“So you thought you should bring me to a place men bring their wives?”
He looked down at me with his eyes wide, then broke into a laugh when he saw I was struggling to keep a straight face. “Stop playing, Tori. Now you’re about to have me over thinking shit too.”
“Seriously though, I’m actually proud of you, Avery. This was a nice choice for a date, especially after sushi,” I said, missing the warmth of his body as he released my waist and stepped away.
“What, you didn’t think I could plan a good one?”
My eyebrows dipped in a playful scowl. “Well, maybe if you would take one of your matches on a second date, I would know.”
“Ouch.” Avery brought his hand to chest, grimacing as if he was in pain. “Why are you doing me like that?”
“Doing you like what?”
“Trying to make me feel bad about that. I mean, you said if I wasn’t feeling it, I wasn’t feeling it, and not to sweat it, right?”
I looked up at him to nod. “Right.”
“That’s what I’m doing then,” he said. “Not sweating it. You ready to get out of here?”
Our paintings were dry, so we loaded them into his car, and then headed back to my house. In the driveway, he got out to open my door, then carried my painting to my front door.
“Hey… you know what else your dad told me?”
I turned to him as I fished my keys out of my purse. “What’s that?”
“He said you were a dancer.”
“Oh, jeez,” I said, bursting into laughter. “I did a few years of ballet when I was a little, and to this day, he swears I could have been Misty Copeland. Avery, I was terrible at ballet then, and I’m terrible at dancing now.”
“Terrible?”
I nodded my head. “Yes, terrible. I mean, I can keep the beat, but that’s about it. And I can grind with the best of them, Des taught me when we were back in college so I wouldn’t totally embarrass her at the club.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Next date, I’m taking you somewhere we can dance.”
“Ok, but I warned you….”
“Duly noted.” Avery placed my paper-wrapped canvas in the decorative chair beside the door as he watched me unlock it, then turn back to him. He was leaning against the door, giving me a smirk that was somehow sexier than his full smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shrugged. “No real reason. Thinking about one more thing your dad told me.”
“Okay… what?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
Avery pushed away from the door, and stepped towards me, prompting me to take a step back. “He said you were ticklish. Like… really, really ticklish… but only in one very particular spot.” He gave me a wicked grin as he came forward another step, and I lifted a finger in warning as I took one more — the last one I could— back.
“Don’t you dare, Avery. I hated getting tickled, and I’ve outgrown it anyway.” I pressed my back against the door as he closed the last distance between us. I really had outgrown it, but I didn’t want him trying it anyway… just in case.
“Then why,” he said, placing his hands at the exact spot on my waist, “Are you so scared?”
“I’m not.” It came out in an unintended whisper, because I couldn’t pull in a deep enough breath to speak aloud. He was so close, and it was as if my body recognized him, and was trying to tell me, this is the guy who made us feel so damned good.
“Mmhmm. Relax. I’m not about to tickle you after you said you hated it.” He didn’t move his hands away from my waist, instead pulling my lower body closer to his. “Besides,” he said, with his mouth so close to my ear I felt the brush of his lips. “Don’t you think I’d know if you were ticklish? I’ve already touched you everywhere, Tori. Remember?”
I was too stunned to respond, and I didn’t have a chance anyway, because the next thing I knew, his lips were against mine, and my entire body relaxed in relief, as if I had been waiting on him to do this all night. Had I been waiting on him to do this all night? He teased my lips apart with his tongue, then eased it inside to thrust against mine as I dropped my purse and lifted my hands to the back of his head. I returned his kisses with fervent, frantic ones of my own as he lowered his hands to cup my behind and pull me closer to the eager erection struggling behind the zipper of his jeans. Completely defying everything I’d established about a relationship of any kind with Avery, I was ready to invite him inside. The Maldives were three months too long ago, and his mouth was way too skilled for a silly thing like common sense to prevail.
