When To Let Go

by Sevilla, J. M.

  “I’m sorry, I thought–”

  He cut her off, “I don’t care what you thought. If it happens again, you’re fired.”

  Ava wanted to cry as Dick stepped inside the kitchen, the door swinging in his wake.

  Every time they worked together or he was there in the back office, he found some way to yell at her, and it was always in front where customers could hear. It was humiliating. She was a good employee, yet he always made it seem like she was the reason the place wasn’t doing as well as it had before the owner had had a heart attack, leaving his son to manage while he recovered.

  Ava turned around to face the customers she had heard come in at the beginning of her lecture, swallowing back the lump in her throat and putting on her fake smile. The one she had learned after Wesley left that now came in handy at her job.

  “Hi,” she greeted, her mouth remaining open after recognizing the couple in front of her.

  It was Wesley and Dakota.

  Of course it was them. Why would the universe want to miss out on the opportunity?

  Nonetheless, did Dakota really have to come here and rub it in Ava’s face that she and Wes had been hanging out since he had come home for the summer last month? It was bad enough that all through Ava’s senior year she had to hear about the conversations they had, or texts he sent her.

  “Hi, Ava,” Dakota greeted happily. Wes only gave a tight smile. “I wanted to come for breakfast and see you. I can’t remember the last time I ate here.”

  Ava was pretty sure it was last Wednesday.

  “What can I get you guys?” She tried keeping it airy and casual, but even she could hear how forced it sounded.

  Ava wanted them gone. The pinching of her heart was getting worse the longer she had to see them together.

  “Do you have anything gluten free? I’m on a health kick.”

  “A blueberry and cream cheese muffin?” It was gluten free, yet far from healthy.

  “Perfect. I’ll have that, and a soy latte.” Dakota turned to Wes, “What about you?”

  Wes hadn’t taken his eyes off of Ava, which she was trying to ignore, “That guy always talk to you like that?”

  “Who? Dick?”

  He didn’t respond, because she didn’t need to ask.

  “He’s just a grouch sometimes.”

  “Ava,” his tone had an underlying warning to it. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Geez, Wes,” Dakota scolded with a giggle. “Lighten up.”

  “Only when I mess up.” Which happened to be almost daily now.

  Wes’s features darkened, reminding Ava of when he used to get upset when someone wasn't treating her the way she deserved to be treated.

  Ava quickly turned her back to conceal the emotions she was sure were visible. She got to work making Dakota’s drink, “How about you, Wes? I think one of your old favorite cupcakes is there.” She knew it was; she made it every day, not understanding why she would torture herself. She couldn't stop herself; it was oddly comforting, like she still had a part of him.

  “I don't eat cupcakes anymore,” his tone was flat, unemotional.

  She deserved that and tried to respond without any wobble to her voice, “We make great muffins.”

  “Sure, whatever. Is the coffee self-serve?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go find us a place. I'll pay and bring it all over.”

  “Okie dokie,” Dakota chirped.

  Ava kept her head down as she came to the cash register with the latte and food. She told him the total, and as he handed her the money their fingers briefly touched, causing Ava's eyes to close from the sensation. She made sure to leave his change on the counter.

  “Don't let him treat you like that,” Wesley spoke softly, standing there with his purchase in hand.

  She glanced up with raised eyebrows, surprised that he would care, but then again, that was Wes.

  Their eyes held each other before he turned and found Dakota.

  Every time Dakota's laughter rang throughout the bakery it was a punch to the gut. Every time Wes’s did it was a punch, followed by the ripping out of her insides.

  By the time they left, Ava’s shoulders were practically at her ears from her tensed muscles.

  Dakota happily waved and shouted a goodbye, promising to call her later and maybe the three of them could all do something together soon.

  That was never going to happen.

  Wes left without even a glance her way, which was for the best; seeing his face was something she didn't think she'd ever be able to do without it tearing her apart.

