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“I see your brain working, but I have no answers. I’ve been trying to understand it myself for six months—actually, longer than that—and I still can’t.” He pulls one of the chairs out at the kitchen island, motioning me to come sit down. “Don’t overthink it, Av. Now, let’s eat before it gets cold.”
Yeah, that’s easier said than done.
And by the way he avoids me after dinner, retreating to his cave to read a book, I know he’s overthinking it too.
Twelve
No sooner am I through the door, I being nuzzled by the little black demon. “Meowww,” Binx greets me as he weaves himself around my feet. I almost trip on him twice on my way to the kitchen, where he insists on hopping onto one of the stools at the island to watch me.
I place the beer and mango High Noons in the fridge, grabbing one of each for Ava and me.
On Thursday, we both realized neither of us had plans this weekend. Ava insisted she needed to treat me to dinner as a thank you, then afterwards we would have a roomie movie night. Her words, not mine. So I told her to choose the movie and I would pick us up some drinks.
Making my way into the living room, I stop and observe as Ava scurries about, making a nest for us on the floor with pillows and blankets. Binx darts into the room behind me, claiming a spot for himself. She has several cartons of delicious-smelling takeout on the coffee table.
“Smells great in here… What did you pick up?” I ask, interrupting her setup.
“Oh, you're home already? I didn’t hear you come in,” she says while throwing one last blanket onto the pile on the ground.
“Yeah, just a minute ago… You want?” I ask as I raise the hand holding the mango High Noon.
“Mmm, mango, my favorite.” She smiles, then steps closer to take it from me.
“Took a guess.” I wink. “What are we watching?”
“It's a surprise… Go get changed and meet me back in here in, like, ten minutes. I want to wash up too.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Ten minutes later, I'm changed and sitting on the couch. Ava strolls in, fresh-faced and absolutely fucking gorgeous. Of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen her like this. But it feels like the first time I'm able to sit back and truly take in how stunning she is. This week has been quite hectic between my late nights and her dance classes and checking in on her apartment, so we have spent little time with each other.
“Why are you sitting up there?” she asks, waving to the seating area she’s constructed.
“We’re eating, aren’t we? I'm sitting at a table,” I answer incredulously.
“Um, no, roomie, it’s movie night. That means asses on the floor with takeout on our laps.”
I can't help but chuckle at how adamant she is about our movie night plans. She’s taking this very seriously, and by her expression, I don’t think I'm going to win this one. So, I pick up one container and make myself comfortable amongst the sea of blankets and pillows.
“Better?” I ask when she sits down beside me with two dishes.
“Yes.” She smiles, looking thoroughly pleased. “The girls and I used to do this once a week at school. We would have a movie night on the floor of our dorm room, using all the pillows and blankets available to make a nest. Stuffing our faces with whatever the wheel decided was our takeout that day.”
“A wheel?” I question.
Ava laughs and a gorgeous smile lights up her face. “We could never decide what to eat, so we bought one of the mini-prize wheels to keep in our dorm. We filled it with our favorite restaurants and would let the wheel decide.
“That’s a genius idea.” I laugh, because who would have thought of that?
“It was! Saved us hours of debating.”
“I bet with them being so close, it was a bit intimidating when you first met them,” I say, knowing how close Quinn and Sloan were growing up. The stories that Eli has told paint them as always being together.
“Honestly, I was nervous at first. But we immediately hit it off. Like they were my long-lost sisters,” she says with a smile, then opens the containers and serves the food.
“I ordered from Uncle Joe’s. I heard they have the best chicken parmigiana,” she says as she takes a big bite.
“Oh, yeah… No wheel necessary? Also, how did you know about Uncle Joe’s chicken parm?” I ask, well aware I order from Uncle Joe’s at least twice a month.
