Thawing Ava by Selena Illyria

Author:Selena Illyria
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Multicultural, Contemporary, Holidays
ISBN: 9781623006594
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Published: 2013-08-22T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Ava’s heart tried to tattoo itself against her rib cage as the seconds ticked by. What had happened in the elevator and in the truck hadn’t soothed her. She found her arousal had amplified and refused to cool off, not even after a lukewarm shower. So now she just paced. The pizza arrived, but she’d barely touched it. Her tummy kept flipping. Food didn’t seem like a good idea. She’d thought of going out and getting some more Christmas decorations. Her stomach growled, and the acid of hunger churned in her gut, but she couldn’t bring herself to dive into the chicken and veggie specialty pizza that Brice favored according to the pizzeria. At least he kept to the health trend. She broke off a bit of the pizza crust and popped it into her mouth. Garlic, butter, salt, pepper, and cayenne with the sweetness of the crust burst on her tongue. She picked up a slice of pizza and studied the space as she ate. His apartment was bare, no indication that a holiday was in full progress. She mentally planned out how she’d use the tinsel and the lights. The loft needed some sparkle, as did the banister and the mantel over the fireplace. Ava wouldn’t go so far as to decorate the TV or bookshelves.

As she looked around, she flashed back to their Christmastime in college. The frat house had been bare too. Since no one was going to be there, they didn’t think it would matter to decorate or not. She hadn’t done much since the stores hadn’t had a lot left over. There also had been only slim pickings in the tree department. A Charlie Brown-style plastic number whose fake pine needles kept falling onto the tabletop. Brice had been amused—thank goodness—but she wasn’t sure if he’d want a real tree, one that was put together, or something small as a reminder of their time together. As she finished off her slice, she glanced at the clock again. Maybe we need dessert. She thought of making a devil’s food peppermint ice-cream cake.

With no timeline, she knew it couldn’t set properly if he came home early. Her mother would be making white chocolate spearmint mousse pie. Lightly sweet and minty, the perfect complement to the huge turkey dinner she made every year. Sadly, last year, Ava spent Christmas with Perry and his snobbish family. She’d been miserable. This year would be different. Would Brice’s parents be in town? She hadn’t asked him his holiday plans. The Prowlers had a game the day after Christmas. She’d thought of calling Brice’s parents, but wasn’t sure that would be a good idea. She didn’t want to pry too much and pick at a wound that may not have healed.

Brice seemed to know her really well. She, on the other hand, knew nothing about him. Well, almost nothing. There were the basics. Did that really count? Do I really want to know more about him? Once this is over,

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