Chapter Forty-One: I've Stalked Her LinkedIn.

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Chapter Forty-One: "I've Stalked Her LinkedIn."

"AVEN'S HERE!" Yasmeen yelled from downstairs on a Saturday night in early March.

After an extremely busy day that consisted of work, studying and one of Laurence's many ideas, I came home with barely any time to spare for the event Aven had told me about a few weeks ago. His thesis supervisor, Dr. Hayden, had invited him and a few other students to social science-based awards banquet and extended an additional invite to him to fill up their table for the evening.

I didn't have a clue what was going to go on at the event. I only knew I had to look good once he had told me that the dress code was formal.

"I'm not done!" I exclaimed, trying not to rush through my makeup in the bathroom. Sure, the event wasn't for me, but I wasn't going to show up looking at my worst.

"Hurry up," Mariam shouted from the hallway.

"Don't hurry me!" I shouted back. I heard her laugh.

"Stop yelling!" Larine sing-songed, peeking into the bathroom. "Oh, shit, Aven's going to drop to his knees when he sees you."

"Thank you and thank you for the wonderful image," I said light-heartedly.

"Anytime." Larine bounced away as I put a makeup brush down and inspected my face and then my body. My drawstring dress was a maroon red, complimented with dark heels and a necklace Mariam had lent me. My latest hairstyle, butterfly locs, made their way far down my back and was held back by a hairband.

I looked good, I decided, swivelling to see at all angles. I fought the need to tell myself in the mirror out loud, forgot the fight and did just that before dragging myself down the stairs.

When I walked into the living room, I found my boyfriend sitting next to Yasmeen. Before I even had a chance to process the outfit he had put together, my focus was strictly on the show on the screen. The episode that they were watching. Without me.

My lips parted, "Without me?"

All the feelings of betrayal were minimized at the sight of Aven when he twisted around. He was so hot, that I could gaze at him forever. The light dress shirt fitted well on his defined arms accompanied by black dress pants. His clean-shaven face appeared dumbfounded at the sight of me as we both took each other in once he stood.

I didn't bother suppressing the smug feeling that rose within me as he blinked, remembering what the conversation was about. "You've watched hundreds of episodes without me."

"You're an addition whenever you're here," He trailed my steps until I reached the back of the couch. "I'm the one who's watched it with Yas from the start and now you're going to steal her?"

"Yeah," He might as well have said 'duh'. "Yas is cool."

"Um, hello?" Yasmeen raised a hand to gather our attention. "Not that I don't like you both but we're only rewatching the last episode that you've already seen, Jay. And you look beautiful."

"Oh," I made a face. "Thank you. Now I feel bad about being dramatic. To be fair, you did watch a few episodes without me. Traitor." I muttered, squeezing her arm.

She waved me off, telling me goodbye, accompanied by the chorus of byes from the rest of my roommates from wherever they were as Aven and I left the house. When we were on the porch, I instantly took his calloused hands. "You don't look like you want to go."

"If I didn't promise Dr. Hayden that I would come, trust me, we'd be holed up in your bedroom." He muttered. I believed him. Especially because we didn't spend Spring reading week together. He had been back home and I spent it bouncing back and forth from my parents and my sister's house. While I had a great time at both, I had come back to Jasper Bay earlier in the week just as he did and the two of us made up for the lost time as much as we could before someone interrupted us. It was never enough.

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