Chapter 3

Ash

R ob's Restaurant was a local bistro I'd been working at for the past three years. At first, I was a busboy, but since starting junior year, I'd been working as a waiter, the same as Kai. Despite Rob being on the tough side, I loved it here. My mom used to work here when she was young, which was how she met my dad, so this place sometimes felt like a second home.

"Chief, any chance you can close up instead of me? I have an audition tomorrow morning, and I want to run lines one last time," Isabel asked as I picked up some drinks from the bar.

Since I had no intention of going to the party and being the third wheel in the Kai and Zoe show, I agreed, and she thanked me with a hug.

"You're the best," she cheered, already taking off her apron.

"No worries. But when you're a big star one day, remember me."

She laughed and then told me good night before checking out.

We had low foot traffic today, so the rest of the shift went pretty chill. The kitchen had closed up already, and by now, I was the last of the staff left. Because it was almost time for me to go, I began polishing some glasses when a beautiful Ferrari stopped in front of the restaurant. It wasn't odd to see fancy cars around, as it was Beverly Hills, but this one caught my eye. I wasn't a motors fan myself, but Kai was, and I'd have to tell him about it.

I went back to polishing until the doorbell rang, announcing a new customer. Putting down the dishes I was cleaning, I rounded the bar and made my way to the entrance to tell them we were closed when I noticed who it was.

"Well, well," Soren said with the same charming smile I remembered from the party. "If that isn't fate, I don't know what is."

"H-Hey," I blurted out awkwardly after stopping before him, my hand clenching the wet cloth I still held a bit harder.

"Ashton, was it?"

"Yeah, but you can call me Ash or Chief. Everyone calls me Chief."

"Chief?" he asked in a low drawl that was too sexy. "I think Ashton suits you more."

Not knowing what to say, I continued to stare at him until I realized it probably made me seem like a creep, and I forced my eyes away from his flawless face.

"I think I owe you an apology for disappearing the last time we met," he said.

Despite abandoning me at the party, I didn't dive too deep into it and simply assumed he'd figured out I was an idiot kid.

"Don't worry about it. If anything, I deserved it. I made myself look like a fool downing that drink in one go."

Soren let out a soft chuckle, one that made me weak in the knees. Looking up, I found him still staring at me, and there was something empowering about the way his silver eyes checked me out slowly.

"You didn't make a fool out of yourself, so don't worry about it." Crossing his arms over his chest, he stepped a bit closer. "To be honest, I was simply distracted."

He was at least three inches taller, with wide shoulders and defined muscles. He looked so elegant in clothes that probably cost more than my monthly salary and radiated confidence with his tall stance. Yet, it wasn't just his looks that drew me to him but his confidence. Soren seemed so sure of himself, so well put together , and that attracted me. Thinking about it now, Soren was the complete opposite of Kai, who was all about messy hair, laid-back clothes, and a let's-go-with-the-flow sort of attitude.

"I tend to get distracted rather easily," he spoke, snapping me back to reality. "It's quite a bit of a problem, especially when I'm talking to you."

"Me?" My brows pulled close with shock. "Did I do something wrong?"

Once again, he chuckled, his rich voice addicting. "You're adorable." He shook his head. "But no, you didn't do anything wrong, although I keep getting distracted by those lips of yours." While speaking, he moved his fingers along his jaw, and my eyes focused on his lips a second before a flush crept to my cheeks and probably painted them bright red.

"M-My lips?" Breaking our stare, I swallowed hard.

"Yeah, they're the prettiest I have ever seen. Such a unique shape that I can't seem to look away."

My heart rate increased, and my throat turned dry. He was hitting on me without a hint of shame, and that left me… shocked. I was popular among the girls in our school, so I'd been hit on before, but never by a guy. And never in my wildest dreams did I think a man like Soren, who looked like the closest thing to perfection, would've found interest in me. I didn't hate myself, but there was nothing special about me. Nothing unique enough to attract the interest of a man like him.

"Why do I feel like I'm scaring you? Did I get the wrong impression?" he suddenly asked, and I realized I'd kept quiet for too long.

"The wrong impression?" I blurted out, once again earning an amused smile from him. One that made me feel even more like a child.

"At the party, I assumed you liked me. Was I wrong?"

Did I like him? Was that even a question? Regardless of my unrequited love for Kai, I was still a horny dude in his prime, and it would be fucking impossible not to like a face, a body, and a personality like his.

"You weren't wrong," I said quietly. "It's just that… I've never done this before." My whole face burned up. "I mean, with a man…"

Something gleamed in his eyes a second before he ran his fingers through his raven hair, and he cleared his throat.

"Since it seems like you're in the middle of closing up this place, I think I'll go find a different restaurant to have dinner."

