I leave straight after our sex session. I don't even give him my number. I make it easier for him, so he doesn't have to throw me out and deal with this. I just pick up my clothes and leave. 

Aaron gave me a woman's shirt to replace the blouse he ripped. He said it's his sister's. It'd work until I got home.

I was afraid how would my drive home go. I was afraid to be alone with my thoughts, but when I'm almost at my flat, I realise it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not regretting it. In fact, I'm in a bit better mood, even singing along with the songs on the radio. 

With Aaron, I proved myself that I can still feel something for other men, even though it's only lust. Damien didn't take that away from me. And that's something I can be happy about.

WhenI get into the flat, whistling to myself, I call out a loud "Hello." I get no response and I walk into the living room only to find Rory sleeping on the couch. But it seems like I woke her up because she slowly sits up on the couch.

I frown when I look at her face. It looks like she's been crying. 

''I must look really bad, judging by your expression, huh?'' she tries to joke, but her voice is small and raspy from the sleeping.

"Are you sick?" I ask her.

"Nope. I'm perfectly fine." She places a big, fake smile on her face. She doesn't fool me with it.

"You were crying," I say softly as a statement.

"I just had a bad day, it's nothing important, really. I'll be getting my period soon so I have some mood swings." Rory laughs and I don't quite believe that's the only reason, but I don't pressure her into giving me answers. 

I give her a smile that's a little wary. "I'm sorry to hear that. If you need a friend, I'm here for you. You know that, right?" My words seem to bring tears into her eyes and I know something must have happened. And I've got a great suspicion my brother is playing a big role in this. He's been calling me non-stop, asking me about her. But he didn't show up - not even once. 

She nods and a tear falls down her cheek. Rory bites her lip, trying hard not to start crying right in front of me.

"Oh, Rory," I say and come closer to give her a hug. And she breaks down in front of me, crying into my shoulder and gripping my shirt. I don't ask her about what happened, I only give her comfort. If she wants to talk about it, she will. I'm not forcing her.

"I think I'll go take a bath now," she says to me, pleading me with her eyes to understand her.

I nod at her. "Of course." I brush her hair with my hand, placing a small smile on my lips.

Rory stands up and goes straight to her room where minutes later, a sad piano music blasts loudly through the speakers.

Braden calls me again and I have to roll my eyes. "Holy shit, stop bothering me already. If you want to know how she is, call her. Or, did you lose her number maybe? In that case, I have a better solution for you; go and see her before she sets her eyes on someone else!''

"Has she set her eyes on someone else?"

I grunt. "She's going to. She probably already forgot how your face looks like, seeing that she hasn't seen you in days. You're an asshole for that, by the way."

"I won't correct you. But is she alright? I need to know, Brooke."

I scoff, completely done with his shit. ''Ask her yourself. Why in the ever loving God are you ignoring her and then calling me all the time, asking me about her? It makes no sense, Braden. Get your shit together already and stop playing her.''

"You're awfully protective of her. You two got really close in the short time you know each other, huh?" His voice is questioning.

"Yeah, you should really talk about getting close to her. By the way, I'm not protective, I'm looking out for my friend, who's also an amazing and sweet woman. It's not my fault my naïve brother can't realise that."

"Are you done insulting me now? I'm still waiting to hear my answer," he growls.

I tsk. ''I'm not insulting, I'm speaking the truth. You take it as insults, I see. And I already answered it; if you want to know, ask her. It's not that hard. She speaks English, so she'll make it easier for you to communicate." Oh, how I love throwing all the women Braden dated in the past into his face. Even the non-English speakers, yes. 

''I see I won't get anything out of you today. It was pleasant talking to you, sister,'' he replies in his own sarcasm.

''Glad to hear you only call me for one reason and that is for me to tattle on my flatmate. It's not happening.'' I laugh, finding his bad mood pretty funny. It's your own fault, brother. 

He sighs. ''It's nice to see how much you care for your brother.''

I chuckle even harder. ''I do, but only when he doesn't act like an idiot. Which, lately, is a lot of times. Now stop bothering me and go get her back,'' I order.

''Maybe I will.''

''You better. Bye, Braden.''

''Bye. See you around.'' he hangs up.

I stay in the living room just in case Rory decided to come talk to me. I text my girls to cut some time.

Me: Guess who decided to let out her inner hoe and sleep with Aaron 

Amy: Lol ... who's Aaron again? 

