"I can't believe you're sitting here comfortably in my car after throwing me to the wolves. That too, with such a happy expression that it's quite scary looking at you now." Adrian complained, getting into the driver's seat.

"Oh, I am happy. It's not every day that you see the big bad CEO looking think of it, I should've made a video. Or at least taken a photo of your expression. It would have made a funny meme that would keep the social media spiralling down."

He rolled his eyes, buckling his seatbelt and started driving. I looked back to see a few paps waving while a few had a dazed look in their faces, which, I assumed was due to Adrian. I snorted at that. The guy could leave the whole world swooning at his feet.

"I didn't know you could handle the paps that well." Adrian commented, glancing at me for a second before focusing on the road. I shrugged. "You don't know a lot about me."

He stopped at the red light and looked at me with indecipherable eyes for a few seconds too long, as if searching my eyes for something. It made me a little nervous for some reason, as if he caught me on some lie. I mentally shook that thought away. Shut up, brain.

He suddenly blinked and shook his head. When he looked back at me again, his eyes had lost all the seriousness and had a hint of playfulness instead.

I watched warily as he leaned over to me and looked straight into my eyes with a mysterious smile.  "Why don't you tell me, then?" He whispered close to my ears, making me feel a few degrees cold and a few degrees hot at the same time. With that, he winked and went back to his position as the light turned green.

"Huh?" I mumbled stupidly and heard his deep chuckle. It took a few seconds for my stupid brain to keep up with his words, but my mouth still seemed to be using its own, more stupid brain. "What?" My stupid mouth uttered again with its stupid brain.

He smirked and raised his eyebrows at me before focusing back on the road. "I mean, why don't you tell me about yourself? We are, pretty good friends, after all." He smugly repeated my words from earlier.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Who said we're friends? I have a very selective collection of friends, and they aren't there by stating that we are. If I remember correctly, you still have much to do to get yourself in that position. I would just give up that stupid notion if I were you." I looked out of my window, convincing myself that it would be better if he just gave up that stupid thought.

It was silent for a while until the car came to a stop at the red light again. Adrian finally spoke, not once removing his eyes from me. I was looking sideways but I could literally feel his gaze burning at the side if my head. 

"I agree that I might not know much about you, but from what I know, one thing I can say with confidence is that Evelyn White doesn't give up easily, no matter what the challenge is. Why would you expect me to believe that crap? As for me, I'd be happy to let you know that I'm far more into a challenge than you, and I don't give up either, ever. But I'll be honest with you. This is not a challenge for me. I genuinely want to be your friend and make up for every bullshit I gave you that day."

I blinked. Once. Twice. And then further three more times like some battery-operated creepy barbie toy in a kids' store. I turned to find him looking at me with that intense look that he had before. There was an awkward silence as we both looked at each other until a honk from behind broke whatever intense spell that was present in the car. He cleared his throat and started driving as the lights turned green, while I tried to ignore that weird feeling in my stomach.

I looked out of the window once again and saw that we were about to reach my apartment and realised that my car was still stranded outside the hospital. "You know, the offer for being my personal driver still stands. You can just leave that thought of being my friend and take up on that. I'll pay you good, I promise." I said, eyeing him from the corner of my eyes.

He gave a wry smile at that. "Very well, then. I'll be your personal driver whenever you want if you let me be your friend."

I scoffed at his reply. "Of course, you'd have a counter offer for everything. No wonder you're the businessman of the decade. Just forget about the offer and the friendship altogether."

He smirked and shook his head just as he parked at my driveway. "Nah. You're stuck with me until you accept my friendship. In fact, even after that. You just need to be ready for my bribes." He winked and hot out of the car, opening the passenger door for me.

I rolled my eyes again. "Aren't you the epitome of a perfect gentleman?" I questioned sarcastically and was about to walk inside when my hand was tugged by the devil himself and I was spun around to face his stone hard chest. I looked up and nearly gulped at having him look at me with the intense look once again.

"I know you don't want to talk about our kiss so I won't make to feel uncomfortable by bringing up that topic. But it doesn't mean that nothing happened between us. We'll talk about it whenever you're ready. For now, prepare yourself to be persuaded for my friendship. I've texted my driver. Your car will be here in an hour. Goodnight, my friend."

I watched wide eyed as he leaned towards me and gave me a light kiss on my cheek, his breath fanning my entire face. He got in his car and drove away swiftly, leaving me standing there with inflamed face and wide eyes.

I let out a huge breath and put my hands on my chest to calm down my heart which was beating louder than a drummer in a concert. After few moments of recollecting myself, I walked to the elevator and into my apartment.

My heart, which had just calmed down, sped up once again as soon as I opened the door of my apartment to see my TV playing The Walking Dead and a blanket figure huddled on my couch with an ice cream tub in its hands. The figure slowly turned its head on hearing my footsteps and slowly revealed its face, grinning widely.

"Allison Avery Rivers!"

