I was back in L.A and on my way to meet Ariana for lunch. The trip to Vancouver had been very productive and a lot of fun. But it was always nice to be home. I pulled up to the restaurant and left my car with the valet. The hostess led me to a table where Ariana was already waiting. She broke out in a large smile when she saw me and stood up to give me a hug. I hadn't seen her in quite some time and I took in her lovely curves. She was short but her body was tight and she was gorgeous. I held her tightly against me and realized how happy i was to to see her. Warm memories of Victoria, her and I together brought more than just a smile to my face.
"How are you Duncan? It's so good to see you." She finally said as her head rested on my chest.
"I've been good thanks. And you?" I replied as we separated and took our seats.
"Things have been great, The tour has been fantastic and my album is still high on the charts."
"Yeah, i've heard it. It's no wonder you're in so high demand."
"Thanks, It's really been amazing. All the shows are sold out. Plus i'm touring with Tori which has been a godsend." She looked down at the table for a beat. "It really does get lonely sometimes." I reached for her hand across the table and held it.
"I can only imagine. I'm glad she's there for you." It was my turn to take a beat. "How is she?" Ariana tightened her grip on my hand and looked me in the eyes before answering.
"She's doing okay. Her career is going strong. She loves performing and has a couple of movies on the way. She's with Eric, but..." She stopped herself.
"But what?" I asked feeling my heart speed up.
"She's not sad or miserable. She just doesn't seem happy. Or as happy as she was... You know... Before!"
"You mean.. When she was with me?"
"Yeah. She tries not to talk about you but she misses you Duncan. Every week she watches your show. She turns off her phone and doesn't talk to anyone until it's over. It's almost as though she feels that's the only time she can be with you."
"I miss her too." We looked at each other and shared the moment. I knew Ariana felt the same as I did. I had decided not to let her know I knew about the nature of her relationship with Jennette. It wasn't my place to bring it up. "Will she be there? At the dinner, i mean."
"Oh no. She's doing a show in San Francisco."
We ordered and began catching up. We laughed a lot and it felt great to be with a friend. I was very happy and proud of her and all her success. She truly deserved it.
"Remember I wanted to talk with you about something?" She finally asked as we finished our meal.
"Yeah of course. I was sort of bursting with anticipation at what it could be." She laughed
"Well sorry for keeping you waiting! If i had known, i would have opened with it."
"So what's going on?" I asked as i paid the check.
"Well since Sean and I have broken up, there's been plenty of rumors about why."
"Yeah! I've heard a few. I have a feeling none of them are even remotely close."
"They're not. Believe it or not we broke up because of sex." She said dropping her voice.
"Oh? Do you want to go and talk about this elsewhere?" I asked as i noticed just how crowded the restaurant actually was. Ariana looked around and noticed smiling sheepishly.
"Yeah, let's get out of here. Any ideas where we could talk?"
"We can go to my place. I can drive you there and we can come back later for your car."
"Sounds good."
We left the restaurant and jumped in my M9, that Ariana whistled at approvingly. We drove mostly in silence. Ariana seemed as though she was getting her thoughts in order and i thought it would be best to just give her the space. When we got to my place, she made herself comfortable on the couch and i went into the kitchen to make us some drinks.
"So where were we?" I asked, handing her a glass and sitting next to her on the couch.
"I was telling you that Sean and I broke up because of bedroom issues."
"So what was the problem? He was selfish? Didn't go down on you? Small dick?" I asked, tossing the last example as a casual joke. We both laughed.
"Actually the problem wasn't with him. It was me." She said looking down and toying with her top.