Chapter Six
Mina had a few clients to meet, so she didn’t let her heated encounter with Aaron go on any further. He remembered that he had a few meetings to arrange for the next day. He also needed a shower and a change of clothes. And so they found themselves at her door, both reluctant he had to leave. He held her cheek and leaned forward for a small peck on her lips, and he was gone faster than the wind before he lost all control over Mina again. Mina could only smile dreamily as she closed the door and stumbled around, drunk from the kiss. She’d liked it.
She’d liked it a lot. Way too much for her own good. What curse of celibacy had she bestowed upon herself as to not even share a kiss? But she was glad she held back for so long. Mina had very little restraint when it came to self-control back when she was younger. She would’ve definitely lost half her time indulging in feeding the flames of physical intimacy within her then. She definitely had one roaring for more, but she knew she could keep it at bay now.
Walking into the bathroom dreamily, she plugged the tub and turned the water on, stripping down to her toes and stepping in. Plucking a bath bomb from the small cabinet installed a little above the tub, she sat and waited for the water to rise as she played with it.
She spent most of her bath, and the rest of the day in a dreamy haze. And she couldn’t wait to go home and day dream all about the kiss over and over again.
Aaron was pacing in his conference room. He wanted nothing more than to go back to Mina’s and hold her, kiss her, smell in her scent, and all the things that his imagination was running wild on. But he couldn’t. And he figured he wouldn’t be able to for a while. Quite a while.
The conference room was lit in dim yellow lights. The glass wall at the far end where he stood at gave way to a splendid view, a spread of the city peppered with buildings, streets snaking in between them. The sounds of cars was too faded to reach beyond the glass so high up where he was.
The large metallic door slid open smoothly and Aaron froze, squaring his shoulders and straightening his back.
“Tyler Morgan,” he greeted with authority. Tyler only smirked as he carried himself inside with a too lazy gait. Too casual. He looked like he’d made some effort, black pants with a spotless white shirt, ironed and tucked in, paired with sneakers.
“Aye, don’t be like that, Ronnie boy” he chuckled with a cock of his head, long dirty blond hair falling into his face which he pushed away smoothly from his clean-shaven face, revealing a new scratch on his cheek. It wasn’t there last week, definitely.
“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?” Aaron gritted his teeth. Why did he ever become friends with him?
“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?” he scoffed at him, “You can’t just expect the either of us to throw away almost 30 years of friendship away.”
“I dumped your ass as soon as I left university so don’t even go there,” Aaron stated firmly, “What’re you here for?”
Tyler frowned at him, raising a brow as he inspected his former best friend. A man he had known since childhood. Aaron was very serious about his statement and was not taking it back. They really were done.
“It’s been a long time since we last talked, Aaron,” Tyler said carefully, “I’m a changed man.”
Aaron scoffed and glanced at the clock, then back at him, “How dumb do you think I am? You think cutting off ties with the mafias you’re affiliated with is that easy?”
It was an amazing feat of stealth that the Morgans had played, hiding their affiliations with the underworld so well. It wasn’t their fault, though. Tyler’s grandfather had worked hard to detangle himself from the atrocities of that side and sacrificed his blood, sweat, and tears to make sure his children did not bear the generations worth of burdens that came with the association.
Tyler was the Morgans’ downfall. And Aaron would have been the same had he not realized what he was being pulled into sooner and cut off all ties with the Morgans. All except with Greta, of course. She feared for her life and he felt obliged to protect her since she was innocent. Their parents had apologized to the McCarthys profusely, going as far as to disown their son so that he could not destroy their forefather’s efforts. It was a huge mess but Tyler was too far involved with the mafias to immediately be dealt with in court. They’d help him escape the moment trouble stirred and his cover was blown. Aaron was responsible for it, and he knew Tyler would have come back for revenge for it.
Tyler observed him and shrugged, his face nonchalant, “To be honest, I only came here for her sister. Heard you broke up with her.”
Aaron’s heart tightened in his chest. He didn’t know she still contacted him. If that was the case then he knew she was crazy enough to get rid of Mina should she find out anything that had happened between them that afternoon. Greta was possessive. Too possessive.
She was downright controlling. And it took him just then to realize it.
Why did he ever involve himself with the Morgans?
“Look, man, I know she can get a little stingy, but was that really worth the fight?”
“Her being a little stingy sure goes a long way,” Aaron rolled his eyes, “Nothing is going to make me get back with her. I’ve offered her my friendship still and she needs to respect that. If not, it will not be difficult to push her away like I did with you.”
