FIVE
Avery left the diner feeling confused. Her insights into him had been positive. Why then did she not jump on the idea of working at his hotel?
After a long train ride back to the Bronx, she arrived at the two-family home she shared with her mother past midnight. The lower level housed her mother in a small one bedroom apartment which gave her the independence she needed while Avery living upstairs allowed for her to keep a close eye on her mom. Her mom was already asleep. Avery went through the house and shut off all the electronics her mother had left on before heading upstairs.
Luckily, she had a great neighbor, Mrs. Mercedes, who worked as a home health aide and brought Avery’s mom food throughout the day.
Avery made sure to pay her by the end of the week for the expenses but knowing her mother was fed really helped with her ability to spend her day at work without that on her mind.
She finally went home and took a shower, glanced at the pile of bills and pulled out a bottle of wine from the fridge. She was dozing off when her doorbell rang. It was almost eleven o’ clock and the only person crazy enough to ring her bell at that time was her friend Star and only if she had a fight with her boyfriend, Chris, and needed a place to crash.
A quick peek through the peephole showed Star on the other side of the door. She opened and let her friend in.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
Star rushed inside with her overnight bag and shrugged off her coat. “Did you forget Chris was leaving for the week? You know I can’t stay home alone if he’s not there.”
Right. Star was afraid of being alone at home. Avery knew enough about the paranormal side that she never made fun of her friend for wanting the company of humans.
“Come on in. Your room is still as you left it last time you were here, except it now has clean sheets,” she told Star. “I have nothing to eat, sorry.”
Star put a shopping bag down Avery hadn’t noticed before. “I brought food. I figured you’d be tired from work. I’m exhausted.” She went straight for the kitchen and started heating things up. “So how was your day? Anything interesting happen?”
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” she sat back down and picked up her glass of wine. “Remember The Lair?”
“Hell yeah,” Star yelled from the kitchen. “That gorgeous hotel we’ve talked about working at for the longest?”
“Today I was offered a job there by the owner himself.”
“Shut up!” Star squealed and rushed out of the kitchen. She had a fork full of pasta in her hand and a piece of bread in the other. “How the hell?”
“It’s a long story, but did you know the people there have one hundred percent full coverage health insurance? For themselves and anyone in their household, not even just family.”
Star’s eyes popped even wider. “Holy crap! That’s fucking amazing. You’d be able to finally get someone to come take care of your mom or send her to that facility that you checked out up in Westchester. The pretty building with the gardens and activities designed to make life for seniors amazing.”
She sighed. “Yeah. I could finally get her an apartment there. If I take the job.”
Star frowned. “What do you mean if you take the job? Why the hell wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know,” she sipped her wine. “Jae Drachen is so…hot. But the attraction I felt for him almost scared me.”
Star’s mouth dropped open. “He’s hot? And you’re still questioning this? What the hell is wrong with you? When was the last time you were interested in any man?”
She shrugged. “It’s been a while.”
“I’ll tell you how long it’s been. Two fucking years. Two. Years. Since Darren got deployed and never came home. Two years, babe. You can’t live like this.”
Darren Mitchell had been her boyfriend for three years. Most of their relationship happened online or long distance since he’d been deployed for the majority of those three years.
She’d met him as one of her brother’s friends and whenever he came home, they were in a steady relationship that would one day move past long distance and to something else. She never got a chance to see that through since he didn’t return from his last deployment.
Darren had been her friend, there wasn’t a crazy amount of sexual tension in their relationship like she’d felt from meeting Jae. But she’d loved Darren. He’d been sweet, kind and he’d given her what she needed, stability. It broke her when he died and she’d had a hard time moving past it and dating again.
“Is he a liar? Get a sense of him being something he isn’t?” Star asked from the kitchen again.
“No. In fact, he’s the opposite. I sensed complete honesty. Plus, he’s a shifter.”
Spoons hit the counter and Star rushed out of the kitchen again. “A shifter? Like a real, real one?”
She laughed at Star’s shocked expression. “Yes. You know they exist. We both do. Even if they try to keep us in the dark about their existence.”
“Oh my god, Avery. He’s hot, rich and a shifter? I read those guys have the stamina of a wild animal.”
That was the last thing Avery wanted to think about. “Great. Thanks for that.”
“Sorry,” Star laughed and headed back for the kitchen. She came out a moment later with two bowls of baked ziti and passed one to Avery.
“You know, I shouldn’t be eating again. I had French toast for dinner,” she said as she took a bite of the delicious pasta. Star was a damn good cook and Avery would never turn her food away.
“That’s like four hours ago. You’re due for a snack anyway.”
“It’s all your awesome food and that French toast that has my curvy ass looking the way I do,” she laughed.
Star rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’re damn hot. Those curves on you are killer. I mean, you have the tiniest waist and the sexiest hourglass body I’ve ever seen. And let’s not forget that ass!”
“Not,” she sputtered. “Let’s not mince words here, Star. I’m a big girl and I can hide my weight well. I still have rolls and flabby thighs and a heck of a lot of jiggle.”
Star laughed. “I’m pretty sure that’s what men like.” She winked. “It’s what Chris tells me whenever I ask if I’m fat. He says he needs something to cuddle and I’m damn fine as I am.”
Chris might have his issues with commitment, but he sure knew how to make Star feel loved and wanted. Darren had never said a thing about Avery’s weight. He’d told her she was beautiful just the way she was and that was enough for her. But now she wondered how Jae saw her. He was good looking and she’d sensed his desire for her physical appearance. She didn’t consider herself ugly, far from it, but she wanted to know what else the dragon thought of her. How much did he want her?
“So what are you going to do about the job?”
“I’m going to sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.” Maybe her dreams would tell her something to make the decision easier.