Avery and Jenna Pt. 08

"No, Janelle and I are going downtown to get drunk, and despite my very convincing pleading, Mika decided not to go with us," she said, kicking off her black wedge heels and sitting on a stool near the bar. Avery joined her in another stool.

"That sounds like fun. I hope you have a great time," he said, looking toward her. Her fragrance was so powerful, it made Avery's blood boil.

"So, I will do my best to keep Janelle out of the apartment, and trust me, it will not be too difficult. Especially since all she's been thinking about is that night in our apartment," Maggie said, getting out of the chair and heading into the kitchen to pour herself a small amount of Avery's cheap reposado.

"All right," he answered, understanding what Maggie was implying but playing coy nonetheless. She sipped some of the tequila, and then looked back at Avery.

"Do I have to draw you a map?" Maggie said, taking another small sip of the tequila.

"How are you drinking that without a chaser?"

"It's been a long week. I spent an hour trying to straighten my hair. Kiwi hair does not straighten without a fight. And don't change the subject. I'm sick of seeing her come home and sulk. Mika's miserable and I know, no matter how much sex you're having with Jenna, you're miserable as well. So, you're going to march over to the apartment, and you are going to talk to her. Until your problems are worked out."

"What do I have left to say to her?" He asked, leaning back against the bar chair.

"The truth," she said, finishing off the drink. She shook a bit as the drink sent a shiver down her spine. "Tell her the truth." Avery sighed and looked down at the bar, weighing the pros and cons of heeding Maggie's advice.

"I left my key on the top of the doorframe. Put it on the kitchen counter once you're inside, and I will get it when Janelle and I get home. Go over there, talk to her, and be friends again," she said, walking out of the kitchen. She stood in front of him.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked. Maggie leaned to Avery and gave him a tight hug. Her scent made Avery grab her even harder. He was not ashamed to admit that in that moment, he wanted Maggie, but he was happy that he had a friend like her, and that the two of them had grown closer recently.

"Because she's been through this before. Back on campus with Trish. I want Mika to forgive me for what happened that night, and I think you want her to forgive you as well. She misses you. She's just too proud to show it. Don't go to salvage the sexual aspects, and try to not feel like you're doing something wrong. You're not seeing her to cheat on Jenna again; you're seeing her just to talk." Avery looked towards the picture of him and Jenna at the beach on the wall. Maggie placed her hands around his head and turned it back to look in his eyes.

"Please, Avery. Do this thing for me." Avery patted her hand against his cheek with his, as if to imply that the deal had been struck. Maggie slipped her shoes back on and approached the front door. Before she could leave, Avery called out to her.

"Hey! You forgot your bag."

"It's for Mika. Don't look in it. Just give it to her," Maggie said as she opened the front door to leave. Avery sighed deeply. If he was going to see Mika, for the first time in almost a month, he wanted to look decently. He showered, shaved, and put on some dress-casual clothes. Afterward, he hopped into his car and started driving down the frozen road to Maggie's apartment complex. It was a short drive, less than five minutes, but those minutes seemed to stretch longer than usual. He struggled to decide what he would say to Mika. Should he apologize for keeping his distance? Should he apologize for the more sexual nature of their relationship? He could not find the words to say to himself, let alone to Mika. As he pulled into a visitor parking space, he looked at the outside of her apartment and noticed a light shining inside of her bedroom window; her car was also present in the lot. He reached for his phone and texted Maggie.

[I'm here. You owe me if this goes wrong.]

He picked up the small bag, stepped out, and locked the door to his car. As he traversed the three flights of stairs to Maggie's apartment, she responded.

[And you owe me if it goes well.]

