It took Ava two minutes to answer my text, and a sliver of relief settled in my bones when she gave me her address.

My eyes skittered over the room, landing on the bottle of wine we'd finished. Sighing, I unlocked my phone again and pressed the call icon next to a name on the recent calls list.

"Dec, it's me. Are you busy? I know it's late. If you're with your wife, just say it, and I'll take a cab. No worries, 'kay?"

Declan's warm chuckle sounded on the other end of the line. "I was watching the replay of yesterday's game. Mel's asleep, and so are the kids. Do you wanna head out now?"

"Give me ten. I need to grab some stuff. See you at the entrance."

"Gotcha."

I hung up and padded to the fridge to grab the ice cream. Then, I took the sweets Ava brought and shoved everything into a bag before yanking my leather jacket off the hanger in the hallway and putting it on.

When I exited the apartment building, Declan's SUV was already idling by the curb. I got into the car and smiled at the guy wearing his signature baseball cap despite being in the vehicle.

"A date?" Dec asked.

"I hope so, but I'm not sure."

Dec nodded and turned the key in the ignition. I'd forwarded Ava's address to him earlier, and since my chauffeur didn't use the navigator, he knew that area well enough.

My eyes focused on Dec's profile, and the image flashed me back to when I hired him. It was as crazy as me overhearing his conversation with his pregnant wife in the line at the supermarket. The company Declan used to work for went bankrupt, and he needed a job to provide for his family.

What I needed was a discreet, reliable person I could count on to drive me anywhere when I couldn't do it myself. Something about Dec made me want to help him out, and I never regretted my decision. He was my confidante apart from being my chauffeur. I could vent to him about anything, and it'd stay between us.

"I need advice from a married guy," I said when the Toyota stopped at the red light.

"Go ahead, boy."

"So, there's a girl. We had a date at my condo, and I didn't want it to end."

"Tell me more."

I shook my head, chuckling. "Right. Long story short, I think I fucked up, but I need you to tell me if I really did or it's all in my head."

"I'm all ears."

"Okay," I said when Dec's car joined the night traffic, "it goes like this — she was gonna leave, and I didn't want her to. What I wanted to say was, 'stay with me, wear my shirt to bed so I can see those beautiful long legs of yours, cuddle with me under the blanket, let's watch some TV and eat the ice cream I bought or talk the night away cause we have so damn many things in common, and I'm desperate to get to know you.'"

Declan whistled. "You've got it bad. She must be special. And?"

"I believe what I actually said was, 'It's late. Why would you want to go if you can stay? Stay in my apartment. Spend the night here with me.' After that, she basically ran away, and I need to know what she thought because I wanna fix things now."

Dec glanced at me and redirected his attention to the road. "Well, that's easy. She thought about some aggressive cuddling."

"Huh?"

"Assault with a friendly weapon. Bam-bam in the ham. Bedroom rodeo. Bringing an al dente noodle to the spaghetti house. Or…"

"Or…"

Declan shrugged. "Doing squat thrusts in the cucumber patch. Bending her over a barrel and showing her the fifty states."

"Fuck." Laughter spouted from my mouth, and Dec's reaction was no different. 

"That's what she thought, boy," Dec said, still laughing as he wiped at his eyes. "And I bet you said, 'spend the night here with me' in that deep, husky voice we use with the girl when we wanna get our canoe shellacked. Except your canoe is a superstar one, and it'd probably take you little time to get it serviced anyway."

"Thanks for the vivid imagery. Now it's all I think about," I said to Declan, who did nothing but smirk, looking at the busy traffic surrounding us. 

"So, I'm gonna explain myself to her. That's what you'd do, right?"

"Well…" Declan hesitated, "I'd probably bend her over a barrel and show her the fifty states. I did it with my wife, and it worked. Ten years and two beautiful kids later, we're still going strong." My chauffeur winked at me and slowed down the SUV in a quiet neighborhood.

"It's here. Text me when you want me to pick you up," Declan said.

"Are you sure? It might be a couple of hours."

Declan wiggled his brows. "An optimist. I like it. You go, boy. And yeah, I'm positive. It's my job, Jim, and you hardly ever need me, so stop worrying."

I fist-bumped the guy. "See you later."

"Good luck."

Declan drove away after I took the bag and got out of the vehicle. Strolling toward Ava's two-story house, I smiled at the swing in the middle of a manicured lawn. 

I rang the doorbell in a minute. The front door opened, and Ava smiled shyly when our eyes met.

"Come in," she said.

My eyes roamed my surroundings as I took off my sneakers and the jacket and followed Ava to the kitchen.

Ava's house looked cozy and inviting, reminding me of the one where I grew up.

"Here, take it." I extended the bag to Ava when I she approached the stove to put the kettle on. "It's the dessert we need to have to call the date a success."

Ava groaned and buried her face in her palms. "Jim, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run away like that."

"Why did you?"

Sighing, Ava studied her nails and looked at me. "Honestly?"

"Always."

"I simply wasn't ready for, you know, more. It's been a short time and—"

"Ava, I didn't mean it like that," I said, walking up to her. "My wording was awful because I wasn't thinking clearly. I wanted you to stay at my place to talk some more and get to know each other. It was late, but I wasn't ready to say goodbye."

"See? This time I was an idiot, idiot, idiot for real." Ava chuckled. "I listened to my friend, and I shouldn't have."

"What did your friend say?"

Ava turned around to grab the kettle and two beautiful mugs. "Tea or coffee?"

I leaned against the counter next to her and smiled. "Tea. I won't sleep anyway, thinking about you, so there's no need for caffeine."

