“Can’t an old friend want to come say hi?”
“They can, but you’re not my friend.”
“Fine.” She rolls her eyes. “I miss you. I was hoping we could go out to dinner sometime and talk.”
“We have nothing to discuss.”
“Don’t say that.” Stacey places her hand over mine on the bar. “We were together for a long time. Of course we have things to talk about.” When I start to slide my hand out from under hers, she grips my forearm with her other hand. “Oliver, please?” Her blue eyes shine with tears and I’m momentarily taken aback. Not because I believe her, but because of the lengths she’s going to in order to convince me.
“Nope. I’m not falling for your act. Those days are long gone.” Glancing past Stacey, I catch sight of Ava walking from the dressing rooms toward the bar. What is she doing here tonight of all nights? Shit. Her mouth drops open in surprise when she sees Stacey and hurt fills her emerald eyes. Yanking my arm free from Stacey’s hold, my lips part to call Ava’s name, but she’s already gone. Fuck. She doesn’t know what our conversation was about. All she noticed were Stacey’s hands on my arm.
I hurry past the other bartender and head down the hallway toward the back exit. She wouldn’t go in the dressing rooms. My money says she would leave as fast as possible. Pushing the rear door open, I search the employee parking lot for her car, but she’s already pulling out onto the street. Motherfucker. Why did Stacey have to show up and ruin everything?
Tugging my phone from my pocket, I call Ava, but she doesn’t answer. I type out a text.
Me: It’s not what you think. Please answer your phone.
Sending the message, I wait, hoping she’ll call me back or text, but she doesn’t. I try calling her again, but she still won’t pick up. Fuck. I shove my phone back in my pocket and grip my pounding head. I can’t lose Ava. I won’t lose her.
Returning to the bar, I stalk over to Stacey. “Get out of here and don’t come back.” She must notice the anger in my eyes, because she wordlessly rises and walks away.
I exhale a loud sigh and I swear steam should be coming out of my ears. I’m so pissed off at Stacey and this situation she created. And I’m helpless to do anything about it until my shift is over. My stomach is nauseous thinking about how upset Ava must be. Is she alone and crying right at this very moment? God, I hope not. I never want to cause her pain.
The remainder of work passes in slow motion and my teeth are gnashing together by the time I leave. Jumping in my car, I immediately drive toward Ava’s apartment. I need to see her and explain everything. I refuse to lose her over a misunderstanding. Especially one that involves my ex.
As I’m trying to enter Ava’s building one of her neighbors exits, holding the door for me. Now I won’t need to be buzzed in. I’m one step closer to seeing Ava. I just need to get her to answer her door.
Bounding up the stairs two at a time, I hurry to her apartment. My knuckles rap loudly and I hold my breath as I wait for her door to open. But what if she won’t let me in? How will I get her to hear me out? Impatient, I knock again and call her name, “Ava.”
Her door opens and I squeeze past Ava before she can stop me. “I need to talk to you. I promise what you saw was nothing.”
She closes us in and turns the lock. I guess she’s not kicking me out right away. “What did I see?” she asks, confusing me.
“What do you mean? You saw Stacey at the bar with her hands on mine.”
“You’re right. I did see that.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea she was coming. I just turned around and she was there like some demon.” Ava giggles. “Aren’t you mad at me?”
“Nope. Not at all.”
“Huh? You’re not? Why aren’t you?” I’m really confused by her reaction.
“Should I be?”
“No,” I shout. “I don’t understand why you ran off then?”
“First of all, I’m not upset because I trust you. I know you would never hurt me like that.” Relief washes over me and I’m touched by her trust in me.
“You’re right. I wouldn’t.”
“I also saw the look on your face when she was talking and touching you. It was anger, not interest that I saw.”
I can’t help but wonder how many girls in the exact same situation wouldn’t believe their boyfriend. I think it would be a high percentage. And I’m a lucky man that my girl knows me so well and trusts me so much.
“I ran off because I was going to scratch Stacey’s eyes out for touching my man and tell her to fuck off. I didn’t want to make a scene where we both work. And I figured the best thing to do was to remove myself from the situation. I knew you’d take care of it.”
I drag her into my arms with a grateful sigh and press my lips to her forehead. “Thank you for trusting me. I was so worried you were going to break up with me.”
She tips her head up, resting her chin on my chest. “You were?”
“Yes. I can’t bear to lose you.” I cup her face with both hands, studying the dark pink lips and her adorable pert nose before our gazes lock.
“That’s good. I’m not going anywhere,” she informs with a smile.
“I love you so fucking much,” I husk.
Tears pool in her eyes, gathering on her lower lashes. “I love you too.”
* * *
“You’d think these girls would be used to me being with Oliver by now,” Ava mutters in an annoyed tone.
“But then they couldn’t give you dirty looks every time they see you together,” Perri explains.
“I usually ignore it but there are too many of them here.” She motions her hand toward all the girls standing in the frat house living room. They’re definitely glaring at her.
“Don’t worry about it.” I slide my arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head. The girls shoot more nasty looks her way.
