Briefly Yours, page 12
Justin gave Ava an uncertain look, and turned back at his mother. “My cell is on for the rest of the night. All night. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you call me. All right?”
“Okay.”
“Promise me you’ll call?”
“Yes. Now go on,” she insisted, shooing them both out of the house.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Barrett,” Ava said.
“Likewise, dear.”
Justin gave her an embarrassed look while he grabbed the car keys out of his pocket. “You ready?”
She smiled. “Yeah.”
Poker players parked on the street and headed up to his mother’s house while Ava and Justin got back into the car.
“She’s in for a fun night,” Ava noted, turning back to watch them go inside.
“Yeah,” Justin said, teeth gritted.
Justin drove Ava home without a word, and by the time he pulled the Jeep into her driveway, she couldn’t stand the silence anymore.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
He walked with her to the front door. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”
She gave him a knowing look. “No, it’s not. You might as well tell me. You were fine until we got to your Mom’s.”
He still didn’t respond.
She looked at him, frustrated. “Jus…”
He scuffed one foot on the sidewalk. Then he looked up at her. “Now you know.”
She furrowed her brow, confused. “Know what?”
“What you asked me about the other night.”
She shook her head. “I don’t…”
“About my parents. I told you there wasn’t much to tell. I told you the truth. There isn’t much. My dad took off before I was born. Never met the guy. And that was my mom.”
“Yeah. I’m glad I met her. She’s nice…”
“She used to be really pretty.”
Ava frowned. “She still is.”
“I mean…yeah, she is, but…she used to take care of herself better. When she worked, she always tried to do herself up nicely. Make-up…her hair was nice. Seems like long time ago. I don’t know when that stopped. Now she just…seems like she’s given up.”
“She looked fine to me, Justin…I don’t think she’s…”
“So now you know.”
“I know what?”
“I’ve been pretending.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m trying to figure this out, but I have to admit I’m a little confused here.”
“Nothing confusing about it. I’ve been faking it all along. Only I guess I can’t hide it from you anymore.”
“Justin, what are you talking about? What are you hiding from me? What do you mean ‘pretending’?”
“You know. Pretending to be this rich guy with everything going for him.”
She tried to smile. “You do have everything going for you.”
“But none if it’s true. Well, tonight you saw the truth. That’s where I came from. We lived in a trailer before she bought that house. That run-down, beaten up house that she refuses to leave.” He shook his head, a disgusted look on his face.
She touched his arm, but he pulled away. “Justin…”
“Don’t feel sorry for me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because of what you saw. I know you must think…that…”
“How do you know what I think?”
He gave her a guilty look.
She took his face between her hands, examining his sheepish expression. “I don’t feel one bit sorry for you. Why should I? Or your mom. She seems like an amazing, proud woman. So what if she doesn’t have a fancy house? She knows what’s important.”
“Yeah…” he muttered.
“She raised you, didn’t she?” Ava started walking toward the front door without him. “If you ask me, you turned out pretty well.”
“Where are you going?” he called after her.
“I can’t believe you,” she said, disbelief in her voice.
“Why?”
“Is that why you wouldn’t tell me anything about your mom? Because of her house and where she lives? Because she doesn’t have a lot of expensive stuff? What, did you think I’d judge you?”
He shrugged. “I…”
“Did you?”
After a moment, Justin shrugged and looked at her.
Ava let out a sigh. “After all we’ve been through…”
“I didn’t grow up like you, Ava. My mom wasn’t starring in TV shows and buying nice clothes.
Ava shook her head, giving him a look like she couldn’t believe he just said that. She started walking away again.
“She worked in a diner so she could put food on the table. I started working when I was fourteen to help out.”
“You’re just digging yourself deeper, Justin.”
“Wait…”
She turned around, her eyes meeting his. “And you think that any of this would have mattered to me?”
He took her arm. “How could it not?”
She rolled her eyes.
“I’m serious. How could it not? You think your mom would want you hanging out with someone like me?”
She yanked her arm away. “What, so now my mom’s shallow, too?”
“That’s not…what I meant,” he murmured.
“I don’t care how much money your mom had…or has. And I don’t care where you grew up. And I can’t believe you think I’d judge you for it.” She stormed away from him.
“Ava, wait. Come back here…”
She stopped and turned to face him.
“I wasn’t saying you’re shallow. That’s not how I wanted it to come out. Look, it’s my issue…I’m the one who’s ashamed of it.”
She took a step closer. “What do you have to be ashamed of?”
He shrugged.
“Well…stop being ashamed.”
He nodded, as if thinking about it. “Easier said than done.”
“I’m sure you’d done harder things.”
“I didn’t mean to insult you, Ava. Like I said. It’s my issue.”
“Well, get over it.”
He pondered that for a minute, and then gave her a half-grin, trying to break the tension. “I like it when you get all demanding.”
She couldn’t help but smile a little. After a moment, she added, “Promise me you’ll try.”
“Yeah. I guess…I guess I can do that.”
