2

Ariana

After I joined the rest of the group in one of the rooms, they were about to play a game of shots, and even though I wasn’t interested and would rather go home, I sat down and joined in, desperate to forget my exchange with Mark just now.

Ethan, one of the guys who used to mess with me so much back in high school until Mark told him to back off, just noticed me joining, and a gleam settled in his eyes before he spoke.

“Here’s the next question! Would you all rather fuck Ari over here? Or take a shot each?” He announced, pointing his fake mic at me and my heart dropped right into my stomach.

We were about a group of twenty right now, not all of them went to school with us, but most did, and they all began to snicker as they picked up their shot glasses without hesitation.

“Nah man, definitely not.”

“She’s not hot enough.”

“She's not my type.”

“Her glasses are so horrible to look at, so definitely not.”

“She’s too skinny and short.”

My heart kept breaking from each word the guys kept saying right after throwing the shots back. I knew I wasn’t the best looking out there, but listening to them say this right in my face was so hurtful.

“No offense, but I dislike nerds, so I’d rather drink.” One of the guys I couldn’t recognize murmured apologetically before throwing back his own shot. Everyone snickered, including Gina, to my astonishment but as soon as I glanced at her, she stopped.

I cleared my throat, making my facial expression as neutral as possible, not giving away the fact that their words just increased my insecurities ten folds and would undoubtedly make me cry tonight as I spoke. “Some of you definitely did too much, you could have just drank without your unnecessary comments. But you can all go fuck yourselves, cause l’d never fuck any of you anyway, even if I was paid to.”

Some of them made ‘ooouuuuu’ sounds while some of them laughed, claiming that I was being this way because I got rejected. I looked over to Gina who was laughing again, and I noticed that she was the only one who didn’t drink her shot.

“Why are you laughing?” I demanded and she sobered up.

“I wasn’t laughing at you, Ari, just at some of the things the guys are saying. They’re so funny.” She explained and I blinked at her, unsure of how to respond right now. As my bestfriend, she wasn’t supposed to be laughing at all right now.

“Why aren’t you taking the shot, Gina? I know you’ll rather drink than to fuck her. Even though you might not do girls, you can still admit when a girl is hot or isn’t, right?” Ethan’s voice cut through my thoughts before I could respond to Gina.

When Gina took long to respond, I glanced at her, my mind reeling from utter disbelief. Her eyes met mine for a moment before darting back to the guys, then she cleared her throat and took my hand but I shook her grip off.

“I won’t take the shot.” She declared and most of those gathered snickered.

“Why? Cause she’s your bestie? Are you saying she’s hot enough for you to consider kissing?” Ethan drawled and Gina flattered again, glancing between me and the guys again.

But at this point, anger was already flaring within me.

“Well, not really, but…” Gina was still speaking when I got to my feet, ready to leave when I whirled around and walked straight into Mark.

“Not so fast, the game is just starting.” He drawled as he stared down at me, not budging when I shoved at his chest, then everyone was hooting on noticing his presence.

He let go of my waist, walked around to Ethan and grabbed the bottle to take a deep swig.

“I’ll also rather drink instead of fucking Ariana.” He announced and chaos erupted after that, while a wave of embarrassment came over me.

“I know most of you are wondering how that’s possible since we both dated, but the truth is, I could never bring myself to touch her throughout the relationship cause she was just so unattractive.”

I gaped at him in disbelief, cause that was a lie. He always wanted us to have sex since we got together, but I always insisted on waiting till we get to uni.

“That’s a lie, you bastard! You always wanted sex but I never gave in!” I cried out but no one was listening to me at this point. Everyone was laughing and falling over themselves, including Gina.

This was the last straw.

I whirled around, storming out of the room, through the hallway and then the house. Footsteps could be heard running behind me, then Gina was grabbing my hand before I could enter the road.

“Wait, Ari. I’m your ride, so let me drop you off.”

I scoffed as I shook her hand off, then I shoved at her chest, hurt licking up my insides. Tonight, I also realized that my best friend was never real to me.

“Don’t bother, go back in and keep laughing with those guys! How could you sit there and laugh while I was being humiliated by over twenty people? And we’re bestfriends? You couldn’t defend me once?” I demanded, my voice breaking at the end, cause now all the emotions was fully swamping my insides and tonight has certainly been a lot.

Gina sighed and reached out to pull me into a hug. “I- I forgot, okay? Let’s just go back in, stay a while more, have some more fun, then I’ll drop you off.”

I scoffed out a flat laugh and pushed her away again. “No, that’s not an excuse, okay? And I’m not staying, I’m going home. I’ll get a cab or just walk. You should go back in there and keep laughing your head off. You were the only one having fun anyway.”