Sam: I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU. I KNEW YOU DIDN'T KILL IT YET

I don't get any response from Cory. It's actually funny how at least one of the girls responds immediately. Probably because we always have our phones with us for any juicy details like this.

Me: Amy, it's that guy from the bar?? 

Amy: OH! That one was good ;)

Me: He sure was ...

I also write Braden a text. Just to play with him a little more.

Me: Btw, did you and Rory have a fight? She's been a little ... down lately. 

I bite my lip as I stare down at my phone. My phone starts ringing in my hand then and when I look at it, I see it's my brother calling. 

"What's with your text?" he asks me with no greeting. How typical. Does he ever have any manners? 

"Hello, dear brother!" I reply back cheerfully.

"Brooke," he says seriously, clearly not in the mood.

I roll my eyes. How can any woman be around someone so grumpy? "Did you and Rory have a fight?"

There's a pause on the other end. "Not that it's any of your business ... but no. Why are you asking?" 

"Just wondering," I say casually.

"Did ... something happen? Did she say anything?" Braden asks curiously and I can hear a bit of nervousness in his voice.

I bite my lip so I don't let out a chuckle. A woman who's got my brother wrapped around her little finger? That's a day I wanted to pay to see! And now I'm getting to experience it all for free. This is so exciting. "You know, you're right. It's not my business to say anything anyway. Nice talking to you!" 

"Brooke!" 

I end the call and let out a laugh. Serves you right, Braden. This is what you get for playing with all those women all these years. 

I check if any of the girls sent anything back and I see it's a text from Cory. I frown when I read it.

Cory: I hope you know what you're doing with this one.

Just that. I roll my eyes and type back a response.

Me: I am. I'm having fun. 

   ◊  

It's only the next day that I see Rory again. I thought I wouldn't see her at all because I had to work late today. I think it's because my boss let me go home early yesterday. 

When I'm walking towards my building, my phone starts ringing. I see it's Braden calling. "What's up?" I ask him as a greeting.

"Is Rory at home?" 

Oh, for God's sake. Are men really this stupid? "I wouldn't know. I just got home from work and I didn't even have a chance to go to the flat yet."

"She's working tonight, isn't she? I'm going to see her." Braden asks and I hear he's in a rush.

"How would I know that?" I ask. I realise he didn't even call Rory yesterday, even though I've told him something happened. Well, I didn't really say it like that, but he's a smart guy. Apparently not when it comes to women. And I don't know what game is he playing, but I'm slowly getting tired of it. 

''Look, just make things up with her and get your shit together already, because you're lucky she didn't come after you and punch you in the face.''

I hear someone clearing their throat and when I look up, Rory is standing in front of me. I tense up a bit before I force myself to relax so Rory doesn't become suspicious. "I'm going to go," she says to me and points in the direction of the bar.

Braden shuts up completely on the other side. "Is that her? Is that Rory?"

"B - I've got to go."

"Are you with her?" Braden doesn't stop. Jesus Christ!

"Yes, I am."

"Is she ... okay?"

I look at Rory's face. She looks better today, but something is still on her mind. I can see it. "She is," I say to Braden. "Bye, talk to you later." I hang up and Rory, thankfully, doesn't question me about the phone call. She just tells me she's going to work.

"Okay. Hope you'll have a good time," I wish her.

She shrugs at that but doesn't say anything. She starts walking and she's not going towards her car. "Rory, you're not seriously walking there, are you?" I call after her. 

Rory turns around to face me. "I am. Don't try to change my mind because you won't succeed. See you tomorrow!" she calls back and turns around, continuing walking. 

I let out a loud, long sigh. She's almost as stubborn as my brother.

   ◊    

When I finish my work the next day, I'm almost surprised to see Aaron in the store I work at again. I pause in the middle of putting a sweater on the hanger when I spot him. "What are you doing here?" I ask him. I thought that after our sex session yesterday, he wouldn't want to see me again. I wasn't planning on seeing him again, actually. 

A part of me wanted to because I'm still attracted to him, but my other part wanted to be done with him. I had my taste and now I can move on. "Thought you'd wanted to grab a drink with me."

I scoff. "Is that another word for having sex?" 

Aaron's eyes sparkle at my bluntness. I see he's still not used to it. "I meant only drinks this time. But a man can still hope ..." he gives me a charming grin.

