27 Truths: Ava's story (The Truth About Love Book 1) (7 page)

“I wasn’t sad.” I giggle. “I was tired.”

She eyes me skeptically, which catches me off guard.

“It’s gonna be okay. It’s Christmas.”

“Sure is.” T grabs her up and hugs her.

For a moment, I expect her to be resistant, but she’s not, not one bit.

“Daddy’s best friend.” She pats his cheek then slides down, “It’s binner time.”

“Brunch.” Harper laughs. “Breakfast and lunch.”

“Right,” she says, taking my hand and T’s as she walks us to the table.

We sit around the table that is already set. Even the food is out and ready.

Piper has placed me one chair away from T, and she’s between us.

I see Maddox look at her, and she grins at him.

“You need your booster seat, Piper,” her father tells her.

“Nope,” she says, settling on her knees in the chair.

T laughs, and Piper giggles. It’s adorable the way she looks at him and equally adorable the way he looks at her. He seems to have this undeniable bond with her. I assume it’s no different than the one I share with Piper, her mom being my best friend and all.

T leans back, reaches over, and gives my shoulder a squeeze. “You look beautiful, as always.”

I pat his hand and smile.

T and I have a history. It started before Harper and Maddox got married. At an age one shouldn’t lie to their parents, Harper and I lied and went to a concert so she could see Maddox when they weren’t together. As a matter of fact, Maddox was trying his damnedest to get over her via backstage blow jobs.

After the concert, we stood in line with all the other groupies, waiting for our chance to meet the band.

The guys were both fucked up. At first, Maddox didn’t recognize Harper, and T was all like, “Guitar”—pointing to Maddox—“or drums?” pointing to himself. When Maddox finally saw her, he carried her kicking and screaming into the bathroom, and T seriously shot line after line, thinking I was going to buy into his crap. I told him he had a better chance of seeing God than doing anything more with me than rubbing my feet … so he did.

After we left, my father found us and was chewing me out for lying when the limo pulled beside us, and a shirtless, messed up T hung out of the moon roof and asked me to marry him. Then, when my father was reprimanding me, T threatened the “old pervert,” whom he didn’t know was my father, and ever since then, my father has not liked T one bit.

We have been known to “make out” on occasion, those occasions being when I was drunk and upset with myself about Luke’s and my arrangement, but never more than kissing. If it ever started feeling like more was going to go down, I simply said, “I can’t,” and T never pushed.

It has been a couple of years since I have put myself in the position to be tempted by his blatant sexuality, hotness, his fame, and the way he treated me. He wants me, which is far different than how Luke ever made me feel. That’s also why I knew he was not going to get in my panties. It would be too easy to feel adored and comfortable by him. Love doesn’t work like that. It would also be ROCK …hard. I couldn’t imagine bitches—in plural—wanting to sleep with the man I was banging.

I smile to myself, and he squeezes my shoulder again.

“Offer still stands.”

“What?” I half-laugh.

“Marriage.”

“You’re insane.” I grin.

“I’ll drink to that,” I hear my dad say as he lifts his glass. “Damn, baby.” He reaches down and rubs his leg.

Tessa more than likely kicked him.

CJ, Matthew, Logan, and Harper all laugh. T throws his head back and howls with laughter. Piper mimics him, and soon, the entire table is laughing.

Maddox is watching T intently.

When T looks at him, he winks, and Maddox seems at ease.

The day is spent as Christmas should be: laughing, loving, maybe drinking the spiked eggnog, and playing with toys that should not be so fun to play with at my age.

CJ, Matthew, and even Logan try to “out fun” each other for Piper’s amusement. She, however, chooses me and even T over the others. Even Dad’s nose gets bent, which makes Tessa, who is also drinking, and I laugh.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” she asks me at one point.

“Baby, maybe you should step away from the spiked stuff,” Dad whispers.

“Oh, hush up, Links. I’m bonding with my stepdaughter,” she scoffs.

This makes T laugh, which makes Dad glare at him, which makes Tessa laugh even harder.

When I go to the bathroom, I hear Logan hissing at someone.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Oh, are you talking to me?” It’s London, and she is full of sass.

