January 2009
Avery sighed softly as she sat on Taylor and Natalie’s couch. Her laptop on her lap as she looked at the screen, seeing Ethan on it via Skype as he frowned at her.
A frown that made Avery frown because usually Ethan was happy but today he wasn’t. At least not now after she had told him everything that had happened to her. Even telling him about how she had cheated on Cordelia and the offer that Cordelia had given her about moving in with her.
An offer that now had been been given two days ago and Avery was still thinking on it. Still hadn’t decided what to do because how could she?
She was so torn on the idea of living with Cordelia. Knowing she shouldn’t because of the fact that what if it didn’t work out? Which seemed more likely now that Avery knew or suspected she didn’t love Cordelia with her full heart.
“Will you say something instead of frown Ethan,” Avery told him with a shake of her head. “I don’t like seeing you frown.”
“And I don’t like frowning yet here we are. Me frowning because your life is a right soap opera,” Ethan sighed using a fake British accent which oddly sounded almost real. “So are you going to take Cordelia up on her offer to move in with her?”
Avery scrunched up her nose, “I don’t have any better offers,” she told him as her mind went to Paisley who still hadn’t texted her back.
Then again why did Avery expect her too? She shouldn’t have since they weren’t dating and she had made it clear she felt Avery had only used her….which Paisley had allowed. Could have said no in the end.
“I mean you might have one,” Ethan spoke as his voice went back to his real one. “I was actually wanting to speak to you too before you texted today saying you needed a therapy session with your platonic soulmate because no one else in your friend group would understand,” he mocked her playfully almost saying verbatim what her text to him had said.
A text that was true because there was no way Avery could run to Juniper with her dilemma either. Juniper was also friends with Cordelia and she was dating Paisley’s best friend. She was faulty to trust either way with stuff that could ruin things, relationships, people.
“Oh?” Avery arched an eyebrow as she stared at him. “And what did you want to speak to me about?”
“You know how after I visited you for your birthday I went to California?” Ethan asked though it sounded more like a statement. “I may have went because some record guy called after listening to my demo’s. I got signed to a label and got a record deal. A record that they informed me last week I can start making which means I’m probably going to be relocating to California.”
Avery sat there stunned as she listened to Ethan’s admission. Not having expected it but happy for him all the same. He seemed genuinely excited when speaking about it. The same way Paisley got when it came to photography or Cordelia on acting.
The same way she probably was with art and painting.
“That’s amazing Ethan,” Avery smiled hoping he could hear that she meant her words. “But what does that have to do with me and a better offer?”
Ethan visibly rolled his eyes, letting out a loud huff of air. “Are you really that fucking daft woman?” he questioned her. “I’m saying you could come with me. We could find an apartment and be roommates and it would save you moving in with the girlfriend in case she becomes your ex real soon,” he told her and Avery blushed because somehow she hadn’t realized that was what he meant.
Figuring things might get awkward if they lived together. After all they had, had sex once….only one night. But then again they had stayed friends and nothing was awkward. Just well she wasn’t sure Cordelia would like this either. Cordelia like Paisley knew that she had, had sex with a man in New York.
Though she hadn’t revealed that man to either of them. Cordelia had probably done the math at some point and figured things out if Avery were honest. She was smart and Avery talked about Ethan enough that she’d know or figure out when Ethan had came into her life.
That Ethan was her New York one time fuck to make sure she was fully a lesbian. A fact that may make her wary on Avery being roommates with him.
But even knowing that, it was a better prospect than living with her own girlfriend. Someone who Avery felt really hadn’t thought the moving in together idea through good enough. Even if Cordelia had been right in the fact that they had known each other for so long.
Their relationship was so new though. New and Avery had already cheated was already keeping secrets and she wanted to avoid the drama of the fallout if it came out. A fallout that could be worse if they lived together.
“Now who is the silent frowning one?” Ethan asked a hint of a smile in his voice. Which made Avery smile as she gave him a glare.
“Fuck you,” Avery muttered before shaking her head. “Never mind don’t. I did it already and it wasn’t the best,” she teased him as well watching as he flipped her off and she laughed.
“So will you move in with me Hanson? I mean I feel you kind of owe me for that one time you lied about who your brothers were.”
Avery rolled her eyes because of course Ethan would still remember her lie from the first day they met. That she wasn’t related to the band Hanson. A lie he had found out when he had been in Tulsa for her birthday, having seen pictures of her brothers at her house.
Knew then that she had lied to him though as she had told him it was just a stretching of the truth. Which he kindly reminded her was still a lie. Just a pretty way of saying it was a lie.
“And me moving in with you is me making up for that lie? That seems more like a punishment,” Avery laughed before heaving a sigh and putting on her best serious face. “But I think I’ll take it,” she said finally agreeing to it.
She would move to California and live with Ethan. Be the roommate of the only man who’d be her soulmate, platonically of course.
“Good, because now that I think about it I really don’t want to live in California by myself,” Ethan laughed out softly and Avery shook her head.
Deciding that now that she had a plan of things to come that they could change the subject off her. Talk more about Ethan and his upcoming music career.
Avery could see him hitting it big. She just hoped that with fame he didn’t get a closet because she was sure that even though he went with the flow and liked who he liked record executives and people wouldn’t like an artist who was gay. She’d heard enough about how people were censored from that stuff a lot through her brothers, mainly Zac giving her all the gossip he knew.
Because of course Zac shared celebrity gossip with her. Usually during their Mary Jane bonding moments.
Later that night after talking with Ethan and then telling Natalie and Taylor of her plans Avery snuck off to the bathroom in their house to call Cordelia. Knew she couldn’t put off telling her girlfriend what she had decided and she needed privacy.
The only way to get that in Taylor’s household was of course the bathroom. Avery realizing then if she did have kids she really didn’t want four kids. She’d be okay with two kids and a few pets. Wanting to be able to keep her privacy and not have to run off to the bathroom to get it.
That and she’d invest in a bigger house than what Taylor and Natalie had. Not one as big as her parents but one where everyone could have room and she frowned softly as her mind conjured up Paisley again. Still seeing a future with her as her partner, raising babies and pets together.
Shaking her head as she came out of her thoughts Avery quickly turned her cell phone on. Finding Cordelia’s name in her contacts. Hitting on the call button before holding the phone up to her ear and waiting on Cordelia to answer.
“Hello?” Cordelia’s voice spoke after the second ring which seemed like a record for her but then again they hadn’t spoken in two days.
Not since the day she had asked Avery to move in and maybe she missed talking to her. A thought that made Avery guilty because she didn’t deserve for Cordelia to miss anything about her.
“Hey,” Avery answered as she sat down on the closed toilet lid. “So I have an answer on the moving to California and living with you offer,” she told her suddenly feeling apprehensive now that she had to tell her.
Afraid once again that Cordelia wouldn’t like the idea of her living with Ethan.
“And?” Cordelia asked way too quickly. “Are you moving in with me?”