Twelve

Ava

 

 

I’m browsing through The Clothes Affair, a trendy boutique owned by Faith and Chloe Cruz, Lilly’s best friends who she refers to as her cousins because she’s grown up with them. It is the most uniquely adorable shop I’ve ever seen and I literally want to buy one of everything.

When we first arrived, Lilly introduced me to the women as, “Ava, the one I told you about with the sex toys.” I about choked on my coffee, but when Chloe and Faith got excited and said they couldn’t wait for the party this weekend, I didn’t feel as embarrassed.

“My goodness! How did I ever live my life without this place?” I say to Lilly, as I grab garment after garment off the racks, refusing to think about how much damage this place is going to do to my bank account. I make a good living and I rarely spend any money, so you know what? Screw it! I deserve this.

 “I know, right?” Lilly agrees, grabbing a few items herself to try on. “Ever since Chloe and Faith opened this place a couple years ago, I’ve become addicted. I make them show me what they get in before they show it to anybody else.”

“It probably helps that you spend more in here in a month than most people do all year,” Faith says.

“I don’t know, her sister might have her beat,” Chloe argues playfully.

“You better show me what you guys have before you show Bella. Now that I’m living down the street from her, she’s always coming over and stealing my stuff. I swear I’m going to have Sean put a padlock on my closet door. I love my sister, but you know I love my clothes more.”

The woman all laugh.

“Guess who I saw last night?” Chloe asks no one in particular. “Griffin,” she says, answering her own question. “My mom and dad watched the babies so Cameron and I could go to dinner. Of course my sports obsessed husband wanted to go somewhere to watch the game, so we ended up at King’s. Anyway, I guess Griffin needed to stop by real quick with Levi to check on something…place an order…I don’t know,” Chloe says then smirks at me. “But what I do know is, while he was in the back, Levi had much to say about his new friend, Ava.” She tilts her head slightly to the side and giggles, and the other two women jerk their heads to me.

“Are you and Griffin…?” Lilly asks, grinning from ear-to-ear.

“No! I mean…ugh! I don’t know.” I sigh dramatically. Then feeling the sudden need to tell someone what’s going through my head, and having three women in front of me, I word vomit at the mouth. “I had sworn off men, and I was doing a damn good job at it! My last two boyfriends cheated. Not just one but two!” I hold up two fingers to emphasize my point. “I told myself, ‘No more men!’” I flail my arms out in frustration. “I was done. The last guy got the house and I got the dog.” The woman all listen intently.

“That’s actually how I found Passion Kisses. What I would give to throw it in the last guy’s face that my toys do a better job at getting me off than he ever did.” The women all giggle in unison.

“Maybe you just need to find the right guy,” Lilly points out, completely free of judgement.

“That’s exactly what Griffin said!” I say, feeling exasperated. “But you know what? My toys aren’t going to selfishly get off first. They’re going to please me every time, and they aren’t going to cheat on me or run the risk of giving me an STD.”

“Well, if Griffin is anything like his brother…and I’ve heard rumors they are both genetically gifted”—Lilly waggles her eyebrows—“He will know exactly how to use what God gave him.”

“Yeah, rumors,” I fire back, “from all the women he’s been whoring around with. Just what I need is to be cheated on again. No, thank you. My toys are a sure thing and won’t break my heart, thank you very much.”

Lilly frowns. “Griffin’s not like that, Ava. Sure, he’s had his fair share of women, but so did Sean.” She glances at Chloe and Faith.

“Cameron was a huge player before he met me and settled down,” Chloe admits.

“When Brad and I got together our senior year of college, I made him buy a new bed before I would sleep with him. God knows how many women he was with before me,” Faith adds.

“I’m sure there are plenty of guys who don’t sleep around, but most of them, until they have a reason to settle down, do,” Lilly says. “I won’t throw Griffin’s business out there but he’s a good guy. He has had a shit hand dealt to him but he’s one of the most selfless, compassionate men I’ve ever met. He keeps everyone around him centered. He has a huge heart, and I don’t believe for a second he would cheat.”

I nod in understanding wanting to believe her, but the last two guys I was with I honest to god thought they would never cheat and they did.

Letting out a confused sigh, I say, “I’m safe with my toys. I have my dog and my job and I’m happy. I enjoy Griffin’s company and Levi is adorable. It’s better to keep it all separate that way nobody gets hurt.” I shrug and walk away toward the fitting rooms to try on the clothes I picked out.

After Faith checks us out, we head over to the gym. I thought Pilates was supposed to be easy and relaxing, much like meditation, but I was wrong! Pilates is not for the weak. It worked several muscles I didn’t even know existed, but I really enjoyed it.