  She decided to make herself some tea with caffeine, having another six hours of work to go on top of the six she had already done. That didn't include cleaning the kitchen and closing down the store.

  Ava was getting tired of being pushed around.

  The next day after work, Ava brought Ryder the pastries they would have had to throw out. She worried he never ate enough.

  She knocked and someone shouted that it was unlocked.

  Ava stepped in to find Ryder and Maggie in bed. Wes was in the kitchen that was directly in front of them. The only blocked off room in Ryder’s studio was the bathroom.

  Ava looked back and forth between the three, “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

  “Nah, I just arrived a few minutes ago,” Wes assured her. “Came to see if they wanted to hang out. Didn’t expect to find this,” he gestured to the couple in bed.

  “You could try calling first,” Maggie pointed out, not seeming all that bothered by it.

  “Meh,” was Wes’s response.

  Ava placed the pastries on the counter, opening the box. Wes immediately stuck his hand in and snatched one.

  The sound of a key in the door had their full attention. Behind the front door they could hear Parker’s voice, “It’s already unlocked. That’s not like him.”

  Violet’s voice was easy to recognize, “So open it.”

  Parker threw open the door with a wide grin, “Surprise!”

  Vi pushed past him, registering that they were all there, “Oh, yay! This saves us from having to track everyone down.”

  Wes and Ava took turns hugging the couple.

  “When did you get home?” Wes asked while giving his sister a long, tight hug.

  “Now. We were going to have Ryder come with us to greet everyone.”

  Parker and Violet were only coming home for two weeks this summer, due to Parker’s job. Vi had decided to do the same, the two inseparable.

  “Is this how my life’s going to be from now on?” Ryder complained at his four unexpected guests.

  “Yes,” the room answered in unison.

  Parker grabbed a pastry of his own, “You should be used to it by now.”

  “Can you guys at least turn around so we can get dressed?” Ryder and Maggie were still in bed, Maggie with a sheet covering her body and Ryder with only pajama bottoms on.

  All four in the kitchen turned to face the cabinets.

  Violet stole a bite of Parker’s muffin, “I can’t believe Ryder is getting more action than you are.”

  Parker laughed, “Jealous?”

  Violet didn’t seem to find it so funny, “Yes.”

  “Please stop talking,” Wes pleaded, pointing a thumb behind his back. “It’s bad enough I have the two of them in bed burned into my memory.”

  “Well, I’m sorry,” Violet didn’t sound the least bit apologetic, “but the two of them finally became official, what, like a month ago? Parker and I had our first date in March and we’re still above the waist.”

  Parker pinched Violet’s cheek, “Isn’t my girl cute when she’s sexually frustrated? You’re right though, I think we might be ready for some hand exploration.”

  Violet did a little happy-dance.

  Wes reached for a croissant, “Please just shut up, both of you. TMI.”

  Ava giggled next to him and he gave her a grin from the side of his mouth, “See? Ava agrees.”

>   “Oh right,” Violet took more of Parker’s muffin, “like the rest of us didn’t have to put up with you two for years. You couldn’t keep your hands off each other.”

  Ava and Wes stiffened, Wes with food halfway to his mouth.

  They were all saved from the conversation when Maggie announced that she and Ryder were decent and they could turn around.

  Wes’s pocket made a funny noise and he pulled out his phone, reading a text.

  Violet peeked at the screen, “I hope you haven’t been seeing her since you’ve been home.”

  Wes shrugged, noncommittal, “A little.”

  Parker leaned over to get a look as well, “Who?”

  “Dakota,” Violet answered.

  Parker made a face, never liking her.

  “She’s a fake,” Violet carried on, Parker nodding his head in agreement. “Plus, I think she’s stalking you or something.”

  Wes rolled his eyes, “She’s not stalking me.”

  “Ha! How many times a day does she text you?”

  Wes cringed. “A few,” quickly adding in her defense, “but she’s only concerned about how you and Maggie are healing.”

