ALIYA TORRES
'Hey and remember what we agreed on, okay? Let Karen be happy. She deserves to be happy",Ray said the minute we hopped off his car.
The fresh smell of earth was back, the calmness and serenity of Ethan's mansion calmed me. In some sort of way, I felt like I was finally home. Like this was my second home.
The lights just by the terrace lit the driveway and the path to the main door. I was supposed to come back tomorrow but I decided there was no difference between Sunday night and Monday morning.
Okay maybe I did come back early to avoid talking about Vince with my mom. The guy just didn't amuse me.
'Ofcourse since you've been making me feel guilty about judging her all weekend", I said dryly watching him go to his car to pick up my bag from the back seat.
'You should feel guilty. The Aliya I know wouldn't stand in the way of someone's happiness",he said stretching out his hand to give me the bag and I casually took it.
'Maybe the Aliya you know wants to be happy too", I joked swinging the bag on my shoulder,"maybe am jealous because my mother already has another guy while I can't seem to get attention from anyone"
I huffed.
Ethan did regret kissing me the other day. He felt disgusted by me from the look on his pale face.
'You have my attention", Rat said his brown eyes cutting through me and I avoided the eye contact dismissing it with,
'I meant the I-like-you-as-a-woman attention not the best friend attention", I exhaled smiling a bit.
He took my hands in his, he raised his head so that our eyes met and I felt my throat start to dry. His gaze was more than the regular Raymond Chester gaze.
He rubbed circles on my palms and I failed to understand what exactly he was doing.
'Ray I-'
But he cut me off before I could say anything further,
'I see you as a woman. I see you as the most gorgeous, passionate, kind, amazing, outspoken woman I've ever met. Damn it! I've been trying to tell you this for so long, Aliya. I've been trying to hide what I feel for you but I see you in my dreams, you are in my thoughts 24/7 and when you are not near me… I-I lose mind.
Do you understand what am saying? Aliya, I've loved you since we were kids, since I understood the meaning of love. It's hard to tell you this now… it's wrong to lay all this out on you but I have to…I need to. Mittens, I love you"
I held a straight face, being shocked on the inside and being caught unawares by his sudden revelation.
His eyes searched for mine begging me to say something. I could feel the emotions laced in his voice, I could feel how he meant each word but the thing is… I-I just didn't feel the same.
I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I was tongue-tied. If I said something then I would definitely regret it later.
I didn't want to lose my bestfriend and at the same time I didn't want my bestfriend to be my…even saying the word boyfriend sounded weird in my head.
Raymond Chester was handsome-like Chris Hemsworth-handsome but I just couldn't see him I'm a different light.
He was like a brother actually scratch that he was more of a brother and to think of me and him together together didn't make sense.
I opened my mouth only to close it again like a fish..the words I wanted to say were at the tip of my tongue but I didn't have the strength to let them out.
When I did open my mouth this time, I felt warm plush lips on top of mine. I felt his hand grip the back of my neck and like how fast adrenaline was released into the body, we were kissing.
Technically Ray was kissing me. It was gentle at first, I could feel him hesitate while I? I didn't feel anything other than the thought that what he was doing was crazy and it needed to stop.
My hands lay on his chest trying to push him off me but he couldn't barge. I felt him grip my waist even tighter taking my lips forcefully into his mouth and I had to bite him just to get him off.
He stepped back, his eyes widening I'm horror while he took his hands off me.
'Ali, I-I-',he started.
'You need to go", I said sternly fixing my top.
It felt weird. It was nothing, he just kissed me but somehow I felt weird and mishandled and…a lot of emotions going haywire in my body.
'I got carried aw-'
'Leave Raymond. Just leave", I yelled watching him raise his hand to say something but stopped when he noticed me glaring at him.
I gripped the sling of my bag watching Ray drive off in a rush. And in that moment, while I stood in the dark listening to the sound that the cicadas and the crickets made, I knew one thing for sure.
That I had just lost my bestfriend.
I smoothed the skin on my forearms biting back the cold breeze that gave me actual chills and goosebumps.
I stood by the mahogany white door, getting the keys that Mila had given me the other day and plunging one key into the keyhole.
The house was dark and real quiet meaning that Mila was asleep and so was Ethan. It was both a relief and a stress reliever because then I wouldn't have to face Ethan and I would actually go to my room and process what just happened with Raymond.
I locked the door behind me. I had hardly taken a step when I heard someone ask,
'How was date night?"
And from fright, I jumped dropping the keys to the ground and producing an echo throughout the house that was sure to wake even the bed bugs themselves.
I turned around to see a shirtless Ethan at the foot of the stairs walking towards me. Before he even reached me, I could smell the alcohol from where I stood and from the darkness, Ethan looked different.
The lights were off and only the moon's light penetrated through the closed light drapes.
He walked to where I stood, bending down to pick up the keys. And when he stood up, his bloodshot eyes gazing at mine, my breathing hitched.
He was standing dangerously closed.
His breath was practically fanning my nose.
He stretched his hand to me, grabbing my right hand by force and placing the keys in it.
'Next time you decide to have some fun with your boyfriend. Do it outside my property!" He lashed, walking away.
My feet were rooted to the ground as I watched him ascend the stairs using the railing for support.
'What boyfriend?" I asked myself.
Surely he didn't mean- had he seen Ray kiss me?
