Page 32 of The Pursuit of Happiness (Satan’s Angels #2)
Aria
What was I thinking inviting Sly over after giving myself hundreds of millions of pep talks about drawing the line at friendship?
I could not fucking tell you! The truth is, I am an impulsive person and my mouth just spews shit before my mind can catch up.
Deep down, I’m excited and nervous to see Sly, especially in my house again, but the other, more rational part of me knows this is a very dangerous game.
Aria Kane, keep it in your pants and don’t blush, flirt, smile too hard, or stare too long into his eyes.
Do not do any of those things and you may survive without desperately needing an orgasm and a drink.
Do not do any of those things and the media may eventually not think you are a disgusting slut. Good talk.
My doorbell rings and I jolt, racing down the stairs with nervousness swirling around in my stomach like an ocean in a storm.
I wear a matching lounge set, a navy blue t-shirt and matching cargo sweatpants, my hair pulled into a low ponytail at the base of my neck.
I rush down the stairs in anticipation so quickly that I miss the last two steps and nearly eat the floor, but I stabilize myself by pressing a hand on the wall.
I nearly sprint to the door and open it slowly, taking a deep breath and preparing myself to feign nonchalance. When I open it and see his perfect face on the other side, I nearly crumble on wobbly legs. Why does he have to be so gorgeous?
He flashes me his signature panty melting grin and greets, “Hey.”
“Hey,” I smile, opening the door wider for him to enter.
He steps inside and I take the opportunity to absorb his appearance. He wears a pair of gray sweatpants, if you know you know, and a Prada sweatshirt. I close the door behind him and immediately start with, “I have a horror movie you need to watch.”
He raises a brow, “Oh really?”
I nod, “Yes. Come with me,” I gesture with my hand for him to follow as I begin walking down the foyer and to the home movie theater.
I set up the newest Scream movie that didn’t even come out yet.
How I got my hands on this film before the release, you ask?
Well, I will have you know I am very close friends with the directors.
“What movie is it?” Once we make it into the theater, I grin as his eyes take in the title screen. He gives me a surprised look, “I thought this wasn’t coming out for another couple of months?”
I preen, “It doesn’t, but I’m friends with the directors, so we get to see it before everyone else.”
He nods in approval, his brow raising in respect, “I’m impressed by your hustle.”
“Please, if you think that’s cool, I get invited to every horror movie premier,” I brag, grinning like the Cheshire cat.
He laughs, “Well, you’ve gotten me into these movies now so if you ever need a date to one of those, I’d be happy to join.”
The word “date” lingers in the air between us and when he sees the look on my face he frowns, rejection evident in his eyes along with only a sadness that I can cause him. “I’d like that,” I smile weakly, sincerity in my voice.
His eyes practically light up as a smile coasts his features.
We manage to watch the movie in its entirety, Kiko and Taz joining us somewhere in the middle of the film.
We sit relatively close to each other on the couch.
Okay, not relatively. We sit close to each other.
My leg practically pressed against his leg the entire time.
Okay, and we shared a blanket. I know, I know!
I can’t help it sometimes. He just makes it so annoyingly impossible for me to abide by my own rules.
When the movie ended we sat and talked for a little about other horror movies. It seems he’s really broadened his horizons and watched a bunch of horror movies. He said he did it so that we could talk about them and the sentiment makes me blush and swoon.
Now, we still talk about some of our iconic favorites. “Okay, Michael Myers? What’s with him being like, super-human?” I ask, rolling my eyes. I prefer Michael Myers in the older movies before things got twisted and confusing about his character.
Sly’s brows pull together, “I was thinking the same thing. I almost wish they didn’t make the new movie.”
I nod my agreement, “What did you think about the Nightmare on Elm Street remake?”
He takes a moment to consider before shrugging, “It was decent. I prefer the original. It’s more iconic even though the prosthetics and special effects makeup suck.”
I clap my hands together, “Yes! Finally someone who agrees. Everyone says the remake is better, but what ever happened to nostalgia? I refuse to add any memorabilia from the new movie to my Horror room.”
Sly tilts his head at me in confusion, “Horror room?”
I laugh, “That’s what I call my bedroom.”
The confused look never settles, “Why do you call it that?”
