by Sweet, Izzy
He sighs then asks, “Are you at least enjoying your time off?”
I shake my head. “No. Not really, no. In fact, if you could get Joe to put me back on the schedule that would be great. I don’t need the time off. I need the hours.”
“It’s paid time off, Avery,” Ethan says and takes another bite of his burger.
Whew, that’s actually a huge relief.
“Because you never take a day off,” Ethan goes on after swallowing. “You’ve accumulated over three weeks of sick pay.”
“Well, I’m not sick. I should probably save it for when I really need it. Honestly, I don’t mind going back to work. Being off throws off my whole schedule.”
Ethan sets his burger down then wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Actually, we need to talk about that.”
“We do?” I ask, confused.
“Lauren left. She met a guy or something,” Ethan tells me.
Lauren is Ethan’s personal assistant. Which is funny because why would he even need a personal assistant? The whole position seems pretty moot.
“I’m sorry,” I respond, not understanding what he’s getting at.
“The position is yours if you want it. It’s double what you’re making now and you can work the same hours.”
“It’s double?” I ask, hating myself a little for being tempted by the money. It’s seriously a bad idea. It’s not even a real job, it can’t be if Ethan’s position is purely superficial.
Ethan leans back, the corners of his lips threatening to pull into a grin. “If that’s not enough, I can triple it. Just for you.”
Chapter Eleven
Chase
I'm so tempted to follow Avery when she goes and meets with that flaming douchebag to ensure nothing happens to her like the last time he got angry. I can't do that though. It would be on the border of stalker mode. And I may be completely losing my shit for this girl but I am not up to stalking… just yet.
I’m not really sure what I am up to though. For the last two days I have not been myself at all. Avery has been consuming my thoughts. She’s been consuming me. I haven't done anything that I have been planning.
“Shit and fuck!” I growl loudly at the red light I am sitting in front of.
I want the light to change so I can move, so I can get my momentum back. This girl has got me stuck in her web. I'm not even sure I want to be there.
The light turns green and I am almost consumed with the idea of smashing my foot down on the gas pedal, to barrel down the road with all pistons firing. To break away from the people surrounding me and get back to an even keel.
But that will not solve my problem of being stuck all over Avery and her sexy ass. And what a sexy ass it is, holy fuck. That ass feels amazing in my hands when I squeeze and grope it, and yes I want to believe that I caressed her too but yeah I groped the fuck out of her ass. Those legs around my hips as I slam into her...
I push down on the gas pedal right after I am honked by the pickup truck behind me. “I'm going, I'm going,” I mutter.
I can't exactly tell what’s going on in my head. Logically I know I am most definitely stuck on this woman, but I also know she isn't the usual woman.
Fuck. My fingers keep tapping on the steering wheel. I look up at where I am while I’m driving and I cannot remember how I even got here. I’m right across from the gym I work out and train at. But how the hell did I get here?
I feel fucking amazing and completely blindsided. Two days and I want this girl around for a long time. Shit, a long time for me usually means six months. That simply doesn't feel too long thinking about Avery. But I don't even know her middle or last name.
***
Okay, so maybe thinking about her and training is not the smartest thing I could be doing right now as I feel a gloved hand slapping the side of my head.
“Head out of your ass!” Dale yells in my face.
Nodding, I shake my head and do just that.
Today is Sunday, it’s a medium day when it comes to working out. I skipped my run this morning in lieu of having my raging hard-on pressed up against Avery's lovely ass.
So now I get to pay for that.
It's all about control in my life. From my daily routines to what I eat and drink. I may not be the healthiest of athletes but I do try and keep control of myself.
Pizza is my weakness, well that and donuts. Those are hard to resist or pass up. I see a slice of pizza and I want it. I don't know what to eat for dinner, yep pizza is what I want to go with. I'm usually pretty good though so I may eat pizza or donuts only once or twice every couple of weeks, but damn I could eat it every day and not get enough.
Heh. I could eat Avery every day too and not get enough.
And now I am dodging the focus mitts that Dale is trying to take my head off with while I am hoping the stiffening of my cock isn't noticed. I'm in sweats and a jock strap. This sucks.
“What the fuck is in your head?” Dale asks after he connects solidly on my head.
“I don't know if I could even explain it,” I say as I raise my hands up to begin again with the mitts.
I start throwing jabs and this time I am able to keep my focus for the rest of the routine. I then head to the treadmill to jog for about thirty minutes at nine miles an hour. I am trying my hardest to sweat my thoughts out of my body.
I need to clear myself of Avery, and of that jackass Ethan.
Dale decides to fuck with my concentration again. He gets my attention as he says, “You hear about Ethan?”
Shaking my head, I force myself to not rip the handles of the treadmill off.
“That fucker is already demanding a rematch. He is saying you cheated when you had full mount, said you were hitting the back of his head as much as the front. I watched the tape and you didn't, but he’s talking a whole shit storm this morning.”
