*** This story is now FREE!!!***
After a traumatic breakup with her college sweetheart, Aria Davenport meets an older, more sexually experienced businessman who promises to change her life forever.
*****
W...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Two Weeks Ago
Wednesday Afternoon
I take my spoon and swirl the heart right out of the froth from my oversized mug of café mocha. No need for that! Again! It's like my life is on repeat.
"You sure it was him?" Penelope asks, sipping on her caramel flan latte.
"Yeah, it was him." I don't have the strength to take my eyes away from my frothy drink.
"Sounds like he was drunk out of his mind, girl." Mia adds honey to her tea.
"He was . . . ."
"Remember how he was when you first met him? Drunk out of his mind?" Mia asks.
"I do."
"People show you who they are the first few times you're around them. It's up to you to acknowledge it and decide if you want that in your life or not."
"You're right, Mia." Even breathing hurts.
"He was just too perfect, if you ask me. Sooner or later you would've found out he was either gay or married," Penelope's tone is short and snippy.
"Thank God none of that is true. He's just a whore."
"I hate to see you like this. Look at you, you're hunched over like an old lady or something. Shake him off, girl! He is not worth it." Penelope gently caresses my hand.
The smell of my café mocha combined with thoughts of Phoenix and that sloppy, disheveled woman turn my stomach. I jump up and run to the restroom. And just in time. The bathroom sink saves me from embarrassment. What little food I did eat, ends up in chunks on the white porcelain. I rinse the icky taste out of my mouth. The cold water on my face is life giving, so I linger a little longer. Under the sound of running water, I hear footsteps behind me.
"Girl! You alright?" Penelope looks concerned.
"You scared the shit out of me, Ari. What's going on?" Mia hands me some paper towels to dry off my face.
I glance at them through the mirror. "All this stress, I guess . . . ." The queasy feeling returns, and I rush to the bathroom stall, vomiting the last of what's left in my stomach into the porcelain bowl. I glance behind me to see Mia and Penelope exchange troubled looks.
____________________
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
