Page 33 of Hunt for the Roses
“No.” Aria is then called up to place her order, and I guess I’ll be placing a separate order. The girl loves her doughnuts, and I can’t deny how adorable she is about it.
Once we have our doughnuts, Aria and I start digging in as we walk toward the pier. “So good,” Aria moans through her mouthful, and then she does a little shake with her walk like she’s the happiest person ever.
I can’t with this girl.
“Did you know there’s a ‘Dance Party’ night at Duke’s scheduled for later this month?” Aria asks as she swallows her bite.
Once I swallow my first bite, I respond to her. “Well, no, I normally don’t keep tabs on the themed events at Duke’s. I’m usually there for drinks and women.”
“Well, free your schedule for July seventh because we’re going. You, me, Kate, and Trent. If they’re available.”
“What time is this ridiculousness between?” I ask.
“It’s between seven and ten o’clock. I promise, whatever orwhoeveryou want to do afterwards, I’ll leave you alone.”
“Sounds amazing,” I mutter sarcastically as I chew.
“Woo!” Aria throws her hands in the air as she does a small dance with her feet, and I can’t hold back the light chuckle that escapes my lips.
When we reach the pier, we start to walk down it as I take the last bite of my doughnut, but as I’m chewing, I notice that there’re darker clouds drifting toward us. “Looks like there is a summer storm coming in.”
“Crap,” Aria says as she looks up at the sky, and then pops the last piece of her doughnut into her mouth. “Guess we gotta beat it,” Aria says as she walks backwards in front of me, creating more distance between us. Then suddenly, she turns around and takes off in a run down the pier.
“Ari, hey!” I call to her.
When I realize she’s on a mission, I just jog after her as my feet move on their own accord, too intrigued to stand still. It’s only another twenty seconds until I reach Aria at the end of the pier, and she’s placed her box of doughnuts on the ground while she catches her breath over the railing. “Oh my god, that felt good,” Aria breathes out.
“That’s shocking. You were so annoyed with me at the end of our running workout the other day,” I say as I lean over the railing beside her.
“Well, that’s because I didn’t actuallywantto do that. Sometimes, I just look for an adrenaline rush,” she explains before looking out in the distance. “I wish this was the view from my backyard and I didn’t have to walk a half hour to get here,” she adds.
I feel a rain pellet land on my head, and then my forearm. “Yeah, well, your appreciation may be short-lived because it’s starting to rain.”
“So? When has a little rain hurt anyone?” she says with a smirk.
All I can do is smile back at her, and then turn my head to enjoy the scene with her. But unfortunately, I start to feel the raindrops come down more consistently, and then it turns into a downpour.
“Shit!” I yell as I grab Aria’s hand and move us under the side of a small building structure along the pier. The roof of the small building hangs over the side just enough to allow us shelter, and of course Aria prioritizes grabbing the doughnut box from the ground, so that comes with us too.
When we seek shelter, Aria starts bursting out laughing while leaning her shoulder against the brick of the building. Everyone else has also sought shelter along the sides of the pier, so the pier is clear of people at the moment. Aria turns to lean her back fully against the wall, and her laughing fit diminishes as she considers something in her mind. I notice her swallow thickly, and her eyes are trained on the rain like it’s a corridor to another universe.
Before I even have time to guess what she might be thinking, Aria turns to me. “Will you hold this?” she asks as she holds her box of doughnuts out to me.
I furrow my eyes, but extend my hand in acceptance anyway. I have no idea what she’s up to, but once Aria hands the box to me, she peels herself off the building, and walks out into the rain on the pier. When she’s met with the downpour of rain, she crosses her forearms lazily over the top of her head, and tilts her head back while she spins around in a circle. Once she completes a full rotation, she takes her headband out, and runs her hands through her hair as she just stands there with her head tilted up to the sky.
What the hell is she doing?
I decide to go with my instinct and jog toward her to drag her off the planks of the pier. When we come back to our original location under the roof overhang, she leans her back against the brick wall of the building with one hand on her head.
“Okay, that feltgreat,” she pants out as she is drenched from head to toe, looking like she just jumped into a swimming pool with her clothes still on.
“Yeah, well it won’t feel great when you catch pneumonia,” I counter as I use the hem of my shirt to wipe down her arms.
Aria leans her back against the brick wall as I lean my shoulder against it right beside her, but she doesn’t look at me. She just continues to look out at the rain as she says, “Sometimes I just want to feel alive again. Just feelsomethingother than the emptiness that’s consumed me for so long.”
I blink as I stare at Aria because I don’t know what to say. I never know what to say, and I feel like I fail her in these moments. But I understand what she’s saying about wanting to feel something. I’ve definitely felt the void spaces in my heart this past year and have looked for ways to fill those voids. That’s all Aria is trying to do right now.
She wants toliveher life again.
