My notepad in front of me, I sit at the desk beside my bed unable to concentrate as I tap my pen to the page thinking about my last conversation with Alexia. Could I even post that? Should I? I don't care about the careers of the men who used Alexia, but I don't think she recognizes what happened to her. Knowing this could I really put it out to the world or should I just...

My hand hovers over the mouse pad as the recording uploads to my computer. Ninety-nine percent. I could just cancel it. Delete it. It's not actually a part of the story. Not this one anyway and it wasn't like she was sober when she said it.

Do I really want to be another person to take advantage of Alexia Fairchild for my own personal gain? Is this taking advantage of her, or am I just doing my job?

Either way, I feel like I came here prejudging Alexia. Owen told me I was too close to the story to see the bigger picture and maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn't protecting his sister with Honor's character. She was flawed and abused in the stories too. Maybe Owen just knows his sisters in ways not even Alexia knows herself.

A frustrated breath puffing from my mouth, I watch as the file stores itself away before deciding I'll do both. Keep the file to myself and give Alexia her fair shake.

I lean forward to speak into my recording equipment resting on the desk. This journey isn't just about Lucca and Alexia's love story. It's about me too. About being a serious journalist, and to do that, I have to lead with facts and not personal feelings I formed due to interpersonal relationships.

I realize I haven't given Alexia a fair shake. As much as I hate to admit it, Owen was right in the regard that I am too close to the story. Too close to Lucca and it's given me a biased view of Alexia.

That's not fair to her. So I have decided to start from the beginning.

"When speaking to Alexia Fairchild this afternoon, I've found that her version of certain events strayed from that of previous seasons," I note. "I have decided to be fair to Alexia and her truth. I must present her side of the story unfiltered. Pulling from Lucca's side only when needed so that you, the listener, have what feels like an honest account."

From the moment he laid eyes on her, Lucca was overtaken by Alexia's beauty. Her upturned mahogany eyes, her flawless cinnamon brown skin, the way her frilly dress and dark beautiful curls gave her an air of innocence, paired with full, inviting lips that curved into a vivacious smile.

Though Lucca couldn't place what it was about her that felt familiar to him, Alexia had an itemized list of features she held that reminded Lucca of his then girlfriends, Simone Ruiz, Jade O'Connor, Hana Nguyen, and Mila Reynolds, who he had entered into separate and at times intersecting polyamorous relationships, in that order. At twenty-four, Lucca and his polycule had developed their own rules to engagement, and though he was allowed passionate tryst if the moment arised, it was Lucca's personal regulation he did not kiss women he was not seriously dating.

"You want me to what?" Lucca smirked down at the bombshell in front of him, attempting to place Alexia's unique accent for himself.

Alexia did her best to ignore as Lucca's classmates teased him. Her eyes cutting at one of the young men as he jumped on Lucca's back and questioned how Lucca had so many gorgeous women falling at his feet.

"I have a lot of pride," Alexia declared this afternoon through a gust of smoke. "I can play the game. But back then, I can never hold it in when someone thinks they have something over me"

Without hesitation, Alexia assured she wasn't throwing herself at Lucca. Her sharp glare appealed to him as she declared, "He's not my type."

"Is that right?" Lucca crossed his arms, more amused than insulted.

"I mean nothing by it, you're..." Alexia assured as she looked at the muscular young man and found that when she looked past his tattoos and rugged build, Lucca Mendoza was a beautiful man. "Pretty."

"Pretty?" Lucca arched his brow as his friends laughed.

"Almost as pretty as me," Lucca's then best friend, Adrian Anderson declared, the deep umber young man flashing an award winning smile.

Alexia glanced at Adrian. He too in her opinion was a beautiful man. She found him fit but not as intimidating as Lucca. She couldn't see him making her ex think twice about causing a scene, and she knew she had to act fast. The young man's temper, the shortest of all the men she had dated thus far.

"Yes," Alexia continued her proposal. "You are pretty and I'm sure the girls around here would love to make you the story they tell their friends when they marry their stuffy husbands but I–"

"You're not like other girls," Lucca interjected with a bemused smile.

