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I was warm, very warm. My eyelids felt heavy, and I had to work to get them to open. When I finally did, I was met by an unfamiliar blue wall. I blinked a couple of times, but the scenery didn't change. Instead, dread filled me as I slowly sat up.

I had the headache of a lifetime.

Finally sitting straight up, I looked around the room. It screamed bachelor pad, if the blue and grey décor was anything to go by. I looked for any clues that could give me an idea of where the hell I was, but I came up short.

It took removing the blanket from myself for me to truly panic.

"Before you scream, you might want to heavily consider the fact that you're hungover."

My eyes shot to the half-naked man in the room, and hungover as I was, all I could do was drool. He was in his Calvin Klein trunks, putting on his jeans. His torso was slightly wet, and judging from the same condition of his hair, I could only guess that he'd just come from a shower.

Like that's the first sight a girl needs to see when she wakes up with a hangover.

"Why am I in your clothes?" I manged to gather my wits and ask.

He had a look in his eyes that I couldn't decipher as he crawled onto the bed, coming closer until he was right in front of me. "We had a wild night and made crazy love."

"That can't be true," I denied, a little out of breath at our proximity.

"That's because it isn't true, but you did try to come onto me," he replied before getting off the bed.

"I remember nothing," I said ashamedly.

"Don't try to, especially in your state. Everything will come back to you. What I can tell you is that you had loads of fun, and that at the end of the day, your dress paid for it, hence the clothing," he pointed out.

"And why didn't you just take me back to my apartment?" I asked curiously.

"I tried to. You can even ask the receptionist in your building. You were wasted beyond comprehension, and when we got there, you refused to leave the car. I carried you out and managed to get you back in your apartment, only to get a call saying that you were attempting to leave the building. I had to come back and fetch you. You wanted to play Monopoly, and we did, except you're a terrible loser. You set my board on fire before declaring you wanted to wrestle me. I refused, and that's when you turned your poor gown into, and I'm quoting you here, 'a warrior princess dress'. When you finally passed out after threatening the future of my children, I changed you into my clothes because I didn't think you'd want to wake up to a shredded dress," he informed.

"None of that happened," I denied once more.

"While I may have joked about us making love, this I am not making up. Take a look for yourself," he said, handing me his video camera.

The video starts out with him saying 'you won't believe me, so this is your proof', before I appear, sitting on the lounge floor with the game laid out. He truly entertained me in the game for an hour before I'd lost all my money and went into a rage, resulting in the torching of the board.

I sat horrified as the video goes on to show my 'warrior princess' moment. I ripped my gown in different places before attacking this poor man. What surprised me was his reaction though. You'd think he'd be angry, but he was laughing and going along with my madness like it was normal.

"I don't know what to say for myself," I said lowly.

"Well, I'm proud of you if that counts for anything," he commented.

I was wide eyed. "Are you insane? Why would you be proud of such shameful behaviour?"

"Firstly, I don't think it was shameful. You've already told me that you've never done anything fun or daring like that in your life, and while you regret it now, last night you enjoyed yourself more than I've ever seen anyone enjoy themselves. You were the carefree one. Secondly, in all fairness, you were both high and drunk, which made for a bad combo," he explained.

"High? When did I get high?" I asked in confusion.

"There was an incident at the fundraiser with one of the caterers and some cookies you consumed," he replied.

"Oh my god! Was I like this at the fundraiser?" I asked in horror.

He chuckled. "Thankfully, no. We left the place a little earlier, but you didn't want to end the day yet, so we went out for drinks. When you were starting to show signs of getting overboard, I decided to take you back to your apartment, but you only got super crazy in the car. The rest you already know," he responded.

My mind was fuzzy, but the more he spoke, the more it started coming back to me. I could remember how much fun I really had at the fundraiser. We were dancing, and there was even impromptu karaoke, which I made him participate in with me.

I could remember not wanting the night to end, hence us going for drinks. We spoke about so many things, some relevant and some random. I frowned a little when I realized that I opened up to him about some things no one else knows anything about in my life.

It unsettled me even more to realize that I trusted him on such a level.

