A familiar yet strange scent greets me as soon as I wake up. Familiar because I've smelled it before, and strange because it doesn't belong to my home, much less to my bed. Without opening my eyes, I sniff my pillow slightly and recognize it more clearly: expensive cologne and tobacco, a combination that might seem unpleasant but also, strangely, fascinates me. Only one person has that scent, and once my brain makes the connection, my eyes snap open with my heart racing a mile a minute.

Ace Hale.

Once my eyes are open, I expect to see that spectacular body lying next to me, praying that at least he is wearing some clothes, but to my surprise, there's no one beside me. This discovery brings a mix of emotions within me, some of which catch me off guard. The predominant feeling is relief, obviously. I don't remember much from last night, but if I had slept with Ace, I would never forgive myself and would never have a drop of alcohol again in my life. On the other hand, my most primal instinct can't help but feel a little disappointed because I'd be lying if I said I haven't imagined that scene in my head before. It's not surprising; it's simply because Ace is far from bad looking, and one is neither blind nor foolish. You don't have to like someone to appreciate their looks, my relationship with Travis is the perfect proof of this.

So, what the hell happened last night?

I close my eyes in an attempt to remember something, but the effort is immediately frustrated by the pounding headache of a hangover. I take measures to alleviate it by taking some painkillers, trying to recall last night once it starts to take effect.

The first thing I remember is Travis's hands on my body, an unwanted and undesired touch. I recall with disgust how I tried to push him away without any success until, suddenly, he seemed to fly backward as if pushed by the hand of God. Just a second later, Ace's face appears in my memories, and the relief his presence and subsequent words brought me floods my body once again.

Ace saved me from something too terrifying to think about, and not only that, but he carried me in his arms to my home, shouting at everyone to stop staring at me because I just wanted to disappear and was too weak and overwhelmed to do anything by myself. Once home, he removed my makeup and offered to stay with me, to which I not only agreed but invited him to lie down with me under the sheets.

Remembering everything that happened last night, my cheeks turn pink at my actions when I was drunk. I don't regret asking Ace to stay with me now that I remember everything that happened, but I'm embarrassed by what he might think of everything I did and said. I wasn't thinking clearly at that moment due to multiple factors, and Ace and I aren't on the best terms, so I have no idea how he might have taken everything that happened yesterday.

I sigh and, for the second time that morning, thank God for waking up alone. I wouldn't be able to face Ace mocking me for my behavior after everything that happened yesterday, so avoiding that possibility is probably for the best.

But I'm not an ungrateful person, not even when I dislike someone. I need to bite the bullet and thank him for everything he did for me last night. If he decides to laugh at me afterwards, I'll deal with it accordingly, but I have principles, and I'm not going to abandon them.

With another sigh, this time of resignation, I get out of bed and check my phone while I prepare a light breakfast. I have many private texts from each of my friends as well as from our group chat, and a disproportionate number of messages and missed calls from Travis. I don't even bother reading the latter: I simply delete my conversation with him and proceed to block him on every existing platform. The further away that despicable individual is from me, the better for everyone. Then, I quickly read through my friends' messages and smile, seeing that they're all expressions of concern. I respond both privately and in the group chat that I'm okay but don't give any more details. I know exactly how they are, and I don't feel like feeding their curiosity about Ace after what they saw yesterday. In fact, once they've confirmed that I'm indeed okay and not nervous about what happened, Cher suggests meeting at her place in a way that clearly indicates a shared desire to find out what happened once Ace and I disappeared. I end up telling them I'll go, of course, but I mentally commit to not sharing more than strictly necessary to avoid potential teasing and jokes. It's enough that they'll probably think Ace and I ended up sleeping together. Plus, they don't know, at least not exactly, what happened with Travis.

I set my phone aside to wash my coffee mug and get dressed. I don't pick a special outfit; I just pull on some black sweatpants and a matching top. My hair is a mess, so I gather it into a makeshift bun before grabbing my things and heading out the door. The entrance to my neighbor's house is barely ten meters away from mine, but my reluctance to do what I'm about to do makes it feel much closer, as if silently urging me to knock.

I take a few steps and stand in front of the white door, unable to press the doorbell. A second passes, then two, three... Each one feels like an hour until I finally give myself a mental slap and tell myself to stop being silly. I'm not thirteen years old, and the sooner I start, the sooner I'll finish. With a huff, I finally press the doorbell.

The door opens after a long minute, and a half-naked, visibly freshly awakened Ace greets me with an expression that is somewhere between confused and irritated.

