12. 12
By the time Ava walked out of the bank Tuesday evening, she’d made up her mind. She had no intention of walking away from Cowboy. Even if he did keep calling himself a ‘dirty biker.’ She hated that phrase.
Had he meant that he had a dirty job? She couldn’t imagine that designing and building custom bikes was any cleaner than being a mechanic. Not that she cared. He worked, who cared what the job was? Had he meant something else? She didn’t know but she wasn’t going to ask because she hated that phrase and the next time he used it she would tell him so.
Now she had to gather the nerve to call Cowboy and tell him what she’d decided. But not just yet. Now she was going to dinner with Belinda. Aaron had been called out of town this morning and when Belinda had called asking Ava out, she’d jumped at the chance to get to know her sister-in-law better.
No small part of it was that she was looking forward to a girls’ night. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had girlfriends to go hang out with.
In her car, she started the engine, and turned on the AC, then pulled out her phone to check for any messages from Belinda before heading home to change. There was nothing from Belinda, but there was one from Cowboy.
Cowboy: What are your plans for tonight?
Ava didn’t see any reason not to tell him.
Ava: Dinner with my sister-in-law. Aaron had to go out of town.
She finished typing her message and hit send, then set her phone aside and put the car in gear. She needed to get home and change if she was going to meet Belinda on time.
After she’d gotten ready for dinner, she checked her messages again. This time there was one from Belinda, but she skipped it to read the one from Cowboy first
Cowboy: Have fun.
Disappointment zinged through her. She didn’t know what she’d hoped for, but it was more than that. Checking the message from Belinda, she found the name and address of the restaurant they would be meeting at for dinner.
Ava didn’t yet know how to respond to Cowboy, so she didn’t. Instead, she sent a message to Belinda letting her know she would be there soon, squared her shoulders and left for the restaurant.
“Tell me about your date. Who was it with, how did it go?” Belinda’s eyes lit with excitement and curiosity as she turned to Ava. They’d already placed their orders, now had nothing to do but wait, and chat.
Ava’s face heated. She’d suspected Belinda would be asking but she hadn’t been expecting this much excitement or interest.
“It was good.” She didn’t know what else to say.
“Who is he? Where did you go? What did you do? Did you get laid?”
Ava’s face flamed. “His name is Cowboy. We had talked about a movie, but there was nothing interesting playing locally, so he asked if I wanted to go to Billings or find something else to do… I suggested we go bowling.”
“Bowling?” Belinda crinkled her nose.
“You should try it sometime. It’s more fun than you’d think. You don’t have to keep a running conversation because you take turns. And you get to see what kind of sport he is. How he plays and how he takes not being the best at everything, unless he bowls all the time. Because without regular practice, no one bowls well.”
“Valid points and smart too. Plus, it’s public and well lit, in case they turn out to be a creep.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, how did bowling go?”
“Really well. I had a lot of fun and I’m sure he did too.”
“Fun. I’m still stuck on fun bowling.” Belinda laughed.
“Have you ever been bowling?”
“No. It’s such an old folk sport.”
Ava smiled. Belinda wasn’t the first person she’d met to say so. She’d said something similar way back when they’d gone bowling in school, but she’d soon learned otherwise.
“Don’t knock it till you try it.”
“So where did you end up eating?”
“At the bowling alley. The food is pretty good. And we were having fun so why stop and go somewhere else?”
“You could always have taken him home. And don’t say you did, because if you had, you wouldn’t be that bright shade of scarlet. By the way, what kind of name is Cowboy?”
“A nickname. And I tried to take him home or rather I invited him in after he took me home, but he said no. He said,” she fell quiet a moment as she tried to remember exactly what Cowboy had said to her, “he said I wasn’t ready for what I thought I wanted, and he wanted to give me time to be sure. Then he planted what I think might be the hottest kiss I’ve ever experienced on me.”
Belinda blinked a couple times. “Not ready for what you think you wanted? What did he mean by that?”
Ava pulled her mouth to one side. “We’d done a lot of talking and getting to know each other. As much as I try not to talk about Hank, as we’re talking small bits come out.”
“Like?”
“Like that I was married young, only recently divorced, a very brief bit about how I ended up divorced.”
“Oh god. You didn’t tell him that bit about slipping her the holy ghost did you?” Belinda’s face turned red as she looked at Ava horrified at the idea.
“No,” Ava laughed, “but he would find it as funny as I do. Anyway, he’s kind of protective. He wants to make sure I’m not rushing into anything I’ll regret later or something really reckless that could get me hurt. He said he wanted me to be sure that a dirty old biker was what I really wanted.” Ava shook her head. “I get where he’s coming from. A lot of people get out of a restrictive relationship and go wild.” She wasn’t about to admit how she’d met Cowboy, and that she was one of those people who’d gone wild, or done something really stupid.
“That is sweet, as long as you’re sure he’s not going to be just as controlling and domineering as Hank was. You just got out of that situation. You don’t want to get into another one just like it.”
“I’m sure. He’s doing something I don’t think I remember Hank doing ever. Not even when we were first married or even dating. He asks what I want.” They paused as the waitress brought their food, noticed they needed new drinks, and disappeared.
“That’s good. As long as it’s not just an act to reel you in, then he’ll turn into that domineering kind of guy.”
“I guess it’s possible, but I really don’t think so. He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.”
“Your date was two days ago, when he refused to come into your place with you. Have you heard from him since?”
“Yeah. We’ve been texting every day.”
Belinda’s brows shot up. “Every day?” The waitress came back with new drinks for each of them, then left them to eat.
Ava nodded. “Every day. Not long, drawn out conversations but checking on me, asking what my plans are for the evening.”
They ate in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. After a while Belinda spoke again.
“Wait, you said biker. Have you ever even been on a motorcycle?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have.” Ava gave her sister-in-law a superior look, though she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face for long.
Belinda’s eyes went wide. “You have? When?”
“Cowboy took me for a ride when we went out the other night.” She couldn’t help but grin at the look of shock on Belinda’s face.
“You got on the back of a bike with a stranger. Did you even know anything about him?”
“I knew he was a good guy.”
“How?”
Ava shrugged. “I just knew.” She wasn’t telling Belinda about her night at the bar. Her sister-in-law would tell Aaron then Ava would never hear the end of it. “We had a good time, and we’ve been talking. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again soon.”
“How much of him do you plan on seeing?”
Ava bit her lip, then looked up and met Belinda’s gaze. “All of him, if I can talk him into it.” She couldn’t help the laugh that burst free. “But seriously. I like him. A lot. If he wants a fling, I’ll take it. If he’s willing to go for more, I’m willing to see how far things go.”
“But he’s so different from Hank.”
“That’s exactly my point. I’m not looking for another great love to last the rest of my life. I’m looking to live life. To experience it, not just watch it go by. Even if that means a series of shorter relationships. If Cowboy can do that with me for a while, I’ll take it. If he’s not interested, someone else will be, or I can do it on my own for a while. I’ve learned that while someone to share life with is great, it’s not necessary. I can have a lot of fun on my own,” Ava said with a shrug.
She hoped she sounded more nonchalant than she felt about it. She liked Cowboy a lot. She didn’t want to think about how badly it would hurt if he walked away.