My fighter Man

21

Brad McCarthy

"Man, are you going inside?" Axel asked. Jasmine, his fiancee, was standing beside him. I gave her a small smile and a nod. She smiled back while Axel walked toward me.

"Yeah."

"We will be back soon. Jasmine needs to go to the store," Axel said.

"Sure, drive safe." Axel and Jasmine leave. I went to the backyard and watched everyone.

Celeb is rolling his eyes at his mum. Some were dancing with their beer bottles while some were watching drunken friends dance.

Our close friends and Vincent's relatives were lounging as tomorrow is the wedding day. Ava is with her mother helping out with some last-minute gifts which they missed out on.

"Brad!" I turned my head to see Vincent walking over to me.

"Everything okay?" Vincent asked. I know he is nervous about his wedding. He placed his hand on my shoulder as he looked into my eyes worriedly. "You wanted to talk with me?"

"Everything is okay, I just wanted to talk about something important," I said timidly. I'm nervous, I can feel the rise in my heartbeat.

"We can talk in my dad's study room. It is the only room empty." He turned towards the hallway. I had no idea how he was going to react.

"Where are you two going?" Celeb asked, stopping us. I took the wine glass he was holding.

"Nothing, man, just some work. Will be back," Vincent said.

"Okay." Celeb gave a suspicious look at me but didn't say anything.

I slurped down the wine, placing it on the table. We entered the room and Vincent locked the room. Vincent patiently waited for me to speak.

"Brad? Is something wrong? You can tell me, man. I'm here for you."

"No, hmm." I took a deep breath, it was harder than I thought it would be.

"Vincent, I—I like someone." His expression changed and a wide smile spread over his lips.

"That's amazing bro! I'm happy for you. Who is she?" He came over, hugged me and gave my back a pat. "It's time you saw someone. But who is she? Do we know her?" There was a minute of silence.

"Bro, it's okay if you are not ready to talk about her. I understand and you don't have to bother about it." I shook my head, knowing I had to tell him.

"It—it's Ava, I promise to take care of her. I'm not joking about my feelings for Ava. I really like her. I spent so many months thinking about it before I decided to ask her out. I know I haven't told you but I have waited to know if she likes me or not. I'm sure Ava likes me too. " I spoke in one breath. He blinked his eyes in wild shock. I waited for him to talk.

"Ava?" he asked.

"Yes."

"My sister Ava?" he asks with a weary expression.

"Yes, Ava Morris," I spoke, holding my hands together. He just looked at me in shock. I waited for him to utter something but all he did was look at me and pace back and forth. Minutes passed...

"Wow! That's—that's shocking news..." He breathed out and looked at me. "Well, are you informing me or?"

"I'm asking for permission." He paced towards me with a serious face. I was expecting a punch when I received a hug from him.

"I'm happy bro, you are a good person and I trust you." I was too shaken to respond. A chuckle left his mouth. "Out of all the women, Ava? Wow, I'm pretty shaken up now."