“I don’t know what’s going on with you, A. If this is about Nate or something else. But I wish you’d talked to me.”
“Lex, it’s not like that.”
“Can we just talk tomorrow?”
I nodded. I hated seeing my best friend this upset.
The cab ride back was painfully quiet, and when we arrived home Lex went into her room and pulled the door closed.
I did the same before collapsing on my back. Too numb to cry, I stared up at the ceiling wondering what the hell had just happened.
Chapter 27
Ava
The front door closed early in the morning, meaning Lex had gone to the gym. It was something she did when she was upset or needed to think.
When another sound entered my consciousness just after eight, I figured she’d decided to come back and shower before going into the office. But stumbling out into the living room I heard an urgent knock.
I rubbed at my eyes, puffy from lack of sleep, as I jerked the door open and stood in front of it in my pajamas.
Not Lex.
“Nate.”
He was dressed for work, complete with his “determined lawyer” expression. I realized I hadn’t responded to him after coming home and crashing.
“Ava, what happened last night? I didn’t hear from— What’s wrong?” he demanded, his irritation melting into worry.
“Everything’s wrong.” Without warning, the tears I’d thought wouldn’t come finally spilled over my cheeks.
Nate’s eyes widened and he looked over my shoulder. “Is your roommate here?” I shook my head and stepped back. He followed me into the apartment. “What the hell happened?”
“My business just crashed into the ground. So if you’re here for sex, I’m really not in the mood,” I sniffed.
“I’ll pretend you didn’t say that.” He leveled me with a look before tugging me into his arms. I resisted barely a moment before pressing my cheek against his chest and breathing him in.
We stood there in the middle of the room, him holding me, for ages.
“I want to help,” he said into my hair.
I turned my head, eyes landing on the hurricane of fabric and bad mojo in the sewing room. “Do you know how to finish a spring line?”
“No. But with your brilliant designs and my great jawline, we can figure it out.”
His determination gave me the tiniest shred of hope.
“It’s worth a shot.”
I told him what’d happened with the designs, Lex’s and Jordan’s reactions to my dresses, and Team T’s reactions.
“So they didn’t like the designs. Which is crazy, because this dress—” he stepped over to where the red one was still hanging “—is sexy as hell.”
I managed a watery smile.
“What are those?” He pointed to the rack of the original designs. It was nearly a full collection but left an even staler taste in my mouth since Jordan had shown them without permission.
“We can’t use them for spring.”
Nate pulled a mesh blouse off the garment rack by its hanger. Lifted a sleeve and let it flutter back down, eyeing it doubtfully. “Are you sure it’s not spring? This looks kind of … vented for winter.”
“Those are for spring, but we can’t use them. They’re totally heinous.”
He looked confused. “And they were designed by …”
“Me.” Duh.
“I see.” Nate’s voice made it clear he didn’t see at all.
“Lex and Jordan think they’re fine. And they are. They’re fine, Nate.” I sighed and collapsed back on the couch. “Fine is the kiss of death. It’s worse than awful. I’ve been waiting months to get this season just right, and now I have and no one believes in me. I feel like that boy who cried wolf. I keep saying I’ve got it, and eventually, when I do and it really counts? No one’s listening.”
He took a seat next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I let him.
“I’m listening. But maybe this lawsuit’s getting in your head and making you second-guess yourself, that you did just fine the first time.”
“That’s not it,” I protested into his chest. “I came up with something new and better. I just couldn’t sell it to Lex.”
It was true. I’d known before that that these pieces weren’t right.
Hadn’t I?
“Ava. You’re fighting with your business partner over the direction. And you still don’t have a concept for next season anyone will buy into.”
I didn’t lift my head but glared at the microstripe in Nate’s suit jacket. His brand of sensibility sliced through the rush of emotions swirling in my head.
“That’s one way of putting it,” I muttered.
“Hey. Listen. Your new designs are incredible. I’d buy every one just to have you wear them for me.” His voice dropped off before he started again. “But you need something you can put in stores. Clearly other people think these designs are good enough. Would using those concepts fix this?”
“That’s not ‘fixing it,’ Nate. It’s scrapping the new ideas and going back to old ones.”
“Which are all your ideas,” he reminded me soothingly. “Your great ideas, if those are any indication.” He gestured to the rack. “Besides, last I checked this was at least a two-person operation.”
I thought about Lex’s reaction in the office and in the cab. “Yes, but I’m responsible for the designing.”
“Ava.” Nate’s voice dropped. “I know nothing about fashion. But if there’s one thing I learned from Bryson’s case, it’s that running a clothing line takes more than just good designs. More than one person’s talent. And in life, sometimes getting where you want to go takes more than doing what you want.”
I pushed off his chest and sat back against the arm of the couch, groaning. “Is this you helping? Because you kind of suck at it.” I closed my eyes and pressed my hand against them. He’d been here so long his words were almost starting to make sense.
Nate looked taken aback.
I towed him toward the door. “I just need to be in a lawyer-free zone right now.” I knew I was being unreasonable and high maintenance, but I figured that was my right, given I’d just hit my professional low.