"The bathroom is behind that door and there's a new toothbrush, facecloth, and fresh towels. My closet is over there. You can take a shower and then meet me downstairs. I'll go and get started on breakfast, though we should technically be having dinner," he informed.

"What? What time is it?" I asked.

"It's five in the evening. You only fell asleep at nine in the morning, so you slept through the day," he informed before leaving the room before I could say anything else.

It took me a while to move, and only because I was still taking in what had happened. The longer I sat there, the more everything came back to me. I was dismayed to finally remember that I did in fact try to come onto Aramis.

The poor man had to do everything to stop me. He told me that he wouldn't take advantage of me like that before he carried me all the way here. I wouldn't let him leave, so he lay with me and I cuddled into him.

I must've then fallen asleep.

Humiliated doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling. Granted I did enjoy myself for the better part of the night, the not so gracious parts of the night had me wanting to never have to face Aramis ever again.

I finally gained the energy to get off my behind and get clean. I got up slowly because the pounding was still in my head. I headed over to the bathroom and was beyond impressed by how neat and beautiful it looked.

Everything was there as Aramis had said it would be, and I took a much-needed shower after brushing my teeth. By the time I was done, I felt a little better. I smelled like a man because I used his shampoo, and I was going to smell even more like a man from using his lotion.

I headed to his closet when I was done and picked out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I found a new pair of trunks with the price tag still on, and I didn't feel like repeating underwear, so I figured why not? I didn't mind wearing my bra again though.

Being my size, the two items of clothing fit me comfortably and I wore his black slippers too. I left my hair in curls to dry on its own as I headed downstairs to find him. I was lost for a few seconds before I found the stairs. The closer I got down, the more I could smell the heavenly food.

When I got to the kitchen, his back was facing me as he was busy at the stove. I took the time to look around the kitchen. It's a modern kitchen with high tech looking appliances, but I had no view of what he was cooking since it seemed everything was still cooking.

"The food isn't ready yet, but you can have a seat," he said, bringing me out of my ogling.

I pulled a chair at the island and sat down. "Whose place were we at in LA?"

"That's an awfully random question," he commented, turning back to the stove.

"It's just that Gio told me that your only residence in the States is in New York, so I'm curious," I explained.

"Gio? As in Gio Padachi?" he asked, turning to face me once more, to which I nodded.

"How do you know Gio?" he questioned.

"We were childhood friends who lost touch. We reconnected in Greece. That's where I was that week after you proposed," I informed.

He nodded slightly. "He's right. We were at Artemis' apartment since he does more business in LA than I do."

"And you only operate in New York?" I asked.

"I do go to my clients all over the country if need be, but New York is where I decided to settle. There's just something about the buzz here that's different from everywhere else," he said. I could tell that there was just something about this place that held some value to him.

"What made you decide to be a lawyer?" I asked curiously.

"You mean as opposed to going into fashion or business?" he asked knowingly, to which I again nodded.

He moved around the kitchen a little before answering my question. "Justice."

"Justice?" I questioned, confused.

"Your father is the reason why I decided to study law. I had gone to visit my parents in the Hamptons one holiday, and you father happened to be there. He was telling my father about a case where people were being robbed out of their money by a corporate company. My father wasn't all that interested, but I was hooked onto every word. Noticing this, your father later called me aside and asked me how I felt about the story he'd told. Before I knew it, I was riled up at the injustice of the whole thing, and that's when he urged me to take up law. My parents weren't impressed with me to say the least. My father told me that I'd never make a good lawyer because of my personality, while your father believed that it was my personality that would make me a brilliant lawyer. He was the first person to hire me once I'd passed the bar," he told.

I was mesmerized just watching him speak. There's a fire in his eyes when he speaks about the things he loves. It was the same fire I saw just the night before when he was sharing the story of how he decided to join in starting the charity organization.

It's the same fire he had in his eyes when he told me that he's in love with me.

If I didn't believe him then, I most definitely believed him now, as much as a part of me didn't want it to be true. I didn't want it to be true only because I was afraid of what I was starting to feel for him. I was already with someone else, and yet just being in this man's presence had my world feeling aligned in all aspects.

