by Gallie, DL
“I have to get to work,” she sadly says. “Rain check?”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely, BUT you need to wear this again,” I say, skimming my finger over the satin circling her nipple.
She closes her eyes and moans before huskily whispering, “Deal.”
Lowering my head, I kiss the tip of her nose and we climb out of bed and get dressed. I drop Avery home and after a longer than necessary goodbye kiss, she climbs out of my car. I sit and watch the woman I love walk into her building. The door closes behind her and I realize how close I came to losing her yesterday…and all because of her sister. Shaking my head, I decide to head to the hospital to spend some time with Marvin before my shift starts, I’d rather be around him than on my own at the moment.
After a crazy few days, it's finally Saturday. Thankfully there have been no more doppelgänger incidents. Ave and I have FaceTimed each morning before she heads off to work, but it’s not the same as a face-to-face visit; man, life getting in the way of my woman and me is a drag. I may have gone overboard with gifts this week, wanting to reaffirm to Avery that I love her and only her. To her school, I sent a huge bunch of tulips. To her home, a delivery from Agent Provocateur, that’s more of a gift for me but potato/vodka. There was also a voucher sent from Allyu Spa for couple’s spa day package—just need to find the time for both of us to be free—and finally, an invite to spend the night with me tonight.
Just before lunch, Ave arrives with pizza and beer; man, I love this woman. After devouring the pizza, we decide on a lazy day at home before our dinner date tonight, where I surprise Avery with new a dress and more lingerie from Agent Provocateur. I take her back to Rococo’s and just like our first night here, we have an amazing time. Followed by an equally amazing sexy night in bed when we get home.
The next morning, Avery is up before me and I’m pleasantly awakened by the smell of breakfast. She cooks us pancakes and we eat naked on the couch, watching another of Avery’s all time fav movies, Empire Records.
It’s the perfect Sunday morning until Avery receives a call from Baylor. She stares at her phone for a few moments before she takes a deep breath and answers, putting it on speaker.
“Hey, Bay.”
“Avery.” Her tone is curt and rude.
Then it's silent, I can feel the tension building in Avery from where I’m sitting next to her. I take her hand in mine and gently squeeze, giving her the courage to go on. She takes a deep breath. “What do you want, Bay?”
“Wondering where you are? Are you with Cress commiserating over the demise your relationship with Flynn?” she says, her voice laced with such venom.
“No, I’m not.” Avery defiantly replies, her voice strong. “Actually, I’m at Flynn’s right now. I’ve spent the weekend with him.”
“Even though he cheated on you?”
“He didn’t cheat. He told me nothing happened between you two.”
“Of course he’d say that, he’s—”
“Bay, stop with the fucking lies. I’ve had it. Just stop.”
“Enjoy it while you can, Ave. You won’t get your happily ever after…mark my words.”
The line goes dead. Looking over to Avery, I see that she’s gutted. Wanting to distract her, I tell her to go get changed. She slips into her jeans that I love and a dark pink off-the-shoulder sweater thing.
We head to my car. “Can you tell me where we’re going?” she begs, as we pull out of the underground parking garage.
“Don't you want a surprise?”
“Kinda. Sorta. Not really.” She pauses. “Pleease tell me. I'll make it worth your while?” She suggestively raises her eyebrows at me.
“Lass, you’ll be getting sex when we get back, so that’s not really a bargaining tool at all.”
“Fine,” she huffs; crossing her arms across her chest she pouts like a child. It's cute but seeing her down cuts me deep.
“I hate seeing you sad like this so I’ll tell you,” I concede, and she instantly smiles. “We’re heading to the hospital to see Marvin. I thought a visit with him would cheer you up since he always manages to make you smile.”
“Ohh, Flynn, thank you,” she cheerfully says.
As soon as we step into his room, both of them light up and seeing the joy on her face warms my Irish heart.
