In My Arms (Philadelphia Series)

by Plendl, Taryn

  “Ava?” She whipped her head around and stared at me wide-eyed.

  It took her only a moment to school her features and stand up. “What are you doing here?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and pulling her shoulders back. I recognized the stance. It was the one she used when she was all business at work. Under different circumstances, I may have chuckled, but not now. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying and her hair was wind-blown, but she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

  “We need to talk. You wouldn’t return my calls.” I stepped toward her.

  “Stop Trevor, there isn’t anything to say. I know what I saw. I just didn’t expect that from you.” She shook her head.

  “You’re wrong Ava. It wasn’t like you think that woman is...” She put her hand up.

  “Don’t Trevor. I don’t want to know. Please, I can’t.” She turned and started to walk away from me. I walked up behind her, spun her around, grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her hard. When I pulled back she was just staring at me, shocked.

  “Damn it woman! You need to hear me out!” I yelled. I was frustrated and desperate to be heard. She stood there silent, so I continued. “I know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t like that. That woman is my sister.” I saw the look on her face and I couldn’t help but smile a little.

  “Your sister?” She gasped.

  “Yes you silly woman, my sister Rachel. She surprised me by coming for a visit. I haven’t seen her in almost six months. You must have walked around the corner and saw us right when I had seen her.” I explained.

  “Oh no.” She shook her head. “I thought….I thought.” She covered her face.

  I pulled her to me. “I know what you thought Ava. God woman, there is no way I could ever do that to you. I love you so much! You are everything to me.” I buried my face in her neck, bathing my senses in her touch and smell.

  “What did you say?” She whispered.

  I pulled back and looked her in the eyes. “I love you Ava. I’ve never felt like this before. When you left I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I need you so much. Please don’t leave me again.” I begged. I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks, but I didn’t care. I was so afraid of losing her.

  She smiled softly and pulled my face down to hers. She kissed me lightly at first and then more urgently. I kissed her back, absorbing her essence into my very soul. She pulled back first, panting as she watched me.

  “Your sister must hate me.” She put her head down.

  “On the contrary. She feels horrible. She could see how you might have assumed the worst, especially after Talia explained your situation with Kyle.” I explained.

  “Talia?” She questioned.

  “Yes. Tom convinced her to come talk to me finally. She burst in my home ready to beat me down. My poor sister chose that moment to come ask for laundry soap. I thought Talia was going to come unglued!” I chuckled. “Finally we were able to explain it. She told me how to find you.” I smiled at Ava’s face.

  “I’m so sorry Trevor. I’m so stupid. I’ve been fighting my feelings for you, so afraid of getting hurt. I love you too. More that you can imagine and it scares the shit out of me.” She confessed, laughing and crying at the same time.

  I pushed the lose hair out of her face. “Ava, don’t be scared. I can’t promise you that I will never hurt you, but I can promise that I will never mean to. I love you with everything I am. Just give me a chance to prove that to you.”

  “I’m a handful Trevor. You sure you’re up for the challenge?” She raised her eyebrows at me, making me laugh.

  “My sweet Ava, you’ve been a challenge from the moment I met you.” I laughed.

  Epilogue

  Ava

  “You two nailed it again.” Mr. Jameson grinned at Trevor and me from the doorway of our office.

  We had just finished our newest presentation for a hotel chain in the Philadelphia and Atlantic City, New Jersey area. It had been an account that several advertising firms had bid on. Trevor and I worked tirelessly on it, and it had paid off.

  “You do realize that you too can never break up. It would ruin me.” Mr. Jameson winked at us and walked away.

  I giggled at Trevor’s shocked face. I don’t think either of us had realized that he knew we were together. Granted, it wasn’t like we hid it very well, but we had tried to keep it completely professional at work, even though it killed us to not touch each other every chance we got.

  “Well Ms. Murphy, do you want to round up the crew and go out tonight to celebrate?” Trevor leaned forward on his elbows and gave me that adorable half smile. His biceps flexed deliciously against his shirt.

  “I’m not sure I can dance with you anymore Trevor.” I stated as I packed up my things for the day.

  “Why?” He almost looked hurt.

  I leaned forward and whispered, “Because every time you press up against me on the dance floor, we end up leaving early. Talia is accusing us of being an old married couple that can’t stay out past ten.” I giggled.

  “Well, let’s get out of here. I think we need a private dance before we go out then.” He winked at me as we stood up to leave.

