A sharp pain in my head wakes me up with a soft groan as I place a hand on my forehead, trying in vain to make the pain disappear. For me, hangovers are like Russian roulette: sometimes I get lucky, other times not so much. Thankfully, I always anticipate this and have remedies at hand. I reach over to open the drawer on my nightstand, grab some painkillers, and head to the kitchen for breakfast.

My hangover brings back memories of last night in disjointed fragments that don't seem to have much connection. Of course, I vividly remember Ashley lunging at me to punch me, only to end up with her new nose broken. Then, I vaguely recall going upstairs with Travis, and when I came back down...

The second those damn blue eyes pop into my head, I curse out loud and roll my eyes. Now that I'm sober, all the ridiculous things I did from the moment I saw Ace hit me like a ton of shame. The way I stared at him in a daze after spilling my drink on him, not apologizing even though he insisted, the pink flush that seemed to settle permanently on my cheeks as soon as he started talking, and those agonizing seconds that felt like hours when he held me up with his arm around my waist...

That last detail especially makes me groan in pure embarrassment, covering my face with my hands and pausing my morning coffee for a moment. I seriously need to consider quitting drinking for good, if only to avoid situations like last night's for the sake of my reputation at this university. Besides, Ace strikes me as the type who will dig the knife in as deep as possible until he makes you feel even more ridiculous than you did at first.

A sudden thought pops into my mind, and I feel my cheeks flush pink once again. If my hungover memory serves me right, I saw through the peephole last night how Ace entered the apartment across from mine, the one I thought was empty. How could I not have realized I have a new neighbor, especially when this one is going to be studying at my university?

All these questions make my head hurt even more, so I sigh and finish my coffee in one long gulp. Suddenly, my phone screen lights up, and I see the girls chatting in the group we all share. After a party, we always meet at one of our places to talk about anything that happened the night before. This time it's at Cher's house, so I throw on the first thing I find in my closet and call for an Uber.

As soon as I step into the mansion—which is already spotless, thanks to the cleaning staff Cher's parents hire—I'm greeted by shouts that make the pounding in my head worse.

"Wait, you hooked up with Blake?! Girl, what were you thinking?!" Gigi laughs while the host hides her face in shame.

"Well, he's going to remind you about it all year long," I add, laughing.

My friends greet me as I sit next to Faye, eager to hear all the gossip and stories they have to share.

"I know, I know! I shouldn't have drunk so much, damn it. I even woke up to a bunch of messages from him, as if we were dating or something!"

"Didn't you make it clear it was just a one-night thing?" Brooke asks, trying not to laugh too hard.

"Obviously, I didn't say it outright, but that's kind of implied, right?" Cher looks at us hopefully, and we nod, mostly because that's what she wants to hear. "Anyway, enough about me. Did anyone else do anything remarkable last night?"

Faye looks at me and points with a childish grin.

"Alexa hooked up with Travis, but I guess that's not exactly remarkable anymore."

"Wow, right after fighting with Ashley over him? You're bold, girl," Gigi laughs, probably recalling the fight scene.

"Honestly, I didn't want to fight Ashley, but I wasn't going to let her try and yank my hair out either. And we weren't fighting over Travis, at least not on my end. I just wanted that lunatic to leave me alone."

"Travis is such a jerk for treating girls the way he does. He should make things clear and be a bit more mature instead of going around sleeping with people and giving them false hope," Cher adds.

"I totally agree. Whatever brain cells he has left, he uses to come up with dumb lines that get women into his bed. At least he and I have already made it clear that anything between us is purely physical, so there's no misunderstanding."

My friends nod at my words. I've always liked to be upfront about everything to avoid problems later. I don't want or need issues with people who didn't get what I wanted from the beginning.

"Well, it looks like Travis has some competition," Brooke comments casually, her look promising some new, juicy gossip. "Last night, some guy named Ace had all eyes on him."

Just hearing the name of the guy I had the misfortune of meeting almost makes me scoff, but I manage to bite my tongue and feign mild interest like the rest of my friends.

"Was Ace that tall, tattooed guy with blue eyes? Because he's smoking hot!" Gigi exclaims, practically drooling on the table.

"Yeah, that's Ace. But I doubt Travis is any competition for him. He's a lot smarter and more attractive. Plus, he's more selective. Word is he doesn't take just anyone to bed, even though he flirts as easily as he breathes," Cher informs us, making it clear she knows the guy.

"You know him? But he's new—how did you find out so fast, gossip queen?" Faye asks, eager to know more about this mysterious stranger who seems as unattainable as he is attractive.

"Well, he's an acquaintance of Nate's, and he's starting to make waves in New York's social circles. He's from Los Angeles and owns several nightclubs there. He's the son of Bruce Hale, the owner of Hale Enterprises, and he's also starting to make his mark in the business world."

"He's Bruce Hale's son? Then no wonder he's such a jerk, just like his father."

The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I immediately regret it when all my friends turn to stare at me in surprise. Their faces tell me an avalanche of questions is about to hit.

"And how on earth do you know if Ace is a jerk or not? He got here yesterday; you haven't had time to get to know him," Cher asks, raising an eyebrow, clearly suspecting what might have happened yesterday.

