A Broken Fate (The Beautiful Fate Series book 2) (4 page)

Chapter 5

Swimming Lesson

The next morning, we went next door to Ari’s parent’s house, the sun was shining brightly and the air was nice and warm. Ari unloaded all of the gifts for Lauren’s birthday in a pile in Aggie’s kitchen. Lauren’s eyes grew wide when she saw the surfboard with a great big purple ribbon wrapped around it.

“Oh, my gosh,” she squealed. “Please tell me that
’s mine!”

“Happy birthday!”
Ari laughed and Lauren ran across the kitchen and threw her arms around him.

“Thank you so much; I love it! Can we please go out today? Please?”

Ari scratched the back of his head, “Uhh, I don’t know, Lauren.” He looked over at me questioningly and I could tell he was torn about leaving my side. Sheer disappointment showed on Lauren’s face.

“Don
’t be ridiculous, Ari; of course you’ll go,” I spoke up before he could make any excuses.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, absolutely. I’ll be out in a little bit to sit on the beach and fulfill my role as a gaper.”

He stared at me
for a minute in thought, “are you sure?” he asked again.

“She said yes, now let
’s go!” Lauren whined before I could respond.

I smiled and Ari kissed me softly and left to get his board.

Sitting down at the kitchen island, I watched Aggie make Lauren’s birthday cake. The house cleared out quickly as soon as the others found out that Ari and Lauren were going surfing. Even Andy joined in on their fun.

“So, Ava,” Aggie started. “Were you able to find the
‘ribbon drawer?” She smiled a huge smile.

“Yes. That closet
’s a bit over the top don’t you think?”

“Only a bit. Didn
’t Ari show you around your own home?”

I frowned. “Yes, Aggie he did. I just don
’t remember everything.”

“Oh.” Aggie
’s face fell and her shoulders dropped. “Right, Ava, I am sorry, Baby.”

“It is to
tally fine, Aggie. No worries; it was just a silly room - I forgot it was there. No big deal.”

She turned serious.

“How is everything? How are you feeling?”

“I feel okay,” I answered. I didn
’t want to go into detail or mention anything about the glasses of water, and I am sure she understood.

“Are you sure? Ari told me about yesterday and some of the people snapping pictures of you.”

“Yeah.” I tried to brush her off.

“That will blow over; j
ust lay low for a bit.”

“Yeah, yeah. You are right. I will.”

She could tell I didn’t feel like talking any further on the subject of my kidnapping or of the aftermath.

“We haven
’t really talked since the wedding... how is married life?”

Grinning, I
fidgeted with my ring. “Good.”

“Oh, come on!” Aggie laughed as she threw her dishtowel down on the counter.

“Is that all you’re going to give me? ‘Good?” She mocked. “You know I want details.”

“Aggie, first of all, Ari is your son, so gross, no, I will not give you details. Secondly, you know I don
’t like to talk about that kind of stuff. I think we may need to set up some boundaries.”

She rolled her eyes at me and
we both said “whatever” at the same time.

“AH!” Aggie hollered, startling me and I jumped a bit in my seat. Before I could ask her what was wrong she quickly and excitedly said, “Piase Kokkino. Say it, Ava, say it!”

“What?” I laughed aloud at her silly behavior.

“Say it! Piase Kokkino!”

“No! Why?”

“When two people say the same thing at the same time they each say ‘piase kokkino’ and then touch something red.”

“Why?”

“Saying the same thing is an omen, we will get in to a fight or an argument if we don’t touch something red! It’s Greek tradition.
Here!” She pointed to a red magnet on the refrigerator, “touch this.”

“You are a nut, Aggie.
I am going to lie out on the beach. Call me if you need me,” I gave her a quick hug to show her I love her.

“You aren’t going to touch red?” She looked at me with a frown.

“Nope.” I answered as I pulled off the clothes I was wearing over my bikini, grabbed a towel and walked to the beach. Nick, Rory, Ari, Andy, Thais and Lauren were splashing around out past the breakers and Julia was stretched out on a towel on the sand.

“Hey,” I said, “mind if I join you?”

“Hi, girl, not at all,” Julia said enthusiastically. She must have been really bored to be so happy to see me.

“So…” I
racked my brain for a normal conversation to have with her.

“How are things going with Rory?”

“Really good, actually; it’s funny how hung up I was on Ari when we first met. I can’t believe I overlooked Rory for even a second; clearly he’s perfect.”

“Clearly,” only a tiny tad of sarcasm
crept into my tone. Julia missed the sarcasm and I was glad.

“Rory is great,” I said, this time in all honestly. “I
’m glad things are working out for you.”

“Me too! I really love him. And we are moving up to L.A
. in a few days for school. I found a great apartment on campus. I am looking forward to having some alone-time together.” She smiled. “How about you – how is married life?”

“Everything is super,” I replied, hoping she would leave it at that.

Julia rolled over and sat up. She had a crafty look on her face.

“So dish - how was the wedding night?”

I let out a nervous laugh.

“It was good.”

“Oh, come off it, Ava; I know it was more than good, don’t give me that. I heard it was brilliant,” he words rolled off her tongue in her perfect little English accent while pointing nonchalantly to the corner of her bottom lip right where Ari’s scar was.

My jaw slid open, “h
ow would you know that, Julia?”

“Uh, Rory, duh!”

“Rory? How would Rory know anything?”

“Oh, Ava, please. You know Rory and Ari put on this big front that they could
n’t care less about each other, but the truth is they tell each other everything. Just look at them out there carrying on like two eight-year-old boys.”

