I was in silent shock the entire way back to my apartment. Not that I was in the habit of chit-chatting with Uber drivers, but this drive was particularly quiet. My body temperature alternated between freezing with loathing and scorching with desire.

I hated each sensation whenever they resurfaced.

How could I hate someone so much and yet want to fuck them so badly?

That was Olivia, in a nutshell. Our relationship in a nutshell, too. We hooked up, we went out, we fought, we hooked up again. We were never compatible, personality-wise, but all the years of fantastic sex had blinded us.

I worried I'd become blinded again by having to work closely with her.

My fists were bunched as I slammed my apartment door behind me and dropped my bag on the floor. I seethed, stomping over to the fridge where I extracted an opened bottle of rosé and downed several gulps, numbing my burning throat. My burning flesh. My burning heart.

It was too much. Like the universe was out to get me. First Axel, encircling me with his perfection, dangling himself in front of me and kissing me when he knew damn well he shouldn't. Then Olivia, perky and precious, all curved hips and rounded butt-cheeks and dangerous breasts, flirting with me and batting her lashes when she realized I'd caught on to her games.

It was enough to deal with my feelings towards Axel, but if something resurfaced for Olivia...

"No." I took another swig of rosé and sensed the alcohol shooting up to my brain, lulling me into a state of intoxicated tranquility. "I'll never let that happen."

I'd buried my feelings for Olivia a long time ago. Before we even broke up, I'd been falling out of love with her. The way she prioritized her career over me, over us, had gotten the best of me.

But it was her physique that made me stay, the rush I got when we were naked together. And we were naked often.

She was poisoned fruit, flavored like sweet sin on the outside, but a ticking time-bomb on the inside.

I'd thought the wine would dull my thoughts, but as I entered the shower, stupid memories came to me. Images of Olivia and I at one of her holiday parties, giving each other the cold shoulder because of an argument, then rushing to one of the closets to make-out and fuck like we'd never fucked before.

Then one night when we'd sworn we were over, but still slept in the same bed, and our hands wandered while we were half asleep, leading to a round of hot, under-the-covers pussy-licking.

Before I knew it, my fingers were perilously close to my center, and I almost let myself go—but I broke out of my trance in time to stop myself.

"No," I said as I turned the shower off and threw on my towel. "If I touch myself to the thought of her, I'm fucked."

I made the internal promise to myself not to do that. Not to let the idea of Olivia kissing me, touching me, break my focus. She was right; we would see a lot of each other in the coming months. Estelle and Mollie had specified how important makeup was, how they wanted separate trials, how they wanted to test out samples of products before they committed to wearing them for their all-day event. And of course, trials on all the bridesmaids, too. It would take so much coordinating and the brides would want me overseeing it all.

I'd have to see Olivia not once, not twice, not even three or four times. Dozens of times I'd be in her presence, and I'd have to resist her. I couldn't show anyone how I struggled, nor did I want anyone to be aware that she was my ex. We'd never hidden our relationship, but she wasn't as famous then as she was now; the press rarely reported much about us.

Not only would she be at the wedding doing makeup, but she was a guest. She'd be in the crowd, she'd enjoy the drinks and food and watch the games and dance.

And when Olivia danced...she danced. She worked her hips and ass in ways that always left me salivating. Our moments on the dance-floor always ended in tantalizing, breathtaking sex.

Well, when that kind of music came on, I'd have to make sure I was elsewhere. Far, far away from the dance-floor.

***

"I can handle her," said Chi, after I'd told them all about the encounter with Olivia. "Let me take care of all the makeup stuff. I'm more knowledgeable with it, and you know it."

We met for coffee in a new spot downtown, not far from the office. I'd have to go in eventually, to give Brent updates instead of using Chi as an emissary.

This place was quaint, but still fitting in with Downtown L.A.'s techy vibe; lots of silver and brass hues, and iron tables and chairs. It was busy, but we'd secured a corner table near the floor-to-ceiling windows giving views on some of L.A.'s busiest streets.

"I do know it, but you, working with Olivia? Ha, I wish." I sipped from my latte, enjoying the taste. We'd heard of this place from Mollie, and with her stamp of approval we assumed the beverages would be delightful. And they were. "But she'll insist that I coordinate everything. She wants me so she can better seduce me, get what she wants out of me. She'll make up some excuse, threaten to break the contract, or some shit."

