Paisley felt envious as she watched each of her friends hug her ex. They could tell she was jealous, so they hugged Aspen even tighter and longer to annoy her. Paisley could only roll her eyes and grab a bottle of beer from the table. She indulged herself in beer once again as she eavesdropped on the conversation that her friends and her ex were having. Kylie sat between her and her ex. She was uncertain whether she should feel irritated with her best friend or grateful. Irritated, because she wanted to remain as close as possible to her former partner. Grateful, because she knew she might do something she shouldn't. As her friends busied themselves coping with her ex, Paisley occupied herself drinking beer after beer. She skipped dinner, so the beers were affecting her faster than usual.
"Ley."
Paisley turned her head towards her friend Camilla when she heard her nickname being called. She arched both of her eyebrows, eyes getting slightly bigger in confusion and curiosity as she looked between her friends and ex. They were all staring at her, waiting for something that Paisley didn't understand.
"What?" Paisley asked, but not after letting out an involuntary hiccup.
"Aspen asked you a question," Lauren explained, looking at Paisley and Aspen.
Upon the mention of the name of her favorite person, Paisley averted her gaze from Lauren and looked at Aspen instead. The annoyed expression sitting on her face melted down when her hazel orbs met Aspen's gray ones. Her heart skipped a beat, and she found herself mesmerized by Aspen's gaze. Instead of asking what Aspen had said, she just stared at Aspen's eyes and remained silent.
Kylie rolled her eyes, realizing that her best friend Paisley was too intoxicated to answer any questions properly. She decided to answer the question herself, saying, "She was the CEO of her own event-organizing company."
"Oh." Aspen managed to utter in surprise as she nodded her head and shifted her gaze from her ex.
Ah. So that's what she was asking about. Paisley thought, still keeping her eyes on Aspen.
As the topic and the attention of her friends and ex diverted to something else, Paisley again just focused on the beers in front of her. Paisley drank more beer, not caring about anything in the world. Her intoxication robbed her of the ability to comprehend what her friends and her smoking-hot ex were talking about.
"Let's dance."
Upon hearing the invitation from Lauren, Paisley stood up to join Lauren, Camilla, and Emma. Before doing so, she took two more gulps of beer and licked her bottom lip. Meanwhile, Kylie, engrossed in conversation with Aspen, fails to notice Paisley leaving her side. When Kylie eventually realized that Paisley was missing, she frantically searched for her, feeling worried as she knew Paisley had been drinking heavily.
"Fuck." Kylie cursed mentally as she pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. She snapped her head back to Aspen and excused herself, "I'll just look for Paisley. Wait for me here."
Without waiting for Aspen's response, Kylie left while biting her lower lip in worry. Left alone at the table, Aspen checked her phone and sipped her beer, growing increasingly concerned when none of her friends returned for almost five minutes. She was starting to get worried, but she didn't want to admit it. She reluctantly began scanning the crowd and when she caught a glimpse of a woman wearing a familiar burgundy dress, she squinted her eyes. There were a few people that were hindering her view. After some time, the crowd miraculously cleared, and Aspen spotted Paisley lost in the music. She didn't do anything and just watched Paisley lose herself in the music. She knew she shouldn't, but she watched and followed every sway of the brunette's hips, occasionally sipping on the beer that she was holding. Aspen's grip on the bottle tightened when she saw a man approaching Paisley. The man leaned closer to Paisley and whispered something. Despite feeling uneasy, Aspen could only watch as the drunk Paisley smiled, giggled, and nodded in response to the man.
Aspen ran her hand through her silver hair in frustration. As far as she could remember, Paisley wasn't into men, but then she recalled the explanation that Paisley provided to break up with her, 7 years ago.
"I can no longer see a future in this relationship. I'm no longer happy to be with you."
Aspen clenched her jaw in bitterness as she again looked away. She fished out her phone and dialed Kylie's number, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. She couldn't keep her eyes off Paisley, she was too anxious to do that. Her distress grew even stronger when she noticed the man's hand on Paisley's waist. They were dancing too close to Aspen's liking. Paisley had her eyes closed while the man was busy checking her out, undressing the brunette with his eyes. Now, she couldn't be more relaxed at the sight and became even more desperate for Kylie to answer the fucking call.
Aspen held the beer bottle tightly as she waited for Kylie to answer the call.
"Come on. Answer the call." Aspen prayed, more like begged, not taking her eyes off Paisley.
After two more rings, Kylie finally answered the phone with a barely audible voice, "Hello?"
"Kelsey–" Aspen was about to tell Kelsey that she had seen Paisley when she saw the man's hand moving up, tracing Paisley's waistline, getting closer and closer to her breasts. Shocked and panicked, Aspen cursed loudly and ended the call, "Damn it!" She rushed to Paisley, ignoring the glares she received from the people she accidentally bumped shoulders with. Thankfully, before the man's hand could reach the side of Paisley's breasts, Aspen made it and grabbed Paisley by her arm, pulling her close.
