It's Complicated Pt. 4

Chapter 4: Pretty Odd

“Are you okay?” Nathan questioned, “You seem a little down lately.”

Ava sighed and shook her head “Just sad that you’re leaving me already. I thought we’d be able to make it to the fair this time.”

He cracked a smile. “I’m sad too, but the weekend will go by fast. The fair won’t be here when I get back, but I promise we can do something else if you want.”

She hadn’t told him about the kiss with Jay, and figured it was best if she never even mention him. To be honest, she hadn’t really thought of him at all. Her mind was too occupied with the thought of Nathan leaving.

He gave her a kiss on the forehead before getting in his car and giving one last wave goodbye. She stood there watching as his car got further and further away from her, the bright red color fading in the distance.

This time last year they were getting ready for the annual fair that came to town. It was a pretty big event for the city, and almost everyone always went at least one of the days it was open. Besides the strip and single nightclub, there was nothing else that had as much nightlife as the fair.

Ava walked back into the house and saw her dad sitting in the living room drinking a coke and taking a bite out of a sandwich.

“Hey daddy” She said quietly

He turned toward her and smiled, “Why the long face?”

“Nathan just left and I was looking forward to going to the fair with him” She answered making her way over to him. She took a seat and grabbed the tv remote.

“You can still go. What is Sarah doing?”

“Sarah’s boring, she won’t get on any of the bigger rides. Besides, she probably has a date.”

“Well, what about that other kid?” He asked, taking another bite out of his sandwich.

“What kid?” She asked, raising a brow

“The one I see you walking with at night on my way home from work” He answered, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Oh him. We’re not really on good terms.” She said. He hadn’t come around in a couple days, most likely from his attitude after getting chewed out the whole time he walked her back home the other night. If it hadn’t ended their friendship, it at least dented it.

“Hmm. You shouldn’t hold grudges, Ava. It’s not good for your body.”

She looked at him, noticing a cut right above his eyebrow and rolled her eyes. “What did you do to your face now, dad?”

He chuckled as he rose from his seat and walked to the kitchen. “Just an accident, it’s been there for a while I’m surprised you didn’t see it earlier.”

His voice faded as he made his way upstairs, leaving her alone. If her father had noticed the guy she had been hanging out with at night for the past week, she wondered who else did. Surely not many people, they always hung out past 11. Would it even matter if she were caught hanging out with him? Maybe to Nathan if he found out. They weren’t officially together though, so he couldn’t blame her for finding a new friend.

Her mind was racing.

She was going to see him again now that her anger toward him subsided, but she didn’t want to wait till their late night walks like always. Ava contemplated just going to his apartment and demanding that he go with her to the fair that day.

She nodded to herself as her as her eyes fixated on the television. She’ll just go to his apartment in about an hour, and it will give them more than enough time to make it to the fair and do whatever they want.

After applying some light makeup and dressing in comfortable clothes she made her way out the door, leaving a note for her father who had just left to pick up some groceries. She followed the usual trail and hoped that there wasn’t as much commotion at this time of day as there usually was at night. As she drew closer, the familiar apartment building looked less appealing.

The white walls were stained with what looked like dirt and the gated metal entryway was rusting at the top. She walked through the main office and made her way to the familiar apartment.

Once at the door she tightened her ponytail then knocked loudly.

“Who is it?” A voice called

“It’s um” She paused “It’s Ava”

The door cracked open, and she could make out the face she had seen just the other day.

“Can I help you?” He asked

“I’m looking for Jay.” She said, a bit more nervously.

He closed the door, then reopened with a welcoming smile. “He’s in his room, probably passed out. You can try to wake him up if you want.”

She nodded and took a step inside, listening as he shut the door behind her. As she made her way to Jay’s door, she gripped the door handle and began to twist the knob.

“Actually, I would knock first.” The guy chimed in “Nothing personal, just a warning”

“Warning for what?” She asked confused.

He shrugged and laughed as he made his way into the room directly across Jay’s. She ignored his weird response and opened the door to see Jay’s body sprawled across his queen size bed, his head buried in his pillow.

He was shirtless, revealing his lean figure. She couldn’t help but glance a little longer than she should.

She sat on the edge of the bed hoping it would wake him up but no luck.

To take advantage of the situation, Ava figured it was her chance to play a little prank. She looked around the room for something that she can use to mess with him and a sharpie caught her eye.

She quietly walked over and picked it up from his small nightstand and took the cap off.

She leaned over him, pushing his hair out of his face and positioning his head toward her gently. His lips were protruding slightly from the way his cheeks were squished against the pillow and she could feel the light breath coming from his nose on her arm.

Just as she was about to begin her drawing on his cheek his eyes fluttered open and he grabbed her body, pulling her into the bed with him. While he began laughing she struggled against his grip and tried to pry away.

“Did you really think I would let you do that to me?” He grinned “Besides writing on my face is so juvenile”

He was a lot stronger than she had imagined before they started talking, and his body heat radiating against her body made it harder to concentrate on getting away.

Her eyes widened as she realized he wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“Are you naked?” She shrieked jumping from the bed. “Let go of me!”

He laughed again, covering his bare body with the single sheet he used to sleep with and stared up at her. “You act like you’ve never seen a naked body”

“I didn’t see anything of yours for your information, I just didn’t feel any clothing.” She said, disgusted.