“Ava—things will get better. I promise.” He pulled me close for a kiss I didn’t want, but I couldn’t deny him. “I’ll see you later.”
With a noncommittal noise, I closed the door after him.
I wandered to the kitchen to get something to eat and noticed the note lying on the counter under a cupcake. The box was from a bakery down the street I’d been eyeing.
Yesterday blew. I’m sorry. Eat this and we’ll talk later.
Lex
Hmm. No matter how determined I was to wallow, it seemed the world was conspiring against me to make things better.
~
I decided to try something radical.
Swallowing my pride and being a grown-up was not my usual approach. But Nate was right about one thing: this was my best friend we were talking about. And the only thing that mattered more than Travesty was Lex.
By the time she got home late, I was pinning pieces together.
“Hey,” she called cautiously from the doorway. I glanced over my shoulder to catch sight of her setting down her bag.
“Hrr,” I replied through a mouthful of pins.
She walked over to the nook and took a seat on a spare task chair next to me. “Did you get my note?” she asked.
I pulled one of the pins out of my mouth and pinned it where one of the seams would be, then another.
“Yeah. And your peanut butter and banana cupcake,” I said when my mouth was free again.
“Good,” Lex said. “Listen, A. I should’ve been more supportive. You’re so insanely talented and I know your heart is in the right place.”
“It’s OK. It’s business, right?”
Lex sighed and grabbed my shoulder, turning me to her. “But the point is it’s our business. We’re in it
together, and if anything happens it’s our problem.
“I think it bothered me that you ran off to play house with Nate when we had all this work to do. That he was fighting us in court made it worse. Then springing the new direction on me and Jordan when we didn’t have a clue what you were doing … I felt like an idiot.”
When she put it like that, I could almost see where she was coming from.
“I’m sorry, Lex. I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark or gone another direction without saying anything. I just didn’t want to disappoint you. I guess a voice in my head was saying ‘It’ll all work out, just keep going.’ Which is partly why I’m working on this.” I sat back to show her my progress.
The pieces were the original ones, with a couple of tweaks I’d been working on all day.
It was easier to see what I liked and didn’t after having put them away for a month. The truth was, they weren’t bad. One dress and a top were actually pretty amazing.
“I love this detail. Is that new?” Lex fingered a zipper on one of the cuffs.
“Yup.” Of course she’d notice.
“Can I help pin?”
“Sure.”
We worked together for a few minutes, falling into a familiar rhythm. It was comforting. Just me and my best friend doing what we’d done since we were kids.
“So am I forgiven?” Lex asked finally.
“Keep pinning and buying me cupcakes.” I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “What about me?”
“I guess I could keep you around. You’re pretty good at scrounging Thai food.”
The buzzer rang from downstairs to interrupt our work. “It’s Jordan.”
Lex and I exchanged a look. “Come on up,” I said.
Two minutes later Jordan was standing at the door like she didn’t know what kind of greeting she’d get. We hadn’t spoken since the day before. Neither Lex nor I had called her, and she hadn’t tried to get in touch.
I stepped out of the way to let her in, but she hovered. Her usual “I don’t give a shit” bravado was long gone.
“Before you say anything, I’m sorry. Showing the old stuff without your permission was a pretty dick move.”
“Yeah, it was.” I sighed. “But it was kind of a dick move to do totally new designs without telling you guys.” I included Lex in my comment.
Jordan nodded, shifting on her feet. “If you don’t trust me I understand. But I do love Travesty. I love working with both of you, and Ava, your designs are amazing. Both versions. Which is why I’m hoping you’ll take me back. And in case it helps,” Jordan rushed on, “I brought snacks.” She produced a box from the same bakery Lex had gone to.
Lex and I smiled at each other.
“I guess we still need someone to keep the distributors in line,” I said. “And the stunt you pulled probably did save our asses with Team T.”
“Shit, I’m so glad.” Jordan’s shoulders slumped as she followed me inside, dropping the bakery box on the coffee table. “My dad was going to try and sell me on working for a new company he picked up. They make stuff out of silicone.” She shuddered. “I’m not ready to spend my life mass-producing spatulas and vibrators.”
Jordan glanced around the room, noticing for the first time the designs we’d been working on spread all over the nook.
“Those look great! Can I?”
I nodded.
She crossed to them, running her eyes over one piece then the next before looking back to me. “These are really amazing. Better than before. What made you change your mind?”
“Nate did,” I said simply. He really had done me a favor. I’d have to think of a way to thank him …
“Slow down, I’m missing something,” Jordan said. “This is Nate Townsend? The hot lawyer from basketball?”
The description made me bristle. “Yeah, but Nate isn’t just let’s-fuck eyes and custom suits,” I informed her primly, though my attention was split between her and the box on the table. I opened it and admired the cupcakes inside. “I mean, maybe that’s what I saw at first,” I admitted, selecting a cupcake from the box and setting it in front of me. “But he’s more than that. He’s determined and compassionate and even a little insecure.”
