Five

Griffin

 

 

I slam the door behind me, annoyed that I just wasted an entire night with that woman. I shoot Lilly a text asking if there’s something I did that would make her want to punish me by setting me up with Heather. Then I pull my sweater off and unbutton my jeans, pushing them down. Toeing off my shoes, I kick them into my closet then throw on a pair of basketball shorts before I step outside onto my porch, needing some fresh air.

My phone dings.

Prim: She seemed nice at Pilates.

Me: Maybe because there isn’t much talking at Pilates?

Prim: Maybe…I’m sorry! Was it that bad?

Me: It’s okay. But I won’t be seeing her ever again. How’s my boy?

Prim: Perfect! We’re watching a movie. Come over for breakfast in the morning.

Me: You got it. Have a good night.

Prim: Night!

I throw my phone onto the small table that’s situated between two lounge chairs I purchased and set up a couple days ago. Lilly insisted I needed to have some furniture out here and I’m glad I listened. It’s a nice spot to relax outside. It overlooks the community pond, which has a water fountain type of thing spraying water out in the middle.

Leaning against the rail, I hang my head. I should feel grateful my life is finally coming together. I have a bar and restaurant that is gaining popularity by the day. I have a healthy son and a brother and sister-in-law who would do anything for me. I’m living in an apartment that isn’t rat infested and has an actual leasing company instead of some shady guy trying to rip people off. I was even able to purchase a new vehicle recently that’s only slightly used, opposed to my old vehicle which was from an entirely different decade! But for some reason, I still feel like something is missing.

“Ay dios, mio!” My head jerks up at the sound of the sexy accent, and standing on her porch in tiny silky looking pajamas, is Ava. “Ms. McBarton, the elderly woman who used to live in your apartment never came out here.”

“What does that mean? Ay dios, mio.”

Ava giggles at my attempt and failure at making my words sound like hers. “Oh my god.”

“What? I didn’t botch the words that bad, did I?”

She giggles. “No, ay dios, mio means oh my god.” And suddenly I’m envisioning her saying those same words in my bed while writhing under me.

“At least there’s a wall between us. We can only see each other when standing against the rail,” she points out. “I’ll go back in. You can enjoy your night out here.” Her lips twitch in an adorable way, and even with her tan skin, I can see a slight blush marking her cheeks. I’m not sure why though…

“Wait! You don’t have to go inside.”

She gives me a look of confusion then tries to look over my shoulder. “Your date almost clawed my eyes out over some muffins. I’m not sure she would want me joining your fun.” She gives me a playful wink and I throw my head back in the kind of laughter I haven’t experienced in what feels like forever.

Once I’ve stopped laughing long enough to speak, I say, “She’s not here. I dropped her back off at her house after dinner.”

“That was a quick date.”

“That was a shitty date.” I shake my head. “I should have known it wasn’t going to work out when I ran late from work and picked her up in my bar shirt and jeans, and she insisted I drive to my house to shower and change.”

“I hope you brought her somewhere that serves food with no sugar or preservatives or well, anything in it.” I chuckle again.

“I brought her to Victoria’s, but you’re right. She only ate a salad—sans dressing. On the bright side, she was a cheap date.”

Ava laughs. “Wow! You take her to one of the most exclusive restaurants in Vegas and she only orders a salad? What a waste! There’s no way I would go there and munch on some carrots like a rabbit.”

“To be honest, it’s not really my kind of place, but Prim loves it, so I figured her friend would.” Ava nods in understanding.

“Why do you call her Prim? I imagine a name like that has a story behind it.”

“Her family owns one of the most elite UFC training facilities: Cooper’s Fight Gym. Have you heard of them? You mentioned you like to watch UFC.”

“I love to watch UFC, and yeah, I’ve heard of them. Bella Cooper is my favorite female fighter.”

“Yeah, Bella is her older sister.”

“Cool, but that doesn’t explain why you call her Prim.”

I smile as I think about the first time I met Lilly and dubbed her as Prim. “The first time I met her, she was dressed head to toe in designer clothes. Hair done. Nails done. Expensive purse and phone. She was standing in her family’s gym looking all prim and proper, and completely out of place.” But then she smiled at me with that genuine fucking smile, free of all judgement, and I knew in that moment my brother was fucked.

“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.