Chapter 2 TWO

Yonsdale was the perfect suburban town.

One of those that often went quiet half the day, with closely constructed houses and that a tint of signature brown in its roofs.

It was serene town, where everyone was sort of close to one another. They had no choice since it was a very secluded elite place.

But no matter how close everyone pretended to be, there were cliques. There were garden clubs, and elite book clubs. It was Beverly Hills, so one could expect just that.

And no matter how many the clubs there were, Alyssa pretty much never found her place in any of them. She belonged to that one percent in Yonsdale that did their own shit, avoiding any of the neighborhood dramas that would spiral from wine tasting events and fancy fundraisers.

It was what the suburbans knew how to do best, be it daytime drinking. Or camping retreats.

They knew how to have fun, often too much fun. And they wouldn't stop until an accident or some fight breaks out.

Or someone actually dies.

It was why Alyssa stayed by herself, only known by Armani. She wasn't new here, she grew up here. And it was pretty much the clique she had in high school she was still in now.

Except Sarah who'd grown up, eventually growing apart. She wasn't bothered by the fact that she missed the wealthy weddings, or the fact that she was never invited to those book club thingys or even the maternity ones-

The closest neighbor to her however was Madeline Perez. Not that they were friends, they just lived in close proximity to one another so a few heys and hellos were expected. But not too much.

She knew very little of her, but somehow more than enough to know that she was divorced, maybe with a kid that didn't stay with her. She lived in a three bedroom apartment with her pet dog she called dawg.

She had a signature smile, one that revealed her perfect dentition and the gap at the front. But it was a reach, since she never almost smiled. She was just as bad as Alyssa when it came to making friends but she had a particular stint of stoicism towards association. Which was unlike Alyssa, who just didn't care. "Oh hi Madeline" She greeted through the windows.

Now behind the facade of this perfect town were deeply flawed residents with more than a few skeletons up their cupboards. The thing was they were just better at hiding the fucking cracks.

But for how long, really?

Alyssa looked back to Armani who just vibed to Chase Atlantic. "That was weird" He said, focusing his eyes unto the road. Her eyes looked into the rear view mirror, watching as Madeline climbed her front porch with that garbage bag- "This whole place is fucking weird" She muttered.

EIGHT HOURS EARLIER

Doja Cat's voice filled the the entire studio which some level of bass to it. It touched Armani's ear drums so bad that he just wanted to dance it out.

Now, Armani loved to dance.

Ever since he was a little kid, be it ballet, or just random shenanigans, he saw dance as art. As an expression of the words he found difficult to say. But when his father tore his shoes and took it out of his subject curriculum, he was left devastated. "Ballet is for the girls" He would yell, as Armani would succumb to his tears after a two hour lecture of how a man should be.

He grew up with that sort of mentality, having to hide who he really was. He quit dancing at ten, and put himself into what he thought really mattered.

Bagging a degree in economics was the worst and the best thing of his life, that way he was able to give his father what he wanted before he died.

But then for himself, he felt miserable.

His life would have been so much better if he went to some arts school in Beverly but he knew no one was going to pay for that. Now, twenty five, rediscovering his love for the arts, Armani has that dream to someday be on broadway.

But for now, he had to settle for managing a class of spoiled white kids on their way to statewide championship. It's fair to say he hated his life. But moments like these when he got to listen to Doja, or Hayloft or Tame Impala. He'd settle for the weekly songs that trended from tiktok.

It was how he fell in love with Chase Atlantic.

"No, you go left. Then to the right" He yelled above the music as he glided his arms to the beats of the song. There was a huge mirror in front of him, which he used to monitor the movements behind him.

Beads of sweat dripped down his chin as he noticed how off their steps were. He looked down to his watch, just in time for the second bell. "These kids will be the death of me" He said under his breath as he halted.

The assemble scattered to each corner of the room as he immediately dialed Alyssa.

Now, he easily had more friends than she did, maybe because of the numerous apps he had on his phone for meeting new people.

But she was his favorite and he was hers. And their bond was unlike any other in Yonsdale. "Slayed?" He asked once she picked the call, knowing she had some interview earlier.

And she just let a sigh slip from her lips. "Yikes" He said. "Meet up?" He asked, disgustingly looking at the kid in front of him.

Hold on, he wasn't a creepy bully. He just did that because James did it first. These spoiled kids were the first reason to not have any kids. -

There was a loud ping from his phone, which he took out from his pockets. Alyssa walked up to the railings, heaving a deep sigh from her lips as the winds blew right into her face.

Her blonde hair swayed from left to right, strands flying into her eyes. "Ohh" Armani said, walking just beside her.

He didn't take his eyes off his phone and when he did, his pupils were dilated. "I just got matched" Alyssa looked to him with her brows furrowed.

She wasn't entirely in the mood, but deep down she wanted to see who her best friend was this smitten about. She grasped the phone and swiped along the screen. He was hot, no doubt. "But?" Armani asked and Alyssa looked to him. "But what?" "No, you always have a but. I was just expecting it" He burst out laughing as she handed him his phone back.