The man looked at her in surprise, but Aspen glared at him in return.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, her voice low and firm.
"We're just dancing," he replied, shrugging his shoulders and putting his hands in his pants pocket, pretending to be innocent.
Aspen's glare only intensified, as she knew the truth. She was about to snap at him when she felt cold but soft palms against her cheeks, making her look down at the beauty in her arms.
"Aspen?" Paisley called in a drunk tone, as if she couldn't believe that Aspen was standing before her now and even had her arms around her.
"Are you okay?" Aspen asked, eyes softening at the sight of the beauty.
Paisley gently massaged Aspen's cheeks then suddenly giggled when she realized that she wasn't dreaming. Without saying a word, she rested her head on Aspen's neck, breathing in the scent of Harrison's perfume while tightening her grip around her. Aspen was a little surprised by Paisley's reaction, but she returned the gesture by putting her hand around Paisley's waist and patting her back. When Aspen looked up, the man was no longer there – he had probably used the opportunity to slip away and avoid any further confrontation.
Aspen sighed in relief as she lightly put her chin on top of Paisley's head. She couldn't help but think of the possible scenarios if she was late even for a second. The two stayed in that position for a few more seconds, forgetting for a moment that they were exes.
"Aspen? Paisley?"
Aspen flinched in surprise as she looked back to her right and found their four friends eyeing them suspiciously with a grin on their lips. Aspen's eyes widened as she forced a gulp down her throat. Her hand automatically retreated from Paisley's waist, which earned a groan from the shorter girl. Paisley, who wasn't aware and didn't care what her friends were thinking at that time, only tightened her hug and snuggled more on Aspen's neck, tickling the silver-headed woman with her long eyelashes and her soft lips unintentionally grazing on Aspen's skin. Aspen heard Paisley repeatedly whispering the words, "I miss you."
Aspen took another gulp, trying to appear composed as Paisley's teeth lightly nibbled on her neck. She blinked rapidly, attempting to maintain her composure in front of her friends, but her voice betrayed her as it stumbled on the first syllable.
"G-Guys.
Her friends still had that wide, silly grin on their faces. They had no idea how the two had ended up in this position, but they assumed it was a positive situation.
Kylie cleared her throat, feeling the need to interrupt this moment, as much as she didn't want to.
Aspen looked down at the woman still snuggled comfortably in her arms. She bit her lower lip in embarrassment. Her cheeks had surely turned crimson red, but thanks to the poor lighting, no one was aware of it, or at least that's what she thought.
"Um- A guy tried to take advantage of her drunken state. I-I just saved her." Aspen stammered.
The three: Camilla, Lauren, and Emma nodded in unison as they looked at each other, only half-believing the silver-headed explanation. It barely answered their questions and did little to clear the assumptions that had formed in their minds when they had caught the two of them, acting like they weren't exes.
Aspen was aware of that. She knew that her response didn't help her and instead made things worse. She didn't say anything more and just looked away from her friends, realizing that she couldn't do anything to change their assumptions. She also doubted that they would believe her.
Camilla was the first one to break the silence as she said, "It's getting late, don't you think it's already time for us to go home?"
Everyone nodded except Paisley, who was still clinging to Aspen's neck, enjoying the moment unconsciously. As they started walking towards the exit, Aspen held Paisley's waist tightly and whispered to her to take small steps. When they reached the parking lot, Kylie surprised Aspen by asking, "Can you take Paisley home?"
Even though it was phrased as a question, Aspen felt like Kylie was commanding her, as if she didn't have a choice. Feeling hopeless and slightly intimidated, Aspen unconsciously nodded and offered a small smile. It was only when she saw Kylie's car driving away that she realized what her friend's request meant.
Aspen's eyes widened as she mumbled a low "Fuck" at the same time she heard her text message notification. She fished out her phone from her pocket, skimming the text from her friend, which was Paisley's address. Without wasting any more time, she opened the passenger door and carefully pushed her ex, first love and greatest love, to the passenger seat. She heard Paisley groaning still with her eyes closed, but Aspen ignored her and jogged to the driver's seat. She was about to start the car when she noticed that she hadn't secured the beauty's seat belt yet. She playfully puckered her lips in restlessness as she leaned closer to Paisley. When she was done and finally lifted her head, her gray eyes met the chocolate brown eyes of Paisley, looking deep into her soul. Aspen's eyes widened a little bit in surprise and was about to lean back, but Paisley's hand on her crimson-red cheek stopped her.
"Am I dreaming?" Paisley whispered to herself and Aspen. Her eyes were opened, not too wide but also not too narrow. She couldn't dare blink her eyes at least once, afraid that the answer to her question would be yes.
Aspen doesn't have the strength to lean back, so she just lets herself drown in the same chocolate eyes that messed up her life seven years ago. Aspen didn't dare pull back, not even when Paisley leaned closer to her face and soon let the softness of her pink plump lips be sealed by Aspen's tightly closed lips.