Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“If a girl wants to be with five brothers just because she thinks that’s a cool thing to put on her bucket list, it’s okay, too. I mean, not that I think she needs my permission or anything.”
Aw, fuck.
There she goes, getting me all flustered without even saying anything.
Ava giggles. “It’s okay. I know what you mean. And I like that you care about things like that.”
“You do?”
“Yeah,” she says, her eyes gazing tenderly at me.
If I tried to stop the smile spreading across my cheeks, I wouldn’t be able to. “So, yesterday, while you were at school, we agreed there were only two options: to all be with you, or to all be without you. I can’t see you all the time and not have you. That would be torture. If you were to choose only one of us, that lucky guy would have to stop hanging out with the rest of us so much.”
“I had no idea . . .” Ava muses. “I had no idea you were already thinking about things like that. I thought we were keeping things casual.”
“That was the initial intention,” I admit. “But have you seen . . . No, have you felt just how well everything fits when we’re all together? Somehow, you can be with all of us and make each of us feel special.”
“It’s probably because I deal with, like, twenty-five smart-mouthed teenagers every day.” Ava grins.
I can’t help but smile. I’m glad she feels comfortable enough to crack a joke now.
“So, because of all those things, we agreed to move forward as a group, and to only take another step when all of us were ready.” I pause.
“And you weren’t ready last night.”
“Yes.” Quickly, I add, “But it wasn’t because I didn’t like you. On the contrary, it was because I liked you so much I knew I had to be cautious.”
Ava nods. “That makes sense, Liam.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, if it was Mason or Ollie saying those things, I probably wouldn’t buy them.” Ava smiles and, again, I see that affection in her eyes. It makes my heart clench with yearning. I want her to be ours.
“I like that you see us as individuals even though we spend a lot of time as a group,” I say. “That brings me to my next point. We realized today that while we can all be dating you, that doesn’t mean we have to all move at the same pace. We’re different people who want different things.”
“Of course.” Ava pauses to think. “So what you mean is, it’s less like I’m with a group of five men at the same time, and more like I’m with you, and I’m also with Ollie, and Noah, and Mason, and Nathan.”
“Exactly. You’re sharp.”
“I know,” she says with a smug smile.
“Another thing,” I say in a more somber tone. “I think it’s reckless to just jump into this without giving it more thought. Have you considered what people would say if they knew what we were up to?”
“Yeah. They’d say so many ugly things.” Ava grimaces.
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
She laughs nervously. “I’ve just been hoping that our story wouldn’t make it to the gossip mill.”
“You know this is too big not to be the biggest piece of gossip in Ashbourne for the rest of the year?”
“I know.” Ava takes a deep breath. “But I also know that I can’t pass up the chance to be with you. I’ve had a crush on you forever.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I used to watch you guys play in your backyard from my bedroom.”
“So you were a stalker,” I tease her.
Ava giggles, and the sound bounces around pleasantly in my ears.
This is nice. This is the kind of interaction I’m craving from her.
Don’t get me wrong; I want to claim Ava’s body, too, but more than anything, I want to know her, because I’m falling hard and fast for her, and so are my brothers.
They can do anything they want. But at the end of the day, if everything falls apart, somebody has to be the one to pick up the pieces and put it all back together.
That’s my job. And another part of my job, which is to minimize the chances of everything falling apart, involves getting to know this beautiful angel in front of me and what she’s really like on the inside.
That’s going to take time. But right now, I’m just happy she understands where I’m coming from and we’re on the same page.
In fact, now that everything’s been sorted out, I wonder if Ava’s up for another serving of the Hunter Brothers’ Special Sauce.
. . .
Okay, that’s a disgusting joke. I’m ashamed of myself.
But I really do want Ava now. And judging by the way she’s looking at me right now, she’d be—ah, what the hell. I’ll just do it and find out.