  “So text once a week,” Violet criticized, knowing her brother was being far too naïve. “What’s there to be concerned about? I’m fine. Maggie’s healing faster than they expected, thanks to the amazing Ryder.”

  “Come on, she’s not that bad.” Wes seemed determined to justify their friendship, reminding them of her past actions, “It was her idea to have Maggie and Vi share a room, and it took not even two hours for it to work.”

  “That wasn’t her idea,” Parker spoke around his food. “It was Ava’s.”

  Ava flushed red, glaring at her brother.

  Wes turned his attention to Ava, “What? Why didn’t you say something?”

  Ava retrieved the broom and dustpan, sweeping up the fallen crumbs, “I didn’t think it really mattered whose idea it was.”

  “You need to learn to speak up for yourself,” Parker wrapped an arm around her shoulder, making her miss the pan and causing the crumbs to land on her shoe.

  “I know,” she sighed, wiggling her foot to get the crumbs off.

  “If I can do this,” Ryder jumped in from his place on the couch, lifting his hand that was attached to Maggie’s. “Then you can learn to speak up for yourself. I mean, we’re practically living together with how much she stays over and hangs out here,” he added, not quite believing it himself.

  “You make a good point. I accept.” Maggie casually got up and strolled to the kitchen.

  Ryder scratched his temple, “Accept?”

  She nodded her head, trying to hold back a smile, “Yeah, about living together. We might as well. Save us time.”

  Ava spoke up first, the rest of the room’s mouths still propped open, “Does Mr. Baxter even know you guys are together yet?”

  Ryder half-smiled, watching Maggie as she decided what pastry she wanted, “Yeah, we told him last week.”

  “What did he do?” Ava would never have wanted to be Ryder in that situation.

  In his best impersonation, Ryder retold Mr. Baxter’s reaction, “Takes you Stones long enough.” Everyone laughed at how accurate Ryder’s scowl and deep voice were. “Then he got up and left the room. I assume that meant he was cool with it. I’m still alive, so I take that as a good sign.”

  Maggie laughed the hardest, pleasing everyone with the sound, not having heard it in a long time, “That could have totally been Vi with your expression, she gets that same look and tone when she’s being grouchy.”

  Violet scowled the same way her father would. Everyone laughed some more.

  “So, um,” Ryder swallowed. “Are you serious about moving in?”

  “I’ll need to get a job. The doctor just gave me the okay this morning and I feel like my body can handle it–”

  “We have an opening at the bakery!” Ava excitedly exclaimed, dumping the crumbs in the trash. She knew Maggie had no interest in working at the tracks like her parents had hoped. Maggie had only gone there once since the accident.

  “Really? That would be so much fun!”

  Their friendship was growing stronger again and Ava hoped this might bring them to the level they were before she’d broken up with Wes.

  “I guess that leaves how you feel about it.” Maggie bit her bottom lip, going back to the couch and taking Ryder’s hand, the two now focused on only each other.

  “This is huge, Maggie,” Ryder admitted, licking his lips and swallowing. “You would really want to?”

  Maggie was quick to reply, “Yes.”

  “I want it too. I sleep better when you’re with me.”

  “You’re not going to freak out?” Maggie explained to the room, trying to lighten the tension, “He freaks out sometimes.”

  Ryder shrugged, “It’s true, I do.”

  Parker gestured to Maggie with his chin, “I remember when I didn’t think you’d be good for him.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “Let me make my point,” Parker carried on. “You are though. You both are. You force each other to push your limits. Ryder hugged both of our moms the other day. They called me immediately after he had left, crying into the phone.”

  Ryder scrunched his brows, “We’ve hugged before.”

  “Yeah, but that was them initiating it. This time you embraced them right away.”

  Ryder’s eyes got wide at the realization that it was true.

  Parker smiled, “See? It’s a good sign that you’re not even noticing it.”

