Avery: Sensual Desire: New Adult College Romance (Coral Gables Series Book 2) (27 page)

“
That’s Thierry, my ex-boyfriend’s brother.”

“
Avery, Thierry … Wait a minute. You dated Avery Morrison, captain of the football team?” she asks, suddenly all wide-eyed curiosity.

I nod. “But that was more than three months ago. We broke up when some things came between us.”

“
Oh, and I suspect these things were all called Pearl Stiles.”

“
How do you know so much about him?”

“
I know them both, we grew up together,” Caydie explains. “And I also know that she’s a total bitch.”

“
Oh, well, I wouldn’t call her bitch,” I muse.

“
What would you call her?”

“
An ugly, calculating monster.” I smirk.

Caydie giggles in surprise. “Yeah, that fits better. The worst is that she still tries to sneak up on Avery hoping to get him back. He recently visited his parents, and only a few minutes later, she was at their door, too. The scene she was making because he doesn’t want to be with her anymore … It was unbelievably embarrassing, at least in my eyes. I’ve rarely seen anything more gratifying from my balcony,” she finishes in an amused voice.

“
What happened exactly?” It’s great that she knows Ave, because now I can finally talk about my failed relationship with someone from the outside, someone who wasn’t there when we were together.

“
Well … She arrived about fifteen minutes after he went in, marched into the house, and obviously talked him into discussing their issues in the backyard. I only noticed their argument because she kept yelling at him. So I went out on the balcony to eavesdrop. That may not be very tactful, but I admit I can be quite nosy.

“
In any case, she told him she was better than the wallflower he was pining after, that he should finally see the light, and so on and so forth. But then Avery suddenly screamed at her. He told her not to talk like that about the woman he loves. The whole thing ended with Pearl crying bitterly and Avery’s dad threw her out of the house after she’d taken to vandalizing the yard. Mrs. Morrison is the proud owner of some prize-winning rose bushes, and Pearl had started to rip them apart. You should have seen her go postal. It was quite a sight.” Caydie laughs. “I’ve never seen so much drama outside the movies.”

I chuckle. “I wished I could’ve seen that. She’s the one who separated us with her awful mouth, so I guess she deserved to be taken down a notch.”

“
Oh, believe me, she deserves that and a lot more.” Caydie grins.

We start laughing out loud. It’s nice to know someone who likes Pearl as much as I do …
not at all
.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door, and we both start. But it’s only Thierry. “Thanks for waiting with me. Can we take you anywhere?” I ask Caydie.

She shakes her head. “No, thank you. Thierry and I have a difficult story of our own, and my car is outside anyway.”

“
You two dated?” I blurt out.

“
Yes, when I was in high school,” Caydie says.

“
Wow.”

“
But that’s long past.” She smiles and walks with me to the door.

“
Will you tell me more about it?” I ask curiously.

“
What shift are you working tomorrow?” she asks.

“
Late shift again.”

“
Then I’ll tell you tomorrow after work,” she promises.

We leave the diner, and Caydie locks the door.

“
See you tomorrow.” I smile.

She kisses me on the cheek. “Tomorrow, pumpkin.”

I look after her to see that she makes it safely to her car before I get into Thierry’s. I notice he’s also looking after Caydie. “Hi,” I say. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“
No problem, it was only a few minutes,” he says, waving a dismissive hand.

“
Still, it wasn’t nice to make you wait.”

“
There are worse things, Dale.” Thierry starts the car. On the street, Caydie is ahead of us, and he follows her closely.

“
Old love never dies, they say,” I tease.

He flinches, and then he looks at me. “What?”

“
Nothing, forget it.” I giggle as I buckle up.

“
I know her,” he says. “I didn’t know she works here.”

“
She mentioned that you two know each other,” I say vaguely.

“
Yeah. Way back. And it didn’t work out. But I don’t live in the past. I prefer to look toward the future.”

“
Sounds like a good attitude,” I agree thoughtfully.

“
Maybe you ought to make it yours then,” Thierry suggests.

“
Maybe, but sometimes the past seems too good to put it to rest,” I admit. “And I feel I can take strength from some of my memories.”

“
Which ones?”

“
Well, memories of my Grandpa, especially when he told me he was proud of me just before he died. And also some memories of Avery.”

“
Maybe it’s the same for me with Caydie,” he murmurs.

“
I thought you said you didn’t live in the past,” I protest.

“
That’s true most of the time, but whenever I see her, I somehow feel better than I did before. We only broke up because of a stupid fight, and it was her best friend who provoked it.”

“
What happened?” I ask, genuinely interested.

“
Pam told her I made a pass at her and hid one of her earrings underneath my pillow,” he explains. “Caydie found the earring, recognized it, and yelled at me. More than that. We had an awful fight. We both cried a lot, and in the end we sort of made up, but then Pam claimed I slept with her. Which led to Caydie breaking up with me
and
with Pam.”

“
Sounds like a really rotten thing to do,” I say.

“
Pam was a fucked-up little bitch who destroyed everything she couldn’t have for herself,” he answers angrily. “I still hate her for it.”

“
How about coming to the diner a little earlier tomorrow? Then you could talk to Caydie.”

“
Why should I? She doesn’t talk to me anymore, and she’s taken pains to avoid me ever since. Even though we lived practically next door to each other, we never really talked again.”

“
But she won’t be able to avoid you tomorrow.”

“
That’s not a good idea, Dale. I’m going to clear things up with her someday, but not today or tomorrow—I’m not ready,” he says decisively. But a tiny quaver in his voice betrays his insecurity.

“
Okay. I didn’t mean to interfere with your business; I just thought it could be a first step. I’m sorry, Thierry.”