We stopped at his favorite bakery on the way and grabbed a dozen glazed donuts before stopping at Starbucks across the road from the hospital for coffees. The nurse isn’t too happy to see Marvin shoveling a donut—it’s actually his fourth but from the scowl on her face, I won’t be bringing that up. “Marvin Marshall, you know that donuts aren’t allowed on your diet.” The nurse looks to me and now I’m scared. “And you, Dr. Kelly,” she points a finger at me, “should know better.”
Avery giggles from where she’s sitting and it’s nice to see her relaxed, so I take the verbal lashing with a grain of salt. If my girl is happy, it’s the least that I can do. Marvin manages to win the nurse over by offering her a donut. “You were a total heartbreaker back in the day, weren’t you, Marvin?” I ask, as the nurse walks out of his room, nibbling on her sweet treat.
“You betcha I was.”
He looks to Avery. “If I was forty years younger, you and I would have a ball together.”
“I’m sure we would,” she playfully replies.
Marvin looks to me. “You look after this one, she’s special. What she sees in a snoring freight train like you is beyond me.”
We all laugh, at my expense. And the barbs continue throughout the afternoon. We spend the next few hours playing cards with Marvin and listening to his wild stories. He’s lead an amazing life. We say our goodbyes and when we climb into my car, Avery looks to me, and hesitantly asks, “Can you, ummm, drop me home?”
“Ohh,” I say, deflated that she isn’t staying at my place again.
“I just want to grab a few things so I don’t have to rush in the morning.”
Relief washes over me. “Sure can, babycakes.”
“Babycakes, really?”
“Too much?”
“Just a little.”
We’ve just pulled up to her place when my phone rings and it’s the hospital. They are short staffed in the ER and need me to cover a shift. Reluctantly, I say goodbye to Avery, after getting her to agree to get her things and head to my place to wait for me. She climbs out of my car and I watch until she’s safely inside. Then I head back to where we just came from, but our plan doesn’t work out quite like we expected and nothing will be the same again.
28
Avery
Flynn has just left and I’m feeling pretty great right now, actually I’m more than great. I’m on cloud a billion at this specific moment in time. The afternoon with Marvin was just what I needed, AND I’ve decided the Bay issue is a non-issue. I’m not going to let her ruin this for me. I’ve never been this happy before and nothing, I mean nothing, is going to stand in the way of my happiness, and if I know Bay, that will piss her off more than rolling over in defeat. It breaks my heart that my own sister, my twin, is trying to tear us apart but if anything, her interference has brought Flynn and I closer together. So in a way, it’s a blessing in disguise.
What I’m struggling with is that she won’t talk to me. Something is up. Normally, we tell each other everything but at the moment, she’s a different person and I don’t like this version of my sister. Yes, we’ve always been different, but we’ve always had each other’s back and we’d never do anything to purposely hurt one another. I just wish she’d talk to me, I want my twinsie back.
Pouring myself a glass of wine, I think about Flynn and find myself grinning, like I do most times I think about him. We may be opposites in many ways, but I think that’s what makes us, well, us. We balance each other out, like yin and yang. He brings me out of my shell and I like the version of me that has surfaced. Without him, I’d still be shy and timid, but since meeting him, I’m a lot more outgoing and I’m happy, happier than I’ve ever been. I’m not
going to let Flynn get away, if I have my way, no one is going to stop me from keeping my man. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m swooning hard for Dr. Kelly and for the first time ever, I’m not going down without a fight. I will fight tooth and nail for what’s mine, and Flynn is mine. I love him with all my heart and I’ll do anything for the man I love.
I just hope our love for one another is strong enough to weather any storm which comes our way. “Bring it on,” I say to the empty room, and I feel good saying this, even if it is only to myself.
Just as I’ve made this declaration, the person behind my recent anxiety and discomfort walks in, well, she saunters in as if her shit doesn’t stink. I haven’t seen her since we had our major blowout showdown. We’ve been ships passing in the night and I’m happy to have it like that. Never before have I not wanted to see Bay. Sure, we’ve had our differences but at the end of the day, we are sisters and love each other. We’ve always been able to overcome our hurdles, but I’m not sure if it’s possible this time. She’s never maliciously hurt me before, and I don’t think I can easily forgive and forget this time.
