Britney Spears - Slumber Party
Like a slumber party
No, n-no, no, you and I, I,
We ain't gonna sleep tonight
Like a slumber party
After coming back from the airport, Axel parked his car near my café. I asked him to stay for a coffee, but he declined, needing to drive an hour to get home. Acting on impulse, I leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth and bolted out of the car without looking back.
I reached the kitchen, closed the door, and leaned against it, my heart pounding. My lack of physical activity was finally catching up to me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Jennifer said, "Long time no see." Startled, I jumped a foot in the air.
"What is wrong with you?" I yelled, and she threw a spoon at me. "...I'm sorry, darling. I've been busy. But, I'll be here a full week." I said, picking up the spoon.
"Help me clean this up. We'll have a girl's night," she said cheerfully. I'd never seen her this happy before. Something told me I wasn't the only one struck by Cupid.
An hour later, we had the perfect setup for our slumber party: junk food, cozy oversized clothes, face masks, some show running in the background on my old laptop that we were paying no attention to. No wonder Netflix asks if you're still watching. And that crazy, nosy gleam in our eyes, waiting to dig out information.
"So, spill it," she said.
"Spill what?" I asked, stuffing my mouth with salty potato chips. That earned me a death stare from her. "...It's good. It's like having a sophisticated gentleman as a roommate. He's really respectful and always introduces me as his wife, even though there's no need."
"Then what's the problem?" she asked, taking the chips from me.
"There's no problem," I said, fluttering my eyes like a moron to hold back my tears, failing miserably.
"Stop playing this mind game with me, Arianna. He's good for you. Why are you two so afraid of making a move? And I already saw you running to the café like a crazy person." She pleaded with me.
"I kissed him in the car...." I blurted out, and her eyes widened. "...On his cheek," I added, picking at imaginary dirt on my nail.
"You're no fun, Arianna." She huffed, giving me the chips back.
"I can't take his chivalry for something else. He is genuinely a nice person, not just with me but with everyone. He does it so naturally, I don't think he even realizes it." I said, feeling my chest tighten from the pain I was keeping inside.
"So, your problem is that your husband genuinely is a nice person and treats everyone equally," she said, shaking her head like I was a hopeless case.
"No, my problem is that I can't take his generosity as something else." I rasped, breaking into a sob. She sighed in defeat and focused on the show. I hugged the pillow to myself but couldn't take it anymore and said, "This café has been my dream since I was sixteen, and I'm close to owning it completely. I can't let my stupid emotions get in the way. And yes, the thought of Axel being with other women scares me. But you know I'm doing this for..." I croaked, and she hugged me.
"I know that, darling. I know everything. But love and affection make you stronger. You don't have to make any moves, but if Axel does, don't cower back, honey." Her smile and hopeful eyes made me think she was speaking from experience, but I wasn't going to push her, for now.
"And now I'm going to step back before we start making out," she said, pulling back like I was on fire.
"What the hell? What are you talking about?" I choked on my own saliva.
"Creepy Danny came by. Asked me where my soulmate Arianna is," she said, shivering at the reminder.
"No, he didn't." I deadpanned.
"He did. Not that I'm offended by the gay comment. But what made my blood boil was..." She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. "...He said he would pay to watch."
"Damn, that creep," I roared.
The drive back home was pure torture. I had to stop myself from grabbing Arianna's face and kissing her senseless. I needed a good night's sleep to make rational decisions at the office. With Dad on vacation, taking a break on Sunday was off the table. I tossed and turned in bed until I finally drifted off.
The next day, the office was empty when I arrived, except for Liam and his trustworthy robotic staff. They would do anything, no questions asked. Their level of morality was questionable; Liam could kill someone and they'd help bury the body. I bet that's why he hired them.
Around lunchtime, Liam annoyed me with his presence. "Didn't expect you to still be here. How are you holding up? Don't shy away from asking for my help, little brother," he said cockily.
"What are you, Liam, twelve? Just go away." I dismissed him, but his ugly ass didn't move an inch.
"I came for you. Since your darling wife isn't here, I thought we could have lunch together, just like old times." He smiled.
"Old times? You mean our school cafeteria? Where we had lunch in opposite directions with polar opposite groups?" I retorted. "Please leave, Liam. This is the first day without Dad. If he knew we were fighting, he'd be disheartened."
"Come on, man," he drawled, insistent on staying.
Before he could continue, my driver, Martin, interrupted. He isn't one to speak out of turn, so I knew he had a good reason. "Sir, Arianna told me to bring you lunch. She prepared your meals for the week. She was sure you would forget. Hello, Mr. Knight," he said, acknowledging Liam's presence with a nod. Liam left with his nose flaring like a bull. Martin would be getting a huge raise next month.
8 P.M.
"Hello, my dear white friend," Ranveer greeted me. Why am I friends with this guy?
"What do you want, Ranveer?" I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose in exasperation.
"Why are you treating me like Liam? It's Sunday, you're still working, and as your best friend, I'm worried about you." He paced around my office, making it feel even smaller.
"Workload is too much now, man. It'll take some time to catch up." I drawled out.
