“Mmm,” I blinked, waking up tangled in Ari’s arms, “I love your bed.”
“I love the girl that’s in my bed.”
I tilted my head up and kissed Ari on the lips and replied, “I love you. I love telling you that I love you.”
“Me too.”
The week did pass by more peacefully than usual without Rory walking in uninvited and unannounced. I had no bad dreams. Ari and I woke up later and later each day, wrapped up tight in one another’s grasps, which caused me to greet Rory outside for our run later and later.
“I’m gonna leave you if you’re late like this again, Ava,” he sighed, as I showed up an hour after our usual time.
“Lighten up, Rory,” I poked at his rib cage. “Just think, you could sleep in, you don’t have to hear Ari call you an idiot all the time, and you get two free tickets to the best show all year. By the way, is Julia really going?”
“Um, yeah, I hope that’s cool. We’ve been hanging out together a lot lately.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s great. I’m glad to hear it.”
“Have you regretted not having me around to save you from yourself?”
“Rory, if you’re asking if I am still a virgin, then the answer is yes,” I snapped and pushed off on my feet leaving him behind.
“Hey,” he was at my side in a split-second, “I wasn’t trying to intrude on your privacy. Sorry. If it means anything to you, I am one too; a virgin that is.”
I nearly tripped over my own two feet; I had no idea how to respond to Rory’s confession. Topics like sex make me uncomfortable, but the Alexanders talk about sex as though it’s the weather – without an ounce of self-consciousness. I will never get used to it. Their conversations always turn south when I’m around; I think it’s because they enjoy watching me squirm and blush.
“Just please don’t tell anyone,” he begged.
“Rory, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. . . it’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
We finished the rest of the run in silence, and when we got back to the house, Rory stood on the beach and watched as the tide changed.
“K,” I interrupted his concentration, “I’m not running tomorrow, so I’ll just see you tomorrow night, I guess.”
“Right ya, bye.”
I headed to the shower and cleaned up, and when I got out, I heard a ton of screaming and yelling. I padded my way down to Ari’s room to be sure everything was ok. Ari was sitting in his chair reading a tattered copy of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. There was a coffee stain on the front cover and several dog-eared pages. Ari looked up at me from over his reading glasses and smiled.
“What’s going on out there?” I nodded my head in the direction of the fighting.
“Lauren got caught sneaking out of the house to meet some friends last night. As far as I can tell from what I have heard, she’s grounded indefinitely and isn’t even going to be allowed to go to town tomorrow for the New Year’s party. She is taking her punishment pretty hard. I guess she’ll be the only one home tomorrow night.”
“Bummer. She should know better than to go sneaking behind Aggie’s back.”
“Ha,” Ari laughed, as I crawled onto his lap to read with him.