“Do you see any other minor in here drunk? Of course I’m talking to you,” he snaps at her.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if you maybe had that phone implanted in your ear so you could be even less social than you were yesterday, Logan Links,” she says with a bit of a slur.

“Listen, London, you are far too young to be getting drunk,” he says, trying to sound all adult-like.

“You listen,
Logan
, you were far too young at that football game we all went to, as well, so …” She stops.

“So, what?”

“Sew buttons on assholes,” she says then starts laughing.

I cover my mouth because I am sure I’m going to laugh out loud and get busted for spying on them.

“Oh, yeah, that’s mature,” he huffs.

“Oh, how about you go pull your phone out of your butt and call one of those
mature
women with the fake boobs, because that’s real mature—getting fake boobs.” She laughs at herself again.

“You get fake nails,” he retorts, sounding completely at a loss for words.

“Loggie,” she taunts. “They’re real. Just like my—”

“Enough,” he snaps. “I’m telling your father.”

To this, she burst out laughing, and then she is silenced.

“You’re gonna get caught,” Logan says.

I peek around the corner to see he has his hand over her mouth, and she is wide-eyed and blushing.

Run, London, run
, I think to myself, even though Logan is my brother.

“Who are we spying on?” His whisper hits the back of my neck, and I jump.

T holds his finger over his lips. “Shh, you’ll get caught.”

I step back, and he does, too.

“London and Logan are arguing, and it’s hysterical,” I whisper.

“Ava …” He shakes his head. “Even more beautiful than last I saw you.”

“And T, you’re even more charming. I bet that gains you points with your”—I pause—“groupies.”

He smiles, and through his light brown scruff, I see a dimple. “Groupies?”

“
Guitar or drums
?”

He shrugs. “It’s life.”

“How many STIs have you had?” I ask then cover my mouth.

He laughs, and I cover his mouth so London and Logan don’t hear us.

He holds his hand over mine, pressing a kiss into my palm before he lets go. “Last tested, just one.”

“Just one?” I whisper. “How can you say
just one
? It’s an STI, for crying in the night time.”

He smirks. “It’s incurable. It’s one I will never be rid of. I’m pretty certain you gave it to me.”

“I … what?” I gasp.

“I’m confident you were the carrier. You may want to get yourself checked out.” He smiles.

“We never slept together,” I whisper.

He takes a step back. “They say it’s carried through saliva, or”—he scratches his head in thought—“something like that.”

I scowl at him. “What are you talking about? I’ve been checked. I’ve never had an STI.”

“Well, they also said it’s only detectable in the male. The female is just the host.”

I’m shocked, embarrassed, a bit disgusted, and confused.

I look up at him, and he reaches for my hand that is covering my pounding heart.

“Don’t worry yourself over it, Ava. It will never affect you. It never affects the host as much as it does the victim.”

“The victim?” I say more loudly than intended.

He looks past me and laughs.

I shove his shoulder. “It’s not funny.”

“Hello, London, Logan.” He smirks. “Were you two playing ten minutes in heaven?”

“Oh, please,” London scoffs as she walks past us, “He wouldn’t know what to do with a female who didn’t come out of a damn Mattel box with plastic enhancements.”

“Okay, little lush,” Logan snaps, “how about you step away from the punch bowl and check in with your parents?”

She turns around and sticks her tongue out at him.

“See?” He points at her. “She’s a child.”

“Yeah, well, you’re a dick,” she whispers “dick” and keeps walking.

“Did you hear that?” Logan asks, pointing at her. “Did you see that she’s drunk?”

I suck my lips in and try not to laugh.

“That shit’s not funny, Ava. She’ll be in college soon. If she walks around, acting like that, she’s gonna get … mistreated. I need to tell Emma.” He starts to walk past us.

“Let it be.” I laugh.

“She’s not pissed,” T says at the same time.

Logan and I both look at him oddly.

“Pissed”—he nods—“means drunk.”

“Well, she’s buzzed,” Logan says.

“Better she cock up here with family than when she’s at school,” T says.

“What?” Logan and I both gasp.

He laughs. “Cock up means”—he scratches his head—“mess up, make a mistake.”

“She’s your best friend’s sister.” Logan looks at him like he’s insane.

“Exactly. She’ll be brilliant.”

