Page 12 of Roman

From that day on, they were inseparable.Ava practically lived at their house, her grandmother answering the door at all hours of the night to let a bruised and crying Ava in.Her foster father would do unspeakable things to her, and Charlotte’s grandmother would always keep Ava as long as possible.Most times, the authorities would have to knock on the door and drag Ava back.After a year of Charlotte’s grandmother fighting like hell with the authorities, Ava could finally come and live with them, like a real family.Until the heartbreaking day her beloved Ya-Ya died.

They’d been in this apartment nearly three years now, both slowly putting money away to rent something nicer in a better neighborhood.

One day soon,Charlotte mused as she went into her room, listening to Ava babble on from the shower.She dragged on some clean underwear and went through her drawers, pulling out her black sweatpants withStranger Thingswritten in red down the left leg and a matching black hoodie with the same written across the chest.She and Ava were obsessed with the series.They had power-watched Season 4 and were both in love with Eddie.

“How was that blond-haired, green-eyed bombshell?”Ava asked, walking past Charlotte’s room in her towel.“He followed me into the bathroom, all business, snapping at everyone to get out so we were alone,” she called out from her room.

Charlotte made her way into the kitchen, combing her fingers through the tangles in her wet hair as she pulled a water bottle out of the fridge.

“What guy?”she asked, gulping down the water, hoping to get ahead of the hangover.

Ava pranced out of her room in her black onesie, the wordsHot Stuffin large neon pink letters across her chest.

“Seriously, Charlotte, keep up, will you?The guy, Phoenix, who drove us home.Remember?He was my future husband, my July wedding, but not anymore.Not after the guy that burst into the bathroom in the club.He was all business, backing me up into the wall, all rough and sexy like he wanted to eat me,” she told Charlotte with dreamy eyes.

“What?”Charlotte grabbed another water from the fridge, handing it to her as she walked over, flopping down on the couch.Ava jumped on the couch next to her, putting her legs up onto Charlotte’s lap.“So, you let a stranger grope you in the bathroom?”

You’re not one to talk, couch whore,she thought.

That searing kiss with Roman replayed in her mind, and her body felt on fire all over again.

“There are no words, Charlotte.No words at all for what that man did to me in the bathroom.Never has a man turned me on as much as he did.He kissed me like he wanted to possess me, then he…” She trailed off, her face looking scandalous as she couldn’t stop smiling.

Charlotte leaned forward, already engrossed in the story.Roman’s kiss had felt just like what Ava was describing, like he had kissed her very soul.It gave her goosebumps, her body longing for his touch again.

“Then he what?Don’t leave me hanging, he what?”Charlotte demanded with a laugh.

“He went down on me, right there with me up against the wall.I have never come so hard in my life,” Ava said, smiling from ear to ear.

“No!”Charlotte’s eyes were wide.“Anyone could have walked in.”

Same as the office, hussy.

“I know!Then he kissed all the way up my body, stopping to stare at me.It must have been the lighting because his eyes were pitch black as he gazed at me like I was the most precious thing in the world.Then, he gave me the most intense kiss of my life, whispering to me in this sexy language that I couldn’t understand, and…” She frowned, her eyes glazing over for a moment.

“What?Then, what?”Charlotte urged her on.She always lived vicariously through Ava’s sex stories.

Ava continued to frown, chewing her bottom lip in deep thought.“I… I can’t remember,” she whispered, confused.

“What do you mean you can’t remember?The man kissed the life out of you… in every way,” Charlotte said with a laugh.“How can you not remember what he did next?”

“I don’t know.It’s foggy.I honestly can’t remember.”She sounded vague and confused.

“Must be the fifty quick fuck shooters you made us have,” Charlotte reassured her with a giggle.

Ava snapped out of it with a laugh, giving Charlotte a playful kick.“We are going to feel those bad boys in a few hours.”

Charlotte shook her head.“What are you talking about?I’m already feeling them.”

A loud knock at the door startled them both.They frowned at each other.Their neighborhood wasn’t the safest, and no one ever knocked on their door in the middle of the night.

“Are you expecting anyone?”Charlotte whispered.

Ava shook her head as she got up, making her way to the door.

An uneasy feeling crept over Charlotte.“Don’t open the door,” she told her, frightened, but it was too late.

As Ava stood in front of the door, someone kicked it open, breaking the locks.Wood and splinters flew everywhere, and the door smacked Ava in the face, knocking her back onto the floor.Blood poured out from a gash on her forehead as Ava lay unconscious on the ground.

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