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●TRIP POV●
I won't say that I'm not weirded out by Warren's sudden change in demeanor. But I am . The only thing I can think about was the fact that Aria may be the reason. They did have dinner together last night and now he's here with her.
Suspicion began to settle when I saw the two of them together , smiling , laughing and touching . It wasn't inappropriate but those are things I have never once witnessed Warren do . Not even during the 'honeymoon' phase with Penelope.
Not wanting to create a bigger problem I asked Warren to meet me in the study before my session began . He seemed like he was in a good mood , so I figured that I might as well strike while it's still hot .
"Warren, have a seat," I point to the couch.
"Am I in trouble? What is this?" He says playfully, throwing me so off the course . I'm not used to this and I'm not sure I like it . Maybe I do but this just confuses me.
"No, but you're not acting like yourself," I say to him.
He leans back with his legs apart, also something he doesn't do, "and how would I be more myself?"
"I don't know , cold , mean , serious , I didn't even know your face muscles could smile," I tell him.
"Trip, I'm happy right now . For the first time in 20 years I'm over the moon."
I look out the window at Aria , who is joking around with Tony, "she's something else . She lights up the darkness," I say , almost in a trance like .
"Something we both can agree on bro. She makes the difference in this family ," he sighs as he gets up and stands next to me at the window.
"She's dating our little brother," I point out .
He just smiles , "is that what we know? Or is it what we were led to believe?"
His answer was super cryptic . What is that suppose to mean? Are they not a real couple? He must've seen the puzzled look on my face .
"Trip, if you knew that you had a fighting chance with the most beautiful and most perfect woman for you , what would you do?"
"War, did something happen to you and Aria that Alex should know about?" I asked in a careful tone .
"No. Nothing . But a lot of things were revealed," he says , again cryptically.
"I don't understand . You know emotional affairs are still cheating," I lecture him .
He scoffs, "you're one to talk . You don't think I see the way you smile at her? Or how willing you were to turn your life around for that woman?"
He caught me , "I don't want to let her down . She's been helping me out a great deal."
"Trip, things will become clear once we're all together again." With that he walks out of the room, leaving me to scratch my head.
As soon as he leaves my phone buzzes in my pocket. When I pull it out I see a message from Alex:
Hey did Aria get there alright?
This is strange . Why would he text me and not his own girlfriend? I reply back :
Yea. She got here closer to 8 this morning , with a surprise guest.
I hit send and he immediately called me .
"Hello , little brother, to what do I owe this pleasure?" I answer .
He sounded winded , "What do you mean a guest?"
"Um, Warren rode in with Aria this morning," I told him.
"What? Did she stay the night at his place ? After what I told Warren. Send me the address to your place and make room for another guest," is what he said back and hung up before I can say anything else .
I walked outside and signaled for Aria to come over because I want some answers. When she got close enough, I said in a soft voice so no one else can hear, "Alex is coming over here , right now. Can you please tell me why both my brothers are here?"
She screwed her face together , which by far was the cutest thing I've seen her do , "Why is he coming here? When did you talk to him?"
"He called me , asking if you got here safely. I let him know you arrived a little close to 8 with Warren . Does he not know ?"
She sighed, "I probably should have told him but we're not on speaking terms right now."
"Did he do something stupid?" I asked immediately . Why I assumed it was him and not her, even though she showed up with a different brother , says a lot .
"I don't want to discuss it, when does he arrive?" She dodges the question by asking another .
"Couple hours, but knowing him , probably a lot sooner."
"I've got to warn Warren, I'll be right back," and so she walks quickly upstairs to his room. What is it with Warren that women love so much about him? He's not exactly the kindest person , although around Aria he's transformed . The thing I give him credit for is that he doesn't get tempted easily . For all I know, he may have never even touched Penny.
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●ARIA POV●
I don't know why my first reaction was to panic . It was as if I was being caught doing something I'm not supposed to . But I remind myself that Alex and I aren't a real couple. I just don't want a dramatic showdown with Warren and Alex during Trip's rehabilitation. This is such a mess .
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"Come in," Warren permits .
I open the door , "hey, I have to talk to you."
He's sitting on his bed with a white v neck shirt and a book in his hand . He looked extremely handsome and I couldn't help but salivate a little bit . The sight of him caused me buckle as I pressed my thighs together . Damn these Wells brothers and their good looks. Damn these hormones .
Warren smiled at me and put his book down, signaling for me to have a seat on the bed, "what's up?"
"Alex is on his way here," I was able to get out .
"What? Why?" He didn't look panicked , more like annoyed.
"He called Trip and Trip told him that you were here," I explain .
He let's out a sigh, "I suppose I need to get ready for another showdown."
"Showdown?" I ask .
"I don't know which round this is but he showed up to my place last night , right before you came," Warren tells me .
He then proceeded to recount parts of their argument . He didn't tell me everything as he felt that Alex should be the one to explain other details. I looked at him , trying to figure out what was happening.
"Were you guys arguing over me?" I didn't want to think they were . There's no reason .
"I warned him not to hurt you . And what does he do? The dumbest thing possible . I'm not going to apologize for putting him in his place," he says .
Hearing that Warren has my back like that really made me feel special . I don't know why , it just did . It may have been a normal thing for him , but for me? The only people like that in my life are my sister , Sonja and my cousins; which they are all women.
I scoot closer to him , feeling the warmth of his legs radiating off of him . It's like a gravitational force pulling me into him, "Thank you," I say as I pull him into a hug.
A hug that sent thousands of electric bolts shoot throughout my body . He must've felt the same thing because he had a look of shock on his face. We didn't want to untangle ourselves from the embrace but at the same time if we didn't we might have been tangled up even more . Only Warren knows the truth of what's transpired in the last 48 hours . Only he knows the secret that Alex and I have been keeping .
And because he's the only one , aside Sonja, that I can truly confide in, it makes this whole scene much more intimate than it may seem . I breathed in his natural musky scent and I can feel the endorphins kicking in . How? I'm not even doing anything other than being this close to him .
Warren finally breaks the silence , "We should probably let go ," he says pulling away while staring at me .
"You're right, we don't want anyone getting the wrong idea," I say.
"Yes, and I need to prepare myself for Alex's arrival," he looks at me , "will you be okay?"
I nod, "I think so . I still needed space but it looks like he'll be joining us here."
"I think he should know , that I know," Warren suggests.
I breathe in deeply allowing my nostrils to flare out a little, "You're right. But I don't know how well that will go over with him ."
"He likes you , but I do too and I think we need to make the field clear," he states.
"Y- You like me?" I stammer .
"Yes and if we stay this close together , alone, I don't know how much longer I can hold back from kissing you. Out of respect for my brother, I will refrain . I think you need to talk to him and hear him out," he stands up from the bed and paces to the window.
I move my chin up and down , agreeing to his suggestion . He likes me . Now I wish Sonja was here . I could invite her but I don't want Trip turning this into a bed and breakfast since this is HIS place of peace .
Finally standing up from my spot , I walk towards the door . Before I leave I look over my shoulder to see Warren staring at me , "I'll talk to him," I say as I leave.