Taint Me More ☑️

Chapter Seven

It rained for two days straight and I was stuck in my apartment till Monday. It was one of the strangest weekends because Gabby cooked for the first time ever. The gym was closed because of the storm, so she was home all through the weekend. I stayed up throughout Saturday night, thinking about Aaron and the kiss we almost had and the amazing evening we shared.

I tried hard to look at everything with an innocent eye. Just two friends hanging out, strolling through the streets, sharing a smoke time and going to a paint bar together. That was it, so why was I up all night tossing in my bed and snuggling my pillow in the cold and picturing him right there with me?

They were just thoughts and imaginations. No one had to know what I was thinking.

It was around seven pm on Sunday evening when Gabby told me she was stepping out for a bit.

"Where are you going? It's raining cats and dogs out there." I asked her, arching my brow as I watched her put on her coat over her lounge shorts and tank top.

"Not going far, but don't wait up." A smile dangled in the corner of her lips as she rammed her bare feet into her boots.

"You're going in your shorts and tank top." I pointed at her choice of outfit, "Gabby are you hooking up with the new neighbour?" I reprimanded.
A young guy had moved in to our apartment building about a week ago and Gabby had been drooling all over him. In the parking lot, down in the lobby and just about anywhere she bumped into him. She came home every day with a new story about her 'new conquest' as she put it.

"Yeah, she's totally hooking up with someone in this building." Heather said stepping out of one of the bedrooms and headed for the fridge. "I saw her last night sneaking out of one of the apartments just below us." She disclosed.

"Guys, come on. He's so cute, he just moved to town and joined membership at the gym. He's so hot when he gets all sweaty, he's even hot when he's drinking water. How can I not chase that?" Gabby explained dreamily as she strapped her coat around her waist. "None of you can stop me." She passed on with a finger raise and turned around to leave.

Heather scoffed from the kitchen and I shook my head.

"What am I going to do with that girl?" I asked, making Heather snort out a laugh.

Later on, I ate some leftover chicken stew and pasta, and retired to my bedroom with a glass of red wine to help me sleep.

***
*
"Aria? Aria wake up." Someone shook me as the loud crack of thunder jolted me awake. I panted as I shot up in bed and came face to face with a worried looking Gabby. Heather stood by the entrance of my room and watched me with a questioning look and I wondered what was going on.

"Huh? What's the matter?" I asked shivering from the cool breeze that hit my damp skin. The breeze was coming from my opened window. I rubbed my eyes to clear the sleepy haze.

"We heard something break, so we rushed in to see what the noise was and found you thrashing in bed." Gabby explained as she went to lock my window.

"What?" I asked, blinking owlishly as I looked down to find shattered pieces of my wine glass on the floor. "I must've had a nightmare and knocked off my glass of wine from the table." I said.

"Are you alright?" Gabby asked, coming back to sit on the foot of my bed, "you look pale and you're sweating like crazy." She pointed and her forehead puckered with worry.

"I-I'm... I'm fine, I guess." I stuttered my answer whilst wiping perspiration off my forehead.

"Are you sure? You were muttering something in your sleep. Can you remember what you dreamed about?" The last time Gabby was this worried about me was when we were in college and I was failing a course, so I started having insomnia and a coffee addiction and I almost went crazy till the end of the semester.