Chapter 15

Ava

It was finally date night and even though I'd been excited about this all week, I was more nervous than I'd been in a long time. ‘Relax!' I chided myself. ‘It's just a date.'

"He's here!" Ashley clapped happily from the living room. I could hear her opening the door and the two of them talking, but their voices were muffled.

"I'll be right out," I called as I ran my fingers through my hair one last time. I had no idea where we were going. All he'd told me was to dress casual. Deciding it was now or never, I grabbed my purse and headed for the living room.

Carter was standing there dressed in dark jeans and a gray t-shirt. He smiled and gave what looked like a nervous wave. "Hi."

"Hi." I awkwardly waved back.

"You two are so cute." Ashley squealed.

I rolled my eyes. "You ready?"

Carter stepped back, and as I slipped into my jacket, we headed outside. "Ignore her," I grumbled. "She's way too excited for this."

"And you're not?" Carter seemed confused.

"I'm looking forward to it, just not like she is. She's a serial dater. She needs a boyfriend." I laughed.

"Ah." Carter chuckled. "I'll have to talk to Maverick."

"He might get his heart broken. She's not the staying kind," I tossed out. "Don't get me wrong, Ash is a great bestie, just not really into long-term, if you know what I mean."

"Then they'd be perfect for each other." Carter laughed as we reached the car.

"So where are you taking me?" I smirked as he opened my door and I climbed in.

"You'll see." He winked.

I watched as he jogged around to his side and climbed in. Other than smiling at me, we rode in silence. It was evening and the sun was just about to sink below the horizon, putting us in darkness.

It didn't take too long until we pulled up to a small house. "Sit tight," he requested as he climbed out. I saw him punch a few things in his phone before coming around to open my door. "This way." He took my hand and led me over to the house. Just as we reached the steps to the porch, an outside light came on.

"Is this someone's house?" I was confused and a bit scared. I trusted him, but all of this was starting to come together like one of those Lifetime movies where the guy takes the unsuspecting girl out into the middle of nowhere.

"It used to be. Now it's a friend's art studio." He smiled. "I thought we could make something." The door opened and a small petite blonde was standing there barefoot with an apron covering her clothes. There was paint and other smudges covering the front. Her hair was pulled up in a messy knot on her head, and her hand and chin had more smudges on them.

"Hey, Carter. I've got everything set up." She stepped back to let us pass.

"This is Ava." He introduced us. "Ava, this is Margo. She's a friend from high school."

"Nice to meet you. So what are we doing here?" I glanced around. There were canvases of all sizes propped up in different stages of completion all around the room. Shelves of pottery adorned one wall, and a potter's wheel was in the back.

"I just finished a piece. The place is yours." She smiled.

"Thanks." Carter grabbed two aprons off a peg on the wall, and handed me one. "We're going to make some pottery." He said it like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"We're going to what?" I gasped as I stared at him as if he grew two heads.

He started laughing. "I'll help you. It'll be fun. Besides, when have you ever backed down from a challenge?" He tipped his head to the side and gave me a look as if he really knew me already.

"Ok fine, but no laughing," I warned. I tied the apron around my waist, and let him lead me over to the stool I was to sit on.

"I'll just be in the other room. Yell if you need help." Margo waved as she padded off.

"We'll start small." Carter plopped a chunk of clay on the wheel. "You need to wet your hands." He pointed to a small basin off to the side with muddy water in it. "Like this." He dipped his hands in, and then flipped a switch that brought the wheel to life. It slowly spun, and I watched with rapt attention as he molded the clay with his hands. They slid over it, slowly forming what might turn into a bowl of sort, but he stopped. "Your turn." He stepped back.

"I can't do this," I squeaked.

"Sure you can. There's no wrong way." He laughed. "I'll help you."

I dipped my hands into the water, and then tentatively touched the clay. It felt slimy in my hands, and started to warp into this lopsided shape. "I'm wrecking it." I pulled back, but Carter moved behind me. He urged me to put my hands back, and then he helped hold them steady.

"It takes practice, but our piece will be unique. No one else will have it." His mouth was right next to my ear and as he spoke, his breath tickled the hairs by my ear.

"How did you get into this?" I whispered.

"I took a ceramics class in high school. That's where I met Margo. She went to school for art, and we've kept in touch. I come here to blow off steam sometimes."

The longer he talked, the more I didn't want him to stop. It was like being in a trance of sorts. The soft light of the studio and the hum of the potter's wheel set up a romantic setting. "I think we got it." We moved our hands and the wheel came to a stop. It was kinda crooked, but it didn't look that bad.

"Pretty good for your first try. Do you want to glaze it?" Margo peeked around the corner.

"Of course." Carter helped me up as Margo slipped a wire under our pot to release it from the wheel. She carried it over to a counter, and pointed to a plethora of bottles.

"Take your pick." She motioned.

"What color should we use?" I glanced at the choices. I'd never been to Carter's place so I had no idea what he had in his apartment.

"You seem to have a blue theme going on, so something with that." He shrugged.

"Me?" I pointed to my chest.

"Yeah, this is for you." He grinned. "I like this one." He lifted a bottle of teal glaze.

"Me too." I nodded.

We painted the clay, and then Margo carried it off. "It'll have to dry it and then I'll fire it this week. You can come by next weekend sometime to grab it," she called as she disappeared. "Feel free to look around before you leave."

"Look around?" My brow furrowed.

"She has a gallery in the other room." Carter helped me remove my apron, and then led me to an open door. Inside, it was like another world. Sculptures, oil paintings, and pottery were on display. Some under glass. "Wow!" I gasped. "She's really talented."

"She is. I told her I'd help her getting a showing when she was ready." He smiled.

"This isn't ready?" I was confused. She had what looked like an entire collection.

"She doesn't think she is." He sighed. "Artists have a hard time putting themselves out there at times. Their work is personal."

"I get that." I nodded. "This was fun. Thanks for bringing me here." I continued to walk around, looking at every last piece in the gallery.

"You're welcome. Wanna grab some food?"

"Yes, please." I grinned. I couldn't help it. This was so unexpected and fun. Carter was full of surprises.

The ride home was quiet. I didn't think either of us was ready for it to end. We'd had pleasant conversation at dinner, and pretty much talked about everything. Talking to Carter was easy. It was as if we'd known each other for years. Moving from friends to this wasn't as weird or hard as I thought it would be. The key was not letting on that we were together when I came for PT. I only had a handful more sessions, so I was hoping it wouldn't be as difficult as Carter made it seem. I didn't really understand why it was such a big deal, but Carter said he could lose his job over it.

When we got back to my apartment, he walked me to the door just like he said he would. We stood there awkwardly before I decided to invite him in. He turned me down, stating that he didn't think that it was a good idea. He needed to be a gentleman. It stung at first, but knowing he felt that strongly about things made me respect him even more. He gave me a sweet kiss, and promised to call the next day.

That night, I lay in bed playing over the evening in my head. I didn't think it could have been more perfect, and I was chastising myself for ever thinking this wouldn't be a good idea. Just as I was starting to fall asleep, my phone buzzed with a text.

Carter: Had a great time tonight. Looking forward to next time.

Ava: Me too. I get to pick the next date.

It didn't buzz again, so I rolled over and let sleep overtake me, wishing for dreams of Carter to fill my head.