Betrayal - A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Chapter 10

Ava turned around. An attractive man with shaggy light brown hair and a stubble smiled at her. She was almost a little disappointed that it wasn't James standing in front of her, with his piercing blue eyes and his well groomed hair, but the stranger was incredibly good-looking.

„The next one, maybe," Ava replied playfully, picking up the cocktail that the bartender had just brought her. The stranger ordered himself something as well.

"I'm Rob," he said. His deep voice sounded appealing to Ava and she could pick out a British accent that made her knees go weak.

"Ava," she smiled at him and took a sip of her cocktail without breaking eye contact. This was exactly what she needed right now, a harmless, innocuous flirtation with someone who wouldn't ask her a thousand questions as if she were being interrogated.

"Pleased to meet you, Ava. What's such an attractive young lady doing at the bar all by herself?" The corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

She took her time with her answer and took another sip of her drink. She let her eyes wander around the room, towards the seating areas where she had spent the evening with James on her last visit to this club.

James! A familiar pair of eyes stared in her direction. He was here! Her heart began to beat faster with excitement. His eyes found hers and they stared at each other before he averted his gaze again. He looked incredibly handsome in his suit and shiny loafers that exposed more of his legs. God, he has incredibly attractive calves, Ava thought.

Her eyes fell on the group of men standing around James. They seemed engrossed in serious conversation. Two of the men were almost exactly as muscular as James, while the third man just seemed incredibly fat. The fatter man yelled at James, who tried to calm him down. What was going on? Did James perhaps work here?

She still had her eyes on him when his eyes found hers again. He quickly turned away and led the men determinately through a side door. Why hadn't he said hello to Ava? First he kissed her and now she wasn't even worth saying hello to? And what kind of men was he with?

"Are you alright, love?" Rob asked, bringing her back from her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah sorry. Do you wanna dance?" Ava just wanted to forget about James. She felt like a foolish little girl and she didn't want to feel that way.

"Sure," Rob beamed at her. She downed the rest of her cocktail and then accepted his outstretched hand leading her onto the dance floor. His touch didn't ignite the fire that James' touch did. Shut up already!, Ava screamed at her subconscious. She just wanted to enjoy the evening.

To her surprise, Ava was enjoying dancing with Rob. He had his hands on her hips and she was moving to the beat of the music. He kept his eyes on her at all times and she caught his gaze lingering on her cleavage a few times, but it didn't bother her much. She liked feeling wanted, even if she wished she was dancing with James and not Rob.

After the third song, she put her arms around his neck, more as a rest for her exhausted arms than an obvious flirting attempt. Her eyes roamed over the dancing crowd. For the third time that night, her eyes found James'. He was standing at the edge of the dance floor and had his gaze fixed stubbornly on Ava. She could see that his face was tense, almost angry. What did that mean? He could hardly have a problem with Ava dancing closely with a guy. The very thought of it seemed ridiculous to her. James had ended their kiss abruptly, he didn't even think it necessary to say hello to her, so there was no way he could be jealous. Yet he continued to stare at her, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Ava wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or just her frustration at James' dismissive nature, but she suddenly felt brave.

"Will you excuse me for a moment?" she disengaged her arms from Rob, who looked at her confused but nodded. Determinedly, she walked towards James, her eyes fixed firmly on him. He looked at her as well. She had almost reached him when he simply turned around and disappeared through the same side door as before. Ava stopped abruptly. She felt so stupid, now he was running away from her. What was that all about?

She turned on her heel, pissed off. She wanted to find Rob and stick her tongue down his throat just to forget about that arrogant bastard James. Why was he first making out with her like crazy in the car, only to blow her off?

She scanned the dance floor for Rob and saw him dancing with a busty blonde. Great, two rejections in one night, Ava thought to herself. Her mood was in the dumps by now and all she wanted to do was get home, slip out of that tight dress, kick off her uncomfortable heels and watch Law & Order comfortably in her bed.

"Hey Ava, where have you been?" Natasha came rushing up to Ava, breathing heavily, and put an arm around her. She seemed full of euphoria and exuberance.

"Can we go? I don't feel so good," Ava replied and Natasha's smile faded into concern.

"Yeah, sure, I'll let Steve know."

The drive home seemed like forever to Ava and she was glad when Steve finally stopped in front of her building.

"Thanks for driving me home. I hope I didn't ruin your evening," Ava felt bad. She knew what power Natasha had when it came to dancing. She was literally impossible to get off the dance floor.

"Oh nonsense, we both have to get up early tomorrow, so it was good to get going on time. Get a good rest sweetie," Natasha had turned to her and was smiling at her.

"It was good to see you again." Steve looked at her through the rear view mirror with his warm eyes.

Ava got out of the car und waited for Steve and Natasha to drive away. She climbed the steps to her building and was about to put the key in.

"Finished dancing?" Ava recognised the voice immediately. What the hell was James doing here?