“Want to grab some lunch?” Lilly asks after we shower and change back into our clothes in the locker room.

“Sure, I don’t have much going on today.”

“What do you do?” she asks as we walk to her car since she picked me up this morning, so we could ride together

“Anything graphic or web design related. I design book covers, create websites...”

“And sell sex toys,” she adds, smiling.

“Yep! I make pretty good money from the parties, actually. You’d be surprised how many women are looking to spice up their sex lives.”

We get into her car and she starts driving somewhere for lunch. “I believe it. I’m happy with my sex life, but…” I glance at her and her mouth is turned down into a frown. “Well, we’ve been trying to have a baby for the last year, and it’s been harder than we thought. It feels like our sex life has gone from fun and spontaneous to timed and regulated.”

I nod, remembering what Levi mentioned. “You want to make it fun again.”

“Yes! I think Sean would get a kick out of the toys. I’ve decided I’m not going to keep track of when I’m ovulating anymore. No more checking temps or dates. When it happens, it happens.”

“It will happen,” I say unsure of what else to say.

We pull up to a building I don’t recognize. It’s definitely not a restaurant I’ve ever been to. Lilly parks and we get out. When we walk around to the front the sign reads, “King’s Bar.”

“Really? Griffin’s restaurant?” I shoot her a look but she simply shrugs and smiles.

We walk inside and the hostess greets us. It’s lunch time on a Wednesday and the place is busy. “Hey Lilly! Two?”

“Yes, please.”

We’re shown to a corner booth and once we’re seated I start checking out the place. There are several large flat screen televisions lining the walls with various sports games playing. The booths and tables are a deep burgundy and the floors are a beautiful dark hardwood. The bar is toward the side, all the stools filled with bodies. The place is understated yet gorgeous.

“I helped him renovate,” Lilly points out, pride shining through in her words. “I even made him hire a real chef. The menu is amazing!”

My eyes roam the place as I look for Griffin. When I spot him, my heart plummets and my stomach feels like lead. Standing on one side of the bar, he’s leaning in toward a sexy, red-headed woman who is sitting on the other side. He looks serious, with his forearms resting on the bar top and her hands touching his arms. He looks up suddenly, almost as if he feels himself being watched, and backs up. Our eyes lock and his go wide. The woman follows his line of vision.

“Like I said.” I nod toward Griffin and the redhead who’s now shooting daggers at me. “My heart is safe with the toys.”

“Jesus,” Lilly curses under breath. “That’s just Holly. You have nothing to worry about with her.” The name is like a punch to the gut, Levi’s unknowing admittance of his father hooking up with her.

“Gym Whore Holly?” I ask to confirm, and Lilly’s eyes bug out.

“Griffin told you about her?”

“Levi did. He didn’t mean to. He thought hooking up and getting hit on meant fighting, not fucking.” I sneak one last glance to Griffin who’s now stalking toward us. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt—sleeves rolled to his elbows—with suspenders and dress up slacks. His shirt is tucked in, and today he’s sporting sexy glasses. He’s dressed up, yet looks casual. Until today, I’ve only seen him in jeans and let me tell you, the man can rock a pair of jeans like it’s nobody’s business. But something about him being dressed up has the apex of my thighs clenching in need. In jeans, he looks casual. He’s a friend, a dad, a brother. In this outfit…he’s more. A businessman. Someone you take seriously. Take orders from.

And my guard is up because there’s no way I can let him in. I would never survive it.

“Griffin.” Lilly nods her hello.

“Prim,” he says back, his eyes never leaving mine. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say, looking down at my menu even though I’ve completely lost my appetite.

“Ava.” My name comes out like a plea but I ignore it. I’ve already been down this road and I know exactly where it leads. The only difference between Griffin and my exes is that they weren’t even the cheating types. They weren’t cool or sexy. They were average. They were safe…or so I thought. They didn’t work out at the gym. They didn’t have gorgeous women fawning over them. And still they cheated.

To believe for a second, Griffin, the guy I’ve seen with not one but two stunning women, would have any reason to stay faithful, to be inclined to stick with one woman, would be ludicrous.

“Are you taking our order?” I ask him, my voice cold and robotic.

His fists clench at his sides, but when Lilly shakes her head, he nods once. “What would you like to drink?”

“I’ll take a coke.”

“I’ll have a lemon water, please,” Lilly says. Griffin nods again and stalks off.

“Ava,” Lilly says softly, but I shake my head.

“Please don’t,” I beg. “I really like you, and you’re friends with him. I don’t want to put you in the middle. Please.”

“Okay, but—”

“No.” I shake my head emphatically. “He might be a good man. The right man for someone. But he’s not the man for me.”

She nods solemnly but drops it.