Songs:
Ordinary Day - Vanessa Carlton
Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop - Landon Pigg
Something I need - One Republic
| Fifty-Seven |
The bouquet of flowers – the ones that Harry had given her- sat on top of her desk. The petals that were once vibrant in colouring were now wilting away, dulling away with each passing second. A representation of how she felt. The flowers were a constant reminder of the mistake that she had made and the hurt she was bound to cause. It was a reminder of the mistake that she made; the sneaking around and lies that she had done.
Ava couldn’t help but go over everything she had done over the past few weeks. She couldn’t help but convince herself that it was okay to be friends with Mack. Yet, she knew that if that was true, she wouldn’t be feeling the way that she was. She knew, she knew so well, that Harry did not like Mack. He was the one guy that he didn’t trust around her. Ava was full aware of his feelings, but she still went behind his back and hung out with him.
But look where that brought her.
She laughed at her naivety towards Mack’s intentions. She also cringed at her stupidity.
He used her- she still couldn’t believe that. That fact alone still blew her mind. It was such a small world, she thought. The fact that Libby had some relation towards Mack was almost cliché. Their whole relationship and situation was ridiculous.
But that was her life. Her life seemed to be a string of cliché scenarios and ridiculousness. Ava knew that she should be used to this by now.
A bitter chuckle escaped her red painted lips. Not once did her eyes leave the flowers. They sat there, taunting her, laughing at her. They were screaming in her face, yelling: You have Harry! Yet you still lied to him. You idiot!
She mentally shook her head. She wasn’t going to beat herself over this anymore. What was done was done. There was no use crying over spilled milk.
Harry wasn’t here. He was in Sacramento doing his last Californian tour date. He would be coming home in two days. Until then, Ava had promised herself that she would not think about what would happen when he is to come home. Until then, she was going to put all of her focus and energy into her work. She had an anniversary edition to get done, for Pete’s sake.
That was what she did. For the rest of the day, Ava ignored the bouquet that Harry had sent her, and continued on with her work. Instead of letting her mind drift back to her mistakes and what she was going to do once Harry came home, she thought about pointless things like that new boy band named My Direction and how adorable they were.
Yes. That was what she did. Not once did she think about Harry because if she allowed herself to go there she felt sick to her stomach.
-
There was something about summertime. The air was lighter, fresher. The nights were longer and the mornings early. The wind was warm against your bare skin. Dresses and sandals were the common fashion choice. Flowers were in full bloom. The smell of salt filled your lungs and the sounds of birds sang in your ears. The world seemed calmer during the summer.
California, Ava decided, was her new favourite place. She loved the hustle and bustle of the city life, a reminder of her own home city, but the weather was one thousand times better. She laughed to herself when she thought about Vancouver, and how she did not miss the rainy days once. There was something so charming about the sunshine. Perhaps it was because she didn’t see it as often when she was home. She had grown accustomed to the Californian weather. She didn’t know how she was going to adjust to the cold winter air once she got back home.
She wrapped her thin cardigan closer to her body. The night had grown crisper, but it was still warmer than home. She had decided to walk home instead of driving Harry’s car. The streets were busy with people. Everyone that was walking the streets seemed to be going home from their jobs or going out for a night out (even though it was only a Thursday night).
As she was walking home, Ava decided to stop at a local coffee shop. That was another thing she had found herself missing. She missed Mita’s and work. She missed Jacey. She missed Luca’s strong Italian accent and his biscotti. She couldn’t wait to go home and see them all again. She longed for a hot cappuccino. But, until then she would succumb to a Starbucks coffee. It wasn’t the same, Ava thought. But it had to do. She didn’t have much of a choice anyways.
A bright blonde girl was working at the cash register. The shop was quiet. It was clear to Ava that this wasn’t the most popular Starbucks location and she was happy about that. She wanted to be alone tonight and the fewer amounts of people that surrounded her, the better.
The barrister looked up from her phone and gave Ava a bright toothy grin. She looked no more than sixteen. “Hello! How can I help you?” The young girl, whose name tag read Teagan, had vibrant blue eyes that complimented her bleach blonde hair well. She was the epitome of typical Californian girl. Ava internally laughed at herself.
“Hi,” Ava returned the small smile with her own toothy grin. The girl’s energy was addicting. Ava couldn’t help but find herself grow happier with each moment that passed with Teagan. “I’ll have a grande mocha, please.”
