Chapter 8 The Return Of Her Bestie

Lucia refused Malcolm's invitation to join him for a shower. She knew that if she took a shower with him, they would have sex in there again and she would probably faint in the bathroom. After all, they just had sex all over his apartment. They did it on the sofa, on the window sill... 'Are we crazy?' she wondered.

Malcolm lowered his head, looked into her eyes and kissed her forehead. He walked into the bathroom alone to wash off the scent of heated sex from his body. He did not force her to join him.

Lucia watched as Malcolm walked into the bathroom. Then, she quickly got dressed and fled the house like a coward.

'I must be insane! How could I have sex with him on both the occasions that I have met him? Besides, the sex has gotten wilder each time. I must be crazy. Am I really that thirsty for a man? I need to calm down before I do something that I might regret later. I need to forget about it and leave this place, ' Lucia thought to herself.

She quickly walked downstairs, hailed a taxi, and went back to her tiny apartment, not noticing the light that flashed behind her.

Malcolm wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom, his hair still wet from the shower. He was surprised to find that Lucia had already left with her things. He raised his eyebrows, feeling a little gloomy. She had escaped from his territory for the second time now. It was also the second time that a woman had left his bed while he was in the shower, not wanting to stay the night with him.

Once Lucia was back in her apartment, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath before she headed to the bathroom to take a shower. And after that, she buried her face in her pillow and tried to sleep.

She hoped that she would never see Malcolm again. He was way too irresistible, and things were always going out of control whenever she was with him. She felt like she was not in her right mind whenever she was with him. He just had to smile to make her want him, then they would do crazy things all night.

She only knew his name, and she was not even sure if that was his real name. It was a little too crazy for Lucia, who had lived a very basic life until now.

Lucia was awake at the break of dawn. The result of their wild night of sex was not deep slumber, but it was an entire night of insomnia. She had not been able to stop thinking about their love making all night long.

She gave up on her sleep, quickly got ready, grabbed some food for breakfast, and walked towards the subway before rush hour started. Since it was still quite early in the morning, the subway was not yet crowded. She was even able to find a seat. Closing her eyes, Lucia tried to rest on her way to the company.

Her phone rang for a long time before she realized that it was hers. 'Who's calling me this early in the morning?' she wondered. Lowering her head, she grabbed her phone from her pocket. When she saw the caller ID, an excited smile appeared on her lips.

"Honey, are you awake?" A woman's pleasant voice came from the other end.

"Of course, I am! I am on the subway now. Why are you calling me so early?" Lucia asked in a cheerful voice.

The woman on the other end was Sophia Young, Lucia's only best friend. They had been best friends ever since they were in high school. Sophia's family had sent her abroad after she had graduated from high school, but her friendship with Lucia remained the same even though they were in different countries. In fact, their friendship only grew stronger over the years.

Although Sophia and Lucia were the same age, the two of them looked quite different in style. Lucia looked mature and charming, whereas Sophia looked young and lively, like a teenager. Sophia's young looks made people wanted to protect her.

The strange thing was that even though they were complete opposites, somehow they got along really well.

"Why are you going to work so early in the morning? Your boss must be a very cruel person for making you go so early!" Sophia's surprise was obvious.

"I couldn't sleep last night, so I decided to go to work early to avoid rush hour."

"Alright, can you guess where I am now?" Sophia asked with an excited laugh.

"You could be anywhere for all I know! You always wander around the world like some hippie!" Lucia said with a helpless expression.

"Oh my dear Lucia, I'm in China. In fact, I am in Strinas right now. Why don't we have dinner tonight?" Sophia's voice was filled with joy. It was as though she had finally found happiness after a long time.

"Seriously? Okay, I'll meet you at our usual spot. It's almost been two years since we last met, right?" Lucia screamed with joy. Fortunately for her, there were not many people on the subway, or else she would have been taken for a nuisance.

"Okay! I have to go and pack now, but I'll see you in the evening. I will be waiting for you at your office when you get off work. And be safe." With a smile, Sophia hung up.

Unexpected happiness came into Lucia's life just when she was starting to feel that everything around her had turned chaotic.

Even though Sophia looked like a doll, she had majored in archeology, and that surprised everyone. She was only interested in mysterious things that could not be explained by science alone. She had always believed in powers that were far greater than any scientific explanation. She loved her profession. She always traveled to different countries with some of the best archeologists in the world. She was even bold enough to stay alone in deserted places for months at a time.

Since she had been gone for two years now, Lucia figured that she must have found something rather interesting that she was investigating about. Sophia would occasionally email her. For a time, she was in Ywood, before she moved to Nepal for a few months. Then, she went to Tibet. And sometimes, she would be in the UK. Even when Sophia had been in China, they had not gotten the chance to meet.

