Avery’s POV

I felt completely empty and numb inside as I stared blankly ahead. I couldn’t feel anything and there was no sound besides the ringing in my ears as the pictures on the TV moved in front of me. This must be what it felt like to hit rock bottom and to know that there was no hope for anything anymore. We were completely over and while I wanted to cry, nothing would come out. Time just seemed to stand still and I was trapped in my own mind.

He had moved on; there was no doubt about that. The different women in each picture told me that I really meant nothing to him. So why was I still holding onto hope that he would come back to me? There wasn’t any. Was I hoping that he still loved me? That was a laugh. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have kissed another woman to begin with. There was no fixing this now, not even if he came begging on his hands and knees. He screwed up and I couldn’t go back to someone I didn’t trust and my last ounce of trust disappeared with my last ounce of hope. So what now?

“Ave?” James’ deep voice sounded beside me. I hadn’t even realized that I had cuddled into his side or that I had cocooned my whole body in his sweatshirt. There was just something about his scent and presence that was holding the last piece of me together.

I blinked a few times to clear my blurred vision, seeing those light brown eyes staring back at me. “Hmm?” I hummed softly, hugging my legs to my chest underneath the sweatshirt.

“I’m going to go grab us a blanket, are you going to be okay here? Do you need anything?” Did I need anything? What didn’t I need? A new heart, a new mind, a new body so I didn’t have to feel the pain of what he had put me through.

I scoffed lightly and shook my head. “No…I’m fine,” I lied, watching as James slowly got up and moved out of the room. “I’ll be right back,” he said. James’ eyes stayed on me until he moved out of sight and I sighed.

James. He had been nothing but comforting and caring towards me and I couldn’t help but feel drawn toward him. There was just something about him that calmed me and made me feel better. He was the one good thing, besides Maya, that I’d had come around since that awful day. James was always there for me to make me feel better, to laugh, to cry, to distract, and put me back together. Is that why I kissed him?

Why did I kiss him? Was I caught up in the moment or his words? I had no idea why I did it but something about it felt right in the moment. He was so soft and gentle with me and it was almost like in the moment I craved that comfort. It was almost comforting to feel the pressure of his lips against mine, but what did it mean?

“Thank you,” I said with a weak smile when James came back and put a blanket overtop of me. He sank back down into the couch and laid down facing the opposite direction, watching me carefully. Those light brown eyes were full of concern and something else, and while part of me was afraid to find out what it was, the other part craved his touch. James’ touch seemed to help curb the pain of being empty and alone and that was the last thing I wanted to feel right now.

Very carefully and cautiously, I crawled down into the small space between James and the back of the couch, cuddling into his hard chest. From swimming earlier I knew it was extremely toned and covered with tattoos and I couldn’t stop the image of me tracing them from forming in my brain. No, Avery, don’t get ahead of yourself, you don’t even know what you want.

To my relief, James wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me even closer into his side. His embrace and scent instantly calmed every anxiety in my body and the ringing in my ears subsisted. And just before I drifted into the most peacefully sleep I’d had since the breakup; James leaned down and kissed my forehead. I smiled into his chest before the sweet darkness took me captive into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning I awoke to the sun burning through my eyelids and my mind swirling with thoughts. If I thought I was confused last night, I had no idea what I was now. I knew that things between Brian and I were broken beyond repair and that he had happily moved on. But why did I still care? That was the hardest part! And what about James? Damn it I had kissed him last night and I had no idea why. I was just really confused and didn’t want to think about any of this.

“Good morning, beautiful.” I looked up to find James looking over the back of the couch at me. I hadn’t even realized that I was lying on the couch by myself. “I hope your hungry and that you like pancakes,” he continued as I slowly sat up. Did he expect something from me? Did I expect something from him? Damn I had no idea what I wanted or what to do in this situation.

“Are you hungry?” James tried again, sitting next with the tray full of breakfast. All I could do was shrug and pull my knees back to my chest. James’ sweatshirt fell off one shoulder, revealing my skin and bikini strap.