I remembered something from his words. "Back in LA, your mom said something about you wanting to take everything from me. What did she mean by that?"

"She didn't mean I'd be taking everything from you per se. She was referring to your inheritance, which I tried to take away from your father," he said with a grim look on his face.

"Why would you want to do that?" I asked, perplexed.

"It was very early on in my lawyer days, and I was highly fired up on the whole getting justice thing. Now, I don't know how much Trent told you about the past, but we found out together that your father was into some illegal things as well. Long story short, I tried to work with the feds to take him down, except I had the wrong end of the story. All of the assets that I was actually trying to take away from him, he'd acquired legally. After that whole mess, he never trusted me again. I left and did my own thing and built my reputation, until he called me that day those months back to give me a chance to redeem myself and earn his forgiveness. I'm not there yet, but I'm not giving up either," he responded.

I didn't expect any of what he told me. I could remember the time he was talking about. I was still in high school then, and I never saw much of my dad or brother around that time, but I remember the one day when my dad came back home, ranting about how he'd been double-crossed by a little boy.

I'd never seen him that angry before.

I cocked my head to the side. "What exactly is the problem Aramis?"

"That's not a conversation we're having today. Dinner's ready," he replied, turning back to the pots.

"And when will be the right time to have it? When's someone's dead?" I questioned.

"No, but that time isn't now either. I promise you I will tell you everything I know so far soon enough," he said sincerely.

I sighed. "And why should I trust that?"

"Because Evie, I've opened up to you for two days. Why would I choose to shut you out now?" he pointed out.

"I don't even know why you're opening up to me to begin with," I admitted.

"I'm well aware of what everyone thinks of me, even before you told me, and like I said to you, I'm fine with them thinking that way of me, and I'm fine with acting like that. However, your brother knows how I truly feel about you, and he pointed out to me that the fastest way to push you away would be to remain a brute towards you. Pushing you away is the last thing I want, even if pulling you in isn't an open option for me right now," he said, and I could tell that it didn't sit well with him to say those words.

"I don't deserve having you open up to me if having me isn't an option for you Aramis. It isn't right," I argued.

"It's not your decision to make. Besides, I believe in what I believe in," he countered.

I scowled. "And that is?"

"That you and Bingham don't belong together. You know it deep down inside. You feel it even right now. You just don't want to hurt him, and I get that, therefore I shall wait," he replied.

Aramis honestly has a talent of saying things that just leave me speechless. He also has a talent of knowing when to not push something or drag awkward situations out. This time wasn't any different as he left the conversation where it was and instead dished up for us.

"Oh my God! What is this?" I moaned.

He laughed. "It's mac and cheese."

"What? That's impossible! Mac and cheese doesn't taste so heavenly!" I denied.

"I'm flattered you think so, but it really is mac and cheese. I just cook it with five cheeses, a special sauce of mine and some bacon chunks," he informed.

"Who taught you how to cook?" I asked curiously before taking a bite of heaven.

"My grandmother, but I've never cooked for anyone else but myself. You're the first person to taste anything I've cooked," he admitted bashfully.

I smiled at how innocent he looked then. "Well, I'm honoured, so thank you. What game are we playing tonight?"

"And risk another one of my board games going up in flames? Besides, aren't you going back to your apartment?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll be alone, and it sucks being in a big place by yourself," I confessed.

"Alright, but let it be noted that it was your idea to stay," he pointed out.

"As long as you don't take advantage of me, then we shouldn't have any problems," I countered.

He smirked. "If the last twenty-four hours are any indication, you're the one who's going to have to control themselves."

I gasped and he laughed, getting up to go and get his board games. I finished up my food and he gave me some chocolate mousse before laying out our chosen game for the night- Scrabble. I love board games so much, it's ridiculous.

"Why do you have so many board games anyway? Aren't you alone for most of the time?" I asked him as he created a word.

"First of all, ouch. Secondly, you and Zena are a lot alike. While I don't have much of a relationship with her, playing board games is the one thing we bond over, so I made sure that I have board games at all my places in case she decides to visit me," he replied.

I already knew that Zena loves board games since it's one of the things we bonded over too. "If there ever was a sad loser, it would have to be Zena."