“Good. I think that’s a great idea. Because your mom’s amazing.” She stopped to give him a shy, little smile before she wrapped her arms around him. “And so are you.”
“Now you know about me,” he said. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against him. “You know the truth.”
She leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. A grin came over her face when she rubbed her cheek against his. “Good.”
“Get your hide in here now. I want to meet this guy,” an irritated Charlotte said on the other end of the phone.
“We’re coming,” Ava replied. She flipped her cell shut and stuffed it in her purse, then turned to Justin while they walked down Melrose toward The Bungalow Club for Charlotte’s party. “I think she’s drunk already.”
With a shrug, Justin grinned. “It is her birthday.”
When they reached the outside of the club, Ava took a deep breath and grabbed Justin’s hand for moral support. “You sure you’re ready for this?” she asked.
The picture of confidence, he replied, “Sure.” He squeezed her hand. “You?”
“Yeah,” she muttered. Liar. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d introduced someone she was dating to her friends, and she wasn’t sure how they’d react.
Justin, however, looked perfectly at ease as they strode inside the crowded bar area toward the outdoor back patio.
Cabanas surrounded the perimeter, with open tables in the middle. Heat lamps warmed the cool night air, and white candles cast a soft glow over the patio area.
At their reserved cabana table, Charlotte jumped up from her chair when she saw them.
“Ava!” Charlotte brought them both over to the table. “Here she is. Everyone, this is Justin. Justin, this is Danni and Rick, Kristin and Adam, and this is Stefanie.” She grinned. “And I’m Charlotte.”
“The birthday girl.” Justin’s smile widened as he shook her hand.
Charlotte giggled, her cheeks reddening.
Justin exchanged pleasantries with her friends while Charlotte motioned a server toward them. She pointed to Justin and Ava. “Excuse me, can we get these two a drink?”
But the server rushed past without hearing her.
“I’ll take care of it,” Justin volunteered. He turned to Ava. “What are you having?”
“A martini?” Ava replied, hoping it would calm her down a little.
He nodded and turned to her friends. “Anyone else want anything?”
Everyone shook their heads, the girls staring at Justin with fascination.
Before heading off to get drinks, Justin gave Ava a little kiss on the cheek. “Be right back.”
Ava hugged Charlotte. “Happy Birthday.”
“Birthday-Schmirthday. How did you forget to mention that he’s gorgeous?” Charlotte demanded, pushing Ava away.
“And a gentleman,” Stefanie pointed out, raising her half-full margarita glass for emphasis.
“Go, Ava,” Danni said, taking a sip of beer. “So that’s why we haven’t seen you lately.”
Ava blushed and sat down. “You guys…”
“Come on now, you’ve been holding out on us long enough. We want every hot detail,” Danni said, devouring a shrimp appetizer.
“Give her a break,” Rick said, leaning back comfortably in his chair.
“Yeah,” Adam agreed.
“No,” Danni insisted, glaring at her boyfriend. “She’s been AWOL for over a month.”
Charlotte grabbed a tiny pizza appetizer that just arrived at their table. “She’s got a big project at work that’s keeping her busy.”
Danni nodded in Justin’s direction before grabbing another shrimp. “Yeah. I’ll just bet,” she said dryly.
Charlotte gently elbowed Danni and shot her a look, while Ava laughed to herself. She loved it when they talked about her like she wasn’t there.
Justin returned with drinks and sat down between Ava and Charlotte.
“So…Justin. How’d you get Ava to go out with you?” Charlotte asked, downing the rest of her beer.
Ava wanted to cover her face with her hands and crawl underneath the table. Here we go. The humiliation begins.
“Yeah,” Kristin asked, leaning in closer.
All of a sudden, all eyes were on Justin.
Danni nudged her. “That was kind of rude, Charl,” she whispered.
Charlotte’s face turned red. “Ha! I didn’t mean it like that! I just mean that she…ah…” She sighed and slumped in her chair. “You all know what I mean.”
Justin grinned at Ava. “Well, it wasn’t easy.”
“She never is,” Stefanie laughed.
Ava gave her friend a look that said shut up.
“I guess you could say…I wore her down,” Justin said. “It took a while, but she finally agreed to have dinner with me one night…and…” He grabbed Ava’s hand. “The rest is history.”
“Wow,” Stefanie said, like that was the most romantic story in the world.
“Come on, you had to have gone through more than that to get her,” Kristin said, frowning.
With a huge grin on her face, Charlotte nudged Ava’s arm. “So much for your plan to stay an old maid, huh?”
“I had a plan?” Ava asked innocently.
“Come on, don’t you remember in eighth grade when you had a crush on Derek Larston?” Charlotte asked.
Ava rolled her eyes. “Do we have to go there?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“When he started going out with Kelly instead of you, you told us you were bound to wind up an old maid.”
“And we’ve been calling her that behind her back ever since,” Danni told Justin.
“Really,” Justin said, fascinated, his eyes bright.
“She even started designing her underwear wardrobe to match that image,” Charlotte said. “As I’m sure you know.”
“Okay, that’s it. No more talk about my underwear,” Ava laughed, dying for this conversation to be over.
