On Dry Land (Swimming Upstream #3) (4 page)

Chapter 6

Ava

Outwardly Ava was smiling and giggling and doing everything that was expected of her. Inwardly, she was a mess. Freaking out was an understatement. Confusion was total. Ava wasn’t sure if she was still shaken up by the accident or the idea of Tyler being in her space. Racking her brain, trying to remember if she’d picked up the dirty underwear from the bathroom floor, if she’d stuffed the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, or if she’d put all of her girly bathroom crap back in its various cupboards, Ava started to hyperventilate.

“You okay?” Tyler’s concerned voice filtered through the car but barely registered.

Grasping at her stomach, Ava struggled to suck in breath after breath. “Pull over.”

She wanted to say please. She wanted to scream now. But she was too afraid to open her mouth. Without a word, Tyler flicked on the indicator and pulled onto the shoulder. Ava didn’t wait for the car to come to a halt before leaping out and sinking to her knees in the mud. She heaved and heaved until the contents of her stomach ended up in a puddle beside her.

Ava didn’t feel Tyler’s warm hand rubbing circles on her back until she fell back on her haunches and gasped air. “Yuk.” Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Ava ran her tongue across her teeth, causing her to gag once again.

Every bone, every muscle, every fibre of her entire being ached. Between the accident and the disgusting moments in the mud, her body had been through hell, and her mind couldn’t keep up. Sitting there in the mud, covered in sweat and her own vomit, Ava forgot Tyler was beside her.

“Better?”

Tyler’s voice shook Ava from her own pity party.

“I wanna go home.” Ava sounded like a miserable child and she knew it. It didn’t matter. She was just telling the truth.

“Come on. Let me take you home.”

“Th-thanks.”

Ava held out her hand, hoping Tyler would pull her to her feet. Somewhere in the trip between the office and here all of her energy had been sapped. Tyler didn’t help her stand. Instead Tyler scooped her into his arms, kissed away the rain drops that beaded on her forehead, and placed her on the backseat of the Jeep. Without a word, he grabbed a blanket from under the seat and wrapped it around Ava’s trembling shoulders before closing the door and climbing behind the wheel.

Pumping up the heat, Tyler slipped back amongst the cars. “Where am I going, Ava? What’s your address?”

Ava mumbled her address before she slumped down and fell asleep.

“Hey Princess!” Tyler cooed into Ava’s ear what felt like a moment later. “Come on, Short Stack, time to wake up.”

“Mmm…”

“I don’t…I don’t know which apartment…” Tyler’s voice shook.

Glancing up, Ava looked at Tyler’s nervous eyes and all thoughts of exhaustion and pain evaporated, replaced by guilt. All consuming, total devastating guilt. Tossing the blanket aside, Ava wiped her hands on her thighs and opened the door. Springing from the car, Ava was at Tyler’s door before he had a chance to realize what was happening.

“Want to come see my home?”

“I’d love to.”

Taking Tyler’s hand, Ava led him to the front door and stuffed her key in the lock. As soon as the door gave, the embarrassment swallowed her and she remembered why having Tyler in her home was a bad idea. The foyer was littered with abandoned mail, while mailboxes overflowed with catalogues and other assorted junk. Years of cigarette smoke permeated the threadbare carpet. The paint on the once cream coloured walls peeled and flaked onto the floor.

“It’s…it’s…”

“It’s okay,” Tyler finished for her as he tucked her under his arm. “Come on, let’s get you warmed up.”

With heavy footsteps, Ava trudged up the stairs, Tyler hot on her heels. Before she knew it and before she was ready, they were standing at her front door. Taking a deep breath and pushing stray stands of hair from her forehead, Ava stepped through her front door. Ava saw the mess that she wished she’d cleaned up before she’d left for work. But after a crappy night’s sleep, it had been the last thing on her mind. In all honesty, everyone should be thankful that she had clean clothes on today.

“Tyler…it’s…”

“Ava…it’s okay. It’s you.”

