4 Meeting a stranger

Date = 26 March

Place = San Francisco (Mission Street)

POV - Aria

“I can’t believe you let me buy all this shit!”

Three heads swivel to face the blonde that’s been talking non-stop using extreme hand gestures, despite the fact that the one is still in a cast. We’re simply four women enjoying a deserving day away from the overbearing males in our lives, and turning heads as we walk down the colorful world of Mission Street to where we’ve parked our car, lugging loads of parcels and bags.

“But they’re so cute … ain’t they cute?” She’s looking at me now and I just nod my head cause I know she probably won’t give me a turn to talk anyway.

“Look at this tee-dee, its tum-tum is so fat and cuddly,” she pulls out a teddy bear from one of the parcels and talks in this baby voice. I look up at the sky with a smile.

“Ug, I know. Granny is so excited to meet the little cheese ball. Yes, she is.” Now Haley is joining the coo-coo parade, talking in her baby voice, patting Mel’s little bump softly, while Kiara jabs me in the ribs, pulling a skew face.

It’s been a long seven days, 11 hours, and 43 minutes since I moved in with Enrique and it’s the first time I get to go out of the complex gates. That man is driving me up the walls. I swear he has multiple-personality disorder. One moment we’re having a decent discussion, getting to know each other, the next moment he turns into an arrogant, cocky, heartless prick. He’s as emotionless as a bloody robot, I tell you – a mechanical egomaniac. It’s as if he finds pleasure in driving me freaking insane. And the way he stares into my eyes for prolonged times … makes my heart want to jump from my chest.

On the other hand, his family and friends are just people you can fall in love with. Sometimes I wish I could replace him with one of his brothers. At least they are not mentally ill like the sexy devil spawn living with me. Granted, the cockiness trade runs in the family … or rather … the group, but at least they’re all decent and have normal emotions – unlike him. Okay, I must admit Jackson scares me sometimes … but the rest are quite normal … mostly.

“What about some great food and wine before we head home? I know the perfect place, my treat,” Haley says while she grabs my arm and pulls me from my daydream.

“That man of yours is something to drool about. He’s what they would call a diamond in the rough,” she whispers and winks at me with a warm smile, getting the wrong impression from my blanked-out state, but I let it fly. Enrique’s diamond is hidden under layers and layers of rough and that is if it even exists. But those stares – can I be wrong about him?

Haley is a real mother hen, taking all of us under her wing as if we were her daughters. She’s the warmest person I’ve ever met and she already bundled herself in my heart, together with the rest of them.

“Come on … wine … really mom?” my little blond pregnant ‘sister-in-law’ gushes with a frown. She loves wine but can’t have any at the moment because of her condition. It doesn’t however keep her from sniffing everyone’s glass whenever she can.

“Oh, shit, sorry angel. But, it’s not my fault you and my stupid but handsome son didn’t pay attention in biology class. You can get some juice.” Haley’s baby voice is gone. Mel gives her future mother-in-law a fake angry glare and grunts like a piglet while mumbling something about players that don’t know how to use freaking condoms and mothers that didn’t teach their sons any manners.

Damn, I truly love this girl and she’s accepted me as her brother’s girlfriend unconditionally. Even though she and Kiara have a special bond, they always try to include me in everything. I could always just dream about a friendship like this, one where you can share everything without even blinking. I’ve never had that.

“Oh, just come on, my feet are killing me.” Kiara swings the parcels in her hand, gesturing for us to move our buts. We went on a shopping spree on the insistence of Enrique and I’m sure we’ve covered the whole Westfield Centre as well as a 1-mile radius around it.

But my mind is wandering so much, I didn’t even have time to feel tired. Tomorrow we have our first public appearance as a couple and the bastard forced his sister to get me an ‘appropriate outfit’ for the occasion. He made his instructions very clear about what he wants me to wear – quoting the contract - something sexy but not slutty. But it was the words he whispered secretly in my ear that drove me almost over the edge – ‘That is if you can do sexy.’

