by Nikki Ash
“It’s sounds like her name is more of a dig than a compliment.”
“Lilly is one of the best damn people I know. She might be prim and proper on the outside, but on the inside, she has a heart of gold. You know what they say: ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’” Ava smiles wide then lets out another giggle. “What?”
“I create book covers and websites for a living. Mostly for romance authors. My tagline is: Because people judge books by their cover.”
“Ha! That’s clever! Well, Lilly King is definitely the exception to that notion.” We both stand in silence for a few minutes, neither of us not really having anything to say but not wanting to be the one to say goodnight. Finally, I say fuck it and go in for the kill.
“Levi is gone for the night. I was just going to throw in a movie and munch on some of those muffins. Want to join me?”
Ava’s lips twitch in uncertainty for a second, her eyes closing like she’s struggling within herself for the right answer. I’m about to say never mind—give her an out—when her emerald eyes open and she grants me a tiny smile. “Sure, I’d love to.”
She tells me she’s going to throw some clothes on and she’ll be right over, and I use the time to quickly tidy up. Two guys living together doesn’t make for the neatest place. If it wasn’t for Lilly coming by on a weekly basis to clean up—although she won’t admit it, I think she hired someone—this place would be a pigsty.
Ava knocks on the door and I let her in. “So…this is my place. It probably looks like yours.”
“Yeah,” she laughs, “it does. Except everything is the opposite. I used to come over here a lot to help Ms. McBarton. She was a sweet lady, but she had to move into a nursing home.”
Ava sits down on the sofa and I grab the stack of movies. “Any of these look good?” She takes them in her hands, and after flipping through several of them, she hands me the original Fast and the Furious movie. “I have the newest one,” I point out.
“Yeah, but I love the first one. The love story between Brian and Mia is my favorite.”
“Want some popcorn?”
“Sure.” I put the movie in and throw her the remote, then I go about making us a bowl of popcorn. Once I’m done, the movie is ready to start and Ava hits play. I sit down next to her, placing the bowl between us.
I can’t remember the last time I actually sat with a woman and watched a movie, and I don’t really know the protocol. Do I talk? Keep quiet? Do we watch the movie in silence like you would do at a theater? With most of the women I’ve been with it was a quick fuck. With Karen, it was mostly us going out. She wasn’t really the hang around the house type of woman. My mind goes back to Rebekah but I stop myself. Tomorrow I will have to think about my son’s mother, but tonight—tonight I just want to enjoy Ava’s company.
Being worried about whether or not to talk during the movie was ridiculous, especially once the first scene begins with the main character, Brian, ordering a tuna sub at the restaurant from Mia, his love interest.
“He goes in there every day and eats a gross tuna sub just to get her attention! That’s love!” Ava swoons and I laugh. The rest of the movie goes the same way. She points out her favorite parts, notates the ones that are ridiculous, laughs at the funny scenes, and cries when Mia walks away from Brian. She watches the movie and I watch her. I watch her laugh and smile. I watch when her eyes fill with tears then spill over. Watching Ava is better than watching any movie. She wears her emotions on her sleeve.
“The movie’s over.” Ava smirks knowingly, throwing a few popcorn kernels at me. I glance from her to the screen and sure as hell the credits are rolling. She caught me staring at her and I don’t even give a shit. “I’d better get home. It’s well after midnight.”
She stands and I stand with her, following her out my door and over to hers. “Are you walking me home?” she jokes. “Like on a date?”
She leans against the wood frame of her door, and I invade her space, one of my arms coming up and my palm pressing against the door to the side of her face. My other hand moves a wayward strand of hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. “Can we call it a date?”
Her eyes widen. “Why would it matter what we call it?” she whispers.
“Because if we call it a date, I can justify asking to kiss you.”
“Did you kiss Heather?” It takes me a second to understand what she’s asking because really…Heather who?
“Fuck no.” I shake my head, my face now only inches from Ava’s. She draws her bottom lip in between her teeth, her eyes locking with mine.
“Okay,” she says quietly, nodding slowly.