"Isn't that grindr?" She asked. "Don't be homophobic. It's tinder" Now, she didn't even know about any of them. "God, he's hot. Ripped, still responsible" She said, taking a sip from her bottled water. "But you just got to be careful" Armani gasped. "There it is" "No, Armani. I'm serious. I hear of these people getting catfished these days" Alyssa added.

"Girl, you know nothing about online dating. It isn't even that common-" "Besides, i'm just here to have fun" He added, and she just rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath for the one millionth time.

He swiped right, of course before slipping his phone back into his pockets. "What's up with you?" He asked, folding his arms across the railings.

The truth was, she had been waiting on that question. "I dont even fucking know what i fucking feel" She didn't hold back. Armani squinted his eyes, looking to her. "What?" He moved closer. "Get married they said, have a kid, they said. You'll figure it out, they said. Everything will fall in fucking place, they fucking said" She slammed her hands into the metal rods.

"Ow" "Is this about Tom?" "I don't even fucking know. I just got back to work and everyone's treating me so fucking delicate. I don't want to be reminded every five seconds that i'm a mother" She said. "Hey, Alyssa. Congratulations" "Alyssa. How is mother and baby?" Everyone asked that. Now, it wasn't a problem if it was just once. But then twice, thrice.

And every fucking time, it was exhausting.

"And i'm not even sure i aced my first pitch" She said. "Oh Alyssa. You've got time to figure it all out" She looked at him with a death glare.

"What?" "It's just everyone fucking says that. What if i don't have time?" He moved close to her, so close that their shoulders brushed together. And he just wrapped his arms around her.

"Trust me, you do" Her body slithered in his hands as she shut her eyes. It had been long since she was touched at all.

It was weird she felt that way towards her best friend, but Alyssa was willing to let her hormones take over.

Armani squeezed her shoulders. "And my husband won't even fucking look at me" She opened her eyes to look at him. "I don't know where it all went wrong. Or what i'm doing wrong but-" "You think he's seeing someone else?" "I don't know" Alyssa whispered.

Have you tried talking to him?" Armani pulled away. "He would not even kiss me goodbye or anything. What other fucking signs can i drop?" She asked.

"And each time i get these thoughts, all i ever think about is Elle. And how i love her more than enough to not fuck this up" Armani saw her struggles, because he knew her.

Alyssa used to wild in high school, and Tom then was like her drug. Was like her adrenaline.

Everyone knew, a few people saw and they were envious because they wanted someone to look at them the way Tom looked at Alyssa.

They wanted someone who wouldn't dare take eyes off of them. It was just proof that Alyssa wasn't always as miserable as this.

This might be a story where you hate the protagonist for wanting more.

But if there's anything i know is to never judge a person until you're in their shoes. "I hate to say this as well, but i wish i had an answer" He said.

"Except sometimes, you got to put yourself first" Maybe those weren't the words she wanted to hear but at least she needed to. And looking into the skies, she was going to do just that.

Without necessarily feeling the guilt and inappreciativeness. "Wanna take a jog later?" - Alyssa burst through the door, letting her bags slip from her hands.

She scavenged her way to the drawers, ravaging for her little pink present. She was outraged and she let the desire fill her eyes.

Now, the image of Tom kept popping up in her head and all she wished for was that he was here.

She hefted up her vibrator and fell back into her bed and memories flooded back from the night of her own wedding.

When everything felt so youthful, and so natural. When Tom still had that lust in his eyes for her. He grabbed her stiffly in his arms and threw her against the bed.

She was a mix of delicate and rough and Tom knew just how to do both. She was a thin line of lingerie that slipped off her skin like butter and Tom let his shorts fall.

She would never not be surprised of his girth.

And she suddenly let out a soft gasp.

As these memories came back to her, she clenched her thighs with the vibrator within.

And fell face into the bed. She imagined Tom was there, and was going down on her. He was very versatile, and that thought was enough to make her wet-

-her teeth clenched the clenched the bedsheets as she moaned.

That night was the night everything was supposed to change. It was meant to be the beginning of the rest of her lives.

As he climbed on top of her, kissing her delicately, she was sure then, that Tom was the man for her.

He never let go of her waist, letting it glide against his rock hard member while he kissed down her neck.

From her neck, it trailed down her shoulders, to her chest and towards her navel. She wrapped her legs around him as he went further down, twirling her panties with his fingers.

He threw a pillow over her head which she screamed into, she wanted to stay here forever. She never wanted to leave his arms. This moment, she wanted to stay in this moment.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she struggled to hold it in but after months of doing just that, she couldn't.

And the moment his tongue licked up her inner thigh, Alyssa let out a shriveling scream, reaching her climax.

Her legs trembled, as she opened her eyes to face the ceiling- -but this time, he wasn't there.

It was just her and these wild imaginations.

To be continued...

B