What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,42

smirked, then reached out and started absentmindedly brushing her hair away from her face. She held very still while he did so, surprised at how gentle he was being with her.

“My mother's father was Ari Zukerman, my dad's was Aaron Sharapov. My father doesn't lose, so legally I'm Aaron, but he told her she could call me Ari, as a nickname, if she wanted. So she made sure everyone called me that. My mother didn't like to lose, either.”

Valentine was surprised, she hadn't expected him to share a story like that with her. She'd just been curious about his odd nickname. Part of her was glad he'd shared it – it made him less of an asshole, and more like a real person. She could almost picture him as a little boy, a bunch of wild, blond curls on his head, running across the yard as his mother called for him. His father scowling playfully in the background.

She started to frown, so she pulled him close again, bringing his mouth to her chest. He obliged willingly, kissing along her collar bone before tugging and pulling at her shirt.

I don't want him to be a real person. I need him to be an asshole. Because this is just a deal and in two weeks, it won't matter if he's Ari or Aaron or John frickin Doe – because we won't be together any more.

We're not even together right now.

9

An hour later, Ari was pulling up in front of Valentine's townhouse. She was busy entering her number into his phone, and while she was distracted, he took the opportunity to look over her home unobserved.

The building was a bit shabby, but clean. The rest of the neighborhood seemed to be in a similar state. It wasn't an area of Chicago he normally went to, but it wasn't too run down, either. Distinctly lower middle class – a rung on the socioeconomic ladder he'd never known.

“This was the best place you could find?” he asked, glancing at the passenger seat. Valentine had gotten out of the car and was now standing on the sidewalk. She was wrestling with her backpack, trying to yank it out of his back seat by its straps.

“No, I think it's fun to cram four people into a tiny space and live on second hand furniture. Seriously, who the fuck buys a tiny car like this, it's built for babies!” she growled through clenched teeth. Ari rolled his eyes, then reached back and started shoving on the bag.

“Maybe if you didn't pack so much shit in here, it wouldn't be so huge,” he countered. She smirked at him.

“I didn't know I was going to be abducted this afternoon. If I had, I would've left my eighteen layers of winter clothing at home. Shit!” she suddenly exclaimed, dropping the strap and putting her hands in her hair.

“What? What is it?”

“My bike is at school. That means I have to take the bus to work tonight,” she groaned. Ari laughed and gave the backpack a hefty shove, finally getting it past the front seat. It popped out of the car and dropped to the ground.

“Just take a cab.”

Valentine started laughing.

“I wish you could hear yourself. 'Just take a cab', like everyone has fifty bucks to spare for cab fare. You're so rich and clueless, it's almost cruel to make fun of you.”

“Probably best not to. Bullying is very passé.”

She was still laughing as she reached down to grab her bag. Once she had it on her back, she grabbed the door as if to shut it, then hesitated for a moment. Glanced down the street and chewed at her bottom lip.

She's nervous. Interesting.

“So ... are you coming to the club tonight?”

“Why, Miss Valentine,” he teased. “Are you sad that I might not be your date tonight?”

Her cheeks turned a light shade of rose, but she shrugged nonchalantly.

“No.”

He found her so interesting. There was a sort of innocent, naive, ingenue side of her that was very natural and organic. She wasn't trying to make him feel good about himself by acting cutesy, he could tell that he genuinely made her nervous. She could deny it all she wanted, but really, she was quite a bit taken with him. Smitten, even.

And then there was the other side of the coin, the devil to the saint. Valentine in the night was a completely different woman. Tight clothing and sexy banter and sinful dance moves. Here she was nervous to admit she wanted to see