With my fingers that just moved her hair out of her face, I pull her bottom lip out from her teeth. Her lips are plump and full, fucking irresistible, and when she darts her tongue out to wet them, I need her lips on mine immediately. Leaning in, I brush my lips against hers. First, only her bottom lip, then the top. Her lips are moist and soft and I crave more.
She doesn’t move. She stands still, her eyes open and her lids heavy with lust. I bring my lips back to hers again, only this time I don’t back up. Our lips lock and her eyes close. My tongue comes out, parting her lips as I seek entrance. She allows me access, and as my tongue finds hers, she lets out a content sigh that has my tongue delving farther into her mouth and intertwining with hers. She tastes salty and sweet from the Kettle Corn popcorn.
My hand comes up to cup her cheek as the kiss grows more intense. My body moving closer at the same time hers does. My knee parts her legs as her hands wrap around my neck, pulling me into her. Our kiss becomes almost frantic, our tongues swirling savagely against each other, and before I can think about what I’m doing, I’m grabbing her ass and hoisting her up against the door. Her legs wrap around my waist and she lets out a moan that has my cock begging to be set free.
“Ahem!” I ignore the noise, distracted by my lips on Ava’s, my hands digging into her flesh, her fingers running through the strands of my hair.
“Excuse me!” The voice startles us both, forcing us to reluctantly pull apart like two teenagers that have just been caught kissing under the bleachers at school. Ava’s eyes bolt open as I release her—her body sliding down my front. We turn and see an elderly gentleman standing there. “This is a hallway,” he chides. “Please fornicate in private.” He wags his finger, giving us a stern look before he retreats into what must be his apartment across the hall.
“Oh my god! How embarrassing!” I turn back to Ava and she’s covering her face with her hands, her head shaking. I remove her hands from her face and she cringes, a small smile playing on her lips. “I better go inside.” She nods toward the door I just had her up against.
“Yeah,” is all I can say. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Griffin.” I step back enough so she can unlock her door and open it, and I stand here until she walks in, gives me a shy smile, then closes the door behind her. I stand here for another few minutes, wishing for her to open the door back up and invite me in. But she doesn’t.
Six
Ava
“Come on, Maverick! Let’s go outside.”
Needing a break in between covers, a walk around the neighborhood sounds really good. It’s April in Nevada, so the weather doesn’t usually hit above seventy. Some fresh air will do me some good. After Griffin’s and my make out session in the hallway, I was high on oxytocin and couldn’t sleep a wink all night. After my shower, I tried. I really did. But then I recalled his mouth on mine, my legs wrapped around his hips, and before I knew it I was pulling out my Joystick—a new product I recently ordered from Passion Kisses, a sex toy company that sells the best orgasm and pleasure enhancers. With the visual of Griffin in my head, I was orgasming in seconds. I thought that would help me fall asleep, but nope! It did the opposite—had me wanting—no, craving—more. Needing more. After a second orgasm—that should have had me passed out in satisfactory bliss—and not feeling any less relaxed, I ended up pulling an all-night
er. Now it’s ten in the morning and I’ll be crashing shortly.
Maverick runs to the door, recognizing the word outside, and begins circling the foyer. Grabbing his leash, I clip it on his collar. Once we’re outside, I stop and lock the door, and throw my keys into my pocket. As we’re walking past Griffin’s place, the door swings open and Maverick comes to a halt when he sees Levi standing in the doorway.
“Maverick!” Levi yells, excitedly. He’s holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands, but he bunches them all up into one hand so he can pet Maverick. When Maverick realizes he’s going to get attention, he drops to the ground, his belly up so Levi can scratch his underside. Levi laughs and bends down. The flowers in his hand fall, but I quickly grab them before they get crushed between Levi and Maverick.
“Thank you,” a deep voice says, and when I glance up, I see Griffin standing in the doorway. He’s wearing dark blue jeans and a powder blue button-down shirt, cuffs rolled to his elbows. He holds his hand out to take the flowers from me and my eyes go to his muscular forearms. The same ones that were holding me up against the door last night like I weighed nothing. My eyes move up his arms to his face, and when we make eye contact, his are dancing with laughter. Does he know what I’m thinking?
