Chapter 6: One year later

Cassandra was in Ava's hometown of New York for another party. Her friend had decided to throw a party to celebrate the fact that they would be free from work for the next two months.

They were in Ava's apartment, which was quite large, especially for just her, and had a beautiful view of the city lights from her bedroom window, as well as good-sized rooms. The living room and kitchen were ideal for entertaining, which was fortunate for the party.

"OK, everything is set, and the led light and the food will be here in like, 8 minutes, alright?" Ava yelled from the guest room, causing Cassandra to jump from her bed, where she was scrolling through Facebook.

"OK, Ava, I'll get the food and then change my outfit as well later," Cassandra said as she walked away.

Cassandra returned to her phone, pinning it up to her speaker and playing BTS music when the doorbell rang, and she answered it, smiling at the delivery man. He handed her the food bags before asking, "Party today?"

"Yeah, it's a no-work party one, because we finished our super-hassle project last week," she laughed, handing the man a tip.

"Thank you, miss," he said before turning around and walking away.

"The food's here!" Cassandra exclaimed to Ava, who replied, "Just put it on the table, don't say you're going to taste it and eat all of it!" Cassandra rolled her eyes, even though she knew that was unavoidable.

Cassandra finished arranging the plates of food on the dining table, along with the drinks and cups, something she would have done if the food had looked good.

"How do I look? good enough for my boyfriend, whom I haven't seen in months?" Ava asked, trying to smooth down the black floral dress that had become a second skin to her.

"Damn, Ava, you look attractive, almost as good as all these meals," Cassandra said as Ava snorted and popped a burrito chip in her mouth.

"Thank you, now go get ready," Ava said, and Cassandra nodded, entering the room and grabbing her peachy tube top and black leather skirt, which fit her curves perfectly.

"Anyway, other than your ghost boyfriend, who is our guest?" Cassandra asked, rolling her eyes at her.

"Hey, don't call my boyfriend a ghost. You'll meet him later, I swear. I'll introduce you to him because he brought his best friend with him, and it's a good sign you had to start dating again Sandra, and forget about your stupid ex," Ava said as Cassandra remained silent because she knew her friends were correct.

Cassandra then put on her clothes, trying to mess with her hair in the mirror and misting some floral perfume on her body with a light coat of red lipstick. She was about to leave when the doorbell rang, and Ava answered it. Cassandra smiled as loud voices filled the apartment, ready to party.

The apartment was crowded, the music was blasting loudly, and the dim lighting created the ideal environment for relaxing and having fun. Cassandra had never met Ava's boyfriend, so he was the only person who was missing.

"Where is your mighty ghost boyfriend now?" Cassandra asked, her arms crossed.

"They're stuck in traffic," Ava explained as she approached her, looking up from her phone.

"Hey, it's fine, Ava, I know they'll arrive," she said, reassuring her friend, and then her apartment front door swung open, revealing a handsome man, and before Cassandra could figure out what was going on, Ava was already in a blonde's arms, kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

Cassandra blinked, laughing as she saw Ava pull away and grab his hand, pulling him over to her. "That's enough Ava," she said as she pinched her flirty friend.

"Ouch, sorry girl. By the way, this is Mark, my boyfriend, and wait, where's you're best friend, honey?" Ava asked.

"He's just in the corner, don't worry about him he'll come later," Mark said, laughing.

"So you're the famous boyfriend that she couldn't stop talking about today?" she teasingly asked.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Mark said, pressing a kiss against his girlfriend's forehead. "She was only saying good things about me, right?"

Cassandra laughed, nodding. "Of course, you seem perfect for each other. Mark relaxed, smiling again as he stared at the love of his life adoringly.

"We're going to go dance; I hope you get laid tonight," Ava said to Cassandra, who glared at her.

"What? From what I've known, you haven't had any fun in like, a year. Be wild now, sweetie, it's time to find a daddy for Akia," Ava said with a smirk.

"It's time to unwind, babe," Ava said before grabbing Mark and walking to the middle of the dance floor, which was just the living room.

Cassandra then managed to grab a drink and sipped it while mingling with some people she liked. They all talked for a while, and she searched the room until she locked eyes with a man who appeared to be a stranger to her. Cassandra's eyes widened as she realized who he was.

~

Anthony made his way through the crowded room towards the girl with whom he had locked eyes. He then approached her and asked, "Do you still remember me?"

Denise was taken aback, stuttering out an "N-no," which she denied before attempting to walk away, but Anthony grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Don't lie to me, I know you're the girl my brother mentioned would not be able to stop talking about for a year, "Anthony said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Cassandra asked, her brow furrowed as she struggled to hear him over the music. As a result, she moved in closer, and Anthony repeated his sentence.

"What are you on about?" she inquired. "Well, it was just one night for you," Anthony explained.

"But, goddamn," he continues, "whatever you did in that room had to be life-changing for him."

Cassandra's mind flashed back to that night, the way he touched her, the way his lips felt, the way Cassandra shook her head, trying to forget everything that happened a year ago.

"Are you going to talk to him? My brother was just around the corner," Anthony inquired, his brow furrowed.

"Uhmm, I think you just mistook me for someone; I need to get out of here now," Cassandra said, moving through the crowd faster than Anthony could.

She crept behind some friends, knowing Anthony would find her soon, but she'd rather be found later than sooner.

She then took her second drink, attempting to use the alcohol to soothe her nerves for a few minutes while everything appeared normal.

"F*ck, I hope my one night stand doesn't recognize me if he's here," she thought to herself, but all she needed to do was hide from her one night stand's brother, who had remembered her and also told her that his brother wouldn't quit talking about her. When she walked away from him, everything seemed normal, but then a tap on her shoulder startled her out of her dream world, and she managed to turn to see piercing blue eyes.

"F*ck, you're not a dream; you're real," he said as he took her hand in his and led her to a corner.

Cassandra was taken aback by her one-night stand with that perfect handsome face, which she'll never forget. She recognized him the moment she laid eyes on him.

"F*ck, why is he here?" she wondered, her voice trembling. "Did he recognize me?" she panicked asked herself as she unconsciously allowed him to take her there, still staring for another few seconds, they both looked at each other, as if it was the last time they would ever see each other, and she was about to run away but Edward hurriedly grabs her wrist as Cassandra pressed up against the wall then Edward grabbed her waist as his lips brushing up roughly against hers.