Teagan nodded while writing Ava’s order down on a white paper cup. She began to type into the computer. “That will be four dollars please!”
Fact: Mocha’s are three fifty for a large at Mita’s, Ava thought to herself cheekily. She grabbed her wallet and pulled out her visa. “You’re not from around here.” Teagan spoke bluntly. Her blunt observation had thrown Ava off slightly.
“Um, no I’m not. How could you tell?” Ava quirked an eyebrow up as she typed in her pin code into the machine.
“First off, you have a pin for your Visa. No American has that.” She stated. “Second off, your accent is totally not from here.” She grinned.
“Oh,” Ava laughed sheepishly. “I didn’t know I had an accent.”
“You totally do! Where are you from? Wait! Let me guess.” Teagan placed the mocha syrup down on the counter and scratched her chin. Her brows furrowed as she thought hard. “Oh! I know! Are you from Seattle?” Her eyes widen as she spoke enthusiastically.
“No,” Ava laughed, her smile widening as a result of Teagan’s addicting enthusiasm. “Close!”
“Hmm,” Teagan turned around and began to pour the contents of her drink into the cup. As she placed the lid on top, her eyes widened once again. “Are you from, like, Northern California?” It was clear to Ava that Teagan wasn’t the smartest egg, but she still found her endearing.
“No.” Ava giggled. “I’m from Vancouver.”
“Washington?”
“Canada.”
Teagan’s eyes lit up once again at the mere mention of Canada. “No way! Eh!” She giggled at her own joke. “That’s so cool! I’ve always wanted to meet a Canadian.”
“We’re nothing too special.”
“No way! Canadians are so cool! Do you have a pet polar bear? Oh! Do you live in an igloo? A friend of mine once told me that people from Canada put maple syrup on everything!”
Ava’s head spun. She couldn’t help the loud, boisterous laugh that escaped her lips once everything that Tegan said registered. Teagan only stared at Ava as she laughed, slightly confused and offended. “Oh gosh! I’m sorry I don’t mean to laugh, but that is so funny.”
“You mean you don’t have a pet polar bear? Or was it moose…”
“No. We don’t. I’m sorry but that’s just a stereotype. We are just like America. In fact, where I’m from, it barely even snows. And if it does, it becomes slush the next day.”
“Really?”
“Yep!”
“That’s crazy. I’m sorry for thinking that. I’m sorry. That’s so embarrassing.” She covered her face quickly in embarrassment. “I feel like an idiot.”
“Well if it makes you feel any better, we do say sorry a lot.” The bright red that was colouring her cheeks began to drain away, her embarrassment draining with it.
“Thanks,” Teagan smiled sheepishly. Ava returned the smile and turned around with her drink in hand. As she began to walk away, she stopped in her tracks.
In front of her, sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, was a head of brown chocolate curls. Their face was being hidden by a book. Ava couldn’t move. Her body became frozen in the spot. No, that can’t be him. She told her body. But it still remind frozen on the spot. Somebody from the other side of the shop sneezed, causing the curly haired person to look up.
Relief washed through Ava’s body as she was met with a young woman’s face. Her heart began to beat regularly once again.
“Ava?” Teagan’s perky voice snapped Ava out of her frozen state. She looked over and was met with a pair of concerned bright blue eyes. “Is everything okay?”
Ava brought her hand up to her mouth. She bit down nervously on her fingernail and then ran her hand through her hair. She awkwardly pivoted her foot so that her back was now facing the curly haired woman. “Um,” she stammered out. “Yeah, I’m- I’m fine.” She forced a smile on her face but a grimace came out instead.
“You look like you saw a ghost.”
A light chuckle came out of Ava’s lips, “No. I thought I saw my boyfriend.”
Confusion quickly touched Teagan’s face. “Shouldn’t you be excited to see your boyfriend?” This question snapped Ava out of her awkward-award-winning trance and forced a real smile.
“Um, yeah. I should. I was.” She tried to force herself to sound genuine. But in reality, she didn’t know how she felt. She knew that she should have been excited to see that Harry was home early. But instead, her body felt like a statue in the park square.
“Do you want to talk? You look like you could.”
“No,” Ava quickly shook her head and stood up straighter. “No, it’s fine.” She smiled. “You’re working anyways.”
“Are you sure?” She asked tentatively.
“Yeah I am. Thanks though.”
