Ava Ever After

Chapter Seven

“Thom! When did you fly in?”

Thom smiled at Clara as she jumped up from the seat behind the desk.

“Yesterday. Just had to pop by and see my beautiful Headmistress and her ladies,” he said, placing his arm over her shoulder as they walked to the staircase.

“Is he in?”

“Always. Sometimes I wonder if he goes home. Shall I get Robert to fetch you up a bottle?”

“That would be lovely, Clara. Thank you,” he told her, warmly.

He had missed The Bike Shed, and as he made his way up the wooden stairs, he looked out at the club.

“Home, at last,” he smiled.

Gully was in his office, scribbling away at a note pad. Thom noticed he had added a few touches to the décor. Sequined cushions sat on the small corner sofa, a vase with a single red rose was placed in the centre of the glass-topped coffee table and there was a new, designer faux fur rug on the floor.

“Nice touches you’ve added, Gull,” he smirked.

“Thom! Bloody hell, mate. When did you land? You should have told me you were coming. I’d gave gotten the red carpet out front,” Gully laughed.

Thom grabbed Gully's hand and pulled him in for a hug. It had been four months since Thom had seen his childhood best friend and it felt wonderful to finally be with him.

“I’m not here long. Maybe two weeks at the most, if I can juggle things in the US. If not, I fly out again next week.”

“A week! Bloody hell, Thom. We miss you, you know. You have to stick around longer. I’ll find you a woman. That will do it. Then again, this is you that we’re talking about. They’re throwing themselves at you daily and as yet, none have managed to keep your ass in one place. Not since Mel.”

Thom smiled at the thought of Mel. She had been his world since high school, and the only woman he had ever loved.

“I went by there today. I saw you’d left flowers. Thank you. It’s nice to know someone still goes to see her when I’m not around.”

Twenty years later and the pain was still as raw as it had been the day the police had arrived at the house. He didn’t need them to tell him she had died. He knew as soon as he saw them on his porch. That day had been the worst of his life and one that he would never forget.

“Every week, bud. Oriental lily with gypsophila. She was the only woman I ever met who liked gyps. Remember the argument about her wedding flowers? Gyps had to be in them. How long was it that she ignored you for?”

Thom laughed at the memory. She had been furious that he said no gypsophila in the flowers. Cheap and tacky he had called them.

“Two weeks. Two bloody weeks she ignored me for. Almost called the wedding off, too, and all because I said no baby’s breath. Bloody hate the damn things, I do, but that didn’t matter to Mel. She made me have them in my bloody buttonhole, too. Do you remember?”

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“Oh, go on, just this once. Don’t be telling Clara, mind you. She will have me in detention,” Ava swung her hip with a giggle and waited for the note to be tucked into her thigh.

Walking over to the bar, Ava untucked the note and pulled some more out of her bra. It had been a quiet night in the club but she had still done pretty well with her tips.

“Marley, can you stick this in my jar, please,” she asked the bartender.

Tips were kept behind the bar, to make it easier on the dancers and waiting staff. Ava was thankful for it, too. There are only so many notes you can tuck into your thighs and boobs.

“Hi. I’m Thom. You must be the new girl?”

Ava's heart began pounding in her chest as her eyes took in the beautiful man that was leaning on the bar. He was hot as hell, with his black, pristine suit and crisp white shirt and Ava didn’t even flinch as his chocolate eyes took in every curve she had. She had found men attentive before but nobody had ever made her palms sweaty and her heart race, like Thom, had done.

“Hi. Yeah, I am. I’m Ava.” Her voice was breathy and not the feigned kind she had been doing with the clients.

Get a bloody grip, woman. You’ll be drooling in a minute. He’s hot as f**k, I get it but seriously, bloody chill. Desperation is not a good fragrance to wear.

She gave a quick shake of her head to silence her inner hussy and checked the time on the clock behind the bar. She had half an hour until the end of her shift. It had flown by and been a lot easier than the previous night. She had felt less like a greyhound race rabbit and had almost gotten herself back to bantering as she would in the café.

“How are you finding it,” Thom asked her, flashing a smile.

Ava’s breath hitched in her throat and her knees felt weak.

