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●ARIA POV●

We had just pulled up to my building when my phone kept going off . It was Alex but I didn't feel like picking it up . Was I pissed? Of course I was, I had just given myself to him and he flees the scene. I let it go to voicemail and Warren and I keep talking.

By the third phone call I decided to answer since I was getting out of the car , "Hello?"

Before Alex can say anything Warren yells over while getting back in the driver's seat , "I'll see you tonight. I'll text you my address."

I wave him off , cringing at what this could sound like to Alex. But then I remembered he left me to see another woman . A woman he willingly hurt his brother over . I steeled my resolve to be mad at him, and rightfully so.

"Alex? What is it?" I say into the phone .

"Are you going to Warren's tonight? Why?" Was the first thing he said to me . He sounded kind of mad, but what right does he have?

"He invited me over, I didn't know what your plans were or how long you were going to sit with 'Penny'," I say with an irritated voice as I emphasized her name. I don't know the woman but I know I don't like her.

How does someone go off and ruin two brothers? And on top of that she isn't even in the picture anymore, yet she found a way in . And now, it's not just two brothers but me as well .

"This is better if I come and see you . I'm not taking no for an answer, so I'm on my way," he says and then hangs up before I can protest .

Fuming at this short exchange I stomped into my building and into the elevator. Once I got through my door I threw down my duffel bag.

"Whoa, I'm guessing you didn't have a wonderful evening?" Sonja asks with confusion on her face as she walks towards the kitchen.

"Ugh, I thought it was all good ," I saw before covering my face with my hands, "we had an amazing night, heck we had an equally amazing morning until Warren showed up."

"Wait a minute, back it up . Let's start with the amazings first and then circle back to Warren," Sonja says as she takes a seat at the dining table.

I groaned at her , "We had dinner , walked on the beach and then he kissed me . The toe curling kind of kiss . I was completely under his spell and then we went back to the beach house and....." Sonja gasps , "well you know. And then we had a repeat a couple times more that night and then once in the shower when we were getting ready for breakfast. "

"Damn, sounds like a lot of pent up aggression you were letting out," she says to me , "How does Warren fit into this scenario?"

So I told Sonja about what transpired this morning and how Alex took off without a second glance . She stood up , "What is wrong with him ? Why would he just leave of 'girlfriend' to go to some woman that not only broke his brother , or broke him, but almost broke a relationship between brothers? Is he dense?"

I raise my shoulders , "I don't know, but he kept calling and calling . When I finally answered he got uppity because he heard Warren confirming dinner plans tonight," j tried to sneak that last part in .

"Excuse me? Hussy , did you just say you're having dinner at Warren's?" She looked at me with her big eyes .

"He asked me if I wanted to hang out since Alex ditched me . Before you start assuming things, this is NOT a day."

"I don't think it's a good idea," she begins .

"It's not like Alex and I are , besides Warren isn't the kind of guy to go after anybody's girlfriend," I defend him .

"If the right girl came along , he might , what happened with Alex? You didn't finish."

"Well that's because you interrupted me," I glare at her , "he said he wasn't taking no for an answer and that he would be coming right over . Like right now."

"Oh dear Lord. For a woman who doesn't want a relationship you sure do know how to turn a fake one to a real one while reeling in the older and hotter brother. whoever you don't want can I have them?" She pressed her hands together in a mock plea.

"I'm so mad at him. But I don't want to be one of those girls who doesn't hear the guy out ."

"You never have been and this is why men like you . You don't play games and you always listen. Of course with the exception of Dylan . There was no valid reason for what he did," Sonja says.

The buzzer for the front goes off and I don't need to see who it is. I just went ahead and let Alex in .

♡♡♡

●ALEX POV●

I made to Aria's place in record time . I don't even know how fast I was going, all I knew was I needed to get here right away. Hoping I misheard the tail end of their conversation , I need to see if she's really going to Warren's place tonight.