I hand him the flowers, trying to look anywhere but at him. He chuckles softly but I don’t dare ask him why. “Those are pretty flowers,” I say in an attempt to put us back on neutral ground.
“They’re for my mom,” Levi points out. “We’re going to see her today,” he adds as he stands back up. Maverick flips back over from his back and stands as well. It’s then I notice Levi is dressed nice in jeans and an adorable button-down shirt, both similar to his father, only Levi’s shirt is a darker blue. His hair is even gelled so his spikes match his dad’s.
“I’m sure she’ll love them.” I give them both a forced smile, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. My imagination is running wild, the possible scenarios poisoning my mind. I want to ask Griffin if he’s with Levi’s mom. Did I unknowingly cheat? The thought has me wanting to throw up. Surely, he wouldn’t be with Levi’s mom and going on dates with other women. Then again, I thought being in a committed relationship—living with someone—meant being faithful, and look where that got me…cheated on twice! I should’ve asked. I should’ve confirmed. I should not have assumed.
“Well, we better get going.” I point to Maverick. “This little guy will resort to going anywhere if I don’t get him to a patch of grass soon.” I give Levi a playful wink and he giggles. “Bye, boys.” I lift my hand to wave at both of them but refuse to make eye contact with Griffin. Then I take off with Maverick before Griffin can say a word back.
Seven
Griffin
I watch Ava walk away before I can explain. I wasn’t expecting her to be walking past my door as Levi and I were walking out. Of course she looks sexy as hell in another one of her fitted taco shirts which reads, “Run like there’s a taco at the finish line” and tight spandex pants that mold her ass so damn perfectly. I was too busy staring at her, remembering for the millionth time in the last eight hours our date last night and how it ended with her body locked around mine. My night ended with my fist around my cock as I fantasized what would’ve come next had Ava invited me in.
I saw the confusion in her face as Levi—in all his eight-year-old innocence—explained we were bringing flowers to his mom. What she doesn’t know is that Levi’s mom is buried six feet under.
We pull up to the cemetery and I park my truck along the road near the area where Rebekah’s grave is. Levi unbuckles out of his booster seat and jumps down out of the truck with the flowers in his hands. Every few months since Levi was a baby, we bring his mother flowers. Rebekah died when Levi was only a few months old, so he doesn’t remember her at all.
While Rebekah was pregnant, she would make comments about not feeling like she had a connection to the baby in her belly. I would tell her to give it time. Once Levi was born, she wanted nothing to do with him. She didn’t want to hold him or breastfeed him, and when we got home, it only got worse. She would let him cry, saying she couldn’t handle it. I begged her to see a therapist, to get help, but instead she turned to drugs. I should’ve known she was using, but I was so busy taking care of a newborn and running the bar I would eventually purchase, I just didn’t see it. Then one day when I came home from work, I found her dead on the floor. She had overdosed. No note or anything. The autopsy ruled it as suicide due to the amount of drugs found in her system.
Levi was too young to ever remember her, but I make sure to keep our conversations about the person she was before she got pregnant. The doctors think she might’ve had postpartum depression, but because she refused to see a therapist, we’ll never know.
Levi runs over to the grave he knows by heart and places the new set of flowers into the built-in vase on the side of the headstone. “Hi, Mom,” he begins like he always does when we visit. He talks to her about school, and about Lilly and Sean. He tells her how much fun he had during his mixed-martial-arts class this week, and lastly, he tells her all about Ava and Maverick. When he’s all done, we put our two fingers to our lips then touch her name. Today is Rebekah’s birthday. We visit most holidays, birthdays, and the anniversary of her death. When Levi was old enough to ask why his mom was in heaven, I told him she was sick and couldn’t be fixed. I always hated that answer when I would hear people say it, but when I was faced with the same question, it was the only answer I could give him. Telling him his mom overdosed on drugs instead of getting help didn’t seem to be the way to go. I hope she’s in heaven and finally at peace, loving and watching our son from above.