"Wish I could be," Alexia smiled back, her words holding more honesty than she had meant as she spoke quickly. "I can tell you don't know who I am and... good. A peck on the lips and it will be like it never happened. Because while you are very pretty. I have a strict guide to finding Mr. Right and he doesn't have tattoos and he doesn't think making out with another girl during spring break is no big deal. And while plan on moving on, I hate wasting my time, so a point must be made."

"Wee-ooh-Wee-ooh," Adrian muttered over Lucca's shoulder. His way of warning his friend that Alexia was setting off several red flags.

Lucca could see them too. The bitter sting of his last breakup was still fresh as Alexia conjured memories of flaming red hair and a temper to match.

"I'ma have to pass," Lucca replied.

"What do you mean pass?" Alexia leered at Adrian who met her with an unflinching stare.

"I mean, I don't kiss. It's too personal and–"

All logic went out the window when Lucca heard a familiar voice shout for "Lia." It was the same voice of the preppy football player who lied in open court claiming that the brawl started by one of his teammates was orchestrated by Lucca's cousin Leo. Landing Bella Clara's former head chef his third strike.

Lucca had promised Leo he would stay out of trouble and do what's best for himself and the family. It was the only thing that kept him from hunting the young men down, but as his mind raced with possibilities Lucca realized no one could fault him for self defense.

"Boyfriend?" Lucca simmered his eyes on the sandy blonde charging over.

"Ex," Alexia rolled her eyes and turned her back to the young man. "As said, I'm just trying to prove a–"

His hands on her waist, Lucca pulled Alexia close. He didn't care if he spent the night in prison. Self-defense wasn't murder and all he needed was for the jock to swing.

His mouth firmly pressed against hers, neither expected the small spark that ignited between them. Lucca certainly never expected that Alexia's kiss would be etched in his mind. Her scent which he described as a mix of black vanilla, wild flowers and strawberries amplifying her gentle touch.

As Alexia melted in Lucca's arms, he wrapped them around her and found that her toned body felt incredibly soft. Their tongues grew greedy as the world around them faded away and Lucca and Alexia became lost in one another for the first time. Her mind racing as she found for the first time in years, she truly enjoyed the touch of a man.

"Lu," Adrian urgently tapped Lucca's shoulder bringing them back to reality. "Incoming."

Alexia could feel the smile at Lucca's lips as he shifted her away and pushed Adrian aside. Her breath hitched as her entire body buzzed with excitement.

She had never been kissed the way Lucca had kissed her. It was commanding and yet tender. His lips the softest she had ever felt.

His fist on the other hand were like steel cannons. Lucca smoothly dodged her exes swing and sent him flying back with an powerful uppercut that broke the jock's jaw.

Several students would claim that they heard an audible crack of the young man's bones before he crashed onto the grass with a thunderous thud. For Alexia, the world went silent. She watched in horror as Lucca jumped on top of her ex, slamming his large fist down until all four of his friends worked together to drag him away.

There was an internal investigation following the incident. Lucca was placed on academic probation due to the brutality of his actions, while Alexia was shunned by her peers for telling the truth.

Lucca, was an innocent bystander. She had kissed him to prove a point and it was her ex that took the first swing. Alexia knew that her word would carry more weight than the dozens of witnesses on Campus. The art wing was named after her mother. Her father practically ran the culinary department from their home in Europe. But it wasn't ethics that drove Alexia. It was fear.

"You were afraid of him?" I had asked during our interview.

My close friendship with Lucca caused me to forget that a six-foot-five powerhouse like him was intimidating in itself. Blended with his show of strength and the knowledge he had once been to prison for killing a man as a teen, Alexia did not want to get on his bad side.

"Of course I was," Alexia giggled. "I had this frenemy named Lena. She was an upperclassman and we didn't like each other very much. I should have known she wasn't coming from a caring place when she warned me about Lucca. She made him this untouchable monster with connections all around town and when I looked him up, he did have a prior conviction. I thought if I lied he'd hurt me. He'd hurt Owen. I didn't think it would be social suicide. I definitely never imagined I'd sleep with him a few weeks later."  

wc: 1731

Thank you for reading The Sluts Guide to Romance. Don't forget to like, share and comment to tell me what you thought about the chapter.

Looking for a new ONC read? Check out On Love and Desire by indigosa (they/them). "On the day of their college graduation, best friends Desmond and Mercy decide to date. Everything's perfect. Except for the fact that Desmond can't feel any butterflies."