CHAPTER 22

ZAYN CARTER

The food finally arrived, and as expected, Ari was the first to dig in. She wasted no time, her fork twirling into her pasta like she was on a mission. I smirked, shaking my head.

"Slow down, foodie," I muttered, taking a sip of my drink.

She shot me a look, her lips stained with sauce. "Mind your business," she said, before immediately taking another bite.

I leaned back in my chair, barely paying attention to my plate as I watched her. The way her dress rode up when she shifted in her seat didn't go unnoticed. The short hemline already revealed enough of her thighs, but the way it hiked up whenever she moved made it worse—or better, depending on how you looked at it.

Cole, sitting across from us, was too focused on Fay to notice anything. He was watching her talk, nodding like everything she said was the most interesting thing in the world. Fay, of course, ate that up. Blair and her boyfriend were in their own world too, whispering to each other between bites.

Ari, though? She was fully absorbed in her food. Like nothing else existed.

She only looked up when Blair started talking about some girl in their class who got rejected by three guys in one week. "Third time's the charm, huh?" Ari said, raising an eyebrow.

"Guess not," Blair laughed.

The conversation flowed easily between everyone, the occasional teasing thrown in my direction, mostly from Fay. Ari joined in, of course, because if there was ever an opportunity to mess with me, she took it.

Halfway through, Ari pushed her chair back. "I'll be right back," she said, standing up.

I had to remind myself not to look. Not when the way her dress clung to her as she walked away made it nearly impossible not to.

The others barely paid attention, continuing their conversation—until, a few minutes later, a loud thud echoed from the direction of the washrooms.

Blair paused mid-sentence. "What was that?"

Cole shrugged. "Dunno. Someone probably tripped."

No one thought much of it, so we went back to eating. A couple minutes later, Ari returned, sliding into her seat like nothing had happened. I didn't think anything of it—until I noticed the man standing near the entrance to the washroom, holding his nose.

It was bleeding.

Badly.

The guy was hunched over, muttering curses under his breath, while a waiter rushed over with tissues. I narrowed my eyes, then turned back to Ari, who was peacefully twirling pasta onto her fork, completely unbothered.

I stared at her for a second. No way.

Blair noticed too. She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "Ari... tell me that wasn't you."

Ari chewed her food, swallowed, and deadpanned, "Wasn't me."

Blair's jaw dropped. "Oh my god, it was you."

Ari picked up her drink, taking a slow sip. "Prove it."