Aaron had taken many measures to block Tyler out of his life. And he always had an eye on him, keeping track of his movements to make sure he got nowhere near his loved ones in any way. If Tyler was in front of him right now, it was only because he let him. And security was tight to make sure no one got in without his knowledge.
Or out.
“We took out two of his men trying to get in from the outside,” his ear piece crackled quietly with static as one of his guards relayed information, “There was a team waiting outside of Mina’s apartment and they just got taken out. Mina is safe.”
“Aaron, you know she loves you,” Tyler spoke softly as he traced the glass table with his index finger. Aaron tightened his fist.
“What point is love when there is no respect, Tyler?” he grunted, “What point is anything when there is no respect?”
“You dumped her ass over a racist fit?” Tyler shot angrily, eyes wild and cutting through Aaron’s form. But Aaron stood his ground.
“For a lot more than that,” he hissed, “She’s lucky I’m willing to let her be her friend at least.”
“Oh, you talk of respect, eh?” Tyler stiffened and rummaged for his phone, “And is cheating a form of respect?”
“Her misunderstandings are not her problem,” Aaron seethed, “I would never stoop so low to do such a thing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“If that’s the case then why would you ask a cheater to take her back?” Aaron shot, “She deserves better, doesn’t she?”
Tyler’s fist came down on the table with a bang, “SHE DECIDES WHAT SHE WANTS! AND WHAT SHE WANTS, SHE GETS!”
Security burst into the room and tackled his arms behind him. Tyler struggled against their hold, demanding to be unhanded as he writhed in their grasp.
“You’ll pay for this!” he snarled at Aaron who only raised a brow at him.
“Haven’t you learned that threatening me won’t get you anywhere?” Aaron clicked his tongue, “You’ve already tried that once before and failed.”
His earpiece crackled, “All pinpointed areas and those nearby are clear. No danger.”
“Take him away, boys,” Aaron sighed and turned his back to them, looking over the beautiful view ruined by Tyler’s obscenities. He knew Tyler would never be able to involve the mafia he worked for too deep into this, because he was an underclassman to them. The situation held them no benefit in any way. No money, no nothing. Him and his buddies may think they’re the shit, but Aaron knew better.
He’d been keeping an eye on them all along.
“It’s trippy, dude,” Tyler laughed, “Just try it this once. If you like it then I’ll get you more.”
Aaron was hesitant. He wasn’t far from being much of a troublemaker, but there were certain things he was unwilling to try, and drugs were one of them. Not that there were any past traumatic experiences that held him back from it, but he personally felt that in this time of distress, succumbing to drugs for relieve would be a form of weakness. This was not his idea of fun. Fun was when he wanted to have it and had nothing over his head causing his unease. University life was all about unease. Deadlines, projects, GPA, food. If there had to be a good time for drugs, that time was not it.
But he gave in. He trusted Tyler.
“Just one puff,” Aaron said firmly, taking the joint from him. Tyler smiled at him proudly, knowingly. As if he was sure Aaron would want more after his first try. That he would become addicted and find the solace he needed. Tyler had already gotten his other friends into it and was already running good business selling it.
Aaron put it to his lips, his internal-self begging for him not to go through with it. But he did anyway. He trusted Tyler. He wouldn’t let him get hurt.
The first puff was all right. He felt nothing. Or maybe he had smoked it wrong, so he took a second one. It went down his stomach and churned his insides, making him want to throw up. It went up his head, clouding it into a puddle of haze and making him dizzy. The world spun around him, making him sick. And he wanted to throw up, the sides of his jaws fizzing with spit on the inside. But it didn’t come up. Nothing would escape his system. He coughed it out, feeling nauseous.
“Hey, you okay, Ronnie?” Tyler asked a little nervously.
“Awful,” Aaron groaned as he stumbled off of the wall they were sitting on, “I feel sick.”
“Hey, hey, wait,” Tyler jumped off and after him, “Just breathe, yeah?”
His hand clamped onto Aaron’s shoulder and he turned around to look at his best friend lost in a frenzy of dull colors smudging into each other, spiraling, spinning.
And everything went black.
He was still standing, though. Aaron turned around, not sick anymore. He stood in absolute nothingness, but it all suddenly changed.
“What have you gotten yourself into?” he heard himself speak, and Tyler was in front of him again, sitting lazily on a chair smoking a cigarette.
“Business, buddy,” he chuckled and looked at him pointedly, “And I want you helping me with it. It’s big money, you know? Something of your own.”
“I have plenty to her name, and so do you,” Aaron’s voice echoed to him. But Aaron wasn’t even speaking.
Tyler’s eyes inspected him carefully. Judgmental.