He snickered to himself at her clever response. Standing in front of the door, he exhaled at some great length. A few seconds of searching yielded the key from the center of the doorframe. He inserted it, shifting the tumblers, and opened the door to the apartment. It was dark and void of any immediate human presence, save for some quiet music coming from the direction of Mika's room. He recognized the band as Franz Ferdinand. Avery placed the key on the counter as instructed and slowly walked to the hallway. Her door was closed. He got cold feet as he moved to the door and raised his hand to knock. At that moment, his bravery collapsed within him. He turned and walked away, sat on the couch, and looked towards the balcony. Being in the same apartment with her terrified him. What the hell could he possibly say to her that would fix what happened between them? He tossed the bag to the end of the couch. He reached for his phone to text Maggie, needing some of her staunch encouragement. Before he could finish the message, Avery heard the door to Mika's room open. Oblivious to his being there, she strolled into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Avery heard her remove something from it. She wore a light blue t-shirt and pajama pants. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. As she closed it and slowly walked back to her room, he weakly announced his presence to her.

"Hello Mika," he said at a modest volume. His greeting startled her, as a voice without a body entered her ears. Her gaze fixated on his figure resting on the couch, but the dimness of the apartment made it impossible to identify who it was.

"Who's there?" She whimpered with fear.

"A friend. I think," he answered.

"How did you get in here?"

"Maggie left me a key."

"Maggie? Wait. Avery?" She questioned, turning on the overhead light in the hallway to reveal him sitting at the end of the couch farthest away from her. Her edginess slightly reduced, she lessened her grip on the plastic cup in her hands.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. The question possessed more inquisition than it did ire. Perhaps that was a good start.

"I don't even know. I was hoping you could help me," he replied, crossing his legs. Mika stood motionless, her head lowered to the carpet. Although she was not blushing, she was afraid to be alone with Avery, knowing what had happened between them already. At the same time, a part of her was relieved to finally have the opportunity to see him.

"I just want to talk. Once I say what I have to say, and you say what you have to say, I will leave," he exclaimed, putting his hands up in the air, as if to be disarming. Mika slowly walked over to the couch, sitting on the opposite end from him.

"Okay. Let's talk," she said, putting the yogurt on the table and putting her hands onto her lap.

PROVIDENCE

"How have you been?" Avery asked, sitting motionlessly.

"Fine, I guess. How about you?"

"I've been all right."

"Good."

"Yeah." He noticed her terse answers. Though not conducive to his purpose, they nonetheless let him know how she felt.

"Things going well with Jenna?" She asked painfully.

"Yeah, they're good. She, uhh, had a death in the family, so she left to go home."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Why didn't you go with her?"

"We had a little fight and she wanted some space. Otherwise I would have."

"Oh. I know she'll miss you," Mika spoke, wondering about what the fight was, but was too nervous to ask. "I saw her the other day at the mall."

"She didn't tell me. I hope there wasn't any friction between you and her."

"None whatsoever. She just told me to stay away from you."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. In retrospect, I should have. I should have kept my distance. But I didn't."

"I'm glad you chose not to."

"Why? So you could fuck me?" Her voice grew lurid and was laden with ire.

"Is that the only part of our time together that you think about?"

"It's the only part of our time together that I regret," she confessed, looking at him as she spoke. Avery felt a small but imperative part of himself fracture at her words.

"You regret it?"

"Yes. Because you just seemed too good to be true, and now I know you're not at all the person I thought you were. I asked you to wait for me because I wanted to talk to you about us dating, but when I got back, I caught you with Maggie and Janelle. I already knew you slept with Janelle, but Maggie too? Is there no woman you won't have sex with? It just denigrated the things we did. I thought those things could be ours to share alone. I was naive."

"You weren't wrong. We were all drunk. It was just a stupid thing that happened that night."

"Oh, and get this: Maggie apologized to me for it. Did you tell her about us? Because somehow she knew. You have no idea how that made me feel."

"I didn't say anything to her."

"Are you lying to me?"

"No."

"How can I trust you?" Avery sat quietly at that question. She had a point. Avery knew of his past with women. So many different girls at such inopportune times. Mika knew by his silence that he did not have the answer. Nor did she expect him to.

"You know, I really bought it. I actually thought you cared about me. Giving me that picture was fantastic. It made me believe you were genuine. I fell so hard for you. But you just wanted to fuck me. Just like every other girl in your life. You fuck them and you move on, don't you?"

"If that were the case, then why am I here?" Avery said, taking offense to her comment.

