Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
The following morning, Aria glanced around in confusion before recalling she was in Corinna’s guest room. She pushed herself upright, pulling the duvet up with her, the morning chill still in the air. She checked her phone for the time and winced at the amount of missed calls from Alex.
Setting it back down, the memories of the previous night settled in her mind like dark clouds on a stormy night.
Smelling coffee, she pulled back the covers and climbed out of bed.
Making her way into the ensuite bathroom, she took a soothing shower.
She forgot to ask for a hairbrush, so she tried to tame her hair into a ponytail with her hands and brushed her teeth with the new toothbrush Corinna had left for her.
The dark circles under her eyes were further evidence of how her heart felt.
Walking into the kitchen, she saw Corinna sitting at the counter drinking coffee.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Corinna said with a sympathetic look.
“Good morning. Thank you again for being there for me.”
“Always.”
Aria hugged her friend from behind as she sat at the kitchen counter. She helped herself to some coffee, the rich aroma enveloping her senses.
“I don't have anything on my docket today, so I let the office know I won't be coming in,” Corinna said, handing Aria a lemon-filled cornetto.
“Don’t do that. I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Aria answered, tearing off a small piece of the pastry, her stomach not accepting much more.
“It's done. We're playing hooky like we did in school.”
“I still can’t believe you talked me into ditching class and taking the bus to Naples. We could've gotten into so much trouble,” Aria said, a smile creeping across her face.
“Pffft... it's a right of passage in your fifth year, dear. Besides, I needed pizza,” Corinna countered with a shrug.
“You and I both know that trip to Naples was about the cute guy that worked at the pizza shop, not the pizza.”
They both burst out laughing.
“Well, he was really cute, and it was really, really good pizza.”
Aria was so thankful for her friend. She always brought light and joy into her life.
Corinna listed off all the movies they would binge-watch that day, vowing to stay in their pajamas.
“Maybe we could watch some of that French show I was telling you about,” Aria said.
“You know I hate to read subtitles,” Corinna said as they moved to the living room. She turned to look at Aria, who was making an exaggerated pleading face. “Fine. Let's look up your show.”
Grabbing the soft blanket that was draped over the sofa, Aria took control of the remote. When her fingers stopped, Corinna looked over at her, setting her cup on the table in front of them.
“What’s wrong? Can’t find it?”
Shaking her head, Aria answered, “I forgot. It’s mostly a love story.”
Corinna scooted over and laid her head on Aria’s shoulder. “We could, I don’t know, watch a slasher movie instead.”
Aria shrugged her shoulder, knocking her off it.
“You know I won’t sleep tonight if I do.”
Corinna met her eyes with a knowing grin. “Okay, let me choose one then.”
Aria sighed as she handed over the remote, leaning back on the sofa as she waited. When she saw the familiar movie pull up and start, she twisted her head toward her friend.
“Are you serious?”
“What? Everything is better after watching Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy,” she replied, picking up her plate and pretending not to notice Aria’s narrowing eyes.
By the time Elizabeth Bennet told off Mr. Darcy at the first dance scene of the movie, Aria was sighing happily.
She and Corinna spoke the famous line in time with the movie with a perfect British accent.
“Dancing. Even if one’s partner is barely tolerable.”
They laughed out loud and Aria nestled into the blanket to enjoy the rest of the movie.