  Maggie changed the subject, knowing Ryder hated the focus to be on him, “Anyone hungry? Let’s go get dinner.”

  For the next two hours the six of them teased one another, laughing loud enough it rang through the restaurant, and caught up on the lost moments from while they were apart.

  Chapter 56

  Back In The Saddle Again

  Dakota’s footsteps were out of sync with Wes’s as they strolled towards Fazoli's for dinner.

  She had invited him earlier in the day and he had accepted, not having anything better to do that night.

  Dakota took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. Wes wasn’t sure if he liked that. He wasn’t sure if he liked her. She had latched onto him since he came back home for summer break.

  It was one thing to get texts on a daily basis, the constant socializing was another. Dakota was a talker. Mostly about shoes, makeup, and gossiping about other girls. None of those topics interested him.

  As the restaurant came into view, so did the woman Wes had spent the last two years trying to forget.

  The past school year, Wes had found a life he was truly beginning to enjoy. Although he still thought of Ava almost daily, it wasn’t soul crushing anymore.

  He wasn’t disillusioned; he knew he still wanted her (as the summer had proved thus far), he just didn’t need her like he once had. Or so he had thought. That all went out the window the second he saw her standing in front of the restaurant, in a yellow cotton summer dress that hugged her top half and flared around the waist, ending just above the knees. Her hair shined, cascading around her shoulders in soft waves, the natural blond and red highlights more prominent than usual. She was fresh faced, her skin buttery and flawless.

  He remembered what that skin tasted and smelt like. He wanted to run his tongue along her collarbone, exactly how he knew she liked it: slow, with a nip of teeth at the end. He always got the most sensuous groans from her when he did that.

  Wes shook his head, clearing his thoughts of Ava naked under him.

  Ava gave them both a tentative smile, grabbing Dakota’s elbow and uttering under her breath, “I thought it was just going to be the two of us.”

  She let go, taking a step back. Her brows furrowed when her eyes fell on their closed hands. She immediately caught Wes’s eyes, searching for answers.

  He didn’t give her any. He didn’t need to explain himself to her. She’d given up that right when
she broke up with him.

  “I know, I told a tiny fib,” Dakota held her thumb and index finger close together. “My brother’s in town and I thought it would be fun if we double-dated.”

  This took Wes by surprise for two reasons. The first being that he didn’t realize this was a date, and second, that he was on a double date with Ava. No way in hell was that going to happen. He may have moved on, but he wasn’t ready for that.

  “Dakota, no, please don’t tell me–”

  Ava didn’t have a chance to finish; Dakota was hollering at someone over her shoulder.

  “Vale!” Dakota waved her free hand.

  Wes’s body stiffened as he caught sight of a man coming down the street towards them.

  The sonofabitch was good-looking. Wes instantly hated him.

  He tried not to scowl as Dakota introduced them all.

  The guy had the nerve to take Ava’s hand over his, raising it to place a kiss on top.

  Ava was swooning. Wes knew the look; he had received that same look for years.

  “Shall we?” Vale gestured to the restaurant, leading the way to the door and opening it for the rest, giving a wink to Ava as they passed.

  The hostess led them to a four person table. Dakota and Wes were on one side, Vale and Ava on the other. Ava sat directly across from Wes.

  Vale picked up a strand of Ava’s hair, “You have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.”

  Instead of avoiding talk of her hair, Ava blushed and smiled, “Thank you.”

  Wes had just entered his own personal hell.

  Everyone picked up their menus, Vale stealing a peek down Ava’s top.

  Wes clenched his fingers around the plastic of his menu, lifting it so it was all he could see.

  “This is my treat,” Vale announced. “I’m on vacation, I just got promoted, and I have a beautiful woman next to me.”

  Dakota cleared her throat.

  “Two beautiful women!”

  Dakota smiled at her brother.

  Ava tried protesting, but Vale insisted.