Since they were finally able to meet, Lucia knew that the archeological investigation that Sophia had worked on must have come to an end. Now, they would be able to sit down and have a good talk.

Just as she had expected, Lucia was the first one to arrive at the office. She cleaned up her desk, poured herself a cup of coffee, turned on the computer, and checked all the work that needed to be completed that day.

After all, she had to rush through her work for the sake of joining her best friend for dinner. And just before the office hours came to an end, she was able to finish all her work for the day. After packing up her things, she wanted to go downstairs and wait for Sophia to pick her up.

"Lucia, are you going on a date with the mysterious man we met yesterday? It's the first time I have seen you leave work so early. Wow, you seem to be having a lot of fun!" Chester asked when he saw that Lucia had packed all her things and was ready to clock out.

"Screw you! I am going to become gay. Would you like to join me?" Lucia sneered.

The moment she heard him mention Malcolm, she became a little sad. They had not contacted each other ever since she left his house the previous night. Moreover, they would not be able to contact each other because they did not have each other's phone number. They had only met twice and had sex both times. Now, they needed to stop. Shaking her head, Lucia decided that she would not think about him or what they did together anymore.

As soon as the elevator arrived at her floor, she said goodbye to her colleagues, and went straight to the ground floor. She saw Sophia's SUV waiting for her at the entrance as soon as she walked out of the gate. Tilting her head out of the window, Sophia greeted her with a smile.

Lucia grinned back as she ran towards the car. She could not understand why a petite woman like Sophia, who was only 160cm tall, drive such a manly car. And Sophia told her that the car had high-suspensions, so the view from there was much better than other cars.

Together, they drove to Pastasweet Restaurant.

The restaurant had Mediterranean vibes and was decorated in shades of blue and white. Sailboats, life-rings, and arched doors were a major part of the restaurant's aesthetic. At the entrance, there was a shell-shaped bell hanging on the arched door. When guests walked in, the bell would ring, and a waiter would lead them to a table.

It was a restaurant with great ambience and food. However, it was a place that did not take any reservations and was only open between 12:00-2:00 in the noon and 5:30-10:00 in the evening. But the restaurant was very successful. There would be a long line of people waiting outside for a table.

It was a weekday and Lucia's office was not far from the restaurant, so they arrived quite early. And to their surprise, they were able to find an empty table by the window.

As soon as they sat down, they placed their orders. After that, they began talking. It didn't seem like they hadn't seen each other for two years at all. It actually seemed as though they had just met a day ago. That was how close women were with their best friends.

"Lucia, you are becoming more beautiful by the day. Are you in a relationship?" Sophia joked, looking at her friend.

It was true that there was some change in Lucia. She did not seem as depressed as she had been when she had broken up with Jonah. In fact, there was a glow on her face, indicating that she was happy now. She looked as though the God of love had blessed her, which only made her appear more beautiful. Her eyes were so bright and gleaming.

"I'm not in love, but I did meet a man twice, and I had sex with him both times," Lucia said plainly as she did not want to hide anything from her best friend.

"Oh my God! Well, your life is getting wild then!" Sophia was stunned. She was the type of person who spent most of her time studying corpses, so in her eyes, Lucia's life seemed rather exciting.

"At this point, I am almost certain that I've gone crazy. And don't even ask me about him, because I know nothing except for his name. Moreover, I am not even sure if that's his real name." Lucia said this before Sophia could ask questions.

They had been good friends for so long that they could read what was on the other's mind just by looking at them.

"What about you? What kind of mystery are you studying this time? It has taken you so long to come back, but you seem really happy," Lucia asked curiously.

"Well, the one that I am working on is not about archeology at all. I accidentally learned about it when talking with my senior. There is a family of witches in a small village in Ywood. I was just curious at first. You know me, stuff about ghosts keep me going. But when I investigated into it, I found something very interesting. That's why I was obsessed with it. However, I wasn't able to find any solid information for the past two years."

There was a hint of reluctance in Sophia's voice.

"Was it magical?" Lucia's curiosity piqued.

"Yeah. Are you interested to know more about it? If you want to, then you can visit the site whenever you have time. It's a nice place, and you can think of it as a vacation!" Sophia suggested excitedly.

"That's indeed a good idea. I may not be interested in witches, but I am definitely interested in traveling. As soon as the case that I am working on right now is completed, I will take a long week off and go there!" Lucia said with a smile.

"That would be nice." Sophia nodded with excitement.

For an entire evening, they both talked about their life and all the crazy things that they had encountered in the past two years. Time passed quickly, but they were happy. Sophia would leave Strinas a day after to wander the world, like she always did. And Lucia did not know when she would see her again.

Good friends cherished each other in their hearts, and even if they did not talk all the time, they would still care about the other.