Ava had been kissed more than a few times in her life but suddenly those all seemed like distant memories. This all seemed like a dream. Maybe it was because the last thing she expected when coming over to Justin’s was to end up on his couch kissing. Maybe it was because the kiss had come so suddenly and without hesitation. Or maybe it was because he hadn't let her up for air for a good minute and the lack of oxygen was causing her brain to lose track of reality. Whatever the case, she knew for sure that no other first kiss had anything on this.
So much so she hadn’t heard the front door open and someone call out Justin’s name. The next thing she knew Justin abruptly pulled away from her and jumped from the couch, “Mom!”
Ava’s eyes grew wide and turned her head to confirm what she was hearing. Seeing Lynn Harless in the doorway of Justin’s living room killed the high that she was currently riding. She closed her eyes as if to wish herself some place other than where she was.
“I totally forgot about you coming in this week. Was your flight alright?” Justin asked as he tried his best to divert his mother’s attention from the girl on his couch and what she had just walked in on. But judging by the look on her face he was pretty sure his plan was failing.
“Yes, um, my flight was just fine.” Lynn said opening herself up for a hug from her son. Justin embraced her and she placed a kiss on his cheek. She cleared her throat obviously embarrassed at what she had just walked in on and began to speak again, “Are you going to introduce me?”
“Oh! Yeah Ava this is my mom Lynn Harless, Mom this is my uh, my um, my friend Ava.” He said reaching his hand out to help her stand from the couch.
The awkwardness level was at an all time high in the room and he wanted so bad to be any where but in this room. He felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. He felt like he was back in High School again.
His hand remained in hers as she began to speak, “Hi Mrs. Harless. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She said offering her the best smile she could muster up under the amount of embarrassment she was experiencing.
Lynn returned the smile. She felt some what relieved that this girl wasn’t just some new random girl that had come into his life. She had spent the past three years worrying herself about her son choosing that destructive path of random women to replace that comfort he needed. It still didn’t lessen the shock of seeing her son kissing another woman on the couch, “It’s nice to meet you too, Ava. I think I hear more about you than anyone when I talk to my granddaughter on the phone. She really adores you.” Lynn said as she embraced Ava in a hug.
As awkward as the situation was it didn’t take away Lynn’s manners and she didn’t want her to be uncomfortable around her.
Ava smiled at the mention of Olivia, “I adore her as well. She’s an excellent little girl.”
“That she is. But of course as her grandmother I automatically have bragging rights.” Lynn said as she laughed joined by Ava.
“Of course you do!” Ava said smiling. And just like that it felt as if the embarrassment level had come down quite a few notches.
“Well, Justin, if you’ll tell me what room I’ll be staying in I’ll take my bags up.”
Justin being the gentleman his mother raised him to be immediately objected, “No Mom I’ll take them up.” He said as he began to start out the door but was soon stopped by his mother’s hand on his chest pushing him back gently.
“No, no, I’ll be fine. I can get them by myself. I really don’t have that much.” Lynn said, “Besides you have company and you can’t be rude. I am perfectly capable of carrying my own bags, but thank you for offering.” Lynn said as she threw another smile in Ava’s direction, “It was very nice to meet you.”
Ava smiled back at her, “You too.”
Lynn threw a knowing glance at her son, and walked into the foyer where her bags were and made her way up the stairs.
Justin rubbed a hand over his head and laughed, “For a second there I felt like I was a teenager again.”
Ava smiled, “Something tells me you got caught on more than one occasion.”
“Something like that.” Justin said smiling. He walked back over to his couch and sat down and patted the cushion next to him for Ava to sit on, “I think we need to talk.”
Ava sat down and pushed some hair behind her ears, “Yeah we do.”
Justin smiled and shook his head, “If you would have asked me less than two months ago if I would be in a relationship I would have told you no. But then I met you.”
Ava smiled, “I didn’t do anything but be your friend.”
“I know and I think that’s what made it so much easier to admit that I like you. And if you’re willing and patient enough I would like to start a relationship with you.”
“I’m very willing. And we can take it as slow as we need too.”
“Slow is good. I think it’s the only speed I can go.” Justin said as he grabbed her hand and held it in his.
More than a month ago he would have never believed you if you told him that he would be starting a relationship with someone other than his wife. It just didn’t seem possible. He didn’t know when he began to move on but somewhere along the line he began to heal. And he knew that it had everything to do with Ava, a woman that fate kept pushing in his direction. And had it not been for her he didn’t know where he would be right now and it certainly wouldn’t be on his couch holding her hand.
