by Brent, Amy
“I could wake up like this every day,” she whispered.
“Then maybe you should.”
Her eyes widened at my words, and I slowly sat us up. I scooted to the edge of the bed, then planted my feet on the floor. I held her closely to me. Her cheek fell to my shoulder as I held her in my arms. The sunlight streaming through my bedroom window shimmered her olive skin, and I kissed the top of her head before I readied myself to speak.
“Look, I know it’s a little fast, but if you want to, you can move in with me,” I said.
She pressed a kiss into my shoulder before she stood. She held her hands out for me, and my eyes raked over her naked form, over the red marks I had left on her breasts and the welts that still appeared upon her shoulders. I swept over her curvy thighs and her thick breasts, her long, dark hair and her sparkling blue eyes. I took in the dip of her waist and the small lines of her toned stomach, which boasted of a strength underneath her soft, sun-kissed skin. I reached out and took her hands, allowing her to pull me to my feet. She reached down and picked up my shirt, then pulled it over her head and made her way to the bedroom door.
“Coffee, then ask again,” she said.
I shook my head before I pulled on a pair of flannel pajama pants and made my way into the kitchen. I found Ava fighting with the coffee maker and grabbed her shoulders. I maneuvered her over to the kitchen table and sat her down, then prepared each of us a cup of coffee to have during this conversation. While I knew it was too soon, I also knew it was something I wanted. And whenever Ava was ready to accept it, so was I.
“Okay. Run that by me again,” Ava said.
“I know it’s pretty soon, but if you want to move in with me, you can. We could wake up like this every morning, if that’s what you really want,” I said.
“Most guys would have chuckled and brushed it off.”
“I’m not most guys.”
“No. No, you’re not,” she said, smiling.
I took another sip of my coffee and watched as she contemplated my words.
“I do want to be with you, Logan.”
“I want to be with you as well.”
“And I miss you way too much whenever you’re not around.”
“I feel the same way. You know, I tried to go out and ‘be single,’ but all I thought about was you.”
“Oh really? I take it Hunter got you out for a drink or two?” she asked.
“He did. He even brought some girls over. But she didn’t even introduce herself before the urge to leave and go find you filled my gut.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself. Technically, we still haven’t defined what we are.”
“Do you want me to define it for you now?”
Her eyes met mine as I took another sip of my coffee, and I found she had completely abandoned hers to pay attention to the conversation.
“Okay,” Ava said.
“Here’s how I define us: You’re my woman, my confidant, my counterpart, my equal. You’re the one I want to call when I want to talk about my day. You’re the one I want to talk to whenever I have news. You’re the one I want to have my lunches with, in our little café in the middle of where we both work. You’re the one I want to dance with in the clubs and you’re the one I want at my side when Hunter calls my ass up to get a drink.”
She giggled and shook her head as she brought her coffee to her lips.
“You’re mine, Ava. That is how I define you in my life,” I said.
“Sounds like a hefty definition,” she said.
“You have my heart, Ava. You have all of me. And when you’re ready for it, all you have to do is say so.”
Her hand crept across the table and settled on my wrist.
“I’m ready,” she said.
My heart fluttered with happiness as a smile crossed my lips.
“You know, I spoke with Camilla the other day.”
“You did?” I asked.
“I did. I actually took a few of her things over to her place to return them since I figured our friendship had completely gone bust, but we actually had a decent heart-to-heart.”
“What did she say? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“If we’re going to be living together, Logan, then you better get used to hearing about my friends a lot,” she said.
I took her hand within mine and brought it to my lips, then kissed it with all the tenderness I had to give her.
“So, that’s a yes?”
“It is,” she said.
“You’ll move in with me?”
“I’ll move in with you, Logan.”
“Then let’s get started on our new life together. Tell me how this conversation with Camilla went.”
“I mean, it was a lot of back and forth, but the gist of it was that she wasn’t going to stand in our way. She said if I wanted to pursue you, then she wouldn't stand in the way of that happening.”
“Wow. She said that?”
“Yeah. She’s also apparently engaged to her new beau.”
“She’s what now?” I asked.
“Yeah. Trust me, I was just as shocked.”
“Camilla, engaged.”
“Yeah. Same reaction, I promise you,” she said.
“And it’s for real.”
“It’s a real ring with real sparkle. And with the way Camilla talked about it all, it seems as if she’s found real happiness.”
“Well, then good for her. So, where does that leave the two of you?” I asked.
Ava draw in a deep breath before she sipped her coffee.
“Things are okay for now. I’m treading lightly. I’m glad to have her back as a friend, but I’m hiding some parts away for a little bit. A decent conversation and getting some answers doesn’t erase all the terrible things she said to both of us.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I said.
“So, for now? Things are okay. If they get better as time goes on, great. I’d love to have my best friend back. And if they don’t? Then it’s no skin off my back either way.”
