Chapter 9

Nine

AVA

"Cheers! Happy Thanksgiving!"

I'm with my entire family today, giving thanks, eating all the food, drinking all the wine, and yelling at the television that is playing the Warriors football game. Today is my second favorite holiday. Christmas being the first. I love this entire season though. And in Charming, this little town comes alive, and it's the best ever. From tree lightings in the town square to Christmas caroling around Main Street, the warmth of the holiday brings this town to life. It's also my favorite time to write, because the love that surrounds the holidays puts me in such a good mood to tell stories.

This year, however, I'm struggling. Despite my attempt at setting the mood, my mind is elsewhere, and I know it's all because of this book-boyfriend class. I still firmly believe in what we're doing, but Maverick is breaking me down. I'm spending more time reflecting on my failed marriage and what I need to do to move past it. I'm spending more time focused on my friends and where they seem to be going with their current relationships.

And I'm spending more time thinking I have Maverick all wrong.

"What is going on in that beautiful mind of yours?" Maria collapses next to me on the couch, handing me a new glass of spiked cider.

"Are you trying to get me drunk so I'll talk?" I look at her in my peripheral vision as I sip from my fresh drink that is a tad bit stronger than the last one.

"I'm trying to get you to loosen up and have some fun. We're going to go to the bar after this and I want you to come."

I sigh out loud and throw my head back on the couch. "I've been this way my whole life! Why is it that now everyone thinks I'm no fun?"

"It's not just now that we realized you're not fun. We know you've been the fun police since we were kids." I eye my other cousin, Joe, Maria's brother, as he takes a seat on the other side of me on the couch. "You're lucky we even talk to you after all the times you ratted on us."

I gasp. "What! I was protecting you!" My parents always told me that, being the oldest, I was supposed to look out for my family. Maybe I took it a tad too far sometimes. It's also most likely the reason Zach and I were never on the same wavelength. I was used to being the one in charge, and more often than not, he let me be. I never learned it was okay to let someone else walk the same line with me.

"Protecting me from the water balloon fight when we were seven? Protecting Maria from that big, bad after-prom party when we were sixteen?"

"And worse! Protecting Joe from getting that blow job in the back of his car in the driveway!" Maria chimes in.

My eyes are wide when I exclaim, "Sasha was a slut, and she just wanted to add Joe's name to her list of conquests! "

"At fifteen, I didn't care if she was a clown, I just wanted my dick sucked," Joe says matter-of-factly as he takes a sip from his drink. I smack him in the chest and he dribbles the cider down the front of his shirt.

"You guys are terrible. I just didn't want anything bad to happen."

"Listen, we know. You're the oldest cousin, and you've been the one who watches out for everyone your whole life. But we're grown now. You can relinquish that title and take on some fun of your own."

I swallow hard with uncertainty. "I don't know how."

"You do know how, but you thought you weren't allowed to. And know what? That's on us. We thought Zach was going to be the one to break you out of that rut. But all he did was push you further into it because the guy was like a giant toddler."

I snicker. "He really was." I pause. "He called me today."

"Of course he did. Did he ask if he was supposed to cook a chicken or a turkey for Thanksgiving?"

I take a breath, wondering if I even want to tell them our conversation right now. They're only going to push me more if I tell them. But I also can't keep anything from them. "No, he called to say he was proposing to his new girlfriend today at her family's Thanksgiving dinner."

There's complete silence from the two of them and it sets me on edge. I'm not sad or upset about our failed marriage. I'm more upset that I just couldn't be the good wife I wanted to be. For a romance author, I really suck at love. "Say something, please." I close my eyes tight and down the drink Maria handed to me.

"I'm glad he's moving on," Joe says.

"Means you can, too," Maria says.

"Stop."

"I'm serious, Ava. You deserve the best fucking guy ever. And this is amazing news because now he'll have someone else who can teach him how to tie his shoes." I snicker along with them. They're really the best cousins ever.

"So Maverick put on quite a show the other day."

I groan at the mention of his name. "He's becoming the bane of my existence. I don't even know why he's sticking this class out. I know he's competitive, but for what? Winning a kiss at midnight? Seems like he wouldn't be the type to waste his time just for a kiss. And if he's learned anything from me so far, it's that he's not winning no matter what he does."

"How're the report cards looking?" Joe asks. He was my dinner date the night we went to Tipsy Tavern. "He looked like he knew what he was doing the night I saw him."

"He knows what he's doing, and he does it well," Maria says.

"The other girls are not liking him too much though. Maria, what do you hear from them?" She won't look at either one of us, and it sets my spidey senses on high. "Maria, tell me."

She laughs. "There's nothing to tell, really. Sure, the girls get annoyed by his pompous attitude. And the fact that he answers his own questions. But I think that's part of his charm. The guy is really funny and personable and knows how to make any situation easy and relaxing. People feel good when they talk to him and he seems to leave the room happier. It's like you said, he knows how to use what he's working with, but I don't think it's an act. It's just Maverick."

I sigh. "It will be over soon. We've made a deal to get a New Year's date for all three guys, so a few more weeks, and I'll be back to my writing and marketing full-time." I stand, needing to get away from the convo and get some air. "You guys want a refill? I'm going to grab more before Aunt Bea finishes it all."

Joe laughs. "Yeah, she's lit already." he hands me his glass. "Fill me up, beautiful." I take Maria's glass too and head to the kitchen, but not before I hear them talking to one another.

"You know he's messing up those other dates on purpose, right?" Maria speaks to Joe .

"I saw how he watched her that first night at the bar. It wouldn't surprise me one bit."

"I laid a bug in his ear. It won't be long now." Maria sits with a smug grin.

I furrow my brows at their conversation, wondering what she means. Why is Maverick messing dates up on purpose?