Dirty Desires

(ARIA'S POV)

“Happy Birthday, princess!” my boyfriend screamed as I pushed open the door to the main entrance of his new house, my suitcase thumping in behind me.

Confetti shot out from a cannon, and I gasped. It rained down in shiny shades of gold, pink, and blue—all over me. The affair was over almost as quickly as it started, and Ben dumped the empty canister onto a plush sofa.

“Wow,” I said, taking in his apartment.

People were everywhere, all wearing huge smiles—many of Ben’s friends and Hannah, my best friend.

His last apartment had been big, but this one was bigger, perched on the middle floor of Dupont. When he asked me to move in, I accepted. We’d been dating for two years, and maybe… a proposal was on the way.

“Come here, my love.” Ben pulled me into a tight hug. The scent of his cologne filled my nose, and emotion clogged my throat.

My birthday was three days ago, and coincidentally, the same day as my secretary interview. Ben had put in a good word for me at his father’s company—Hayes Industries.

“You didn’t have to do all this, Ben.”

“Don’t be silly.” He squeezed me tighter before releasing me. “We can still celebrate, even if we missed the actual date.”

“Still,” I sniffed.

“There she is—my favorite person in the whole world,” Hannah said, air-kissing my cheeks.

I laughed, my chest filled with joy. As a child, I didn't get many parties or even presents. Both on my birthday or even Christmas. “I can’t believe you kept this from me!”

“It was a surprise,” Ben said, handing me a cupcake still in its wrapper.

I knew it instantly—the same one he bought every year: soft, deep blueberry cake. My favorite. A lit candle was pierced through the center.

Three days late or not, Ben had turned my birthday into an event.

We huddled together over it. The candle melted between us, its small flame lighting both our faces.

“Make a wish before you blow it out,” Ben said.

“Okay. Okay.” I bit my lower lip, trying to think. “I wish—”

“Shh!” Ben gasped. “For it to work, it has to be a secret.” He glanced at his friends. “I tell her this every year. She never listens.”

I laughed.

More than half the people here were strangers, the rest acquaintances, but they all cheered when I shut my eyes and blew out the candle.

I wished silently that Ben would propose soon.

When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to find out they were wet.

Ben and Hannah beamed like they knew I’d made a big one. Twenty-one was a special age—an age where you had to start making your own decisions. Now more than ever.

“Alright.” Ben took the candle away to dispose of it properly. Once he left, the DJ started playing music.

Hannah was still holding my hands. She leaned in conspiratorially. “So… what was it?”

I had icing in my mouth and swallowed before answering. “What was what?”

“Your wish.”

“Francis pizza to have a store here in New York.”

She paused, then laughed when she realized I was serious. Which I was. Growing up, I lost count of how many free slices the owner let me have for dinner.

“Fine. Don’t tell me. Keep your secrets.”

Why did she think I was lying?

“I’m serious,” I said, chewing another bite. “What else could I ask for?”

“Right,” she said brightly, “you have Ben. He loves you so much. Honestly, I wish I had someone like him.”

“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “He’s been acting strange these past few days. Late-night calls. Sneaking around. Then suddenly, he asks me to move in and throws all this.” I gestured at the party.

Hannah laughed. “That’s nothing to complain about. He’s probably making up for being busy at work.”

Ben worked for his father too. Though he had no specific role, I struggled to understand what exactly kept him so busy.

I took another bite of cake. It was perfect—soft, balanced, familiar—but I **** myself to swallow. It would have been strange not to eat the same cake I’d had every year. And this time, Ben had gone out of his way to make sure I had it.

The surprise was nice.

Maybe it was his way of saying we were back to normal.

Hannah flagged down one of Ben’s maids to take my suitcase, then pulled me toward the dance floor. We danced until we were sweaty, until my head spun.

“Water,” I said, breathless. “I need a minute and I’ll be back.”

Hannah nodded, still dancing, and I slipped away toward the kitchen. I took an empty glass and put water from the tap into it. Placing it against my cheek before I drank it to cool my body.

When I returned to the dance floor, Hannah was nowhere to be seen.

That was fine, I would just go and dance with Ben.

It was becoming selfish and ungrateful to avoid him after everything he had done for me.

“Hey,” I asked the first person I saw. A blonde girl I didn't know the name of. Probably one of Ben's friends. “Have you seen Ben?”

She shot me an apologetic look. “No. Sorry. Happy birthday though!”

I muttered a quick “thank you” and asked another of his friends. “Have you seen Ben anywhere?”

The man I asked nodded. His eyes were glassy and suggested that the beer he held wasn't his first of the night.

“Yeah,” the guy said. “Bet I saw him sneaking upstairs with some chick.”

What? I reared back. This man obviously had no idea what he was talking about. Ben would never cheat on me. We had our issues, but that was crossing a line. Drunk guy here was just mistaken. Maybe he had seen someone with the same black hair as Ben and assumed.

But still… I looked towards the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. It wouldn't hurt to check. I still couldn't find Ben.

“Thank you,” I told the man but his attention was no longer on me.

I rushed up the stairs to our room. Ben had told me yesterday that it was the last door on the left. Inside, the air was cleaner and wasn't laced with perfume, sweat and ****.

The sheets were still smooth. See, no one was here. That man was clearly mistaken. I let out a sigh of relief.

With a start, I realized the half eaten cake was still in my hands and dumped it on the vanity table and went into the walk-in closet.

My suitcase had already been stored inside and stripped of every personal item I’d carried along with me.

And now, they’d either been hung up or neatly folded somewhere.

I was just about to leave when I heard a soft moan and something that sounded very much like ‘Ben’ I froze on the spot. Maybe, I'd misheard.

But, no, the same moan and name. Definitely Ben, came again.

The girl whimpered again.

I looked around, confused. It was only me here. It took me three full seconds to realize that the sound was coming from behind the wall.

The guestroom.

I rushed out of the bedroom, my heart pounding hard and fast in my chest. Without knocking, I pushed open the guest bedroom.

The world tilted. My ears rang so loudly it drowned out the music downstairs, and for a second, I couldn’t feel my legs at all.

There, on the bed, completely naked, was my boyfriend and… Hannah?

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