But… then he was backing away. He gently pulled his lips away from mine and stepped back, shoving his hands into his pockets as if that were the only way he could keep them off me. Confused, I tried to meet his eyes, but he averted them away as he backed up a little more, then lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Tori, I’m…. I’m sorry about that. I told you this wasn’t going to be a date, and then I… turn it into one. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“What? Avery… I’m not sorry you kissed me. I had a good time with you tonight, and the kiss… was a perfect ending.” I swallowed hard, and this time it was my turn to avoid his eyes.
He grabbed my hand, gently tugging until I looked his way. “So… what does that mean?”
I thought about it for a second, then smiled. “Remember what you told me earlier, Avery… don’t over think it.”
“So you’re gonna use my words against me, huh?” He chuckled, kissing the back of my hand. “Really though…. what just happened?”
Now that the heat was turned down, a little trickle of good judgment broke through. I needed to reign this back in. “What happened is two friends went out together, and had a great time. At the end of the night, they shared a kiss, and moving forward, one friend is going to continue working towards fulfilling her obligation to find the perfect woman for the other friend to hopefully spend his life with.”
He gave me a dry laugh, then a little hug after he released my hand. “Fair enough.” We exchanged our goodbyes, and I took my painting in with me, leaving it propped inside the front door after I locked it behind me.
— 7 —
— Tori —
I relaxed into the pedicure chair, glass of wine in hand as I tried — unsuccessfully — to cheer myself up. The point of this trip to the spa was to separate myself from the stress of spending the last few days in Chicago with Des, who was now five months pregnant. The plan was to get away, and have a little girl time with my best friend, but I’d spent the majority of the visit between three activities: The most annoying was being lectured on the importance of dating again after a divorce, which I refused to discuss with Des, period, but she was content with telling me — no response needed. Second was being grilled about Avery’s dating progress, which I couldn’t discuss with her anyway. If neither of those were happening, she was raving about her new life with Drew and the impending arrival of the baby, both of which — call me a hater— I didn’t want to discuss, at least not for hours on end. I was happy for Des and Drew, but they were so into each other it was overwhelming sometimes.
Des and I had always been solid friends, like sisters. I wasn’t sure exactly what shifted, but she was starting to make me question our friendship with her criticisms and judgments of my life, especially when it was hypocritical. So, with that weighing on my mind, I’d gone to the spa when she was unavailable, with the intention of being alone to have every bit of anxiety massaged, exfoliated, waxed, clipped, and polished away, but I was no closer to serenity than I’d been when I walked through the door.
I went back to my hotel to shower before I was supposed to join Drew and Des for dinner, but I considered crawling into my bed with a bottle of wine. My mood was gloomy at best, and I didn’t want to be that girl, taking out my frustrations on everyone else. Nevertheless, this was my last night in Chicago. I wasn’t about to cancel the plans that had been in place since before I arrived, so I threw on my
‘uniform’: skinny jeans and a cute top, a little makeup, and brushed my curls into big, puffy waves. By the time I arrived at the restaurant, I had pep-talked myself into a better mood.
Then, I got to our table.
I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes at the sight of Deidra and Wes tagging along with Desiree and Drew. Excellent. Now, instead of enduring one lovey-dovey couple, I had to manage two, and I wasn’t the biggest Deidra fan. I tolerated her for Des.
Somehow, I managed to plaster a smile on my face. “Hey guys! I didn’t realize you were coming too!”
“They were a last minute addition,” Des explained. “They called to invite us out, but of course we already had plans with you, so I figured we could blend it.”
Deidra chimed in. “Yeah, Des is the best, isn’t she? Always thinking up a compromise.”
I was saved from giving my thoughts on her compromise by the appearance of the waiter to take our drink orders. I waited patiently until he got to me, and ordered water. “Oh, and a Long Island Iced Tea, please.” I needed it.
