Authors: Karen Pokras
Ava shook her head in disbelief. The connection, the passion—she wasn’t imagining those things. Wasn’t he feeling them also? “Just tell me … please. Just tell me so I can pack and go home. Then you won’t have to waste your time playing bodyguard and pretending you care about me.”
“It’s not like that, Ava.”
Ava felt the tears starting to overtake her.
Don’t let him see you cry, damn it.
She turned her head. “So what’s it like, then?”
Max paused, as if trying to find the right words. “Remember how I told you I wanted to go to flight school to become a pilot after graduation?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Well, I had heard about a school out in California that was accepting students who were in their final semester of college. The program lets you overlap your final semester of college with your beginning courses of flight school. It seemed like a really great program, and it’s one of the top flight schools in the country. It’s very competitive. I knew I had little chance of getting in, but I applied anyway. This was months ago.”
Ava glanced at Max, wondering what any of this had to do with his inability to kiss her.
“Anyway, the day of our first date, I received a letter from them in the mail. It was a thin envelope. You know what they say about thin envelopes.”
Ava nodded. “Rejection letters.”
“Exactly,” Max agreed. “I didn’t want it to spoil my evening with you, so I threw it on my bed and forgot about it. It definitely didn’t spoil my evening. We had a great night. In fact, that was probably the best first date I’ve ever been on.”
“You have a hell of a way of showing it.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Max replied. “See, the thing is, when I got back to my place, I opened the letter. I was on such a high from our date, I knew that even a rejection wouldn’t spoil my good mood. Only it wasn’t a rejection, it was a letter of congratulations. I was accepted into the program. The packet of materials—all of those papers and things that normally make the envelope so thick—are now online. Got to love technology, I guess.”
“So that’s great, Max,” Ava stated. “You got everything you wanted, and I got stiffed. No tutor and no boyfriend. Forgive me, but I’m still not making the connection between you getting in, and you not speaking to me ever again.”
“Don’t you see, Ava? The school is in California, and the program starts in January. I have to move all the way across the country. It wouldn’t be fair to you, then or now, to start a relationship. I’d just be leading you on.”
“Well, what about now? What the hell do you call what you’re doing now?” Ava asked, not sure if she was angry with Max, the situation, or both. Once again, she found herself in a position of falling for someone who would be leaving. Only this was different. This was
so
different.
Max gave her
sparks;
he was someone worth fighting for … someone worth waiting for.
Max twisted his hands together in his lap. “I don’t know, Ava. I guess it’s like you said. I’m acting as your bodyguard—protecting you. But I’m not pretending to care for you. I really do—” The anguish in Max’s voice gave Ava the answer she was looking for … he felt the same way about her.
She reached up to curl his hair between her fingers. “Can’t you see? We’re meant to be with each other. The more we try to stay apart, the more we’re pushed together. I know you feel it, too.”
Max looked at Ava and nodded.
“Except there’s nothing that’s going to push the east coast and west coast closer together,” Max argued.
“Lots of couples have long distance relationships. It’s doable if you believe in it … if you believe in us,” Ava insisted. It certainly wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t the end of the world either. It wouldn’t be forever. “How long is the program?”
“With finishing up my degree, it’s just over a year,” Max responded.
“That’s not long at all, Max. The question is: if you weren’t going away, would you be willing to give us a chance?”
“In a heartbeat,” he answered. “Without a doubt. Having to push you away like this is killing me.”
“Then don’t, Max. Don’t push me away.” She took his cheeks in her hands and drew him in close, aching to taste his lips, aching to taste every inch of him. Yet she only stared into his eyes … eyes that revealed to her just how much he cared, that still had so much to share. He nodded slowly, allowing Ava to pull him up to standing. Without hesitation or doubt, Ava led Max to her bed, giving her whole self to the man she had desired from the moment their eyes connected in the courtyard, whether she was willing to admit it at the time or not.
Chapter 31
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Max asked.
Ava pulled her suitcase off her bed. It landed with a thud as it tipped over. Max picked it up and set it on its wheels for her.
“No,” she responded. “I don’t want to leave you, but it’s been over a week, and my sisters are getting on my case. I really do have to get home, and so do you. Aunt Sheila’s waiting for you.”