“Well here,” she reached for a piece of paper and grabbed her sharpie. “This is my number. I don’t know if you live here or if you’re only here for the summer, but feel free to give me a call. If you need to talk to a sixteen year old girl who has an endless supply of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and a home movie theatre, that is packed with every girly chick flick imaginable.”
Ava took the pice of paper from Teagan and gave her a thankful grin. “I appreciate it! I will definitely do that.”
-
Minutes had passed and Ava had found herself sitting on the other side of the coffee shop at a vacant window seat. It was the only table in this corner, making her feel a bit more comfortable to talk. Corner tables meant less people to look at her and judge her for her stupidity.
She continued to take slow sips out of her now lukewarm mocha. The chocolatey goodness slowly dribbling down her throat and sending a wave of warmth to her stomach.
Her hands kept fiddling with her phone. She and somehow found herself looking at her photo-roll. She was scrolling through taking long looks at each photo that she had taken with Harry. His bright dimple smile brought the familiar butterflies to the pit of her stomach. She studied his flirtatious green eyes that had managed to still look into her soul.
He was perfect.
She still didn’t know, or understand, how she had managed to snag him. To have him, this reincarnation of a Greek god, desire to have her in his arms and love her relentlessly.
It was still so strange to her.
And the more that she thought about it, the more insecure she felt. She didn’t deserve him. She knew that. The more mistakes that she made, or unspoken excuses to leave, was a clear indication that she was not right for him.
He loved her relentlessly.
She loved him with the same amount of power (at least she strived for that), but still felt like she was coming up short. She still felt like she didn’t deserve to have him accept her love.
Her demons kept screaming at her. They continuously scolded her for even remotely believing that Harry deserved her and her love. The worst part of it all, was that she had allowed them to speak louder than her heart. Their lies and insecurities had a bigger impact that her heart and her love for Harry.
It was in that revelation that Ava realized that was the reason why she almost cheated on Harry. It was that small voice that taunted her in the back of her mind that had led her to make the one mistake that would solidify her inevitable future. That being Harry finally realizing that Ava was not good enough for her and leave her for good.
It seemed ridiculous, she knew that. But she still couldn’t stop the nagging feeling inside of her that this was true. That Harry was going to wake up one day and not be happy with Ava. That he would realize that he could find someone that came from a less fucked up home with a mother and father that were alive and present in her life. That was what he deserved. He deserved a girl with no baggage.
Ava mentally shook her head at her second guesses. These thoughts her the reason why she felt the way that she did. It was these thoughts that drove her mad and to the point of potentially losing the best thing that has walked into her life in years. After a few more minutes of sitting alone, Ava got up and threw her coffee cup into a nearby bin.
The evening sun began to set creating an iridescent glow against the city skyline. It was beautiful. She couldn’t help but smile at the simplicity of the scene. As she walked, with the sun setting, did she feel at peace. It was in this moment that all of the demons, insecurities and guilt that she had seemed to harbor eased away. It was in this moment that she felt okay.
-
The night began to slip away. Ava had been sitting on her couch for the past few hours with a blanket wrapped around her and take out sitting on her coffee table. Ryan Gosling was on the screen professing his love to Rachel McAdams. A few tears slipped down her cheek as she watched their love story unfold.
As Ava was watching, completely lost in the movie, a few quick knocks came from her door. She jumped in her seat completely startled. Ava slowly climbed out of her cocoon of blankets and walked over to the door. She quickly looked down at her outfit making sure that she was appropriate. She quickly deemed her spandex shorts and Harry’s black t-shirt semi-acceptable and opened the door.
Her heart began to pound rapidly.
Her hazel eyes were met with the pair of green eyes that she had longed for and dreamt about for the past three weeks.
Harry was standing outside of her door, with a bouquet of pastel pink peonies and a dimple grin on his face.
“Hi baby.” His low raspy voice brought a wave of goosebumps over her skin and a chill to run down her spine. Without giving it a second thought, Ava threw her hands around Harry’s neck and hugged him tightly.
Once her arms wrapped around his neck every insecurity and regret that had been gnawing at her slipped away. All that mattered in this moment was the familiar scent of mint, smoke and cologne that filled her nostrils and the low, husky chuckle that erupted from his core. “I missed you.” She breathed out.
“I missed you too.” He whispered into her hair.
Ava pulled away slowly. She looked up at him and a massive grin touched her face. “You’re early!” She squealed.
“I wanted to surprise you.” He smirked smugly.
“Bastard.” She joked. “You could have warned me. I would have opened the door in nothing but cellophane.”
