bouncing around.
“No swearing. I bathe you in sage. It heal your toe,” Whisper says, racing over to me to wave his stupid herbs all over my tense body.
Swatting at him, I strain my muscles, trying to get this lunatic away from me. “Enough of the hippie shit, Matt. I’m going outside to cool off. Get him out of here and open the goddamn windows to let this god-awful smell out!”
“Oh, yes, we open window, let the flow through. I have more work to do yet, sexy boys. We go to bedrooms and rearrange flow in there. I fix your house up in no time. I have your luck changing so quick, you think I magician… hahaha.” He laughs so obnoxiously that it makes me feel like it’s forced, and I want to laugh along with him because he’s so damned ridiculous.
But after the day I’ve had, I need to cool off.
And even though his sage is giving me a kind of buzz, I’m positive his ju-ju will not be the thing to change my luck.
Two Days Later
It’s been two days, and even with the so-called good luck ju-ju from Whisper, I haven’t heard a thing from Ria. I’ve been trying to get on with stuff and work with the guys, but I’m struggling to keep my thoughts in check.
Ria is coming into the office today to go over the theme of the music video, and saying I’m nervous about seeing her is an understatement. While we all wait in the boardroom for Ria and her entourage to arrive, everyone watches me as I pace up and down the room, breathing quickly.
“Why are you so antsy?” Ryan asks.
I look at him and sigh. “I think I might have fucked up my friendship with Zaria, but I’m not sure.
I will have to wait and see how she reacts to me today, I guess.
” And just as I finish talking, she walks in with her people.
Her presence fills the entire room, and I smile as she looks over at me with a half-smile.
Then, she looks away and takes a seat next to Tillie.
“Tillie, be a peach and fetch me a drink. The usual… sparkling water, optimal temperature, splash of lemon, three cubes of ice, and don’t forget the straw,” Ria demands.
I furrow my brows as she sits at the table while checking her nails.
Shaking my head, I don’t get it.
I thought she was going to try to be less diva and more Ria?
And what the hell is her fascination with straws?
Tillie stands and walks out to make Ria’s drink as I move to take my seat. Ria’s lack of acknowledgment has my heart pounding so hard I want to yell at her to look at me, but Oliver breaks my internal panic.
“So, Zaria, we’ve decided that the music video will be about you two as a couple, where you will be quite intimate and loved up in a hotel room.”
I tense up, catching Lunar doing the same beside me while Danger and Ria nod along, absorbed in Oliver’s breakdown of the music video details.
But my mind isn’t absorbing a word, too focused on the thought of watching Danger with Ria.
The whole thing is messing with my head, making it impossible to concentrate.
And with Ria pointedly ignoring me, a heavy feeling settles over me—I’m pretty damn sure I’ve ruined our friendship.
Any doubts I had before? Gone. I’ve fucked this up, and the reality is sinking in fast.
“Okay, I think that’s it. If there’s anything else that comes up, we’ll call you, Zaria,” Oliver says, and somehow I catch what he said.
And that’s when I realize I’ve spent the entire meeting zoned out, imagining what positions Ria and Danger are going to be in and wondering how the fuck I managed to ruin everything.
I want to talk to her, but everyone is here.
So I figure I have to let it go and speak with her another time as we all stand and mingle around the boardroom.
Unable to handle her blatantly ignoring me, I walk out of the boardroom and across to the kitchen alone.
I’m miserable and back to feeling inferior and not good enough when a hand touches my shoulder.
I jump slightly and turn to see Ria frowning.
She pulls me to the corner and into the pantry so no one can see us.
“Are you ashamed to be seen with me?” I ask blatantly.
She furrows her brows and flicks her eyes in what appears like actual shock. “What? No!”
“Then why are you avoiding me, and why are we hiding in a cupboard?”
She exhales. “Shit! I’ve done this all wrong. I thought… well, I didn’t know if you had told the others we were seeing each other outside of here.”
“We’re seeing each other?”
She opens her eyes wide. “Shit! No… I mean, me teaching you how to read. I didn’t think you’d want them to know that.”
“I don’t.”
“That’s why I was being that way. I didn’t want to make up some sort of false excuses as to why we’ve been hanging out.”
“Couldn’t we just say we’re friends?”
She tilts her head and harumphs. “Yeah… I guess we could.”
“Or not. If you’re ashamed of associating with me, just fucking say it. Because for the life of me, I can’t think of any other reason you would avoid me like that. And believe me, I get it.”
Her eyes mist over as her expression falls.
A look of hurt covers her face, and her entire body sags.
Without a word, she reaches out and pulls me to her in a tight embrace.
