FIRE | H.S.

Chapter 11

"Hey girl," Charles greets me when I get to the restaurant. He and Aurora wanted to have lunch outside of the spas, I don't blame them. We spend most of the week inside the spa and it can get boring as hell to have lunch in the office every day.

"Hi, sorry I'm late. I had to go buy some things before." I give Charles and Aurora a hug, then take a seat.

I don't know why they decided to sit outside. It's so damn hot today. So hot that as soon as you step outside you feel like someone punched the air out of your lungs and you start hella sweating and your clothes stick to your body and you feel sweat dripping down your back and your underboobs start pouring sweat. It's just sweat all around, all over the place.

"Girl, three minutes after the time we agreed is not late," Aurora rolls her eyes.

"It is to me, you know I'm a punctual person and if you tell me we're meeting at 12 o'clock, I'll be there at 12 o'clock," I say, hanging my purse on the chair.

"Except today," Charles smiles.

A waiter walks up to our table and takes our drink order. Aurora and Charles order mimosas and I order lemonade. They groan and tell me to get a mimosa and I tell them I'm driving. "We're all driving, girl. It's not like we're gonna get shit-faced," Aurora states.

"Yeah, but I'm picking up a four-year-old and driving home," I respond.

"She has a point," Charles agrees. "Ava, are you alright? You look like shit."

"How come you're always saying that to me?" I roll my eyes. The waiter comes back with our drinks and asks if we're ready to order. Aurora asks for a few more minutes and he smiles and winks at her before letting us know he'll be back later.

"Haven't been sleeping much, have you?" Aurora asks, taking a sip of her mimosa.

I sigh. "No. This week I've had nightmares every single night. In total, I think I've only had about six hours of sleep."

"Oh, honey," Charles reaches over and rubs my arm. "Is there something we can do to help?"

I shake my head. "Thank you, though." We look over our menus and give the waiter our order when he comes back.

"So, how's it going with the hot fireman and his adorable kid?" Charles changes the subject.

"Good. Normal. How else should it go?" I ask.

"And how's it going with Evan?" Aurora asks.

"Pretty good. His students have a game tomorrow morning and he asked me to come," I smile at them.

"What kind of game? Football?" Charles questions and I nod. "Girl, you don't even like football."

"I know but I couldn't say no. He asked me so many times and I said yes because he said it would mean a lot for him."

They keep throwing questions at me about Evan, about Harry, and about Leilani. It feels like I'm being interrogated. But I can't blame them, all friends do this. Right? The waiter comes back with our food and when he places Aurora's plate in front of her, he looks her in the eyes and says "enjoy" in a deep voice. Aurora blushes and thanks him, batting her lashes at him. Once the waiter leaves, we start teasing her in high-pitched voices and she tells us to shut the fuck up or she'll stab us with her fork. Such a sweet girl she is.

By the time we are done with our food, the waiter comes back and asks if we'd like dessert. More like, if Aurora would like dessert. "We're good," Charles and I say in unison.

"What about you, Miss?" he turns to Aurora, who bites her lip to keep herself from smiling.

"I'll have the lava cake, please." He nods, smiles, then walks away. Aurora lets out a deep breath and shakes her head. "I don't even want dessert!" she groans quietly.