Thinking of the possibility that those two could get together makes me mad . So mad that I accelerated even more. Warren couldn't possibly do that to me . And was what Penny said true? Was Aria the girl that Warren had been pining over , all these years?

No matter, I ran into her first . I was the one who matched with her and I'm the one she should be spending time with . Not only was our first kiss magical but what we shared last night brought me to another world.

Yes , Penny and I may have had a physical relationship that , at the time, was something I thought was amazing . But with Aria, it was mind blowing, it was all consuming and it made my heart grow even more with affection towards her.

This feeling is unlike anything I've felt with ANY other woman . Aria is straight up the best person I have ever met and been lucky enough to be with . Our fake relationship was the only thing in the way because I want this for real and there's a chance I may have ruined it .

I was not expecting for Warren to be the one she fell into . But then again, I did catch her a time or two either sighing at him or staring . It could all be just my imagination or my guilty conscience playing with me . I did , afterall, wrong my brother first . But we cleared the air .

The one thing I knew for sure was that I needed to see her now . I needed to apologize and explain myself . Penny is my past , a past that u buried. It used to sting my heart whenever I thought of her but these last couple weeks , I forgot all about her .

When I got to her building I ran from my car to the entrance . I buzzed for her apartment and without so much as a hello , she let me up. My heart was drumming erratically as I made my way to her door .

Sonja opened it with a scowl on her face . Great, she told her about my hit-and-run this morning. I know it's not a good look to do what we did and then I left as soon as another woman's name came up and I will very apologizing profusely for that .

"Wait in the living room," she said before walking away. I swear I heard her "tsk," before she left.

Aria then appeared . Beautiful as ever , even angry . She had walked towards me with her arms crossed in front of her , "Talk."

The nervousness I had began to disappear as I got up the courage to confess , "First, what happened this morning was a terrible move on my part . I should have told you she was calling me . It was nonstop since she had dinner with Warren . I kept ignoring her calls but they were getting to be too much . So , I called her back . Told her to leave me alone."

"Okay, so why not tell me this? You know I probably would've encouraged you to find out what she wanted, but here we are now," she says to me .

"I know, it was a misjudgment on my part and I regret how I dealt with it . When Warren explained that Penny was sick , I felt guilty. I didn't even give her a chance to explain before I told her to leave me alone," I answer and then continued , "Ar, last night was the most incredible night I have ever had . I'm not saying that to get you to forgive me. I'm saying that because it touched my heart in a way I have never felt ; for anyone."

"Alex, do you know how hurtful that was this morning ? How embarrassed it made me feel, especially because it happened in front of your brother . It made me look dirty and I'm supposed to be your girlfriend. I thought , after what we did last night, that..."

"That what?" I ask her , standing up so that we were more inches away from each other . So that she was only a fingertip distance from me to grab her and hold her.

"That this could have been more than what we agreed on, but now I see I was wrong."

"No. Please Aria..." I begged her.

"I like you Alex, more than I should have . I knew that if we crossed into a physical relationship that one of us was going to get hurt . It just so happens that I was caught up again," she begins and I couldn't help but feel the sting of her words .

"Aria, please....." I try again.

"I think I need some time ."

"NO!" I yell out , "This morning was a misunderstanding and I made the big mistake of leaving without thinking. Last night was the best night of my life and like hell I'd let you just walk away from me . From us."

"Exactly, you left without thinking, Alex. When it comes to Penny, you don't need to think," she argues , "what we did , we shouldn't have . I'm not saying we need to fake breakup but I need time to clear my head . "

"The wedding is less than 2 weeks away ," I try to plead my case , "we can't fall apart now."

"We aren't but I need time . "

I nod at her, I'm not giving up on us and I can see that she really doesn't want to talk anymore , "fine but just so you know, I'm not losing you to Warren."

I walk towards the door and she stops me with , "what's that suppose to mean?"

All I do is give her a meaningful look . I really hope in my heart that what Penny said was a misread and that I also was seeing things that weren't there.