“Jesus, Nate. No! I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping your secret. I was so concerned about that, I didn’t even think to reveal our friendship. ”
“Is it because the kiss ruined things between us?” I question as we pull apart.
She swallows hard. “No, it confused me for a bit, but we’re still friends. A little blip like that won’t stop our friendship.” She emphasizes the word friendship, and I can’t hide my disappointment.
If she notices, she doesn’t say anything.
Trying to cover my reaction quickly, I ask, “So when can I come over again?”
“Tonight?” She smiles.
“Yeah, sure. I feel like I’ve learned more with you than I have with any of my past tutors.”
She grins overly broad. “I’m glad. Come by when you’re ready.”
“Okay.”
She leans in, hugging me once more, then turns, quickly leaving me in the cupboard like a dirty little secret. I shake my head, wondering what the fuck just happened as I clear my throat and step out to see Matt standing there smirking.
“What?” I ask.
“Zaria just came out of there.”
I shrug. “So what?”
Matt chuckles and nods. “Okay, keep your fling to yourself.”
“Nothing is going on—”
“You were in a pantry together.”
“We were talking—”
“You were doing something with your mouths—”
“Grow up, Matt,” I chide and push past him as he continues to chuckle to himself.
I head back to the boardroom with Matt following as everyone says goodbye to Ria. She seems to notice me walk in and makes an effort to smile directly at me and nod an acknowledgment, this time in front of everyone. I smile back, feeling better that she’s at least trying.
“Okay, well, I’d better be off. I have an interview I need to get to, but I’ll see you all when I see you,” she says, waving her hand to her PA, Mindy, who picks up her things, and they head for the door.
Before leaving, Ria walks up to me and leans in, kissing my cheek. Then she proceeds to squeeze my hand, and I can’t stop my wide smile before she winks and continues out the door. The room is silent while everyone looks at me with wide eyes, and I exhale.
Rolling my eyes in response, I walk over and take a seat at the table. “What?” I ask.
Lunar chuckles. “A kiss on the cheek?” she asks.
“It’s a friendly gesture,” I say.
“Mm-hmm,” Lunar and Tillie both murmur.
“Just keep it in your pants until after we’ve filmed the video, then you can cause trouble. Okay, Nate?” Oliver tells me, and I furrow my brows at him.
Great!
Goddammit! I love that he thinks so highly of me that I would use and abuse Ria in some way to cause issues for the band.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Oliver!
“Yeah,” I simply reply in a clipped tone.
“Speaking of keeping it in your pants. What kind of intimate stuff are we talking about here, Oliver, for the video?” Lunar asks.
Danger shifts uncomfortably in his seat as I watch Lunar observing him from the corner of her eyes.
“There will be some body contact.”
Lunar sighs. “Kissing?”
Danger sits up taller. “I know Zaria would be fine with kissing, but I’m not really happy to do that. If we can get away without it, I’d prefer it that way.”
Lunar tries to hide her smile, and I actually feel a little bit of relief, not just for me but for Lunar as well.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do,” Oliver says.
“They won’t have to be like fully naked, will they?” Lunar asks.
Oliver smiles. “No.”
“It’ll be fine, babe, you’ll see,” Danger says, comforting Lunar.
She nods, taking his hand in hers. In a show of affection and reassurance, he pulls her hand up to his lips, kissing the back of it tenderly.
I exhale, wondering if he is the right guy for her after all.
My adoration for Lunar is fading the more time I spend with Ria, but it doesn’t mean I still don’t want the best for Lunar.
“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Oliver says, and we all nod, standing.
The others file out, and Matt comes up to me. “I’ll see you at home?”
Pursing my lips, I shake my head. “Nah, I’m gonna go out for a bit.”
Matt grins but says nothing, just pats my shoulder before he walks off, shaking his head.
***
Ria pulls open the door with a great, big smile just as I approach. I grin at her as she lunges forward and takes me in a bear hug. My cock twitches as I hug her, but I try to push past it as she pulls back, grabbing my hand.
“C’mon, let’s head outside.”
I nod and follow her, closing the door behind me before we move to our usual spot out by the pool. When we take our seats on the sun lounges, Marianna automatically walks over with some drinks. She must have been preparing them when I arrived, otherwise she is a superwoman.
“Thanks, Marianna,” I say, and she smiles at me with a wink, then heads back inside.
“So, do you wanna study some more?” Ria asks.
“Actually, I tried to write you a note. I’m not sure how good it is, though.”
She sits up. “Oh my God, really?”
I nod, pulling the note out of my pocket and handing it to her.