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After a traumatic breakup with her college sweetheart, Aria Davenport meets an older, more sexually experienced businessman who promises to change her life forever.
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Three Months Ago
Sunday
When I awaken, I'm in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room.
Not again! This is so unlike me. Get it together, Ari. I roll my eyes at my slipping standards. When did this become a thing with me?
Phoenix is on the couch, watching business news. The Nasdaq ticker tape runs along the bottom of the screen.
"Can we rewind for a minute? Umm. What . . . exactly happened last night?" I eye him suspiciously.
"Hey, sleepy head. Here, drink this." Phoenix hands me a glass of tomato juice. "You let loose last night. Never saw you like that before."
Disoriented, I take the glass and down the juice.
What did you do now?
"Breakfast is on the way. The bathroom is there." Phoenix points to the left of the bed. "I'll meet you downstairs." He leaves the room.
I get up and go to the bathroom. Waiting for me is a toothbrush, toothpaste, and hand towel. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and pull my hair up into a huge, curly ponytail on top of my head. Still wearing my black cutout dress, I grab my shoes and clutch and head downstairs barefoot.
There's chatter downstairs. When I look over the balcony, Mia is engaged in a deep conversation with Riz, and Penelope is laughing with JC. They're already seated at the kitchen table. Everyone must have stayed the night.
A room service attendant wheels in a cart full of food, juice and coffee into the suite. Phoenix signs the bill, the attendant thanks him profusely and leaves.
"Where are we?" I grab a binder off the coffee table. "The Vintage Brew? What happened last night? How did we get here?"
"This is an old brewery that's been repurposed into a swanky hotel." Mia's eyes light up. "I love it. That old, exposed brick on the walls, the rugged unfinished style of it. Look at that bellhop cart, they used old pipes from the factory to make it. We took a short tour this morning, they even kept the original copper beer vats. Which are huge, by the way."
"Yeah. I've never seen a place like this, chica."
"We all got pretty messed up last night. I had Leon pick us up and take us to the nearest hotel and this was it. Luckily, they had this suite available, I was not gonna split you and your girls up. I know how protective you are over each other." Phoenix takes a bite out of a crisp, green apple. "Have some breakfast." He motions for me to sit at the table.
"I went ahead and ordered for you. Hope you like it." Mia smiles at me.
"How much did I drink?"
"You had enough, girl. We all did. I think I'm handling mine only slightly better than you are." Penelope rubs her temples, then reaches for water and aspirin.
