by MJ Masucci
Ava was pissed. Victoria had made her uncle aware that she was not working to her best ability. That was all she needed.
“I don’t know anything about that,” she lied.
“Keep lying to yourself and everyone around you. Whatever is bothering you is not going to get better until you resolve it.”
She rose from the couch. “Thanks, Rachel, but there is nothing to resolve.”
Rigo saved her from more questioning by coming in to see if Rachel needed anything. Ava took the cue and made her way outside to get Luca. She needed a drink and wasn’t going to have one in front of her family. If Daniel was aware of her lack of enthusiasm for work, then she was sure that almost her entire family knew. She didn’t want them accusing her of over-indulging in alcohol.
She took Luca’s hand and waved goodbye to her family. When they got to the street, she asked him if he wanted to take her home to his place.
“Why don’t we ever go to your place? We have been fucking for almost two weeks, and I have yet to go to your apartment.”
“I like your apartment. It’s quiet and comfortable.”
She knew she couldn’t tell him the truth. Her apartment was a disaster. She hadn’t cleaned it in several weeks, and her laundry was piling up. Every surface had clutter on it much like his did the first night she went to his place. Now his apartment was spotless and clean. Even her bathroom was a mess. It was part of the I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude. In fact, the only thing she cared about was Boomer and Riley. She made sure they were well fed even though they had to live among the clutter, which they didn’t seem to mind.
The reality was that her life was spiraling out of control and she didn’t know how to stop the spin. By the age of twenty-eight, most people are done with their rebellious years. She never had them and now had just started to live, or so she thought. She justified her behavior in her mind by referring to the things that Brooke did when she was younger.
Brooke drank, sneaked out at night and fucked anyone she wanted. Ava sat in her room reading her days and nights away. She had only slept with one man up until Luca, and she wanted to experience more. Soon Luca would be miniature in her rear view mirror as she moved on to the next guy.
Luca wanted to have sex with her so she acquiesced and they went to his apartment. Later that evening they were lying in bed, and he asked her a question she wasn’t sure how to answer without hurting him.
“Ava, what exactly are we doing?”
“You mean now? It looks like we just got done fucking.”
He said as he pointed to himself and her. “No. I mean what is this?”
“We’re just having fun.”
“Suppose I don’t want it to be just fun.”
“You mean you want a relationship? I’m not looking for that.”
“Doing what you are doing is not going to make you forget.”
“Forget what?”
“Not what, who. The person who gave you that ring. If you were over him, then you wouldn’t continue to wear that,” he said as he pointed to the necklace around her neck.
She got out of bed and started pulling on her clothes. “I seriously am not looking for relationship advice. I just want to enjoy myself.”
“I’m sorry, but I want a relationship, not just a fuck buddy. I hope we can continue to be friends.”
“I need a friend right now.” She sat down on the bed and started to wipe the tears that spilled over her cheeks. Luca slipped to her side of the bed and held her in his arms.
“It gets better you know. It takes time.” He handed her a tissue from the nightstand. He kissed her cheek, and she stood up.
“I’ll call you this week. Maybe we can go for coffee, or you can come over for dinner one night,” she said.
“I’d like that,” he said as she opened the apartment door.
“Goodbye, Luca.”
At home that night, she cried. She had no idea what she was doing. She checked her cell phone and saw that Tim had left her several text messages. She had been dodging him for the past week. She had treated him poorly, and he didn’t deserve that. He cared about her, and she could use the comfort he provided.
She texted him back to let him know that she would like to get together tomorrow if he wasn’t busy. Though it was late, he got back to her immediately setting a lunch date for the next day. When she finished with him, she went to the freezer and took out a pint of Cherry Garcia and her bottle of Grey Goose. That was a good combination. She filled a tumbler with ice and filled it part of the way with the vodka, then went to sit on her couch but first had to push aside several stacks of newspapers. Tomorrow if the spirit moved her, she would have to do some cleaning.
She sipped at the vodka and ate half a pint of Cherry Garcia. She put the spoon and glass in the sink among a stack of other dishes and put the rest of the pint in the freezer. She went to her bedroom to get ready for bed, rummaging through her dresser for something to wear. She touched upon Xander’s threadbare t-shirt that he left with her several years ago. Though she was so furious with him, she chose it. She couldn’t help how she still felt about him. She loved him.
Hours late she woke from an uneasy sleep with a stomachache. Vodka and Cherry Garcia did not make a good mix after all. She was nauseous and went to the bathroom to vomit. Several eruptions later and her stomach was free of the pink mess that now floated in her toilet. She flushed and brushed her teeth. It was then that she got a good look at herself. Her skin was pale, and her face looked bloated. Her bright green eyes were bloodshot, and she had circles under them. It had only taken two weeks for her to fall apart.
The next morning she spent three hours trying to right the state of her home. She dusted, washed dishes, threw out the garbage, changed sheets and did laundry. Her bathroom took a good hour alone to clean. But her apartment finally was sparkling, and what's more, she had clean underwear (something she skipped for the past two days except for a recycled bra from the dirty laundry pile).