"How about we hit the café, have some sugary treats, and come back all charged up for maddening Mondays?" he suggested, his body shaking as if he was in a rush.
"Cards on the table, Ranveer. Did you sniff something? You sound like you're high."
"Just some castor sugar, white man. Now let's go. Martin will drive, and we can take a nap during the commute." He had everything planned.
"What's going on, Ranveer?" I asked in the car, where I was practically dragged.
"It's nap time, baby. Sleep now," he said, patting my head like I was a puppy.
"Ranveer, I'm serious," I snapped.
"Okay, fine. It's the bridesmaid, Jennifer," he admitted, looking away.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Martin, turn around. We're not going there. You can't do this, man. It will affect my relationship with Arianna," I said, snapping my fingers at Martin.
"Dude, have you ever seen me play with a girl's emotions? I don't know what the future holds, but I like this girl. It won't get ugly," he said seriously. I knew he wasn't that kind, but I didn't want to risk it with Arianna. "...And speaking of, what's with the 'Arianna and my relationship'? When did that happen? Am I being kept in the dark?" he turned the tables on me. We passed an intersection, but Martin kept driving.
"We're good. I want more, but I don't think she feels the same. But last night, she kissed me." I hid my face in my hands. What the hell am I doing, talking like a 13-year-old about my kiss?
"She kissed you?" he said, humoring me.
"On my cheek, you twat," I dismissed him. I didn't have the energy to discuss my potential future relationship with my driver present.
"You're reading into things over a cheek kiss, seriously. Maybe that's what they discussed during their sleepover yesterday," he said, nodding as if he had cracked the code.
"What sleepover?" I shouted, and Ranveer exaggeratedly covered his ears.
"Who are you, and what have you done with my friend? This workload is taking a toll on you, man. I'm talking about the sleepover they had yesterday. Check Instagram. And don't tell me you're not following Arianna," he said, grounding his words.
"I'm not following. I'll do it now. We're not in college. I only use Twitter. FB and Insta were abandoned long ago."
"That explains it. Now back to the point. They must have discussed it yesterday. That's the purpose of sleepovers." We bickered about sleepover topics until we reached our destination.
It felt good to be back. By 10 PM, we were ready to close. Jenny's cat-eyed look had turned into a panda look, while my smokey eyes gave me Winter Soldier vibes. All in all, everything felt normal.
When the bell chimed, I was ready to politely inform the customer that we were closed. To my surprise, it was Axel and his crazy friend, Ranveer. I thought I'd be nervous seeing Axel again, but I wasn't. I smiled as Axel showed me two large bags of food.
"Where's Jenny?" Ranveer asked. Before I could respond, he barged into the kitchen. Wow, that was subtle.
Axel was placing food boxes on the table when I approached him. "Care to tell me, or am I still going to be kept in the dark?" I gritted.
"Don't look at me, I was just found out," he surrendered.
It's my fault, I thought. Last night, I made everything about me. I need to be a better friend. Jenny and Ranveer came back with plates, and I turned a blind eye to her flushed cheeks and puffed lips. But I still gave an intimidating look to Ranveer when Jenny wasn't looking.
"We didn't know which drinks you two prefer, so we didn't bring any," said Axel after dinner.
"We don't drink. I just turned 21 a few weeks ago, and Jenny here is still a week shy. We made a pact that we'll have our first drink together," I said.
"You've got to be kidding me, ladies. You haven't even had a beer at house parties?" Ranveer said, his eyes flicking between me and Jenny.
"Nope. Never. No house parties for us," we shrugged. This part is completely true. I hated parties and the smell of sweaty people. Constantly being cautious of my surroundings was not my cup of tea, and my lack of a friend circle didn't help either.
"I wasn't really an extrovert," said Jennifer sadly. Now I regretted opening my mouth. Jennifer's mom wasn't always like this. She thinks that if she starts drinking, she'll become like her mom too. But I have plans for her birthday.
Axel and Ranveer left late that night, but not without making sure we locked the door. After changing into our comfortable clothes, I turned to Jenny. "I'm sorry, Jenny. Yesterday, I didn't give you a chance to tell me about Ranveer. I know you would never hide things from me. And also for my comment on drinking, I shouldn't have said that," I said ruefully.
"You don't have to apologize for anything. The reason I didn't tell you was because I didn't want you to feel bad. That day on your wedding, you told your driver to drop me home, but the Bells... and you know how they are. So Ranveer dropped me off and we just...."
I exhaled a deep breath and smiled humorlessly. "I... I don't know what to say anymore. I'm not even surprised. I should have seen it coming. But still... and I made that comment on drinking."
"Don't worry about it either. When Ranveer dropped me off, he saw my mom and her... John fighting for money." A treacherous tear fell from her eyes.
"And he stayed?" I whispered in surprise.
"Yes. After that, he dropped me here and came by every day. He helped me find a place, it's just a few blocks away. I'm moving in next week," she said. It's her 21st birthday next week.
"I'm happy for you, Jenny. I'm close to buying this place. You'll get your much-awaited raise. It's all going to be alright."
*****
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