She flinched at my voice and hurriedly turned off the TV when it showed a zombie ripping a chunk of a man's neck. Then she slowly disentangled the blanket from her body and turned on the lights. I crossed my arms as I silently observed the two empty ice cream tubs on my coffee table and an almost empty one in her hand.

For Allie to watch The Walking Dead with ice cream would only mean one thing. No, not a breakup. It would mean a possible crush. Yeah, she watched scary movies when she had a crush. The woman had a conjuring marathon when she first liked Mike.

I pursed my lips, silently praying that it was not that douchebag Mike once again. I knew Allie was an independent, confident and a no-bullshit woman but like I said, Mike had been an exception towards everything. I was afraid she hadn't gotten over him and was about to give him a second chance.

But before I could open my mouth to ask her about that, she beat me to it and opened hers.

"I like Jake."

Okay. I definitely didn't expect that. But who cared? I was over the moon to hear that, finally, she'd fallen for the correct brother. I speed walked towards her and crushed her into a hug. "Oh my God, Allie! When did this happen? I'm so happy for you!"

We both sat on the couch and she proceeded to tell me about how Jake had been calling to check up on her every day ever since that day at the party and they'd talk for hours without getting bored. Apparently Jake had even visited her gallery a couple of times and stayed with her until she was finished to drive her back home safely. 

For a second, I'd been afraid that Allie was using Jake as a rebound because as much as I loved her, Jake was my good friend, too and I could say that he cared about her a lot. I wouldn't want Jake to get hurt in Allie's stupid plan. But hearing her talk about him so passionately with a little smile in her face, I felt relieved as well as happy that she had finally let go of her toxic relationship and was on her way to a good one with a good person.

"I don't understand why I'm feeling this way, E. I mean, he's Jake. Our Jake. The silly Jake with his camera dangling around his neck. I'd never, not even once, felt this different with anyone. Not even Mike, y'know. I mean, I liked Mike a lot. But this time around, this feeling is just... more. Like my feeling towards Mike didn't stand a chance at all. But I'm suddenly feeling this way, and it's with Jake. The stupid Jake." She covered her face with her hands and leaned on her knees.

"That's a lot if adjectives used to describe Jake." I commented dryly, enjoying her rant a little too much. Allie slowly peeked an eye from her hand and glared at me with that same eye when she found me smirking at her.

"Great! My supposed best friend is laughing at my misery. What else do I need from the world?" She said and threw a cushion at me, which I caught effortlessly, sending a smug smile her way.

"Alright, alright. Calm down there, tiger! I don't know what the problem here is. You like Jake. I approve of him. Now tell him." I shrugged nonchalantly, grabbing the ice cream tub from her lap and licking a spoonful.

She narrowed her eyes at me and snatched the tub back from my hands. Slowly, in deep thought, she put a spoonful on her mouth. She nodded to herself, seemingly talking in her head. After a few moments of talking inside her head, she suddenly turned to me with a jerk, as if some lonely soul had just left her body.

"Okay. That's it. I'm gonna call him for lunch tomorrow and tell him that I like him. Yes. I don't care whatever he says. I just need to put my words and then I'll leave him." She nodded to herself and I chuckled at her plan.

Allie was a bold woman and didn't like beating around the bush. If she liked someone, she'd tell that to his face and leave. Simple as that. I just hoped Jake would remember her habit and understand. Although, I had a feeling I didn't need to worry about that at all.

"Okay, that settles it then. You, my friend, are gonna have a new beginning tomorrow. Calls for a celebration!" I exclaimed and realised that I still hadn't changed out of my clothes. "Well, I'm gonna go change and freshen up. In the meantime, you take care of dinner." I instructed her and went to my room.

I came out of my room in my pjs to find Allie looking hard at her phone, without blinking. I got near her and called her twice to gain her attention but she was so engrossed in her phone that she finally snapped back into reality after I hit her on the head.

She rubbed her head, shooting daggers at me through her eyes. Then she suddenly stood in front of me and put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at me. "Where were you today?" She asked in a deadly serious tone.

I raised my eyebrows. "Is that a curious where are you, or a I-know-where-you-were-but-I-want-you-to-say-it where are you?" I questioned her back.

"Why, is the answer going to be different?" She countered, still in that serious voice. I shook my head incredulously. "What on earth are you talking about, Allie?"

She replied creepily. "Just answer my question, Eves and you'll know." I sighed at her scary self. "It's Saturday today, Als. Where else would I go except to the hospital?"

Her eyes further narrowed at my answer. She looked at her phone once again before mumbling a small hmm. "So you weren't with some hot businessman, eating together?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, crossing her arms.

It was now my turn to narrow my eyes. "Where are you going with this, Allie?" She simply shrugged and handed her phone to me. I looked at it to see my and Adrian's photo outside Maggs' restaurant. I chuckled as I read the tagline 'lovely friendship at The Maggie's House'. Besides that, there were also photos of the restaurant with a thorough description of the heavenly place with heavenly meal. I was surprised to see some sites even subtly apologising for their previous articles and asking people to respect our friendship.