I smirk and decide that showing and not telling is probably the best bet if I want to do the horror room justice. I rise off the recliner and start to exit the movie theater, Kiko and Taz jumping off the couch to follow, “Follow me.”
I don’t give him time to ask a question or say anything as I hurry out of the movie room and upstairs.
I hear his heavier footsteps behind me and realize I’m leading Sly to my bedroom.
Aria, this is not what we talked about .
The little angel on my shoulder scolds. The devil responds, Aria, it’s okay! We know you won’t do anything bad.
I ignore both voices and continue up the stairs and to my bedroom. When my hand lands on the knob, I turn to look at Sly who has a nervous, anxious expression on his face. I feel my cheeks burn with nerves. Why are we both so visibly nervous to enter my bedroom?
“Consider yourself very special because the only people who have ever been allowed in the horror room are Brody, Ivory, and Selene.”
He raises a brow, “I’m alarmed that you call it that. Is this where you chain me up and murder me in some kind of reenactment of one of your horror movies?”
I roll my eyes, “No, Sly.” I open the door and take a step inside before looking over my shoulder, “Tying you up and killing you would be boring. I’d prefer a more House of Wax approach where I could preserve you and stage you to play the drums for all of eternity,” I joke, feigning wickedness in my voice.
He shakes his head and sighs, “That’s so reassuring, thank you,” he says as he enters.
I laugh which inevitably makes him laugh as he takes in my bedroom from the movie posters to the shelves of movie memorabilia. He walks over to my Scream shelf and huffs a laugh at the displayed Ghost Face mask, “Wow. You really are a horror nerd.”
I cross my arms over my chest and blush, “I love this stuff.”
He moves on to the Child’s Play shelf and takes in the Chucky and Tiffany figurines. I feel a wave of anxiety that he may be turned off by my love for horror movies and I realize that I’m desperate for his approval.
He continues looking around before he finally speaks, “This is sick, Kane.”
I feel like fireworks are going off inside of me, “Really?” I don’t try hiding the excitement in my voice.
He flashes me a smile, “Of course. This stuff is really cool. I didn’t know you were into collecting, but I should’ve considering your love for trinket shopping.” He looks around the room and adds, “This is sick.”
I relax, finally able to take a seat on my bed as he continues looking around. When he’s satisfied, he walks over and sits next to me. “How come you never talk about any of this stuff in interviews or on social media?”
I shrug, “I guess when we live in the spotlight, it feels sometimes like we don’t get to have anything personal.
The fans are all amazing and I love them all but I sometimes wish they didn’t know every single thing about me.
” I gesture around the room, “I love this stuff and not putting it out there allows me to have something for myself that I don’t have to share with the entire world. ”
He looks at me like he’s seeing an entirely new side of me, “I get that.”
A moment passes and we just look at each other. I feel a blush in my cheeks and notice that our faces start getting closer and closer, our lips only inches apart. I don’t realize what we’re doing until my phone buzzes in my pocket, bringing me back to reality.
I check it immediately after Selene ripped into me this morning about keeping my phone on, but when I see a random number texted me, I frown. I open it, wondering if maybe someone got the wrong number by mistake.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
Unknown Number
Wow, you trained your guard dog well.
I saw what he did to that photographer.
Unknown Number
How much pussy did you have to give him
to get him to do that?
Unknown Number
You’re disgusting
I know right away who it is. Duncan. I feel like my stomach has shriveled up and died inside of me. It feels harder to breathe suddenly. I blocked his number but he seems to be texting me from a new one. Why won’t he stop? Is he ever going to stop? I panic, the hateful words he used getting to me.
I feel a warm hand on my cheek. Sly. “Hey,” he soothes, “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head and quickly turn my phone off before he tries to look. I don’t want him to see what Duncan has said about us both. I don’t want to have to explain who Duncan is at all. “Nothing,” I say curtly, schooling my features into neutrality.
He drops his hand from my face to grab my hand instead and I let him. “Talk to me. Who just texted you?” He presses.
I shake my head, “Nobody, it’s nothing.”
He sighs and gives my hand a gentle squeeze, “You can talk to me if something is bothering you. You were fine before you looked at your phone. Did something happen? Is someone bothering you?”