I ignored her calls of my name and kept walking until the sounds of the party music and of my name being called out completely disappeared, then I bursted into tears.

I walked all the way home, cause I wanted to have gathered myself together before arriving home.

Thankfully I had stopped crying at this point, cause I wouldn’t want Dax to witness me crying, since that wouldn’t help my quest to make him stop seeing me as a kid.

On stepping into the house, Dax was sitting in the sitting room, and a startled gasp left my mouth, my heart instantly jumping into my heart at the sight of him. He was shirtless, and the low lights made his tattoos appear more dangerous than usual. He was leaning in his seat, his legs spread out, looking so hot.

But all that changed as soon as his eyes locked with mine, then he was rising up, worry spreading across his face.

“What happened to you?” He demanded as he approached me, his voice sharp and firm while his gaze raked over my body. I didn’t realize what he meant till I glanced down over my body and saw my muddy feet and dirty clothes cause I stopped at some point on the way home to cry.

When I glanced up at him, he was already so close, and a gasp caught in my throat as I tried to step away, but his grip was settling over my shoulder, pinning me in place as his dark eyes dragged over my face, then he squinted.

“Have you been crying?!”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Panic surged through me at once cause he was undoubtedly gonna call Dave, I just know it, so I quickly tried to think of a reasonable lie.

“No, I…” I began but trailed off when he grasped my jaw and tilted it high, making me suddenly feel hot all over.

“You were definitely crying,” he repeated, leaving no room for argument. “Why were you crying? Did anyone hurt you? Who made you cry? Talk to me, Ariana!”

Perhaps it was the fact that he called my name instead of ‘freckles’ like he usually does, or because of the worry in his eyes right now which was making me feel cared for after this horrible night but I ended up bursting into tears.

In the next moment, I was in his arms, my face pressed against his warm, firm chest while his large hands massaged my back, and he kept hushing me, assuring me that everything was gonna be alright.

When I kept crying, he asked if I wanted him to call my older brother. That made me stiffen against him, then I desperately begged him not to.

“Please, promise to never ever bring tonight up with him.” I pleaded desperately, staring up at him with tears still running down my face. He sighed and cupped my face with one hand and I trembled as he thumbed the tears away.

“I can’t promise that. Someone clearly hurt you tonight, he has to know.” He declared and I shook my head urgently again, then I proceeded to spill all that happened so he’d see that this wasn’t something as serious as he was assuming.

He hummed after I finished, then he led me to a seat and wiped my cheek with his thumb again, shushing me as he briefly stroked my hair and I felt my heart flutter in my chest as I watched him crouch before me, his muscles bulging.

“Here’s the thing, fuck your ex, and the other guys, okay? Including that best friend. She’s a fake person.” He bit out and I wholeheartedly agreed with the last part. “Your ex is foolish to not see the gem that you are. You’re very gorgeous, and your glasses are very adorable, which suits your entire personality.” He continued and my heart fluttered uncontrollably as I felt the breath hitch in my throat.

“You should try to move on, get with another guy, your ex is gonna regret losing you. You’ll see.” He added and at this point, my body felt like it was on fire.

“You think I’m gorgeous?” I whispered and his eyes widened, then he seemed to realize all that he had just said because he cleared his throat and got to his feet.

“Of course.” He responded, tone no longer as soft as before.

“You should head to bed now, I’ll be in my office.” He was no longer looking at me. He was about to leave when I grabbed his wrist before I could stop myself.

“Why don’t you get together with me?”

He stiffened and whirled around fast, his long hair whipping around as well. “What?” He echoed, clearly shocked and I hurried to correct myself on realizing what I just said.

“N- no, I meant why don’t you act like the new guy I’ve gotten together with?” My heartbeat accelerated as I spoke and when he kept staring at me, I awkwardly let go of his wrist and he sighed heavily, dragging a hand over his face.

“Ariana…” he began in that low voice that had my stomach clenching.

“It’s just for some pictures, that is all! I just need all the stupid people I went to school with, including my ex, to see that I’ve really moved on.” I rushed to add, hoping that he’d agree.

But he still seemed like he was gonna refuse until I got to my feet and stepped closer.

“Please, Dax?” I whispered, eyes locked with his.

He closed his eyes and sighed one more time, then he stepped away from me and pocketed his hands.

“Fine. Just a few pictures, nothing more. Okay?”

“Okay!” I agreed while I nodded fast, relief flooding my insides because he agreed.

He nodded, then turned to leave while I stared after him, my eyes drinking in the sight of his ripping muscles, and wishing i could touch them, or hold them while he fuck me hard until i couldn’t think.