“You miss her, don’t you?”
A cloud rolled over Ava’s eyes, and I took her hand again.
“I mean, you know me and her. We’ve been friends for years and years. I do miss her. I miss our late-night conversations and gossiping over coffee. I miss our wine nights and our drinks out. It’s why I’m willing to work toward something better with her. Maybe now that she’s finally found what she wants out of life, she won’t hold so much bitterness and resentment inside. Because I know, deep down, all this anger came from a place she hasn’t reconciled with herself.”
“You’re an intelligent woman, Ava. I’m lucky to have you by my side,” I said.
“I feel complete now, for the first time in my life, and I don’t want to lose that, Logan.”
“You never will. I’ll work day and night to make sure you never lose that feeling.”
I brought her hand to my lips before tugging her closer to me. Her chair scooted across the floor before her foot rested against mine. I slid my hand down her back. Her forehead connected with my shoulder. I kissed the top of her head over and over again, until I felt her relax and let out a sigh that released all the built-up tension she’d woken up with.
“Are you happy?” I asked.
Ava lifted her head and looked deep into my eyes before her hand came up to cup my cheek.
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” she said.
“Good, because I feel the same way. Ava, you are the light of my life, the woman who fits me like a glove. And I don’t ever want to do anything that will cause me to lose you.”
“You won’t, Logan. We’re okay. Everything is okay now. Camilla’s more level-headed and we have talked things out. We’ve all progressed and moved forward. You can count on that.”
I nuzzled into the palm of her hand before she went back to sipping on her coffee.
“So, what are the plans for the day?” she asked.
“Well, there’s this fun little thing y
ou just agreed to that will require an immense amount of packing.”
“And purging. I’ve got plenty of things that need to go in the garbage.”
“Maybe we could head over to your place after we clean up and start the process?”
“I’ll need boxes.”
“Then we can run to the ABC store and get you some boxes.”
“I’m going to look like an alcoholic moving into your place,” she said.
I chuckled and shook my head as I took another sip of my coffee.
“What should we do about all my furniture?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, your condo has a very nice scheme to it, and none of my furniture fits into that scheme. It’s all sort of mismatched and old.”
“Why don’t we put it in storage?”
“We could donate it.”
“If you don’t want to keep it, sure. But if you do, we’ll put it in storage and I’ll pay the monthly cost until you figure out what you want to do with it.”
“I think it might be time to get rid of it. Maybe not my bookcase, but the couches? Definitely.”
“We can figure all that out today. How does that sound? We’ll leave the packing for Monday or Tuesday, and today we’ll simply assess what you want to keep and what you want to donate,” I said.
“Sounds like a plan,” she said.
I leaned over and captured her lips, holding her there for a long, sweet, tender-loving kiss.
“But first, a shower,” I said, grinning. I stood up, tossed her over my shoulder, and hauled her into the bathroom so I could wash down her every sloping curve.
Ava
Two Weeks Later
“I guess it’s a good thing I threw out most of my stuff,” I said.
“That still doesn’t excuse you having forty boxes of stuff to haul,” Logan said.
“Hey, I like my books. I kept the bookcase so I could add to your library.”
“I’m not complaining. Just—” Logan dropped the box of books on the middle of his living room floor before letting out a groan.
“Just what?” I asked breathlessly.
“I guess this move did one thing for us.”
“What’s that?”
“It helped us find a way to work through our arguments.”
I giggled and shook my head as I sat down the other box of books. We had taken our time over the past two weeks when it came to moving me in. We went on a few more dates and spent our free time packing me up. In the process, we had torn through our fair share of arguments over things I found myself sentimentally attached to without any real reason to take it with me, furniture that was too big to get out my front door, or my car breaking down in the middle of picking up our third round of boxes. We’d gotten to know the angry side of one another over the course of the past two weeks, and we still found a way to work through things and come to conclusions that benefitted both parties.
That was the mark of a strong couple in my opinion, and we had it.
“How many more are down in your car?” I asked.
“Uh, I’d say ten? Then there’s one more haul from your apartment,” Logan said.
“Great. Okay. And what time is it?”
“Two in the afternoon.”
“Fuck me. Okay.”
“I mean, if that’s what you want.”
I picked up a pillow and chucked it at Logan before I fell apart in giggles.
“Save the funny man stuff for later. We’ve got work to do,” I said.
As the two of us unloaded his car and started back to my apartment one last time, he laced his fingers with mine. Things had been fantastic over the past couple weeks, despite the tension of the move. I stroked my thumb along his skin and watched Manhattan pass us by, readying myself for one last bulk trip to my apartment.
“What are you thinking about?” Logan asked.
He pulled up to the curb, and I gazed up at the place I had called home for nearly four years.
