Page 65 of Call You Mine
I texted Ava this morning, offering to grab Georgie’s stuff from her car—since she didn’t bring it in when she got home last night, I figured she’d left it there. Ava was reluctant at first, saying it was fine, but she eventually agreed. She said she told Georgie about going over there to grab it all, leaving out some details about her mom trying to throw it all away and wanting to give up her parental rights.
I’m hoping that Georgie, seeing all her stuff in her new room at my place tomorrow, will help her feel more comfortable—ever since she opened up to me about not feeling like her house was a home, I can’t help but want to change that for her.
Even if it is just for a little while.
“You will be such a great help to Sadie when we’re in Vegas,” Rumi tells Georgie. “You’ll love her. She’s a junior at Stonehallow University, and Evee has so much fun with her. I think you three will have a ton of fun staying here.”
During dinner, the five of us ironed out all the details for our trip to Las Vegas at the end of the month to see the Cross My Heart tour, including childcare for Evee and Georgie. I think Ava was nervous about having Georgie stay back, but when Rumi had the idea of her staying with her babysitter, Sadie, Georgie seemed more excited to spend the long weekend with a “cool college kid”, as Rumi described her, instead of us.
Emerson’s friend in the opening band gave her some recommendations for some restaurants and things to do, so we chatted about what everyone was looking forward to after Ava shared all the details for the hotel and the flights she booked for all of us—and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she booked one room for me and her.
It makes sense—we’re about to tell everyone that we’re a couple, and we’re going to be living under the same roof in less than twenty-four hours.
But with whatalmosthappened between us…
My mind drifts to last night, just before I left Ava’s apartment.
I was less than three seconds away from kissing her.
The way she was looking up at me, the smell of her hair, the darkening of her eyes, the catch of her breath, it had me completely undone.
I didn’t care about the consequences anymore or how just even one kiss would complicate everything between us.
One kiss that didn’t just lead to sex.
One that actually meant something.
Because even though our relationship isn’t supposed to be real, there was nothing fake about the way I wanted to kiss her.
“Jack?” Rumi calls for the living room, bringing me back to the moment. I finish loading the last of the dishes into the dishwasher as Jack walks over to the living room.
“Can you put Evee to bed?” she asks him.
Jack gives his girlfriend a curt nod, his lips curving as he walks over to their daughter, picking her up from where she sits next to Georgie. “Say goodnight to everyone, Evee girl,” he says as he holds her in his arms. She gives the room a sleepy smile, shy all of a sudden as she rests her head on her dad’s shoulder as we all say goodnight.
“George, wanna come sit on the couch?” Emerson asks, patting the cushion next to her. I make my way over to join the rest of the crew as Georgie sits down next to Emerson, her hair in soft curls, wearing a sweater that I recognize as one of Ava’s.
The only spot left on the couch is right next to Ava, and, unless she moves over, there’s barely enough room for me to sit without basically being on top of her.
Half of her red hair is twisted back in a clip, her long-sleeve sweater is tight against her body, the sleeves wrapping around her arms but leaving her shoulder and chest on full display.
It’s very distracting.
“Want to sit?” It takes me a moment to register Ava’s voice, directed at me. When my eyes meet hers, she’s smirking—like she caught me staring.
I feel my cheeks heat, but I try to recover quickly. “Please,” I answer, settling in the spot behind her. I assumed she’d move closer to Rumi, but she doesn’t—and I can’t say I’m disappointed.
Angling myself, I squeeze into the sliver of space between her and the arm of the couch, my thigh brushing hers as I pretend not to notice how little room there actually is. The cushion dips and traps me there beside her, close enough to feel the warmth of her through my jeans.
I must be imagining the way she slightly leans back, her back against my front as she follows the conversation between Rumi, Emerson, and Georgie—the teenager’s face bright and eager to fill them all in on the drama happeningwith her seventh-grade peers after they asked her how school was going.
My lungs struggle to fill completely, and I blame it on the coconut scent of Ava’s hair enveloping me, making it hard to think straight.
Jack comes back with the baby monitor, setting it down on the coffee table as he settles on the other side of Rumi.
“So,” Emerson starts, stretching out the word, as her conversation with Georgie finds a natural end. “What else is new?” Her voice carries a tone as if she’s offering it to everyone, but by the way Ava slightly stiffens against me, I can assume she’s on the same brainwave as me—this question is directed at us.
With Ava and Georgie moving in tomorrow, she wants to give Emerson a heads-up before just disappearing from their apartment, and now with Georgie’s mom wanting to give up her parental rights, everything with the adoption is moving quickly.
