Scarlet POV
I had spent the entire rest of the day lazing around, which was, to be honest, my favorite kind of day. I think I ate my entire body weight in popcorn and candy.
I wanted to wait up for Violet to come home, but by 2 in the morning, I was out. I wondered if she was okay, and for a little bit, I got scared Preston kidnapped her or something.
He gives me weird vibes, so I was still suspicious of his true intentions. I didn't want to force the topic on Violet anymore because it obviously annoyed her so, I would keep the wariness to myself. For now.
I knew if Violet was in trouble, she could handle herself, so I wasn't worrying too much. And if she needed me, she would call.
I woke up to the sun infiltrating the living room. I cracked an eye open and checked the time on my phone.
6:00 a.m., great. Thank you, bright ass sun, for waking me up.
I threw my middle finger up to the sky, grumbling curse words under my breath. I just wanted to sleep in today.
Unwillingly, I dragged my limbs off the couch, walking over to the kitchen to get my coffee going. Once the coffee was going, I walked over to Violets' room to see if she was here.
I knocked on the door a couple of times, cracking the door open a tad, peeking one eye in the room when no one answered. Hm, weird, no Violet.
Shrugging my shoulders, deciding they probably went to his place, I left her room, running to the Keurig when I heard it beep, signaling my lifeline was done brewing.
It was now 11, and I had already gone for a run and cleaned the whole apartment out of boredom. I used to go on early runs every morning, but once Star World opened, I had been either too tired to get up or too busy to find the time.
Yesterday I decided I would make time again. Running was so euphoric for me; it was like my own personal therapy. It was the only time I could fully let go of any problems and bullshit in my life. I always felt so free while I was running.
Also, from all the stress with Star World and Shay and even Anderson, I needed to clear my mind.
I was sitting at the table, doing some paperwork when I heard the front door open. "I really hope that is you, Violet, because if someone is trying to rob me right now, I have pepper spray, and I've taken some boxing classes. You really do not want to fuck with me," I yelled to the intruder, really hoping it was just my creepy best friend.
"Chill, you maniac, it's just me," Violet said, mockingly holding her hands up in surrender, throwing her keys and purse down on the table, then walking to the kitchen.
I got up from my chair and followed her, "so, give me all the juicy details."
"We had a good time," Violet said, turning around to face me for a second, smirk graced upon her lips. I noticed her usual perfect hair was all tangled out of sorts. Oh my god. Oh. My. God.
"You totally fucking slept with him, didn't you," I said, incredulously pointing at my best friend. My finger was slapped away in seconds, "No, I fucking didn't. We both had too much to drink, and Preston was tired and didn't want to drive. Not really that big of a deal. He just rented a hotel room for the night where we slept, only," she emphasized the only, giving me a pointed look.
"Hey, I wasn't judging you or anything," I said calmly, walking to the pantry to grab a snack.
"Yea, I know you weren't," Violet replied, walking over and sitting on a barstool, grabbing her black glasses and computer; now, typing away.
I waited a few seconds for her to give me more details, but when nothing came, I walked over to her again, leaning on the counter. "So that's it? Tell me more," I urged on, trying to get more out of Violet.
"I mean there's not much to say. We just got dinner and then slept basically. Preston is super sweet and really funny; I had a great time," Vi responded, not typing on her laptop anymore, now staring off with a dreamy look on her face. She seemed to snap out of it and then looked at me for a quick second with a smile before typing again.
That's strange; I wonder why Violet isn't telling me much. Usually, every time either of us goes out with a guy, we give a play by play of what happened when we get home. I hope she's not mad at me or anything.
Or, maybe the date didn't go well, and she saw the same thing in Preston that I saw in him. I'm kind of hoping she now thinks he might be someone of suspicion also. Obviously, I want Violet to be happy; she's my family, but there's something about Preston that doesn't sit right with me. And the last thing I want is for some asshole to come in and ruin her life.
"Oh my god, I totally forgot to tell you," Violet cheered, a look of excitement immediately overtaking her once concentrated face. I jumped a little, startled at Vi's random outburst.
"Some lady, Jessica Stevens, called me and said she owns a perfect building in New York that Star World could expand to. Isn't that amazing?"
