Zyan
"Today wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Ava asked as she skipped toward the car, closely followed by Jessica, whose eyes never strayed from her.
"It had its moments," Zyan said. Carter knocked their shoulders together and gave him a pointed look when their eyes met. "What?"
"Just admit you had fun. No one will judge you for it."
"I had moderate fun."
Carter rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Zyan's waist to pull him into his side and press a kiss to his temple.
"Guys! Hold up!" They all turned toward the owner of the voice. "Can you take me home, please?"
Zyan looked at Lucy—another one of Ava and Jessica's employees. She'd been working for Jessica for years, and had wormed her way into all their lives over the years, even alongside Carol. Zyan didn't know all that much about her, other than her taste in music and movies, but even he could tell she was distraught.
"What happened?" Jessica asked. "I thought your date was gonna take you home?"
"He's a dick," Lucy replied. "He's been dancing with some other girl for hours, and when I told him I wanted to go home, he said I shouldn't let him stop me."
"Fuck him!" Ava shot back immediately. "We'll take you! Or better yet, come home with us, and let's stay up till morning watching movies and eating junk food."
Zyan couldn't help the smile. He really loved Ava.
Jessica gave a curt nod. "What she said."
Lucy's face lit up a little. "Thanks, guys."
They all got home within a few minutes. Zyan was the first up the stairs and unlocked the door before stepping aside to let the entire group go through. Once everyone had filed in, he took a deep breath and closed the door behind them.
"How come, I always end up hosting unannounced pajama parties?" Zyan asked as he watched them all take of their shoes and shed their coats.
"Your couch is bigger?" Ava offered, while she already made her way over to the piece of furniture.
Zyan only gave her flat look; she knew damn well theirs was the same size. Ava's only response was a sunny smile.
Zyan rolled his eyes and followed their example by toeing off his shoes and disappearing into the bedroom to get rid of his jacket and tie. When he returned, they were all squeezed together on the sofa, which left him to take the armrest next to Carter. His complicity to the situation earned him a sympathetic pat on the knee.
"I can't believe I fell for Sean's stupid act," Lucy burst out, startling him.
"It's not your fault," Jessica said gently. "Those 'nice guys' are good actors. They never show their ugly side as long as you unknowingly do what they want. You're by far not the only one who's ever fallen for one of them, and you sadly won't be the last."
"Surprisingly, that doesn't make me feel any better." Lucy sighed deeply and sunk further into the cushions. "I should've seen the signs, but I was too blinded by somebody actually liking me in the way I wanted them to."
"Please don't think you did anything wrong," Ava spoke up. "The only one to blame here is that asshole."
"She's right," Jessica said. "Don't allow him to hold any more power over you. Forget about him. Don't do him the favor of tearing yourself up over this." She lightly nudged Lucy's elbow to draw her attention. "Come on! Let's watch a movie or TV show or something! Don't waste your time and emotions on that fucker for even one more second!"
"Good idea!" Carter stepped in, pushing lightly against Zyan's knee as he stood up. They all followed his example and got to their feet. "Anyone hungry? Thirsty? DVDs are over there—pick whatever!"
Zyan took his chance and slid from the armrest onto the cushions to settle down more comfortably as he watched them talk over each other and whirl around the room.
While everyone was busy, Lucy suddenly appeared at Zyan's side and took a seat on the edge of the armrest.
"What do you think?"
Zyan frowned up at her. "About what?"
"About Sean."
"I think he's a total douche who doesn't deserve anyone's time and attention," Zyan answered honestly.
Lucy nodded slowly. "Thank you."
"What for?"
Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. Letting me stay here? Always being real with me?"
"I do try."
Lucy huffed a laugh.
"Don't beat yourself up over that guy, okay?" Zyan said gently.
"I'm trying, but…it's hard. I mean, everyone around me is either married or in a stable relationship, and I'm just over here in my late twenties, and I've never even been in a real relationship."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Zyan said. "You've got your friends, your job, your dog—who's very cute, by the way—and that's already far more than a lot of other people can say for themselves. You're doing brilliantly! Don't let society's expectations ruin that for you."
Lucy looked over at him. "Easy for you to say. You've got Carter."
"And I was by myself for a long time before I found him. I had to learn to be okay by myself too."
"What if I never find someone?"
"Then you'll get the privilege of listening to all of us stress out over anniversary and birthday presents every year while you sit there on your throne of singledom, laughing at us."
Lucy's laugh sounded like it caught her off-guard. "Okay, that does sound like fun."
"Look who's bonding over here in the corner," a voice interrupted them. Carter leaned onto the back of the armchair. His breath fanned against the hairs over Zyan's ear.
Lucy smiled at him. "Yeah. I'm slowly starting to see why you guys keep him around."
"Oh, wow, thanks," Zyan teased.
Lucy winked at him. Zyan suppressed a smile.
Carter patted his hair. "He's not too bad, right, honey?"
Zyan smacked his hand away. "Shut it, Aquino."
Carter pressed a kiss to the crown of his head before he pushed off to return to Jessica and Ava, who were currently arguing over what movie to pick.
Zyan watched in silence for a few seconds. "Do you want to crash here tonight? The girls always have to get up early on Mondays, and no one should be out there in the streets this late to catch a cab."
He could see Lucy turn her head to face him from the corner of his eye. "You sure?"
"I wouldn't have offered if I weren't."
Lucy nodded. "Okay. I'd like that. Thank you."