Bro Code(3)

Ava steps into view, and I take her in from head to toe in an instant. She was always a bit of a wallflower growing up, occupied with school instead of catching anyone's attention, but I remember the moment she blossomed.

It was a hot, sunny afternoon out at the lake one summer we came home from college. Ava was in high school then and Nick and I had tagged along with the group of teenagers, watching as they jumped from the rope swing, freefalling into what seemed like a forty-foot drop straight into the cold water below.

I watched Ava grab the rope, and let out a scream in mid-air as she jumped. After that, everything seemed to move in slow motion, because it was then that I noticed her hips, her breasts, and all that milky skin in her tiny two-piece swimsuit that did nothing for my hormones and everything for my fantasies. Bro code or not, I still had eyes, and a hundred adolescent dreams were just overwritten. God, she was beautiful then, but now she's grown into it, that sort of effortless look that...

Damn it. Down, boy.

I know better than this. At least, I'm supposed to. Ava's eyes lock on mine, surprise playing out across every inch of her expression. She must not have expected to see me—at least, not so soon. By reflex, I smile, and even under the dim glow of the lamp in the foyer, I'm pretty sure her cheeks turn pink.

“Hey, Ava. It's great to see you,” I say, sidelining that sudden rush of lust into an attempt at good manners.

If this keeps up, I'm going to have to sleep in the snow to keep the lust filled heat flowing through me to an appropriate level.

“Uh, hello, Barrett.” She takes a step back so Nick and I can come inside, and wipe our boots off on the rug.

“We're making some cookies in the kitchen. I remember your appetites from when you were growing up.” Nick’s mom smiles and then walks toward the kitchen. “Ava, let's go finish the dough.”

“Right. Sure thing.” Her answer is a little distant, her eyes still locked on me. “How's everything with you, Barrett?”

“Great.” I don't want to brag, but it's the truth. “How about you?” It's been years since we really connected and suddenly I want to know everything about her. I want to know what makes a twenty-five-year-old woman give up everything to take over a struggling factory in rural Indiana.

“Well, you know...” She bites her lip, and it distracts me until Nick taps my arm.

“Let's go upstairs, man. Come on,” he says, and I nod, not wanting to give myself away. When I look back toward Ava, though, she's gone.

Shit.

No, that's a good thing. The more space we have between us, the better, and I can keep my focus elsewhere. With a deep breath, I pull my head together, and follow Nick upstairs and into his old room. Everything's neat and cozy, and it's crazy how being here immediately brings me back fifteen years. Everything about this small town feels like a time machine.

“You'll stay in here,” he says, reaching up to tug open the knot of his tie, giving himself a little breathing room. “I'm going to crash down in the den since the flat screen's there. Not to mention a whole lot of booze.”

I think his quickie marriage and even faster divorce fucked with him more than I've realized, but I nod. “I think I'm done drinking for the night.” We'd only had a few beers, but the last thing I wanted to do was throw my self-control out the window when Ava would be sleeping one door over from me. “I might catch some early Zs so I'm not wiped out with everything we have going on tomorrow.”

“You say that like my mom isn't going to be fawning all over you tomorrow, making sure you have everything you need, cooking you your favorite breakfast, hugging you every chance she gets.” Nick grins.

I can't help but return his smile. Sometimes I think his mom likes me more than my own. “Your mom is pretty damn epic, if I do say so myself. But I’m just beat, it’s been a long-time coming for me to just shut my brain down and relax, ya know.”

“Sure thing, man, whatever you want,” he continues. “I'm just glad you're here. Catch you in the morning.”

“Thanks. I want to say hello to your dad, then I'll probably shower and hit the sack.”

The image of Ava tangled in the sheets in the room next to me flickers across my brain again, and I hold back a sigh. Considering my deviant thoughts, it's probably going to be a very cold shower.





Chapter Two


Ava


My mom would say that plans are like cookies—no matter how closely you follow the recipe, something completely different can pop right out of the oven.

It's why she laughs when I spill an extra tablespoon of vanilla into the batter we're making, and I hold back a groan. There's no getting it out once it's in, and we're way too far along to start over. All I can hope now is that some miracle of chemistry will even things out once they're on the tray.

“You look so serious, sweetie,” Mom chides, folding everything into the dough so it can be mixed and then rolled flat across the counter. “Relax. This weekend is going to be fun.”

“Sorry, Mom.” I wish that she wasn't always so perceptive. “I've just got a lot on my mind.”

Not the baking. Baking is easy street next to Barrett.

He's the reason I wish my vibrator wasn't packed away with all my other belongings deep in the garage…and he shouldn't even be here. My brother could have told me he was bringing his best friend to the house for the weekend, but no, I get to relive a fifteen-year-old crush—in the flesh—because Nick doesn't know how to make a phone call.