Chapter 9- Back To Reality
It had been two weeks since Aria had returned to New-York. She had spent most of that time convincing her friends that she was fine and that she hadn’t been kidnapped or anything like that, since her face was still doing rounds in the media. Adrian had left her with a contract and Jared, who was going to be her new bodyguard.
She had tried telling him she didn’t need one, but Adrian said it was him or Jared and of course she wasn’t going to pick him and risk falling in love.
“Shall we go out for lunch today?” her roommate and best friend Jenna asked her, the moment she walked down the stairs of their small but nice apartment. Aria ran her fingers through her hair and looked over at her,
“Sure, why not, let me go grab my bag” she said before she walked back upstairs, thinking she still hadn’t fully recovered from that long night on the yacht.
“Ok don’t take too long because I’m starving” Jenna called out from their open lounge. Aria quickly got her bag and took of her phone off from the charger before she made her way back downstairs.
“I’m ready” she said with a small smile, thinking she had been meaning to tell her everything about where she had been for the last two weeks and what better way to talk about it then over some lunch.
Jenna was the only one from her close circle of friends that knew everything about her and her dark past. She had promised her that she would never tell anyone and had stayed true to her word as she hadn’t even told her boyfriend of three years Miles.
“So, what are you fancying?” Aria asked her as she put on her jacket. Jenna got up from the sofa and smiled,
“Anything along as its food” she said as she followed her out of their apartment. Aria looked back at her,
“I hope you’re not thinking of something dirty” she said as she put her small bag over her head and shoulder and looked over at Jared who was standing right outside.
“When does this guy even sleep” she thought to herself as he was always there. Jenna looked at her and Jared,
“I still don’t understand why you have a bodyguard; I mean I thought everything’s fine now” she said a little loudly.
Aria dragged her a little away from Jared and looked at her with a slight guilty look on her face,
“Look I may have not told you everything about what happened but don’t worry I will tell you over lunch” she said as they both walked into an escalator that would take them down straight to the car park. Jenna listened,
“I’ll make sure you do missy” she said before she led the way to her car that was parked awfully. Jared tried his best to not pay any attention to it, although it looked obvious.
“Are you going to come in our car or your own?” Aria asked him with a small smile, thinking it looked like he was trying his best to not smirk. Jared looked down at her,
“I’ll make my own way, send me the address” he said before he climbed into his luxurious sports car and waited for them to drive first. Jenna looked over at Aria,
“Look at him showing off in his fancy car” she said with a small frown before she got into the driver seat and made herself comfortable. Aria put on her seatbelt and looked over at her,
“Not jealous, are you?” she asked with a small smile as she knew Jenna liked her cars. Jenna shook her head,
“Me jealous? Never” she said quickly, although her tone said otherwise. Aria couldn’t help but smile, thinking like always she was entertaining to be around.
The drive to the café went by quickly and before they knew it, both girls were seated inside. Jared sat a few tables down and took out his laptop, thinking he’ll get some work down whilst they ate. Aria looked at Jenna,
“I’ve already decided what I want from here” she said before even opening her menu. Jenna looked up at her,
“Let me guess you’re going to get a cheese and tomato toastie and some pancakes” she said without evening having to think. Aria leaned back against her seat and looked at her,
“Yeah, we can share the pancakes if you want” she said as she was never able to finish them all by herself. Jenna opened her menu and looked at her with a smile,
“Ok ill have some, so start talking, I want to know everything” she said quickly, wasting no time. Aria slipped a few strands of her long hair behind her ear and looked at her,
“Let’s order first because I’m really hungry” she said as she took of her jacket. Jenna nodded and quickly chose what she wanted before she called over a waitress who noted their order down and told them that the food should be ready within fifteen minutes.
Aria waited for her to leave before she told Jenna everything, starting from that night on the plane all the way to the yacht. Jenna listened with her mouth slightly opened,
“You slept with a forty-year-old man” she squealed a little loudly, looking very shocked. Aria quickly leaned over the table and put her hand over her mouth, hoping Jared didn’t hear what she had said.
“Can you speak a little quietly” she hissed, thinking she was unbelievable. Jenna looked and shook her head,
“I can’t believe it; how did it go? Tell me everything, I want all the juicy details” she said. Aria looked over at her,
“It was amazing, the best I’ve ever had” she said with a small smile as she remembered that night on the yacht.
Jenna moved closer to her and gave her a tight hug, thinking she deserved it, after everything her ex-boyfriend had put her through.
“I’m so happy for you honestly” she said with a smile. Aria hugged her back tightly and looked over at her,
“Thanks, it was like a one-night kind of thing only, but I really enjoyed it” she said quietly. Jenna looked a bit confused,
“Wait so you guys are not together?” she asked curiously. Aria shook her head,
“No but he wants me to sign a contract and work for his private jet company” she said quietly, just as a waitress walked over to their table and left them with their food. Jenna listened,
“And what do you want to do?” she asked before she took a bite of her sandwich. Aria picked up a slice of her cheese and tomato toastie and looked at her with a small smile,
“I’m thinking I should go for it, because I don’t think I’m ever going to a get a better offer than this one” she said.
“You’re right and there’s nothing wrong having a bit of fun with a sugar daddy” Jenna said teasingly, almost making Aria choke on her glass of juice.
Jared tried his best to not listen to their conversation, but it wasn’t easy when one of them was so loud. Aria looked over at Jenna,
“Well, he’s the sexiest daddy I’ve ever seen” she said before she took another bite of her toastie. Jenna smiled and teased her a little more, thinking she hadn’t seen her this happy in a long while.
Back with Adrian he had barely got any sleep since they had returned to New-York, as he had been on the hunt to find those involved in the London incident. It was just after midnight when he had got the call that the car carrying the men involved had crashed on a busy highway, just like he had wanted.
“Perfect, leave no trace of them behind” he said coldly before he ended the call and celebrated with a glass of wine. He walked over to the other end of his office and looked out at the busy city, thinking if Aria was here, she would have enjoyed the view no doubt. He drank some more of his wine, and ignored his ringing phone in the background, letting it go straight to voicemail, as he didn’t want to stop thinking about his beautiful angel.
“Hi Adrian, it’s me Lucia, we met just over three months at a bar downtown. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve just found out that I’m pregnant. Call me back when you can. Bye” the voice message played loudly over the speakers, getting Adrian’s attention almost instantly.