I still couldn’t get over the fact that I had kissed him last night and that I had fallen asleep in his arms, or even more that I felt extremely comfortable in his arms. What did that mean? And what about…no Avery there was nothing left between you and him. That much was clear and I knew I was digging my wounds deeper by thinking that there ever could be something between us again.

“Okay, so I may not be the best cook but Cam swears that I am a pancake master,” James continued, moving into my line of vision. He smiled lightly at me as he held up a fork. “Will you just try a bite? Unless you are suddenly anti-gluten and bacon but after I saw you devour that hamburger yesterday, I highly doubt it,” he teased and I playfully rolled my eyes, not able to keep a smile off my face. “Oh, so you are alive! You haven’t turned into a zombie because I was really starting to get worried,” he continued and chuckled and I shook my head.

“So are you going to at least try these pancakes that I slaved over or do I have to call Maya and tell her you’re declining food…which I’ve never seen you do by the way,” James chuckled. “You don’t want her over this early and don’t ask how I know. I’ve seen her in the morning. Don’t tell me I’m wrong!” So James was Mr. Funny this morning? Well, if he was trying to change my mood and distract me, it was working.

“Fine,” and with that I leaned forward and took the bite off the fork he was holding up. As soon as the pancake hit my mouth I covered my mouth and let out a small moan. It was a pancake stuffed with bacon and maple syrup and it was probably one of the most delicious pancakes that I had ever had. “Oh my god…” I moaned, covering my mouth and looking up at the ceiling in ecstasy. Damn this was good.

James smiled and watched me chew. “You know…if you keep that up, I might start to get the wrong idea,” he said, pulling his coffee cup to his lips.

“What do you mean?” I asked with my mouth full. I had already dived into the plate and started to devour the delicious creation.

James just chuckled and shook his head, leaning back on the couch next to me. “Nothing, don’t worry about it. So what do you want to do today?”

As I chewed, I raised my eyebrow at him. What was I going to do today? Wait did he ask me what I wanted to do? Did that mean he wanted to spend the day with me? I swallowed and looked at him, my mind working again. I liked the idea of having James with me to distract me keep me company. With him, I rarely thought about…other things or people.

“I don’t know…I’ve got to work tonight and have some homework I could do,” I shrugged, now wiping my face with a napkin.

James slowly leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees as he looked at me. “No, I think you’ve got other plans,” he smirked. My brow immediately furred at his words and I looked at him a little agape.

“I do?” I was now confused.

“Yep,” and now he looked pretty smug. “I’m going to take you out today. You deserve a day off and the best, and today is about you, Ave.”

I felt a small flutter run through my system at his words because no one had ever said anything was just about me…. not even Brian. “But-but I have to work later,” I stammered, feeling like I had misheard him. I averted my eyes back down to the cup of coffee in my hands, not wanting to get my hopes up for anything. I had enough disappointment in my life recently so I was just going to pretend I didn’t hear him. That was easier.

“You work at eight tonight, right?” I nodded in response. James gently took my face into his hands, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Until then, today is about you and having fun. How does that sound?” I gapped at him as he smiled down at me. So he was serious about that.

“I-I don’t want to take up your whole day,” I stammered again, not believing that he would really do that for me. I was still very insecure about everything, especially after last night. But I had to admit that my heart was racing in excitement about spending the day with him, and that was definitely new. The guy made me smile and that was more than everyone else lately. I mean not even the though of Brian made me happy anymore, it just hurt.

“Ave,” James said looking directly into my soul through my eyes. “You are all that I want right now….spending the day with you, any time with you really. I really enjoy your company, your laugh, and definitely your smile. I couldn’t picture a better way to spend my day. Will you spend the day with me? I’d be the happiest guy on the planet.”

Why did he always know exactly what to say to make me feel again? I took in a shaky breath and nodded my head, a smile slowly spreading over my face. I didn’t know what kind effect this man had over me, but I was starting to realize that Maya had been right for weeks. It was time for me to start moving on, even if it meant taking baby steps with James. It was time to move on from the past and think about the future.

