So Maybe I Want A Bad Boy!

Harley

I splashed my face with cold water, watching as the light rippled, pulling away the makeup that had started to drain with the water. How many times had I splashed my face? Not that it helped. The problem wasn't my face, if you get what I mean.

I stepped out of the bathroom, still hearing my good-for-nothing friends laugh in the background.

"Are you back, Harls?" Mandy's voice came through the call, taunting.

"Aww, our little Harls is smitten, even his picture left you as a hot mess?" she added, giggling.

"Do you want to see another, or are you good to go?" she asked, teasing.

I hadn't even gone back to bed yet, but here they were, saying all this nonsense.

"Shut up. Why haven't you ended the call yet? I need to leave," I practically shouted, swiping on face cream.

"We couldn't. We wanted to tease a bit," Rebecca's voice was laced with a smirk.

"Well, ha-ha, you did quite a good job. Now I'll spend the next seven hours regretting every life choice, one of which is having you two as my friends," I scoffed, and they laughed.

Speaking of seven hours… 17:05. Crap! I was late.

My phone buzzed, and sure enough, the taxi had arrived.

"Guys, gotta go," I told them, rushing to grab the small travel bag I had packed earlier. Another testament that I didn't want to go, but some people would think I was just a girl who liked to travel lightly.

"Wait, wait, you're going in that outfit?" Mandy's voice stopped me.

"Yeah," I said quickly, not in the mood for this.

"Are you sure? I thought you said you needed a change of clothes," Mandy shot back, her tone direct.

"I did, but now I'm late and might miss my flight. Clothes can wait. Besides, I've cooled down—splashed cold water on my face," I said, already heading toward the door.

"Oh. If you say so…" Mandy dragged out the words. I paused, feeling my brows furrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned, my voice laced with suspicion.

"Nothing," Mands said quickly.

"Mands, I'm late. Speak your mind," I said, the tension rising. Was something wrong with my outfit? I mean, I'd rolled around in bed a bit, but my white blouse was as crisp as ever, and my high-waist trousers? Always perfect.

"It means… he's gonna smell that off you...you know, the scent." Rebecca said, amusement in her voice.

I tilted my head, completely confused. I could feel the question mark forming on my face, and they laughed again.

"Oh, Harls, so innocent," Mandy mused, barely able to breathe from her laughter. That's when it clicked.

"Guys!" I shouted, realizing what they meant.

"What? We're just saying," Mandy said, but her grin was mischievous.

I rolled my eyes. "That's nonsense! You're making him sound like a vampire or something. So what if I had a physical reaction? Nothing more. A scent? Please—I didn't even get that far. Now I really have to go."

Lord, it felt like I'd spent hours talking to them, but thank God it was only two minutes.

"Alright, love you lots," they said before ending the video call. I nodded, quickly powered down my iPad, and shoved it into my black handbag.

As I walked away, I could still feel the faint flush creeping up my neck. Seriously, what was wrong with those two? They had to bring up the most embarrassing stuff, teasing me about that reaction and acting like the guy would somehow pick up on it. Ugh. I was debating whether I should change my outfit now, but when I caught sight of myself in the mirror, my confidence settled. Whatever they said, I looked fine.

Business mode: had been activated. My dad had sent me to escort a client, so I had to dress up for it—even if the flight wasn't until late at night.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door, keys jingling with each step. The Uber was waiting outside, and I prayed to the universe to cut me some slack on the traffic.

"Good evening," I said, offering a quick apology before we pulled away. The driver gave a quick nod and started the car.

As the engine roared to life, my thoughts took over. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. I was going to be stuck in a flight with Clad Storm,trapped in the air for seven hours with him.

But why did my heart keep pounding over this? I couldn't shake it. It was just another mundane thing—my father set it up, nothing more. Clad probably had better things to do than worry about sharing a seat with me. Yet, despite telling myself that, I could still feel it—panic, nervousness swirling in my chest.

I bit my lip. Nothing could go wrong, right? Right?

Just as if on cue, my phone beeped, pulling me from my thoughts.

A text from my mom popped up:

*Sorry honey, Erin bought the wrong tickets. It's not first class but premium economy.*

"What the actual fuck?" My jaw dropped, and I barely noticed the driver glance at me in the rearview mirror.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry, I was talking to myself," I said quickly, trying to hide my frustration. But inside? I was fuming. There was no way someone could make such a mistake. Premium economy and first class were worlds apart. Erin, I was *so* getting you for this.

A deep sigh escaped my lips as I turned my attention back to the window. My mind couldn't stop reeling. She did it on purpose. Erin was like that, always had been—just never noticed it until it was too late.

What a messed-up world. Siblings weren't even trustworthy anymore.