She took a quick shower and met Tim for lunch at a small café near her apartment. She hugged him tightly and apologized for her lack of communication the past week. She had been so busy that she lost track of time. Ava had no idea that Tim was tracking her every move and he knew exactly where she was.
When they parted, she promised to contact him more frequently and said they should pick a time to have dinner. He was dismayed that she had lied to him. He knew exactly where she was. She went to that bar several times a week and spent several evenings at a certain apartment until very late at night. She was more than likely screwing around with someone. His well thought out plan was unraveling before it even got their relationship started. He had thought that she would come running into his arms the very evening he sent that damaging email.
Instead, she was running out to bars and fucking anonymous strangers. He even tracked her to her uncle’s house the day before. He was looking forward to joining her at their barbecue, but she never asked him. He would have to step up his efforts to win her back. That night he saw that she was texting her cousin Dani about going to a club. He had heard of the club; it was called Ember. It was also very exclusive, how did she think she was going to get in? What's more, how was he going to be able to watch her?
What he didn’t know was that her family was always on the VIP list because Ember was owned by Nico Poulos and since he was Samantha’s brother, entry was not a problem for any of the Keenes. Ava had never been there before and was curious about going. She knew that Dani had gone several times with her new boyfriend, Roger.
Tim saw that Dani agreed to go with Ava to the club and he wondered if he would be able to get inside. Wouldn’t Ava be surprised when she saw him there? She had texted Dani that they could meet in front of Ember at 10:00 PM. He checked the Ember website to see what he should wear. Maybe he could convince the bouncer to let him in if he offered him a little bit of free product.
He arrived at 9:30 and was sent to the back of the line. This did not sit well wit
h him. He kept checking his phone as he waited and saw the GPS track Ava to the front door. He slipped under the ropes and practically ran up to the front of the long line hoping to catch her. By the time he got there, she was already in the club.
Ava met Dani and Roger at Ember right on time. The line was around the corner, and they were hoping they wouldn’t have to wait in it. As they are always VIPs, the bouncer gave them immediate entry. The music was so loud that Ava could feel it pounding through her body. They were escorted by the hostess up to a VIP lounge far away from the throngs of people fighting to get to the bar. The lounge had its own bar and extra bartenders.
A waitress came by immediately and took their order. Ava ordered a vodka and cranberry as lately, she had grown accustomed to drinking vodka. Dani raised her eyebrows when she placed her order because she had only know Ava to drink light cosmos or gin and tonics.
“Going for the hard stuff, aren’t you, cuz?”
“Every so often I like a nice cold glass of vodka.” “So often” had become an every night occurrence for the past two weeks.
When the waitress brought her drink, she downed most of it in one shot as if she was drinking a glass of milk. She pulled at Dani to go down to the dance floor. Roger waved them off saying he would watch. She took Dani’s hand and pushed her way through the crowd until she found a small piece of real estate. Ava began to move with the music, and Dani followed suit. Before long, several men had joined in their gyrations.
Ava was interested in one man in particular, and when they got tired, she invited him up to the VIP lounge. She grabbed his hand as they made their way upstairs. Again, Dani was surprised at her cousin’s behavior. This wasn’t the Ava she knew. The Ava she knew would have been a wallflower and wanted to sit all night. She wasn’t sure if she should be alarmed or impressed.
Ava introduced the man as Gino to Roger and Dani. She sat close to him on the couch, and he ordered drinks for the table when the waitress came around. Dani kept her eye on Ava because she was decidedly alarmed at the way she was acting. She was also drinking a lot more than Dani had ever seen her drink.
Two hours into being at the club and Ava was drunk and tripping over her own feet. She made out with Gino and then Dani heard her invite him back to her apartment.
“You’re drunk. You aren’t inviting him to your apartment,” Dani told her.
“I can do whatever I want,” Ava said with slurred speech.
“You can, but not tonight.” Dani went over to one of the security men standing at the top of the stairs and had a conversation with him. He came over and asked Gino to leave the VIP lounge since he was no longer an invited guest. While they were removing him down one stairway, Dani and Roger were helping Ava down the opposite one.
They practically carried her to a cab and Roger pushed her in after Dani. They gave the driver her address and by the time they arrived she was asleep with her head on Dani’s shoulder. Roger was tall and lanky, but he was strong. He carried her up to her apartment and laid her in bed.
“You might want to leave the room for this,” Dani said to Roger as she started to undress Ava. He politely sat on the couch in the living room, petting Riley and Boomer while Dani got her cousin ready for bed.
The next morning, Labor Day, Ava woke up with one of the worst hangovers she had ever had. The pain felt like someone was using her head as a drum. She sat up and noticed she was in her underwear, yet she had no recollection of how she got to her apartment. What the hell had happened last night? She remembered going out with Dani and the rest was a blur.
She checked her phone and noticed a text message from a Gino. Who was Gino? Whoever he was he wanted her to meet him at Ember next Friday. She decided to text him back asking who he was. He sent her a picture along with his text and she started to remember bits and pieces of the night before. She had danced with him and kissed him. He was handsome enough, and she agreed to meet him next week. She put the phone down and went back to bed. Maybe she could sleep off this hangover.
