Playing with Fire | Yuzuru Hanyu

56. Banquet

Arriving at the venue of the Banquet, Aria quickly realized that nothing of what she had initially expected was true.

Well, for starters, it seemed like the general ambiance of the evening was quite relaxed despite everyone wearing some cooler or better clothes. And then, obviously, people just looked up at Yuzu with such big smiles that she quickly understood that no one would dare to say anything about her.

He introduced her to teammates, old friends and even a few coaches, not saying once that she was a special someone to him but never denying any possible implications of their relationship status.

If anything, everyone seemed quite surprised to see him accompanied, something that didn't surprise her given how they met.

It was only when he started introducing her to the different skaters of Cricket that her focus shifted from interested to suspicious.

"So this is Jun, Javi... and ah, Julia, I didn't know you were coming..."

Yuzuru's reaction to the woman's presence was enough to place her on high alert but hearing the name had been equally alarming.

Julia.

As in the bitch that told him he wasn't enough.

Aria could see in his expression how much he was regretting telling her the woman's name but she couldn't care less.

If it wasn't for the obvious fact that they were in a very public place, Aria would have probably made a scene right there.

She wasn't sure what stopped her. Maybe the way he looked at her or even his firmer grasp on the back of her waist, but the reality was that she didn't say a thing.

At least not right away.

Maybe if the other woman didn't open her mouth, Aria would have just stayed quiet and moved on with her life as he had once asked of her.

But no.

Instead of facing the shame of letting Yuzu go, Julia decided that she had to speak and make herself look even worse in Aria's consideration.

"Look at that, Yuzuru, you moved on fast."

Yuzu blankly stared between Aria and Julia and it wasn't even hard to tell that he was gathering whether or not she would lash out at the other girl. Aria kept her mouth shut.

"What do you want, Julia?" he eventually answered with indifference, as if none of her words mattered.

"Just wondering why you found the need to suddenly look for another woman... Settling for less than what you once had."

This bitch, Aria thought, but still kept her silence for his sake.

"Did I?"

Yuzuru had this irritating smirk on his face and one look into his eyes was enough to realize that he was by now waiting for Aria to lose it. He didn't seem to be afraid, he seemed to be expecting it with enthusiasm as his brow raised in her direction.

"I guess you had to settle with someone with fewer demands."

It was only when Julia uttered those words and with the silent permission that Yuzu seemed to be giving her that Aria spoke.

"Maybe he just had to settle with someone with better skills. I heard his previous partner lacked in quite a few fields."

Direct attacks were not worth the scandal, but Aria could certainly speak out without making a scene. She was an expert in being discrete, after all.

"Look at that, the bimbo speaks."

Truthfully, Aria was proud of herself when she merely laughed at the clear insult that the other woman attempted. Her creativity was so low that it made her wonder if she wasn't the one who was a 'bimbo' after all.

"At least the bimbo knows how to please a man."

"Ari-chan..." Yuzu warned, calling her with a nickname he had never used before.

"Don't worry, handsome, I don't plan on losing more time on this girl. I still find it funny that she wants to approach the topic. Blaming a man for being bad in something when he didn't want it in the first place and leaving him at the very first chance should have been embarrassing enough."

They were surrounded by people who were mostly ignoring the conversation but it was very clear that the other woman was scared shitless that someone overheard the whole thing and made assumptions of their own.

"You told her??!" Julia asked Yuzu, completely scandalized by the revelation. It was definitely more fun than he should be.

Yuzuru merely shrugged his shoulders, a smirk permanently etched on his face.

"She wouldn't say anything if you didn't push it, Julia. You built your own grave."

"Maybe you shouldn't tell those types of things about your exes!"

"Well, maybe you should have been nicer to him in the first place but you don't give a fuck, do you?"

"Watch the language. You're really uneducated..."

"Who started this whole ordeal? Not me, if I remember correctly. Do me a favor and just shut up. Don't embarrass yourself any further"

"Shut up."

"Oh, I will. Let me just say this one other thing"  Aria added with a satisfied expression. "Just for the record, you were wrong about your ex, he's quite amazing in bed."

Yuzuru then just dragged her the hell out of there but he didn't seem pissed or mad at her. It was clear that he half-expected her reaction from the start.

If she left Julia with a red face and an embarrassed look on her face, that was only a small reward for having to face the crazy woman in the first place.

"You were brutal" he told her eventually as they reached their almost empty table. The smile on his face was still satisfying to see.

"She's a bitch."

"You've mentioned it before."

"Yeah, but I didn't know her. Now I can tell you, she's really one."

Chuckling, Yuzu just kissed her cheek.

"For the record, even if I don't necessarily agree with your methods, I found the whole thing very...very hot."