“I warned you about this” said the guy who let her in, who was now leaning against the door frame with a cup of coffee in his hand “I told you to knock. I know I always do.”

Jay kept his eyes on Ava, “His name is Blake. Blake, her name is Ava. I would ask her what she’d doing here but I don’t want to be rude.”

“I came here to tell you I forgive you.” She stated, turning around as he slid to the other side of the bed and slipped on some boxers.

“For what?” He asked, “I didn’t do anything.”

By this time Blake had already left, shutting the door behind him. Ava turned back around and glared at Jay, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t make this difficult.”

He ran his hands through his hair, revealing a couple of tattoos under his arm.Come to think of it, with him being shirtless she saw a couple new ones that she had never gotten to see before. He had a couple on his right wrist, roses that circled around in the spot closest to his hand, and the word ‘Bentley’ spread across the bone leading to his elbow. She couldn’t make out the one under his other arm.

He had a clearly visible lion on the side of his ribcage that lacked color, but made up for it in an immense amount of shading. Compared to Nathan’s inkless body, Ava thought Jay’s was almost covered in works of art.

“Look, I already told you it was a joke. You seem to have gotten over it is you came over.” He said looking through his dresser for some pajama pants.

“I am, but I have some conditions that I’d like to go over with you.”

“What do you mean?” By now he was halfway clothed and took a seat on the bed.

“I want to call you Brandon, too. I like that name more.”

He gave her a funny look, then shrugged. “Okay, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“And” She added “I want to go to the fair today, so get dressed.”

“Why don’t we do something else instead?” He asked, laying back on the bed.

“I really want to go.”

“We can do something else” He proposed, “I would say go to the strip but you’re not legal.”

She shook her head, “We’re going to the fair. How long will it take you to get ready? It’s 4 now, I want to be there by 6 so the weather cools down a bit”

“Fine I’ll go, but under one condition.” A small smile began appearing across his face.

“Shoot” She nodded, waiting for him to reply.

“Spend the night here with me. You can take the bed and I’ll sleep on the floor.”

She looked around slowly, deciding in her head whether it was a good idea or not. If she spent the night once, he might expect her to spend more nights afterward which she didn’t want. Then again, she doesn’t really have to go to sleep. She can wait till morning to fall asleep in her bed after spending the early hours of dawn with him here.

“You spend most of the night here anyway, I don’t know why you’d say no. It’s just a couple more hours than usual.” He spoke up after a moment of silence.

“Fine” She said, “But I get the bed and you get the floor, like you said”

He nodded, “I guess I’ll get ready in a bit. While I’m waiting, there’s some eggs in the fridge I like mine over medium.”

Ava scoffed, “I’m not your slave. I’ll be in the living room watching tv.”

“Why don’t you watch it in here with me?” He asked casually.

“You don’t have a tv in here.” She said, scanning the room again.

“It’s in there” he pointed to his tall dressers cabinets, “Pull them open.”

She did as he said and pulled them open, revealing another flat screen that looked just like the one in the living room. He patted the spot next to him on the bed and scooted himself over to give her more room.

“You sleep naked, I don’t want to touch your sheets.”

“You act like you’re going to catch something.” He squinted at her, “you won’t, I assure you.”

“I can’t be too sure” She said, taking a seat on the floor

“You saw the condoms in my nightstand the first time you came here, didn’t you? You won’t catch anything like that if that’s what you’re thinking.” He smiled. “Besides, I haven’t had another girl in my bed in a couple weeks and I’ve washed my sheets since then.”

As she got back up she couldn’t help but stare at his shirtless body again. He looked so comfortable lying beside her, and began touching her hair hoping she wouldn’t mind. She didn’t notice, as she began to get drawn into the reality show playing on MTV.

“So did you tell that guy about the other night?” Brandon asked, looking up at her as he curled a piece of her hair between his fingers.

“What guy?” She asked, keeping her concentration on the tv.

“Whoever you’re talking to. You never told me his name.”

“You don’t need to know his name” She answered, turning her head to face him. “And no, I figured it was best I didn’t”

“Why? Because he doesn’t kiss you like I do?” He smirked

Her eyes narrowed at him, “No, because he’d probably kick your ass”

She lied. Nathan was the worst at confrontations, and would rather walk away from whatever situation than put himself or others in danger. She doubted he even knew how to fight.

“I highly doubt that.” He answered, getting up from the bed and grabbing a shirt from the nightstand.

She ignored his answer and resumed her attention to the tv as he began getting dressed. He walked back and forth from his closet and the living room, each time coming back with a different article of clothing on. His style was a little different when compared to Nathan’s.

On most nights Brandon sported a dark shirt that accentuated his light skin, with a dark wash pair of skinny jeans. Sometimes his shirts would be plain, other times it had some graphic design of a band that she usually didn’t recognize. This day though, he threw on a plain black shirt with a dark blue button up he left unopened.

As he rolled up the sleeves from the button up he spoke, “How long did you want to stay there?”

“I didn’t plan on setting a time limit, but I want to be home by like 10 or 11.” She answered, looking up at him. He stood there, looking less rugged than usual and smiled.

“Good, I want to show you something later.”

Author Note: Sorry for the change of names toward the end, I didn't mean to confuse anyone. If it's a big problem please let me know!