"Green bay"
Aria read the name of the coastal town, which would be her home for the next few months.
Her GPS drove her towards a beach house, which is huge. It's raised a couple of feet above the ground. The concrete circular driveway is on a slope. There is a well-manicured lawn on either side of the driveway.
She can see nothing but rocks in the backyard, which led to a sandy beach. The house is built on the rocky shore, a little higher than the beach level.
She was used to seeing pick-up trucks, not these kinds of branded sports cars currently parked in front of the house.
She parked her mother's old pickup truck to the side so that she wouldn't scratch these expensive cars by mistake. She wouldn't be able to afford the repair cost to cover the scratch.
She got down from her pickup truck and was hit by the salty breeze of the beach. It's so unlike the usual texas heat, she is used to.
'Martin didn't tell me he is having a party today' she thought.
Loud party music can be heard from inside the house, amidst the sounds of the waves hitting the rocky shore from down below.
A hand was placed on her shoulder from behind. She immediately removed her handgun from her cowboy boots before turning to pointed the gun at the stranger's head.
"What the hell? Put that thing away?" Noah said as the cowgirl pointed a gun at his head.
Noah lost his hold on the beer bottles he was carrying and they made a loud noise when they fell and broke on the concrete, circular driveway.
"Shit" he cursed looking at the mess he made.
Aria looked at the guy and decided, he is not a thief or a mugger.
She slowly put away the gun back from where she removed it.
"I am sorry" she apologized, as she cost him his beer.
'These might be for the party that's going on inside' she thought.
Noah looked at the girl and the broken bottles.
"What's up with you and that gun? Do you even know how to use that thing? If I am a heart patient, I might have died looking at that thing pointed my way" Noah complained.
His heart attack comment struck a chord in her heart, which she pushed down for the time being.
"I am looking for Martin Williams. Do you know where can I find him?" Aria asked the guy.
Noah cocked his head to a side and observed the girl. Her t-shirt and tight jeans combined with her cowboy boots and that hat on her head is telling him, the fact that she is not from here, which he already knows.
He didn't find the usual dollar signs in her eyes when he saw him either.
'Interesting' he thought.
"Why are you searching for Martin?" he asked looking at her closely.
"He is my father" she replied.
Noah smirked instantly.
'Oh Aiden, I have a happy 25 birthday gift for you' Noah thought with amusement.
"This is Aiden's house" Noah pointed out at the house behind her.
"Aiden? Who is Aiden?" She asked with confusion.
Noah's smirk became a full-blown smile.
"You don't know who Aiden is?" he asked her.
Aria looked at him with a frown.
"Why should I know him to meet my father?" She asked innocently.
"Damn it, I am glad I am the one who found you here. This will be epic" Noah said with excitement.
Aria looked at Noah and a frown appeared on her cute face.
"Are you drunk?" She asked him.
Noah looked at her, a little taken aback by her comment.
"Why did you ask that question? Do I look drunk?" Noah asked with confusion.
'I didn't stumble, right? I am not slurring either? Why did she think that I am drunk?' he thought.
"Your answer to my question is not at all related. I asked you about Martin, but you keep babbling about this Aiden guy. So I felt like, you must have been drunk, with the broken beer bottles near your feet and the party going on inside" she pointed out the loud music coming from inside the house.
Noah blinked once, and then twice.
'Did she really don't know who Aiden is? He told me she ran away the next morning when he is on the phone. She was drunk when she met him. So, she might have forgotten about him he thought.
"So you really don't know who Aiden is?" Noah asked to confirm his suspicion.
Aria groaned with irritation.
"I don't know who is this Aiden guy is. Are you some kind of a pimp? Do you supply men instead of women? If so, then I am not interested in your offer. If you keep saying his name one more time, I might really shoot you this time" Aria snapped at Noah with frustration.
Noah raised both his hands into the air in a surrender motion.
"Ohh, relax tiger. I am sorry. I thought you are someone else" Noah backtracked when he heard her mentioning her gun.
He was really frightened when she pointed that gun at him earlier. So he is not willing to test her shooting prowess.
When Aria heard his apology, she relaxed a little.
"Do you know where I can find Martin? I told him I am coming today. I don't know he is having a party today. That must be why he is not answering my calls" Aria told Noah.
Noah really pities this girl. Martin is a mooch and a scum bag. How can he abandon her when he told her to come here today, Noah thought.
"Come, I will take you to Aiden" Noah offered softly.
Aria huffed when she heard Aiden's name again.
"I want to find Martin, not this Aiden guy. If you don't know where Martin is, I will go and search for him myself. I don't know who this Aiden is, but I hate him already" with that, Aria turned away from Noah, to go inside the house, only to collide with a wall of muscle.