When I looked up, Jordan’s grin was huge, and Lex was licking buttercream icing off her finger and staring at me like I was speaking another language.
“What?” I asked.
“Look at you, Ava Cameron,” Lex marveled. “President of the Nate Townsend fan club.”
“So?”
“So I’ve never heard you talk this way about a boy. Like you want to jump him and vote for him and write him love letters all at once.”
“What are you, the romance police?” I grumbled, breaking off a piece of cupcake and popping it in my mouth.
“Ava always liked the pretty boys,” Lex confided to Jordan.
“You’re not one to cast stones, Alexis,” she replied. “Have you seen your boyfriend?”
I was ready to back Jordan up when her final words caught up to me. “Hey! That’s my brother you’re talking about!”
Jordan shrugged, unapologetic. “He’s hot. Kudos on the good genes.”
Chapter 28
Nate
Hey Suit. Want company?
Definitely. I’ll be home in an hour.
I’d been wondering all day where Ava’s head was at since she’d pushed me out this morning. It was a relief to hear from her.
After getting home at seven, I was just about to change when the knock came at the door. I tugged it open.
I blinked, and blinked again.
Ava was standing in the hallway wearing a dress that made my eyes burn. It was the red one I’d seen this morning. Short and fitted, it exposed enough leg to have me panting and made her breasts look incredible.
Which they were, dress or no dress.
“Hi Suit. You busy?”
“Yeah. I mean, no,” I managed.
“Good, because I wanted to say thank you,” she breathed, eyes sparkling. “For your help with the line.”
“Uh-huh.”
Keep breathing.
“That’s not a normal response to someone saying thank you, Nate,” she chided.
“In my defence, that’s not how most people thank me.” My eyes ran down her body, the curves I felt a sudden urge to trace with my tongue.
She smiled serenely. “Nate, I wanted to do something for you.” Her voice was breathy.
“Trust me. You already do something for me.”
She shut the door behind her. Then she traced a finger along the neck line of the dress and I almost swallowed my tongue.
I hoped to God she didn’t want to go out. I’d kill any guy who looked at her in that dress. And probably fuck her in the elevator on the way to remind her she was mine. I’d never been particularly territorial.
Until her.
I pushed Ava against the back of the door, and her eyes widened with delight and anticipation. Then her mouth curved.
She ducked under my arm, walking past me, but hooked a finger in my belt loop.
It was a game, I realized. I just didn’t know which one.
Ava pulled me toward the dining room table and I followed, eyes locked on her legs that looked a million miles long in black strappy heels. I let her push me into a chair.
She stepped back and turned to face the door, standing just out of reach.
The destination was unknown. But she was thrilled I was playing along and damn, I wanted to thrill her. We both knew I could overpower her, take whatever I wanted, in a heartbeat.
“What are you doing?” I growled. Five minutes ago I could’ve gone for dinner and a show, but now? Now I couldn’t remember how it felt not to ache for her.
Ava reached for the back of her dress hem with one finger. Slid it up one long leg, slowly, all the way to the top. Black thigh-highs with garters to match were on display.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she asked, her voice low.
She was posing for me. I got even harder. Ava was so perfect, my own personal pinup. It hurt to look at her.
No girl, not Hannah, not anyone, had ever made me feel this unhinged.
“I have no idea. But don’t stop.” My hands clenched in fists at my sides. Then she turned to look over her shoulder with eyes that spelled out exactly what she wanted to do with me.
Holy shit.
Her hand reached up to pull the clips from her hair. It fell down her back in a dark wave. I wanted to fist my hands in it, use it to pull her back while I pressed inside, over and over, until I was all she knew. Until she couldn’t name one of the guys she’d told me about that night that suddenly felt so long ago.
Ava’s fingers closed around the top of the zipper and she slowly tugged it down, an inch at a time. The only noise was my shallow breathing.
The dress pooled around her feet, leaving black lace panties and a bra. They were intricate and perfect, far too delicate for what I was suddenly imagining.
“Did you make those too?” I grunted.
Ava shook her head slowly, turning back to face me. A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. “I just went out this afternoon and bought the dirtiest ones I could find.”
The thought of her shopping for me was outrageous. I wondered if it’d turned her on as much as thinking about it turned me on.
“Let me touch you,” I demanded.
“Not yet. But since you seem to like the way I always say exactly what I’m thinking, no matter how crazy it is, I can tell you what’s going through my head right now.”
“Alright.” I’d make do with anything at this point.
She took a slow breath in, then let it out. “I’m thinking of you touching me just like this.” Ava ran a hand over her breast. Squeezed lightly, her thumb playing across her nipple, and a moan escaped her mouth.
Fuck. Watching her touch herself, seeing her imagine me touching her, made me insane.
Her hand trailed down her flat stomach to her thigh. She ran a finger under the top of the stocking. “Would you kiss me here? You can’t imagine how many times I thought about it. How good your mouth would feel.”
Stripped (Travesty Book 2) Page 20