  “And to think I thought I couldn’t dance.” I pressed my hands against his chest, smiling up at him, reveling in his beautiful green eyes.

  “Like I said before, you were just waiting for the right partner.”

  Coming in January 2013

  A Part of Me

  Tom and Talia’s story

  Excerpt from A Part of Me

  Chapter 1

  Tom

  Teaching could be exhausting to begin with, but teaching health to ninth graders, well that could make you downright suicidal.

  I longed for the earlier days of explaining the food groups and nutrition from the beginning of the year. Even the alcohol, tobacco and drugs lessons were a cake walk compared to the reproductive system, which we would be covering until the end of the year.

  Six different classes and I felt like I’d just spent the entire day talking to classes filled with my friend Nick. I was beginning to think that he never made it past the novelty of this lesson either. Three more weeks of this. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.

  I packed up my things for the day and headed to the field for practice. My JV soccer team was amazing this year. We had a lot of raw talent, and if they continued to play like they had this season, most of them would be moving up to Varsity next year.

  Soccer had always been my outlet. Both Nick and I had played at the college level while Trevor focused on martial arts. Now he seemed to focus mostly on Ava. It was great to see him so happy. He and Nick were like brothers to me.

  My parents had died my freshman year in college in a plane crash. My dad had been piloting small planes for as long as I could remember. He was good—always cautious. In the end it wasn’t enough. You can’t control mechanical failures, you can only try to get through them. I lost my whole family when that plane went down. I was the only child of two only children. Trevor and Nick were the only family I had now.

  I dropped the bag of balls at the bench and started kicking them out to the team to pass around. It was Friday, so I planned on giving them a lighter day, considering they won their game yesterday.

  “Run drills, switching at the whistle.” I shouted.

  The vibrations from my phone indicating an incoming call startled me. “Hey Nick. What’s up?”

  “Are you coming to the club tonight with us?” He inquired.

  “I’m not sure. Will it just be the five of us?” Trevor and Ava had always included both Nick and I as well as her best friend Talia. We had all become fast friends and I had a great time with them, but I was tired today. I had half the mind to just go home and crash.

  “Just four. Talia is working the ER tonight.” He explained. That pretty much solidified my decision. I loved going to the clubs when Talia was there. She was so witty and sarcastic and she put Nick in his place repeated
ly. I also loved dancing with her. If she wasn’t going to be there, I would probably just go home and relax for the night.

  “I think I might stay in tonight. I spent the day teaching the female reproductive system to a bunch of fourteen and fifteen year olds. My mind is not functioning on adult levels right now.” I chuckled.

  “Nice!” Nick laughed. “Alright, no wussing out tomorrow night though. Go home and get some rest Sleeping Beauty.” He hung up before I could respond. Asshole!

  After only an hour of practice I let the team go. The clouds had rolled in and it looked like it could downpour at any minute.

  Sure enough, I’d barely made it to the car before it did just that. Laughing, I shook the water off my head. Traffic was light, but slow. It never failed that when the roads were wet, people in Philly automatically slowed down a minimum of fifteen miles per hour. If I was going to have to go slow anyway, I might as well take the back roads. I swerved onto the off ramp and turned onto the two lane highway, enjoying the scenery much more. The trees were in full bloom and everything almost glowed with the rain.

  “Shit!” My arm knocked a bottle of soda over as I reached for the radio and it now was rapidly exploding on the passenger seat. I grabbed a hold of it before it emptied its entire contents, shaking my head at the mess that was rapidly soaking into my grey cloth seats.

  It was almost like slow motion. The white utility van seemed to come out of nowhere. I swerved to the right as it caught the back end of my car, sending me into an uncontrollable spin. The jolt and the impact of the airbag jarred my body to the core. The sound of metal on metal, crunching and grinding echoed through the car. Tires screeching so loud and then suddenly it was quiet and I felt weightless, floating. The next impact crushed my driver’s side door and the window shattered, sending small fragments throughout my car and all over me. Finally the car rolled to the side and came to rest.

  The rain pounded me, sounding almost as loud as a train passing by. Faint voices sounded so far away. “Sir? Stay with me, help is on the way.” I closed my eyes. The pain in the left side of my body was excruciating. I tried to shift myself to relieve some of the pressure, but found I couldn’t move. My thoughts felt fuzzy. I couldn’t seem to focus on anything but the pain. Warm fluid dripped into my eyes. I found myself drifting in and out, catching voices and sounds but not quite putting them together. The sirens and the yelling. The loud motor and crunching of metal and then…nothing.