“Justin, what do you do?” Charlotte asked.
More appetizers arrived at the table.
Kristin turned to Rick. “Did you order these?”
“I was hungry,” he replied, grabbing an egg roll.
Kristin shrugged and took one.
“I, uh…I’m a consultant…for a lot of different companies,” Justin replied, helping himself to an egg roll, too.
“Do you like it?”
He gave them a smile. “It keeps me moving around a lot. And it keeps my skills sharp.”
Justin quickly changed the subject off of work. Everyone demanded to know more about how he’d gotten together with Ava. She hoped he wouldn’t reveal too many embarrassing details, but he remained the gentleman and very elusive about certain things. He kept the conversation moving from movies, to outdoor activities, to sports. Ava relaxed, just as fascinated with Justin as her friends seemed to be.
The party kept going until after two a.m. when the club closed.
Ava sighed with relief when it was time to go, but more from wanting to get Justin all to herself than the fact that she was tired.
When everyone finally split up, Charlotte pointed to Justin. “You take care of Ava.”
“Will do,” he said.
“See you tomorrow, Charlotte,” Ava said, giving her a hug. “We’ll fit that bra for your dress.”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to see this,” Charlotte joked, adjusting her bosom.
Later, Justin lay in Ava’s bed, waiting for her to join him. He looked around her bedroom, leaning back against the comfortable down pillows. He liked this place. He’d spent less and less time at his sterile, almost empty corporate apartment the last few weeks, preferring to be here with her whenever he got the chance.
He was glad she’d invited him to the party. He’d gotten proof of what he suspected all along: Ava had real friends who accepted her for who she was. Those people had known everything about her since eighth grade, the fantastic parts and the embarrassing parts, and he wondered what that would be like. Hell, when he’d escaped from middle school, he never looked back. But what he wouldn’t give to have what she’d had. To have someone know and accept him like that.
He looked up to find Ava silhouetted in the doorway. If she could look any sexier in her tiny little nightgown, he had no idea how. She came in holding the Kama Sutra book with both hands against her chest, and then offered it to him.
She grinned and climbed onto the bed, straddling his lap. He sighed. Finally. He’d wanted to get her on top of him all night.
“What page do you want to do?” she asked.
She waited with an expectant look on her face. After a minute, Justin took the book, and then tossed it onto the nightstand. He reached for her. “How about we make up our own variation?”
She nodded. “That would be…” She gasped when his hand slid up her thigh and underneath the nightgown. “Um…good.”
He loved it when he got her excited. Loved her little sighs of pleasure and the way her cheeks flushed and how her breath started coming faster. He pulled the nightgown over her head, and then rolled her over until she lay beneath him. “You’ve known everyone at the party tonight since eighth grade?” He settled himself on top of her.
“First grade, actually.” She stroked her hands along his sides and added affectionately, “And every one of them is a pain in the butt.”
“They adore you.”
She laughed. “No, I think they adore you.”
Justin wrapped his arms around her, never more content in his life. He loved the way she felt. He loved…her? Nah, he couldn’t go there.
Damn. They were good together, in every way he could think of. He’d wanted to tell her he was leaving, but as he leaned down and brought his mouth to hers, he knew he couldn’t bring himself to do it tonight.
Charlotte emerged from Ava’s bedroom wearing her blue bridesmaid’s dress with the strapless bra Ava had made for her underneath. She twirled around for inspection. Which meant she couldn’t have had that much of a hangover from her birthday party. Good.
“My sister has no taste,” Charlotte said, examining the ruffles on the bottom.
“She went for…flamboyant,” Ava said hopefully.
“I would have settled for simple and elegant,” Charlotte huffed. “Does the bra show anywhere?” she asked, peeking down at her cleavage.
Sitting comfortably on her blue denim couch, Ava shook her head. “How does it fit?”
Charlotte smoothed her hands over her dress. “The dress…aside from being ugly, okay. The bra…perfect.”
“Shift around some. Does it itch or anything? Ride up?”
Charlotte moved her shoulders around, and then shook her head. “It’s so comfortable! I’ve never had a bra fit like this.”
“Good.” Ava smiled to herself, thinking about the efforts she’d gone to before Charlotte finally agreed to give her a chance to make her this bra. It didn’t hurt that their shopping trip left them empty handed and Charlotte was desperate, but Ava knew all along her friend would be happy with the end result.
“Hey, how’d you whip this up so fast when you’ve got that big presentation coming up?”
Ava shrugged, unable to hold back a secretive little smile. “The muse has been good to me lately.”
“I want to give you money for this…”
“What?” Ava gave her friend a look like she’d gone crazy. “Don’t be silly. I’m not taking your money.”
Satisfied that she had a happy customer, she packed a few sewing supplies back in her bag.
“I’m serious,” Charlotte protested, fooling around with the top of the dress. “You saved me. Don’t know what I would have done for this wedding. No store sells anything that works with this crazy dress my sister picked out, and those pasty things you stick on your boobs don’t work too well.” She sighed. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”