"Ouch" Aria rubs her nose, which caught the brunt of the collision.She raised her head to see with whom she collided with. But little did she knows, her entire world will shake when she looks at the person, to whom she lost her virginity to, a month ago.'What is he doing here? Is he following me?' She thought in horror.'Is he the Psycho stalker type?' She feared in her head.'Why oh why do you have to drink so much and land yourself a stalker Aria?' She scolded herself.Noah laughed out loud at her nervous rambling.Aria looked behind her with wide eyes."Don't tell me, I said everything out loud" she pleaded with Noah."No doll, I will not tell you. But damn, you are cute when you are nervous" Noah said with a wink."Psycho stalker? Really? " Aiden asked with a blank face.He heard a little of their conversation just now, and he concluded that she is searching for that Ass hole Martin."Sorry, didn't m
The next morning, Aria woke up to the bright sunlight streaming through the curtains. By the brightness of the sunlight alone, she could tell that she slept later than usual.The 13 hours drive from her hometown in Texas to Green bay exhausted her.She got up and looked at the waves through her balcony door.In a matter of weeks, she became homeless, her only living relative abandoned her, she lost her virginity to none other than her stepbrother and she is currently in said step brothers house.'When did my life became a tangled mess?' She thought.'I need to have a bath and get ready to leave soon. Aiden might want me to leave' she thought.Aria picked up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She quickly finished her usual morning routine and came out freshly showered. She packed up her belongings before going down in search of her stepbrother.She slowly walked downstairs and found the house quiet. Last night's party left the floor on the
"So, tell me. What brings you here in search of your father?" Aiden asked Aria, who is facing away from him.He already knows a little from her nervous rambling the previous night. But he didn't know for sure what exactly happened and why she ended up here.Aria turned to face Aiden, who is slowly sipping his coffee."My mother died a couple of months ago. Heart attack. Martin too off the moment he found out that her heart condition is not stable. She had to undergo open-heart surgery. But she never could recover from the loss of Martin. For the past 3 years, I have had to take care of my mother, who cannot do works that involve tiring her. So I had to take over and become an adult. But she passed away two years ago and Martin didn't even show up at her funeral. I had to sell my grandfather's ranch to pay off the debts. Only a hundred dollars and my mom's pickup truck is the only thing left for me. So I came in search of my only living relative" Aria explained.
Aria feared it would be awkward to stay with her stepbrother after that night a month ago. But if he is as rude to her as he is just now, I should most definitely concentrate on not killing him.Aria looked at the disappearing figure of her stepbrother.She went inside and to her room. She opened her phone and downloaded that day's newspaper in Chrome.After that, she looked at the vacancy column and noted down a couple of openings in that town.She took her small money purse along with her phone before going for job hunting.First, she decided to go and check the local supermarket, where they need a sales assistant.She asked the guy near the billing counter about the vacancy."No, sorry. Boss hired a girl just this morning" the guy said apologetically."Oh, ok thank you" she turned away with disappointment.Next, she saw an opening in the nearby gym as a front desk assistant.When she entered through the glass doors, she
Aria liked Lily and Bethy. Her first friends after she came to Green Bay. They don't seem catty or gossipy.She was feeling good spending time with them."Merlin is nice. She gets scared if we mess up with the restaurant patrons. She is strict and fair. We were glad you came along. For the past two days, we are struggling to serve the patrons. They are too many and we are only two. We used to be four girls working here. But the other two left a week ago, leaving the workload on me and Bethy." Lily supplied helpfully.Her work starts from 11 in the morning to 10 in the night, as the staff is low. Merlin asked if I have any problem with the timings. Obviously, I said no.I need money to find an apartment and move away from my stepbrother's place. Any extra money is always welcome. They are planning to hire more staff until then Merlin told the three of us to work overtime."At least, we don't have to wear ridiculously high heels and tight clothes. Th
Aria's heartbeat began to slow down a little. She was stunned to see the man, to whom she has given her innocence, with another woman.She doesn't know how to name the feeling in her heart. Sadness, jealousy, or possessiveness.There is no reason for me to be sad. I don't know the guy at all, apart from that night, where she doubts they talked at all. And last night and this morning.In both the instance, he didn't leave a very good impression on her.'Yes, he gave a roof over her head and she is really grateful for that'If I don't know that guy at all, there is no reason for me to be jealous at all.Aria shook her head to clear her thoughts.She shouldn't be thinking about his love life. He is her stepbrother and thinking about him like this is wrong on so many levels.Soon her exhaustion caught up to her and she slept with the dreams of her stepbrother plaguing her mind.The next morning,
Aiden stood there in a daze.'What just happened?' he thought with confusion.'Did I just kissed her without her permission?' he thought with shock.Aiden stood there in confusion.'What happened to you Aiden? Why did you just do that?' he cursed himself.But the lingering taste of her lips stirred a hunger inside him, which he thought he forgot after a month after that night."This is bad" he muttered.Aria ran out of the house and drove off from Aiden's house in a hurry."Damn him" she muttered out loud with irritation.She is sure she shouldn't get wet from just a kiss. That too from that asshole Aiden. But she is. Surely, this cannot be normal right? Who would become this turned on with just a kiss?That damn man. What possessed him to kiss her like this? Aria cursed him.It's still not time to report for work. So she drove aimlessly around the town, wasting her fuel. She finally settled to go and sit on a n
After the beach incident with Ryan, Aria couldn't forget the fear in Ryan's eyes, when he was talking about her father."Aria" Marlin called me when I was arranging cutlery on a table before the lunch hour rush.Aria looked behind her and found Merlin holding something for her. Aria walked the little distance between them and smiled at Merlin."Hey Merlin," she said with a smile.Marlin smiled back."Here, this is your name tag and employee Id card. In this cover, you will find your locker keys and other formalities" Merlin handed over them to Aria.Aria looked inside the cover and nodded her head."If you need anything, come to me, alright?" Merlin said."Ok" Aria agrees.She put away the cover inside her locker before putting on her name tag on her shirt. She doesn't have to carry her id card always, so she put that away in a locker before locking it. She pocketed the key in her skirt pocket."Hey, you" Ryan greeted her w