SCARLET MEETS MILA

41

Silent readers say hallo

Willow catches my arm and gapes her jaw. "You and Harlow?" She gasps. "What the hell?"

I pull her to the side and chuckle. "Easy." I push. "We were talking about Scarlet."

"Yeah, well she's not happy." Willow mutters. "I saw her talking to that woman by the bar and she had some daggers directed right at you."

"Good" I twist. "She hasn't spoken to me all night. I'm tired of being the one to initiate things."

Willow shrugs, flailing her arms gently. "I'm just saying. You may be making things worse right now."

"Me?" I gasp. "She invited me here just to stand on my own. She claims to like me but she's real good at proving otherwise."

"I guess you're about to talk it out." Willow points behind, and the sight of Scarlet prowling toward me sends a shiver down my spine.

"Oh shit." I swallow, turning to face her with a waiting posture. When she reaches me, however, she doesn't have anything to say. She grabs my wrist and pulls me through a crowd of people, dodging various sponsors before we reach a large set of double doors. "Can I help you?"

Silence.

She pulls her phone out of her clutch when we reach the crisp night air. Her perfume is intoxicating, and every inch of my skin ignites with goosebumps when her concentrated eyes look down into her phone.

"Hello?" I poke. "Earth to Scarlet?" She ignores me, and instead starts to FaceTime someone. I stand curiously, not recognising the name on her screen. "Who is Uncle Knox?"

Before I can say another word, the screen lights up with the image of Maisie and Teddy. My heart swells, and the sound of their sweet voices forces me to swoon.

"Mila!" Maisie squeals, while Teddy jumps around on Fox's back. "I miss you."

"I miss you more." I beam. "Are you having a good time?" She nods passionately. "Good, I'm glad. What have you been doing?"

"We played with Barbie's and assassins." Teddy interjects. "Scar, look what I can do."

He spins around in a circle and jumps mid air. I glanced over and watch the smile creep onto Scarlet's lips. "Good boy." She chuckles. "You're so clever!"

"Scarlet I got my dress on like you." Maisie interrupts, stepping back to show off the dress she demanded I buy her at goodwill. "It has flowers on it."

"Oh my goodness." Scarlet gasps. "It's so beautiful, baby?"

We talk for well over ten minutes before a mystery head bang betrays Teddy's happiness. I smile to myself when Scarlet hangs up the phone. Despite our differences, we still share something rather special. It's strange, she can't talk to me, yet she dragged me out here to see my sister.

I step away from her side and fold my arms tight. She doesn't move, and instead, she looks out at the stars in front. "You and Harlow looked to be having a good time?" She announces.

I widen my eyes and nod awkwardly. "She's a great dancer." I huff. "Much better than me, anyway."

She laughs, but I can tell it's fuelled by jealousy by the way she wears her lower lip. "She's better at flirting."

"Bet you hated it." I taunt, still angry about her disregard for my presence tonight. "At least someone wanted to talk to me."

She sighs audibly. "I have to make myself known to people." She argues. "I can't just hang out with you guys all night."

"Drop the attitude, Scar." I step in on her and furrow my brow. "You haven't been able to speak to me since I left your office. What makes you think I believe that bullshit excuse."

"It's not bullshit."

"Yes it is." I flail. "You're a coward, Scarlet. Through and through. God knows how you came to be in power, you can't even speak to your own fucking house wife about the relationship you clearly want to be in."

She clamps her jaw tight. "You don't understand."

"Oh I do." I laugh awkwardly. "You watched me and Harlow dance together for ages. You let it eat you alive rather than confronting it like the woman you claim to be. Literally, what is your problem?"

"My problem is this." She points at her head and walks toward me. "If I don't get this right I could lose you both. Do you not get that?"

I roll my eyes and huff. "Jesus Christ, Scar. Harlow isn't going to leave." I raise my voice slightly, aware of the silence that surrounds us. "You could run her over and take everything she owns. She would still come back to love Teddy. That's what families do."

"Not mine!" She growls. "I have nobody. Fox and Harlow are the only family I have, so excuse me if I'm a little sketched by the idea of pushing her away."

"She loves him!" I yell, forcing her out of my face and back toward the wall. "He is her entire world and you won't even give her the grace of being loyal. Maybe if you actually spoke to her, you'd know that."

Silence.

"I don't know, Scarlet. Maybe I'm being crazy, but have you ever thought that Harlow may actually be routing for us?"

"I don't know!" She yells back. "I don't know anything right now, okay? I tried to speak with her earlier, but I caught wind of you guys grinding all over each other on the dance floor. What, you wanted to make me jealous or something?"

I shake my head and pace. "You're unbelievable." I chuckle. "Seriously?"

"Yes." She snarls. "You're mine!"

I pause, looking back at her now terrified gaze.

"Mine?"

She swallows hard, her fingertips scraping through the top of her hair. "Mila, I want to be with you." She admits. "I really do. Just please, help me out here."

The desperation in her voice strikes me, and I'm forced to look down at the ground before refocusing on her strained expression. "I want to be with you too. I want us to be together like we were at your house, with the kids, with each other." She fiddles with the tips of her fingers. "I just need to know that you're going to put me first."

"But-

"I will be there for Teddy just like Harlow is." I walk toward her slowly. "I'll kiss his forehead and tuck him into bed when he's tired. I'll go to his soccer games and run around playing ninjas until my feet hurt. I don't care. If you're worried about him, about your family." I point at my chest. "You've got one right here?"

"She's right, Scar." Harlow appears from behind the door with a soft smile. "That kid means more to me than anyone else on this planet. But so do you." Scarlet looks between us in a panic. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither is she."

"I just need this to work." Scarlet flails. "I don't want you to hate me for putting an end to the-

"Sex?" Harlow chuckles. "Ramirez, I appreciate the loyalty, but I can find my fix anywhere. I mean, Mila's friend is cute? Slightly insane, but I've put up with you for long enough?"

A small smile cracks from Scarlet's jaw. "You're not mad?"

Harlow moves to Scarlet and wraps her arms around her shoulders. "Your assistant has some great moves. She's also very very pretty. Don't waste this opportunity to be happy, Mija." She pulls away from the hug and walks toward the door. "I only got down with her to make you jealous, this conversation needed to happen. Anyway, I'm going to find that Willow girl. Wrap this bullshit up before I lose my fucking mind."

Both me and Scarlet laugh as Harlow disappears behind the door. We stare at each other, our eyes connecting with a furious passion as we begin walking forward. She looks me up and down before grabbing my jaw, her lips crashing into mine for the first time in days.

It feels incredible.

"Thank god." I mumble before deepening the kiss. "I think Harlow needs a raise."