November 2010
Waking the next morning Avery turned in the bed to look at Ethan who was sleeping beside her. Snores escaping him every so often and she couldn’t help but smile at how cute it was.
Though at other times his snoring did have a tendency to annoy her but today she had found it cute and maybe she could blame it on how well he had eaten her out. That and the fact that he had let her ride his face, something she had been wanting to do for a while now but had never been brave enough to ask.
But last night she had been, mainly because as long as they kept fooling around they wouldn’t have to discuss their feelings and how deep each ran. Avery wouldn’t have to tell him it would probably be better in the long run if he got back with Gideon because she didn’t want to break his heart.
That was the last thing Avery wanted to happen because she did need to keep at least one friend and she felt like she was losing them all. She’d lost Cordelia and Paisley and she had put Juniper in a tight situation since Juniper was engaged to Paisley’s best friend.
Shaking her head Avery leaned over to leave a feather light kiss to Ethan’s cheek before slipping out of bed and getting dressed into pajamas she hadn’t even put on last night.
After she was dressed Avery headed down to the kitchen, coming to a stop in the entryway when she found Gideon already there sitting at the table drinking coffee. It seemed besides Ethan they had another thing in common. They both needed coffee in the morning to get through life.
“I didn’t think anyone else was up,” Avery stated as she went to the coffee pot and grabbed a mug down from the cabinets that were near the pot.
“Couldn’t sleep well last night,” Gideon responded and the cold tone in his voice almost made Avery want to shiver. Almost but she didn’t.
“Any reason?” Avery asked as she fixed her cup of coffee, keeping her back to him but she swore she could feel him staring daggers into it.
“I think we both know why I couldn’t sleep,” Gideon stated right as Avery turned to face him and he was glaring at her. Avery swearing right then and there his bitch face had Taylor’s beat by a mile. A huge fucking mile.
Taking a long sip of her coffee, Avery swallowed it hard as she slowly and hesitantly walked to the table where Gideon was. Half afraid that he’d somehow kill her when she made it there. Hell his glare alone would be enough to do her in if looks really had been able to kill.
She guessed it was her lucky day that they weren’t.
“Ethan was with you all night,” Gideon continued in her silence. “I suspected you two were together the minute I saw you with him but him being with you all night..him turning me down the first night here when I tried to have sex with him. It was all I needed to put everything together.”
Avery opened her mouth to deny that she and Ethan were together because they weren’t. They weren’t dating at all, it was like she had told Norah they were just fooling around. But instead of saying anything she shut her mouth at the revelation that Ethan had turned Gideon down.
She knew Ethan had said nothing happened but she hadn’t realized he had turned Gideon down and again there was that guilt she had felt from last night creeping back in and really she needed to stop having semi deep conversations with everyone but Ethan on where things stood between them. It was doing nothing to get things settled on where exactly they did stand.
“I just have to ask you if you love him?” Gideon questioned her with a raised eyebrow. His glare subsiding a tiny bit. “Because if you don’t then you need to let him down gently.”
Blushing at Gideon’s question Avery took another long sip of her coffee. Not sure she wanted to answer the question at least not honestly but the last thing she needed to do was lie to Gideon.
“I’m not in love with him but I do love him,” Avery said hating the way that again she felt guilty about what she had said. Something she had known when this all started and hell something Ethan knew too. Though maybe he had hoped it had changed in the time they had been fooling around but of course it hadn’t.
After all, it hadn’t even been a full month yet.
Gideon went silent after she had spoken and Avery was once again scared. Scared that this time he was thinking up ways of killing her instead of actually killing her.
“And do you think you could ever come to love him one day?” Gideon asked and that was the question Avery didn’t want to answer at all because she knew the answer to it. She knew it and she didn’t want to say it out loud but again she didn’t want to lie to Gideon.
“I could given the time,” Avery admitted with a nod of her head being honest. “I could fall in love with him. Into the type of love that I’m not sure I could ever return from,” she sighed hating to admit that part because what did that mean when she compared it to the type of love she had for Paisley?
Gideon nodded his head as his face softened some and at least Avery was less scared of being murdered by Ethan’s ex.
“That’s all I need to know then,” he told her as he stood from the table, taking his coffee mug with him. “I’ll put in the towel on trying to get him back and I’ll even get an early flight out and leave today to go back home.”
Before Avery could protest saying that Gideon didn’t have to leave early, Gideon had already made it out of the kitchen, leaving Avery alone and by herself. Her thoughts seeming to consume her because now she couldn’t tell Ethan to get back with Gideon. That she didn’t want to hurt him or complicate things and he should go with the uncomplicated choice. It was hard to do that when Gideon had put in the towel thanks to her saying that with time she could fall in love with Ethan.
Shaking her head Avery grabbed her own coffee mug and stood to leave the kitchen but before she could she came face to face with Ethan and she knew from the look on his face that he had heard the entire conversation or at least the most important part. The part that had caused Gideon to leave.
“You could fall in love with me?” Ethan questioned her with a raised eyebrow and Avery guessed he wasn’t going to beat around the bush which meant he probably wouldn’t be okay with her trying to change the subject.
“I could,” Avery nodded her head slowly. “I mean it’s not a possibility but I could and if it hurts you that it may never change for me then you should probably go and try to get Gideon to change his mind about throwing in the towel and leaving today,” she told him only realizing that after she said that, she really didn’t want him doing that.
Ethan sighed softly as he stepped closer to her, his arms going around her waist, “I’m not going to do that,” he told her with a smile starting to grow on his lips. “I’m going to be stupid and be optimistic that you will fall in love with me.”
Rolling her eyes Avery only shook her head, “That is a stupid decision,” she agreed but she wasn’t going to fight him on this no matter what she thought the right choice for him would be. One of them had to be optimistic and have hope.
It would balance out this relationship of theirs because it seemed somehow they were in one. They were a couple and that was a revelation she never thought she’d make about them but here she was making it.
“But I am stupid gone for you so I guess it all works out in the end,” Ethan teased and before Avery could say anything more Ethan leaned in to kiss her softly. Avery’s eyes falling shut as she kissed him back.
A small sound escaping her mouth as the coffee cup in her hands splashed coffee on them both and as they parted from the kiss and looked down at their now sorta matching coffee stains Ethan let out a laugh.
“Okay I think I deserved that one,” he stated and at least he was acknowledging that this mess was all his fault. “Maybe this means we can shower together though since we both have to get cleaned up now,” he said and though he didn’t ask it as a question it came out sounding like a question.
“I mean it will save water,” Avery stated as she pulled out of his arms. “But you know at this rate we’re going to have to tell your mom about us before she walks in and catches us in a compromising position somehow,” she said knowing that wouldn’t be good.
Anyway she’d also be curious why Gideon left and knowing about them may help with that. Maybe.
“I was thinking we could do that tonight at dinner. I mean if that is okay with you Avie?”
Avery took a deep breath as she thought over that and she knew it was as good a time as any. Even if the thought of telling Caitlin then did make her nervous.
Hell, the thought of telling her at anytime made her nervous but she knew the woman needed to know. Deserved to know.
“We can tell her then,” Avery nodded her head before she moved to put her mug into the sink and then she left the kitchen. Heading to the guest room to get some clothes to put on after her shower.
Ethan’s footsteps following behind her.