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Chapter 30
Ava openedher eyes and thought, today is February Fourteenth, Valentine’s Day. Manhattan, along with several East Coast cities, had just been through a large snowstorm. This morning the snow was down to light flurries. It was the first Valentine’s that she had a boyfriend, and she was looking forward to the day.
It was Friday and Xander teased her with his plans that he would not reveal. She had slipped away during lunch the week before to get him a gift, which she left on the counter in his kitchen. He always woke first and showered, then made coffee for both of them. While she was in the shower, he found the gift.
His voice boomed over the spray as she washed the soap from her hair.
“I can’t accept this.”
She brushed away the droplets of water and steam from the glass door to look at him. He was holding the watch in his hand and shaking his head. She reached over to turn the shower off.
“Why not? Why can’t you accept the gift I took time and effort to buy you?”
“It’s too expensive. I know what this watch costs.” He said as he stared at it.
The Patek Philippe watch was expensive, very expensive. But she had money that she hardly ever spent and it was gaining each month. She didn’t think of the money as hers, she thought of it as theirs. Eventually, they would be married, and it would be shared.
She dried herself as he watched her. Then she brushed past him and went to the bedroom closet to dress. He stalked after her still angry, mostly because she wasn’t putting up much of a fight.
“I bought that for you, and you can do what you like with it, but I’m not taking it back to the store. How come every time I purchase something expensive for you, it’s an argument? I have more money than I can spend in a lifetime, and I barely spend any of it. I just want to make you happy.”
He softened, “You make me happy, it’s not the things you can buy me.”
“If you want to make me happy then make love to me.”
Their tests had come back negative several days ago. She had expected him to make love to her or at least perform oral sex, but none of that happened. It was an argument that was becoming commonplace in their relationship. She craved him each and every day. They had not done anything sexual since they had gotten each other off two weeks ago. Even the passionate kissing had ceased, and it dismayed her. When they first got together, it was electric. They could never be near each other without wanting to fuck each other’s brains out. Now that passion had become tepid, barely.
She finished dressing and took her coffee into the kitchen. She sat at the breakfast bar watching flurries skitter against the glass doors of the terrace. The winter seemed never to end, and she had grown tired of the gray days. After the bar exam, she was taking the first week in March to visit her family in Georgia. She wanted to meet her new niece. Xander was not happy about her leaving him for a week, but she needed to decompress. Studying for the bar exam was taking a lot out of her. Each evening, she would spend time either with Jacob or Xander reviewing. On weekends she would call David, and they would go over study guides.
Xander was not thrilled about her relationship with David. He knew that she had slept with him and the last thing he wanted was her to be alone with him for a week. He saw the look on David’s face during the engagement party as she danced with him. The man was head over heels in love with her. He knew the feeling well.
They took a cab to the office together, and they exited one block away from the building. She went in first and settled herself at her desk before Xander came up to eighteen. He had reluctantly put on the watch she bought him. Secretly, he had wanted this watch since he saw it in the jeweler’s window. Now she was angry with him because he chastised her for spending her money. They argued way too much lately, and he chalked it up to lack of sex or maybe it was her stress from the upcoming exam. Whatever it was, they needed to figure it out soon.
Tonight, Xander had a plan for their Valentine’s Day. They weren’t going to go out the whole weekend. He was leaving at 3:00 PM to run some errands and when she got to his place after work, maybe the tension between them would melt away. He could barely concentrate on his work because he was excited for tonight. In a meeting with his father and Jacob, he wasn’t paying attention causing Peter to raise his voice.
Ava sat at her desk transcribing some notes. She was irked by Xander’s attitude towards her gift. She went through a lot of trouble to purchase it, and he didn’t seem to realize that. He didn’t even get her Valentine’s card, and she was hurt by his lack of caring. Her fears about their relationship seemed to be coming true. She wasn’t sure they could last for the duration.
She avoided Xander all day because she was afraid she would burst into tears. Everyone around her was in the spirit of Valentine’s Day. Robert had sent Sam two dozen red roses and a gift certificate to La Roma day spa. Several of the women sitting near her also had gotten flowers and even a few men. She was miserable on what was supposed to be one of the most romantic days of the year.
At 2:45, Xander tapped her on the shoulder and asked if he could see her in his office. She went only because she needed someplace to cry without anyone seeing her. She didn’t care if he did since he was the cause of her tears. She sat down on the couch, and he closed the door.
“I think we need to talk,” Xander said.
It was enough for her. She burst into tears, crying so hard that she couldn’t catch her breath. Xander wasn’t sure what he should do. He stood in front of her rubbing the back of his neck.
“Sweetheart, what can I do?”
“Don’t you think you have done enough?”
He kneeled next to her and tried to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away. He got up and paced the office not knowing how to console her.
“I have to go, but I don’t want to leave until you tell me what is wrong.”
“Leave me, Xander. I’ll be fine.”
He began to worry that she wouldn’t come over tonight and his plans would be ruined. For the last two weeks, he had been making arrangements.
“Please come over tonight. I have something for you.”