Chapter 19
Xander sat outside Kaycee Colon’s office waiting for her to get off the phone. He had finished his research, and it was stellar as far as he was concerned, though he wanted her opinion. He worked hard on it for the last week. He was still stinging from the email that Ava had sent to him, but he wasn’t going to let it deter him from doing right by Lidia and Brett.
Kaycee came to the door and invited him into her office. He handed her the folder of information and watched as she reviewed it. She was a pretty woman with long raven colored hair and beer colored eyes. He scrutinized her while she read the research.
She looked up at him, and he averted his eyes. She praised him for his work and asked if he wanted to join her for lunch to further discuss the case. She wanted more information on the injuries sustained by Brett and Lidia. He knew that she could obtain that information from the hospital reports and maybe she had an ulterior motive. He declined, saying he was too casually dressed for a business lunch. She persisted, and he finally agreed. So what if a pretty woman wanted to take him to lunch. He needed an ego boost after what had happened last week.
It was almost lunchtime, so she suggested they go together and take one car. Xander followed her to the parking garage, and she unlocked the door for him to get into her BMW. She must be doing well since this is a seven series. He had once thought about buying himself this very car several years ago.
She made small talk with him as she drove through the crowded streets of Los Angeles. She told him she had attended USC for her undergraduate and then Stanford Law. She had been an attorney for almost eight years, which would make her about thirty-four. He told her about himself and that he had taken some time off from law for a few years. He said he was interested in returning to his career and had made the decision to possibly practice in California. She suggested a few avenues he could take to get there.
She took him to a small casual Greek restaurant several miles from her office. They talked for over two hours, and he felt very comfortable around her. She was down to earth, intelligent and easy going. He needed someone in his life like that after the chaos he dealt with recently.
After lunch (which she paid for even after he offered several times), she took him back to her office. He was about to open his door when she leaned over, touched his face and kissed his cheek. Then she asked him if he was interested in getting together over the holiday weekend. In the back of his mind, he knew it was probably a bad idea to get involved with someone on the rebound. But he accepted her invitation.
They parted ways, and she said she would pick him up on Saturday morning for a day at the beach. She told him to pack clothing for going out to dinner. He said goodbye to her and climbed into Lidia’s car and drove back to her house with a smile on his face. Maybe the breakup was a blessing in disguise. He felt a kinship with Kaycee, and they had a lot in common.
The next morning, Kaycee picked Xander up at Lidia’s house at eight. He dressed in shorts and t-shirt for the beach. He had a bag with nicer clothes for dinner that night.
Kaycee liked to talk so much that Xander wasn’t even aware they had gotten onto I-10 heading towards Malibu. Forty-five minutes into the drive he asked her where she was taking him. He started to see massive homes as they pulled into a neighborhood right on the beach. She pulled up to an enormous white home with walls of glass on either side.
“Do you own this house?” He asked.
“No, this is my parent’s home. They’re in Europe right now, so I use it on weekends.”
She opened the door, and he entered the foyer and stared at the soaring ceilings. It was open and airy with the back of the house lined with windows looking right out onto the ocean.
“This beach is only for the residents. We won’t have to deal with any tourists here.”
Xander pushed open the sliders to the terrace and looked down. A set of stairs led right to the sand. Kaycee pushed past him with towels in hand and walked down the stairs. He conti
nued to look out onto the calm ocean until she gestured for him to come down to where she was waiting.
The sand was warm between his toes, and there was a gentle breeze coming off the water. It was the perfect day for the beach. He laid down on one of the towels Kaycee had provided. She pulled off her long t-shirt and slipped off her shorts to reveal a bright orange bikini. It was a beautiful contrast to her olive complected skin. She has a banging body. However, he couldn’t help himself by comparing her body to Ava’s. He shook the thought out of his head.
After several hours on the beach, they went inside to have lunch. Xander was starved, and Kaycee told him to help himself. The refrigerator was stocked full of all kinds of foods. It looked like Kaycee’s tastes varied from domestic beer to imported cheeses. He grabbed a beer and sliced up some cheese. While hunting in the cabinets for crackers, he felt Kaycee’s arms encircle his waist. Her soft hair brushed against his back. His assumption about her having ulterior motives was correct.
He swiveled in her arms and turned to face her. He looked into her eyes and saw desire. She pressed her lips to his, and he felt her hand slip into his waistband, then stop. Kaycee opened her eyes and looked at him tentatively. She put her head against his chest and kept her hand in his waistband. Her fingers gently rubbed against his skin.
“What would you say if I told you I’m very attracted to you?”
“I would say I’m very flattered, but we barely know each other.”
She looked up at him, “Does that matter? Haven’t you slept with someone you didn’t know that well?”
“Yes, but not in recent years.”
“Do you want to get back into the habit again? With me?”
She didn’t wait for his answer but sank to her knees in front of him and untied his shorts. She pulled them down to his knees letting his hardening cock spring free.