"Wow, they're fast." I commented absently, scrolling down as I enjoyed the advertisement of the restaurant. My smile was immediately wiped up as my eyes came in contact with Allie's pissed ones.

"Mind telling me what this is all about?" She tapped her foot and raised an eyebrow, making me nervous for some reason. "Weellll..." I started, clearing my throat. "I did go to the hospital and finally talked to Dr. Marshall and you know what? He agreed to help us!" I exclaimed happily and saw her eyes shine as well.

We hugged for a while, finally feeling a hope blooming in us. I stayed in her arms for a long time, hoping that she'd forget about that conversation altogether. But my bestfriend was much smarter than I gave her credit for. She pushed me away and narrowed her eyes yet again, crossing her arms.

I sighed. I knew I had no other option than to tell her everything. So I did. From the kiss to today's events. I had barely finished my words when she suddenly jumped from the couch and started squealing like some cheerleader at their school's win. I pursed my lips and silently waited for her to finish.

"OhmyGod OhmyGod OhmyGod! I can't believe this! Oooooh! I'm so so so happy! My bestfriend finally kissed that hot piece of a hunk. I mean, he finally kissed my bestfriend." She corrected when I opened my mouth to argue that I did not kiss him. "I can't believe that the Evelyn White finally got her first kiss."

"Second." I corrected quietly. The feeling of guilt I'd felt that day came back again and hit me with a force. Allie noticed the sudden change in my mood and sat next to me, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"Eves, how did you feel about that kiss? Did you hate it?" She asked seriously. I pondered over her question and shook my head slowly.

"No, I didn't hate it. I... I felt that electrifying feeling that you used to talk about. I felt like... like I was constantly pulled to him, y'know, I still do... and it makes me feel so guilty." I groaned and covered my eyes.

"What the hell do you have to feel guilty for?" Allie said in exasperation. When I stayed silent, she sighed and took my hand in hers, squeezing it. "Eves," she continued, "don't you think you've waited for too long? What if he doesn't come? I mean, you haven't left a trace of your past for anyone to be able to find you. And what if he has moved on in his life? You guys were just kids, for crying out loud! It shouldn't mean this much to you."

I closed my eyes, remembering him, and our promise. "I know we were just kids, Als. And I know that we may not meet each other. But... I'd promised him. We had promised each other that we'd be our first and only kiss. I know it sounds silly but I vowed to keep that promise, y'know? And I've been keeping it for so long but suddenly Adrian comes along and willingly or not, I've broken that one promise I've been holding on for so long. I don't know what to do now, Als!"

Allie patted my hand and looked at me in the eye. "Eves, tell me something honestly. What do you think of Adrian?"

I thought for a while and answered carefully. "Adrian is... I feel that he's a good person, Als. I mean, he is annoyingly arrogant, impulsive and acts irrationally more often than not, but I feel that he has a good heart. I can say that he genuinely cares. But he's annoyingly confusing at the same time. Sometimes I feel like I've known him since a long time, and then the other times, it's like I don't know him at all. And his eyes... I don't know why I feel that I'm too familiar with them when he has a mysterious look in them. Then it disappears as soon as they become cold, or... intense. Ugh... he's just... irritating. Damn you, Adrian Stone!"

The room suddenly turned silent and I  turned to Allie to find her deep in thought. I flicked her forehead and she jerked to reality, glaring at me. She was about to scold me but thought better if it and settled for a sigh. Her expression was still serious as she now took both of my hands in hers.

"Listen, Eves. I think it's time you moved on. You can't hold on to some promise you made when you were eight years old. You deserve your chance at happiness and if Adrian Stone is the one to bring that in your life, you need to accept it. I'm not telling you to date him right now. But he wants to be your friend, right?" I nodded and she continued. "So take the chance. You should try and let other people in, too. You can't be alone forever holding onto some stupid promise. Just give him a chance and let him be a friend at least. I have a feeling this friendship is gonna do good for you."

I wanted to correct her that I was nine years at the time but realised that it wouldn't do me any good so I kept my mouth shut. "Fine, fine. I'll think about it. Now can we please eat or are you trying to starve me to death?" I reached for the pizza she'd probably ordered and put it in my mouth, savoring its taste and ignoring her eye roll.

"I'll take that as thank you. See what a useful advice I gave you? I must be a freaking counselor. And what advice did you give me? Go tell him." She mimicked my words. "You're such an advisor, Eves." She said sarcastically, taking a slice for herself.

I snorted. "I never claimed to be an advisor. And it's not like you would take any of my advice anyway. Knowing you, you'd just confess your love in the last five minutes of your break and quickly leave him without waiting for his response." I said, and got a smack on my arm, which was Allie's way of telling me that I was true but she wasn't about to admit that aloud.

I shook my head and focused on my pizza as my phone pinged with a message. I shuffled around until I finally found my phone under a cushion and nearly choked as I read the words in my message box.

Hot sexy bestie:

Mission: Convince Evelyn 2 b my fren

#Bribe1: Tomorrow. 5 PM. B ready.