“Jameson neat for me, man.” A lump formed in my throat at the sound of a warm, rich, familiar voice. I looked up to see Avery stepping around the waiter with a smile on his face as he took the last seat at the table — beside me. Freaking déjà vu. He greeted everyone, then dipped his head closer to me. “How have you been?”
I had been avoiding seeing Avery in person for nearly two weeks, in an effort to tame my swirling emotions. I couldn’t get the memory of him pushing me against my door, with his body pressed to mine, out of my head. He looked as handsome now as he did then, and as always, he smelled divine. I swallowed hard. “I’ve been good.”
“Yeah, Mel told me that, but I figured I’d ask for myself.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “You talked to Melanie?”
“Yeah… I stopped by your office day before yesterday to talk to you, but you were already in Chicago. Mel gave me a little pep talk, and sent me a list of my matches, said I might want to take a second look at some of the ladies.”
Des calling out to us from across the table interrupted me from reacting to that little tidbit. “What are you two whispering about over there?”
“Something that doesn’t concern you.” Avery shot back with a grin, which Des met by rolling her eyes.
She sat back with a huff, crossing her arms. “Right. You’re both being all secretive about stuff now that you’re working together.”
“I still can’t believe you two are working together on this,” Deidra said, accepting her drink as the waiter came back.
Des sat up again. “Why, because of the breakfast blow up? Avery apologized, and they got past that. I texted Avery after you and Wes decided to come, so we could have a do-over of that meal.”
“No, not because of that,” Deidra said with a dismissive wave. “I’m surprised because we saw them leave the reception together, so I was sure something was going on between them.”
Shit. This nosy ass girl and her big mouth.
My ears were ringing as I picked up the drink the waiter had placed in front of me and knocked half of it back with one swallow.
Des was on high alert now, sitting straight up in her chair as her eyes darted from me, to Avery, then Deidra. “They left together? Nobody told me that!”
“What are you implying, Dei?” Avery asked, completely relaxed as he sipped his drink. “You left the reception with Wes halfway through and then came back, so what’s your point?”
Deidra smirked. “Yeah, but Wes and I are a couple now, so what’s your point? Were you and Tori doing the same thing we were doing?”
“Fucking in the catering pantry? Definitely not.”
Desiree and Deidra both gasped, Drew laughed, and Wes buried his face in his hands. Me? I finished off the rest of my drink and motioned for the waiter to bring me another. I wasn’t saying a thing.
“How the hell do you know that?” Deidra hissed across the table at Avery, who simply tipped his head in the direction of Wes. While she was scolding Wes for telling people about their little sex-capades at the wedding, Avery grabbed my hand under the table. When I looked up, he gave me a wink, and another feeling of déjà-vu washed over me. I just hoped this meal wasn’t going to end up like the last.
“The important question is why were you two leaving together?” Des asked, in a distinctly parental tone that was steadily wearing on my nerves.
Avery scoffed. “Because we wanted to talk. Is that a crime?”
“As long as all you did was talk,” she said, almost in a growl as she glared at him.
And if we did do more than that?
Avery’s response came before I could fully process that thought. “Des, Tori and I are grown as hell. Not saying we did do more, but if we wanted to we certainly don’t need your— or anyone else’s— permission, and it wouldn’t be anybody’s business. If something had happened that you needed to know about, you would have been told, okay?”
Her mouth, as well as a couple of others around the table was gaped open— including mine. After a few seconds, she responded. “Tori is my friend, Avery. It is absolutely my business to keep her from getting hurt, and I know that’s exactly what would have happened if she got tangled up romantically— or sexually — with you.”
A distinct flash of hurt and annoyance washed over Avery’s face, but he quickly masked it by taking a sip of his scotch. “Wow, Des. That’s what you think of me?”
“Don’t you ‘wow Des’ me. You know I love you, but everyone at this table knows you like to keep women in rapid rotation, and I’ve seen how you treat them.”