"Can she do that?" Chi's eyebrows raised as they held their mug near their purple-colored mouth.

"Chi," I sighed, "she can do anything. This is Olivia Preston we're talking about."

"I still can't believe it." They put their cup down without taking a gulp and grabbed a scone. These were, to our pleasure, as delicious as Mollie had described them to me. "Los Angeles is huge, and of all the makeup artists Estelle had to hire, it was Olivia?"

I rubbed my thumb and fingers together in that international money gesture. "Estelle can afford the best—ahem, I mean, Axel can afford the best. And Olivia, much as I hate to admit it, is the best."

"I hate her." Chi wrinkled their nostrils as they tucked a few strands of silky black hair out of the way. They'd come from the hairdresser's and decided to go as dark as possible. It suited their tanned skin and hazelnut eyes quite well, and I admired their confidence, as always. "And not only because she broke your heart."

"She didn't break my heart, that's the thing." I wrapped my hands around my mug, taking in its warmth. The temperatures had dropped slightly, though in L.A. it was rare to need a coat in the fall—rare to need a coat at all. "She ruined our relationship, but I wasn't broken by it. I was upset. I was angry. Fuck, I'm still angry, clearly."

"Fate has fucked you over, my friend," said Chi with a sympathetic smile. "And it's," they gasped and clapped their hands, "ooooh, it's a love triangle, Vivi! You, Axel, Olivia—"

I wagged my finger at them, trying to ignore the curious gazes that cruised our way after Chi's too loud outburst. "Don't you dare. Don't even go there."

"—a threesome to work it out, eh?" They clapped again and their cheeks flushed with red. "I mean, think of it this way. It'll get some pent-up anger out, satisfy you for a while, yeah? Come on. Axel is fucking hot, Olivia is, ugh," they gagged, "fucking hot, and disgustingly good in bed, and you are fucking hot—"

I smacked their palm, and though I cracked a quick smile at the suggestion of sleeping with both my obsessions at once, I shook my head. "That can't happen. It won't happen. First off, because I'm never letting Olivia see me naked again. And second, I'm not supposed to be entertaining any sort of relations with Axel. Physical or otherwise."

"Relations," said Chi, using air quotes, "jeez, you sound so serious."

"I am serious." I sat up straight and stared at them, pinching my lips. "Chi, for real, this is bad. You joke, but I'm in one of the worst situations of my life here, and I can't afford to fuck this up."

"Worst situation?" Chi quirked an eyebrow as they plucked another scone from the plate.

I counted off my problems, raising my thumb to get started. "My boss is waiting for my next fuck-up to fire me." I added my index finger. "My other boss is so fuckable and perfect that it hurts, and I know exactly what he feels like because," I lowered my voice, "we've already fucked. And then," another finger, "my ex, whom I have the hardest of times resisting is the makeup artist for every single fucking person in the wedding party, meaning I have to see her a lot. I can't sleep with him, and I certainly can't sleep with her. It's killing me. Chi!"

They winced as they hurried to take a sip of coffee and sat up rigidly in their chair. "Do you want my advice?"

"Oh," I snorted, "your advice? Like when you told me to fuck Axel in St. Tropez? Sure. Go ahead."

They rolled their eyes. "Okay, then do you want my help?"

I cackled. "Oh, so you mean like how you basically pushed me into Axel's arms? And how you implied I should have a threesome with him and Olivia, even though Olivia is horrible, and Axel is my dream-man, and I can't have him?"

Chi stuck their tongue out at me before folding their arms over their chest. They'd worn a cashmere sweater that I thought might have cost more than half my rent, and I envied their money-saving techniques.

"Things were different there," they said, dabbing a napkin at the corner of their lips, taking away a few scone crumbs. They placed the napkin in their lap and fixed me with one of the sternest glances they'd ever given me. "It was just Axel, and you were far, far from all this L.A. bullshit. Paparazzi and tourists and scandals...they're more rampant here."

"You're telling me." I scoffed, giving in to one of the scones at last. "It's like neither Axel nor Olivia seem to care, with all that fancy money they have. Their reputations might be at stake, but me? My livelihood is at stake. And neither of them will let me move into their places once they've made me lose my job."

