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The next morning she woke before David. He had removed his clothes, and they were draped over the couch. The blanket was pulled up to his chin, and he was softly snoring. She tiptoed into the kitchen and quietly fed the cats. Then she made a cup of coffee for herself, picked up the New York Times from outside her door and went back to her room to work on the puzzle in her chair by the window.
She started the crossword puzzle while drinking her coffee. Two hours later she got a knock on her door and told David to come in. He opened it and was dressed in his boxers and nothing else.
“Whatcha doing?”
She held up the crossword puzzle for him to see. He sat on the corner of her bed closest to her and tried to smooth the hair out of his eyes. He seemed to want to say something to her but wasn’t sure how to get it out.
“Ava?”
She put the magazine down and looked at him.
“I’m sorry for last night.”
“For what?”
“You know…for staring at you.”
“It’s fine. I should have worn something less revealing.”
She went back to filling in one of the clues. He reached over, put his hand under her chin and tipped her face up to look at him.
“I like you. I wish we weren’t going to be related because I would ask to date you. I think that Xander is a fool to do what he did to you. You know you need to get out there and start living. Soon, you’ll be done with the bar exam and starting your career as an attorney. You can’t stay home each weekend.”
“I know. I’ve told myself that for the past four years. I just need some time, but I promise that I’ll get out there soon.”
Today was the last day they were going to be together. David was leaving to go back home to Georgia tomorrow, and she would be alone on her last week of suspension from her uncle’s firm. She had no idea where she was going to be assigned when she got back. She was sure that Victoria wasn’t going to take her back and that was just fine. Let some other sucker deal with her.
She took David to lunch at the Hard Rock Café and after, they roamed around Times Square until it started to get cool. When they arrived home, he plopped down on her couch while she fed the boys.
“We never did do any studying this week. I guess I will have to figure out a schedule when I get back home.”
“You’re a bad influence on me. I wanted to study, but you kept asking me to do stuff around the city.”
“Yeah, but I had a great week. Thank you for taking me all over. I saw a lot of things that I’ve wanted to see for awhile. Plus, thanks for letting me stay here. It would have cost me a fortune to find a hotel. I’d like to take you to dinner tonight as a thank you.”
She turned him down saying that she was going to cook for him. They had been eating out so much she must have gained the four pounds back that she lost when she went to visit down south. Instead, she made spaghetti and garlic bread. He had a glass of wine from a bottle he had purchased, but she stuck to water.
After dinner, she watched him pack his clothes. His flight was at 11:00 AM the next day, and she started to feel sad that he was leaving. He kept her sane these past three weeks when she thought she would lose it.
They sat on the couch watching TV, and she leaned against him with her back against his chest. She felt comfortable with him as if he was a friend from many years back. He liked having her next to him because he loved the lavender scent of her hair. Just before they went to bed he started to kiss the top of her head, then her ear and finally her cheek. His passion got the best of him, and he leaned to kiss her lips, she pulled away.
“No, David. We can’t and you know why.”
“Tell me you don’t feel anything for me.”
“I can’t because I do feel something for you, but that doesn’t mean we can act on it.”
She leaned forward to turn around and look in his blue eyes. She saw a mix of sadness and desire. They stared at each other for a minute until her shyness got the best of her and she broke away, looking at her lap.
“If you had gotten to me a few weeks ago, I would have been game but I don’t want to be that person. I enjoy being with you, and if we slept together, it would change our relationship.”
“It would because I would want you to be with me all the time. I would consider moving here and taking the bar exam in New York.”
“You are forgetting one small detail; our parents are engaged. If we started, a relationship my father would have a fit. He would think we slept together when we shared the pool house. That might cause problems between our parents even though it isn’t true.”
“I wish I met you several years ago. You would have been mine.”
“I doubt it. I wasn’t very attractive years ago.”
