Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

Lina's Friend

"Lina? I'm at the building." Kaya craned her neck to count all the floors. Thirty, if she counted correctly. "Your friend lives in the middle of the city? Isn't that expensive?" 

"That should be the least of your concerns right now. I talked to her and told her you were coming. She's fine with you staying over." Lina paused. "Okay, so fine might be an understatement. I'm sorry, she has so few friends. She might attack you, but it's all out of friendship!" 

Kaya paused mid-step. "Are all your friends crazy?" 

"Hey! She's not as crazy as I am. Anyway, ask the guard at the door to buzz apartment 2901. Like I said, she's expecting you." 

From what Kaya knew about apartments, the better the view, the higher the price. This didn't seem like an inexpensive building to begin with. 

"How rich is she?" 

"It doesn't matter! Hey, I've gotta run, but text me when you get in, okay?" 

"Okay..." Kaya barely got the word out of her mouth before Lina hung up. Typical. "Here goes nothing." 

Sure enough, just inside the front doors stood a guard station. Kaya didn't know what kind of people lived in this world filled with security and guards, but she was getting sick of them. 

"I'm here for apartment 2901." Kaya spewed the words quickly, before she could back out of it. 

The guard picked up a phone and tapped in a long string of numbers. "May I have your name?" 

"Um... Kaya? Kaya Parker." 

The guard, all seriousness, waited for the phone to ring through. "Yes, ma'am, sorry to interrupt. You have a guest? Kaya Parker." 

Kaya held her breath, half expecting this guard to be just as stubborn as the guy at Conditus. Instead, the guard gently hung the phone in its cradle and motioned Kaya to the elevator behind him. 

"She says to come right up." 

"Th-thank you." Kaya clutched her bag to her chest and darted for the elevator. Since when did things go this smoothly for her?

Kaya stabbed the button for floor twenty-nine before anyone could change their mind. 

The elevator took far too long to ascend. Kaya spent the entire time fretting, an activity she hated but couldn't quite avoid. 

The speaker dinged. 

The doors slid open. 

Kaya gasped involuntarily. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but she definitely hadn't expected the most beautiful human being she had ever laid eyes on. 

The woman had eyes almost Asian in their slant, full lips, tanned skin, and a head full of jet-black hair that she had braided over one shoulder. 

"You must be Kaya." The woman smiled, a grin so blinding that Kaya blinked. 

"Um... yeah? Who are you?" 

One graceful arm swept toward a door across the hall. "Come in, and let's talk." 

"Can't I get a name first?" Kaya stepped into the hall, but didn't dare move farther. 

"Of course." The woman faced Kaya and gave a half-bow. "You can call me Jade." 

Jade. Only one name. Who the heck was this woman?

"Won't you come in? Lina says you're exhausted." Jade padded for the door and pressed in a code on the electronic keypad.

Kaya warily followed the woman. Sure, she trusted Lina, but who the heck was the fabulous exotic in front of her? What kind of crowd did Lina keep company with?

And on that note, Kaya also thought Jade would be a lot more... extroverted.

Kaya waited for Jade to enter the apartment before she dared to step through the door.

Jade flung her arms wide and spun in a circle. "Welcome to my place!"

Kaya didn't quite know what to say to that. Jade's "place" had more space than an entire floor of apartments at Kaya's place.

The floor-plan was spacious and open, inviting. The overall theme color seemed to be green, fitting to Jade's name. Something smelled yummy, like sugar cookies or cake. Must be a candle, because the kitchen looked spotless.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Jade floated back to Kaya's side and linked their arms together. "Don't worry, you're safe here. You must be exhausted. Let's see if I have anything for you to sleep in."

"That's not likely." Kaya didn't mean to say it aloud, but it slipped past her filter. "I'm sorry, I don't mean it like that. It's just... look at you! You're... gorgeous. And thin. And flawless."

Jade gave herself a once-over and arched a brow. "Okay, I see your point. We're clearly not the same clothing size. That means nothing. I'll find something, I'm sure. I have plenty of handouts left over from shoots."

"Shoots?"

"Oh, Lina didn't tell you? I model. No biggie." Jade tugged Kaya through one of the few doors in the apartment. "Welcome to my room. You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the futon in the living room."

"That doesn't seem right." Kaya balked at the bedroom door. "I should sleep on the futon."

"I'm the homeowner, what I say goes." Jade disappeared through another door. She returned with a baggy sweatshirt. "At least change into this."

"Isn't that a guy's sweatshirt?"

"Yes. It's from a shoot. I said that already. Oh! Let me pick your clothes tomorrow morning. You'll look fabulous, trust me."

"Um... okay?" Kaya hated not being able to argue, but there were too many factors in Jade's favor. Kaya owed her one. Letting Jade pick clothes was the least Kaya could do to pay her back.

"For now, you should sleep." Jade handed over the sweatshirt. "Sweet dreams, okay? I'll be in the other room if you need anything. Make sure you text Lina, she sounded worried."

"I will. Thanks, Jade."

"Don't mention it. We're friends now, no backing out."

"Um... yeah. Sure." Why did she have to become friends with all the weird extroverts? Could she not have a single normal friend? Tobin didn't count. He was weird in other ways.

Kaya slipped out of her jeans and shirt and into the sweatshirt Jade offered. It still smelled new. When Jade said she modeled, she couldn't possibly mean as a hobby. Even Kaya wasn't dumb enough to think that Jade was some poor girl. This girl had money, which meant Kaya now had a host of questions for Lina.

However, right now, sleep seemed more important.