Aria radiated with similar energy when she entered the cafe. She incredibly felt energised, way beyond what she should feel after a mostly sleepless night.
"Morning, Ari!" Jess welcomed her with a yawn. She looked at Aria blankly for a few moments, suspicious of the boundless energy. It took her a moment to work out what was off. "Did you already have a jug of coffee?" Jess tilted her head. Her eyelids barely held up and she had dark circles under her eyes.
"Morning, JJ. Nope, no coffee yet." Aria replied
"How are you so awake?"
"Not sure." Aria admitted.
"Okay? Something is weird about you."
"Hmmm… don't think so. How did last night go?"
"It was rather uneventful. Didn't meet any tall finance guy."
"Shame." Aria chuckled as she put the apron on. Jess grabbed Aria's phone, swiftly unblocking it and checking her messages.
"He didn't reply." Jess seemed disappointed for Aria's sake. "Why are you so happy then?"
"I am still angry at you." Aria threw a towel at Jess after she remembered who got her into the mess that she was now enjoying. "How could you message him?"
"He didn't reply though!" Jess said defensively.
"No, he didn't." Aria said in a mocking tone. "He came to my apartment!"
"What?!" Jess blushed. "Don't leave me on this cliffhanger! What happened?!!!"
"His phone ran out of the battery after he read your message so he ran across the city to see me!"
"Yeah, run." Jess scoffed with an eye roll.
"Oh, no, Jess. He RAN. He showed up barely breathing, with sweat everywhere, with 10km on his smartwatch. He FUCKING RAN because YOU messaged him."
"He ran 10k to see you?"
"In torrential rain! You're a bitch, JJ!"
"And?"
"And what?"
"What did you do with him?"
"What could I have done with him?!" Aria asked back throwing another tea towel to Jess. "He brought me flowers and chocolates as well. Kind of weird, isn't it?"
"Come on, Ari! Tell me!" Jess was too nosey to leave that topic now.
"Fucking guess."
"You send him away because you're as prude as they get and you're afraid of commitment." Jess guessed very wrongly.
"I've slept with him again… twice. I am running on three hours of sleep because of you!"
"And?"
"And what?"
"Was it good?"
"Yes." Aria said quietly, turning all red. "And he is very nice."
"No! Don't say that! You're meant to use him."
"As if that ever was going to happen." Aria sighed. "But it was nice to wake up next to someone…"
"He stayed again?"
"Yeah." Aria nodded. "He walked me to work this morning."
"And you didn't show him off to me?!"
"Let me keep at least one good thing, JJ." Aria replied with a slight grumpiness. "You have your own finance guys."
"None of them compare to a Greek god." Jess scoffed. "Besides, I ain't taking your man until you're done with him."
"Cheeky, bitch." Aria said with half-heartedness, not truly angry at Jess. Jess cackled and they both went to collect the delivery.
The day seemed to drag forever as Aria couldn't wait to see Alessandro again.
In the evening, Jess rushed off while Aria took care of the last few customers. The buzz within the cafe started to die down as the evening sun gave the cafe a serene feeling in the evening.
Once alone, Aria put on some music on and started to clean, humming to the melody. She was exhausted but still happy. She didn't feel that way in a very long time. It made her feel like a teenager with a crush again.
"Good evening, gorgeous." Alessandro's voice sounded behind her, making her jump.
"Aarghhhh!!!!" Aria screamed in complete panic, dropping the bucket of water, splashing it around. She did not hear his footsteps. She didn't hear him until he spoke up.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Alessandro was apologetic. He put a plastic bag on the nearby table and rushed towards Aria with genuine concern.
"What are you doing creeping on me like this?!" Aria tried to catch her breath and calm down, holding her chest. Her heart was pounding as if it tried to free itself. "For fuck's sake!"
"I am really sorry, Aria." Alessandro approached her. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, sorry. I just didn't hear you come in at all." She started to calm down and Alessandro grabbed her hand. Once she realised how silly it was she started laughing. "I'm sorry, Alessio." Alessandro froze. His heart skipped a beat as he watched Aria laugh. Once Aria stopped laughing nervously, Alessandro leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
"I didn't intend to creep on you, Aria. I am sorry."
