by MJ Masucci
She realized that it was time to tell him that he could only be her friend and even that was a stretch. Tim had been very jittery the last few times they had gone out, reacting to loud noises as if they were gunshots. Ava had asked him if he was alright, but he brushed it off saying he was fine. She didn’t think he was fine. She also noticed the distinct smell of marijuana on him more than once. He didn’t seem like the type to smoke it, but she didn’t know everything about his personal life.
That night she waited for David to text her to let him know he was on his way over to her apartment. This was the time she could have used a drink, but she had dumped everything down the sink after her overindulgences got her in trouble. He arrived shortly before 7:00 PM. She was happy to see him and sat him down on the couch right after he removed his coat.
“I need to ask you something, and I don’t want you to get upset.”
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “It obviously is bad if you’re saying that. What did I do?”
She took a deep breath and blurted it out. “Did you put anything on my phone when I was in the pool house? Please don’t lie to me.”
“I can’t believe you would even ask me something like that. I would never… what happened?”
“I’m so sorry. I would never accuse you of anything. I just thought, you know, you had access to my phone and Roger found software on it that I didn’t put on the phone myself.”
“Ava, it’s insulting that you think I would do that to you. I love you and would never do such a devious and deceitful thing. What software did he find?”
She told him the entire story of how her phone was running slow and Roger found hidden applications.
“I don’t even know how to work an iPhone, I have an Android phone, and you know that.” He rose from the couch and grabbed his coat. As he slipped it on she begged him not to leave.
“Please, David, don’t leave me when you’re so angry. I’m sorry. I just didn’t know who would do something like this to me.”
He sat down on the couch with his coat still on.
“So you accuse me? Why, because I’m in love with you? I want you Ava, but I would never do such a disgusting thing. If you want me, then you’ll come to me. I’m not going to gather information to use against you. I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He got up and left her on the couch pondering what she had done. She had accused her stepbrother of something horrible, and now he was so angry with her. She was making a disaster of all the men in her life. Now she had narrowed it down to two people, Luca and Tim. Luca was dating someone from his office. She barely saw him because he was so busy. Maybe it was Tim. He was a computer geek after all. Could he really have done that to her?
He could and probably would do stuff like that if meant he could get into her life. If she asked him, he was going to deny it. She would have to figure out a way to trap him into telling her. It could also be the reason why he was trying to get up to her apartment. He was probably looking for another way to reinstall the software so he could track her. She wracked her memory trying to think of when he would have done it. When had she left her phone for some period of time where he could have access to it, and she wasn’t paying attention?
Then a thought popped into her head. There was a time several months ago when she went running with him. Her phone had condensation from the Camelbak, and she asked Tim to hold it. He had it in his backpack when he went to use the restroom, and he had been gone for the better part of twenty minutes. Could he have done it then? If so then he knew everything she had done from that time until the software was removed.
He knew all the texts she had sent and who had sent to her as well as what they contained. Did he know about the horrible email from Xander? He might even know that she had sex with David and Luca. Her face started to feel hot as she realized how much embarrassing information he could have seen. There was only one way for her to find out the things he knew: manipulation.
She went to bed that night with so many things going round in her head that she couldn’t sleep. At 2:00 AM she got up to watch TV and fell asleep on the couch with the boys snuggled up next to her. She woke up with a terrible crick in her neck. It was Thanksgiving, and in a few short hours, she would be seeing her family. Sam’s family would be there, too. She needed to make amends with David.
She got up to bake a couple of pies. Everyone brought a dessert to lighten the load on Aunt Mavis. She usually took care of all the main dishes and sides. Ava was hoping that Natalia sent a sweet potato pie and an apple strudel along with her father. Even if they ended up in pieces, she would eat them. They were both her favorites.
While her pies were baking, she took a quick shower and let her long auburn hair air dry while she studied. Even though it was a holiday, she was sure that Jacob would take the opportunity to quiz her. But it was not only him, but her father and Uncle Daniel might also join the game. Lucky for her, Michael wasn’t there or else she would have four attorneys bombarding her with questions. Her brother, sister and their families stayed in Georgia for the holiday. They would be coming to New York for the wedding in June.
She dressed and prepared herself to face David. She was ready for the awkwardness that she had created by accusing him. She needed to apologize to him first thing. She owed him that. If he didn’t forgive her, she would be heartbroken, but it was her fault.
She petted the boys with promises of returning with turkey tidbits. They purred and rubbed against her as she put on her coat and slipped the pies into a bag.
When she arrived shortly before 2:00 PM, everyone was there. Sam’s two brothers, Nico and Stavros, had brought their girlfriends. She avoided looking Nico in the eye because he knew what she did at his club. She was embarrassed and hoped he didn’t tell anyone. He was kind, and he hugged her tightly, kissing both cheeks. Sam’s father, Alkandros, was there also and gave her a bear hug letting her know that he missed seeing her.
She hugged and kissed Felice and her father along with the rest of her family. David was nowhere to be found, and when she asked, she was told he was watching football in the living room. She went to see him and when she entered he only glanced at her, ignoring her greeting.