Needless to say, it started one of those stare-offs where I always end up with some slightly damp briefs and a fast-beating heart. It must be those eyes. But I’ll show the freaking robot-ass what sexy is. I’m not vain, but I’m also not naïve - I’ve got a few things going for me.

And I can’t wait to rub the dress I bought in his face! He’s going to eat those words, that’s for sure! Mel also got a new dress, and I’m so glad she’s going to be there with me tomorrow.

She and Haley also bought some stuff for the baby and with ‘some stuff’ I mean half the shop. I got Leyla some new art supplies. My sister loves to draw and paint, and she has real raw talent. I’m so glad her room has a corner specifically designed for her passion. Mel told me that Enrique asked Noah how they could make the room extra special for my sister. And although they went a little overboard, I must admit that they succeeded. Leyla loves her room. So even if it’s not evident, the robot does have some kind of heart hidden inside.

I focus on the sidewalk, still thinking about my sister while listening to the cheerful chatter of my new friends and I silently wonder how she’s doing. The guys are babysitting Luke and Leyla. The two children get along fine for small periods at a time, that is until they try killing each other.

The next moment something slams into me; full force from the front, and I’m airborne for 2 seconds, before landing with a thud on my buttocks, parcels flying everywhere. Haley gives a little whelp, while Mel and Kiara seem half shocked, half amused. So much for sisterhood. I look up into teasing chocolate eyes.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.” The man holds out his hand to help me up, but I refuse it with a grunt. I can get up myself, thank you very much. I dust off my pants and rub my bruised bum.

“I’m really sorry, I was on my phone.” The man is rather handsome, with dark hair, a neat beard, and a dangerous smile. He seems familiar as if I’ve seen him before.

“No shit.” I’m slightly ticked off, and angrily grab some parcels from the ground. He tries to help but I won’t let him. Then Mel jumps into action, her protective hormones in overdrive.

“Maniac! Next time look where you’re going!” Mel points her finger under his nose and I bend over to pick up one more parcel. I envy her courage. But I suppose with all the men in her life to protect her, she never needs to be afraid.

He stares into my eyes for a small while and then he looks at the rest of the girls. Mel is standing with her arms on her hips, Haley is frowning as if she smells something off and Kiara is frantically looking at the people around us. Then I notice it too.

Damn, all eyes are on us … or rather me … again, and the airport scenario replays in my mind. If this turns out into a punishment option for me, I’ll find this asshole and kill him. I’m not sure what hurts more: my bum or my ego … but this big ape is responsible for both injuries so I shove past him, ‘accidentally’ bulldozing him out of the way with my shoulder.

“I’m so fed up with all these egotistical hunks in this freaking world and it’s as if they go out of their way to find and annoy me!” I say to Mel who’s now clutching my arm like a tiny monkey, steering me rather harshly down the street.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a microphone is plunged against my mouth, and then another and another as cameras flash incessantly, blinding me for a brief moment.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” The words are out before I can stop myself. Now I’m sure they (and by they I mean the paparazzi) either fall from the sky or have serious teleportation skills. Mel squeezes my arm and whispers in my ear, “Keep quiet and let’s get out of here.”

The girls all lift a parcel to try and conceal their faces and I follow their lead. Damn, the previous incident hasn’t even fully cooled down yet. And I can’t forget how they twisted things to portray me as the villain – I manipulated the frat boy to assault the fat lady so I could seduce the nerdy pervert … and somewhere along the line, I was also trying to buy a black-market kidney for my sick sister. And people actually believe that shit!

I try to keep up with Mel, who’s now almost running, but the paparazzi encircle us, blocking the way. The girls form a tight line in an attempt to hide me behind them, but even that doesn’t faze the ravenous press. They simply squeeze their outstretched hands through every tiny opening.

“Aria how are you settling in?” “Do you enjoy living with Enrique?” “What’s your favorite color?” “Are you getting engaged?” “Mel, can we take a photo of your ring?” “Do you have a wedding date planned?”