Avery scoffed. “Have you? Des, you thought you saw something, and you’ve been running with it ever since. Every woman I’ve ever slept with knew the deal beforehand, so you can save the bleeding heart for somebody else. If somebody wants to switch it up after we’ve made an agreement, that’s not my damn problem, and I won’t make it so to preserve somebody’s feelings because they got in over their head.”
Ouch.
“Is this the attitude you’ve had to put up with, Tori?” The sound of my name coming up in the back and forth between the siblings sent my heartbeat into a rapid race. “I thought he was going to try to change, but I see that’s not the case.”
Everybody, including Avery was looking at me for a response. “Um… Des, the women I’ve sent out with Avery haven’t had any complaints about that type of thing,” I said, trying to give away as little as possible while still attempting to diffuse the escalation of this subject. “They haven’t claimed he was anything but a gentleman.”
Des sucked her teeth. “I’m sure they haven’t. He’s probably still screwing at least half of them, so they’re still happy… for now.”
My breath caught in my throat, and my mouth went dry. I hadn’t considered that, and now that the accusation was in the open, I felt a little sick.
“Des, what the hell is your problem?” Avery was visibly ruffled now. Underneath the table, he grabbed my hand again, holding on when I attempted to pull it away. “Tori, I have not slept with a single one of those women.” He turned to look right at me. “I promise you that, okay?” His eyes were pleading with me to believe him, but I looked away.
Where the hell is that waiter with my other drink?
Smirking as if she’d found a pot of gold, Des spoke up again. “Don’t you have rules about that, Tori? I remember you telling me you ‘strongly advised’ clients to not sleep together until they’d gone on several dates.” She had a vicious look in her eyes I recognized from the few times I’d seen her go at it with others. She didn’t care about hurting feelings at this point, she just wanted to win.
“Like we followed that!” Drew snorted. “We were all over each other the night of that first date, so why are you out here fronting, Des? Why are you going in so hard on Avery?”
She jerked her head in his direction. “Because I don’t like thinking he tried to make a move on my friend, especially that night. She was vu
lnerable, and he could have hurt her really bad!”
“And what about me, Des?” Avery’s words were slow, and measured. “I’m your brother. You don’t think hearing you say — and tell the whole damned world — this bullshit about me doesn’t hurt? You’ve been off base about who you think I am, no matter how I tried to correct you, so I stopped bothering. Yeah, okay, I changed after being away at school, I changed after Natalie, but I’m not this guy who’s running around mistreating women like you seem to think I am. I agreed to do this matchmaking thing because you asked me to, and I’ve been into it, full force. And now, because of some more shit you think I did, you’re gonna sit here and dog me out at this table full of people?”
Realization washed over Des, and her expression of triumph turned to one of remorse as her eyes welled with tears. “Avery, I’m not trying to dog you, I just got a little… carried away, I guess. I know you’re not a bad guy, but when it comes to Tori, she’s…. she needs a little more… she’s just… I mean, she’s…”
“I’m… what, Des?” Her lips parted when I spoke, catching her by surprise. Had she forgotten I was there? Tears pricked my eyes as I realized why she was being so protective of me. “You think I’m stupid don’t you?” It took her a second too long to answer, and I began shaking my head.
She held her hands up defensively. “Tori, of course I don’t think you’re stupid. More like… like…”
“Naive? Ditsy?” I assisted, not bothering to hide the disgust in my voice.
“No, Tori, will you listen? I just—.” She glanced around at the table full of people. “Do we have to have this conversation right now, in front of everyone?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Are you serious? You wanted to discuss everything else, but now that you’re on the spot, you want the conversation to wait for another time? Hell no.”
“Fine,” she snapped, crossing her arms. “When it comes to men, you make terrible decisions. I’ve known you for years Tori, and I’ve watched you give your worst to great guys, and give your very best to awful men, including your ex-husband, who I told you wasn’t worth shit. I’m sorry, Tee, but that’s the truth.” She pressed her lips together in a tight line when she was done, leaning into Drew as if she were drawing strength from him.
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