“Mmm, baby as tempting as that sounds,” he growled as he placed her flowers down on a nearby table and his arms wrapped around her body, “Seeing you in my shirt and these damn shorts are way sexier.”
Harry bent down so that his lips were now pressed against hers. The electricity that she felt whenever his lips touched hers zapped her. She had missed the familiar feeling of his plump lips against hers. She missed the way his tongue managed to massage hers with the right amount of passion and gentleness. She missed the feeling of his curls wrapped around her fingers and the low moan that escaped his plump lips.
“Fuck, I missed you baby girl.” He moaned into her lips.
Ava backed up slowly as Harry pushed the door shut with his foot. He lifted her up and walked her over to the bedroom. He laid her down carefully - as if she was fine china, not wanting to break her in any way.
-
Harry looked at her. Studied her features. He had missed her brown hair that hung against her collar bones. He missed her captivating hazel eyes that peered into him. He missed the way that she held on to him as he kissed her fervently.
She was beautiful.
He missed her. He had planned to come back early from the start. He wanted to surprise her by coming back a few days earlier than he had originally told her. The shock look on her face and wide grin that she had given him was all that he needed.
Harry leaned over her and began to tug at her spandax shorts letting them snap against her skin. “Shit, Ave. These are going to be the death of me.” Using his teeth, he began to drag them down her smooth legs. Her breath hitched as his hot breath fanned over her naked thighs.
His tongue swiped over her inner thighs. An involuntary moan escaped Ava’s now swollen lips. The sound made Harry’s member twitch slightly. “Fuck, Ave. I missed you.” He began to kiss her. His fingers grazed over her bare abdomen.
Ava sat up slightly and threw her shirt off of her body, leaving her in nothing but her panties. Harry’s breath hitched at the view of her naked chest. Without giving it a second thought, Harry threw his shirt off and pulled down his jeans.
Harry pushed Ava up gently so that her head was now laying against her pillows. He hovered above her, cupping her breasts inside of his large hands, and began to knead at them slowly. Her breathing became harder as he continued to work at her. His lips then found their way to her neck and began to kiss and suck.
As Harry attacked her skin with kisses, Ava’s mind began to race. The shame that she had been carrying began to eat up at her. She knew she shouldn’t be leading Harry on this way. She knew that she shouldn’t be kissing him like this or make love to him, when she was hiding something from him. But as he began to slip his fingers inside of her panties, every ounce of guilt and shame that she had carried disappeared.
I’ll worry about that later, she thought to herself.
“I’m going to fuck you so hard.” Harry moaned into her. “I’ve missed your touch baby. I’ve missed you like this. Your teasing has been killing me.”
She smirked. “Then what are you waiting for?” That was all Harry needed to continue on. His hands brought down her panties leaving her bare in front of him. Soon after, his boxers were discarded.
As their bodies met, in the most intimate way, everything that Ava had felt fled. All that mattered right now was Harry and the way that their bodies moulded together. All that mattered was the way their bodies moved in love and passion. All that mattered in that moment was the way the reached their highs and came down from their climaxes. All that mattered was how she felt for Harry and how he felt for her.
-
“That was amazing.” Harry spoke after they came down from their second orgasm that night. “So fucking amazing baby girl.” His fingers were intertwined in her hair as she laid her head against his sweaty chest.
“That thing you did with your tounge though?” She giggled, “That was amazing.”
“I can show you again if you’d like.” He smirked.
“Mmm, let me go to the bathroom first.” Ava rolled off of Harry’s chest and reached down for his shirt. “Round three in five.” She joked.
“I like your stamina baby.” Ava rolled her eyes and made her way to her bathroom.
Harry laid his head against Ava’s pillows and stared up at her ceiling. In this moment, everything seemed perfect. Harry was quickly broken from his post-orgasmic bliss by the pestering sound of a high pitched buzz.
Harry bent over and grabbed Ava’s phone. But what he saw was not what he expected to see. He felt his stomach drop as he read the text message: Come on Ava, answer me. You know you liked that kiss. Call me back. -Mack
-
A/N: Sorry for the late update. The past few days have been crazy. I made it longer so I hope you enjoyed. Only nine more chapters left and then an epilogue. Eeeep!
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PS: I you have any questions or anything about me, feel free to ask! I’d love to get to know you all better too. Comment: Where are you all from? I’d love to know! I’m from Canada.
J. xx