Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
He jerks away from my mother, and she turns and sees me. They both look as horrified as I feel.
“Ava! I—I can explain—” Mom starts.
All the emotion inside me explodes like lava from a volcano. “You hypocrites! Both of you!”
Pastor Williams frowns. “Now, Ava,” he says disapprovingly.
I point a finger at him. “Don’t. You. Dare.”
Turning my back on them, I stalk from the church, get into my car, and peel out of the parking lot. I’m shaking, and my mind is not exactly on the road, but somehow I make it home on autopilot.
Sometimes Erik works from home, so I go straight down the hall and knock on his door. He answers, takes one look at my face, and says, “What’s wrong?”
I throw myself into his arms. He gets his door shut, then holds me close. Part of me wants to cry, and part wants to scream and rage and break things. I can’t speak past the tangle of emotion, so I hang on and wait for the shaking to stop.
Erik is patient, rubbing my back in soothing strokes. When I’m ready, I disengage and take a step back. I can only imagine what my face must look like, from the expression Erik’s mirroring back to me. “I just found my mother with Pastor Williams.”
He stares. “You mean, with him?”
“In his office. They were kissing.”
“Holy crap.”
I start to pace. “After all their holier-than-thou posturing—after the way they’ve treated me—it’s infuriating.”
“And there was no, like, ambiguity about what you saw?” Erik says. I whirl on him, and he holds up his hands. “I’m not doubting you; it’s just hard to process.”
“They were French kissing, Erik. Pretty sure if I’d gotten there a few minutes later, I’d have seen more than a kiss.” I shudder.
“Fuck.” He shakes his head. “I have to admit, I always thought your parents were some of the genuine ones.”
“My dad.” I wrap my arms around my torso, feeling sick all over again. “I wonder if he knows.”
Erik pulls me in for a gentle embrace. “What an awful situation.” He doesn’t ask me if I’m going to tell my father what I saw, and I’m glad for that.
Part of me thinks I should tell him, and another part thinks I should leave it alone. If he doesn’t already know, it would hurt him terribly, and despite our disagreements, he’s my father and I love him.
“Will you be okay for a little while?” Erik asks, drawing back to frame my face in his hands. “I have a few work calls scheduled, but then I can come over.”
I nod. “I’m okay.” Not really, but I am in the way he means—I won’t fall apart if I’m by myself.
“Okay.” He kisses my forehead. “Make yourself some of your herbal tea, maybe. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
AVA
Back in my own apartment, I decide that tea is a good idea. I also put the lavender essential oil that Erik used for our date into the dispenser. I’ll take all the relaxation I can get.
After I fix myself some chamomile tea, I turn on another baking show, and then decide to make cookies. When Erik taps on the door and shows himself in, I’m curled up on the couch with a throw wrapped around me, sipping tea, nibbling a cookie, and working on a new crochet project.
He regards me with a smile. “Excellent self-care. Top marks.”
I smile back, my spirits lightened despite the shockwaves of emotion still churning under the surface. “There are more cookies on the counter. And soda and sparkling water in the fridge.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He gets a cookie and a water and joins me on the couch. I switch the tv to college basketball; Erik would watch the baking show with me, but he likes college ball, I don’t mind it, and it doesn’t require much concentration from me, unlike one of our regular mystery shows.
But Erik says, “Ava, hon, you don’t have to do that for me. I’m fine watching the baking show.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. It’s more relaxing for you, right?”
“Probably.”
He puts an arm around me and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Change it back, then.”
So I do, and then snuggle up against Erik, thankful that our changing relationship hasn’t damaged our friendship. He’s still someone I can count on and be myself with; our sexy games haven’t turned him into a selfish jerk, or me into a clingy girlfriend. Not that I wasn’t clinging to him a little while ago, but that was different.
After a while, Erik says, “We should probably tell Brax and Gray what happened.”
“Oh, you’re right. I’ve been trying not to think about it, but they should know.” I send a quick text to our four-way chat with just the basics, adding that Erik’s with me at my apartment.