"Holy shit, Vi, are you serious? That's fan-fucking-tastic, we were just talking about how badly we wanted to visit New York," I exclaimed. This really is the dream opportunity; it would be a perfect place for another club to open and living in New York half the time, how could we say no.
"I know right; we have to take this opportunity. We should fly to New York and figure everything out soon and tour the place to make sure we like it," Violet added, both of us now getting very excited.
It seemed like Star World had just opened a week ago, and now, it was one of the biggest clubs in Los Angeles and possibly New York too in the future. I felt like I had been living the dream recently, and life had been moving smoothly except for a few bumps in the road.
"We should plan a trip out there soon; maybe next week," I said, walking over to one off the barstools to sit next to Violet so we could look at tickets and hotels.
Violet and I spent the rest of the day obsessing over New York and making a list of things we wanted to do. Touristy stuff. We had the plane tickets bought and hotel reserved, so all we had to do was make some calls to make sure somebody would handle Star World while we were gone.
We also spent way too much time picking out outfits for the trip, our rooms now looking like a tornado ripped through them.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Already? It felt like I had just fallen asleep 20 minutes ago. I looked over at the clock and saw it was 6:30 a.m. Time to get up. I contemplated hitting snooze to go back to sleep, but my inner self told me not to.
I threw my covers off, reluctantly getting out of my warm, cozy bed, heading over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I always had to drink a lot of water before running, or else my stomach would hurt.
Then, I went back to my room to get changed, deciding on a purple workout set and white Adidas running shoes. Even Though it was cold outside, I didn't grab a jacket because I would get hot quickly working out. I may regret that later, but whatever.
Trying to be quiet, I grabbed my keys and water bottle, tiptoeing out of the apartment, careful not to wake Violet up.
I instantly smiled when I was out of the apartment; the sun was rising, filling the sky with specks of gold and vibrant blues and pinks—an invitation for a new day full of new possibilities.
I had already run 3 miles, sweat was dripping down my body, and my face beat red, my breathing now a short pant, lungs begging for me to stop and get air. But this was the best part of running, the part where your body and mind were under the ultimate test of giving up or continuing. It was exhilarating.
Suddenly my footsteps weren't the only ones pounding against the pavement; there was another pair now falling into synchronization with mine.
"Oh, hey, Princess, fancy seeing you here," I heard a cocky, playful voice say behind me.
Rolling my eyes, I didn't bother to turn around, "I didn't know I had a stalker," I said, the smile evident through my words.
"I run this route every day, so it seems as if I'm the one with a stalker now, huh?" Anderson replied mockingly.
I instantly turned around and faced him with my hands on my hips. He almost crashed right into me, but he skidded to a stop before he could. "Don't flatter yourself, Anderson, I have much better things to do than follow you around."
"I'm messing around with you, pull that stick out of your ass-" he said with a grin, graced on his perfect lips.
"-Oh shut up, there is no stick in my ass," my nose scrunching in disgust and arms now crossed over my chest. I was fighting the smile, trying to take over my face. "I actually am kinda busy, so, ugh I'm gonna go," I said, pointing my thumb behind my shoulder, hoping he would get the hint I was going to get back to running.
Anderson had his eyebrows pinched together, lip caught between his teeth as if he was trying to decide something. After a few seconds of waiting for a response from him, I turned around to keep going. I was only a few feet in front of him when I heard his footsteps fall into sync with mine again.
"Hey, actually, I was wondering if you were hungry," he said, looking over at me, then away again with an embarrassed look on his face. "You don't have to if you don't want to, it is totally okay, I get it if you have things to do-"
"- Yeah, sure, I am kind of hungry and in need of some caffeine," I replied, interrupting his nervous rant. Immediately Anderson went back to his calm and composed collected self, "Okay, cool, it is just a little cafe down the way a bit more." I nodded my head, and then we kept going.
After about another mile, we arrived at one of the cutest cafes I had ever seen. It was located in West Hollywood, tucked into a small corner, hiding in the skyscrapers' shadows. A hole in the wall kind of place. It was very rustic, wood accents complimented the white brick structure, glowing with bulb lights. Dark green vines had grown over the building, making it appear as if you were in a jungle rather than a big city. The only way to describe the place was ethereal. I read over the name, Sunrise Cafe, it was perfect.