My eyes track her movements, she seems tense and stressed. The twin instinct in me rears to life and wants to help her but I know Bay, if I push, she’ll clam up and become spiteful, well, more spiteful that she has been lately. I need her to come to me on her own terms, and that means taking the brunt of her outbursts and putting on a brave smiling face. She finally notices me. “Well, well, well, look who’s sulking at home, drinking wine like the loser she is.” She sashays into the kitchen, dropping her Prada—fake—handbag onto the granite countertop.
“Bay,” I say, lifting my wine to my lips so I don’t say something I’ll regret.
She stares at me, her lip lifts in a facetious way and I just know what’s about to spill from her lips is going to piss me off, possibly hurt me more. “I had THE best night and morning—” she pauses and glares at me, “but I won’t bore you with the sexy gritty details.”
My blood begins to boil at what she’s insinuating, if it had been last week, I would have fallen for her lies and deceit regarding her and Flynn, but not this week. This week I have all the information and she can no longer hurt me with her deception. I knew she could be cruel, she’s always had a bit of a nasty streak but never with me. I never thought I’d be on the receiving end of her nastiness. She’s always had my back. We were twinsies forever but now, she’s going out of her way to hurt me.
“Sounds nice.” Not giving her anything, I place my glass on the counter and half-heartedly smile at her as I step toward her. “I’m heading to my room.” I dart around her but I don’t get far, she grips my arm, digging her fingers in.
“You won’t keep him, Ave,” she snarls. Lifting my gaze to her, I see nothing reflecting back in her eyes. The final knife in my armor is when she adds, “I’ll see to it.”
Taking a deep breath, I ignore her and race to my bedroom. Slamming the door behind me, I slide down the wood and breathe deeply. My eyes well with tears but I hold them back, she doesn’t deserve my tears. Lowering my head to my knees, I sigh deeply and take big, deep calming breaths. “Why do you hate me so much, Bay?” I whisper, wiping away a lone tear that’s managed to break free. I stare into my room at nothing in particular and my phone beeps with a text. Lifting myself up, I dig it out of my pocket and smile when I see who it’s from.
FLYNN: Miss you already, sexy lady.
AVERY: I needed that.
AVERY: You know who just came home.
FLYNN: Do you need me to come back over?
My face breaks out in a smile at his offer. I'd love nothing more than for him to come back, but he’s at work and I don’t want him and Bay under the same roof. I don’t trust her one bit when it comes to Flynn.
AVERY: Thanks, but no thanks. I’m going to crawl into bed and watch Netflix. Besides, you need to play doctor and save some lives.
FLYNN: We can snuggle together and watch Netflix.
FLYNN: I’ve heard I’m a good snuggler. #JustSayin
I laugh at his reply.
AVERY: I know you are.
AVERY: But I’ll be fine. Other people need you more than I do right now.
FLYNN: Reluctantly I say fine, BUT I’m taking you out for dinner tomorrow after I sleep.
AVERY: Sounds wonderful. Can’t wait! **blowing kiss emoji**
FLYNN: Sleep well, beautiful. Love you. Xo
Staring at my phone, I focus on the ‘Xo’ part of his text and once again I find myself grinning. Never before have those two letters, or those three beautiful words meant so much to me.
AVERY: Nite nite. Love you too. Xo
Standing up, I change into my pajamas and hop into bed. Closing my eyes, I drift off to sleep with a goofy grin on my face. Happy. Content and in love.
Waking the next morning, I feel refreshed and relaxed. Picking up my phone, I see I have a text from Cress.
CRESS: Wanna do something crazy today?
Shaking my head, I dial and she picks up on the second ring. She doesn’t give me a chance to talk, she dives right into her crazy plan. Staring at the ceiling, I listen to her. Pondering her words, I sit up in bed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but sure, I’m in.” She squeals in my ear and we agree to meet up in an hour’s time.