I slowly leaned forward and let my lips brush James’, hearing him take a shaky breath when I pulled away with a smile. “I would love to spend the day with you,” I said softly, a blush coming over my cheeks.

The largest smile I had ever seen quickly spread over James’ face as he grabbed me by the back of the head and crashed his lips into mine. James hungrily kissed, his tongue eagerly dancing with mine when I responded. Damn he tasted good, like a mix between coffee, sweet syrup, and mint toothpaste, which was surprisingly an intoxicating combination.

“You just made me the happiest motherfucker in the world, Ave,” James breathed, pressing his forehead to mine a few minutes later. “It’s about you and will always be about you….now let’s go have some fun.” He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.


Ben’s POV

What the hell was wrong with me? My girl? Who was that saying those words? Certainly not Ben Bruce because he was afraid of commitment so why the hell was all this bothering me so badly? I just didn’t understand why having to share Maya pissed me off so badly. I had never wanted a woman all to myself before, and I couldn’t get that thought out of my head as we headed back inside for a drink.

As we reached the patio door, I couldn’t stop the smirk from forming on my face when I saw James and Blondie snogging. It was about fucking time that he got the ball moving with that one, but apparently Maya didn’t like what she saw because she instantly stormed in.

The next thing I knew, Maya was looking at the pictures on the laptop and muttered the name that I despised the most. Matt. What was so special about that bastard anyway, especially when she had me? I was going to make this all better and she would see that I was the better choice for her.

“Come here, love,” I said holding open my arms for her to come into. This was going to be easy or at least that’s what I thought. So imagine my surprise when she looked at me through narrowed pissed off and hurt eyes and stormed towards me. Shit this wasn’t going according to plan.

“Where did you get those pictures from? And don’t even try to lie, I saw your mail address, Bruce?” Maya raged, her eyes glowing with anger. Fuck this wasn’t working out as all as I had planned!

“Maya…wait—“ I started shaking my head, trying to stop her and pull her into my arms, but she pushed away. “Fuck Maya let me just explain!” I called after her as she stormed out the door.

I finally caught up to her by her car, my heart racing wildly in my chest. No, I couldn’t let everything be over like this. I had to make things right between us. “Maya don’t leave like this, please!” I begged, holding her tight against my body.

Why the hell did I care so much? What the hell was my problem? So what if she knew that I left those pictures open on James’ laptop? It wasn’t like I told her to go look at the damn things and in my opinion it was all Cassells’ fault for leaving his laptop out in the open. If he had put it away when the girls got her then none of this would ever happened.

Maya slowly relaxed in my arms and I let go of my firm grip around her. Only as soon as I let go, she bolted away from me and sped off in her car. “God damn it!” I cursed, pulling my keys out of my own pocket and following after her.

I couldn’t let her get away like that. We weren’t done and damn it I wouldn’t let this be the end of us. I don’t know why I cared so much but I knew that I had to make everything right between us. And as much as I had tried to deny it, I finally realized that the girl actually meant something to me. I couldn’t let her go.

Ten minutes later I pulled up outside of her apartment. Her car was in the driveway but I was prepared for what I saw when I walked by the drivers side window. There she was, sitting in the drivers seat sobbing hysterically with her head in her hands. My heart dropped to my stomach and it literally broke my heart to see her like that.

“No…no…no…Maya,” I said, shaking my head as I opened her car door and pulled her into my arms. I had never seen her broken before and this wasn’t at all what I signed up for when I thought about those pictures. I never meant to hurt her. I just wanted to show her who was there for her, but look how well that turned out.

“Get away from me, Ben,” Maya sobbed angrily, trying to push away from me again. “You’ve done enough!”

“Maya look, I’m sorry—“ I started, feeling the world’s biggest asshole. I knew I had royally fucked up and I needed to make things right between us.