“Please don’t be angry at me,” she whispered as she sat down next to him.
“What do you want me to be? Do you want me just to forget what you accused me of?”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Ava, leave me alone. I don’t want to discuss it.”
“I do want to discuss it. Can’t you at least let me apologize?”
He said nothing and the conversation ended there when Jacob and Robert came to join them. Jacob reached into his back pocket and pulled out a stack of cards. Ava groaned.
“It’s a holiday. Can’t you give me a break for once.”
“Absolutely not. I am determined to give you the tools to get the highest score possible.”
He slapped the cards against his hand and withdrew one. David got up and went to the kitchen. She felt nausea starting to creep up into her throat. She wasn’t listening to Jacob because she thought of nothing else but how she had hurt David.
“If you don’t answer the question then I am going to tie you to the chair in the dining room and drill you until you pass out. Think of it as study water boarding without the water.”
She answered his question and several more before her father told Jacob to give her a break. She excused herself to find David. He was upstairs in the room that Rachel used to occupy.
“What part of I-don’t-want-to-discuss-it, don’t you understand, Ava?”
“I can’t have you angry with me. It hurts too much.”
“Really? How does it feel when you don’t get what you want?”
“That’s a low blow. I never promised you anything.”
“And I’m not promising you anything. Please leave me alone.”
She turned to leave just as they were called to dinner. She left the door open and went downstair
s to eat with her family. David wouldn’t look at her through dinner and dessert. She didn’t eat much even though her aunt had cooked some of her favorites. Everyone chattered on about the upcoming party, and she kept to herself.
She went to sit in the living room after dinner and Sam sat next to her.
“What’s wrong with you today? You love the holidays.”
“Nothing, I’m tired. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Stop thinking of what is going to happen on Saturday. Everything will be okay. You can’t anticipate what will occur. Remember, he broke up with you in a most disgusting way.”
“I thought you didn’t believe he sent that email?”
“I don’t but you are my best friend, and I support you. Xander can take care of himself. I’m not going to be an advocate for him.”
Ava yawned and laid her head on the arm of the couch. She woke up to her father shaking her and telling her dessert was being served. She wasn’t even hungry for it. The sweet potato pie and strudel had survived the trip to New York, but she didn’t feel like eating either of them. She asked for a cup of tea instead.
When dessert was over, she said she had to leave. She was tired and wanted to get home. Her father asked if David could escort her, but he begged off saying he wasn’t feeling well. Ava looked at him as he went out the back door into the cold night air. She collected a small bag of turkey for the boys and got her coat on. She said goodbye to everyone minus David and took a cab home to her apartment.
She made sure to take a couple of plates of food home for the front desk staff. They worked hard and deserved something for being away from their families on the holidays. Gage and Jose were working and were thankful for the meal. She waved to them as the elevator doors closed.
The boys surrounded her like vultures when they smelled the turkey. She sat on the breakfast bar, and she fed them bits of turkey. When she was finished, they sat on the hallway carpet cleaning themselves then curled up to take a nap. She went to her bedroom to do the same but as tired as she was she could not fall asleep. She couldn’t get the image of David’s face out of her mind. He wasn’t going to forgive her.
Xander was happy to be on the East Coast. The weather was crisp and cold with a gentle wind. He pulled on his winter jacket as the plane disembarked passengers. Kaycee had complained that she would be losing her tan, but he told her it would be worth it to experience the holiday for a few days in New York.
They collected their luggage and caught a cab into midtown to his parent’s apartment. His mother was delighted to see him. His father called him into his office after Kaycee joined his mother in the kitchen for some baking.
“Alexander, do you think it’s a good idea to be screwing around with the attorney that is handling your sister’s case?”
“Dad, why can’t you just be happy to see me?”
“Because sometimes I need to question your choices.”
“Is this about me coming back to New York for good? I know you want me to come back to the firm.”
“Why, did your plans change? You were only supposed to stay there to take care of Lidia and Brett then come back. Now you decided to stay out there?”
“I just think I need a change of scenery.”
“I think that’s hogwash. Is this about Ava?”
“Why would you bring her up? We haven’t been together for years, and she is happy without me.”
“How would you know? Have you asked about her?”
“Can we drop this? Kaycee is in the other room.”
“You do know that she is going to be at the engagement party on Saturday?”
“I am well aware since she is Robert’s cousin and Sam’s maid of honor. I do communicate with Robert and Jacob.”
Gabby called them into dinner, and the conversation was dropped. During dinner, they talked about the drive to Suzanne’s house. Peter had a Volvo, and they would take that, but Xander would drive. Xander was looking forward to seeing his sister and her family. It had been some time since they had been together.
His father mentioned possibly selling the Lake George house. Xander did not agree that they should, but Peter said since Suzanne had her own summer home and he and Lidia were on the West Coast, there was no sense in keeping such a big house. They needed people to fill the bedrooms, and it was becoming harder to do that with his children scattered around the country.
