Harry
"Lieutenant Nicks took the day off. Something must be seriously wrong because this never happens so it's up to you to make calls," the Chief tells me, my head nodding.
I walk into my office and take a seat, running my hand over my face. There are so many questions I have about what happened last night, but I refuse to get them answered. Ava is not someone I will ever ask to talk, because she's the one who needs to first.
We stood in her hallway for what felt like hours, my arms holding her as if I needed to hold her composure together. The thought that my past made her act that way is minimal, and I chalk it up to her own story. She clearly doesn't talk about her past a lot, so perhaps it was uncomfortable for her to do so.
I pick up the phone and I dial the special victims unit, trying to see where they're at in the case.
"Officer Oliver," the woman says, and I introduce myself.
"Styles, good to speak to you. We were going to the hospital this afternoon to speak with Ms. Meyers. I will get back to you once we talk to her," she explains, and I nod my head.
"Thank you. I'll be talking with you," I tell her, hanging up the phone.
The day drags on and I find myself with small amounts of work, looking into a few cold case files. Most of them seem like dead ends, clearly, but my mind is so cloudy with my thoughts. It's a pretty slow day considering I have to wait until the special victims unit speaks to Katrina Meyers.
It reaches about five and I watch the door to the station open, Ava walking in. However, she's not wearing her usual suits, but none-the-less still utterly beautiful. She beelines for the Chief's office and shuts the door after.
My phone rings, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Detective Styles," I state.
"Hey it's Officer Oliver. We just spoke with Katrina and she doesn't want to speak with you, no offense. I was curious if you can give Lieutenant Nicks my information so we can speak with Ms. Meyers together. You can still work on the case, but I think she just needs to be with women right now. She's experienced substantial trauma," she explains, and I completely understand.
"Sure. She's not in the office today but I can pass your information along. Thank you for the help," I tell her, and she says goodbye before hanging up the phone.
I turn my attention to the computer and answer a few emails, swallowing the lump in my throat. My hand runs through my hair and I read through the email I received from the prosecutor in the Alexander Cross case.
My eyes flicker to Ava's office, seeing her quickly typing on her keyboard. There is a certain intensity to her features and I look away, curious to why she's working if she's taken the day off. God, I feel awful. I literally have no idea what to do.
She's independent; she's said so herself. Every time I ask if she's okay, or if she's alright, she just jokes about it. Women are an enigma, and she's the hardest one to figure out.
"Stop staring at the computer and come with me," I hear, Ava standing in front of me. I really was deeper in thought than I had assumed. But now, she's summoned me and now I'm really dumbfounded as to what's going on.
I get up and shut the computer off, grabbing my keys. She leads me out of the office and I follow her to her car, my mind trying not to think about what is going on. I'm not going to ask questions, and I'm certainly not going to talk first. This is all on her.
I fasten my seatbelt and she begins to drive, my hand resting on my thigh. My elbow leans on the window and I set my head on my hand, looking out at the street. She pulls up to the street beside my apartment and I glance at her.
"Go and change. I'll be here," she says, and I blink after I look at her. Once again, I'm left absolutely clueless. I don't follow demands well, but I'm faced with the decision of whether or not to obey hers. Although I'm left in the dark, I choose to listen to her.
I get out of the car and unlock the door to the building, walking upstairs. My hands are nearly shaking as I unlock the door, opening it and greeting Zeus. Rushing to my room, I rip off my shirt and pull on a tee. I put on a pair of jeans and change into different shoes, grabbing a zip-up hoodie.
Zeus is on his leash in seconds and I take him outside the back door to let him out quick, feeding him once we get back to the apartment. Then I grab my phone and keys and lock up my door.
My mind is boggled, absolutely boggled. Ava gave me orders and I'm following them despite not knowing what the situation is. If I knew what was going on in her mind, I wouldn't be as anxious. She could be taking me to the woods to fucking kill me for all I know. Maybe I shouldn't have asked any questions. Or I shouldn't have talked to her about myself.
