Double update because I love you all. XD

And in honor of all of the mother's around the world! Happy Mother's Day, Ma!

When we returned to the ring, I attempted to focus all of my attention on Paul and Nico. It was rather difficult, almost impossible. Avi's presence beside me was undeniably obvious. I almost felt like he was emitting some sort of frequency that my body responded to unthinkingly. "So, how was your night?" Avi asked, trying to make light conversation. The silence between us had not been uncomfortable, but there was a sense of awkwardness that was creeping along the edges.

"My night was fine. I fell asleep shortly after I ended the Skype call with you all. How was your night?"

Avi chuckled. "The others could not stop talking about you, and Esther made me promise to introduce you to her."

I raised an eyebrow. "Your sister wishes to meet me? Do you have any idea why?"

Avi shrugged, though I felt like he did have more of an idea than he let on. "I guess she feels like she's missing out on something. Kirstie adores you, and Esther is always looking for a new girlfriend."

I smiled. "It would be nice to meet Esther. If Kirstie likes her, I'm sure I will as well. Plus, she's kin to you. Therefore, she's bound to be a great person."

What appeared to be a light blush bloomed across Avi's cheek at the compliment, and I worried my bottom lip in order to stop a smile from blooming across my face. I forced myself to focus on the horse and rider in front of me. I was at work. I needed to be working, no matter how tempting the distraction was. "Paul! You can start cooling him down if you would like. The hour's almost up, and I'd feel better if he had more time to relax. A little pressure is good, but too much too soon can really put a hurting on him."

"Yes ma'am," Paul called back to me from the other side of the ring.

Avi hummed low in his throat. "Why does he call you ma'am?"

I shrugged. "It's the gentleman in him, I guess. He's always been a sucker for good manners. Not many people are anymore."

"So it's not flirting? I don't have to be worried?" Avi joked, half serious.

I laughed a bit. Hadn't I already made him aware of Paul's preferences? "No, Paul is very much into men. Even if he wasn't, I'm into guys with facial hair."

"What about your friend that interrupted the Skype call the other night? What was his name?"

"Are you talking about Pietro?" I asked, turning to Avi.

"The guy with the really light blonde hair and the accent."

I nodded. "That's Pietro. We..." I trailed off. What were Pietro and I? I loved him, sure. Hell, I loved him more than I loved Logan, and that was saying something. But, did I love him romantically?

For a moment, I spaced out. I could picture it. I could see us being like that: a couple. I could see us dating, having fun, enjoying ourselves. We would be good together. Pietro would bring out the more childish side of me, and I would be able to ground him when the situation called for it. Maybe we would get married. Wanda would approve. She would probably start planning a wedding as soon as Pietro proposed. Later down the road, a couple of kids could be in the picture. They would undoubtedly be gifted in some way, and they would be spoiled like crazy. But did I love him like that?

Avi picked up on my hesitation and sensed my inner turmoil to an extent. "Sorry, it's none of my business really. I was just wondering."

I held up a hand. "No, it's fine. Pietro and I are very close, yes, but I am not in love with him. We do love each other, but...I do not want to say it is like a sibling love. It is more than that, yet it is not a romantic love." I sighed in frustration at my lack of being able to explain it to Avi, to offer comfort in some way. I couldn't come right out and tell him about him being my One. I would have to explain my powers then, and that, along with everything else, would surely run him away this early into knowing each other. "I'm sorry. That's not very insightful at all, is it?"

Avi shook his head. "I guess I can understand where you're coming from. I've never had someone like that, but I'm sure that there's a past there that brought that about."

I confirmed his belief. "Yes, there is a past between Pietro and I. Not a romantic one, of course, but we did end up saving each other's life in a way."

Avriel stared into my eyes, and I was once again swimming endlessly in a pool of hazel. "So I don't have to worry about anyone threatening me or anything?"

"There's no competition. And even if there was, they would be nothing compared to you." I may have said too much. I may have overstepped whatever boundary that outlined the current status of my relationship with Avi. At that moment, however, staring into his eyes, I know that I had said the right thing. And on some level, some basic instinct inside of him that could recognize the inescapable bond between us, he understood. I could see it reflected in his piercing gaze.

There was nothing left for us to say. We returned to the barn in silence. I left Paul to his own devices and led Avi into the locker room. "I'm going to take a shower before we go on our date. Is that okay?"

He ushered me to go ahead. "Take your time. I'm not in a rush."

I snorted. "You have a show tonight. You are most certainly in a rush, Mr. Kaplan."

"I will wait however long it take for you, Ms. Windsor," he responded in a posh accent. It lightened the meaning behind his words, but I couldn't stop the smile from blooming across my face. I darted forward and boldly kissed his cheek before dashing to the showers.