Hot Chocolate and You

7. Hot Chocolate.

"How is it that you make the best hot chocolate I've ever had?" Ava asks, sipping from her mug and I bite into a s'more.

"Hot chocolate is my biggest weakness." I say and she throws her head back in a fit of laughter.

"You're kidding!" She says, turning to me and I shake my head.

"Nope."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah. I literally can't stay a whole week without it. So I had to learn to make a good, hot chocolate." I say, watching Ava as she checks her marshmallow.

This was the most I'd seen her comfortable around me. She wasn't cautious about anything and she laughed like she really enjoyed my company.

Even though she was still a little tipsy, she seemed to be enjoying herself.
She's sitting really close next to me, her long legs outstretched over my thighs on the couch and making s'mores endlessly.

"So, why did you suggest s'mores of all things?" I ask her and she turns to me with a small shrug.

"S'mores are my comfort food when I'm feeling down. And it just felt right to have it with you." She says.
Hearing her say those words while wearing my clothes and drinking hot chocolate in apartment, gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

She waves a warm marshmallow in my front and I bite into it, enjoying the warm, creamy taste as Ava takes the rest of the marshmallow off the stick and tosses it into her mouth.

"If your date with Brenda had gone well, is there a chance you would have ended up here with her instead?" She asks suddenly as she looks up at me.

At those words, I abruptly stop chewing on the marshmallow and Ava looks away in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe I just asked that."

"No, it's fine--" I'm saying but she covers her face with both hands.

"That was so embarrassing and uncalled for." She whines.

"Ava--"

"You don't have to tell me anything, Aaron. It's really none of my business." She says.

"First of all, it wasn't a date." I tell her anyway and she looks up at me.

"And even though it did go well, I still wouldn't have brought her here. We just didn't connect like that." I say to Ava and she remains quiet for a while, staring at the fire.

I don't know if I've said the right things or not. I feel the need to say more, but--

"Seeing you guys together, talking....made me think of prom. It kinda reminded me of..." she trails off now as she turns away from the fire and our gazes meet.

"Of what?" I ask eagerly.
I had been dying to have this conversation with her.
There were so many things I didn't get the chance to explain and I didn't want them to go unsaid.

Ava shakes her head as she grabs a marshmallow and starts roasting it, remaining silent.

"Ava, I..." I take a deep breath,

"I shouldn't have asked Madeline to prom."

"So why did you?" She asks, turning to me and I sigh.

"It was just a stupid dare." I say and she rolls her eyes as she turns back to the fire.

"Of course it was." She mutters and I sigh as I turn a little to face her.

"After you turned me down, I was dared by my teammates to ask the next girl that talks to me to be my prom date. I was already pretty sure every girl had a date so I wasn't bothered. And when Madeline came to me and I asked her, she instantly accepted. But I--"