Page 275 of Heartache Duet
“I’m serious, Ava.” And then I chuckle. “And it’s Daddy to you.”
Her nose scrunches. “Never.” She starts walking toward her room and says over her shoulder, “I was about to get in the shower.”
I start stripping out of my clothes, and when she must realize, she turns to me. “No.”
“That wasn’t an invitation?”
“No.”
I shrug my shirt back on. “My bad.”
She giggles, kisses me once. “Go wait out in the living room; I’ll be quick.”
“Fine,” I sigh out.
In her kitchen, I reach for a glass from the top cabinet. A tall one. Because I’m thirsty, and not just for water. But I fumble, knocking down a shorter one in front of it. It hits the edge of the counter and falls to the floor, smashing to pieces. “Idiot,” I murmur, shaking my head. I pick up all the larger pieces and trash them, then go searching for a broom to clean the smaller shards. I check the hallway closet, the pantry. It’s not in any of those, and so I go to her laundry room, stand in the middle. Because I’m a male, and males can’t find things that are right in front of them.
I spot her hamper in the corner, my eyes narrowing when I see the familiar black and orange. I make my way there, checking over my shoulder to make sure she’s not coming, and lift the jersey. I smile full force when I see the large 3 on the back, my name above. She still wears my jerseys. Elation swells in my chest, and I drop the garment when I hear the pipes clank, alerting me that she’s done. Remembering why I came here in the first place, I find the only other door in the room and swing it open. I find the broom, but I also find something that has my heart stopping instantly. Orange and black, and white and blue fill my vision. There are pictures of us on the walls of the closet and pictures of me on the shelves themselves. Newspaper cutouts, website printouts. Stacks of DVDs with dates and scores and stats and… I reach up, grab one, and open it. Besides the disc, there’s a single balloon—blue—and I inspect it closer, see the black marker. I grab another one. Same thing.
“Connor?” she calls out. “Where are you?”
I can’t speak.
Can’t breathe.
“Connor?” I hear her footsteps approaching, but I can’t… I can’t function. “What the hell are you doing?” she yells, taking the DVDs from me.
“Ava, what is this?”
“Nothing!”
I finally manage to peel my eyes away from the closet and look down at her. Tears well in her eyes, and she’s trying to close the door, but I’m in the way, and her face contorts as she cries out, “You’re not supposed to see this! Can you go? Please!”
“Ava…” I reach into the closet again, pull out a stack of DVDs. “These are all my games.” I open one, and a balloon falls out and lands on the floor.
She’s quick to pick it up, grasping for the DVD cover, but I jerk away, grab a newspaper cutout to inspect that, too. She tries to take it from me. “Stop it!” she begs. I let her take the article while I go back to the DVDs, letting them fall from their stack. “You’re getting them out of order!” she sobs. “Stop!” She’s pulling on my hands, trying to push me away, and I finally let her. She’s crying, tears streaming down her cheeks, her breaths short, sharp, as her hands shake trying to replace everything in some form of order.
I stand behind her, my hands on her hips, my mouth to ear. “Ava, what is this?”
“It’s nothing.”
I spin her around, force her to look up at me. “It’s something.”
Those small hands cover her face, and I tug them down, needing her to see me. “What do you want me to say, Connor?”
“I’m not mad about it,” I try to console. “I’m just… confused. You had no contact for over a year, and you could have, Ava; I’ve been here.” I point to the closet. “You know I’ve been here. Why…”
“Because… I don’t know, okay?” Her hands drop to her sides, and she attempts a calming breath, but she can’t seem to keep it together for long. “I tried, Connor. I tried so hard to let go of you, to fight those feelings, but I couldn’t. I spent every single day away from you trying to convince everyone around me, and even myself, that I was fine without you, but I wasn’t. And this—you seeing this—it’s embarrassing, okay?”
“Why?”
“I don’t know! Because it’s the only way I could deal with how much I missed you, and how much I love you, and I—” She pauses a breath. “My love for you never wavered. Not for a second. And I never stopped being proud of you, of everything you’ve accomplished and everything you are, but this—” She waves a hand toward the closet. “This is, like, borderline obsession and—”
I kiss her. Without pause. Without heartache. I take everything she is, because right now, all of her is all for me, and it’s always been like that. Even on her bad days, and even when things got too much, she never stopped loving me. Never.
Her hands form a fist, balling up my T-shirt as she pulls me closer to her, her mouth opening wider for me. Her tongue strokes mine, and I feel the charge between us ignite the second her back hits the wall. Her moan drowns in my inhale, and I grasp her thighs, lift her off her feet until her legs are wrapped around me. Knees bent, I lower us to the floor while she removes my T-shirt, her mouth finding my collarbone as soon as it’s off. I lift the hem of her dress, higher and higher until it’s gone completely, and my hips jerk up the moment I claim her mouth again. Everything inside me is frantic, fighting for release. She practically rips off her bra and then grasps my head, pulling me there, her hips sinking into mine when I latch on to a breast. Her fingernails dig into my shoulder while she arches her back, grinding into me. I lower my shorts, just enough to free the bulge, and she moans, pushes me until I’m on my back and she’s leaning over me, one arm outstretched, hand to my side. The other reaches between us, moving her underwear to the side. She glides against me, her wetness against my length, and my head falls back, hits the floor with a thud. “Jesus, Ava, I need inside you so fucking—”
“Fuck waiting,” she moans, and her mouth covers mine while her weight on my hips lightens. I curl my hands around her waist, lift my head so I can watch as she places me at her entrance.