The Cunningham's and the Montgomery's have since long been feuding with one another. Dating decades back, the two families separate advertising companies in New York City have been competing to win over the most clients and become the most acclaimed...
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"AVA," I whispered, gently nudging her sleeping shoulder. "Ava, wake up." I was trying not to be too harsh. Was it bad to wake up someone who was sleeping so peacefully? Would she punch me if I yelled at her to wake up? Definitely would be a bad idea to use Matteo's water bucket method on her...
Ava grumbled into her pillow. Super cute, by the way. She pouted when she slept and her eyes were softly shut as she grasped one pillow into her chest. We hadn't shared the bed last night because she'd gone to bed before we could talk about it. She was exhausted after we caught the sunset on the edge of the lake, and I stayed up with Matteo, Will, and Maverick to be idiots in the pool. I wanted to sleep beside Ava but I didn't know if that was okay, you know? And usually, I would have just done it anyway. But things were different with Ava. I didn't want to risk anything.
So I slept in the same room as Nic and Butler (there were 2 beds), and Nic complained the entire time. But I cozied up to him because I was the older brother, which meant I was better. Obviously. Even though we weren't on the best terms, I wasn't going to let that get in the way of my shut eye.
"Go away, stupid head," Ava muttered under her breath.
I scoffed. "Did you just call me stupid head?"
Ava's eyes cracked open and caught mine, but she quickly shut them again. "Yes," she said quietly, a hint of a smile on her face. Her hand reached out and I took it in mine, kissing her open palm.
"I made coffee and Butler, surprisingly, made breakfast. Hash brown casserole, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs," I told her and she nodded. I leaned down to kiss her forehead before pulling away. "I'll wait for you outside on the dock if you want to eat with me. Unless you don't want to hang out with the stupid head."
"I like the stupid head," she muttered.
I laughed. "Yeah. You love the stupid head."
I left the room and went back downstairs, grabbing my plate of food and the coffee Matteo had put together for me. For some reason, he was just so good at making my coffee the way I liked it. And then I went outside and made my way down to the dock by the lake, sitting down to eat. I already loved it here. It felt like a home away from home. And because it was such a special place to Ava, and so much of Ava was a part of this house, I loved it even more.
I ate and the light breeze brushed past me. It was cooler today, but the sun was still out and it was beautiful outside. The lake glistened and the trees gently blew along with the wind. I could hear the others chatting from inside the house as the doors opened and closed again. Footsteps were on the dock and seconds later, Ava was sitting beside me, her arm brushing against mine.
"Hi stupid head," she said jokingly. She looked more awake now. Still beautiful. Excruciatingly.
"Oh hey. That's me. Stupid head," I said and Ava kissed my cheek. "You know, you're whiny when you first wake up."
