“Just be honest with her. No matter what she asks”
I furrowed my brows for a moment, but quickly made up my mind. If she wanted to go into details, she would have done so with her first message.
“Okay. No matter what, I’ll be honest. Has she eaten already?”
“No. Though I’m sure that topic will come up anyway, Lover.” Followed by a devils emoji.
And my brows furrowed again. But, again, I decided to simply see what would happen.
Back in my apartment, I found Ava sitting on the couch.
“So...” I started, a little awkwardly. “I kinda have someone come over. Wanna make some snacks together?”
That made her perk up in obvious interest.
“Who’s coming over?” she asked as she got off the couch.
“Mia.” I avoided looking at her, and could feel my neck get warm.
“Oh. That makes sense.” She said it so matter of fact, like it was the obvious conclusion, that it gave me pause.
“It does?”
“Of course. You saved her life! I would be surprised if she wouldn’t want to ... thank you.” she grinned, as we got to work.
I decided on making some Bruschetta and had Ava start on removing the seeds and watery insides from the tomatoes, while I gathered the spices and herbs.
“So, where’s Mom?” she asked casually.
“Still with John and Danny at their house. I’m not sure when she’ll be back.”
“Did something happen?” she asked, obviously concerned, and her hands stopped moving.
“Not exactly. We had to clear the air, and now she has to make a decision. You do too, for that matter.”
“I do?” Now she sounded even more concerned.
“When you said that you wanted to devote yourself to me ... I admit, it was hot as fuck.” She showed me a mischievous grin upon hearing that. “But you need to understand that I won’t be able to do much for the next four weeks. That’s when I’ll probably be able to move my arm again without cramping up in pain.”
“Oh!” her eyes got big.
“The leg could take even longer. And...” I sighed. “If Mia and I ... Right now, we only want to see where it takes us. We won’t be a couple or even exclusive. But if we find ourselves heading for exclusivity, I will honor that.”
She thought about it for a moment, and then surprised me tremendously.
“Tim, I don’t need you to fuck me to get off. There is a lot more we could do that I would enjoy. I meant it when I said that I’m submissive. If you wanted to edge me for the next four weeks while making me suck you off five times a day, it would only make me hornier. And about you honoring a commitment you make...” she paused to make sure she had my full attention before she continued. “ ... that is exactly the reason why I chose you over Dad and Logan. My decision stands. I’m actually very happy that you think about dating someone again.”
I blinked at her as she gave me a genuine smile. I had SO not expected that. But it made me immediately look at her differently. I nodded and we continued on our task. About ten minutes before Mia’s arrival, Ava made herself scarce, though she wouldn’t leave without wishing me good luck.
About half a minute after she had closed the door to her bedroom, I could faintly hear her talking on the phone. I knew, now I had really given Claire every incentive I could think of.
Only a few minutes after Ava had withdrawn into her room, I heard the bell on the gate ring and saw Mia’s car on the monitor. I let her into the apartment and she wasted no time. I immediately had her lips pressed onto mine, and found myself enjoying this more than I would have expected.
“Just in case it wasn’t clear, I missed you too.” she smiled after breaking our kiss. “And no, I did not change my mind over the last two weeks.”
I leaned in and gave her another kiss. I just couldn’t help it, but the contented sigh she produced as a result of my action made it even better.
“Have you eaten yet?” I asked, and she shook her head. “Nice.”
I led her into the kitchen where she placed the mouth-sized pieces of roasted bread on a plate, and then we moved into my bedroom where we lay on the bed facing the TV to watch some shows on Netflix.
“These are fucking awesome!” she proclaimed after tasting her first bite of Bruschetta.
“I thought, if you were hungry, we could order a pizza or something. That would go well with it.”
“You know, in the hospital, I said I wasn’t planning our wedding. But maybe I should rethink that.” she laughed.
“Wow. Talk about being easy.” I laughed, to which she slapped me on my healthy leg.
“Now that I think about it, I AM lying on the bed of the guy I have the hots for, even though he still has pictures of his ex-girlfriend on the wall.” she said in a taunting voice, but quickly noticed the change in my expression and got a little insecure about it. “What?”
“About Tess ... she ... didn’t really move away.” I said, and she immediately increased the distance between us before looking at me with accusation in her eyes.
“Are you telling me she’s still around, or that she’s still... around-around? Like, as your girlfriend, around.”