I stay serious, looking at him for a few seconds. "No," I say and turn around.

Aaron comes around so he's standing in front of me with a disbelief written all over his face. "What do you mean 'no'?" he asks incredulously.

"No. Non. Nein. Sadly I don't know how to say it in any other language." I shrug, focusing on hanging that sweater again. I purposefully take my time, wanting to know what his reaction might be. I'm a little surprised to see him here. Aren't usually the guys who brush the women off and tell them it was only a one-time for them? 

Aaron stays silent for a few seconds. "So we're actually doing this? You got me into bed and now you'll never see me again?"

I pretend to think about his words. "I'm pretty sure that should be my phrase, actually," I say the words slowly.

Aaron crosses his arms and I see he's getting annoyed. "You seriously don't want to repeat it?" 

I shrug. "Nah. Not really," I say disinterestedly.

Aaron grips my arm and turns me around so I'm facing him completely. "Brooke! Are you actually fucking with me now?"

"As you can clearly see, I'm not. And if I was and you'd have to ask me that question, I clearly wouldn't be doing a good enough job." I purposefully trace my upper teeth with my tongue. I see Aaron's eyes zero on that small movement and his eyes narrow. 

And then he looks me in the eyes and his lips stretch into a dangerous smile. "One drink, Brooke," is all he says.

"I'm not going to have sex with you," I tell him straightforwardly, staring him deep in the eyes.

"I didn't ask you to."

I raise my eyebrows at him, giving him a challenge, but he doesn't back away. I give him a grin of my own. "Wait outside for me to finish my shift." 

Aaron searches my eyes for a few more moments before he decides he's pleased with the outcome and he walks out of the store with his head held up high and a grin on his face. 

"Dear God. If you know more guys like him, I'll start hanging out with you more often," Arabelle, one of my co-workers, says beside me, staring at Aaron's back. 

I chuckle to myself. "Trust me, he's one of the rarest." I send her a wink. 

And then I quickly go finish my work, knowing there's one hot man waiting for me outside. 

When Arabelle sees me leaving in hurry, she loudly calls after me, "Oh, yeah, if a man like him was waiting for me outside, I would run, too!" 

A few people look at her, but then they go their way and ignore it. I turn to her and chuckle. "I bet you wish you were me right now," I call back and I catch her smile before I walk back out, my ponytail swishing as I walk. 

When I spot Aaron outside, pretending to be window shopping, I surprise him by going to him and poke him in the ribs. I feel kind of bad that he had to wait in this cold. 

"That was fast," Aaron comments as he swiftly turns around. I see his nose is red and his hair is slightly dishevelled. But he looks really good. Just like always. 

"I couldn't leave you hanging if you came to ask me out so nicely," I reply. 

Aaron doesn't even look embarrassed about it. He just gives me a charming smile. "Shall we?" he asks. 

"Where did you plan for us to go to?" I raise my eyebrows, testing him to see what his response will be.

"To the cafeteria we went to yesterday. Are you hungry? We can go grab something to eat." 

I shake my head. "Coffee will have to do. I'm planning to eat with Rory today."

Aaron nods and doesn't comment anything on that. 

   ◊    

I get home later than I expected. Aaron and I had a lot to talk about, surprisingly. And he was acting like a perfect gentleman, not even suggesting any sexual intercourse. We were just talking and I found out he was quite a nice man, in his own way. 

I asked him about that date he planned with Rory and he didn't bother showing up. He explained that his mother got a heart attack, but she's okay now. 

And it was refreshing to getting to know someone else after so much time, as it was really, really dangerous. Because I know what happened the last time, I still have the burns to prove how bad it went. 

But I'm 27 years old and I think that it's time I get my shit together and forget about what happened. I still have some time to have fun. 

But during today's conversation, I found out how easily I could love someone like Aaron. He's a complete opposite to Damien in some parts, but then in other parts, he's completely the same. And those parts are destroying me. They're also making me scared. Because I don't ever want to forever be reminded of Damien. And I don't want to forever look for the similarities and opposites in every man I meet. 

That is too unhealthy and it's not considered moving on at all. 

So, from this day on, my mission is to delete Damien Knox from my memories. I don't ever want to think about him again. 

Just wanted to let you know that I love you and you're appreciated. I wish I could have more time to spend here on wattpad :( 

I'm also letting you know that this story is getting completed on radish :)

I hope you'll have a great day xx

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