"You said Jenna was gone. There's no one else here right now but me. You probably thought you could sneak over here and take what you wanted from me again. Well, it's not going to happen. I hate you, Avery, and after this conversation is over, I never want to see you again."

Her words pierced Avery's heart. Not because he felt himself losing a friend, but rather, he felt he was losing a part of himself. As though Mika were inexplicably attached to his well-being. Avery sat quietly for a minute, trying not to let the words penetrate any further; he failed. At that moment, he did the only sensible thing he could do. Tears began to stream down Avery's face. Mika heard Avery's sniffling. In the dim light, she could see a side of his face wet from the river carving a path on his face. She was still angry. She meant every word she said. She had no idea her words would cause such a reaction from Avery.

"That's not why I came over here. I came over here because I wanted to tell you that I was sorry. Because I took our friendship and made it into the thing I always do with women. There's nothing I can do or say that would make you believe me when I tell you, I wanted things to be different between us, but I did," he spoke, wiping his face. Mika relaxed steadily as Avery spoke his words.

"You and I, we were a team. I loved spending time with you. It's true, you and I are so different. And we haven't known each other that long. And we may not have much in common. But that only means we have so much to share with each other. And I thought that no matter what it was you wanted to show me, I would happily learn it because it would come from you, and with you was where I wanted to be. You're right: I fucked it all up. But I can't change the past. I can't take back what happened between us, but I don't want to because that may mean losing you."

Mika lowered her head again and sat soundlessly at his words. Avery had said his peace. Mika had said her peace. He cleared his face a second time, but the tears would not stop falling.

"I really mean that much to you?" She said quietly.

"What do I have to do to prove it to you? Do I have to go slip on ice a second time, because I'll do it," he jested. She laughed at his comment. "I'm here because I miss you, Mika. I miss you so much."

"I miss you, too. I truly do. But I don't know if we can be friends after what's happened between us. I'm honestly not sure if I could even try. I'd want to sleep with you all the time," she replied, looking back up at him. Avery nodded and looked downward, then back up to her.

"Then we'll just have to be something more," he said confidently. His tension eased and the tears finally dwindled. Mika's expression changed. She became restless at his words. Although she wanted to believe what he said, she was not about to open herself up to be hurt again.

"Do you honestly think we can do that? Do you honestly believe things can work for us?" She asked. Avery tried to think of something deep and inspiring to say. This moment, however, his words seemed to fail him. He believed a simple answer would be the best answer.

"Yes," he said, looking into her brown eyes. Mika sat for a moment, trying to sort out everything that had been said. It was a long day and she was fatigued, but a second wind was coming from Avery being there and speaking to her. After a few minutes of stillness, she removed the hair tie from her head and put it around her wrist. Her long, beautiful black hair drifted from her scalp and flowed without resistance. She sighed quietly.

"Okay," she said. As she spoke, she moved closer to Avery and wiped his cheeks. She warmed to his presence again. As she touched him, Avery's body caught fire. He lowered his head and put his arms around Mika. She held him tightly as Avery sensed the apprehension and anger drifting away. He was complete again. He believed that he was supposed to be there with Mika. When he leaned back, Mika did not hesitate to kiss him. Her lips were soft and luscious. Avery had forgotten the way they felt. His felt a little dry, perhaps from the cold outside. The kiss was overdue, intimate, and much-needed by both of them. Avery held her tightly in his arms, breathing in her scent. When they finally broke the hug, Avery ran his fingers through her hair. Mika smiled and moved back into Avery's arms and relaxed against his chest. He rubbed her arm up and down. Mika felt something poking her side; she knew he was hard. The fact that he was hard for her made her feel sexy. Still, the farthest thing on her mind, at that moment, was sex. Nonetheless, she pressed into him lovingly.

"I can feel how hard you are," she whispered. Avery adjusted himself so he would stop pressing into her. He did not even realize he was erect until she made mention of it.

"I'm sorry. It just happens. I can't really control it," he whispered back, attempting to concentrate on anything other than wanting to bury himself into Mika.