Kaycee mentioned that she would like to go to the house but Xander said it was too cold, and it was better to go there when the weather was nice. In actuality, he didn’t want to bring another woman to the house. He had spent a wonderful weekend there with Ava, and he didn’t want to dirty that memory. It didn’t matter since they would be going back to LA in a few days.
He let Kaycee take the lead on the conversation as she talked about the case she was working on for Lidia and Brett. Peter liked that she wouldn’t accept the first offer by the trucking company. It was a pretty good settlement, but Kaycee felt she could get more. In fact, she said a second offer was due any day. She preferred not to go to court but was ready to do so.
Xander zoned out thinking about what Ava was doing and what she would be wearing on Saturday. He wondered how he was going to hide his attraction from Kaycee. Kaycee was very aware when he looked at other women, which he did very infrequently. However, when you were in California where clothing was limited to the warm temperatures, sometimes it was hard to resist. He tried to be respectful of her, but she did it, too, when it came to men. With Ava, he never would have done it. She was the only one he wanted to look at.
On Thanksgiving, they made the drive to Stamford to Suzanne’s house. His mother had baked several items for dessert, and he was looking forward to them. Suzanne rarely cooked because she was busy and today she had hired a chef to handle all the prep. She and her family lived in a very large house with an in-ground pool. Kaycee loved the décor and grounds. Xander took her outside, and they walked around the property until she got too cold. Then he took her in for some hot chocolate.
His niece, Charlotte, and nephew, Davis, complained they couldn’t play video games because Xander and Steven, their father, were watching football. Peter joined to watch football, and their protests became futile. Davis was sixteen and preferred electronics to sports. Charlotte was fourteen and preferred texting or watching movies to anything else. He told them when he was their age he was outside practicing his lacrosse or football.
The food might not have been home cooked but it was delicious, and Xander ate more than his fill. In California, Kaycee insisted he eat healthily. A far cry from the frozen pizza and Hot Pockets he subsisted on when he lived in Saratoga. He did miss a good burger every once in awhile, and he ate them occasionally during lunch when he was at work. Kaycee couldn’t yell at him for having too much cholesterol or fat if she couldn’t see him. When he was questioned that evening, he would tell her he had a salad. It was a white lie and fine with him.
He drank one glass of wine since he had to drive back to Manhattan. He would have loved to have a scotch, but Suzanne never kept hard liquor in the house. He needed something stronger to calm his nerves. He was anticipating Saturday. Kaycee was excited to meet all the friends of his youth. He was only interested in seeing Ava, one fact he was going to keep to himself.
On Friday, the most insane shopping day of the year, Kaycee begged Xander to take her out to see the Christmas displays in the windows on Fifth Avenue. Xander warned her that it would be a madhouse, but she insisted. So he obliged, and she looked like a wide-eyed kid in a candy store. Even though she was thirty-four, she still could be childlike when it came to some things. She dragged him into Macy’s and several other stores.
Xander hated shopping and would only do it out of necessity. He usually went in a store, bought what he needed and got out. This was one of the worst days to go shopping, and after several hours of pushing through crowds, he told Kaycee he was finished.
They went back to his parents and took a much-n
eeded nap until Gabby woke them and said dinner would be ready in fifteen minutes. Kaycee tried to get Xander to give her a quick fuck, but he used the excuse that they were in his parent’s home. Anyway, with Kaycee there was no such thing as a quick fuck, she enjoyed foreplay too much. Besides the fact that she was very vocal when they had sex. He would be embarrassed if his parents heard.
That night in bed, Kaycee fell asleep long before he did. He lay with his hands under his head thinking about the next day. He was worried about containing his reaction to Ava in front of Kaycee. No matter how much he wanted to forget her, he couldn’t. He was still in love with her.
Black Friday was miserable for Ava for many reasons, all male. David was still not talking to her, and her texts had gone unanswered. Tim, on the other hand, was driving her crazy about escorting her to the party. He texted her almost non-stop until she told him that she was busy studying. He finally left her alone for a few hours.
Her last male problem was Xander. She was dreading seeing him with his girlfriend. She didn’t know how she would be able to take it. She wondered if he was cheating on Kaycee as well. It seemed like that was the theme for Xander, he couldn’t control himself when it came to women. She felt foolish for allowing herself to fall into his web when everyone warned her.
She sat around most of the day until Sam called her and told her she needed to get to the party early. She wanted her to help with checking out some of the details. Sam and Robert would be coming in later after most of the guests arrived after 5:00 PM. She was relying on Ava to make sure that every last bit was done to Sam’s specifications. Since Ava had been involved with the planning, she knew everything intimately. Sam emailed her a list of items she needed to check with the party planner.
Rachel also called her. She might have been six months pregnant, but she was not going to miss her brother’s engagement party for anything. The doctor had cleared her several months ago from bed rest, but Rigo had insisted she remain there. He wanted to make sure his son was going to come into the world as a healthy infant. However, Rachel put her foot down when it came to going to the party. She promised Rigo she would sit most of the night.