"Did you come over to ask for salt this early in the morning?"

"First of all, good morning to you too," I grunt, unable to answer in a way that isn't sharp given his attitude. "Secondly, it's twelve in the morning, not five, and thirdly I'm here to thank you."

"First of all, hangover mornings are never good. Secondly, after a party night, twelve equals five o'clock in the morning, and thirdly, I believe people usually smile when they want to say thank you, not look at you like they want to rip your skin off."

I raise a brow and realize that I am indeed giving him a death stare, which seems to have become a habit for me when it comes to any interaction with Ace. I try to calm myself by taking a deep breath before softening my gaze.

"Fine, please forgive me for all of the crimes I have committed."

"The Lord forgives you, my dear child," he replies, making the sign of the Cross over me as if he were a priest before moving to let me in. "Come in."

I do as he says and see a man tidying up the little that is left of last night's mess. I must be one of the few people in Hayden that doesn't hire anyone to do house chores.

I follow Ace to the balcony, where he already has his coffee, toast, and a pill to ease the hangover pains prepared. We sit facing each other, with my terrace directly in front of me.

"I wanted to thank you for yesterday," I start, looking down at my hands while I play with the hem of my top. "There was a moment when I felt completely trapped and thought... Well, I thought the worst would happen to me. If it hadn't been for you, I don't even want to think about what might have happened."

"There's nothing to thank me for, I did what I had to do. Besides, if it hadn't been me, someone else would've done it. It's nothing exceptional, it's something anyone would've done."

"No, it's not something anyone would've done. There was a lot of people surrounding us, close enough to hear me scream, and none of them seemed to be ready to come and help me. I don't know how things work in Los Angeles, but that's the way it goes here: everyone looks out for themselves and no one else."

Ace stares at me as if he didn't believe a single word that came from my mouth, but my honest expression makes his turn from skeptic to outraged in mere seconds.

"Wow, from what I can see, people here are completely stupid. I'm not saying I'm surprised; after all, the American elite isn't exactly known for its morality, but what you're saying is really low. Allowing an idiot to do that to a woman or anyone else is just disgusting."

His indignation makes me smile slightly, appreciating the fact that, to him, what he did yesterday was as natural as breathing. What I've said is nothing but the raw, unfortunate truth; no one was willing to lift a finger to separate Travis from me, and I knew it perfectly well. If it had been someone else in my situation, however, I would have done whatever I could to stop that stupid creep.

"I agree with you, although I've gotten used to it. At first, it was a shock to me, but once you get used to it and start becoming part of the group, you just go with the flow."

"I don't want to go with the flow," he declares, taking his pack of cigarettes and offering me one, which I accept. "If the flow is idiotic, I won't be just as idiotic."

"Well, getting used to a place doesn't mean you have to do everything the rest of the world does. It's more about eating or being eaten, you know?"

"Yeah, just like everywhere else. I haven't been here for long, but I've already seen that all elitist universities seem to be the same. There are plenty of idiots like Travis, rich kids convinced that everything bad they do will be covered up with a few bills."

"Oh, but you aren't like that?"

I can't hold back from asking that question, and Ace looks at me as if I was deeply stupid and still hadn't realized it. He takes a long drag of his cigarette before releasing the smoke, stretching out the pause, which only makes me feel more and more stupid. If a hole were to open up in the terrace floor and suck me in right now, I would be eternally grateful.

"You've realized by yourself how stupid that question is, right?"

"Yes, sorry," I mumble like a child who's just been given a stern reprimand. "After what you did yesterday, the least I can do is give you the benefit of doubt."

"So, you're still determined to hate me, huh?"

I shake my head out of sheer instinct, refusing to admit that my hatred for him is basically irrational. On the other hand, his attitude is also partly to blame for my negative feelings towards him. I'm not exactly a fan of arrogant show-offs used to getting whatever they want, and Ace is the very embodiment of that prototype.

"Okay, and what can I do to prove you that I'm not an idiot?" he asks as if he wasn't aware of my answer.

"Well, I have to admit that what happened yesterday helped a lot, but you have it a little difficult. If you're like I think you are, there's nothing to be done."

"And how do you think I am?"

"A self-centered, superficial, selfish show-off, used to getting whatever he wants the moment he desires it. Basically, what you'd call a typical spoiled brat from the elitist society."