“I’m not. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“I always do, though. Even when you tell me not to.”
“There’s a bunch of green-eyed monsters here tonight.” Perri looks around.
I scowl. “Is anyone giving you a hard time?”
“No, it’s nothing worth talking about. They all want my boyfriend.” She shrugs.
“Hey, I’m taken and they all know they don’t stand a chance.”
“Exactly.” Perri nods. “Which is why they’re all trying to make her evaporate with their death glares.”
I pull Ava closer and she stares up at me. “Relax and have fun. I’m here and no one’s going to bother you.”
Chapter Twenty
Ava
“I love you,” I whisper. Oliver connects our lips for a slow kiss.
“Here you go, babe.” Nolan hands Perri a wine cooler.
“Thanks.” She rises on her toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
There’s a loud commotion coming from the front door. “Clancy and Tenley must be here,” Oliver offers.
“I forgot they were coming. I haven’t seen him in months,” Nolan replies. “Not since we were all together at Score when Ava first started working there.”
“What’s up?” Clancy and his girlfriend Tenley, appear at the opening to the living room. I’ve never met either of them before, but I’ve seen Clancy on campus many times when he was a student here. With his enormous size, he’s impossible to miss.
The guys all exchange handshakes while I introduce myself to Tenley.
“Clancy, this is my girl, Ava.”
“You look familiar to me,” Clancy states, studying me closer. “I know who you are. You dance at Score. I’ll never forget the expression on Oliver’s face the first time he saw you perform.”
I glance at my boyfriend and find his eyes on me. “It’s true. I didn’t realize it was obvious to everyone else, but I thought you were so beautiful.”
“It was lust at first sight,” Clancy jumps in, and Tenley smacks him in the chest.
“It wasn’t lust at first sight with
us,” I state confidently.
“Not for you, maybe,” Oliver answers. “But it was for me.”
I shake my head. “Uh uh. I promise you it wasn’t.” I smirk.
“What are you not telling me?” Oliver looks suspicious.
“I have a secret I’ve never shared with you. I actually forgot about it, but this conversation reminded me.”
“Spill, tiny dancer.”
“We met my first week of school.”
“We did?”
“Yep. And I had a hopeless crush on you already.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me this before now?”
“Because you’d tease me about wanting you for years or being a stalker.”
“You wanted me for years and stalked me?” He looks proud.
“I’m not answering that,” I growl. I never stalked him. Well not after the first year anyway.
“You don’t need to.” He smirks confidently.
“It was my first week of freshman year and I was on my way to class. You and I crashed into each other in the hallway of the Hamilton Building.”
“Whoa.” He turns to face me. “You’re pizza girl?”
I nod and arch a brow. “Pizza girl? Really?”
“Well, I didn’t know your name.”
“Wait a sec. We need to know the details,” Clancy cuts in, a mischievous grin on his face.
“It’s not that exciting. I was carrying a slice of pizza to eat before class started. Oliver and I collided in the hallway and I got knocked down. My pizza landed on my shirt, cheese side down.” Everyone laughs. “Of course my shirt was white and there was a triangle shaped grease stain left behind. Oliver helped me up and then basically ran off after Stacey without a look back.”
“If I correctly recall, I apologized and asked if you were okay.”
“You did, but you couldn’t leave fast enough.”
“Oh, dude. If only you knew what you were missing out on back then. You guys could’ve gotten together sooner,” Nolan points out.
“Everything happened just the way it needed to.” Oliver caresses a hand over my hair.
“How do you figure?” Nolan questions.
“The reason why Ava and I are so good together is because of everything we’ve both been through. If none of those things had happened, we might not appreciate each other as much as we do. Or we might be looking for different traits in our partners. The way everything worked out is because we learned from our past mistakes.”
“That’s really sweet,” I rub my thumb under Oliver’s bottom lip. “It’s almost sweet enough to make me forget you named me pizza girl.”
“You know, I actually thought about you afterward and felt bad about knocking you over if that helps.”
“This is the cutest story ever. You can tell your kids about it someday.” Tenley sighs.
“We can never tell our kids how we got together,” Clancy responds, chuckling.
“Not until they’re at least thirty,” Tenley retorts.
“Hey, guys,” Donovan walks over with a pretty blonde accompanying him. “This is Maddie. She just transferred here for the second semester.”
“Hey, Maddie,” we all chorus.
She smiles. “Wow, that was a great greeting.”
“Maddie?” Shaw questions, walking over. His dark brows are drawn together.
Her smile fades. “Shaw,” she whispers, looking like she’s seeing an apparition.
“You two know each other?” Donovan inquires.
“You could say that.” Shaw crosses his arms over his thick chest.
“He was my next door neighbor and my brother’s best friend,” Maddie explains.
Shaw runs his hand through his hair. “Marshall is her brother.” He points at Donovan. “Don’t even think about touching her.”
“Shit. I didn’t know Marshall’s your brother.”
“Welcome to Boston University. I hope you like it here. Where are you transferring from?” I try to smooth out the tension.
