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●WARREN POV●

This might look bad . Having my brother's girlfriend come over tonight . But she looked so hurt this morning.  All I wanted to do was comfort her , nothing more.  I'm still in disbelief that Alex would take off the way he did.

The whole drive back I tried to keep things lighthearted with Aria , I could see how disappointed she looked when Alex walked out this morning. Not wanting to dwell on his buffoonery I extended an invitation to Aria to come over .

I had gotten my apartment well after the Penny situation and I haven't had anyone in my place other than some family members . She would be the first woman to come visit so I wanted to make sure it was presentable.  Of course it's clean but I want it to be comfortable for her.

It was getting closer to 5 when I heard a knock on my door . That couldn't possibly be Aria, she's too early , although I wouldn't mind if she decided to come at this time . When I opened the door I was faced with an angry Alex.

"Why did you ask Aria to come over tonight?" He confronted .

His eyes were wild with accusation but he had no right , "Good to see you too little bro, why don't you come inside?" I say sarcastically.

He stomped in like a bull ready to attack, "you had no right asking MY girlfriend on a date."

I scoffed , "I didn't,  I just invited her over . Besides how did you even know about this?" Before I could think if whether or not Aria said something to cause a stir he answered me.

"I overheard you when I called her earlier . What are you getting at? Is this payback for Penny? I apologized already for what I did," he exclaims.

Shaking my head , "this has nothing to do with her . I told you to not hurt Aria and you did exactly that to her this morning.  You didn't hear her when you took off running . You didn't see the anguish in her face as the realization that she was only runner up to your dear Penny."

"And you decided to swoop in ?" He accused .

I couldn't hold back the irritation,  "I'm not you," I shot at him .

"What's that suppose to mean?" He asks me as if he couldn't believe I would use that against him.

"I'm not going after Aria , if that's what you're thinking . She's STILL your girlfriend. I'm here being her friend . Unlike you , I don't have ulterior motives," I snap at him.

"Oh? From what Penny has told me, you found Aria years ago . Why were you looking for her?"

I couldn't believe that Penny knew about this . How much was she snooping? I wasn't going to cower, "why would that matter to you? She was my bestfriend when we were kids . I was always worried about her . Yes, I found her but I didn't know how she would react if I reached out . So I checked up on her from time to time."

As if a lightbulb went off in his head , "Did you suggest her company to take on Trip? So that you can meet her again?"

I laughed, "no, father found that company through recommendations. Her being the publicist was coincidental. I would never put her in that compromising position, after that incident with Trip."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "she'll be here soon . I don't want her thinking that I'm ambushing her when she wants space from you."

Then he yells,  "I'm going to fight for her and make sure that you don't ruin another relationship."

The gall of Alex, "You need to leave . I told you what happened with Penny , Aria and I are friends and I intend to make sure she knows that coming here is a safe place . A reprieve from what she experienced with you this morning."

"Not like this is any of your business, but Penny was calling me over and over because I refused to acknowledge her existence . Yes , I called her back to tell her to back off . What happened this morning was my guilt taking over for not hearing her out . It wasn't because she came first . Aria, she's my priority . I will give her the space she asked for , but make no mistake , she's my girlfriend and I will spend the rest of my days making it up to her," he says before walking towards the door to leave.

When he left the only thing that stuck with me was that she asked him for space.  If she wants to talk about it then we'll talk . Even though I would like nothing more than to have a chance, I don't want it like this. After Alex's last words I felt for him . And I do hope they get a fair chance and not break up over a misunderstanding.

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●ARIA POV●

I got to Warren's building right at 6 and I was surprised at how close he lived to me . He didn't live in a fancy building like Alex, in fact it's just as homely as my own place . He keeps surprising me more and more . When he came to greet me at the entrance I felt at ease . No doorman , no special key , no penthouse. 

He led me to his apartment that was on the third floor . Of all places, smack dab inbetween floors, where you can hear everything . This is why when I moved into my place I requested either the top floor so I couldn't hear anything above me or the first floor so I can make as much noise.

"Well, this is me," Warren says with a kindness go his voice , a stark contrast from how we met the night of dinner at his parent's home

Walking in it was very simple . No extravagant paintings , statues or overpriced furniture. It was like walking to any humble apartment.

"Nice place," I said to him.

"Thanks, you're not going to ask?" He says expecting some kind of questioning from me.

"I figured it's just like the car , I mean you can spare some kind of expense ," I did admit.

"I know , but all my life I grew up pampered. At first I wanted to see what a regular life would be like and then I just decided I like this . There's no stress of being perfect all the time," he says , "besides , if you ever visit the offices you'll see where most of the money goes," he winks.

"Mr. Wells, are you inviting me to visit you during work?" I say with a flirty tone .

He blushed at that question , "You could if you wanted to . You know , considering that Alex will be working with me too."

Alex, I crinkle my nose.  He catches me making a face , "what? Did you guys break up?"

I shake my head , "No, but I told him that I needed some time to think.  Things have gotten a little complicated."

He sighs , "Space is good but you should hear him out . He came to see me and told me everything that happened . He wasn't right to do what he did but maybe his explanation might clear things up."

"There's a lot of things going on between us and I just needed some time to think about it ," this was true and I would meet with him when I'm ready . Unlike with Dylan, I didn't have anything left to say to him . But Alex, I needed a cooling off period . I think I'm angry with myself to letting us get so out of control last night . But if I'm being honest I feel more embarrassed because I thought , to hell with whatever I thought.

"Okay, well, I'm not good at changing the subject smoothly so I'm just going to ask if you want any wine?"

"Yes, I could do with a glass, thank you ," I smile at Warren.

I walked over to the couch and sat down . Warren brought over a glass of wine and said , "I hope you don't mind but I ordered delivery . I didn't have any groceries at home...."

"It's more than fine ," I take a sip of the pinot and savored the red wine as it flowed from the glass to the back of my throat .

Warren never took his eyes off of me and I could feel an uptick to my heart rate at how intimate this felt with just the gaze we were holding . He moved closer to me where we were only a cushion distance apart . And I gulped , not the sweet dryness of wine, but the nervous air I was sucking in.

"Aria, I have to tell you something ," he said, his voice low and steady . His eyes dark and serious .

"What is it Warren?" I croaked out .

"I- ," he stops himself , arguing on whether or not he should say something .

"Go ahead, I won't run away," I say, even though I am known to run away when it comes to personal relationships.

"I found you years ago on social media," he measures out his words and watches my reaction , "I didn't know how to approach you or if you would have even been accepting . But it made me feel better knowing that you're life was normal and you seemed happy."

Most people would think this was a crazy thing to admit to . Most people would think this was borderline stalker , "I wish you would have reached out sooner," I said before I realized what the words meant .

He looked surprised and then it fell into that warmness that made you feel comfortable, "I didn't want to scare you away.  You wouldn't have remembered me , after what Alex told us at dinner."

"I guess it's my time to confess ," I readied myself as he leaned forward eager to hear what I was about to reveal, "I recognized you immediately. Not in a way that I knew you but something inside of me knew I knew you. That's crazy right?"

He just gives me a wide grin , "not at all . I didn't need Alex to introduce you to us because as soon as I saw you walk in , I knew you."

My heart began to beat faster . The next revelation was something I hadn't expected to tell him , at least without letting Alex know, but this feels right , "Alex and I aren't in a real relationship."