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Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Pierce was still dazed as he made his way back to the club. “Mr. White?”
“What’s up, Jesse?”
“Not to be too forward, but what are your intentions towards Arianna?”
“For the time being, I just want to get to know her. She’s a fascinating young woman.”
“That she is, but I don’t trust you, and it would probably be best if you kept your distance.” Pierce furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and frustration. “You look confused, so let me clear it up for you. If you’re only showing interest in Ari to win some childish bet, then you might as well terminate your membership now, or I’ll be happy to have my grandfather do it for you…no refund.”
“Bet? What are you talking about?”
Jesse scoffed in disbelief at how Mr. White played dumb. “There’s a running bet between the majority of the male members to see who could have their way with her first. Last I heard, the pot was pretty up there.”
“I can assure you that’s definitely not the case!” Pierce spat in disgust. He was offended that he would be accused of something so disgusting and that grown men would participate in something so heinous. “I get that you’re her friend, and you’re only looking out for her best interest, but it’s not your place to check me. I’m sure Ari can take care of herself. Are we done here?”
“Sure…enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. White,” Jesse responded tightly. Pierce nodded at the doorman before making his way to the dining room.
“Jesus Christ, what took you so long? Lunch is almost over, and Mr. Bruce dropped off our keycards.”
Pierce picked up the stainless steel keycard and looked at the calligraphic engraving of his name. He was impressed by the small diamonds on the other
side that spelled out Elite SA.
“What do you want to do for the rest of the day?” Patrick asked.
“I would say hang out by the pool, but we don’t have our swimming trunks. We can watch a movie.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Just so you’re aware, while you were spacing out earlier, Mr. Bruce assigned us lockers in the locker room.”
“Great. Hurry up and finish eating. I need to schedule a massage for tomorrow.”
Arianna opened the door, knowing that the annoying knocking on the door belonged to her best friend.
“Jesse…it’s so lovely to see you,” she drawled.
“Sweetie, I’m gonna need you to put a little bit more enthusiasm into that greeting. Let’s try it again.”
Arianna slammed the door in Jesse’s face and was in her bed in three seconds flat with Jesse hot on her trail. “No need to be rude,” he said with a pout, crawling into the bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight bear hug.
Jesse’s relationship with Arianna could be frustrating at times. They were best friends, but sometimes they behaved like a couple. Jesse never knew what was appropriate and what was not. In no way had Arianna ever led him on. In fact, she always told him that they were just friends and that they would never go anywhere, but it was complicated. Whenever he felt he was making progress with her, Arianna would escort him right back to the dreaded friend zone. Jesse didn’t understand what it was about him that didn’t do it for her. He was handsome, funny, courteous, respectful, wealthy, educated, hardworking; the list went on. What the hell else could she be looking for in a man? They occasionally shared a couple of innocent kisses, but it never went further than that.
“Soooooooo, Mr. White has taken a shine to you.”
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Chapter 8
That he has
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I don’t know, Jesse. Why don’t you tell me since you know so much,” Arianna drawled.
“He doesn’t come off as a perverted old man to you?”
“Not at all.”
Jesse let out a dramatic sigh and decided to drop the subject. He pulled Arianna on top of him and tugged gently on a braid. “Did you pick out a movie for us to watch tonight?” he asked.
“I thought we could binge–watch The Flash. There’s like 133 episodes on Netflix.”
“Sounds good. I already ordered our food.”
“What’s on the menu?”
“Bayseas.”
“Oh, you’re a freaking real one, Jesse,” Arianna groaned.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, but you refuse to listen. Why don’t you want to be with me, Ari?”
The vulnerability in his tone shook her to her core. Every once in a while, Jesse would ask the same question, and Arianna’s answer never changed. She only saw him as a friend.
“Please don’t give me that ‘I only see you as a friend‘ bullshit either. It gets tiring.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. From the beginning, I only saw you as a friend. If we dated and broke up, would we still be friends afterward, or would you pull the ‘I don’t think we can be friends anymore‘ bullshit? I don’t want to take that risk.”
“Just give me a chance. Let me court you properly.”
“Fine. All bullshit aside? You’re a social media whore.”
“What?”
“You heard me. You’re a social media whore. You continuously have girls in your DMs, and you’re always eager to reply. Your phone is flooded with nudes, and you love that shit. You have an extensive social media presence, and we both know how addicted you are to social media. I’m woman enough to admit that I would be extremely jealous, even if you didn’t respond. Just the fact that you received them would be enough to piss me off. You wouldn’t just be mine. You would be mine and 1.5 million other women. You might not think it’s a big deal, but think about how you would react if the tables were turned and I constantly received DMs from guys and dick pics.”
“I–I guess I see your point. Thanks for being honest and telling me how you feel.”
“You’re welcome, I have to get the door. The food is here,” Arianna stated, wriggling out from his grasp. Jesse watched her as she left the comfort of her bed to answer the door.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He opened his notifications and rolled his eyes. Of course, he would receive a picture of some girl’s tits right after the conversation they just had. Arianna had a right to be hesitant. They couldn’t even get through date night without him receiving nudes.
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