“But it was never any of your own effort, was it? What’s the point of success being handed to you on a platter?”
“I don’t get who’s putting all these ideas in your head, Tyler,” he scolded him, “You should be grateful. Taking after your father to run his company is a huge deal. You make your own successes everywhere.”
Tyler only scoffed and threw himself back, taking a long drag, spilling smoke from his nostrils.
“It’s because you’ve never tried it yourself,” Tyler tried explaining to him, “Or are you just scared?”
“You know you’re meddling with the law!” he snapped at him, patience running thin, “What kind of a success is that where you’re always on the run, always careful, and always in a fight for your life?”
Tyler sat back silently, watching Aaron’s every move. But Aaron wasn’t really moving from his place. His vision wasn’t.
“I just don’t want to live on what’s borrowed.”
That line really bothered Aaron. It bothered him to this day because he knew exactly where it was coming from. And he felt guilty. He felt so guilty.
“It wasn’t your fault,” came an all too familiar voice, gentle and soothing. He turned around to come face to face with Greta. The scene had changed again and they were in his living room. Greta was on his lap, straddling him. They must’ve been making out before this most likely. Aaron shuddered. At least, he thought he did.
“It’s not your fault he wasn’t as good as you,” she whispered as she came closer. But everything blanked out before anything else could happen.
Aaron eyes ripped open from his sleep. It was dark, with only the dim lamps illuminating the room in peaceful hues of yellows against his metallic grey walls. He felt anything but peace in that moment.
His heart was – yet again – at unease with guilt. The weight on his chest was unbearable. Leaving no room to breathe, no room to suck in air. He rolled off his bed, and paced around, head spinning.
I just don’t want to live on what’s borrowed, Tyler’s voice echoed in his head. He understood it all too well but never chose to confront it. The very notion of it was ridiculous to him. Why would Tyler ever think that way? He always got it all. The girls, the sex, the drinks, the drugs, the popularity, the friends, and the approval. Tyler always had it all.
Because you rejected it, something whispered nastily, so they passed it onto him. Because who doesn’t want Aaron McCarthy’s approval? And who was better approved than Tyler himself?
Aaron understood that a lot that went to Tyler were with the intentions that it would make its way to him and that he would accept it. Tyler was the rejection pile. He was the brunette at bars used to get to the blondes. And it wasn’t just didn’t happen regarding Tyler. It was the same when it came to Tyler’s older brother. What he didn’t like, Tyler would be given. What Tyler didn’t like would still have to be kept with him. Not even passed down to Greta.
Aaron understood after quite a long time how it made Tyler feel second. And he didn’t deserve that. Because Tyler was truly a smart man before those feelings overwhelmed and consumed him. He was a gentleman, he was an achiever, he was handsome. Better than his older brother, really. But favoritism left him feeling excluded and isolated. The second in everything.
It hurt him. And hurt turned him ugly in every way.
Aaron wished he’d realized sooner and maybe helped him out, but he understood nothing could have pulled him out of it with the way the world played itself around him. There was no changing the world, and with the stubborn way of thinking he had, there was no changing him either.
Sighing, his hand reached for his phone absently, finger scrolling through his contacts and coming to stop over Mina’s name. He almost dialed her until his senses acted up from the sleepy daze he was in. It was four in the morning. She’d be sleeping. And he needed sleep, too, since he had a meeting to attend tomorrow. Discussing the progress of the new resort in Dubai alongside his sister wouldn’t take too long unless they had someone willing to work alongside them for a spot in it. And business deals were his forte.
He plopped back into his pillows, grabbing one and cuddling it. He wished desperately that it was Mina. She was so soft and warm against him. And small. And cute. So innocent and inexperienced. It sparked a kind of mischief into him that was willing to take her way beyond her comfort zone and show her what pleasure was like.
He did not deny admitting that he and Greta had gone lengths in their relationship sexually, but never breaching onto sex even then. At least, not with his genitals directly. His hands had explored quite a few places, and maybe hers on the rare occasions he felt like letting her. But the things he was thinking of wanting to do with Mina were way beyond that. And it wasn’t scaring him at all.
He groaned and tucked the pillow harder against him, his hard-on starting to rage.
Well, fuck, he grumbled mentally, should I masturbate?
Porn did not work the way it used to. He did not feel satisfied with his session. It wasn’t what he wanted to see. It was something he wanted to do with Mina. He wanted her hands, her voice, her body, on himself.
God, why is this happening?, he demanded. He’d never felt like this for Greta. He never felt this desperate like he did for Mina. He never felt so unsatisfied.
This was the worst.