My stomach turned since, once again, I was being dismissed, but right as I was about to draw back into myself, Soren pulled his phone out and offered it to me.

"I would have offered for you to join me tonight, but I have very little time, and I'd rather take you on a proper date." He smiled. "If that's okay with you, of course."

Okay with me? It was more than okay with me. In fact, the only thing that made me hesitate was that I'd lied to him. Soren had no idea I was still in high school, but should I risk telling him? After all, even if we were to go on a date, nothing serious would come out of it. He looked too hot to be a guy who was looking for something serious. And if I were honest with myself, everything about him, from the amusement in his eyes to the car he was driving, screamed fuckboy. So maybe, just maybe, this was finally my opportunity to have an actual experience with a man. And if that were the case, there was no need for him to know how old I was.

"I saved myself under Ash," I said, giving him back his phone.

While taking the device from me, Soren brushed our fingers together, leaned close, and kissed my cheek. It was short, and it was over before I'd even noticed, but the touch of his lips burned my skin like the sun after a long day of surfing.

"I'll give you a call," he said and, a moment later, was already out of the restaurant.

As I brushed my fingers over my cheek, my stomach flipped with butterflies. It was silly, but being wanted felt really fucking good.

Kai

Frozen, I stayed by the restaurant window as I watched Ashy's cheeks turning a deeper shade of red each time the man he was speaking to got closer. I'd come here thinking I'd manage to convince him to come to the party with me, not at all prepared for what I was seeing unfolding right fucking now.

But… what was I even seeing? Ash was straight. Right ? For years, we'd talked about girls, so why did he just give that dude his number? And why the fuck was I getting so angry as the asshole got closer to Ash, and… did the son of a bitch just kiss his cheek?

What the actual fuck.

Clenching my hands into tight fists and gritting my teeth, I tried to understand the source of my anger. Was it for believing my best friend was hiding a big fucking secret from me, or was it because of something else ? Whatever it was that made me want to break something was enough to get me back inside my car and kick the gas so fast that I nearly crashed into the lamppost I'd parked beside. Not giving a flying fuck, I reversed onto the main road, ignoring the honks and curses from other drivers, and made my way to the party.

I needed a drink.

Scratch that .

I needed to get fucking wasted. So wasted that the disgusting image of that dipshit pressing his lips to Ash's cheek would be erased from my fucking memory.

Only that not even half a bottle of vodka seemed to do the job, and my brain was still going at a hundred miles per hour trying to figure out what I'd seen earlier today.

And if that wasn't enough, Zoe had been a pain in my ass since she'd arrived, trying to convince me to go home with her since she was too tired to party. Fuck that, and with all due respect, fuck her. Right now, I had no plans to go home, where I'd have to face those repulsive thoughts alone. And sober .

"What the hell is wrong with you tonight," Zoe whined, slapping my arm and then slumping her back against the couch.

Ignoring her, I took a shot that burned its way down my throat, then reached for the bottle to pour myself another.

"Seriously, Kai, you gotta cut down on the drinking." While speaking, she reached to grab the bottle away from me, but I pushed her hand off.

"Leave me alone." I sounded as bitter as I felt. "If you're unhappy, go home."

"Are you shitting me?" After I didn't bother to answer her, she continued to push. "Are you sad because your sweet Ashy isn't here to hold your hand?" Bringing her fists to her face, she pretended to cry and wiped fake tears, basically saying I was a crybaby.

She pissed me the fuck off.

"Screw you, Zoe."

Dropping her hands to her sides, she stood up, stomping her foot. "You two are un-fucking-believable. Seriously. I don't know why I'm wasting my time on you when you're so clearly in love with him, too."

She had every right to be angry with me right now because I was being a fucking prick, but that didn't mean she could— hold on .

What did she just say?

"What did you say?" I asked, blinking my eyes while trying to keep focus.

"Nothing."

Getting up, I grabbed her arms and yanked her close.

"Kai, you're hurting me—"

"What the fuck did you just say?" I rasped.

"It was a slip of the tongue. I didn't mean anything by it."

Angry, I frowned at her. "You said I was in love with him, too . What did you mean by that?"

Rather than answering me, Zoe pressed her lips together and diverted her eyes. She clearly didn't mean to say what she just did, but it was too late to take her words back. Letting go of her, I crashed back on the couch. Pushing the shot glass off the table, it shattered on the floor, but I didn't give a shit as I reached for the bottle. Drinking straight from it, I only stopped once it burned, then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

The room spun around me while the loud music mixed with Zoe's attempts to apologize. What was she even apologizing for? I didn't know or care. I had so many questions running in my fucked-up brain right now, and none involved her.

No .

They all involved him—my best friend, who apparently kept shit tons of things away from me.