I don't say anything. I just stop the treadmill and walk towards the heavy bag on the floor where we work on our ground and pound skills. It’s where I get to use my brute strength. I pound on it for much longer than I intended to, but I can't help it. That fucker Ethan is under my skin, and I am feeling the need to beat him out of my thoughts.
Finally, I can barely move, my body aching and sweating profusely as I stand and look at Dale.
“Tell Roger that I accept the challenge and will fight him as soon as they can get us back in the ring,” I say as I walk past Dale.
He only nods.
In the shower, this time is different from yesterday. Then, my cock was so god damn hard I had jerked off just to relieve the pressure. Now I am semi-hard but I can feel my body wants to have Avery’s help with it, not miss Rosie Palmer and her five friends.
***
I wait as the phone rings. Two beeps and I hear a strong masculine voice. “Chase! Why aren't you here?”
“I'm on my way, I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be interrupting anything.”
“The physical dominatrix, I mean physical therapist left about twenty minutes ago. I am free for the afternoon.”
I chortle quietly, “I'll be there soon.”
In no time at all, I am walking into my childhood home and following my dad's voice as he yells he's in the living room.
“Hey Pop,” I say as I bend over and kiss the top of his head.
Even now twice my age, the man is still my size and in amazing shape. The knee replacement was because of all the wear and tear of his youth from high school and college football, to the very active lifestyle he has maintained. I truly believe the man could give me a run for my money when it comes to endurance.
“Way to go champ!” he yells as he wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me down into a big hug.
The big bear of a man hugs me like no other. The man is a tyrant in the business world and a tremendous father in his home world.
Hugging him back, I smile and then sit down on the couch he’s sitting on. He has that twinkle in his eye when he looks at me. The man owns one of the largest property real estat
e brokerage firms in the nation, and he will stop everything at the drop of the hat just to mention what he’s about to say to me.
“So where are my grandchildren?” he says quite seriously, and I am absolutely positive he is impatient with the waiting.
“I met a girl the night of my fight,” I say without preamble.
“Before or after the fight?”
“I saw her before and kinda beat her friend’s ass twice before I said hello to her.”
“Okay, I know I am getting older but can you run that by me one more time?”
“I noticed her raven-black hair first,” I say as I explain everything that has happened, since right before the fight to this very moment.
I even tell him about my inability to clear my mind of her while I was at the gym. I don't hold anything back, he's my dad. Ever since Mom died when I was six it’s been him and me. I don't give him the graphic details about my intimacy... shit it was intimate wasn't it... with Avery, but I think he knows without me saying anything.
“So when do I get to meet her?” he asks.
“I'm not sure.”
And I'm really not sure. I mean I barely know this woman, and yet I am waxing on and on about her to my dad already. I feel like I am in high school again. Well, then again in high school I was the school slut. I don't think a girl kept my attention back then for more than a few hours at the most.
“So she’s got you so wrapped up you can't think straight and it’s only been two days?” he asks.
“Yeah, I don't get it.”
“Neither did I. I felt the exact same way as you do when I met your mother.” Laughing quietly, he smiles at me. I'm not sure who he was laughing at though, me or him.
“I’ll bring her over for dinner sometime this week if you think you'll be up for it,” I say, and lean back into the couch for some reason. I don't know if I could explain it, but all of a sudden I feel much more relaxed.
“Yeah, any night is fine with me. I don't go back to work full-time for a couple of more weeks.”
Chapter Twelve
Chase
Bzzt. Bing!
Avery: Hey, are you able to talk?
Me: Sure, just got home from visiting my dad.
Avery: Aww, do you visit him often?
Me: Yeah, pretty often. Probably 2 or 3 times a week. It’s usually either him making dinner for me or me making it for him.
Avery: Wow, it sounds like you guys are really close.
Me: We are. Want me to call you?
Avery: Yeah if you don't mind.
The phone only rings once before I hear her voice.
“Hey stranger,” she says, and she doesn't sound happy or sad, just kind of there. I'm not sure of what the difference is but she seems off.
“What's up, beautiful?”
“Am I?” she asks very quietly.
“Yes Avery, I promise you. If you knew what I thought about you... you might run.”
“Would you want to tell me over a drink?”
“I'll be there in twenty minutes,” I say and hang up not giving her time to change her mind.
Grabbing the Impala keys, I dart out the door.
I make it there in fifteen minutes. I know it may show how eager I am but I don't feel like playing any bullshit games. If I seem eager it’s because I am.
Something my dad said before I left replays in my head. The hottest flames can burn out the fastest, don't forget to take time to get to know her. He's right of course, I think as she opens the door and I lean down to kiss those amazingly soft lips while she molds herself to me.
I step back and smile. “Well, hello there.”
“Hello, yourself.” She turns to the door and locks up behind her. I take her hand as we walk down the stairs and lead her out to the car, opening the door for her.
We don't say much on the drive over, but I can't help but look down at where our hands are still connected. I like this girl and Dad is right, I need to get to know her.
