I could dwell on that later. For now, I fancied a nice, warm shower and fresh, comfortable clothes. I slowly got up and gathered whatever items of my clothing I could find discarded all over the floor and started walking towards the shower that was in the hallway since I didn’t feel like interrupting Zayden.
As soon as I got out of his room, however, I almost had a heart attack. An older-looking woman was walking alongside the other end. I had thought there was nobody but me and Zayden in the house. With great embarrassment, I tried to cover myself up with whatever bits of my dress I could grab, but it was probably neither timely nor very effective. The woman had already caught a glimpse of my face and was smiling in what seemed to be a very sinister manner.
“So,” she said in a scornful tone. “You’re his latest conquest?”
“Excuse me?” I looked at her in confusion.
“Zayden’s newest arm candy.”
“Um, no. Who are you?”
“Nevermind that. I have to say I am not very surprised he picked such a young girl. That’s just his style. You are of legal age, right?”
Was this woman suggesting I was a minor and Zayden was committing a crime? What the hell was her problem?
“I turn 21 next month, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Oh wow, you’re feisty too. That’s right up his alley. Congratulations! Zayden is quite a beneficial catch for you.”
“I don’t know who you are or what you are talking about, but I don’t have time to address your needless concerns about things that, to my knowledge, do not pertain to you in any way, shape, or form.”
I turned my heels around and walked into the bathroom, feeling pissed. Who the hell was that woman and why was she being so judgmental? Suggesting I was a minor and some kind of an object of Zayden’s fantasy – well that part was, in a way, true enough, but what did she mean “beneficial?” Was she suggesting I was using Zayden for his money?
The thought gave me an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. In some ways, that was exactly what I was doing, wasn’t I? I was using the resources he had to my own advantage. But I was going to pay him back eventually for all the medical bills. That was for certain. No matter what happened between the two of us in terms of our romantic relationship, I was never going to forget what he had done for me and would always be grateful. Even if I wasn’t, even if I ended up hating him somehow, I would pay each and every penny he spent back. It might take me a few years, but I was determined to make it happen.
I turned on the shower and stepped into it. Feeling a little better, I let the warm water run over my body, letting all my worries momentarily evaporate. But a part of me was still wondering who the heck I had just talked to…
Chapter Three
Zayden
Ned was driving the limo on the day I was to finally meet Aria’s mother. Despite her many protests, I had decided that there was nothing wrong in displaying how affluent I was. If anything, it would perhaps help her feel a little less badly about my investment. It always worried me that Aria thought that the money was worth more to me than it really was, and I did not want her mother to start feeling so indebted too.
“Do you think I did the right thing getting the limousine, Ned?” I asked, unsure, more to hear some kind of an affirmation than anything else.
Ned didn’t speak for a while, which was rather odd.
“Ned?”
“I am sorry, Zay, I want to agree with you, I really do, but come on, a limo? To see your girlfriend’s mother?” He made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a chuckle but hid it with a cough, so as not to offend.
“Shit. What do I do now?” Ned’s honesty had scared the shit out of me. “She is going to hate me, isn’t she?”
“You are spending 60,000 dollars to help out this woman, she couldn’t hate you if you landed on her backyard in a helicopter. A limo is a bit much, yes, and you should keep that in mind for next time, but this won’t hurt your impression much. Don’t worry.”
“If you say so.” I sighed as we pulled outside of Aria’s apartment building. Some college girls walking outside were pointing at the car and giggling, so I presumed that they had never seen a limo in the area before.
“We are here,” I said into the phone to Aria and hung up. She arrived shortly, dressed in jeans and a casual navy T-shirt, making my heart sink. I was wearing a suit, as I almost always did. It hadn’t even occurred to me to dress down.
“Hi,” Aria said, moving into the car. Her face made it obvious that she had wanted to burst out laughing and it was taking a lot for her to keep a straight face. “Limo,” she said, the sides of her mouth twitching.
I felt the strangest sensation in my stomach, something I couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t anger or frustration or – I realized with a jolt that I was embarrassed. Not used to such a feeling at all, I wasn’t sure what the appropriate reaction was.
“I’m sorry,” I said, hoping an apology would cut it.
“No, no, why are you sorry?” Her face was starting to look pained. “It’s—” she gestured around the car. “It’s quite – exclusive. And you look, uh, you look very professional.”
We both burst out laughing at the same time.