“Always,” I said, nodding my head.
I had to think of a way to get him out of the apartment for a while so that Ava could make a break for it. This was not what I’d had in mind when I woke up. I was planning on fixing us a nice breakfast in bed and just relaxing with a lazy Saturday that I’d hoped to stretch to a lazy Sunday. We could eat, make love, take a nap and do it all over again, really relax and have an amazing time. I knew, though, that this was going to affect Dean hard, and he needed a place to be.
“Hey, man,” I said, a solution popping into my head. “It’s early, but do you want to go get a drink?”
“Hell, yeah, I do,” he said, brightening up.
“Awesome,” I said with a sigh. “Let me change and brush my teeth, and we can head out. You just make yourself at home.”
“Alright, man,” he said, leaning back.
I jumped up from the couch and hurried toward the bedroom, only opening the door a sliver before scooting in and closing the door softly behind me. Ava was sitting there in the bed, a look of bewilderment on her face. She was dressed and clutching her coat, shaking her head back and forth. I sat down next to her and pulled her into my chest. I didn’t know what she knew at that point, but I had to figure out a way to tell her.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I know this is crazy.”
“I just have no words,” she said sniffling.
“Look,” I said pulling back and looking her in the face. “Your dad said that—”
“I heard everything.” She shook her head. “Everything. I can’t believe my mother would do this.”
“I’m so sorry, Ava,” I said hugging her again.
This was not right. I should be there for her, not having her sneak out of my apartment like we were teenagers getting caught. She needed me at that moment, and I was starting out something special between us by tossing her to the side. However, with everything going on with her father, that was not the time to reveal to him our secret.
“I want to be here for you,” I said, lifting her chin. “But I have to get you out of here so your father doesn’t find out. I told him we would go get some drinks. I’ll take him a few blocks away, so you can take your time and get out comfortably. Text me when you make it home safely.”
“Whatever,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Just go, I want to get home.”
I felt bad, and she was obviously upset with me. She sat there and watched me as I pulled clothes out of the closet and got dressed. I brushed my teeth and walked back over to her, leaning over to kiss her lips. She turned her face away from me, tears pooling in her eyes. I sighed and kissed her cheek before grabbing my wallet and phone and creeping back outside. I shut the door behind me and stood there for a second, wishing there was some other way for me to be there for both of them. This was an absolutely impossible situation, and I had to choose between the two of them. This was going to take a toll on Ava, big time. I also knew there was a good chance that this would highly affect our future together, which was something I was really trying to avoid. It was becoming annoying how the universe seemed to push back against us, but I was determined to not let it win.
“You ready?” I stood there with my jacket over my arm looking at Dean who was standing at the window looking over the city.
“Yeah,” he said, turning around and faking a smile.
We walked out of the apartment and closed the doors. I locked them for show and stepped into the elevator, letting out a deep breath as the doors closed. Ava might be upset with me, but at least her father won’t find out about all this, especially not while he was going through something as traumatizing as his wife cheating on him. We jumped into a cab and I gave them the address of an Irish pub in upper Manhattan where we could get some breakfast and some whiskey at the same time.
Dean sat quietly staring out the window, and I tried to get my mind off the fact that I left Ava there to sneak out of the apartment. I wanted to text her but at that point, it was too risky, and I knew she was upset with me over all of this. I had made friends with her father, thinking it would help her out but it seemed to have backfired in my face. As much as I wanted Dean in my life, Ava had almost become more important, and now, I was regretting making the choice.
Hopefully, by the time we got back, Ava would be home, relaxed, and a little less in shock. It would be a long few days with Dean at my house and me unable to see Ava outside of work, but I would just have to survive it. Hopefully, Ava could remember that I cared about her, and this didn’t all come crashing down around me.
Chapter 18: Ava
I sat on the edge of the bed clutching my coat for about fifteen minutes after my father and Tanner had left. My weekend had started out with a bang, and now I felt like I had been shot in the chest. Everything was perfect, and I was finally starting to let Tanner in, and then, my father shows up at the door. I had to sneak out of Tanner’s apartment like I was a goddamn hooker instead of a grown woman making her own decisions. Now, though, with my mother having cheated on my father, there was no way I could come out and be honest with him. It would break his heart. Even if I didn’t tell him tha
t I was seeing Tanner and just told him that I worked for the company, he would feel betrayed by both me and Tanner, and all while he was going through one of the hardest things in his life.
I didn’t know what my mother was thinking, sleeping with some young pool boy, but I wanted to give her a piece of my mind. At that moment, though, that was the least of my worries, considering I was about to make the worst walk of shame I had ever experienced. I got up and went in the bathroom, trying to make myself look presentable. I stared at my face in the mirror. My cheeks were rosy, my eyes were sad, and my hair was poufy, great. With a sigh, I pulled my hair back in a high ponytail, letting the curls do their thing. I knew exactly what I needed. I needed my best friend.
I left the apartment, locking the doorknob and pulling the door closed after checking my things several times. I left all the lights on in the house, so it wouldn’t look different when they got back. My father was a smart man and knew when things were off. The last thing I wanted was for him to start getting suspicious. I went out of the lobby and caught a cab, looking around like I was a criminal trying to sneak away from a crime scene. I gave the cab Brianna’s address and sat back, resting my head against the back of the seat and closing my eyes.
How did everything get so messed up? I couldn’t even start to think about what happened, or anything that I had heard my father say. I knew he was being candid, and he would have never acted like that in front of me. He was a tough man, full of pride, and I knew it must have taken him a lot to go to Tanner and ask him for help. At least I knew my father was safe and with someone who would look out for him. I, on the hand, was wandering blindly, not sure where I should land. I knew that Brianna would have some advice, she always did when it really mattered.
When the cab pulled up in front of Brianna’s apartment complex, I paid the driver and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, stopping halfway to take off my heels. I knew she wasn’t going to be awake yet, but I had a really good reason for waking her up. It wasn’t very often that I had drama in my life. It was usually her with her easy-going personality and fuck-it reasoning. This time, though, I would need her to tell it like she always did, straight and to the point. I didn’t want anyone to continue sugarcoating things to me like I was a child. I was a grown woman, and it was starting to get really annoying having to hide things from people and be involved in this mess of a tryst with Tanner. I was sick and tired of all of it.
When I got to her door, I rang the doorbell several times, listening to her shuffling around the apartment. I waved at the peephole and watched as she flung the door open, her hair a mess but her eyes wide with curiosity. She stepped to the side and let me in, closing the door behind us. I could tell she already knew something big was going on.
“Well, hello there,” she said. “Either you had a seriously fancy breakfast or you are wearing the same clothes as last night.”