At a local tavern I know of, we sit in our out of the way booth and wait for the server.
“So what will you guys be drinking?” the guy asks us over the low murmur of people ordering food and talking.
Thankfully there is no music being played in the background. I want to hear what she has to talk about and not have to shout out how absolutely beautiful she is. I don't mind proclaiming that to the world, but it seems kinda like a bit of a pickup line if I am yelling it.
“I'll have a hard cider,” she says then looks to me.
“Virgin rum and diet coke,” I say with a grin to the server. He rolls his eyes and I think Avery does as well.
He leaves us shortly after making sure we don't want anything to eat.
“Why a diet coke?”
“I don't drink often, especially when I am driving, and I am in training again.”
“Ha, I thought you were just being a pussy,” she giggles out before taking my hand across the table and holding it.
“Hah!” I burst out laughing. “Yeah, probably.” I hold her hand and smile. “So how was your day?”
Her giggling stops short as she sighs to herself. “School was okay. Ethan called right as I got out of class. He was waiting at school to talk to me.”
I grunt, the little fucker has had a very busy day.
“What?” she asks as she notices me tense up just a bit.
Shaking my head, I frown. “You go first and then I will.”
“Well, he started with apologizing. He is going to anger management classes. I'm not really sure what to think. I was prepared to push him completely away from me. I might forgive him for what he did, but I certainly won't forget it.”
She frowns and pauses. Her cheeks darken with color and I get the impression she’s a bit embarrassed or ashamed of what she’s about to admit. “He pulled me off the schedule for a few days. He said he did it so I can rest and recover. I can't just take days off. I mean, I really can't...”
The waiter sets our drinks down. Before his back is even turned she takes a huge gulp from her bottle.
“Can't afford to?” I ask quietly.
Nodding her head, she goes on. “Right, because between school and rent I’m strapped tight.”
She looks down at her bottle and her fingers nervously pick and peel at the label. “Missing a couple of days of work would put me in a very bad spot. At the time, I didn't know he was putting them down as paid time off, so I was worried. But now, it looks like he’s going to pay me for all the time off. And he offered me a new job, too. Wants me to be his personal assistant. His just got married or something, so he needs a new one. He also wants to increase my pay.”
I bet he does, the little fucker. If she is really in a bad enough spot as it looks like, and I really don't doubt she is, I remember what her kitchen cabinets held, then I can understand how thin the line is between a home and the streets.
“So I told him I needed time to think about it. I’m not sure if I’ll turn it down, at least for now anyway. I applied at school for a paid internship with a youth program. It would be amazing if I got picked.”
She looks up at me and smiles. It’s not the biggest I have seen from her, but it has determination to it. “So tell me about your dad.
I smile, not the most subtle change in topics, but I don't comment on it. “He just had his knee replaced but it’s not stopping him. He’s been really itching to go back to work. Probably would already be there if he could. He's a real estate broker. He's also one of my best friends. Ever since my mother passed when I was six, he has been the there for me any time, day or night, no matter what. And he's always put everything on hold if I needed him. Probably the best dad a guy like me can have.”
“I'm so sorry about your mom, it must have been really difficult for you,” she says and her eyes hold a sadness there.
“Yeah, it was but he was there for me. When she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer my dad was positive she would make it through, and for that matter I think she was too
. It wasn't two months later though that she was laid to rest with a six year old boy and father left behind.”
“He has been like a mother and father ever since then,” I chuckle quietly, trying to lighten the mood. “He has never once pushed me away or told me he was too busy. I think after the first couple of months, when the grieving had subsided a little, I started trying to be there for him too.”
I look to her and she has a sad smile still. “What about your parents?” I ask.
“My grandmother raised me. I was five when my mother told me she was tired of dealing with a damn mistake and dumped me on my grandmother’s doorstep. My dad has never been around, I doubt my mom even knew who he was.”
She shakes her head and does the what can you do shrug of her shoulders. “So when I was dropped off, my grandmother took me in. Raised me as if I was her own daughter. She died a year and a half ago, and she was all I had… besides Ethan.”
Avery stops and tips her bottle back, drinking deeply from it. Sighing, she sets the bottle down and looks a million miles away until I reach across the table and squeeze her hand. She jerks at first, as if she forgot where she was, then seems to shake the cobwebs from her head.
“What money my grandmother had was eaten up by the bills. She received assistance so there wasn’t much in the first place. I couldn't even afford to give her a funeral. They mentioned cremation but she wanted to be buried near my grandfather. Ethan swooped in and he paid for the funeral. Didn’t even give me a chance to argue, he just did it. It feels like that was the one thing he has ever done where strings weren't attached.”
I nod my head, “Yeah, I can understand that I think.”
The waiter arrives again and asks if we would like refills. I nod my head for myself and Avery nods as well.
“When my mom died, we weren't in dire financial straits, but we were not really mentally available for much beyond one or two word sentences. It was hard. I can't imagine the grief you must have gone through and probably still are.”