Tell him you’re good but you’d be better in his arms. No, don’t tell him that. Tell him…

“Good. The ladies have taken me under their wing, like mother hens to a new chick,” Ava replied, ignoring her hussy.

“When do you clock off?”

His eyes were twinkling with desire and Ava felt herself mentally undressing him.

“Half hour.” Her voice came out weak as she struggled to control her thoughts.

Her hussy wasn’t helping, either. She had completely woken up from wherever Ava had hidden her and was frantically ripping his clothes off. Ava could see his strong arms lifting her, fingers digging into her butt, as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Ava felt her face flush the colour of a ripe strawberry and Thom's face filled with a knowing smirk.

“Fancy a drink after your shift?”

Does she ever! Drinks and more besides.

She had never been asked to go for a drink before, only by Sophie. She had never been on a date before, either, and had no idea what she was supposed to do.

It’s just a bloody drink, woman. You pick the glass up, stick it to your lips and swallow…

“Erm, I don’t usually do drinks, or anything else, with client’s,” Ava told him.

She couldn’t. He was business and everyone always said you should never mix business with pleasure.

“I'm not...” Thom blew out. “I would really like it if you made an exception, just this once, Ava.”

Her breath caught as her name left his lips, and her hussy set off on an imaginary tonsil tasting adventure, that sent Ava's face burning again.

“Okay, but just this once, though.”

Tom smiled his knee-weakening smile and Ava felt her heart flutter.

“Thank you. I’ll search you out in half an hour,” Thom promised.

Ava found herself watching the clock above the bar, at every opportunity. Her stomach was a flutter of butterflies as the thirty minutes passed by faster than a speedboat on open water.

A shriek left her mouth as a hand gently touched the small of her back.

“I’ll rip that arm off and beat you with the soggy end, all the way to Clara…”

Her voice cut off, mid whirl, as she found Thom smirking at her curiously.

“Sorry, I erm. s**t. I mean, I didn’t realise it was you,” she stammered.

“No, it’s okay. I should be the one to apologise, sneaking up on you like that. I just couldn’t help...”

Did he just blush?

“I ordered champagne and a booth. Oh, not like that. Just for us to sit and talk. That’s all. If you’d prefer the floor seats?”

“No. No, a booth is fine, Thom. Champagne, too,” Ava replied, trying to get her eyebrows to go back down where they belonged.

Thom led her to a booth and poured her a glass as she sat, nervously, unsure of what to do. Ava began twirling her hair between her fingers, then switched to folding her hands in her lap. Thom handed her the glass of bubbling champagne and she carefully raised it to her lips as he sat. There was an awkward silence that seemed to go on forever until it was finally broken by Thom.

“This is as awkward for me, as it is for you. You’d think, at my age, that I'd know what to say but everything I think of sounds so cheesy.”

Ava knew exactly what he meant. She was having the same issue herself. She had no idea what to talk about and didn’t want something corny blurting out of her mouth.

“You’d think, with working here, that I’d have a natural talent at flirty conversation but right now, my mouth is failing me,” she told him with a giggle packed with nerves.

“I think those delicate lips are working their magic just fine, Ava.”

She flushed as the butterflies took flight in her stomach and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, in distraction. Noticing he had emptied his glass already, Ava leaned forward, grabbing the bottle at the same time as him. Their fingers touched and their eyes locked, sending a shockwave of electricity through her, with added goosebumps. Thom's eyes were filled with need as his lips parted slightly, and Ava clenched her thighs, trying to stop the ache that had just been brought to life.

Thom leaned forward over the table and placed a finger under her chin, lifting her head. Ava gasped at his touch and squirmed at the newly discovered ache that was rising through her. Her soft, delicate lips met his and the ache within her became a burning fire. Thom's mouth expertly opened hers and his tongue gently teased her own, taking her breath away. Following the lead of its new playmate, Ava's tongue began to play in return as she inwardly battled the questions and insecurities that were running through her mind.

“I'm sorry, Ava. I shouldn’t have done that. I just.”

Ava cut him off with her mouth, her lips meeting his, mid-sentence as her inner hussy thrust her fist in the air and did a little dance of triumph.

Her first kiss had been exhilaratingly terrifying, but her second was going to be even better.