Logan looks at me. “I’m ready to go. You need a ride, or are you sticking around?”

“I’ll go with you.” I almost laugh. I look at T then back at Logan. “Give me a minute, and I’ll be right out.”

“Fine,” Logan huffs and walks away.

“Okay, you’re messing with me, right?”

“About …?” T asks, trying to suppress a grin.

“The STI?”

“Give me your phone.” He holds his hand out.

I look at him like he’s crazy.

“For but a moment.”

I hand him my phone.

“You should charge this, Ava,” he tells me as he types something into it. Then he hands it back. “I shouldn’t have told you about the incurable disease you’ve given me today. It is Christmas, after all. Read this tomorrow. If you care to discuss it, text or call me.” He turns and walks away.

“Everything okay?” Dad asks, eyeing me skeptically as he walks toward me.

“Yeah. I think Logan’s tired. I am, too. We’re gonna head home, Skype Mom, and probably go to bed early tonight.”

“I can—”

“Dad, your wife needs you here, and we don’t need you to tuck us in. Besides, do you really want to Skype your ex-wife?”

He shakes his head. “No, but—”

“We’ll see you in the morning, right?”

“Yes.” He nods. “Logan and I are going to hit the gym. Then, if you want to do some shopping or a movie, we can do whatever you want.”

“Sounds good, Daddy.”

Halfway through our ride home, Logan refuses to talk about what happened with London. Perhaps it’s because I laugh every time he says she’s a kid. He’s only a couple years older than her. Or maybe because I remind him of what he was doing when he was her age.

I Skype Mom on the way home. She seems happy, which is both annoying and comforting at the same time.

As we talk about … well, nothing, Robert pours her a glass of wine and leans in so we see his big old moon face on the screen.

“Merry Christmas, kids.”

Logan holds up his middle finger so that it isn’t seen by him or Mom, and I have to bite back a laugh.

Mom gives us a look, as if begging for us to return the bullshit sentiment. And we do like good little children. Less than a minute later, she says good-bye.

As soon as Logan pulls into the garage and shuts off the SUV, he receives a message.

“Is that London?” I laugh.

He glares at me. “It’s Jade. They’re playing cards and want us to come over,” he says, opening his door.

For the past two years, we have been going over after leaving Dad’s. It’s a little secret tradition. Not a secret because it was wrong to play cards, but Logan and I didn’t want Dad to be upset that he wasn’t with us. He is where he is supposed to be.

“You getting out, or you gonna sit there all night and make jokes that aren’t the least bit funny?”

I grab my phone and realize the battery is dead. Shit!

“Can we drive?”

He looks at me like I’m crazy.

“It’s cold.”

“I’ll grab you a scarf,” he says, shutting his door then muttering, “baby.”

***

We walk into Jade and Ryan’s where all of them are sitting around the table, even Luke.

“Perfect! Let’s play.” Lauren, the youngest of their four kids, smiles.

“Drink?” Jade asks.

“Please.” I nod and sit down next to her.

It’s not awkward at all
, I tell myself the entire two hours I sit across from Luke, pretending like he didn’t just crush me yesterday.

Years of practice pays off, and no one except me seems to feel uneasy. No one else even notices because I am that good at making everyone around me smile.

Logan is practically falling asleep, and he hasn’t drunk an ounce.

“Go home.” Jade laughs at him.

“Good idea.” He nods and stands up. “You ready?”

“No, she’s staying with us.” Riley grins.

“I’ll be home soon,” I promise him. “Can you make it on your own, Loggie?”

He yawns, looking at Jade. “If she’s stumbling when she’s done, keep her here, would ya?”

“What are you, the sobriety police now?” I snort, and everyone laughs.

“Good night, sister,” he says with a bit of warning.

I know he doesn’t want me to say anything about London, and of course, I wouldn’t. Hell, I haven’t said anything to him about it in all the years I have watched him flip-flop between mooning over her and lording it over her.

An hour after Logan leaves, everyone seems to be yawning. Riley, Jade, Lauren, and I clean up the dishes and take care of the empties while Ryan, Luke, and Jackson clean up the game table.

“You okay?” Jade asks, nearly catching me looking at Luke.