“
It’s okay.” He stops at a red light, and Caydie has pulled into the left lane. The cars wait side-by-side, and Thierry stares over at her.

I can imagine exactly what he’s feeling right now. It’s frighteningly similar to Avery’s and my story. A false friend got us to break up, and now we simply don’t know how to draw nearer again.

“
Whatever happened to our trip to Santa Monica?” I ask.

Thierry looks at me and smiles. “If you’re ready to skip your lectures on Friday, we can leave Thursday afternoon.”

“
I don’t have class on Friday, but I need to tell the people at work.” I smile. “I look forward to it.” Yeah, I would miss Monday classes, but I think I can miss it one time, what’s totally irresponsible. Damn conscience! But I really want to make this trip with him.

“
Me too. As soon as I get home, I’ll book the hotel room.”

“
Two rooms, okay?”

“
Of course. I don’t want my brother to go all berserk on me again just because the two of us shared a bed.” He chuckles.

“
Avery was angry with you?” I ask, surprised.

He nods as he makes a turn at the next intersection. “Yes. He didn’t think sharing a bed with you was funny at all. I don’t think he's ever been that angry with me, but after he took it out on the punching bag for a few minutes, his anger evaporated. So it’s all good.”

“
Oh God. So he didn’t hurt you, did he?” Why on earth did that make Avery this angry?

“
He tried to, but I quickly grabbed him in a headlock and told him to hit the punching bag instead. He kicked the thing from its hook, but at least it wasn’t my jaw. I’m sure he could have broken it.” Thierry laughs, but I don’t see the humor.

“
Fuck! I’m so sorry.” Now my conscience is bugging me since I was the one who told Avery his brother shared my bed. I would’ve been responsible if Avery had cracked Thierry's jaw. It’s an awful feeling.

“
You don’t have to be. It was hilarious to see him in action.” Thierry smiles.

I take a deep breath. “I’m glad he hit the punching bag and not your jaw. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if you got hurt and it was my fault. But I don’t understand why he wasn’t just angry with me. I was the one who told him, after all, and he seemed unperturbed.”

“
That just goes to show that my little brother is a moody bastard.” Thierry smirks.

“
Oh yes,” I agree. Still, I don’t like the way Avery acted. I ought to call him and give him a piece of my mind. He could’ve told me he didn’t like what I did. I was the one who invited Thierry to stay in the first place.

Thierry stops the car in front of my house. “Here we are. Don’t forget to take off work so we can rock Santa Monica. I’ll be back to pick you up from work tomorrow night.”

“
Okay, thanks.” I lean over and breathe a kiss onto his cheek. “See you tomorrow, Thierry.” I pull back a little and look into his dark blue eyes.

He smiles at me and strokes my cheek briefly. “Tomorrow.”

My gaze travels down to his lips, which are just as sensual as Avery’s, and then I look into his eyes again, swallowing involuntarily. “Good night,” I say and get out of the car before I can do anything stupid.

“
Good night,” he echoes.

I enter the house and run up the stairs.

“
What the hell got into me?” I ask in a low voice while rummaging through my purse for the key. “I can’t be with one brother and then with the other … ” I shake my head at myself, not wanting to think about it any further. “I’m just confused with all this back and forth, that’s all,” I murmur, and then I unlock the door and walk into my apartment.

I turn on the light and start violently.

“
What are you doing in here?” I gasp.

“
I wanted to surprise you,” Avery says. “Thierry gave me the spare key so I could come in and get everything ready.”

I make an angry snort. “After the things your brother just told me I have a mind to throw you out. Not to mention that you haven’t called
at all
, even though you promised me you would!”

“
You were obviously avoiding me again.”

I roll my eyes. “Avery, there is always a gaggle of women surrounding you, and I have to focus on my studies. Unlike you, I also have to hold down a job,” I remind him.

His shoulders sag. “No matter what I do, you’re always accusing me of something. What can I do to make you trust me and give me another chance? What, Dale?
What?
” By the end of those words, he’s yelling.

I flinch, then move to the door. “Get out,” I answer, opening the door. “And take everything you brought with you!”

He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know what to do anymore.”

“
No, I’ve had enough, Avery. You more or less break into my apartment, after nearly beating up your own brother, and now you yell at me for no reason. I don’t want any of this bullshit anymore. I’m nineteen, not five.”

His eyes widen. “When was your birthday?”

I snort. “Not that it matters, but I did think you would remember.”

“
But—”

“
You know, I was sure you wouldn’t forget it, but you didn’t even call,” I answer angrily. “I don’t want this twisted friendship or whatever it is.”

Avery bites his lip and nods slowly. I can see my words have hurt him. “So it’s over?” he asks hoarsely.

I take a deep breath. “That would be for the best,” I answer softly. Of course I don’t want it to be over. I want us to make it, but I’m still convinced it’s better to forget what we had and move on.

He steps toward me. He looms over me, so much taller than I am. I tilt my head back to look at him. The tears well in his midnight-blue eyes. His eyes hold all his emotions as he slides his hand slowly around the back of my neck. He places the other hand against my cheek. “I don’t want to lose you,” he murmurs.

I swallow hard. He confuses me. The determination I felt mere moments ago is gone. “You already have,” I answer with tears in my eyes.

“
No, I haven’t lost you yet,” Avery whispers. His thumb brushes over my cheek before he leans down and kisses me. It’s not a soft kiss, but a desperate, even harsh one. I can feel his fear of losing me.

Now both of his hands cup my cheeks and hold me so I can’t pull away. I try to push him from me, but he won’t be put off. The tip of his tongue caresses my lower lip, but then I finally manage to free myself from his grip.

“
Please leave,” I whisper and lower my head because I don’t want to see that look in his eyes again. He weakens my resolve just as he awakens this desire that I can’t seem to fight.