For a brief moment, Ria swore that she was hearing noises. She tried to listen over the spray of water as it beat down on her head, but she wasn't certain what she was hearing.
Did I leave the TV on?
Ria honestly didn't remember. She buried her fingers in her soapy hair and leaned her head beneath the facet again. The warm water felt so soothing on her shoulders, especially after the night she had.
A drug-seeking patient came in around midnight with stomach pain but refused her diagnosis, wanting something to ease the pain despite there being no obvious signs. She gave Ria a hard time but the incident eventually blew over.
Then an hour later, a car crash victim was brought in with severe head trauma. It was a long night, but thankfully everyone who came in made it through the night.
Ria had no idea what the shift tonight would bring, but she was looking forward to tomorrow. Both she and Everly were free, and Ria was eager to introduce her friend to Nacho; the latter was thankfully aware that they were dropping by at some point, but Ria had opted not to warn him how eccentric the blonde could be. It was bound to be interesting.
Turning off the faucet, Ria was startled when a loud knock on her front door echoed through her apartment. She groaned, knowing that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, then reached out to grab her towel.
"Just a moment!" She shouted from the hallway, as she quickly dried off and put on her pajamas.
Hurrying over to the door, she unlocked it and tossed it open to see Kim Wexler, the blonde attorney her brother Jimmy had the hots for, standing on the other side.
"Did I… Catch you at a bad time?" Kim asked in an awkward tone, noticing the towel around her shoulders.
"Not at all," Ria lied. "What can I do for you?"
Kim took an uneasy breath.
"Have you heard from Jimmy?"
This was a strange question. Ria hummed and shook her head. She hadn't heard much from him since her heart-to-heart nearly a week ago with him and Chuck.
"Did something happen?"
"Do you mind if I come in?" Kim asked, ignoring her question.
Ria had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She mentioned for Kim to come in and shut the door behind her.
"Make yourself at home. Do you want something to drink?"
"I'm fine," Kim uttered as she sat down on the couch. "I've had way too much coffee this morning. My nerves are shot."
She did appear a bit shaken in Ria's opinion. It made the dark-haired woman all the more curious as to why Kim was at her apartment searching for Jimmy.
Ria got a bottle of water from the fridge and joined her on the couch. For a moment it was silent as though Kim was struggling to find the words to say.
"He… Took me to this gorgeous high-rise office space that he was looking to lease," she mentioned. "And he asked me to be his partner."
Ria understood where this was going. She took a drink of her water and waited for Kim to continue.
"Was I wrong to turn him down?"
"I mean… You can't blame yourself for doing what you feel is right. There's an obvious history between the two of you that Jimmy clings to, but he can't expect you to give up your practice at HHM for him," Ria retorted.
A clear relieved sigh poured from the blonde, but she didn't seem at ease.
"I suppose you didn't come here for validation from me though," Ria added.
She was right. Kim shook her head no.
"Without saying too much, that case he and Chuck were working on turned out to be more than he could handle alone and HHM was brought in on it," she explained. Her troubled eyes averted to the floor. "In the end, Howard wanted his case, but not Jimmy."
Ria widened her eyes. What the fuck was Howard's deal? If this was the same case Jimmy dug through the trash for, she could understand why her brother would be pissed; she was upset thinking about the late hours spent just piecing those documents back together.
Did Chuck have nothing to say?
"I… Argued with him to take the deal and let us have the case," Kim mentioned.
As much as Ria wanted to say something in her brother's defense, she tightened her jaw and let the blonde confess. She was torn up about the entire ordeal, it seemed.
"I can't imagine how Jimmy must feel about this."
Kim hummed.
"We spoke once at the office when he came by to turn over the files to us but since then I haven't been able to contact him. No matter how many times I call him, he doesn't answer. I don't know if it's me, or if he's run off."
"I haven't tried to contact him, but I can," Ria stated.
She stood with a grunt and sauntered into her bedroom to retrieve her phone, then rejoined Kim in the living room. A message from Nacho prompted a smile from her, but Ria pushed aside her child-like glee and dialed her brother.
The call went straight to voicemail.
Ria ended the call and hummed. She expected this, so it was no big shock that Jimmy didn't answer.
"I don't know, but wherever he is, it might be best to give him time alone. You might try to call him in a few days when he's had a moment to decompress. He'll come around."
Especially to you, she opted not to say.
Ria sent a quick reply to Nacho, mentioning that she just got out of the shower and that her night was fine before she turned her eyes to Kim, watching her in curiosity for a moment until the blonde caught her.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just I'm glad you've stuck by Jimmy's side through this. I know he can be… Hard to deal with," Ria answered.
Kim snorted in response.
"That's an understatement."
"The story of my life," Ria uttered. "I appreciate it though. There's only so much he'll tell me. But you… He trusts you. That's why you have to trust that he'll be fine."
Kim softly smiled and shook her head.
"Thank you, Ariana. I didn't know what to expect when I barged in on you, but I'm glad I did."
Ria was glad too. She didn't talk often with Kim, but being on good terms with her felt nice, especially since Jimmy liked her so much; Kim, in her opinion, was a good woman. There was a time when Ria was on good terms with Rebecca Bois too, Chuck's ex-wife.
"I should… Get back to the office. Our hands are full with this new case," Kim suddenly mentioned.
Ria understood.
"If you find him, let me know."
Kim agreed and stood, walking over to the door. She thanked Ria again and then left. For a moment, the latter sat quietly on her couch processing what just went on. She wasn't exactly sure what the entire story was, but she was curious as to what Chuck's involvement was in it. Did he too not want Jimmy on the case?
It's too early for more drama.
A vibration from her phone alerted her of a message. Ria checked it, grinning like a teenage girl.
Are you busy?
No. Why do you ask?
A minute later, her phone vibrated again. But with a call. Taking an uneasy breath, she accepted it.
"Hey. What are you up to?"
A soft laugh reverberated in her ear, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. Ria could hear the faint sound of the radio in the background; a hum above the engine of a medium-sized vehicle.
"Driving."
Ria hummed.
"Someone likes to break the rules."
"Someone likes to tease," Nacho countered.
An embarrassed heat spread across her face.
"It wasn't my intention."
"No? I think it was," Nacho retorted. "Or else you wouldn't have mentioned it."
Ria stood and sauntered into her room, lying down on her bed.
"What… If it was intentional?"
She was glad that Nacho couldn't see her face right now, she was a wreck.
"Then I might take the afternoon off," he answered bluntly.
Ria smiled widely. She couldn't believe how giddy this man made her feel. This sort of flirting wasn't expected until later and yet she was yearning for him to continue.
"You're bad."
"You have no idea," Nacho retorted. The click of the turn signal reverberated in her ear and he sighed. "You're still coming tomorrow?"
Ria hummed in agreement.
"Around noon I think."
"I'll be waiting. Until then… No more teasing." Nacho ordered.
The absence of the engine gave her the impression that he was about to end the call. And she was right.
"I can't promise that."
"And I can't promise Sunshine that I'll behave," Nacho stated.
Ria felt her face heat up. Sunshine? Was this some sort of pet name? She bit her lip in anticipation.
Temptation is knocking.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Ignacio."
His voice as he told her goodbye was soft and airy, so much so Ria didn't want to hang up, begging to hear more. But she did.
With a wide grin, she pressed one of her pillows against her heated face.
Hormones Ria… Hormones.
This man was going to ruin her.