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry for what Ben? Digging up dirt to hurt my best friend? Digging in the past for what? What were you trying to prove with those pictures?” Maya sobbed, standing up and moving away from me. “You specifically went searching for something when I told you I didn’t want to talk about it! And I hope you’re happy because….this is what I’ve been trying to avoid!”

“Maya—“

“No!” she shook her head, angrily wiping away tears now. “My life is not some fucking game you can joke around about, Ben! And either is Avery’s! You have no fucking idea what we’ve been through and how dare you go trying to pull it back up!” Maya stabbed her finger in my chest with a dangerous look in her eyes. “And if this was supposed to be about fun, it’s not anymore so it’s fucking over!”

“Maya, wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Worsnop sent me those pictures…and I-I…fuck I don’t know what I was thinking okay,” I sighed, running my hands over my face. “I guess I just wanted to prove to you that what you have here is better than what you had there…”

“What? Ben that doesn’t make any fucking sense!”

I groaned angrily at myself and pulled at my hair. “I know and I’m sorry okay. You know that we are good together so please don’t do this, Maya. I’m sorry…” I don’t know how many times I had to tell her that to make her see the truth. I couldn’t and wouldn’t let her go like this. Not when I finally realized how I felt about her.

“What you did hurt me, Ben...” She now whispered, trying to stop the tears from falling. “I thought I could trust you and you have no idea how much that hurts…”

I sighed, walking closer to her and pulling her into a tight embrace. “I know, I never meant to though...” I whispered against her hair. That was the truth, I didn’t mean to be such a dick, but it turned out I couldn’t fucking control it. I just wanted her. “Please, forgive me, M...”

She didn’t reply for a while, but in the end she pulled away, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I don’t know if I can...” She whispered, shaking her head and walking toward the door. “You not only hurt me but you hurt my best friend…I don’t think this is a good idea anymore…”

“Maya, please...” I begged and by then I was on my knees, realizing she was really slipping through my fingers just like that. “I’m on my fucking knees, I’ll do anything to make it up to you…just please don’t do this. We’re good together,” I said shaking my head and literally begging for mercy. It was something I had never done before. “I was an idiot and it was a stupid thing to do and I will never hurt you again. I promise you…”

"Why should I believe that?" Maya scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Because I fucking like you okay!” I finally snapped, feeling the shock come over my face just as much as it did Maya’s. “I lied earlier when I said that this was only fun. Fuck, Maya,” I groaned, standing up and pulling at my hair. I had to make her see what was going on here. “It’s not about sex anymore! Okay, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy every bit of it, but it’s not about that, Maya! It’s about fucking waking up and seeing your stunning brown eyes; it about laughing and having dinner together on my patio; its even about the hilarious view of you dragging around your little blonde friend.”

Maya gapped at me as I took a step towards her and took her hands into mine. “What are you saying?” she asked, shaking her head at me and looking petrified.

“Come on, don’t tell me you don’t fucking feel it!” I urged, shaking her lightly. “We spend everyday together, like 24/7. You’re always at my house or I’m at yours. We sleep next to each other…we wake up next to each other…don’t you get it Maya? We’re basically in a fucking relationship and it’s not about just sex and fun anymore. Sure we have fun while we’re together, and that’s what’s most important.”

“Ben…I-I…cant do this. We said only if it was about fun…” Maya shook her head taking another step away from me but I wouldn’t let her go.

“Maya, don’t stand here and tell me that we don’t have chemistry and that you don’t have some kind of feelings for me…We both fucking feel it. You cant deny that! We have fun together and the only thing that is missing is the title. Well screw the fucking title because I want you to be my girl!”

“Nothing will change from what we have right now….” I assured her and I took another step towards Maya, now cupping her face in my hands. “Will you be my girl, Maya?” My eyes bore down into her, waiting for her response.

Notes

So Avery reached her breaking point...so what does that mean for her and Brian? And Ben admits that he has feelings for Maya? The plot thickens...will the guys show up before it is too late? Comments please!