“Just this next phase,” I said.
“Something wrong?”
My eyes moved to his, and I saw panic cross his features.
“Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything is very right,” I said, smiling.
“Then why do you look so contemplative?”
“There are a lot of memories in this building. This was the first place I applied to after college. I moved in three weeks after starting my job as Project Manager. It was my first taste of adulthood after being sheltered by college. I blossomed a lot in that apartment up there.”
“What’s your favorite memory from the place?” Logan asked.
I looked over at him as a smile crossed my cheeks.
“Honestly? The day before I first met you in that hotel room.”
“Really. Why’s that?” he asked.
“Because it was the first time I felt myself living in that place.”
“I don’t follow.”
“For a lawyer, you don't follow a lot of the time,” I said, grinning.
“Hey, I’ve hauled thirty boxes up and down steps all day.”
“You haven’t hauled all of them. I’ve helped with just as many.”
“Yeah, well, taking them out of one apartment and putting them in another makes one box feel like two.”
“How about we hire people to help us next time?” I asked.
“Sounds like a plan. Can we hire them now?”
I leaned back and laughed as I shook my head, then got serious again.
“I didn’t feel like I was really living in that apartment, merely residing in it. I was cooped up by it. I felt like I had to be there because I had nowhere else to be. But once you came along—once I opened my mind and my life up to this entirely new experience—I felt like I was flourishing, really living out of that apartment instead of being held captive by it.”
Logan brought my hand to his lips before he kissed my skin softly.
“And now?” he asked.
I turned my head and found his gaze as I drew in a deep breath.
“Now? I feel ready to move on,” I said.
“Then it’s a good thing I enlisted a bit of help.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look out the window.”
I turned to look out the window and saw Camilla coming out of the building. Beside her was her boss, looming tall and proud as they approached Logan’s car. My eyes whipped back over to him and narrowed, then my car door opened and Camilla’s voice hit my ears.
“You two coming up or what?” she asked.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I unbuckled my seat belt.
“The question is, why the hell didn’t you call earlier? Logan said something insane about hauling some thirty odd boxes or some shit? Was he exaggerating?”
“I wish.”
I stepped out of the car and embraced Camilla tightly before she pulled back and smiled.
“Ava, I want you to officially meet my fiancé. This is Jeremy. Jeremy, this is Ava.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said.
I took his hand and shook it as Logan came to stand behind me.
“So, I’ll ask again. Why didn’t you call us to help?” Camilla asked.
I looked back at Logan before I cleared my throat.
“Girl, I’m just playing. I know why you didn’t call. So, I’m here to kill two birds with one stone. We’re going to help you guys finish this shit up, and I’m going to prove to you how not awkward things can be.”
“Then lead the way,” I said.
I looked back at Logan one last time before the four of us headed into my apartment. In less than two trips, the last of my boxes were piled into Logan’s car. I went to go climb into the passenger’s seat so we could drive to his place and unload, but instead of him cranking up the car, he came around and opened my door.
“Nope,” he said.
“What do you mean nope?” I asked.
“Out.”
“What?”
“Why? Did I leave something behind?”
“Jeremy’s going to help me unload the last of your stuff at my place. Camilla’s waiting for you upstairs. Says she’s got a surprise or something,” Logan said.
“She’s going to kill me, isn’t she?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past her sometimes,” Jeremy said.
“At least you know what you’re getting into,” I said.
“She’s a good woman. Complicated, and not without fault, but she’s good,” Jeremy said.
“So come on. Get out and get upstairs,” Logan said.
He unbuckled my seat belt and helped me out of the car, then pulled me in for a kiss. I drew in a deep breath, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close. I smiled before I relinquished him to our last box haul, Jeremy climbing into the front seat with him. It was an odd thing to see, and I still wasn’t sure the two of them were completely okay with one another. But at least they were putting on a good front.
I watched Logan’s car pull away from the curb, then started back up to my apartment.
Well, what used to be my apartment anyway.
“Remember when you first moved in?” Camilla asked.
I walked in and shut the door behind me as she thrust a glass of wine into my hand.
“I do,” I said.
“You had five boxes of stuff, a suitcase of clothes, and a blow-up mattress.”
“I had nothing.”
“And now you’ve purged half your damn place and still had forty boxes of shit to haul,” she said.
She clinked her glass against mine before we tipped them up to our lips.
“Is Jeremy about to kill Logan?” I asked.
“No. Not at all,” she said, grinning.
“And you’re not about to kill me?”
“You’re my best friend, Ava. I may want to kill you sometimes, but I’d never actually do it.”
“At least you’re honest.”
“The truth is, Jeremy and I had a few nights there where we completely opened up to one another. He said that one of the things that would help him get past my whole thing with Logan was answering any question he had about our relationship.”