"Are you always horny?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Pretty much. That's a bad answer, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily. I'm pretty horny when you're around me. But it does make me wonder: if we decide to start a serious relationship, will you actually be able to remain faithful to me?" She said, squeezing him tightly. "Have you been able to stay faithful to any girl you've dated before?"

"Honestly, I've only ever dated Jenna. But I've had encounters with other women, as you already know."

"In the totality of your encounters, where do you rank our sex? Would you say ours was good or bad?"

"Many of them weren't all that important to me. Just me wanting to get off. And ours was good. Sex is always better when you do it with someone you care about, rather than just being about experiencing the pleasure," he answered, playing with her hair as they cuddled.

"I think sleeping with you was special to me because you were my first. I've been kissed and my breasts have been touched before, but no one has touched me between my legs because I wouldn't go that far. And none of the other guys that I've kissed were anything serious. Just, light fun, I suppose," she said, sitting up from him. "I don't actually regret sleeping with you. I coveted our encounters because I honestly didn't know if I would ever have someone like you. You didn't push me or make me try something I didn't feel ready to do. So, you were and are important to me." Avery leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"I'll always try to be loyal to you. It's not every day someone like you comes along," he said, looking her in her profound, russet eyes. He felt himself beginning to get lost in them. Mika shook her head and looked back at him.

"I can't believe the two of us right now, sitting here pretending that this could work," she said.

"Why can't it work?"

"A lot of reasons."

"Do you want it to work?"

"Of course I do."

"Then isn't that all that matters?" Avery asked. Mika had not considered that option. She considered all the trouble it would cause if they started dating. It would mean removing Jenna from the picture. She would possibly have to move out of her apartment since Janelle and Maggie were close friends of Jenna's. Avery might be forced to relocate as well. Maybe she and Jenna could simply switch apartments? Would she even agree to that? It all seemed so complicated. Mika abhorred complicated things.

"I want to be with you. More than anything I do, but won't it be difficult for us? In more than one way?"

"We could handle it, I think," he answered, leaning forward to kiss her. It was a light, sweet embrace. She moaned back against him. At his decree, she would be his. She wanted him to take her right there in the living room, and she did not care if someone barged in and caught them. With her anger completely subsided, all that was left was a familiar and enveloping feeling of safety and security. No matter how much she wanted to be upset with him, she found it hard to do so. She stood up, recollected the yogurt in her hand to put it back in the fridge. She saw the black bag on the couch as she passed it.

"What's in your bag?"

"It's a gift for you. Go ahead and open it," he replied. She opened the mystery with her small hands and looked inside. Even in the low light, she knew exactly what it was. When she saw the bag's contents, she laughed quietly to herself. She shook her head out of disbelief. Maggie must have saved it for her.

"I'm really tired. Will you come and lie down with me?" Mika asked. Avery stood up and walked over to her. She claimed his hand in hers. Avery walked into her room, which he noticed was considerably cleaner than the previous time he was there. Mika closed the door gently behind them and locked it. She turned around to face him.

"I have a surprise for you. Don't look until I tell you, okay?"

"All right," he answered. He removed his heavy boots and put them next to the bed. He sat down on her bed and closed his eyes. He heard Mika shuffling through the bag. The unmistakable sound of a bra clasp coming undone. The distinct noise of underwear being slid down soft legs. He heard what he thought was the sound of tags being ripped and discarded. His eyes remained shut as per their agreement. Mika took the hair tie from her wrist, pulled her hair backward and wrapped the tie around the raven strands. She adjusted the bra around her chest and positioned her breasts within the cups. The fit was just like the price: extravagant. The length was just long enough to give her breasts plenty of support without pinching underneath her arms. What she liked most about the bra was its fit despite being strapless. Her attention turned from her perky tits to her waist and hips. Her g-string fit equally as well as the bra. It felt almost velvety, as though it were made of lotion. It hugged her waist sensually, covering the right areas while leaving plenty of skin to be displayed. The ensemble did exactly as she hoped it would: made her feel uncharacteristically attractive. Though she still felt herself being tempted by the sandman, simply feeling the cloth against her shaven lips was enough to get her wet.