Shrugging at her, I grab her hand and start walking out of my bedroom. “I think I need to feed you now, you're getting hangry.”
Avery rolls her eyes at me and follows me into the kitchen. She takes a seat at the island counter and I whip up breakfast for us. It’s a simple meal consisting of coffee and fruit. “Sorry, it’s not much. I didn’t really plan for the morning after.”
“It’s fine, Flynn. I’m not a breakfast person anyway, coffee would have been fine.”
Throughout breakfast we chat and laugh.
“You guys really swapped and no one knew?”
She nods her head. “Yeah, when we were little we got away with it easily but when we got older, our differences started to show. I remember one time in high school, I pretended to be Bay and took an exam, can’t remember how we were caught, but Mom and Dad were so angry at us. We kinda stopped after that.”
“I bet you were a cute kid.”
“Says the cute one.”
“I’m not cute,” I retort.
“Yeah, you are and I bet you were a heartbreaker too. Leaving broken hearts behind in Ireland and at med school.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that accusation.”
“I call bullshit.”
Even though Ave and I are so different, we do have many similar interests: snowshoeing, wine, socializing, we each love dumb mind-numbing games on our phones. I realize, when I’m with her, it’s comfortable. It feels like we’ve known each other for years and not just a few weeks.
“We should totally do that one weekend in the winter.” Her words warm my heart; they don’t freak me out. The fact she’s thinking ahead and thinking about us still being together in a few months’ time makes me smile, this isn’t just some fling to her and that makes me ecstatically happy, because this isn’t just some fling for me either. I want more with this amazing woman. I think I could fall for her…and I hope she could fall for me too.
“Why are you grinning like the Cheshire cat?”
“You just said we should go snowshoeing together.”
“And?”
“Winter is months away. You’re planning in the future for us.”
“And?”
“And it surprised me.”
“How so?” she questions, as she grabs our breakfast dishes and places them in the dishwasher.
“Well, after sneaking out and then your hesitance to go out with me, I didn’t think you were interested.”
She steps around the island and in between my thighs. She wraps her arms around my neck. “Flynn, you took me by surprise that first night, and yes, it really freaked me out, but when I saw you again, something changed within me. And last night was the best night of my life. Great dinner. Amazing company. Pretty good sex—”
“Only pretty good? I think the sex was more along the lines of fucking amazing. Best ever.”
“Okay, your description of the sex is better than mine and one-hundred-percent accurate. But what I’m trying to articulate is that our connection isn’t just physical. It’s emotional too. I haven’t felt inferior or awkward once with you. You bring me to life, Flynn, I’ve never felt like this before.”
“Me neither, Ave.” Her smiles widens. “Why are you now grinning like the Cheshire cat?”
“You called me Ave.”
“So?”
“I normally hate being called Ave, but when you do, I kinda love it.”
“Well, then, Ave lass, I want to know when we can do it again.”
“Do what again?”
“Last night?”
“The date or sex?”
“Both,” I nonchalantly say.
“Dinner next weekend.” She pauses and bites her lip, then she lifts my shirt off her body and drops it to the tiles. “As for the sex, I say now.”
She walks backward and when she hits the sofa, she lies down and beckons me forward with her finger. Standing up, I pull down my sweats and walk over to her. Stopping at the end of the sofa, I stare down at her. “Shit,” I mumble.
“What?”
“The condoms are in the bedroom.”
“I’m still on the pill and you are still the only person I’ve never used protection with before.”
“Are you sure?”
She nods her head. “Yes, now fuck me, Flynn.”
And fuck her I do.
We spend the rest of the morning fucking like rabbits, exploring every inch of each other’s body. They say opposites attract and the attraction between Avery and me, it’s explosive. I just hope we can survive the fallout if it comes to that.
18
Avery
Flynn drops me home mid-afternoon. I have to say, last night was the best date of my life. Flynn is so different from what I thought and he brings me to life in a way like never before. The car ride home was quiet but not awkward. He pulls up in front of my building, leans across the center console, and kisses me. The kiss is searing hot and leaves me wanting more. I’m tempted to drag him upstairs and ravage him, but my nether regions ache and need a rest.
Standing on the curb, I watch him pull away. He’s off to meet his friend, Preston, for an impromptu game of basketball, with a promise to call me later this evening. When his car is out of sight, I turn around and head up to the apartment. Unlocking the front door, I step inside and instantly I’m met with an irate Baylor. “Where the hell have you been?” she bellows at me before I’ve even closed the door.
“I told you, I had a date.”
“You left yesterday evening. It's the afternoon on the following day. I needed you,” she whines.
“I’m sorry, Bay. I thought you’d be okay for one night. I’m here now, what do you need?”
“It’s fine now,” she snaps. “I called a friend. She came running to help when she heard I'd been in the hospital.”
“Seriously, Bay. You have a sprained ankle. You were in the ER for all of five hours. You are not dying and you can totally look after yourself. I think I can have one night out for a date.”
“What if I’d fallen? What if I’d have died? You wouldn’t have known for hours.”
Dramatic much? I think to myself as I walk inside. “Quit with the drama, Bay. You’re fine. You survived the night without me.”
She rolls her eyes in typical overdramatic Bay style. She was always the drama queen when we were growing up. As much as we look alike, we are polar opposites personality-wise. “Who did you go out with?”
“Flynn.”
“The hot doctor?” Nodding my head, I smile as memories of last night, and this morning, come flooding back to me but her next sentence cuts me to the bone. “Why would he go out with you?” she snarls, placing emphasis on the word you.
“Why not?” I defensively ask.
“It’s you. Boring Ms. Evans, grade school teacher.”
“Tell me how you really feel,” I joke, but in what’s become Bay’s new way of life, she lets loose but this time, there’s vengeance and hurt behind her words.
“Okay, I will. You get everything handed to you on a friggin’ silver platter. I try my hardest and I still struggle. You, are the sweet and innocent one. You always swoop in and make everything look easy and perfect. You're a new-age Mary-fucking-Poppins, and you make me sick. One of these days, you will fall off your pedestal and I will be the first person in line to laugh and laugh. Now if you don’t mind, I need to rest my ankle that you don’t seem to give a rat’s ass about.”