I'm beating myself up for something I don't even know what I did wrong.
I get back to her car and she starts to drive. My lips press together and she moves to steer the car back onto the street. There are so many things that could be happening and I'm just hoping that she's not about to yell at me or tell me to fuck off. Maybe she's going to tell me I'm transferring back to New York.
She pulls onto her street and I glance at her, her eyes dead set on the road. There is no emotion held to her features and I take a look at her once more before I look away. She's wearing jeans that are tight to her legs, a white tee that cuts down on her chest in a V-shape, and she's wearing a military green jacket on top of it. Her blonde hair is down with a curl to it, and a light amount of make-up on her face. Utterly flawless, but the woman has my mind in stiches.
Ava parks in her garage and gets out of the car, and assuming I'm going into the house with her, I get out of her car. I shut the door as she opens the door to her house, my heart hammering in my chest.
I bite my tongue as I walk in, turning to look at her. To ease my mind, I just blurt out the first thing on my mind.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" I sigh, Ava locking the door.
"I'm justifying a situation," she tells me, my eyebrows furrowing. She throws her keys on the counter and walks towards me, her hands grabbing my face. Before I have any reaction, her lips press to mine.
Quickly, I grab her waist and throw caution to the wind. My lips move with hers, bringing her closer to me. There's so much that was running through my mind and this was not even close to what is was.
Her lips are so fucking soft that my mind just goes blank aside from making sure I don't screw this up. Her hands move from my cheeks to my chest, so I move my hand to her cheek. My fingers wind into her hair, keeping her right where she is.
Ava doesn't oppose when I keep our kiss going, not knowing just how badly I wanted this. I knew I liked her, knew I was attracted to her, but fuck I didn't know I wanted her so much.
I reach for her waist and lift her onto the counter, her hands pressing to my neck to hold me. My hands hold her waist, feeling just how slim she is. She's got me wrapped around her finger right now, and I'm not doing anything but letting her take the reins. She's the first woman I've ever known that I can't even begin to explain. She's a closed book; so far from an open one.
Ava moves the zipper on my hoodie down and runs her hands against my shoulders, pushing it off of me. I do the same with her jacket and reach for her cheek, continuing to do what she started.
She pulls away, my eyes flickering open. My eyes stare at her lips before trailing my gaze up to her eyes. Her gray eyes are hooded, her lips parted as she looks down at me.
"I've wanted to do that since we went for lunch," she tells me, my lips releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding in.
"I wanted to do that since you walked into my office the first day I started," I whisper, her nose brushing mine. I keep my hands on her waist, her hands splayed across my chest.
Ava bites her lower lip and I start to circle my thumbs on her skin, feeling how smooth it is as my thumbs deep beneath her shirt. Her forehead rests on mine and she releases her lower lip.
"We can't do this," I remind her, her hands running against my shoulders.
"I know," she tells me, my breathing almost growing rapid. Surely if her hands travel to the middle of my chest, she'd feel how hard my heart is pounding against my chest.
"Believe me, I want to," I whisper, her lips pressing against my cheek. She presses right to my scar, something no one has ever done before. I almost still at the touch, mainly because it's a feature I don't particularly like. The memory isn't a good one, but something about Ava placing a soft kiss to it nearly takes it away.
"Me too," she whispers, her lips still felt on my cheek. The tension I had felt all this time, she felt too. It wasn't just me and I am finding it difficult to wrap my mind around it. I'm not sure if what was spoken last night was the final straw, or if she needed to find comfort in someone and I triggered it, but I'm lost.
"I didn't mean to be so forward," she tells me, and I shake my head. I look back into her eyes and the gray color is so light that I'm drawn in.
"It's alright," I tell her, her hands trailing up my neck. Her thumbs run against my jawline for a brief moment before she leans back down, parting her lips over my own. Ava brings herself closer to me and I run my hands over her sides, feeling her body over her shirt.
There is something about doing something so wrong that makes me want it more. I'd never think that Ava would do this, but then again, I didn't think I'd do it either.