Page 21 of Spurred On

“Well, alright, but I get to pick tonight. I am going to stab my eyeballs out if you make me watch another western.”

“Those are classics, and you should respect them,” I say in mock offense.

“Well, tonight, we will watch a classic of mine.” The thought of what could be a classic of hers has me worried.

“Okay.” We change into comfier clothes and climb into my bed, which is small enough that our legs touch when we spread out and I crave contact with her. I will find any excuse to get my fix, even if it means sitting through an hour and a half long chick flick.

Ava grabs the remote and presses play. She watches the movie and I watch her eyes get heavy. It doesn’t take long before her head flops onto my shoulder. I gently wrap my arm around her, and in her half-sleep, she scoots closer. Fuck, I like this too much. My eyes grow heavy in seconds, calmness filling me at her touch as I hold her. My blinks getshorter and shorter apart before I find them drifting closed, the sweet smell of Ava the last thing I remember before sleep finds me.

Chapter 14

Ava

Mav hasn’t even been home a couple of minutes before a knock sounds at our door. I watch his shoulders dip in resignation. He looks beat. I'm guessing the last few days away were long ones. He was on the road again, and I found myself missing him the entire week.

“You planning on getting that or are we supposed to pretend to not be home?” I say over my propped-up feet. The futon is growing on me. Though still uncomfortable, it’s nice being able to have my own personal couch. Setting the book I’m reading down on my chest, I cock my head at him, waiting for an answer.

“I was debating on the second, but since they probably heard you…” He turns back to the door and takes the two short steps to grab and twist the handle.

“Yeah, because my voice is what gave it away, not the lights being on, genius.” I laugh at his train of thought.

“Smartass,” he bites out, but I don’t miss the smirk that follows, negating the annoyance in his tone. Sparring with him is my favorite, though I would never admit it. I miss it when he’s gone.

When he's on the road, the cabin feels too quiet. I've grown fond of our late-night movie sessions. It isn’t lost on me that we both not-so-discreetly find excuses to touch or cuddle. His company and presence is surprisingly comforting, leaving me craving more time with him.

The door is open for no more than three seconds before Rhett and Weston bust through. “What are you guys doing here?” Mav asks.

The grin on Weston’s face tells me that he is up to no good. “Well, since you've been ignoring our phone calls and refusing to hang out with us, we are taking matters into our own hands.”

“Hey, Ava,” Rhett says, a small grin on his face. “Sorry to interrupt, but we are taking your roomie out. We’re going down to Luke’s and you're going to have fun, dammit.” He points to Mav, who just holds up his hands.

“Apparently, you’ve been rubbing off on me,” Maverick says to me with a wink, a jab at my grandma-ish traits. He walks over to his side of the house and strips off his button-up shirt, leaving him in a white tee. He exchanges it for a clean blue one with a checkered pattern before pulling out a different pair of boots.

“What? Were your other ones not good enough?” I ask because to me, a pair of boots is a pair of boots.

“There’s working boots, and there’s show boots. These are for show.” He taps his heels together like he is Dorothy.

Weston heaves out a sigh. “Wow, I expected this to be a whole lot harder.”

Mav shrugs his shoulders. “A cold beer sounds nice. But we’re coming home at a decent hour.” Somehow, I doubt that no matter what Mav says now, he’ll be out until the boys decide he’s had enough fun.

“Yeah, we will be the deciders of that,” Weston says.

“Have fun, boys. Call me if you need a ride,” I say, shaking my head as the boys start to push Maverick out of the cabin.

The door starts to close, and I can hear Maverick’s voice, “Sheesh, I’m coming!”

When the door clicks shut, I can’t help but laugh to myself. Poor guy. Hopefully tomorrow, he’ll be able to get some rest. But knowing him, he’ll be up at dawn and working on whatever Jack needs. He really is something else. And much to my dismay, I think I like whatever that something else is. We are so different but similar at the same time.

Getting comfortable, I swing my favorite sage-green plush blanket over my legs and settle in. Three pages into my read, I am interrupted by a knock on the door, and before I can even get myself off the futon, Aspen is busting through.

Sitting up in a hurry, I ask, “Uhm, what are you doing here?”

“Sorry, I should have waited for you to open the door. But I wasn’t taking any chances of you turning me down. We’re going out.” She shuts the door behind her and smiles at me.

This must be how Mav felt. Suddenly, I am regretting the glee I found at his turmoil. I was really looking forward to finishing my book and going to bed at the respectable hour of nine, maybe eight-thirty. When I think the words over in my head, I realize I really am a grandma. Here I am, finishing out my twenties like I’m in my sixties. I don’t know what comes over me, but I find myself leaping off the couch. “Okay, I’ll go.”

“Really?” She looks genuinely surprised. “I never see you leave this cabin. I thought for sure I’d have to beg you for at least an hour.”

---