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I watch her dubiously. “If you say so. What happened after?”
“I woke up and of course I freaked out, but he managed to calm me down. He bought me coffee and bagels from the café down his street and I ended up spilling my guts to him. I’m pretty sure I snorted all over his shirt while crying over my absentee mother, who isn’t worth it by the way. From there, we got talking and it turns out he isn’t as stony and emotionless as we thought.”
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t here for you, Ava, and I’m sorry about your mom.”
“I’m fine now, I promise,” she grins. “And seeing her again made me realize that I’ve spent too long letting her have so much power over my life that I became so scared of commitment. I intend to change that.”
It dawns on me that Ava’s mother hadn’t only ruined Chris’ trust, her actions also affected their daughter as well. Suddenly, I’m enraged on Chris’ and Ava’s behalf that she had the audacity to come back after twenty years and demand for forgiveness.
“I love you, Ava Young, and don’t you forget it.”
“I love you right back, Charlotte Wilson, and don’t you forget it.” Then she pushes me off the chair. “Now, off you go or you’ll be late. Say hi to my baby for me, okay?” she winks.
“Ew,” I mimic throwing up then wave her good bye. At the last minute, I turn back around before stepping out of the door. “Don’t forget to come to dinner, Ava. I’ll text you the address.”
“Yeah, I got it. Now get out of here.”
I walk out of the door, smiling ear to ear and wondering that maybe, just maybe, dinner wouldn’t go as bad as I thought. However, that thought completely fades away with each minute that passes. By the time I arrive at the restaurant Chris picked out, I’m practically shaking. “Hi,” I greet him and take my seat beside him, leaving the chair across us empty.
“What, not even a kiss?” Chris pouts and he looks so adorable that I almost lean forward and give him that kiss.
But I don’t. “I’m too nervous for that, Chris.” I fidget in my seat, smoothening the table napkins while Chris signals for the waitress. “What if everything goes wrong? You know what, maybe today isn’t the right time to tell her about us. She and I had a pretty deep conversation this morning and she seemed upset. I don’t want to upset her further.”
“Charlotte,” Chris grabs my hand. “You need to relax. I’m right here with you, remember? And I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
The waitress arrives then, beaming brightly at Chris without even acknowledging my presence. “What would you like, sir?” Her eyes rake his body up and down and she smiles seductively at him.
Letting jealousy get the best of me, I lean towards Chris, grab him by the neck and kiss him until we are both breathless. Then I turn to the waitress. “Sorry about that. I find it difficult to keep my hands off my boyfriend, sometimes, well most of the time.” I smile at her while Chris chuckles beside me. “We will have a bottle of your best wine, please. We will make our food order when our guest arrives, thank you.”
Flustered, the waitress stammers and walks right off with her head bent. Beside me, Chris is still laughing.
“You are so hot when you get jealous, do you know that?”
“I better be hot in your eyes every single time, Christopher Young.”
“Absolutely,” he grins and kisses me lightly. When we pull apart, it’s to see Ava standing right in front of us with open-mouthed shock.
“Ava!” I exclaim. This isn’t how I wanted her to find out. “I can explain,” I jump to my feet expecting the worst.
However, Ava’s shocked expression turns into a happy one. She smiles slowly until it takes up her whole face. “I knew it,” she shouts, clapping her hands together in excitement and drawing the attention of others.
“You are not mad?” Chris asks while I continue staring at my best friend, wondering if she’s high or if her reaction is completely normal.
“Of course not. Why would I be?'' She turns to me. “Sit down, Charlie,” she says, laughing.
I take my seat at the same time she does. “I wanted to tell you sooner but I was afraid that you wouldn’t approve and I didn’t want you to hate me.” I say.
Ava reaches for me over the table. “I could never hate you, Charlie. Never,” she replies with conviction, then her eyes move between Chris and I. “If anything, I’m glad that you two found each other. Plus, I kind of knew you two had the hots for each other since I visited the lab, and I was going to start playing cupid eventually if you two refused to own up to your feelings.”
“I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Chris says to me and I visibly relax. “Ava,” he addresses his daughter.
“Oh, am I getting the ‘you are getting a new mommy’ speech?” Ava teases while I blush and Chris glares at her. “Sorry,” she laughs. “This is way too fun.”
“As I was saying…” Chris speaks over her. “I know that things have been a bit shaky since Zoe showed up, but I’m here for you, you know that right? We both are,” he finishes, referring to me and him.
“I know,” Ava smiles reassuringly. “And whatever happens, I’m glad you finally let go of all the pain and betrayal Zoe caused you. I can see how happy and in love you are right now.” She glances at me. “Thank you, Charlie.”
“I didn’t do anything, I just fell in love with the most amazing man,” I smile up at Chris who returns it.