Seeing Ava blush was my new favorite thing. "My friend said when a guy invited a girl to his place, it was because he wanted to get laid."

I accepted the mug with the steaming drink Ava handed me. "Well, it depends on the guy's intentions. Not everyone does things in the same way. It's wrong to assume stuff."

"Communication is key, huh? I got frustrated when the couple in the book I'm reading let the assumptions wreck what they had, and look at me now."

I took a sip of my tea and glanced at Ava over the rim of the mug. "But unlike that book guy who surely let the girl go, I'm here now, am I right?"

"Yeah." Ava smiled. "And I'm glad you are. I'd hate it if I spoiled what had been a wonderful evening."

"Despite my giant fuckup in the kitchen."

"We solved the issue, anyway, didn't we?" Ava winked at me.

"Yeah. And to reaffirm that, let's try the ice cream."

"I almost forgot about it." Ava rested her mug on the kitchen table and walked up to one of the cabinets. She took out two bowls and two spoons. I watched her serve the dessert for both of us and smiled to myself because of how weirdly domestic that looked. 

"Let's sit," Ava said, pointing at the table.

I flopped down onto a chair and grabbed the bowl, shoving a spoonful of the chocolate ice cream into my mouth. 

Ava did the same, moaning. "This is the best ice cream I've tasted. Where did you get it from?"

"I'll keep it secret," I said, tilting my head to the side. "This way, if you want more, you'll need me."

"I might." The corners of Ava's mouth lifted, and my smile mirrored hers.

"So, now that everything has been sorted out, I have two questions," I said.

"Which?"

"Is there anyone else, Ava?"

My palms turned clammy as I waited for Ava's reply. I didn't miss the moment of hesitation, but then, she said, "No."

I exhaled, hoping she didn't hear it and opened my mouth to ask the other thing I wanted to know, but Ava added, "Not anymore."

"Not anymore? Well, okay then. It's fine with me."

"What about you?"

"I wouldn't be here if there was another girl. I'm single, and I've never dated."

Ava's eyes widened. I couldn't help but laugh. "That doesn't mean I'm innocent. I just never wanted a relationship, but I think it might've changed tonight, somewhere between you cooking with me and the kiss that didn't happen."

"Jim, I just…"

"I went too fast. Gotcha."

"I guess I overreacted. I didn't expect it."

I left the spoon in the bowl and leaned forward in my chair. Reaching across the table, I took Ava's hand in mine. "Do you feel the attraction between us?"

Ava nodded. "And I think it's crazy because we hardly know each other."

"That's why I wanted you to stay. I was eager to learn more about you, still am, but I can also do it here."

"What was your second question?"

I ran my thumb over the back of Ava's hand. Her skin, smooth and silky, was a pleasure to touch. Everything about her equaled pleasure — from her beautiful eyes and the perfect body to her bright, magnetic personality.

"The second question is, what's your book about?"

Ava chuckled, clearly not expecting that. "It's a mystery set in France. A person goes missing, and a detective is hired to figure out what happened."

"Did he manage to do that?"

Ava bit her lip. "Maybe."

"That's not a yes."

"That's not a no, either."

We smiled at each other. I brought Ava's hand to my mouth and pressed a kiss on it. When I looked at her face, I didn't miss the familiar blush, nor was I oblivious to her slightly widened pupils.

"I want to read it," I said, threading my fingers through hers. "Can I?"

"I've never shown it to anyone," Ava muttered. 

"I'll be honored to be the first to read your book if you'll let me."

"Jim, that's sweet of you, but I know you're busy—"

"Ava, please. I can always make the time for the things that matter to me, and everything about you matters. So, can I read it?"

"If you promise to be objective. I want your honesty. If it sucks, I want you to tell me it does."

What Ava said meant more than she knew because I wrote things, too. Lyrics were different from prose, but the essence was the same — we plastered words onto a page, hoping the message would be delivered in the best way possible, making the person who read it feel.

"I promise."

"Wait for me."

Ava hopped off her chair and rushed out of the kitchen. I sipped my tea for a couple of minutes, and then she was back with a USB memory stick in her hand. I rose to my feet and took a step toward her.

"Here it is," she said, handing the small object to me. "I didn't print it out because it would've taken ages."

"I'll do it at home. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I hope it's decent. I've never—"

I silenced Ava by pressing my fingers to her lips. "I'll read it, and I'll tell you my opinion, and I'll enjoy every word because you wrote it. Okay?"

"Only if you want to," Ava whispered, looking into my eyes.

"There's an internal battle going on between what I wanna do and what I'm gonna do," I said, swallowing for my mouth to feel less dry.

"What do you want to do?"

"What I want to do is press you to the kitchen counter and taste the ice cream off your lips," I said, lifting my hand to Ava's face and smoothing my thumb over her cheek. "Now, what I'm gonna do is this."

I edged forward and pressed my lips to Ava's forehead, letting them linger there for a tad too long. "Good night, Ava."

"You don't have to leave yet."

"I don't want to overstay my welcome. It's almost two a.m., and you need to rest. I'll call you in the morning. Thank you for this night."

"Thank you for everything."

Unable to resist the pull, I put my lips on Ava's forehead again. A small gasp left her mouth. It made me grin. Then again, everything about her did.

"I'll see myself out. Sweet dreams, Ava."

"Sweet dreams, Jim."

I left Ava's house almost hastily. Almost too shaken. Feeling almost too alive.

Then, I texted Declan. I paced the length of the sidewalk with my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my leather jacket.

They said Jim O'Brien was a superstar. What they didn't know was that tonight, or, more accurately, this morning, he was the star-struck one.

And he loved the feeling.

They are cute, aren't they? The author got the feels, so I hope you did, too!