"Don't be silly. I am sorry for reacting in that way. It's not your fault. I was just very distracted… or focused? On the wrong thing, of course." Aria spoke quickly, stressed out that her reaction was a bad reflection of her character.
"As long as you're okay. I don't mind you accusing me of creeping on you but maybe
next time lock the door before you start getting distracted? It'll be safer for you in case someone is actually creeping around."
"That would have been a very logical thing to do." Aria nodded. "If you haven't noticed yet, I lack heavily in the logic department."
"I doubt it." Alessandro took his suit jacket and tie off. "Now, command me, my goddess. What do you have left to do?"
"You, sir, can sit down. Would you like a decaf coffee or a sweet treat?" Aria relaxed after seeing that Alessandro was unbothered about her swearing.
"I'll pass on this occasion. I've brought dinner which we can have it once we're finished." He started picking up the chairs and putting them on the tables.
"I can't have some fancy-schmancy director help me clean!" Aria teased.
"No one ever called me a fancy-schmancy director before." Alessandro roared in laughter.
"I can call you whatever other name no one else ever called you before. My services are open for requests." Aria joked.
"Alessio. Call me Alessio."
"Although I can comply with that request, I am slightly disappointed by your choice, Alessio." Aria admitted as she picked up the chairs next to Alessandro.
"What other choice would you recommend?"
"Your lordship? Your highness? The most magnificent and wisest one? Something with a bit more pizzazz." Aria paused to think. "Or, the Greek-God-Statue-Come-To-Life? Unless someone already covered these?"
"No, dear. You are the first to use them all." Alessandro smiled grabbing a second mop and bucket and joining her in cleaning of the floor from the other side of the room. "My favourites are definitely Alessio and the Greek-God-Statue-Come-To-Life. But didn't we agree that it was more of a statue of Lucifer than a Greek God?"
"It was because I couldn't think while looking at your abs. Now, that you still have a shirt on, I might just about be able to come up with something." Aria tried to think hard of all the Greek god sculptures she knew. "I'd say that your body is that of Dionysus depicted in the Parthenon pediment sculptures in the Elgin marbles, or perhaps, you are more like a demigod, a Dionysus companion, Barberini Faun. But like on steroids." Aria took the geeky route of showing off her niche knowledge on the subject. Alessandro laughed deeply and without restrain.
"You little flirt." He grumbled once he caught his breath. "Or shall I call you Peitho? My goddess of persuasion and seduction." Alessandro smiled at her and his eyes twinkled. He didn't hide his joy in front of Aria. He didn't try to pretend that he was emotionless. He didn't force a stoicism upon himself. He felt free around her.
"In that case, you should be a personification of Hedylogos, a god of sweet talk and flattery." Aria answered back. "Besides, I did not seduce you, Alessio. You are fully at fault."
"Me?" Alessandro looked up from the mop. "I hardly think so."
"I am innocent, chaste, and unprovocative. At least I was until you brought me onto the wrong path." Aria teased him although she did believe it to be completely true. Alessandro sneered at her statement.
"It is very hard to believe." He admitted.
They reached the same corner of the room putting away the mops. Alessandro kissed Aria deeply once they finished cleaning which stunned her. "Those lips seduced me." He said afterwards while his breath was still fast. "Now, dinner." He commanded and Aria obliged without protest. "As you haven't send any special requests, I picked the convenient option. I brought some curry." He had his arm around her back as he led her to the table with the bag on. "It should still be warm." He pulled the chair out for Aria in a truly chivalrous manner. "I bought three options of different spice levels as I wasn't sure what your spice tolerance is"
"Thank you, Alessio." Aria blushed. "Do you like tea?"
"Yes." Alessandro nodded.
"Chai?"
"Absolutely."
"I'll be right back." Aria vanished in the back and came back with two cups, plates and cutlery. "It's our iced chai with some condensed milk. Not very traditional but one of our current favourites." She passed him a cup and sat down while Alessandro started to dish out the curry and passed her a plateful.
Aria didn't shy away from the spiciest curry. Her focus was not on food though. The casual relationship she had with Alessandro felt weird with him helping her tidy after the work and him bringing dinner. It felt very different to the relationship she expected, again, if relationship was the right word to use for this. Their causal relationship was evolving into friendship.
Friends with benefits. A more appropriate description of what they were becoming.