Okay, at least these questions are not too bad, maybe they didn’t see me fall just now. And maybe this time they won’t write anything bad about me. But then my hopes get lost.

“When is the baby due?” “Did you get pregnant on purpose?”

At first, I thought they are talking to Mel, but all eyes are straight at me. For a moment I’m discombobulated - pregnant … me … WTF? To be pregnant you need to copulate and I haven’t even been in eye contact with a penis in years. Instinctively my hand moves to my tummy and I look down – maybe I’m getting fat or something. Nope, still flat, thank goodness.

“Can we see what’s in the bag?”

Only then do I realize that I’m holding brown paper bags with the ‘allbuybaby’ ‘Mudpie’ ‘Fiddlesticks’ and ‘UpChoose’ logos on them. So no way to hide the fact that we were buying baby stuff at all.

“Is this baby your ticket to richness?” “How did you trick him?” “How long until he sleeps around again?” “Is Enrique excited about the baby?”

I know Mel hasn’t declared her pregnancy to the press yet; after almost losing the baby, they decided to wait. Then Mel steps forward and I know she’s going to spill the beans, but I pull her back, giving her a just-let-it-go look. Luckily her small bump is still almost unnoticeable, especially under the loose shirt she’s wearing. Let them write what they want … Mel’s well-being is what’s important.

We push through the thick crowd, still throwing questions in the air. I try to remain calm, but with each question, I feel more and more explosive because they dare to invade my personal space and disgrace my morals. Mel is still clinging to me, keeping me from blowing my fuse. But then one of the vultures steps over the line.

“Is this baby a replacement for your dying sister?”

I discharge and before anybody can react I drop the parcels; grab the man’s shirt with my left hand while I slap him straight through the face. I pull him closer, beyond mad.

“You can say what you want about me, but you leave my sister alone!”

A frenzy of flashes blinds us and Haley puts her arm around my shoulder, pulling me with the force of two cows towards the car. Mel and Kiara pick up the parcels and hardhandedly clear a path through the thick crowd for us to follow.

As soon as we’re all safely buckled up, the three girls let loose.

“Shit sister, that was demented!” Kiara gasps with a big smile.

“Yep, I can already see my brother’s face!” Mel giggles, ending with a snort. “And I’m sorry that they thought you are the one getting knocked-up.”

I look down at my trembling hands, my whole body is still shaking with anger and rage. I was so mad I didn’t think about the consequences – he’s entitled to punish me according to our agreement. Great, just great.

I can’t even begin to think what ‘punishment’ the robot-devil is going to implement on me, but I know for a fact it’s not going to be simple or good. I run my fingers through my hair and sigh deeply.

“This is so bad,” I say irritated to myself, already seeing Enrique blowing his lid. I don’t scare easily but that man gives me the chills for some reason.

“Oh, honey, he deserved it. I’ve stopped counting the number of reporters Damion punched, not to mention Jackson … oh boy,” Haley snickers and Mel rolls her eyes, probably thinking of her bad-boy fiance.

“And Enrique is, without a doubt, no angel either! Remember when … “ Kiara starts and they recall encounters between the boys and the press. My favorite is how a cameraman evidently caught the twins in a rather awkward situation, trying to hide their tools with the same teeny tiny towel. Logan and Damion stole their clothes while they were skinny dipping in the ocean.

The photo apparently made the front page with the heading –

Twins share everything!

But that’s not the end of it … according to the girls, the twins came up with a revenge plan that was so bad, that Logan still has a scar on his arm to remember it by.

“My brothers are the worst when it comes to retaliation, believe you me,” Mel says and it feels as if my blood is freezing in my veins. She continues to tell me about how they haunted her and Kiara, pulling pranks that ended in the ER most of the time.

I bite my lip in trepidation. No, I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me panicking – game on Enrique Blackburn! Bring your best.