"Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends."
- Shirley MacLaine
Olivia Bennet
I'm not sure how Aaron and I got here. This parking lot was pretty much vacant aside from the one employee working the closing shift of King Donuts.
Although the time was past 10 o'clock, Aaron's illegal tint on the windows made it seem much darker outside than it was. Somehow, I felt more comfortable knowing no one could see inside.
Aaron's finger trailed along the dashboard, and then the radio dials. He swiftly increased the volume of the stereo and a familiar song began playing.
Die For You by The Weeknd.
I quietly hummed along to the melody, enjoying the music. It felt nice to just listen to songs and relax. I couldn't remember what that was like before my coma.
"Great song, huh?" I turned my attention to him. His eyes were dark and tired. I wondered what happened during that business meeting but I didn't dare to question him anymore tonight.
"Duh," I said in a is-that-even-a-question tone.
A quick smile passed over his lips before his face returned to that usual stone cold, ice look. Regardless of his tough appearance, his dark and tired brown eyes still sparkled with golden flecks. The way his lips moved so smoothly every time he spoke a word. I remember very little of our previous relationship but there's no doubt in my mind that this man could ever intentionally hurt me. I didn't feel safe because of his FBI-trained security or his illegally tinted windows, I felt safe because of him. Aaron made me feel safe and it was the greatest feeling in the world.
After staring at his remarkable features, I realized he had been staring back at me. My cheeks began to heat up and I'm sure that was very obvious with the way I turn red as a tomato.
"So," My voice was quiet. "we should get home now." It was only a mere suggestion, not necessarily something I wanted him to agree with.
A loud sigh sounded throughout the car as I studied Aaron's confusing expressions.
"Aaron?" I pressed him to speak.
"I killed a man tonight." His confession was one I was not expecting. I tried my best to hide my shocked expression but my gaping mouth ruined my attempt.
His hand left my thigh and ran over his stubble before pushing through the messy hair that sat on his head.
"I'm not the man you think I am, Olivia." I wasn't sure what to say, he quite literally left me speechless. I gazed around the car for a moment before finding the right thing to say.
"Why?" Okay, not the right thing to say but at least I said something.
"He was disloyal to my business," He opened his mouth to continue but I shook my head, denying whatever reason was coming next.
"You did what you had to do," I reassured him. I wasn't sure if I even believed that myself but a successful business isn't ran by a man who can't control his 'employees.'
His head softly fell between his shoulders and the rest of his body slumped into the seat. I still didn't know how to react to his confession, and I wasn't even sure why he shared it with me, but I just wanted to comfort him.
After a swift movement, I was straddling him.
His eyes grazed over my body before meeting mine. He didn't say anything but the way his arms snaked around my waist and pulled me closer told me everything I needed to know.
My lips fell onto his and they instantly locked together like they were made for each other. His breath was minty with a hint of whisky and his tongue was soft against mine.
I wasn't sure where this would go, or what we would do, but all I wanted in this moment was to give myself to him. He had parts of me before and now he was going to have all of me.
"Olivia," his voice was raspy and out of breath as he spoke to me between our kiss. "I can't." I felt my entire body tense up on top of him.
Being rejected by a guy who you're straddling and practically suffocating with a kiss could certainly make it onto a "World's Most Embarrassing Moments' list. Instead of moving, I froze.
"Why?" I whispered. Why do I have to ask "why?" so much?
"I can't do this with you," Those words ripped through me like I was a fragile piece of paper. With me?
I removed myself from his embrace and sunk into the passenger seat, avoiding his eye contact at all costs. The engine roared as he turned the key in the ignition and I watched each water droplet roll down the window as he drove us home.
❁
"Listen to me," Aaron's voice followed closely behind me as I stormed to my room like a child. It was quite embarrassing but I didn't care.
"Listen to a man who can't sleep with me?" I scoffed. I realized I was being harsh but it didn't matter in the moment.
"It's not like that, Olivia," I quickly spun around on my heels, causing him to abruptly stop.
I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to keep my calmness in tact as I spoke to him. "Then what's it like?"
He shook his head and let out a sigh similar to the one I heard in the car just before he ultimately rejected me.
"I don't casually sleep with women." His statement confused me. I didn't know what that meant but he stared at me as if his truth was obvious. The confusion must've been clear on my face because he continued. "I use them, Olivia. Not for their satisfaction but for mine." I took a moment to process what he was saying and quickly realized the Aaron I was remembering piece by piece was far gone.
A loud ring cut through the tension filling the room, and Aaron reached for his pocket, retrieving his cellphone.
"I have to handle this." His voice is solid and short.
I returned to my room and spent the next hour packing a bag.
Clothes, check.
Phone, check.
Shoes, check.
I wasn't sure where I was going to go but I couldn't stay in that penthouse for a minute longer. I don't know what it was that I felt for Aaron, but whatever it was, it's long gone now.
I scrolled through the short amount of contacts that were saved into my phone and ruled off each of them except for one. Natalie.
The phone rang a couple of times and went to voicemail. I spent about five minutes calling my sister over and over and over, hoping for an answer. I didn't expect an answer considering it was nearly 1 o'clock in the morning but it didn't take long for my hope to fade.
My pants were dusty as I stood from the curb outside of the penthouse and the air was blistering cold. I hadn't planned for Seattle weather when I decided to run away from 'home' like a rebellious teenager.
"It's quite cold for you to be out here without a jacket, don't you think?" A deep voice cut through the bitter wind.
The voice came from a tall man, not much taller than Aaron. He was slim and had dark hair, matched with a well-kept beard.
I looked around for a moment, not sure if I was the one he was speaking to, "Yeah," I let out a soft chuckle. "Long story."
"We all have a long story," He began pulling the jacket off of his body. "None of us want to tell it, though." He draped the big jacket over my shoulders and gestured to the sidewalk. "Care for a drink?"
I contemplated running back to the elevator for a moment, but I couldn't. I gave him a simple nod and we began our way down the pavement, leaving Aaron and his penthouse behind us.