Saturday morning was quiet — until Gwen barged into Aria's apartment like a hurricane with a coffee in one hand and a phone in the other.
"Emergency."
Aria, still in pajamas and halfway through a spoonful of cereal, blinked. "Unless Lawson's back from the dead, I doubt it qualifies."
Gwen flopped onto the couch dramatically. "It's my cousin's bachelorette party tonight. My date bailed. You're coming."
"Pass."
"Nope. Already added you to the group chat. It's themed. Pink dresses, obnoxious tiaras, and possibly karaoke if we get drunk enough."
Aria groaned. "Why do you hate me?"
"Because it's fun," Gwen chirped. "Oh, and guess who's going to be there?"
"God, please don't say Ethan."
Gwen smirked. "Ethan."
"Why?!"
"Because I invited him."
"You're evil."
"Listen," Gwen grinned. "You two have been dancing around this will-they-won't-they thing for months. It's infuriating. You need a push. Or at least tequila."
By the time evening rolled around, Aria found herself squeezed into a blush pink dress, tiara askew on her head, and nursing a strong cocktail while Gwen's cousin screeched along to Since U Been Gone.
And of course — Ethan strolled in like a damn GQ cover model.
Dark button-up, sleeves rolled, smug grin firmly in place. He made a beeline for their table, leaning down to whisper against Aria's ear.
"Nice tiara, princess."
She scowled, though the way her stomach flipped betrayed her.
As the night wore on, the drinks kept coming, and the dance floor filled up. Aria tried to ignore the fact that Ethan looked way too good laughing with Gwen and some tall, leggy blonde from the next table over.
Aria told herself she didn't care.
She definitely didn't care.
She cared.
When the blonde casually touched Ethan's arm mid-conversation, something primal flared in Aria's chest.
Without thinking, she downed her drink and grabbed the nearest guy.
"Dance with me," she ordered.
He blinked, startled. "Uh — sure."
She dragged him onto the floor, trying not to look over her shoulder. But of course, she felt Ethan's gaze burning into her back within seconds.
The random guy — she thought his name might be Nick — tried to twirl her, but she wasn't really paying attention.
The song switched to something slower, and Nick's hands slid a little too low on her waist.
Before Aria could react, a firm hand gripped her wrist.
"Mind if I cut in?" Ethan's voice was all smooth control, but his eyes? Pure jealousy.
Nick wisely stepped aside.
Aria raised a brow. "Jealous, Cole?"
"I'm not a saint," he muttered, pulling her flush against him.
The slow song wrapped around them, and for a second, the rest of the room disappeared.
Aria's pulse was pounding in her ears. The press of his hand against her back, the way he smelled like clean cologne and bad decisions — it was intoxicating.
"Why do you get under my skin so easily?" she asked quietly.
His lips brushed her temple. "Because you let me."
She looked up at him then, caught off guard by the softness in his expression.
"I can't keep doing this," she whispered. "This back and forth. It's driving me insane."
"Then don't," he said. "Stop running."
There was a split second of silence between them.
And then — she kissed him.
It wasn't careful or tentative. It was fierce, possessive, a claiming. She felt his breath hitch before his arms tightened around her, kissing her back like he'd been waiting years for it.
The room could have exploded and neither would've noticed.
When they finally broke apart, his thumb brushed her cheek.
"We're gonna screw this up, aren't we?" she murmured.
"Probably," Ethan grinned. "But it'll be one hell of a ride."
And Aria?
She was officially done fighting it.....