“It’s a mess. I’m a mess…”

“Ava! Stop! Everything is okay. There’s absolutely nothing to worry or be embarrassed about, okay? Now, I’m going to run you a bath and you’re going to warm up and relax.”

“You’re bossy tonight!”

“You better believe it. Now, the only question you have to answer tonight, the only thing you’re allowed to worry about for the rest of the night is…” Tyler watched as his words sunk into Ava. She shoulders drooped, her eyes were wary, and Tyler felt her tremble beneath him. “What do you want for dinner?”

With a heavy sigh, Ava turned away from Tyler and kicked off her shoes. “You know what…I hate you right now!” Ava scolded as she spun to face him, all her worry gone and replaced with a wide, wild smile.

“I’m going to get out of these wet clothes and you can…well, you can…find you own damn dinner! And Tyler…”

“Yes?”

“Good luck with finding anything edible to eat in my fridge!” With a final giggle, Ava ducked form Tyler’s outstretched fingers and scampered towards the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Ava had finally relaxed. Between the vanilla scented candles that burnt on the windowsill and the lavender bubble bath in which she was soaking, all the terror that had swamped her was gone. She didn’t even have the strength to worry about Tyler alone in her house, more than likely going through her drawers trying to find answers to questions he hadn’t even asked.

When the door opened and Tyler appeared, Ava didn’t give a second thought to the fact that she was lying there naked with everything on display. “You look…”

“Don’t say it. Don’t even…”

“I was going to say…relaxed.”

“Sure you were.”

With a cheeky grin, the one that had seen Ava already get in so much trouble, he said, “But seriously, Short Stack, I’m dying here. Are you really all right?”

Ava closed her eyes and rolled her neck from side to side, trying to work out the kink that had settled uninvited. “I’m fine. Promise. But why don’t you give me a minute to get dressed, then we can talk?”

“Or you could stay naked?”

“Nice try. Now out!”

Dressing as quickly as she could Ava nearly gave herself a heart attack when the doorbell chimed. She wasn’t expecting anyone. In fact she didn’t remember the last time someone had even used her doorbell. No one came here. No one but her. Alone. That was the way she liked it. The way she needed it.

Tripping over her underwear as she attempted to walk and dress at the same time, Ava stumbled down the hallway but by the time she made it to the living room Tyler was pushing the door shut with a plastic bag dangling from his long fingers. The smell made Ava’s stomach growl. Loudly.

“Excuse me?”

“What? I haven’t eaten and you got food. I don’t even care what it is right now, just open it and let me at it!” Ava giggled, trying to straighten her night gown.

Moments later they were perched side by side on the couch, stuffing their faces with noodles and crunchy spring rolls.

“Okay, I can’t sit here a minute longer…you gotta tell me what happened?”

Coughing and spluttering, Ava looked up into Tyler’s face and noticed the wrinkles that had gathered on his forehead. She knew he was worried. Genuinely worried. About her. The idea that she was the one that put the fear in his eyes made her cringe. “Honestly, I don’t know. I mean, it was nothing dramatic really. One minute I was stuck in traffic, driving along, and next thing I knew I was nothing more than a hood ornament for a truck.” Ava folded her legs underneath her and pushed away her bowl. She’d barely made a dent in it but suddenly food was the last thing on her mind. Goose pimples covered her body as she shivered noticeably.

“Ava?”

“I’m fine!” Ava snapped harshly.

“Liar!” Tyler countered as he sprung from the lounge and stalked into the kitchen, emptying his bowl into the trash.

“What? What do you want me to say, Tyler? Do you want to hear that I was terrified? That I’m surprised I didn’t literally shit my pants? That one minute I almost lost everything, including my life? Do you want to hear that all day I’ve been in a shitty mood because I’m so damn tired all the time that I can barely stand people, let alone stand myself? So tell me, Tyler, what the fuck do you want me to say?”

It was a face off. Ava stood in the lounge room, hands on her hips, panting steadily while Tyler blew out a frustrated breath, his hands on his head.

