Dusk

19| intense

Ava

I chuckled as Alex pushed Elias away from me and enveloped me in a hug. He scowled at him, shoving his shoulder, but moved on. Alex grinned at me, bumping his fist with mine, resting his chin on my head. "Did you plan on matching or was it coincidental?"

"All him." I muttered, letting him go. 

Paige crashed into me, though I knew it was deliberate, and we would have fallen down if not for Alex holding us back. She held on for a few seconds, then pulled back with a smile. Paige was beautiful. We had met through Elias two years ago, and hit it right off. Her vibe matched with mine completely and there were so many similarities between us that it was almost impossible to not get along.

"You've kept her to yourself a little too long, Eli." Aiden said, chuckling as he gave me a hug. 

"Nothing she didn't like." Elias replied back to him. He was already seated on a chair, a glass of wine in his hand, leaned back. His demeanour screamed control. "Sí, amor?"

"Whatever." Paige muttered, pulling me to a chair just next to his. "Oh, that's Emily." She pointed to the woman sitting beside Aiden. 

Blonde, blue eyes, the right height, perfect model material. She held a glass of champagne in her hand, taking a sip from it while looking at me. She smiled, but I had feeling it wasn't a real one. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Ava. Heard lots."

"All good, I hope." I smiled back, tilting my head. Her posture wasn't at ease like everyone else's was, and it seemed she wasn't totally into the dinner.

"Of course. So good that I don't think there is anything bad about you." As her smile widened, the falseness increased. 

I waved a hand. "Lots of bad in me. But I show it only to selected people."

"Oh she's very bad." Elias murmured, his lips curling up into the smallest of smirks. "Professionally, I mean." He added, raising his eyebrow to emphasise. "She does badass work."

But the innocent way his hand crept up onto my thigh, rubbing soft circles on my skin suggested otherwise.

"How is work, by the way?" Paige asked.

"It's alright." I said, gripping his hand in mine and pushing it back down. He grasped my thigh, not letting go.

He didn't do anything stupid, thankfully. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of our friends, and he respected me well enough to keep that to ourselves. His hand still gripped my thigh, tracing my skin. There was a promise in his touch. A promise he would fulfil when we would be alone. 

"Mhm, and then he told me he'd pay me triple than what was agreed upon." Alex said. I'd dazed off for a while, distracted by my very subtle boyfriend, so I didn't understand where the conversation was headed.

"You agreed?" Aiden asked, cutting through his chicken.

"Heck yeah. I would have been a fool not to. Thirty thousand dollars for something so easy was a golden opportunity." Alex chuckled. "Not really ethical, but my job is doing unethical things."

"You should get yourself a woman, Alexander." Emily rested her arms on the table, leaning forward. "All this aimless working won't get you anywhere unless you have a woman who supports you."

Alex raised an eyebrow at her. "I won't get anywhere without a woman, is that what you're trying to say?"

"Precisely. Every successful man needs a woman. Plus you have to spend the money on someone. You can't do it all on yourself." She stated.

"Em, stop it." Aiden muttered.

Alex chuckled. "I don't spend it all on myself, Emily. I send one third of my income to my parents, and another one third to charity. Though I don't think I need to discuss my accounts with you."