“Well, then?”
“Are you definitely getting rid of your ex?”
“Already done it, thanks to you.”
“Sarcasm?”
“No, not at all!” I exclaimed. “Because you put me in a situation where I had no choice but to end it with her–”
“You had a choice,” she sounded delighted now. “You always have a choice.”
“Aria, don’t be such a smart ass. As I was saying, since I had no choice in the matter, I had to come up with a way to end it with Gina in a way that best suited everyone involved. Without that kind of a pressure to get on this right away, I probably would have been trapped forever.”
“What pressure? I didn’t put any pressure on you!”
“Right,” I scoffed. “None at all. I am not complaining, Aria. You did me quite the favor.”
“So your mother?”
“She will not be giving me, herself, or anyone else any more trouble.”
“You sound like you murdered her,” she said giggling.
“I wish,” I joked. “I just played her own games against her so she now feels responsible for ruining my life. Petty details, really. But let’s stick to what is important. The contract. You were saying? Something about really, really needing–”
“I didn’t say that,” she said, the defiant tone back. “Your ex is gone, then, that is good news. And how about who I am allowed to speak with?”
“Whoever the hell you want, Aria,” I said earnestly. “As long as I am the only one touching your perfect little body.”
My own words ignited a surge of desire in my body, and by the sudden silence that had befallen on the other end, I suspected it had the same effect on Aria.
“I don’t want anyone else to touch me,” she said eventually. “Isn’t that obvious by now, Zayden? That’s why there never was any reason to be jealous. The fact that you couldn’t see that pissed me off almost as much as your trying to control my life.”
“What, you thought I couldn’t trust you?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“Why else would you put restrictions on who I was talking to?” She asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Because I don’t like the thought of stupid assholes mentally undressing you every time they talk to you. And as a stupid asshole who does that every time myself, take it from me, they all do. I have come to think of undressing you – mentally or otherwise – as a privilege that is exclusive to me.”
“Well, you can’t control what other guys think, but nobody else is actually undressing me any time soon. So you need to calm down, and take out all the controlling clauses from the contract.”
“If there still is a contract,” I said, pushing it only a little bit further. It would all be over soon but I had to have a bit more fun. “Come over the day after tomorrow and we will take it from there. I will make sure that Ned will–”
“No,” she cut me off. “No Ned, just send me the address and I will be there, okay? I can drive, you know?”
“Look, Aria,” I said, frustrated. “If I send a car to pick you up, I am not making some sexist statement about how I don’t think you are capable of doing something yourself. It just means that sometimes I feel like taking care of you, even though you are perfectly capable of doing so. It’s how I show I care.”
That seemed to have the desired effect, as she now seemed okay with Ned picking her up.
“Fine. See you then.”
After we hung up, I felt more excited than I had in a long time. The thought of Aria in my house, in my bed, in every other part of my room, naked, was enough to keep me going gleefully the next two days.
Chapter 7
Aria
“So let me get this straight: you are going over to see the guy tomorrow, in his house, without being certain your mother’s bill will get paid on time?”