"Precisely. I mean, if I had to choose," they furrowed their eyebrows, "I'd want you with Axel, no questions asked. Olivia is trouble."

Chi never liked Olivia, and they'd told me as much many times while we were dating. But love-struck and sex-hungry fool that I was, I ignored them. They'd given me so many I told you so's after things ended, but ultimately, they'd been there for me in the downfall.

I hoped they'd be there for me now.

"I'm sorry I made jokes," Chi grimaced, "because you're right. This is quite the situation. Sleeping with Axel again could get you fired. Sleeping with Olivia—yes, I know it won't happen, but you've imagined it, anyway—could get you fired and pull you back into a depressive cycle." They set a fist to the table. "Axel needs to quit being so hot, and Olivia needs to stay in her lane."

I shrugged. "I agree, but you and I both know that's not going to work. Olivia is a stubborn bitch who'll stop at nothing to watch me crumble at her feet. And Axel..." I let out a heavy breath, melting into my chair. "He'll never not be hot. It's chemically impossible, you know? The man would be devastating wearing a trash bag. And his heart is so...so..."

Chi smirked as they pressed their palms together, then slowly separated them to show growth. "His heart is so big, yes, of course."

I snickered at them, frustrated that they'd reminded me of one of Axel's best features. His cock. "Yeah, that too, but as long as he keeps it leashed, that won't bother me."

"He needs to keep it leashed," said Chi, turning solemn, their eyes widening. "Look, your tryst in St. Tropez...cute. Sexy, fun, dangerous, and all that. Discreet enough. But L.A.?" They shook their head, hissing. "It's way riskier here."

"I know," I huffed, "this is what I've been trying to tell you, dammit!" It was my turn to garner a few gazes, and I frowned as I leaned into the table and lowered my volume. "This situation is impossible."

"It seems impossible." Chi set their hand atop mine, their warmth stilling me into silence. "But I promise I'm going to actually help you, this time. I'll be on my A-game. I got you." They winked, then took hold of their mug and sipped as they looked out the window.

I wanted to believe them, but when it came to my sex life, Chi was always pushing me towards excess, towards a risk for more fun type of lifestyle. They wanted me to be more spontaneous, to reach higher, farther.

That wasn't me, tempting as it all sounded. I took calculated risks from time to time, but otherwise, everything I did was planned, thought out.

I was about to ask them how they'd rebuff a super sexy woman when my phone buzzed.

"Hm," I said, pulling the screen up to see Axel's name, and a brief message.

"Him? Or her?" Chi studied me with their cup near their mouth.

"Him." I read the message out loud. "I need you to meet me to inspect the locale for the engagement party." I bunched my lips. "There's an address in...uh...looks like Beverly Hills."

"Beverly Hills is where the engagement party is?" Chi's eyes narrowed. "I'm surprised it's not somewhere more artsy, more kitch, to match Estelle's style."

"Believe it or not, we didn't discuss many details regarding the party," I said, typing up a quick I'll be there soon response to Axel. "And also, this wasn't planned today. My calendar was empty, and I was preparing other things to take care of. I was going to swing by the office."

"I'll cover for you, again," said Chi, annoyance in their timbre. "This is a legitimate excuse, I guess."

I kept looking at the message, analyzing it. How cryptic, how random, how sudden.

"Chi." I waved at them, stopping them halfway through their grumbled tirade of how many times they'd had to save me in front of Brent. "I think...this might be a trick."

They blinked at me, mouth plopping open in surprise. "A trick?"

"A...trap." I scowled at my phone, the hunch getting worse the more I read Axel's words. "I'm willing to bet he's alone right now, and wherever this place is...it'll be just him and I. No Estelle, no Mollie. No one but us." I gulped. "Fuck."

Chi looked ready to stand up. "Do you want me to go for you? Or go with you?"

I drew in a deep breath. No, Axel wouldn't do that. He knew the perils, as I'd made them abundantly clear to him. He wouldn't dare set me up like that, just to get a glimpse of my pussy and a taste of my mouth.

Would he?

I relaxed my tense shoulders. "No, I'll deal with it. It'll be a public place, right? He can't ravish me in front of his staff. I'll inspect it, and hurry off, and...no, I can do this. I can do this."

☼☼☼