Ava thought she had the world figured out until it was turned upside down. She must decide if she wants to be free or re-building the life she had.
Series Order: Baby Steps, Colossal Jump, Moving Forward, Little Leaps and Passing Motions.
"Is it supposed to be?" Tori laughs, ignoring the obvious.
"I suppose you're right." He shrugs.
"You know what?" Tori smiles. "I just remembered I have to do something with Charlotte. We should probably go." Tori walks into the lounge room and begins scooping up her stuff.
"What about-" Charlotte goes silent when she sees Axel walk into the living room. The pair collect the rest of their belongings and then I say goodbye. They slip off into the night with their Uber driver.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your girl's night, I really didn't think you had anything on," I say.
"It's okay, it's partly my fault, and I did enjoy the surprise." I smile.
"Maybe I could do this girly stuff with you? I'll warn you, though, I draw the line at pink nail polish." Axel laughs.
"Okay." I smile. "What about a glittery pink?"
"Oh my gosh! That's what I was thinking." He smiles excitedly.
Axel takes a seat on the couch and allows me to put the mask on his face. His nose wrinkles when I spread the cold cream over the sensitive parts of his face. Once I've done that, Axel grabs a few cucumber slices from the tray and lays onto the couch.
He places one on each eye and shoves the rest in his mouth. Before I can warn him, Axel spits the food into his hand and discards the waste into the left over makeup wipes.
"Yuck," he groans. "What did you do to these?"
"Charlotte might have put some oil on them." I guilty smile.
"Lesson learned, don't eat decorative fruit."
"Ha-ha yeah." I grin.
"What do we do next?" asks Axel.
"Um, nail painting." I grab Axel's hand and walk up the stairs. Axel takes a seat on my bed while I grab the bottles of polish from the bathroom.
"Do you want pink sparkles?" I call out.
"The brighter, the better," he shouts.
When I return to the bedroom, I see Axel grinning from ear to ear. I shake the bottles and then hold them in the air for Axel to look at.
"Axel, why are you grinning? You can't be this excited about having your nails painted."
"No, I was admiring your room. All of your things have magically appeared." His hands wave through the air as he points to the junk filling the space.
"Yes, I decided to finally get my things back." I smile.
"How did that go?"
"Hm," I mutter. "Interesting."
"Ah, that sounds concerning." Axel looks over the polishes before picking his colour of choice. He goes for a medium shade with sparkly flakes mixed though the liquid.
I take a seat beside Axel and begin painting his nails. They're short but wide which makes them easy to paint. The colour is strong, so it only needs one coat. I doubt Axel would allow me to paint his nails a second time anyways.
"What happened at your ex's, do I need to rough him up?" Axel chuckles.
"No, he actually invited me to his party. I'm not sure if I should go." My eyes flicker to his smouldering gaze.
"You should go if that's what you want," Axel encourages.
"What about us?" I bite my lip as I wait for a response. "We're good the way we are, right?"
"No, I like this fun vibe we've got going." My body relaxes at his response – at least he understands what's happening.
"That's great." I smile. "We should go wash this crap off our face, you're beginning to look like a crusty hulk."
Axel and I walk into the bathroom and I turn the taps on. I find a flannelette under the sink, then adjust the temperature before wetting the cloth. I squeeze the excess water out before scrubbing Axel's face. He wrinkles his nose, but I keep going.
"Shit, this is so cold," he grumbles.
"I even put it under warm water," I mutter.
Once the mask is washed off, Axel takes the cloth and does mine. The cloth is somewhat warm, but still feels icky on my face. I see the smile on his face which makes me pout.
"Now you're just being mean."
"I think it's just cold," he teases.
Axel puts it back under the water and washes the gunk off. When he brings the cloth to my face, a few droplets spill on my shirt.
"Did you do that on purpose?" I giggle.
"No." His hand reaches under the tap and then flicks the water on my face. "Now that was on purpose."
I push Axel away from me and reach for the tap. I try to gather some water in my hands, but it slips through my fingers before I can splash him.
"Don't start a water fight," he warns.
"You started this," I yell.
"You are so cheeky, Ava Greyson."
I grab the cup with the toothbrushes and use that to fill with water. When he's not expecting it, I throw it on his face. As the cold water soaks through his shirt, Axel charges towards me. One arm wraps around my neck as he pulls me to him.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
He opens the shower door and steps inside. Axel backs me against the wall and reaches for the tap. Cold water cascades over us which sends shivers coursing down my spine.
"If you wanted to see me naked, you could have asked," I tease.
"Hmm." He chuckles.
"Hey, you ruined your nails." I pout.
Axel turns the water off and gets out the shower. We squeeze onto the bathmat, our clothes now soaking wet. The mat is instantly soaked along with the surrounding area.
"I'm sorry for throwing the water at you," I apologise.
"I'm not sorry for sticking you in the shower." He laughs.
"Hey." I slap his shoulder.
Axel tugs at my wet shirt and I let him pull it over my head. His lips meet mine before traveling down the side of my neck. I take a step back and then he grabs my waist and lifts me onto the bench. I wrap my legs around his waist and bring his lips back to mine. My fingers find his top and I tug it off.
It's a nice feeling to forget, even for a small moment. However, the world is a daunting place, especially with this storm brewing.
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What do you think about Axel showing up? Is he growing on you yet?
