Ava Ever After

Chapter Six

Walking into the BBQ Hut, Ava instantly spotted the back of Sophie. She didn’t need to see the face of the blonde, sitting at the table by the window with her back to the door, to know that it was Sophie. Ava could tell by the way the waiter’s jaw was practically on the floor spilling saliva as he drooled over her best friend. It happened everywhere. University, clubs, parks and even the gym. Especially the gym. Ava couldn’t blame the waiter. Sophie was gorgeous. As Ava walked towards them on feet that were still sore from the night before, she felt a twinge of guilt at hearing the waiter offer his number. Sophie was never going to call. She never did.

“Hey. Mind if I cut in?”

“Ava!” Sophie exclaimed. “How the hell are you? Is that makeup? It totally is! Who is he?”

The waiter was forgotten about as Sophie released Ava from the squeeze.

“Share platter, please and a cappuccino,” Ava told the waiter as she took a seat by the window.

“Mint raita, too, please. I’ll call you,” Sophie winked.

Ava had to choke down a laugh at the eye roll Sophie gave her. Ava had no idea how she did it but Sophie always managed to have the opposite s*x, and quite often, the same-s*x too, eating out of her hand.

“So, come on. Who is he?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know? You were the one he was chatting up, Sophie.”

“Not the waiter, he was Phil. I might actually call him. Maybe.”

“No, you won’t. He’s not your type. He’s at least five years too young and a waiter's uniform doesn’t quite equal a suit.”

Sophie brought her hand to her chest in feigned shock. “Are you saying I’m only interested in a sophisticated looking guy? Anyway, stop trying to sidetrack me. Who’s the makeup for?”

“Nobody. I went shopping yesterday and picked up some new makeup. You know as well as I do, that it has to be tried out.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Ava had picked up some new makeup while shopping with Rachel. She had just done a quick day face as a base for her shift at the club, later that night, not that she was going to tell Sophie that.

“So no hots for a sexy builder at the Greasy Spoon then? Shame. It’s about time you found someone to sink your teeth into. Someone real life, I might add. Not that sexy vamp you’ve been reading about.”

“I’d not quite call Drac a sexy vamp, but whatever floats your boat. Has your dad landed yet?” Ava asked, with a smile of thanks to Phil who had just placed their drinks on the table.

“Last night. He’s here for a week or two, but then he has some business meetings or something,” Sophie shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to him being a part-timer, you know? I keep telling him it’s about time he settled down but he’s a player. Always has been. Still, it’s nice when he’s around.”

“What’s your plans while he’s here? Another week in the Bahamas?”

“Nah. Just going to chill, I think. He did say he wants to surprise me, though. Maybe I’ll take him car shopping. I could do with a new one.”

Ava rolled her eyes.

“Hey, it’s got to be done. I’m a spoiled brat, after all. Why else would my dad be a billionaire? You should meet him, you know. I could get him to give you a job in one of his hotels or something. Isn’t that what you wanted to do?”

Ava had planned to find a job as an assistant manager of a hotel, after leaving university. She wanted to be a manager but knew she would have to work for the experience, first. Her dream had been to own her own hotel but that was a dream that would never come true.

“Nah. I could never work for your dad. It would be weird.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I couldn’t have my bestie as an employee if I’m honest. I’d never have you at work. I’m sure I can get my dad to put in a good word in another chain. You just need to tell me and I'll sort it.”

“Thanks, Babe. I’ll let you know if I need to take you up on it. Do you fancy shopping after lunch? I could do with grabbing some new clothes.

“Do you even need to ask? Just tell me they take plastic and I’m there,” Sophie laughed. “Come on. Tuck in, the shops are shouting me already.”

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“Oh, God. I didn’t even know that I needed this, until now. f**k me, this is amazeballs.”

Rachel lowered herself into the bubbling water of the hot tub and gave an orgasmic groan. Ava followed suit, thankful Rachel had her eyes closed and couldn’t see her face flushing red. Rolling back her eyes as the bubbles hit her sore muscles, she thought of her second shift at the club.

“You okay? I know I ask you a lot and I’ve only known you for two minutes, but I’m worried. You seem quiet. Quieter than normal, I mean.”

“Yeah. Just thinking, that’s all.”

After her conversation with Sophie earlier, Ava had been plagued by the offer of helping her find a job in a hotel. The offer was there, she just had to take it, but something was stopping her.

“My best friend offered to get her dad to put a good word in for me and help me get a job in a hotel somewhere. It’s what I want to do, eventually, run a hotel. I said no. I blurted out a crap excuse about wanting to do it on my own, but now, I don’t know. I’m kind of thinking I should have taken the offer. It would make it easier. That’s for sure.”

“I see,” Rachel said, with a look of contemplation. “So you blurted out this excuse but now you’re regretting it?”

“Not regretting it. Not really. Just trying to decide what’s better, my merit or someone else’s words.”

“What would you tell me, If it was the other way around?”

Ava shifted herself closer to Rachel, as another woman stepped up to the tub. “I'd tell you to ask yourself whether you could work somewhere knowing it’s because of someone else, or whether you'd rather work knowing you did it all yourself.”

“And which would you rather do?”

“I hate it when you do that. Don’t sit there looking smug,” Ava said, wanting to slap herself up the head.

“What? I helped, didn’t I? Sometimes we just need a little help making sense of what we want. That’s all.”

“Sophie has spent her life having everything handed to her. The most she needs to do is bat a bloody eyelash. I love her to bits but sometimes I wish she would just work for what she wants as the rest of us do. If I asked her which she would prefer, it would be the word of someone else. I don’t want that. I want to be wanted for who I am, not because someone else twisted an arm or as a last resort.”

“You seem to already know what you want, babe. Why aren’t you looking for it?”

Ava looked at Rachel, thoughtfully. She had stopped looking for hotel work months ago, after finding there was nothing available within Manchester. Since then, she had spent her days wracking up the blisters at the café and the nights with her head in the romance books.

“Rejection, I guess. Putting myself out there is a scary thought. Easier to plod along at the café and hide away with a tall, dark, handsome stranger from a book.”

“One day, you’ll find your tall, handsome prince and he will whisk you away so quick, your feet won’t touch the ground. They always come when you least expect them to. Trust me. I know,” Rachel smiled.

There was a twinkle in her eyes that made Ava's heart melt. She had seen that same twinkle in Gully's eyes last night when he came to the booth to talk to Rachel.

“You never! Oh, my word it makes sense. It totally makes sense. I wondered how he knew I was so on edge before last night. You and Gully!”

Rachel’s face flushed crimson and she shook her head with a forced laugh but her eyes flashed with lust.

“Don’t try and deny it. Your eyes give it away. You and bloody Gully. At it behind the bike shed eh?” Ava laughed out loud at her own joke as Rachel flushed an even darker shade of red.