“Fuck, Ava! I don’t want you to say anything but the truth. Do you know what it was like to get that call this afternoon? To know that because I’m a stubborn shit that I hadn’t spoken to you in days because I was pissed off at you…”

“I deserved it.”

“Shit no! That’s the thing. You didn’t. Just ’cause I think something should be the way I want it, doesn’t mean I’m right.”

A giggle escaped Ava’s lips. She never thought she’d see the day when a guy, Tyler nonetheless, admit they’d been wrong. Surely that was a myth. A rarity. Like spotting Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster, always talked about but in reality it just didn’t happen.

“Stop laughing!”

“But you said you were wrong,” Ava barely got out before she snorted, sending her into another fit of hysterical laughter.

“Did you just snort?”

“No!”

“Ava?”

“Just shut up and kiss me. Please?”

Tyler didn’t need to be asked twice. In three strides he was dominating her space. As Ava licked her lips, Tyler’s fingers sunk into Ava’s hips and he yanked her towards him. Taking a breath, Tyler crushed his lips against Ava’s until they were both breathless.

Rolling over, Ava rubbed her eyes roughly before stealing a glance at the clock. It was almost midnight. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep and she rarely crashed that heavily, but for some reason being wrapped in Tyler’s arms, cocooned by his warmth, made Ava sleepy. Wriggling out from under Tyler’s heavy arm, Ava scooted into the bathroom and took care of business and threw on her robe. Moments later she padded back into the bedroom and crawled into the chair in the corner of the room. Tucking her knees against her chest, Ava wrapped her arms around her legs and watched Tyler sleep. She was trying to play it cool, calm, and collected, but the sight of the beautiful man lying spread-eagled on her bed with the pink flannel sheets draped low on his hips made her mouth water. His hair was mussed, and knowing that it was her own fingers responsible made her grin stupidly.

Ava didn’t know how long she sat there watching the steady rise and fall of his broad, hairless chest, but she didn’t look away. She couldn’t. Too mesmerized by his body, Ava didn’t even notice when his eyes fluttered open.

“See something you like?”

His voice was thick with sleep but it wrapped around Ava’s heart and owned it completely. She held the words themselves inside. A feat that proved to be harder than she could have ever envisaged.

“Maybe.”

“Well then, why don’t you crawl back in here and keep me warm?”

Ava giggled as she pushed the hair back from her forehead. Standing up, Ava yanked the hem of her robe down as far as it would go. There wasn’t much give in the cotton. It fell mid-thigh, and even though she didn’t want to be, Ava was overcome with humiliation. It was a peculiar feeling she couldn’t quite wrap her heads around. Tyler had seen her in far less than a thin robe, but for some reason she was frozen where she stood with embarrassment.

“Ava?” Tyler voice trembled as he pushed himself up on his elbows.

“Yeah?”

He sighed heavily before sitting up. The covers left nothing to the imagination. Every bare inch of exposed, tanned skin sent Ava’s pulse sky rocketing. Tyler remained silent but reached out his hand and when Ava’s fingers touched Tyler’s outstretched palm, he wrenched her into his lap. Ava fell willingly with a giggle that vibrated through her body.

Within seconds and without Ava knowing how, she was pinned beneath Tyler, his arms framing her face and her robe abandoned on the floor. Lifting herself up, Ava kissed Tyler lightly before letting her head flop back against the pillow.

Tyler kissed her with everything he had. He held nothing back, but before things had a chance to get out of hand again, Tyler rolled to Ava’s side. Ava felt a chill pass through her body at the loss of Tyler’s body heat even though he was still there.

“Ava…do you want me to go?”

“What?”

“Do you want me to go home?”

Startled, Ava forced herself upright, completely ignoring her nakedness. “Why…why would you even think that? I don’t want you to go.” The words gushed from Ava so quickly she could barely contain them. Her only saving grace was the one word she did manage to hold back.