“Here you go.”
Gasping she returns both feet to the ground and looks up at me in surprise.
“Oh, thank you. I thought you’d left with Sarah and Christopher.”
“Nah, I had something else I needed to do first.”
“What was that?” she asks, and I know I don’t imagine the breathy quality to her voice.
We’re standing close. So close I can smell the scent of lavender coming off her. So close that I can see the specks of green and gold in her eyes. So close that I could count every fucking freckle on her nose and around it if I wanted to.
The energy permeating from us is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. The urge to run my hands through her hair and over her body and kiss her is so strong I have to clench my hands to stop myself. By the way she’s looking back at me I know the feelings are returned.
“I needed to see you. There’s an ice cream shop down the street. Want to go hang out for a while?”
Those amber eyes blink up at me. “Um, sure. I just need to finish cleaning up and then we can go.”
“Alright,” I say not moving an inch.
Amusement lights up her eyes and that dimple peeks at me out of her cheek. “You kind of need to move out of the way so I can finish cleaning up.”
“Right.” I take a step back so she can get around me.
“Do you need any help?” I ask running a hand through my hair. Anything to distract me from that lavender scent surrounding her. It’s fucking addicting.
“Can you break down that table and lean it up against the wall?” She points to the table that she was just leaning against.
“Sure.”
I break down the table while she puts away books, crayons, paper, and a bunch of other supplies the kids were using.
“Let me go grab my things and then we can leave,” she says making her way back behind a wall that I’m assuming leads to her cubicle.
Looking around, I see the place is pretty deserted. It’s starting to get darker earlier and it makes me wonder if she’s leaves when it’s dark outside all the time. The thought concerns me.
Hearing another voice, I look up and see the two people I saw Ava sitting with last night walking into the library. They’re chatting but draw up short when they see me.
The redhead eyes me curiously and the guy eyes me suspiciously. We’re clearly sizing each other up.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Ava says coming around the corner. She’s buttoning up her coat and her eyes light up when she looks up and sees the other two people standing here.
“Oh, hey guys what are you doing here?”
“We were coming to see if you wanted to go grab some dinner, but it seems we’ve been beat to the punch,” the redhead says.
“Um, Liam these are my two best friends Jayden and Lisa. Guys this is Liam my…” she trails off looking at me for help.
Her man is what I want to say but for now I just say, “her date.” I shake both of their hands.
There are three distinct reactions Ava looks at me the surprise clear on her face, Lisa smiles giddily, and Jayden’s eyes narrow in suspicion.
“Hey, aren’t you the Trace brother that was seen heading into a hotel with multiple women on your arm a few weeks ago?” Jayden says
“Jayden,” Ava gasp. Lisa smacks him in the back of the head. “Ow, woman!” he rubs the spot where she hit him.
My back stiffens. “Not that it’s any of your concern but that was my brother, Lincoln.”
I still remember the tabloid shit storm that caused. It was on a particularly bad night for him after he got drunk and decided it would be a good idea to take a few women back to a hotel. It was right after the fire and his breakup with Rosalie. He says he passed out before anything happened with either of the women.
For his and Rosalie’s sake, I hope he’s right. Even though they broke up, I know it’s only a matter of time before they get back together.
“What you’re doing with Ava does concern me” he says crossing his arms over his chest.
“Jayden, what is wrong with you?” Ava snaps.
“What? I’m just telling the truth Av.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to act like a jack ass.”
“I’ll be the jack ass if it means making sure the next guy you date isn’t an even bigger jack ass than you think I’m being right now,” Jayden says turning his stare onto me.
“Look man, I don’t know what think you know about me but I can assure you I’m not here to play games. I want to get to know Ava and if that means I have to go through you to do it, then so be it.”
Jayden and I stare each other down for a minute before I see a grudging amount of respect enter his eyes before he smiles.
“Alright, you two have fun. But not too much fun.”
What the fuck?
I think I just passed the best friend test.
Ava stares at him as though she’s never seen him before. Lisa just shakes her head muttering what sounds a lot like idiot under her breath,
“Um yeah okay. We’re leaving. I’ll see you two tomorrow,” Ava says.
I follow her out the door.
“Have fun you two.” Lisa waves at us as we go in opposite directions.
I plan to have more than just fun because I’ve finally got Ava too myself.
Chapter 6
AVA
Never in a million years did I