Hanging up, I grab a quick shower and slip into a pair of light wash denim jeans, a black racer back tank, and my navy Chucks. Filling my to-go coffee mug, I race out to meet Cress for our crazy adventure.
Two hours later, I’m sitting across from Cress in a restaurant, after our adventure we decided to get brunch. After demolishing the most amazing three egg omelette, I sit back and stare at Cress. “I cannot believe I let you talk me into it.”
“I cannot believe you agreed.” We both laugh. “But seriously, Avery, I have never seen you so happy. I think a certain sexy Irish doctor was just the medicine you needed.”
“And I think a certain Channing Tatum looking doctor is the prescription you need. One of these days, you are going to have to tell me what’s up between you two.”
She mimes zipping her lips. “My lips are sealed.” She pauses and then leans forward. “But I will say—” She doesn’t get to finish, because some crazy chick comes up to our table and slaps me hard across the face. “You bitch,” she snarls. “It’s all your fault. I wish Kye had never met you.”
Before I have a chance to reply, she’s storming away.
“What the fuck was that?” Cress asks, her eyes flicking between the retreating form of psycho Barbie and me. “And who the fuck is Kye?”
Shaking my head, I cup my stinging cheek. “Beats me who Kye is. ” The name Kye is familiar but I cannot place it or him. “But, man, does she have a wicked left hook.”
Cress looks back at me and shakes her head. We finish our brunch and then say our goodbyes. I stroll back to my car and think about the events of today. The crazy events of today, I still can’t believe Cress convinced me to do it, but this is the new carefree, fun Avery and she had an absolute blast today.
Driving home with a smile on my face, I think how crazy my life is right at this moment. Meeting Flynn. Falling in love. The discontent with Baylor. Crazy Cress and our adventures together. Hanging with Marvin. My life is mostly perfect right now.
Parking my car, I decide to take the stairs as I’m excessively full from brunch. My phone pings with a text before I enter the stairwell. Digging it out of my bag, I smile when I see it’s from Flynn.
FLYNN: I need to see you.
FLYNN: Feel free to wear that black satin number.
FLYNN: Please come over. **begging emoji**
FLYNN: **begging emoji**
FLYNN: **sad emoji**
AVERY: Be there soon. **wink wink**
Racing into the stairwell, I hall ass up the stairs, two at a time. I’m huffing and puffing by time I reach our floor. Running into the apartment, I quickly change into my black satin bra and panties set, as per Flynn’s request,
and then I slip on my purple dress from our first official date. Applying some lips gloss, I run my fingers through my hair. Blowing myself a kiss in the mirror, I can’t believe how great I look.
Deciding to be brazen, before I exit my room, I pull my dress down and snap a sexy image of my shoulder with just a hint of my bra and a sexy pout. I quickly text it to Flynn and before I’ve left my room, I get a reply.
FLYNN: **eyes emoji**
FLYNN: Get your ass over here!
FLYNN: Now!
AVERY: Just leaving. Love you.
Exiting my room, I grab my bag and car keys. Opening the front door, I come to a halt. I’m met with a burly bald-headed man and his skinny runt of sidekick and then it hits me, these are the guys from outside the building the other week.
“Can I help you?” I ask.
“Baylor.”
“No, I’m not her. I’m—”
“Shut it, bitch. We want what’s ours!” the bald guy bellows, spittle flying through the air. He stares me down and that prickly feeling from the other day appears. “NOW!” he growls, slamming his fist into the doorframe.
“I’m sorr—” But I don’t get to finish that sentence, the skinny guy zaps me with a Taser.
Dropping to my knees, my body flinches and coils from the electrical shock. Glancing up at him, the elevator dings and in a panic the guy rears back his leg and kicks me in the ribs and in the face. The force snaps my head back and it hits the doorframe with a thud. The last thing I remember is faintly hearing my name being yelled before I’m zapped again. And then everything goes black.
29