T
he two of them splashed and dunked each other in the waves. I was mad, mad at Ari. I resolved to talk to him about this later. So little in my life is private anymore, the least he could do is keep our intimacy private and between the two of us. Julia kept talking and soon after, my anger receded and I let the warm sun ease some of my tension away.

Ari sauntered up the beach a little while later. He took a seat next to my towel.

“Come swim with me.”

“No thanks. I watched you swimming with Rory; I
’ll pass.”

Ari ran his hand through his wet hair.

“I promise I won’t let you go,” he said very fast while reaching for me.

“Ari!” I screamed but before I could protest any more than that, he scooped me up
cradling me in his arms and took off down the beach in a dead sprint. I hadn’t realized just how fast a runner Ari is. He reached the water in seconds and once his body hit the waves, he wrapped my legs around his waist and held me like a child on his hip, as he got in deeper and deeper. I wrapped myself around him like a constrictor and shoved my face in the crook between his neck and shoulder.

Ari moved his arm up my back and tilted my chin up with his finger to look me in the eye. He smiled a reassuring smile. The water this close to shore was warm and calm. The waves were gentle and had a lazy way about them.

Not able to suppress my grin any longer, I smiled so hard it hurt my cheeks.

“Fun, right?” Ari said with his boyish charm and I nodded eagerly.

He threw his head back and laughed aloud. “I knew you would like this!”

I
’ll admit that I was not scared in Ari’s arms and I laughed with glee as he kissed my neck and tickled me with his lips.

Ari did just as he promised and did not let me go. The salty waves rolled all around us. He had his arms wrapped around me and kissed me as if we had never kissed before. Despite the cool breeze chilling my wet skin, my body begin to heat up
and tingle. I closed my eyes and tightened myself even closer around his body.

“Yuck,” Lauren yelled, “I can tell you aren
’t going to be any fun anymore; I’m going in.”

A smile spread across Ari
’s face and he loosened his grip for just a second to wave Lauren off, then went right back to kissing me.

The beach cleared out almost as though on cue, and only Ari and I remained. Ari looked around and noticed that we were alone. His grin turned mischievous. I let out a giggle when he pulled the strings on the bottom half of my bikini, letting it come loose.

“Oh, Ava,” he murmured, “music to my ears.” He walked with me through the water back towards the shore and lay me down in the wet sand. We were just far enough out that the waves would rush up my legs then trickle away only to come right back again. Ari kept pace with the sea and my fear of the water mixed with the pleasure of Ari was unlike anything I had ever felt before. My fingers dug into his hair and his fingers dug into the wet sand. I let out a moan then put my mouth on his strong shoulder again and bit down on him to muffle my screams.

“Damn, Ava, I love it when you bite me, but I want to hear you, too.”

My stomach flipped when he said this. Ari can say the sexiest things some times. I was no match for him. I looked away from his face, played with my hair and tucked a strand behind my ear.

“Baby, it
’s me. Hearing your moans and your giggles, feeling your nails and your teeth in my skin -- it’s enough to unman me -- I lose control every time. I love watching your little toes curl with pleasure. I want to hear your pleasure, too.”

I blinked at him, unable to respond.

Ari picked me and my discarded swimsuit up in his arms. He headed back to our house so we could clean up before Lauren’s birthday dinner. In the bathroom, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was healing. My eyes were no longer sunken and shrouded in dark circles. My cheeks were full again and between the sun and the blush Ari had just put on them with his conversation, they had taken on a rosy sheen. I looked forward to the dinner, to spending time with all of the people I love...and to laughing with them once again.

We got back to Aggie and Andy
’s in time to join everyone at the dinner table. The table was filled with family, fun, and lighthearted conversation, just as I had hoped. The day had made me feel like me again; it helped me forget about my troubles for a while. The only thing that was missing was August.

I had talked with him earlier in the week. He was doing well. He insisted that we speak in French and the effort made my head hurt, so I didn
’t stay on the phone for long.

After dinner, Ari and I helped Aggie clean up the kitchen and then we all gathered around the big kitchen island to sing happy birthday to Lauren. The cake was two layers and covered in purple icing. It was decked out with sixteen glittery, pink candles. Andy pulled out a silver zippo lighter to light them. At the sight of the lighter, I instantly froze. Fear and pain lodged in the pit o
f my stomach. My head pounded, my heart raced and my hands trembled. My knees were weak and bile rose in my throat. Images of my fingertips blistering and melting away flashed before my eyes. I saw No. 6’s sadistic smile and heard his evil laugh. My own screams echoed in my ears as my anxiety level mounted. I looked at my hand, then back at the lighter.

“Dad,” Ari shouted, “Dad, stop. Dad, for Christ
’s sake, put the damn lighter away now!”

The entire party turned to look at us and finally Andy dropped the lighter to the counter top. It came down with a clatter against the hard marble.

“Oh, my God,” was once again the only thing that would come out of my mouth. Ari grabbed me by my arm and pulled me through the kitchen and out the back door. He sat me on a deck chair and went to his knees, in-between my legs. Putting my face in his hands, he looked up at me in the eyes.

“Ava, breathe, it
’s ok. It will never happen to you again, I promise. Ava, I love you so much; just please breathe. Everything will be okay.”

It took me much longer to get over this flash
back than the first one. Horrorstruck, I kept looking down at my hand to make sure the flesh wasn’t melting from my bones.

Once I began to calm down, I put my hand on Ari
’s face. He held my fingers to his lips and kissed each fingertip over and over again.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked softly.

“Kind of, but I don’t want to hurt Lauren’s feelings.”

“I
’m sure she’ll get over it once she sees what’s waiting for her in the garage.”