Forever Glamorous

Chapter 6

AURA LOOKED UP TO find Tyson making his way towards her. She bit down on her lip as she sat up straighter at his presence. It seemed like she wasn't attracting the rich ones she liked.

"Hey," she greeted.

"What's up? You don't look so hot." He sat opposite of her, placing his elbows on the table.

"Oh, nothing." She waved him off.

Tyson sat back, studying her. She did the same, realizing he had come from working on those kitchen cabinets. He looked gross covered in sweat and wood shavings.

"It's definitely not nothing. What got the great Aura Chandler upset?"

Aura scoffed, focusing on her empty cup than him. "We haven't seen each other in years, Tyson. You don't know who I am anymore. And I'm telling you that I'm fine. Nothing is wrong."

He quirked a brow, but held up his hands in surrender. Before she could say anything else, her phone buzzed with a message.

Mom: Ruby is asking if you can make dinner with her. She doesn't want your father to help.

Aura let out a chuckle. It seemed like Grandma Ruby was about the only person she could truly be herself with until she went back home. She found it ironic considering she didn't even want to be there to begin with.

Aura: Sure! Tell her I'd love to learn a new family recipe if she's up for it.

She turned back to Tyson, who continued studying her from his place at the other side of the table. His brown eyes met hers, and she shook her head.

If by some string of luck, a guy with a beach club membership walked in and saw her with company, her chances were ruined. She needed to get away from Tyson if she wanted to find an opportunity in those beach clubs, and perhaps a few nights of fun while she was on her quest for publicity.

"Look, Tyson, I gotta run. Grandma wants me to help her cook dinner tonight." Aura stood up, already getting her belongings so she could make her way back.

"Sure, you want me to walk you back?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Since we're going to the same place basically."

Aura forced a smile and accepted his offer. So much for wanting to see if by any chance she could run into a rich guy on her way back. With Tyson beside her, she would not get looked at twice. A man his size would scare every guy within a thirty mile radius.

She almost stomped her foot like a child.

"Let me just get myself the juice I came here for." He gave her a smile before going to the front and ordering.

All she could think about was how rotten her luck was to be stuck next to Tyson when she needed resources to get her to the top, higher than Lacey Redd was.

TYSON WOULDN'T SHUT UP about his past clients. He shared his stories one after the other, getting more excited with each one. Aura pretended to be intrigued. It was great he found a way to make a living, although it was more like a survival, but she couldn't judge too much. She was on her survival hunt too, so really they were on the same boat whether she liked it or not.

"So now I'm hoping with this new job, I can get more exposure and get more business flowing," he said.

"That's great, Tyson," she replied. She tried to put some emotion into her words, but she feared she sounded as fake as can be. Even though it was true, she didn't want to seem obvious.

"Hopefully it can open more doors for me. Lord knows I need it for Nana."

Aura almost dropped down on her knees and thanked God repeatedly when she saw their street come into view. She wouldn't have to hear another client story for the rest of the night.

"Yeah, you'll be great," she said, turning onto the street with him beside her.

She could almost taste her freedom. Just a few more seconds, a few more feet, and she would get away from him and his carpentry stories. She almost groaned when he started explaining another experience he had doing some weird job for an old man from the other side of the neighborhood.

Her patience hung by a thread. She wondered if he could tell that she was fed up by the look on her face. Although she tended to be cheerful and full of life, when she felt otherwise, it was obvious with one glance. How Tyson hadn't figured it out yet was beyond her.

They stopped at Grandma Ruby's front yard, where he finished up his story. She smiled warily, as if letting him know she actually heard his story.

"I guess this is where we part," Tyson said, looking over at the house. She stared at it too, seeing how deteriorated it was. A tropical storm could destroy it within a second. In fact, Aura was surprised it was still standing without any natural disaster.

"I guess so," she said, wrapping her own arms around herself.

"It was nice to catch up with you, Ari. We need to do more stuff while you're here." He scratched the back of his neck again. "I want you to meet some people."

The mention of his old nickname for her brought chills down her back. It had been ages since she last heard that one.

"You want me to meet people?" Aura asked. "What? Am I so lonely I need help?"

Tyson threw his head back as he laughed. She couldn't help but admire him before catching herself. He was not the type of guy she went for, and it was staying that way forever.

"Considering how I found you today...yeah, you need some help."

Aura scoffed and punched the side of his arm playfully. "You suck." She pouted before looking over at the house. "All my friends are in California. Of course I'm going to be alone here."

"Well, that's where I'll help. Plus, there are some people that haven't seen you in ages around here too." He threw her a wink.

"I guess." She shrugged.

When Aura moved out of New Jersey as a small child, she forgot all about her life there. She started anew. It wasn't like she missed it. She made herself a new life in California where she met her best friends. She didn't know how she would live her life without Gwenn, Sierra, Scarlet, or Zilla. Those were her girls no matter where she stood in the world. The friends she had before her move were just a small portion of her life she barely remembered. That was that.

"Alright, Ari, I'll leave you to it."

With one last smile, he walked over to the next house. Aura watched him for a few seconds before snapping herself out of it.

She needed to focus. Who cared about making pretend friends during vacation when her career was in shambles? She had to pick herself back up and get in the game. Hanging out with people she wasn't going to care about six months later wasn't going to get her anywhere, especially him. He had no connections. No matter how much history there was between them, it just wasn't smart to associate so much with him when she had other things to worry about.