Laughing, Max grabbed Ava around the waist. “I can’t wait to tell Aunt Sheila all about you. Maybe now she’ll leave me alone!” he murmured as he nibbled on her ears and neck. “I’m going to miss you, you know.”
“You better,” she teased, stopping as an overwhelming sadness suddenly took over. “I’m going to miss you, too.” Ava could feel the tears starting to form. The last week had been like nothing she had ever experienced before. She and Max had barely ventured out of her apartment. When they did, it was together,
as a couple
, either to go get food, or to stay at Max’s larger apartment now that his roommate had finally left for winter break.
“Think of this as a trial run. We’ve got just three weeks apart over the holidays. Then we’ll have an entire week together again,” Max said.
“Until you move across the country.” Ava wiped the tear away. “How long until your first break after that?” she meekly asked.
“March,” he replied. “That’s not long at all. I’ll fly back here to visit, and in May you’ll come out for a week, like we planned. Oh, babe, don’t cry! You’ll see, it will go by quickly. I promise.”
Ava nodded and buried her head in Max’s chest.
“Can we stop by the gallery before I head out?” she asked, looking up at him. “I never really got a chance to talk to Cynthia other than her few text messages asking how I was doing. I’d like to go say good-bye.” The truth was, while Ava loved Cynthia and the gallery, she had been avoiding a return visit. There were too many memories there waiting to haunt her.
“Of course,” Max replied. “You can drop me off at my apartment after that, on your way out of town. Come on, we should get going before it gets too late for you to leave. If you put off your trip another day, Holly and Tessa might drive here themselves and drag you back whether you’re ready or not. In fact, I’m surprised they haven’t already to be honest. How’d you hold them off this long anyway?”
Ava smiled. “Told them I had the flu.”
Max laughed. “Well, that’s one way to keep them away. You’re a sneaky one.”
“I know,” Ava smirked. “I just … I wanted to tell them about you—about us—in person. They’re going to be mad … and then happy. But first they’re going to be really, really mad.”
He laughed. “Glad I won’t be there for that conversation! Yeah, um, good luck with that. And here I thought you didn’t want to go home because you couldn’t bear to be away from me. The truth is, you don’t want to go home because you’re terrified of your sisters.”
Ava giggled, tracing the lines of Max’s neck at the collar of his shirt. “Oh, you know you’re the reason I’m not in a rush to get home. At least you’re 98% of the reason. Do you like how I threw in some statistics there?” She winked. “We should get going, though. The flu only lasts so long, you know.”
Max took Ava’s hand in his own and used his other to pull the oversized suitcase out of the apartment and to the car.
~~~
“Ava, dear! It’s so good to see you!” Cynthia gave Ava a hug as she walked through the door, and then proceeded to kiss her on both cheeks in perfect Cynthia fashion.
“You got a bell,” Ava noted, as the door closed behind them with a soft jingle.
“Yes, well,” Cynthia started, “you know, I’m here by myself so much. If I’m in my office, I can’t hear when someone comes in, so I thought … well, of course, you were the one who came up with the brilliant idea.”
“You remember Max, Cynthia?” Ava asked. “From the night of the exhibit?” Ava cleared her throat. She had hoped the subject wouldn’t come up.
“Yes, yes, of course! And we’ve spoken on the phone.” She kissed both of his cheeks as well.
“The gallery looks wonderful,” Ava remarked. She barely recognized the place. All traces of Thomas were completely gone. Usually when an exhibit ended, Cynthia kept one or two pieces up from the previous exhibit on display, but none of Thomas’ photos were around. She also had a wall where she displayed photos and news clippings of herself with artists who had held exhibits at the gallery in the past—sort of a
wall of fame.
Photos, or any mention of Thomas’ affiliation with the gallery for that matter, were noticeably absent for both the present exhibit and ones he had done in the past.
“I’ve had contractors in just about every day,” Cynthia began. “I’ve been wanting to do some renovating for a while now. Well, there never seemed to be a good time since we’ve been booked with back to back exhibits. However, now that I had this week free, I decided to go for it.”
Ava twirled around, trying to take in all of the changes. “The lighting is different, and the walls…” She walked over to where Cynthia’s office used to be, and noticed that the space was completely opened up.