"Yeah, Lex, what happened last night that you're trying to hide?" Faye asks with a mischievous smile, making me shoot her a deadly glare.

"Nothing, I was just guessing. I saw him from a distance last night, but I didn't talk to him or anything. I have no interest in someone like him."

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England," Brooke scoffs, mimicking the skeptical expressions of the rest of my friends. "Come on, Alexa, we're not buying it. You said that because you either dealt with him or someone told you about him, so spill it."

Seeing that I'm not going to be able to wriggle out of this one, I sigh and look up at the sky, trying to recall everything that happened last night with Ace, though it wasn't much.

"Fine, but don't get your hopes up—nothing major happened," I warn, glancing at them one by one before I begin talking again. "When Travis and I were done, he started pestering me to talk, so I slipped away the best I could. Between the drinks I'd had and the crowd, I ended up bumping into someone and spilling their drink all over them. It didn't take long to find out it was Ace Hale. He started teasing me, like all the women in the world should bow down to him. I tried to dodge him and went outside to smoke, but he came out shortly after to dry off his shirt and took the opportunity to annoy me again. I'm telling you, girls, that guy is a spoiled, egotistical brat who's used to getting whatever he wants, especially when it comes to women."

My friends look at me with various expressions after hearing my story. Yes, I left out a few details, like how I stood there staring at him like an idiot when I bumped into him, mostly because that wouldn't do me any favors. It would be admitting that I find Ace attractive, even if it's only physically. I also omitted the parts where I wasn't entirely in the right because I have my pride, and I want to prove my point. I'm convinced Ace is exactly how I think he is—I got him figured out the moment he opened his mouth. So, even though I don't have much evidence to support my theory now, time will prove me right.

"To be fair, Ace is pretty wealthy, and he's never lacked anything, especially not women. He's only twenty-three, but there's already talk of the trail of broken hearts he's left around the world," Cher says, which makes me smile with a touch of smugness.

"See? He's a total jerk. I knew it from the moment I heard him talk."

"Well, he doesn't want a relationship, and some of the girls he sleeps with do. Those kinds of situations don't usually end well."

"What else do you know about him? I need more details to confirm my first impression," I ask Cher, trying not to seem too eager to learn more about this guy, even though I am.

"I don't know that much more. I know he's been pretty independent since his mother died about fifteen years ago. He bought his first nightclub at eighteen, and since then, he's only expanded the business. In L.A., he's known as the unattainable bachelor, and women chase him either for his money, power, or looks. But, surprisingly, he's pretty selective. I know several girls tried to take him to bed last night, but he didn't leave with any of them. That's all I can say."

I nod to myself, a little disappointed since Cher's information is quite vague and general. But from what I gather, it won't be hard to find more about him. If he's been in L.A. gossip magazines as much as Cher says and his father is Bruce Hale, a simple Google search should be enough to dig up more. But Ace Hale isn't my main concern right now.

The girls and I continue chatting about random things from the party last night until lunchtime. We're all tired and hungover, so we each head home to rest. Tomorrow is the first day of classes, and there's always gossip on the first days. Sports teams start forming, the new students try to find their place, and the relationships broken over the summer bring about equally entertaining drama. Besides, I care a lot about my studies, so I like to start the school year off on the right foot.

As soon as I get home, I put on my pajamas and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Finally, I can collapse on the couch and watch my favorite show with a nice bowl of pasta...

The sound of my phone interrupts my plans, and when I check the name on my screen, I roll my eyes. A conversation I don't want to have but can't avoid.

"María," I say in a completely neutral tone.

A sigh greets me on the other end, just like it always does when we start a conversation.

"Alexa, why can't you call me Mom like all the kids do with their mothers?"

"Did you really call me to throw the same old line at me? Because if you don't have anything new to tell me, I'm hanging up."

She sighs again, probably swallowing some things she wanted to say, before speaking up again.

"I just wanted to ask how you are. Yesterday was Cher's welcome party, right? And tomorrow you start classes; you must have a lot to share."

"I have nothing to tell you."

"Come on, there's got to be some guy out there you like. It can't be that after three years, you haven't found anyone," my mother insists, dodging my curt tone as if I had responded nicely.

"I doubt that's any of your business, to be honest."

"I'm your mother, sweetheart; I'm interested in your life. I really do ask all these things because I care about you."

"You could've thought about that before, don't you think? Because I don't believe a word of what you're saying anymore."

The line goes silent, and I know my words have hurt her, but I don't care. I have every right to behave the way I do. She's not the victim in this situation, far from it.

"Well, I see you don't want to talk. That's fine; I'll call you again on Saturday, okay, sweetheart? I love you."

"Goodbye," I reply simply, hanging up the phone right after and tossing it onto the couch with a rather irate expression.

Thanks a lot for ruining what's left of my day, Mom.

Hi!

It seems Alexa doesn't really get along with her mother 😓. Why could this be?

Little by little, we're knowing more about Ace and the reasons behind him moving to New York, and little by little, Alexa's disgust for him will grow too 😅

I'll be reading you! ❤️