day.
Ari smiled at me as if I should have known the answer to my question already.
“Rory and I are cousins, Ava. Our dads are brothers and you know how Greeks are. Or… maybe you don’t. And, umm, well, Julia lives there.”
What the hell, his ex-girlfriend lives with him? Not good.
“Are you going to explain that any further?”
“Not… right now.”
Ok, later, I could deal with that. At least there was the promise of explanation in the future. We were getting somewhere.
He smiled a huge hopeful smile. “You already said you didn’t have anything else to do and if you say no,” he added, putting his hand over his heart, “I will be hurt.”
I knew he was teasing but it still made my heart skip a beat.
“Ok, fine,” I agreed and I shooed him out of my room. I tried to wash my nerves away in the hot shower. I dressed quickly, deciding on a new pair of jeans I got from Margaux’s store and one of her tops and paired it with my favorite black and white stripped shoes. I met Ari in the commons and we made our way down to his Range Rover.
We arrived at Ari’s house and Lauren let out a squeal of delight. The house was packed full of people. I sucked in a deep breath and braced myself for the onslaught of personal space invasion. The kitchen was full of women all gossiping and laughing and the men sat at the dining room table, passed a bottle of ouzo around and played cards. People gathered on the back deck and on the sun porch; the house was literally packed with Ari’s family and their friends.
When we walked in, everyone greeted Ari. Each one of them kissed his cheeks and hugged him as he introduced them to me. Once, he even put his arm around my waist. I let out a quick gasp and he quickly removed it and gave me a shy, apologetic smile. His touch was unexpected but surprisingly welcome. I could have kicked myself for reacting. I had been longing to have his arm wrapped around me again for weeks.
There were familiar faces, just as Ari had promised; I spied Julia in the kitchen talking with Rory’s mom, Gianna. I had not yet seen Rory, but I heard his booming laugh coming from the other room. The bouncer and bartender from Hellenes’ Hideout were there along with Sarah and some of the other kids from school and their families. Mrs. Cali and Dean P. from DPI were even there. Aggie, Ari’s mom, came up and gave me a big welcoming hug.
“Ava, I am so happy you decided to come.”
She really is beautiful. She is tall and slender. Her eyes are a bold brown, just like Ari’s, and her hair is straight, silky, and rests ever so lightly on her delicate shoulders. Her smile is huge and genuine and her lips are full and soft pink.
“Me too,” I said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’ll always be welcome here, Ava.” Before I could start pondering the significance of her phrasing, Lauren stole me away from the crowd. I happily went with her. Something about Lauren made me fall in love with her. She is so sweet and funny, not to mention the fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous. Stressing out over her Halloween costume, she demanded my assistance. She made sure I knew that she was all of fifteen years old and wasn’t even thinking of going trick or treating. Rather, she would be attending her very first Halloween party.
I am actually something of an ace when it comes to Halloween costumes. For myself, I strongly dislike the holiday. The idea of going door-to-door, begging for candy, is absurd. But my mother always helped me with my costume, and the yearly ritual of creating something together was always important to me, so I was glad to help. Lauren wanted to go as a butterfly, which was simple enough. I sat with her in her room with some sheer fabric, wire and a hot glue gun and we went to work on some sparkly wings.
I was about an hour into the costume, just putting on the finishing touches, when Ari walked through the door.
“I have been looking all over for you,” he said, sounding
Ari smiled at me as if I should have known the answer to my question already.
“Rory and I are cousins, Ava. Our dads are brothers and you know how Greeks are. Or… maybe you don’t. And, umm, well, Julia lives there.”
What the hell, his ex-girlfriend lives with him? Not good.
“Are you going to explain that any further?”
“Not… right now.”
Ok, later, I could deal with that. At least there was the promise of explanation in the future. We were getting somewhere.
He smiled a huge hopeful smile. “You already said you didn’t have anything else to do and if you say no,” he added, putting his hand over his heart, “I will be hurt.”
I knew he was teasing but it still made my heart skip a beat.
“Ok, fine,” I agreed and I shooed him out of my room. I tried to wash my nerves away in the hot shower. I dressed quickly, deciding on a new pair of jeans I got from Margaux’s store and one of her tops and paired it with my favorite black and white stripped shoes. I met Ari in the commons and we made our way down to his Range Rover.
We arrived at Ari’s house and Lauren let out a squeal of delight. The house was packed full of people. I sucked in a deep breath and braced myself for the onslaught of personal space invasion. The kitchen was full of women all gossiping and laughing and the men sat at the dining room table, passed a bottle of ouzo around and played cards. People gathered on the back deck and on the sun porch; the house was literally packed with Ari’s family and their friends.
When we walked in, everyone greeted Ari. Each one of them kissed his cheeks and hugged him as he introduced them to me. Once, he even put his arm around my waist. I let out a quick gasp and he quickly removed it and gave me a shy, apologetic smile. His touch was unexpected but surprisingly welcome. I could have kicked myself for reacting. I had been longing to have his arm wrapped around me again for weeks.
There were familiar faces, just as Ari had promised; I spied Julia in the kitchen talking with Rory’s mom, Gianna. I had not yet seen Rory, but I heard his booming laugh coming from the other room. The bouncer and bartender from Hellenes’ Hideout were there along with Sarah and some of the other kids from school and their families. Mrs. Cali and Dean P. from DPI were even there. Aggie, Ari’s mom, came up and gave me a big welcoming hug.
“Ava, I am so happy you decided to come.”
She really is beautiful. She is tall and slender. Her eyes are a bold brown, just like Ari’s, and her hair is straight, silky, and rests ever so lightly on her delicate shoulders. Her smile is huge and genuine and her lips are full and soft pink.
“Me too,” I said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’ll always be welcome here, Ava.” Before I could start pondering the significance of her phrasing, Lauren stole me away from the crowd. I happily went with her. Something about Lauren made me fall in love with her. She is so sweet and funny, not to mention the fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous. Stressing out over her Halloween costume, she demanded my assistance. She made sure I knew that she was all of fifteen years old and wasn’t even thinking of going trick or treating. Rather, she would be attending her very first Halloween party.
I am actually something of an ace when it comes to Halloween costumes. For myself, I strongly dislike the holiday. The idea of going door-to-door, begging for candy, is absurd. But my mother always helped me with my costume, and the yearly ritual of creating something together was always important to me, so I was glad to help. Lauren wanted to go as a butterfly, which was simple enough. I sat with her in her room with some sheer fabric, wire and a hot glue gun and we went to work on some sparkly wings.
I was about an hour into the costume, just putting on the finishing touches, when Ari walked through the door.
“I have been looking all over for you,” he said, sounding
Similar Books