I stood there, mouth agape. I'm such a whore for cute coffee shops. "Wow, Anderson, this place is unreal," I said, looking over at him with a massive grin on my face.
He gave me a once over, realizing I was admiring the beauty of the place rather than making fun of him, "Yea," he brought an awkward hand up, scratching the back of his head, "it's kind of like my little haven."
"I really really like it. Thank you for bringing me here," I replied, grabbing his hand. Both of us now looking down at our conjoined hands; we both let go.
"Just wait till you see the inside, it's even better than the outside," Anderson said, walking over to the door and holding it open for me to walk in.
"Thank you," I said, walking inside. He was right; the inside of the cafe put the outside to shame.
Various, vibrant plants were scattered throughout the shop, hanging from the ceiling, perched in the windowsills, sitting on the tables, and resting on the ground. The soft hum of Harry Styles cover of Girl Crush playing throughout the cafe. Behind the barista, a big red neon sign that spelled coffee was hanging on the white walls. But, what really caught my eye was the mural painted on the back wall. It reminded me of the sunrise I saw this morning, illuminating over the once dark city, now presenting lively colors over the darkness.
(Credits to the artist Angela Wakefield)
Anderson could see my eyes were stuck on the painting; he was staring at it as well but with a different expression, one of almost self-consciousness?
"This might be one of the most beautiful paintings I have ever seen," I said, still ogling the mesmerizing art. Taking a more in-depth look, I noticed a little scribble in the bottom left corner. It was probably the artist, curious to see who this mastermind was; I took a step closer. "SPK," I said aloud. Interesting, I wonder what that could stand for.
"I wonder what that could stand for," I questioned, thinking out loud on accident.
"Um, actually, I painted that," Anderson said softly, staring intensely at the painting, hands in pockets, his forehead creased with thought.
"No way, Anderson, that's unreal, I never knew you were an artist!"
"Yea, I've been painting ever since I was a kid. It's not something I tell very many people; they usually think it's lame," he replied. How could anyone ever make fun of him for that?
"Well, I think it's amazing, you should be proud of your art, not ashamed of it. But, what does SPK mean?"
"Uh, it means Spike, it's a nickname my friends from work call me," Anderson said, with a little smile on his face.
"That's an... interesting nickname; where did it come from?" I asked him. I didn't know much about the guy, other than that he worked for X and now that he paints in his free time.
"Hey, we should get a coffee and order some food, they have the best chocolate croissants here," Anderson said quickly, trying to change the subject. Instead of pushing the matter further, I nodded, agreeing with him; I was super hungry.
After ordering, we sat down at one of the tables next to a window.
"So, how has everything been these past few days," Anderson asked, picking up the croissant and ripping a piece off, putting it in his mouth. He has such nice hands; ring clad fingers painted black and pink, only making him more appealing. Snapping out of my mini daydream, I looked back up at him, noticing the smirk graced on his perfect pink lips.
I cleared my throat, "They've been good, same as always. Actually, something kind of exciting happened; some lady from New York called and said she has an available space if we ever wanted to open a second Star World."
"Wow, that's awesome, good for you guys. What do you think your boss would think, though?" Anderson questioned.
"Violet and I don't really care what he thinks, to be honest. We have enough money now to open another club, we don't need any financial help," I said. It was true, Vi and I had more than enough money to open another Star World, even 5 more if we really wanted to. Opening up a second one is the best option for us.
"Yea, I forgot you guys are big shots now," Anderson said playfully, staring at me with those deep, piercing blue eyes.
"You're really funny, you know that. You should become a comedian," I said back to him, picking a piece of my croissant off and throwing it at him, the both of us laughing now.
"We should get dinner sometime, I know a couple of really good Italian places in West Hollywood," Anderson asked.
"Yea, I'd really like that," I returned, looking down to try and hide the blush that was now rudely taking over my face.
Anderson and I sat at the coffee shop for a few more hours, talking and laughing. I think I had a tiny crush on him. I mean it was bound to happen and boy was I in trouble.
Author's Note: Hi guys, we hope you're enjoying Star World. We appreciate every single person who reads this so much! We'd love it if you guys started commenting your opinions, funny stuff, or whatever you want. We'd love to read them:). Hope you enjoy <3 - Tay & Ash