âPrincess Diana would have been honored to set foot into the home of a star in the making.â Carey insisted with a smile. He felt his cheeks grow a little hot when he realized heâd maybe let a little bit too much slip, nibbling on his lower lip a little. âUh. Yeah? I mean. It was a shit show. You never would have stepped foot inside if you would have seen how gross it was before. Like. Pizza boxes and take out cartons and dirty underwear and socks and pants and⊠Everything. All over. It looked like a bomb hit it. So. It needed cleaning.â He said, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously.Â
âOh, I know Iâm cute.â He grinned when she scolded him a little. He pouted playfully when she said her bedchamber was locked, despite the fact that he had no plans of doing anything that wouldnât make it into a PG-13 movie with her tonight. He still had to play it up a little. Be endearing. The cute, horny guy. That was his role.
âHey, hey, I would never dare! It was a joke, I promise!â He exclaimed, holding his hands up, when she threatened to kick his ass if he ate her food. âPsh, mama June would never. Sheâs loyal to me, to a fault. Mama June is my girl.â He joked. âAnd besides, Iâve said before. I can fuckinâ take you. Go on and try to fight me. Iâll beat you in a naked wrestling match any day. Any day of the week, letâs fuckinâ go.âÂ
He watched as she sat down on the couch, his heartbeat picking up a little just from how close she was sitting. How he could smell her shampoo, smell whatever perfume sheâd put on this morning⊠It was such a stupid clichĂ©, but he really did get butterflies around her. Every little thing made his heart do backflips in his chest. âMmm, a handsome gentleman suitor, huh? I like that. I am handsome, and I am a gentleman, and I sure do hope I suit your needs.â He laughed a little. âBut I donât expect you to wait on me hand and foot. Iâm not one of those âget in the kitchen and make me a sandwichâ guys. Those guys are douchebags.âÂ
Carey knew as soon as the words left his lips that asking about what had happened with Scott hadnât been the best idea. He could tell from the look on Ariaâs face, the panic in her eyes. But he had to know. He had to ask. He had to make sure everything was smoothed over. He wasnât about to just dive in, to put his heart on the line for her when she might still be hung up on her ex. He almost wanted to laugh when her reaction to his question was to take a massive bite of her burger, picking up his own and taking a bite to quell the growling of his stomach, allowing them a moment of complete silence. He didnât want her to feel pressured, but he just⊠Needed to know.Â
He frowned as he listened to her speak, listened to her put herself down, as he watched the way her eyes began to get wet. It killed him, seeing her like this. He knew it was a necessary evil, and he had been dying for her to break it off with Scott for so long, but now he almost wished he could undo it all. Put her back to being the happy Aria of before. He hated to see her upset. âAre you kidding? Of course you deserve to be upset. Yes, you were in the wrong, but so was he. He shouldnât have been going through your phone. And hey, you canât control your feelings. You didnât know what was gonna happen between us. No one could have predicted this. And⊠It seems like it wasnât exactly a neat breakup. So of course you have the right to be upset, Ari.â He told her firmly.Â
âNo, I think we do.â He asserted softly when she tried to brush the topic off. âLook, Ari⊠Iâm not trying to rush into anything with you. I like you. You know that. I want to be with you. Now, more than ever. But I understand that you need this time to cool off. You need to talk about this. You need to get over it. I donât want you to repress all this and then have a breakdown in a few months time. And maybe Iâm not the best person to be talking about it with, but⊠You still need to talk about it, and Iâm the only one who knows the whole story, so⊠Iâm here, okay? Iâm here for you. No matter what. And thereâs no expectation, or pressure. If you need me to just be a friend, Iâll be a friend.âÂ