“Yes,” Cynthia stated. “I decided to change the flow in here. I hated having all of those museum-like enclosed rooms. So I had my crew knock them all down. Instead of walls, I’ve got these dividers, see? Partial walls that leave just enough room at the tops and sides to keep the open flow. What do you think?”
“Brilliant,” Ava noted. “I love it. Especially these curved walls in the center.”
“Ava,” Max said, rubbing his hand down the curvature of the wall, “you know what these remind me of?”
Ava smiled. Of course she knew; she’d seen the pictures so many times. It was the first thing that came to her mind as well. “The Musée de l’Orangerie.”
Cynthia clapped her hands together in joy. “Ah, my protégé! I’m so proud you made the connection! But Max? I didn’t know you were an art aficionado as well.”
Max shrugged. “I wouldn’t say aficionado.”
Ava nudged Max and smiled. “Oh stop being so modest.” Ava looked at Cynthia. “Max has been to all of the finest art museums all over the world.”
“Is that right? And you didn’t apply for my internship?” Cynthia pouted. “I’m hurt.”
“Hey!” Ava shouted. “Then I’d be out of a job!” She laughed. “Anyway, I can’t believe your contractors were able to get all this work done so fast!”
“Oh, you know,” Cynthia smiled, “I can be persuasive when need be.”
“So where’s your office?” Ava asked. She had been dreading stepping foot into Cynthia’s office—the scene of her attack. Just the thought of it made her heart race on the drive over. But now, she felt like she was in a completely different building. The space that was previously Cynthia’s office was now part of the gallery. Nothing about this place was frightening at all.
“Oh, that’s the best part!” Cynthia squealed. “Come!” She grabbed Ava’s hand and led her behind one of the divider walls. Max promptly followed. The space was painted in rich, bright colors and was filled with art, just like the rest of the gallery, but in the center sat Cynthia’s desk and filing cabinet. “Isn’t it great? It’s private, yet I feel like I’m still part of the gallery. Not tucked away in some stodgy office where no one will see me.”
“It’s wonderful, Cynthia! I just can’t believe you did all this,” Ava stated. As beautiful as it all was, she knew it was brought on by the attack, and she didn’t blame Cynthia. She had to have been shaken up by the incident as well. Especially since it was someone she considered a friend. It had to be difficult for Cynthia to come to work every day, sitting here alone, pondering the events of that night. All of the changes she made to the gallery made perfect sense.
Cynthia put her arm around Ava’s waist. “It just felt like it needed to be done,” she remarked. “Onward and upward, right?” She patted Ava on the arm, enclosing her hand around Ava’s, and took Max’s in her free hand.
“Now tell me, what’s going on here between the two of you?”
Ava and Max smiled before filling Cynthia in on
almost
all of the events of the past week.
Chapter 32
Ava sat in her car, driving along route 90, trying her best not to think about the fact that thirty minutes had passed since she left Max at his apartment. Thirty minutes since she last saw Max, last kissed Max, even made love to him one final time. The next time she would feel his body and his lips close to her would be in three weeks. It seemed like an eternity. If she thought about it too much, she knew the road would be clouded with her tears, and she needed to concentrate on the drive. One and a half hours left to go. She wondered if Max had already left on his four-hour journey home.
It was the first time Ava had been alone in over a week. Admittedly, the thought of stopping at the rest stop and walking alone in the crowded terminal without anyone to protect her freaked her out a bit. Logically, she knew Thomas was locked up miles away, but still, she’d rather just keep moving. Getting home quicker to her family, her sisters in particular, was on the forefront of her mind. Thankfully, there was little traffic for a Monday afternoon.
Tessa was the first one to come running out of the house as Ava’s car rumbled down the gravel driveway. Ava had to stop short in order to avoid hitting her.
“You made it! You made it!” she shrieked, nearly knocking Ava over as she tried to get out of the car.
Ava’s mom came running out after her. “Tessa! Give your sister some room to breathe. For God’s sake, she’s not well, and right before Christmas, too, poor thing!” She pulled Tessa off of Ava and gave Ava a loving but brief hug before putting the back of her hand to her forehead. “How are you feeling, sweetie, are you doing better? You look a bit flushed.”