"I beg to differ. She's never set any of my boards on fire," he teased.

"I wasn't myself," I complained.

"And my poor Monopoly board paid for that," he continued taunting.

I pouted. "Why did you even have a fire going to begin with?"

"You didn't feel it because you were warm from all the alcohol you had, but it was actually quite chilly last night," he informed.

"I don't even drink all that much. I blame you," I said childishly.

He didn't look the least bit bothered. "Like I said, you had fun, so you can blame me all you like."

"Weren't, weren't you even a little worried that I was going overboard?" I asked.

"Why? I was with you the whole time, so I knew you were safe. Besides, like I said, you told me that you've never just let loose before, and last night you did. People have done worse in the state you were in, but you shouldn't feel bad about it. You had fun Evie. Stop beating yourself up about it and thinking about what other people will think," he said sternly.

My heart beat rapidly at his words. It both unnerves and relieves me that he can read me so well. I was in fact thinking about what other people would think if they found out about last night, especially my friends and my fiancé.

And yet all this brute cares about is the fact that I had fun.

"Nutify isn't a word," he pointed out.

"What do you call it when you cover something in nuts then?" I asked.

He laughed. "I don't think it has an actual term, and even if it does, it's definitely not nutify."

"Oh, Great Aramis, I had noooo idea that you're a dictionary," I sassed.

"Neither are you Miss Nutify, so the word goes," he said.

"What? There's two of us here. The decision stands at fifty-fifty. We need a true decider," I argued.

"We'll toss a coin just so that you see that the universe agrees with me," he suggested, getting a coin from the table.

"If it's heads, the word stays. If it's tails, the word goes," I said, jumping on board.

It's safe to say that the game didn't last long after that.

"Are you really moping?" he teased.

"You have to be cheating somehow Ram-Ram. It's just not possible that you beat me," I said.

I laughed at the sour look on his face. "Of all the nicknames."

"What? Your name isn't exactly common, and trying to give you a nickname is difficult. How about you tell me which nickname you want?" I offered.

"Can't we just keep it at Aramis? I don't like nicknames, something Gigi refuses to understand," he said with a sigh.

"How come?" I asked. We were now just sitting on the couch, talking and drinking wine.

"I don't know. I've just always liked that my name is complex like you say. It makes me feel somewhat special amid being such a disappointment to people," he admitted.

"Do you have any other names?" I asked.

"Believe it or not, my full name is Aramis Felipe Van de Woodsen. I'm the only Van de Woodsen child without a Greek name, and yet I'm the only one who can speak Greek. My first name is French, and my second is Spanish," he responded, a cute scowl on his face.

"Why are you surprised? You were born to stand out. Your parents just didn't know at the time that you'd stand out in a way that goes against what they wanted for you, but you were born to be special for sure. Be proud of that, even if it probably makes you feel like you were left out," I comforted.

He looked surprised by my answer. "You're right in that it made me feel like I didn't belong for the longest time, especially with my illness in the picture, but I don't think I've ever thought of it like that."

"You're an amazing person Aramis, even if you don't want other people to see that about you," I said before I could stop the words.

Something in the air changed, and we both felt it. We stared into each other's eyes, almost daring each other to be the first one to make the first move. It was a struggle, that much was clear, but I was drowning in those cerulean orbs.

"I should take you home," he said lowly.

I nodded. "That's probably best."

And that's when we kissed.

It was raw.

It was passionate.

It was explosive.

It was better than the first kiss we shared in Greece, and any kiss I've ever shared with anyone else honestly. I forgot how to function altogether, my hands lost in his hair, and his locked around my waist as I straddled him. I don't know how long we kissed for, and I didn't care at the time.

He was the first to pull away, and we were both breathless. "I want you so badly Evie, but guilt isn't something I want you to live with. I know you don't want to break Cain's heart, and honestly, I don't want you to either because I was the shittiest friend to him. I don't want to do this to him again, even if the first time wasn't my fault. I just, I don't want to be that kind of man, and I don't want you to be that kind of woman either."

I looked at him, shocked when a tear escaped his eye. I was baffled, but I didn't think twice about bringing his head into my chest where he proceeded to break down. I had no idea what brought about the breakdown, but I wasn't about to question anything.