âUhuh. Right. Iâm sure you wouldnât eat my food.â She rolled her eyes at his defense. âOh, yeah? Sheâs your girl, is she? Hm. Maybe youâre right. Maybe she is on your side. Or maybe thatâs what we want you to think. Maybe weâll go all âgirl gangâ on you when you least expect it.â Aria grinned at him, raising an eyebrow mischievously. âI think itâs so cute that you think youâd stand a chance against me. Look, I might only be 5â3â, and I might not have any upper body strength, and maybe Iâve never been in a fight before, but that doesnât mean I wonât thoroughly kick your ass.â She giggled at herself. âBut, unfortunately, Iâll have to put off the naked wrestling match for another day. I haven't warmed up or anything, so. Iâm sorry. I know you were looking forward to getting your ass kicked.â
âWow,â Aria mused as Carey spoke of being a handsome gentleman suitor, a teasing tone to her voice. âThat was quite possibly your worst pick-up line yet.â She laughed a little bit. âYeah. No. I had a feeling you werenât one of those types. Unless Iâd completely misjudged you. And yes, they are douchebags. Huge douchebags. My mom thinks itâs totally standard for men to be waited on. Itâs⊠not her best trait.â She shook her head, letting out a little laugh. âWhatever.â
âI guess so.â Aria bit down on her bottom lip as she mulled over his words, eye sockets and sinuses drying up and a few ounces of guilt disappearing from her churning stomach. She supposed he was right, which was turning out to be a theme in their relationship. âI just feel bad about the mess Iâve made.â She frowned. âScott definitely hates my guts now, which, like, sucks. Even though he was a total dick tonight. And our friendsâll absolutely hate me once he tells them what I did. And getting my stuff back from his apartment is gonna be a pain in the ass.â She sighed. âBut itâs whatever. I know that this needed to happen. I honestly feel a little bitâŠ.relieved? Does that make me an awful human being?â The corners of her lips curled into a small smile, tone growing more lighthearted as she spoke. âI do wish that Iâd met you sooner though â or, you know, started talking to you sooner. It wouldâve made things so much easier.â
It was remarkable, really, how Carey always seemed to know the perfect thing to say in any given situation. How he knew precisely what Aria needed to hear, when not even she really knew. She desperately wanted to reach out and look into his eyes and ask him where heâd been all her life, but she figured that those kind of clichĂ©s were better left for romantic comedies and cheesy pop songs. It was weird to be involved with someone so⊠perfect? Considerate, and noble, and everything she knew and didnât know sheâd been looking for in a person. âThank you,â she spoke, letting her eyes meet his face, grabbing his hand in hers and squeezing it. For a moment, she let her mind wander â let herself wonder how the fuck she ended up here. How she ended up sitting across from the sweetest, most incredible boy sheâd ever met. How sheâd gotten him to develop real, genuine feelings for her. How sheâd gotten him to stick around. It was a mystery, really. She felt as though she didnât deserve his kindness. âYou're sweet. Iâm â it means a lot to hear you say that. Really.â
âYou know, itâs kinda funny.â Aria smiled softly. âMy friends like to tease me for being so, annoyingly indecisive all the time. And itâs totally warranted. It takes me, like, a solid week to decide where we should meet for lunch. It took me a whole two years of college to decide that I actually wanted to move to LA. Iâm, like, the opposite of impulsive. Iâm unsure about everything.â She let out a breathy laugh. âBut not you. It's weird. Iâm so sure about you. Iâm so sure that I want this, with you. I have been for a while. Longer than Iâd like to admit, really. Maybe that sounds stupid, but â" She bit down on her lip a bit bashfully. âI donât know. I just really want to do this â us â the right way. I donât want to rush into things and fuck it all up.â Aria let go of his hand and reached for a fry.
âFor the record, though, Iâm completely, totally, 100% over Scott. I have been. I was over him long before I broke up with him. It just feels like Iâve lost a friend, I guess. It feels like Iâm growing up. Kinda like a chapter of my life is over. But Iâm very much ready to move on.â Aria smiled softly, pausing for an extended period of time before speaking again. âIâm also very much ready to eat this burger already.â She reached for her food and took a large bite, humming softly in appreciation of its flavor.