“You ready to go home?” I ask Levi as we make our way back to the truck.
“Can we go to the park? We haven’t gotten to go yet.”
“Sure, buddy. We can do that.”
“Yes!” he yells as he fist-pumps in the air.
We stop at King’s so I can check on things and order us some lunch to go. Once we have our food and I know the weekend manager is doing okay, we take off back home. After parking in front of the apartment complex, we head over to the park, which is across the street. Just as we’re sitting down to eat at the picnic table, Ava and her dog come walking up. Maverick jumps onto the bench seat and Ava yells at him to get down. Levi giggles, commanding him to sit and giving him a piece of his grilled cheese when he obeys.
“Levi, you can’t give dogs people food,” I scold him and he frowns.
“It’s okay, mi amiguito. I do it too.”
“I’m a what-a?” Levi looks at Ava confused, and she giggles.
“Mi amiguito,” she repeats. “It means my friend.” Ava gives Levi a wink that has him lighting up like a Christmas tree.
“I have a grilled cheese.” He holds his sandwich out to Ava. “Want some?”
She smiles wide but shakes her head. “No, thank you. I just ate.”
“Tacos?” I can’t help but ask.
Ava laughs and shakes her head again. “No! Tacos are only to be eaten on Tuesdays! I made some empanadas and plantains.” She says the names of the food with her sexy-as-fuck accent I can’t get enough of.
“What’s that?” Levi asks, taking a large bite of his sandwich.
“Empanadas are like…a fluffy pastry that’s fried with potatoes and meat inside. You can have chicken or ground beef. I made both. They’re delicious. Plantains are like bananas but sweeter and warm.”
“I love bananas!” Levi says in between mouthfuls. “Can I have some?”
“As long as it’s okay with your dad, sure.”
“Cool! Dad, I’m done eating.” Levi points to his empty plate. “Can I go play?”
“Sure, buddy.”
“Can Maverick come play with me?” Levi asks.
Ava nods and lets Maverick off the leash. Levi calls his name and runs, and Maverick chases after him. Once Levi is out of hearing distance, I tap Ava’s hand that she has resting against the table, and she looks
over at me. “Come here and sit.” I tilt my chin down toward me.
She sits down next to me so we’re both facing the park and can see Levi and Maverick running around together. “Did you have a good morning?” she asks nonchalantly, but I know the hidden meaning behind her question.
“As good as visiting your son’s mother at her grave on her birthday can be.” I hear Ava’s breath hitch as her head jerks to look at me, her eyes wide.
“I-I didn’t know.”
“How could you? We just met.” I shrug.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” I can tell she wants to say more, but she isn’t sure the proper protocol for asking about my deceased girlfriend-slash-mother of my child.
“It’s been close to eight years since she died. We met right after Sean and I moved here from California for a fresh start. I met her at the bar I now own, but back then it was called The Lazy Cow, and I was a bartender. We hooked up a couple of times. She was wild and carefree, and we had fun together. But when she got pregnant everything changed…she changed. The doctors think she had postpartum depression, but we don’t know for sure, nor will we ever.” I take a deep breath. “She overdosed on drugs when Levi was a baby, ending her life while I was at work and Levi was in his crib. It’s been my brother, Levi, and me ever since.”
“You’re a good dad,” Ava says as her fingers give my thigh a gentle squeeze that has my dick wanting to come out and play.
I glance down at her tiny hand then back up to her face. Her eyes go wide, her hand stiffening when she realizes what she did. Before she can pull her hand back, I place my hand over hers. “Thank you. I never imagined being a single dad, and most days I pray I don’t fuck it up, but I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.”
“Well, I think you’re doing a great job. Levi is a very happy little boy.”
We watch Levi and Maverick play in silence for a few minutes. My thumb massages circles across the top of her wrist and I can feel her hand relax with my touch. When I notice Levi starting to lag, I call out, “Five minutes.” He pouts but agrees.