November 2010
Avery nervously sat across from Ethan’s mom after they had told her about their relationship. Watching the woman’s face for any sign of what she was thinking. For any sign that she was going to lose it like she had when Norah had announced her pregnancy.
But tonight Caitlin was hard to read. There was nothing on the woman’s face that gave way to what she was really thinking.
“You two are together?” Caitlin asked sounding like maybe she had misheard them. “As in boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Ethan nodded his head, “We’re boyfriend and girlfriend,” he confirmed for his mother. Avery once again seeing a confused look pass Caitlin’s face after he had confirmed that for her.
It was like Caitlin couldn’t comprehend what she was being told. Not that Avery could blame her. If she were in her shoes she was sure she’d be the same way.
“But I thought…” Caitlin started but stopped as her gaze settled on Avery. “That you were…that you solely liked girls.”
“I do…or I did,” Avery sighed struggling to clarify what she meant. “I still like girls but I also kind of like your son as well,” she spoke as she gave a slight smile to Ethan.
A tiny part of her feeling reassured when Ethan smiled back. It gave her hope that she was saying the right things, explaining herself well enough.
Caitlin nodded her head slowly as if she was taking in what was said and trying to digest it. Avery praying that she digested it right because there was no way she wanted the same scene that happened on Thanksgiving with Caitlin and Norah to happen now. This time with her and Caitlin or even Ethan and Caitlin.
“But you don’t love him?” Caitlin asked and obviously she caught that Avery said she liked him which was different than love.
“Not yet but I could come to love him. I could and I think the possibility is high that I will.”
“I get that, I do,” Caitlin sighed as she looked troubled. “I just don’t want to see him hurt if you dump him for a girl.”
“And I wouldn’t get hurt if she dumped me for a boy either?” Ethan questioned in a teasing sarcastic tone that made his mother blush.
Avery not being able to stop the small smile that worked its way onto her lips. She knew she’d never dump him for another boy, mainly because she was sure he was the only boy she’d ever fall for if she were being honest.
There’d be no other boy but him.
“Yeah, you could,” Caitlin nodded as she gave an embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry,” she apologized and Avery wasn’t sure if she was apologizing to her or Ethan or maybe even both of them together. “I’m just being an overprotective mother,” she shrugged.
Her words making Avery wish her own mother was like that. Instead her mother was toxic and willing to push away her children if they weren’t the perfect good Christian children she had wanted or hoped they’d be.
Diana would always be the opposite of an overprotective mother or something like that anyway.
“It’s fine mom,” Ethan stated as he grinned and stood up, going to where his mother sat opposite of them across the table. “You know I love you, overprotective or not,” he muttered before hugging her.
The hug making Avery again wish that her own mother was like Ethan’s. It also made her miss when she had looked up to her mother before everything got tainted and she hated knowing that she could never go back. She’d never get a close relationship with her mother.
Zoe and Jessica would have that but she wouldn’t.
“I love you too E,” Caitlin told him sounding firm in her words as she hugged her son back briefly and when she pulled away her gaze caught Avery. “I guess this is me giving my approval. I mean if that is what you both wanted.”
Avery almost opened her mouth to say it wasn’t but no matter how she cut it, that sounded rude so she bit her tongue to keep herself from saying that.
“Thanks,” she said with her own smile. “In the end though we just knew you needed to know, especially since things seem to be getting more serious,” she said as her mind went back to this afternoon and well basically previous days of this trip.
She and Ethan were an exclusive thing, no other people and that was pretty damn serious.
After she said that the tension seemed to settle and things went to normal. All of them seemingly finishing their dinner in peace now.
“I can’t believe your mom accepted things so easily,” Avery yawned as she laid next to Ethan in bed later that night.
“Why?”
Shrugging her arms Avery yawned again doing her best to fight sleep for now. She wasn’t sure why she wanted that maybe it was because she just wanted to be awake and in Ethan’s presence a bit longer even if sleeping and then waking up in his arms was nice too.
Better than nice.
“I guess I’m just used to how my mom is. Hard to please and get acceptance from,” Avery said honestly hating how her mother had ruined her expectations or maybe lowered them when it came to other mothers.
Just like it also made her afraid for whenever she had her own children. She didn’t want to be the mother who loved with conditions.
“Yeah, well not every mother is a controlling bitch,” Ethan quipped as he let his arm go around her waist.
“Touche,” Avery muttered out through a tired sounding laugh.
After her laugh things between her and Ethan fell silent and Avery closed her eyes. Letting herself drift to sleep in Ethan’s arms. Her dreams for once that night being full of happy things.
Something that she hoped was a sign of things to come. That her life would be happy for a while and not as complicated.
Waking the next morning as an alarm went off beside her, Avery let out a small whimper listening as Ethan laughed, disentangling himself from her to turn off his alarm that was on his phone.
“Do we have to get up so early?” she asked him without even opening her eyes. She knew it was six in the morning and she hated that she was up this early on a day when she didn’t have work or school.
“We do if we want to get to the airport on time to catch our flight back home darling.”
Opening her eyes finally, Avery watched as Ethan slipped out of bed. “Flights should never be early,” she said knowing she wasn’t a morning person but at least coffee existed.
At this rate Avery was sure her blood was nothing but coffee with as much as she relied on it in the mornings or late at night to stay up and write papers for school.
“Maybe so but it is what it is,” Ethan smiled as he leaned down to peck at her cheek. “I’m going to shower. Do you want to join me?”
Aver shook her head, “I think I need my coffee first before doing anything,” she told him with a small smile in return after he had pecked her cheek. “But I will owe you a shower together when we get back home. Does that sound good to you E?” she asked him as she sat up in bed.
Hoping that it was because she really did like showering with him. Loved seeing his naked body and feeling it against her own body.
“You’re missing out on my hot sexy body,” Ethan teased her before moving to get some clothes together for himself.
“Coffee trumps your hot sexy body,” Avery retorted just as playfully giving him a grin when he turned to look at her briefly before leaving the bedroom to go and shower.
Shaking her head again Avery laughed silently before reaching for her cell phone to see if she had gotten any calls or voicemails during the night or even texts. Feeling a bit surprised that as soon as she turned it on she was greeted by a text from Paisley that had been sent late last night after she and Ethan had went to bed.
Avery hadn’t expected to hear from Paisley after she had married Sloan. Half hoping that Paisley would truly let her go and let her have a clean break.
Obviously she had been wrong.
Biting down on her lip harder than she meant too, Avery took a deep breath as she opened the text letting her eyes skim what Paisley had sent to her.
I know it’s a few days late but Happy Thanksgiving Hanson. I miss you and I hope the holidays are good. Saw on Ethan’s fb you are both in NYC. How about when you get back to Cali we hang out soon?
After reading the text Avery rolled her eyes, knowing why Paisley had contacted her. The last bit said it all she wanted to hang out and Avery knew in her bones Paisley didn’t intend to keep it platonic like she had on Avery’s birthday. She wanted sex from Avery even after Avery had said what she did about not using her if she didn’t want something more because she was tired of having her feelings fucked with.
Paisley needed a hit of her more than she cared about what Avery felt mentally about her feelings.
Shaking her head Avery deleted the text instead of replying to it, knowing she was doing what was right for her. She needed to think of herself and what was best. What wouldn’t get her hurt and not contacting Paisley was what was best.
It would keep her from breaking more than she already had.
After she had deleted the text Avery turned her phone off before slipping out of bed and going to make herself some coffee so that she could at least function for the flight back home. That and so she wouldn’t be grouchy either.