Ava knows who Jimmy O'Brien is - her first love and soulmate. Forced to spend time apart, Ava and Jim deal with their trust issues and insecurities.
When the lovers finally reunite and resolve to fight for each other, their fragile happiness is put...
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January
I sat at my usual table at the Grill&Chill, observing the few people having late lunch. Judging by their attires, they were office workers from one of the business centers nearby.
The guy who strolled into the restaurant a minute later was wearing a hoodie and a pair of faded jeans. When he was next to my table, I smiled, rising to my feet. "Little fucker."
"Hi." Brian gave me a hug and sat, groaning as he rotated his shoulders.
"Tough day?" I asked.
"Too much time studying. And I'm pretty sure I bombed the quiz in spite of it. But well, I didn't come here to whine. How are you?"
"Swamped. Three shows last week, two interviews this morning, a rehearsal tomorrow. Let's order?"
Brian consented with a nod, and I signaled for John, the waiter I knew, to come up to our table. Both Brian and I asked for some salads and water.
When John hid from view, I focused my gaze on my brother's face. "Are you sure you don't need money?"
"You helped me with my apartment already. I have enough, Jim."
Buying and renovating his place drained Brian's savings, and although I lent him a hand with stuff like the kitchen and the bathroom, it was a tiny drop in the ocean of expenses. I understood why he wanted to do things on his own, partly because we were similar that way, but my degree didn't use to be as demanding as my brother's, and playing gigs didn't impact my grades negatively.
Brian rolled his eyes. "Jim, seriously. Chill. We were going to talk about Pops, anyway."
Our parents got back together a while ago. Dad wanted to give Mom a ring and renew their vows, and we promised to help him choose it.
John brought our order. Once he left, I forked a piece of avocado, nodding. "I know places. One's especially cool because they sell custom-made rings."
A smug smirk slid onto Brian's lips. "And you know that because..."
I poured water into my glass and set the bottle aside. "Because I'm not one to half-ass things, and I'd rather not fuck it up when the time comes."
Did I think about it? I did. Often. I didn't know how long I'd go without taking the next step because when it came to Ava, patience wasn't my strong suit. But now that Alan proposed, it made sense to wait.
"You've been together for a while," Brian said, chewing. "And you have your shit figured out."
"So do you."
He snorted. "As if. Just when I thought I had it under control, stuff got harder. And it's not even medical school yet."
"You've got this, little fucker. It always gets harder before it gets easier. About Dad, he said he'd come here in a few weeks. I thought maybe we could have a night out. He'd stay at our condo."