Ace and I take a drag from our cigarettes simultaneously, and I extinguish mine while he slowly exhales the smoke through his full lips. I force myself to look at my phone screen to avoid getting entranced by his body like last time and see that it's time for me to head over to Cher's. Also, the conversation is starting to go down paths I really don't want to explore.

It's time to run away.

"Well," he says, extinguishing his cigarette in the ashtray as I stand up, mumbling an apology before heading toward the house "time will tell which one of us is right, won't it?"

•

"Alexa, you better start spilling everything that happened last night with Ace right now!"

The owner of the house's scream reaches my ears even before I step out into the garden with the girls. I let out a resigned sigh, take off my clothes, and put on my bikini, regretting coming almost immediately when I hear her.

"Absolutely nothing. He took me home and left."

"Sure, completely believable. And where did he go? On a trip to France? Because he didn't come back to the party, you know?" Gigi replies with a raised eyebrow.

Four pairs of eyes fixate on me as if they could read my soul in just two minutes. I keep swimming peacefully in the large pool as if none of this concerns me, until Brooke shouts my name, almost making me drown.

"Alright, fine! So, what do you know?"

"We only saw that Ace hit Travis and then carried you home like Prince Charming carrying Cinderella. Oh, and that he didn't return to the party," Faye explains with eager eyes.

"Alright, well, Ace and I were talking in the kitchen until I went out for a cigarette. Then, Travis came over and started groping me, being pretty persistent and annoying about wanting us to go to a room even though I was telling him to stop." I pause to sigh, my friends' eyes wide at this new information. "Nobody seemed willing to help me until Ace came and pushed Travis away from me. The idiot kept causing trouble until Ace punched him, leaving him unconscious. Everyone was staring at me and talking... I was on the verge of having a panic attack and couldn't move, so I asked Ace to take me home. I was very nervous and quite in shock, and he offered to stay with me to help me calm down, which I accepted. He took off my makeup and... well, he cuddled me until I fell asleep. When I woke up this morning, he was already gone."

When I finish telling everything, my friends seem to have been paused, as if we were in a movie and someone had hit the stop button. This situation lasts for a few seconds that feel like hours to me as I stand in the middle of the pool in front of them, expecting anything to happen.

"Do any of you know what is the best way to murder a man and make it look like an accident?"

Brooke's question finally unleashes all the bottled-up emotions, and a tsunami of screams, curses, swearing, and blasphemies echoes through the vast garden. I'd be surprised if even Satan himself didn't hear how many times he's being mentioned from his throne in Hell. If everything said by my four friends were to happen, Travis would be dead and buried at least fifteen times over. The fervent way they express their hatred toward that guy moves me, and I swim over to wrap them all in my arms.

"You are the best, girls, seriously. You're the type of friends everyone wishes for, but few people deserve, and probably I deserve them the least."

"Don't say nonsense, Lex. You deserve the best, and what that jerk tried to do to you last night is definitely not what you deserve," Cher replies, giving me a reassuring smile as I pull away from the group hug.

"And from what you're saying, Ace acted like a real gentleman. I'm not the biggest fan of violence, but Travis deserved that punch, so I'm glad he didn't hold back," Gigi adds.

"Well, what can we do for revenge?" Brooke asks, her eyes filled with pure, dark hatred.

Her question catches me off guard, and I pause for a second. I haven't even had time to think about the possibility of revenge; I just want to forget what happened and get as far away from Travis as possible. I don't plan to waste another second of my life on him. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to give that idiot what he deserves. I want him to know how women should be treated and that there's a big difference between casual sex and trying to force women to do things they don't want to. Brooke's question stirs a need in me to teach him a lesson, to make him regret what he did so he doesn't do it to another woman.

"There's a race on Thursday and Travis never misses one. We could sabotage his car. Obviously not making it crash, but slashing the tires, messing up the paint job... Something like that. In racing, guys flaunt their egos, so it's the perfect moment to make him fall," Cher suggests, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea. Plus, we can mention the races to Ace so he can compete if he wants. Travis's ego is bruised after the punch, so if Ace beats him in the races, it would be the final nail in his coffin," Gigi muses with a grin that suggests nothing good.

The four of them turn to look at me, waiting for my response. Everything about them indicates that they agree with the idea of humiliating Travis in the races, so all that's needed is my yes to reach unanimity. Part of me still urges me to ignore him, to completely cut ties, but another part...

"Okay, let's do it."

Hey there!

You know what they say: revenge is a dish best served cold, and Alexa is going to make sure Travis pays for it properly. What do you think about this decision?

I'll be reading you! ❤️