Page 2 of Along Came Amor
New Ava is ready to move the fuck on.
There. Maybe writing it down would make it true.
She set the planner aside and picked up her phone from the nightstand. Her cousins wanted to know the second the divorcewas finalized, so she opened the Primas of Power group text and started a video call. As it rang, Ava fixed an easy smile on her face, one she hoped said,I’m absolutely fine, no need to worry.
Neither of them answered.
Ava let the smile fade.
A text from Michelle popped up a second later, followed immediately by one from Jasmine.
Michelle:In a meeting. What’s up?
Jasmine:I’m on set, can we touch base later?
Oh, right. It was only Friday afternoon in Los Angeles, of course they were still working. She typed back a reply.
Ava:Sure, maybe later.
It was for the best. Commiserating with her cousins wasn’t the same since Jasmine had gotten engaged to fellow actor Ashton Suarez, and Michelle had started dating her childhood best friend, Gabriel Aguilar. Jas and Mich would try to cheer her up, but lately, that only made things worse.
Ava was thrilled for her cousins. They both deserved to find their happily-ever-afters. But she had no interest or desire to get so wrapped up in another person ever again.
A group dinner for the conference attendees was due to start in a few minutes. But as she was refreshing her curls in the bathroom mirror, she paused to study her reflection. Her hazel eyes looked dull and distant, as they had for the past year and a half.
Was this really how she was going to celebrate her divorce? With rubbery chicken and small talk about standardized testing?
Fuck that.
She tossed the nude gloss she’d been about to apply back into her makeup bag and swapped it out for a muted red lip stain, painting her mouth with defiant swipes.
So what if she was stuck in a hotel on the Jersey Shore during the off-season? At the very least, she could swing by the lobby bar to enjoy a nice, stiff drink.
Especially since she wasn’t enjoying a nice, stiff anything else these days.
Jeez. She was starting to sound like Michelle.
Unfortunately, it was an accurate assessment. Because while Ava wasn’t anxious to jump into anything resembling a serious relationship—now or ever again—shewasready to jump on a man.
Alas, the prospects from the dating apps she’d tried earlier in the year had left her so depressed, she’d deleted them before messaging anyone.
Grabbing her phone, she texted Damaris Fuentes, her conference roommate and best work friend.
Ava:What time are you getting here?
Damaris:Around 11. How were the workshops?
Ava:You didn’t miss anything. How’s the astrology class?
Damaris:Surprising amount of math.
Ava:It’s a good thing you’re a math teacher.
Damaris:Right?
Ava hesitated, then decided to go for it. She had to tellsomeone.
Ava:My lawyer emailed.
