Attraction, desire, and sinfully beautiful, Mika Santana is a devil with the face of an angel. Despite her tragic past, she's never given up her ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance which leaves little to no room for matters of the heart. But...
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White steel sheet walls brighten up the office. The glass barrier separates the groups. The bright blonde bob receptionist is guiding me through the different levels, her shoes clicking against the tiles. Blue illuminates from the screen and lights, giving the office a nightly feel. The building branches in multiple directions, giving a callback to the complicity of Diablo's Paraiso. She taps her ID against the wooden door, bringing us into another office lined with computers and desks.
Stopping at the glass door, she knocks her knuckles against it and gives me a small smile. "During the night, he tends to use his Airpods." She bangs on the door again, louder this time.
My curly brown hair friend scrunches his face in confusion, takes an AirPod out, and glances at the door. With a sly smirk, I wave my hand before sticking out the middle finger. He chuckles, rising from his seat, and shuffles to the door.
"Thanks, Joy," he says, basically shooing her away. "Asiel, I haven't seen you since Alexandra's graduation. How you been doing, man?"
I shrug, following him into his private office. "You know, the same old shit with my family. Congratulations, by the way. I heard you purposed to Alexandra."
His cheeks redden like a cherry. "Yeah, I fucking almost shat myself. It might've been lame, but I proposed to her in front of Coffee bean. It's when I finally man the fuck up and asked her out."
My battered heart swells with happiness. Love has always been an unorthodox concept in my household. Not only was my relationship with my papa rocky, but my parents weren't any better. My papa cheated on my mama any chance he got, and didn't try to hide it either. Mama acted as if we lived in a parallel universe where my papa really cared about us. To say the least, the concept of love seemed to be just that.
A concept.
A dream.
Maybe even a nightmare.
Until I watched my two best friends fall in love with each other.
Spencer and Alexandra were the classic enemies-to-lovers type of story. Spencer and I met in boarding school, ultimately ending up at the same University. While NYU promoted individuality, I wasn't typically an extrovert and spent half the semester to myself. After a group project, I became acquainted with Alexandra and introduced her to Spencer. They were complete opposites in everything.
Music. Clothing. Food. Major. Movies.
Name it, and they would probably spend hours fighting about it.
Then everything changed like a light switch, light to dark. One day they were fighting, then I found them making out on his bed. Our dynamic did a one-eighty, and I became the third wheel to a lovey, dovey couple. It was a culture shift compared to my parent's relationship, watching two individuals caring for one another.
For the first time, I wanted to experience love.
Like the Titanic or the Notebook.
I liked girls here and there, but I never met the one. Nobody stole my attention the way Mika does every time she's in the room. It's foolish of me to search for love with a woman so detached from this world. Regardless of the warning signs, red flags, and unpredictability, I cared about her. Every fiber of my being told me to run, but my heart yearns to stay and try it out. Maybe she's just a crosswalk through my journey, or she could be my final stage.