“University of New Hampshire. It’s been nice meeting you all. I’ve got some friends here I need to find. I hope I see you guys again.” She waves and heads toward the kitchen.
“Maddie, wait,” Shaw calls out, hurrying after her.
Perri and I look at each other and grin. “Did anyone else feel all that chemistry between them or am I crazy?” I ask.
“I sure did,” Perri agrees. “This is going to be fun to watch.” She rubs her hands together gleefully.
The party continues and I’m having a surprisingly great time.
“Hey. What do you say you and I adjourn to my room? I have a surprise for you.”
“Is surprise code for sex? Because I’m having fun hanging out with our friends.”
He laughs. “No, this time it’s not code for sex. I really do have something to show you.”
“Let’s go.”
He leads me downstairs to the basement and I shiver. It’s always about ten degrees colder down here than it is upstairs. I hardly ever spend the night. Oliver usually sleeps at my apartment, but tonight we’ve both been drinking.
Opening the door to his room with a key, he ushers me inside. He closes us in and flips the light switch.
“What’s all that?” I ask when I notice the white sheets draped across the furniture, creating a makeshift tent on the floor.
“I thought we could ‘camp out’ tonight.” He walks to the other side of the tent, plugging in a cord. “Go check it out.”
Bending down, I crawl inside the opening. “I like that view,” Oliver comments.
“I know you do.” A soft gray blanket cushions my knees as I move inside. He squats down at the opening to watch me. I gasp when I see the large tub of prepared popcorn and the lights he’s strung from the top of the tent. He has his TV set up at the far end.
“You did all this by yourself?”
“I did.” He grins proudly. “We’re going to have a movie night, just the two of us.”
“What are we watching?”
“Whatever you want.”
“What if I don’t want to watch a movie now?” I lie down on the blanket, my head resting on one of the pillows.
He crawls inside, coming down between my legs. “We can do whatever you want.”
My palms coast upward from his pecs to his shoulders. My eyes skate the same path until they raise the rest of the way to lock with his dark ones. “I love you and your surprises.”
Lowering his head, he drags his nose across the top of my cheek, tracing the shell of my ear with his lips. “I love you, tiny dancer, so much.” His voice is an emotion filled husk. Loving Oliver means having a permanent fullness in my chest. It’s the best feeling in the world. I never imagined someone else being such an integral part of my happiness. Now that I have him, I know we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.
Pressing his lips below my ear, he lays a trail of warm kisses along the line of my jaw. Pausing, he hovers, our mouths only an inch apart. “You know what else I’m great at?”
“What?”
One of his palms works its way under my leggings, sliding down my ass. I groan when his fingertips tease my entrance.
“Making you come.”
“Oh...God.” I breathe.
His fingers slide through my wet slit until he slowly circles my clit. Sharp gasps fall from my parted lips. My nails dig into his shoulders as my hips reel upward into his hard cock.
Sensually dragging his hand from the back of my pants, he hitches his fingers inside the top of my leggings, skimming the black material down my legs. He throws them out of the tent. “Come here,” he growls, pulling me to a sitting position.
Gripping the bottom hem of my shirt, he raises the material, exposing my stomach. Lifting my arms over my head, he tugs the garment off. I undo the hooks on my bra, holding the black lace modestly to my chest. Pausing, I stare at Oliver from under my dark lashes.
“You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Fucking
drop it.”
I smile, teasingly biting my lip, and ever so slowly lower the material, revealing one inch at a time until the garment falls unheeded to the floor. I enjoy getting Oliver worked up. His pulse rapidly twitches under his skin.
“Fuck, Ava.”
I sink down, lying on the pillows once more. Two seconds later his face is buried against my pussy. His nose nudges my clit as he snakes his tongue back to tease my entrance.
Both his hands grip my ass, fingers digging into my tender skin, pressing me to his mouth.
“I can’t get fucking close enough,” he growls against my clit. “I want to swallow every bit of your juices when you come all over my face. And then I want to start again.”
My fingers clutch his hair, tugging and pushing on the back of his head. His lips wrap around my clit, his tongue whisking over the swollen flesh. My hips ripple like I’m riding a wave.
“Mm,” he growls. “Rock that sweet pussy on my face.” Hooking two fingers inside me, he gently rakes my clit between his teeth.
“Oh… Oliver.” I moan as my orgasm slams into me. He sucks and licks every bit of my release from my pussy.
“I can’t get enough of you.” He rests his chin on my mound. “I love the way your cheeks get so flushed when you come. I like knowing I put that color there.”
Tracing around his mouth, I wipe the wetness away and then slip my finger between my lips, sucking the residue from it with a pop.
“Goddamn,” he growls, gripping my hands, raising them over my head. He lowers until every inch of our bodies is touching. Flexing his hips, he smirks. “This beats watching a movie any day.”
Epilogue
Oliver
Four months later
I texted Ava earlier asking her to meet me at the arena. What she doesn’t know is that I’ve been here for two hours setting everything up for her surprise. And she has no idea that anything out of the ordinary is about to happen.
ICED: Boston Terriers Hockey #2 Page 14
