“Girl, I missed you,” I sigh.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Noor excitedly jumps. “I have so many fun activities planned for us, and we’ll end it with clubbing.”
“But I don’t have a dress.”
“You can wear one of mine.”
“I have dinner plans with Nathan.”
“Invite him to the club.”
“We haven’t made our relationship public, Noor,” I confess as I follow her inside the building. “We can’t risk being seen together.”
She puts it together. “Because you’re still his publicist and it’ll lead to a scandal?”
“It’s one of the reasons.” The elevator jerks as it starts to ascend.
“How long do you plan to keep your relationship a secret?”
“Not for long.”
“That’s good.” She smiles. “We’re still going out drinking and dancing, so cancel your plans with your boyfriend. I only have you for a day, so I plan to make the most of it.”
“Fine. But I’ll return to the hotel early.” We reach her floor and step out. There’s a single door right across from hers. “Are the boys still living next door?”
“Oh yeah,” mutters Noor, while unlocking her apartment. “At least one of them is always here. Kabir spends most nights at Eleanor’s apartment. Jared comes home to sleep once he realizes he’s human like the rest of us, and not a superhero or a machine. Caleb coops up here when he’s not shooting a film.”
I don’t miss the slight hitch in her voice and the twinge of pink on her cheeks when she utters Caleb’s name. The Hollywood’s Heartthrob and one of Kabir’s best friends that she’s secretly in love with, while he’s clueless to her feelings.
Noor blames her lack of dating life on her protective older brother, but the real reason is Caleb. Her heart is stuck on him, which she drunkenly confessed to me one night years ago. I wish she’d move on. Especially now that he’s even more unattainable and a superstar. Unrequited love only ends in heartbreak.
Noor and I cross the threshold and stroll straight to her state-of-the-art kitchen.
“It’s your lucky day because you’ll be seeing them all tonight,” Noor teases, rounding the kitchen island.
“Wait… we’re all going clubbing?”
“Yeah. It’s the grand opening of a new nightclub. Caleb got us all invited and we’ll have our own private booth. No worrying about grabby men.”
Her excitement is palpable and contagious. It washes over me. “It’s been a while since I partied. I can’t wait.”
“Yay! We’re going to have a blast.” I startle when I hear the front door click open and shut. Scowling at Noor, I ask, “Did you get a roommate?”
“I wish,” she pouts.
“Then who is-”
“Munchkin, you home?” a masculine and throaty voice shouts.
The telltale blush on Noor betrays the identity before Caleb even rounds the corner. “In here,” she yells back.
I look over my shoulder right as a over six feet tall hunk of a man fills my line of sight. A thin black t-shirt and low hanging sweats cling to his ripped body as he swaggers over to us. Caleb could easily pass off as one of the Hemsworth brothers.
He doesn’t make my heart race like Nathan does, but there’s no denying he’s hot as hell. No wonder women drool over him around the world.
His mischievous eyes land on me and flare in recognition. “Is that you Arya?”
“You remember me?” We’ve only met once in the past and very briefly. Did I mention he’s a Hollywood actor?