And neither was I leaving him alone.

"I'm not going anywhere," I told him once his crying had died down.

"You can't stay here Evie," he refused.

"You're mad if you think I'm leaving you alone here," I countered.

He narrowed his red eyes at me. "Nothing I say is going to change your mind, is it?"

"No, so you may as well give up," I said as I stood up.

I gave him my hand and he took it before I led him to his room. I made him get into the bed and sang him a lullaby, which surprisingly worked. When he was asleep, I left the room and headed back downstairs to drink some water. I heard buzzing and followed it to find his phone ringing. It was Gregory calling.

"Hey Greg," I said, answering the phone.

I was met by silence. "Do I want to know why you're answering his phone?"

"No?" I said unsurely.

He sighed. "Trent is looking for him."

"He's just fallen asleep," I informed.

"And where exactly is he sleeping?" he asked.

"In his bed," I replied.

"So you're the one who's somewhere they're not meant to be?" he asked knowingly.

"It's not what you think, or at least it's not heading that direction," I replied.

As unsure of what I was saying as I was.

"Did you sleep together?" he asked.

"No," I confidently replied.

"From that enthusiasm, I take it you only kissed before one of you came to your senses," he responded.

I was taken aback. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Your confidence suggests that you're relieved that you didn't get that far, but that something else definitely happened, so it can only be a kiss," he explained.

"That's creepy, just for the record," I pointed out.

"I'm good at reading situations. Sue me. Are you being careful Evie? And I'm not just talking about physically here," he questioned.

"Your husband convinced him not to shut me out or behave like a brute where I'm concerned, so all caution went out the window when he told me things about him that made me see him in a different light. I'm conflicted Greg, and I don't know what I'm going to do," I confessed.

"Do you love him?" he asked.

"I might," I replied.

"I was afraid of this. The chemistry between you two is as obvious as time," he commented.

"What am I going to do?" I groaned.

"Listen love, I'm needed for an operation now, but I want you to think about something ok? There's a difference between loving someone, and being in love with someone. Figure out where each of them fall under, and you'll have your answer," he said.

It was great advice, even if it wouldn't be the easiest to determine.

"Thank you," I replied.

I let him go and hung up the phone before deciding to make a cup of coffee. I wasn't particularly tired, so I headed over to the couch and decided to watch some TV. I wasn't in the mood for any reality shows and the likes, so I settled for a movie. They were playing a marathon of classical movies.

"Evie," I heard someone call me.

I opened my eyes and moved, only to feel a sharp pain in my neck. "Ow."

"You probably have a stiff neck, so take it easy," Aramis told me.

"What time is it?" I asked, stretching my neck out.

"It's a little after six in the morning. I'm guessing you fell asleep watching TV," he replied.

"I don't even know when I fell asleep. One minute the third movie was starting, and that's all I remember," I said.

He chuckled. "Third movie? What were you even watching?"

"They had some classical movie marathon," I informed.

"Well Miss Nutify, do you want to head up and sleep properly, or are you ready to face the day?" he asked.

I didn't even think twice about it. "Sleep, definitely sleep."

"Sleep it is."

I squealed when he picked me up bridal style before carrying me all the way to his room. I giggled as he tucked me in, making sure I was warm and 'safe'. He tried to sing me a lullaby in a deep voice, and it was failing because all I was doing was laughing instead of sleeping.

"Ok, so singing you to sleep is out of the question. Do you think you can handle falling asleep by yourself?" he asked.

"If you leave, then maybe I might just be able to," I replied.

"I'm touched, but alright. I guess the troll needs her beauty sleep," he teased with a dramatic sigh.

I gasped, smacking him. "Take that back."

"Ok, ok, I take it back," he said laughing.

"Yeah, because that's very convincing," I said with narrowed eyes.

He laughed, shaking his head before leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Sweet dreams Evie."

I had sweet dreams for sure.

***

Elo Smurflettes

Sorry for the slight wait. I see we've dropped, but that's fine because I know we will make it back up! 😊 I love you guys! ❤️

Katee (^^,)