Rock Star Billionaire

“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?”

I shrugged. What was she expecting me to say? Like I hadn’t considered this in my head over and over again. Too afraid to ask him directly about the money and how it was due in two days, I had instead devised a careful plan, which would hopefully help him make the right decision in my favor. Stacey, unfortunately, did not sound very convinced by my plan.

“I can list at least a hundred ways in which you showing up at his house in a super sexy outfit and seducing him into submission can go wrong.”

“Well, do you see me having any sort of a choice here?”

She looked like she was deep in thought for a moment. “I mean, no, not really, but I am worried, Aria. This guy has already hurt you once.”

“Yes, but he also ended a long off-and-on relationship with his ex-wife and risked the wrath of his mother for me. It’s kind of sweet?” I said hopefully, trying to phrase it into a question.

“Oh he’s sweet, alright. That has never quite been in question. He has been a sweetheart to you since day one.” She saw my raised eyebrow and paused. “What? All those flowers and that dress and he sent your work for publication!”

“And he showed up at school,” I said, just remembering. “I forgot to tell you?”

“What do you mean he showed up at school?”

“He came as a guest lecturer in Mr. Weber’s class after I didn’t speak to him for two weeks.”

Stacey burst out laughing. “This guy! I don’t even know what to think. I mean, well it’s kind of obvious that he is in love with you, isn’t it?”

“Woah, woah, woah! Calm down there, don’t go around throwing big words out like that,” I said, pretending to be horrified, when in reality the thought of what she said made me feel delighted.

“Come on, Aria!” Stacey’s whole face was lightening up in realization, as though this conclusion should have occurred to her a while ago. “It makes perfect sense! That’s why he didn’t want you talking to Dick; because he is in love with you so he got jealous! Not because it was in some stupid contract.”

“Yeah, he kind of admitted to being jealous,” I said thinking back to our phone conversation. “But that does not mean he is in love with me! It has nothing to do with it.”

“Yes it does,” she said a different voice, and I realized Nick had been standing by the door and listening to our conversation the whole time. “Guys don’t just get jealous unless they have genuine feelings for a girl.”