Bro Code(7)

“I was, huh?” It's impossible not to tease Ava when she's playing coy. Literally impossible. “Sorry, I'll keep it in its cage next time.”

“You're such an ass,” she says, but chases the words with a laugh. I can't remember the last time I heard Ava laugh—it's been years. I missed that sound more than I realized, enough to make her want to do it over and over again.

Running a hand back through my hair, I give her an exaggerated, innocent look. “I didn't think my ass was the part of my anatomy in question.”

A good-natured roll of her eyes has me grinning, and my shoulders relax by a few degrees. This can just be banter, just be fun without any screw-ups. We haven't talked in a long time, so maybe now is my chance to do that. Focus on the friendship, because sex certainly isn't on the table.

“You're alright though?” I ask again, needing to hear her say it, needing some reassurance that I didn't scar her for life or make her too uncomfortable to sleep right across the hall from me for the next four days.

“Yes, it's just. Okay, in all seriousness ... how do you walk around with that in your pants all day?” The determined look on her face is priceless.

“I strap it down to my leg with duct tape,” I say in the most serious voice I can muster.

Her eyes widen. “Holy shit, seriously?”

Unable to hold in my laughter, I chuckle at her. “No, Ava. That was a joke.”

Her cheeks are bright red again, and fuck, what is this perverse part of me that likes teasing her. Maybe because it feels a lot like flirting, something I've never allowed given our age difference.

She breaks into a laugh, her shoulders relaxing and we spend the next few minutes reminiscing about the football games she attended of mine and Nick's throughout high school and college, and it's crazy how at ease we are with each other. A few minutes of talking and we're both laughing, remembering some of the stupid shit her brother and I used to do. I guess some things never change.

“You're doing well?” I ask, genuinely wanting to know.

“I'm good,” she says. Her eyes are just as blue as I remember. The rest of her, however? She's grown and filled out in ways I never imagined.

“You look good.”

Fuck.

Why did I just say that?

She looks right at me then, and holding her gaze is harder than I expect. I don't want her to sense what's on my mind, to have any idea what I was just doing a few minutes ago while thinking about her. Even if by some miracle she felt the same way, Nick would flip and for good reason. He's been my best friend since we were six, and his whole family practically took me in. Paying that back by sleeping with his baby sister over a long family weekend would make me a complete asshole.

Besides, I'm leaving in a couple of days. It'd be one thing to be dating Ava and break the news to Nick at the right time, but I don't have time for a relationship. I barely have time to go to the gym or eat a dinner that's not at my desk. My life is in Chicago, and hers is going to be here in Indiana with the factory. I can't be two places at once while trying to make partner. I barely got enough coverage to slip away for the weekend, and the last thing I'm hunting for now is something serious. I turn and stretch my arms over my head, feigning a yawn. Otherwise, I'm about to do something really stupid. Like try to kiss her. Or show her my dick again.

“I guess I should be getting to bed. It's late.” She turns to step through the door, but pauses one last time to say over her shoulder, “Sorry, again.”

“It's okay. You'll just have to return the favor sometime.” The words slip out of my mouth before I realize how they sound, and I've never been so glad to hear Ava giggle and close the door on me.

Damn, that was way too close to crossing the line. Teasing her is one thing, but actually flirting back is asking for trouble. That's not a game I can afford to play, much less win.

I turn off the lights before I can do something I'll really regret and sink down onto Nick's old bed. It used to be big enough for us to sit side by side and play games, but now my feet hang over the edge. I laugh to myself, moving the pillow back a couple inches so I can actually lie down the proper way.

Alone in the dark, my mind starts to wander, and I'm way too keyed up for sleep despite my excuses. Getting off just once in the bathroom wasn't enough to set my body at ease, not when simply talking to Ava has me this worked up all over again. Sure, I'd been looking forward to this visit but I hadn't thought there was anything in this state to really miss. I'd outgrown Indiana. Chicago looked like the perfect land of opportunity in my twenties and I couldn't get out of this little town fast enough to pursue my dreams.

Except she's still here, trespassing through my thoughts. I have to keep reminding myself she’s off-limits; she loves her parents too much to leave, and with the factory passing into her hands, she's anchored to this place. It's simply one more reason in a laundry list of others as to why I can't have her, and why I shouldn't even be thinking about it. In a few days, we'll both be back to our own lives, and we'll forget about each other all over again.

At least, I sure as hell hope so.





Chapter Four


Ava


It has easily been almost ten years since I cracked the spine on my high school yearbook, but after seeing more of the star of my freshman fantasies than fifteen-year-old me ever dreamt up, I find myself wanting to wander down memory lane. Last night’s dreams featured an alternate reality where I was allowed to touch and tease Barrett, watching his eyes darken with lust. Waking up to the reality that I had ogled his package for a solid minute somehow felt less magical and a hell of a lot more awkward.