Ava removed her hand from his and pushed some hair behind her ear and began to stand, “I should probably go. Your mom is here and I know she wants to spend some time with you.”
“You don’t have to.” Justin replied quickly.
Ava smiled, “Yeah, I do. You and I both need some time to process what just happened here.” She said as she shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, “Walk me out?” She asked as she motioned toward the door of the living room leading into the foyer.
Justin stood and led her out of the living room and out to her car. She opened her door and threw her keys in her seat.
“Do you work tomorrow?”
“Yeah I’ve got a late night tomorrow. I work from 3-11.”
“Well how about you call me and tell me when you’re taking your dinner and Olivia and I will come see you.”
Ava smiled, “That sounds wonderful. I’d really like that.”
“So it’s a date?” Justin asked as he moved closer to Ava.
“It’s a date.” Ava said as she laughed and got into her car. Justin closed her door as she started her car, and rolled down the window.
“Call me tonight?”
“What time?”
“Anytime is fine with me.”
“Sounds like a plan. I believe I made quite the first impression with your mom.”
Justin laughed, “Don’t worry about her. She was probably more surprised than anything.” He leaned his head further in and placed a kiss on her cheek, “I’ll let you get out of here.”
Ava smiled and started her car, “See you later.”
“Bye.” Justin said as he began to step away from her car. Ava waved as she put her car in reverse and began to back out of his drive way. He watched until she was out of sight and then walked back into his house.
He closed his door behind him and heard steps coming from the stairs. He turned around and found his mother standing on the bottom step of his stair case.
“Did you get settled in?” Justin asked as he walked over to his mother and placed a kiss on her cheek.
“Yes I did.” Lynn said with a smile as she stepped off the step and walked into the kitchen willing her son to follow behind her. “So is there something you want to tell me?” She asked as she opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.
“How much I’ve missed you? Because I don’t think I’ve told you that.” Justin said throwing on his charm.
Lynn smiled a sarcastic smile at her son and opened her bottle of water, “I’m your mother that doesn’t work on me. Although I am glad you missed me. But what I’m talking about is Ava. Who is she?”
“A girl I know.”
“I know that much. I mean what is she too you?”
“She’s a girl that I like…very much.”
“I would hope so. I don’t like to think you make out with just any girl. Why are you avoiding the subject?” She asked as she took a drink of her water.
“Because we’ve just started something and I don’t want to make it into something it’s not.”
Lynn smiled, “You’re such a girl when it comes to these issues.”
“Mom!”
“Well you are honey. Is she your girlfriend or not? Easy question.”
“No, yes…I don’t know. We just admitted we liked each other like five minutes before you walked in the door.”
“I had no clue you were even thinking about dating again.”
Justin shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess I’m just tried of being alone.”
Lynn reached over and grabbed her son’s hand, “I know honey. And I think it’s good for you. I wanted to tell you all along to try dating again, but I just didn’t want to push the issue. I knew you had to deal with it in your own terms.”
“I don’t know mom. It was never my intention to start anything with her. I had been having feelings for her for a while now. And I tried to push them away.”
“Well you know when you try to push feelings aside you’re really just letting it grow.” Lynn said.
“Yeah I know. Last night she went out on a date that her roommate set her up with and I got blindingly jealous. I said a lot of things that really hurt her, and I really thought I messed things up.”
“I guess I walked in when you were fixing things?”
Justin laughed, “You’re right.”
“So you like her?”
“A lot. And looking back now I’ve liked her all along I just didn’t want to admit it. But how could I not like her? She’s beautiful, she has a wonderful personality, and she’s so amazing with Olivia.”
Lynn smiled, “Livvie seems to really adore her.”
“She does. All she talks about is Mrs. Ava.”
“This is going to be a lot of change for her.”
“I know. And Ava understands why we’re going slow.”
“Good, I think that’s probably best for you right now.”
Sure she was happy that her son was finally making the step to get out of the darkness that had surrounded his life for the past three years. But she also knew that he didn’t need to rush into anything either. She knew how much her son loved Melissa. For as long as they were together the moon rose and set in Melissa’s eyes and she honestly believed that part of him died with her.
She was beginning to believe that he would never love again. Much less even date. So it was a huge shocker for her to walk in on her son making out with a girl.
Ava seemed like a wonderful girl. And she knew she would grow to like her as much as her son.
But in a way she felt sorry for Ava. Because somewhere along the line he was going to have let Melissa go in order for his relationship with Ava to further. And she wasn’t so sure he was going to do that easily.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I know, I know...FINALLY!
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