Ava's Wishes (7 page)

“Who? Megan?” Max responded, looking at Ava strangely. “Well, she’s helpful for sure. I was lucky to find her on such short notice.”

“Yeah, lucky,” Ava said through gritted teeth.
Focus, Ava.

“So how did you do on your problems?” Max asked.

Ava handed the paper over to Max and waited while he looked them over.

“Well?” she asked.

Max smiled. “They’re all correct.”

“Awesome,” she replied. “I really feel like I’m getting the hang of this!”

He pulled out a blank piece of paper, scribbled down a set of numbers and words on it, and slid it back over to Ava.

“What’s this?” she questioned. “More problems?”

“Well, those were pretty basic. Let’s see if you can take it one step further now. You don’t have somewhere to be, do you? A hot date perhaps?” He winked and went back to his own work as Ava sighed.

“No,” Ava replied, grabbing her pencil. Her hot date had unfortunately cancelled on her. She worked through each problem as best she could before handing the paper back over to Max.

He moved the paper behind his pile of books as he looked it over, blocking Ava’s view. All she could see was the expression on his face … his crinkled nose, gritted teeth, and occasional grimaces. He seemed to be taking an excruciatingly long time to look over her work.

“What’s the hold up?” she finally asked. “Either I got them correct or I didn’t. And if I didn’t, I’d like to know already so I can work on getting them right. Time’s ticking here, you know. Less than a week until the exam.”

Max still didn’t respond. He kept his eyes down and his brow furrowed, appearing to be deep in thought.

“Well, I guess that means I got them all wrong. Could I have the paper back so you can help me figure out how to get the right answers? Unless, of course, you have somewhere to be … a hot date perhaps?”

Max finally looked up, smirking. “Actually, Ava, you got them all right.”

“What?” she shrieked. Then, remembering where she was, she lowered her voice back down to a whisper. “What?” she repeated.

“Yup. I have to admit, I can’t quite believe it either. But you did … every one of them. These weren’t easy either. I even threw one in from my advanced class. I think if we just keep practicing these concepts you’re going to be just fine.”

“Oh my God! Oh my God! I can’t believe it!” Ava looked around the room, hoping her voice wasn’t too loud. She leaned in across the table to get closer to Max. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful I am! Suzanne’s been trying to teach me this stuff for like ever! Why didn’t she show me these tricks?”

Smiling, Max raised his eyebrows.

 “How can I repay you? Suzanne was getting twenty dollars an hour. Please, you have to let me pay you.”

“Forget the money,” Max replied, flashing his smile. “How about dinner tonight? Just you and me, somewhere quiet?”

Ava leaned back in her chair. There was the Max she remembered from art class. Suddenly, she felt her wall going back up, despite her earlier jealousy. “What about what you said yesterday, remember?
I can assure you that we will just study from now on
.”

“If it makes you feel better, we can bring the Statistics books with us.” Max grinned.

“I’d rather not, thanks,” Ava replied.

Max shrugged. “Fine then. Listen, I’m guessing you have to eat at some point, and you just said you wanted to pay me for the tutoring session. I’m just suggesting you pay me in food, that’s all … and maybe some company.” Max sat back in his chair and wrapped his fingers behind his head, looking smug.

Ava tilted her head to the side. “Oh, I see. You helped me, and now you want sex.”

“Well, I really just wanted dinner, but if you’re offering sex too—”

“No, I’m not. I was offering twenty dollars an hour,” Ava explained.

“For sex?”

“No!” Ava exclaimed.

Four people at the next table collectively “shushed” Ava.

“Sorry,” she whispered to them.

“Come on, Ava. Let’s just have dinner and talk about something other than statistics. We’ve both been working really hard. We deserve a little break. What do you say?”

“Oh, okay. Besides, the probability that I’ll have sex with you is less than 5% anyway.” Ava smirked and closed up her books. “Do you want to meet at D’Angelos Café at six o’clock?”

“Nice choice. See you there.” Max smiled before swinging his coat over one shoulder. “By the way, you know that means there’s still a 4.99% chance,” he added before disappearing amongst the stacks of books.

Chapter 15

“So, flight school, huh? Have you always wanted to fly?” Ava carefully chewed the grilled chicken from her salad before starting to speak. She wanted to order the pasta, but never ordered spaghetti on a first date. Not that this was a date or anything … although she would be paying the bill, but only to thank Max for tutoring her. Even her thoughts rambled when she was nervous. She pushed the lettuce around on her plate as she waited for Max to respond.

“Yes, always. My parents took me to California when I was three to visit my grandparents. It was the first time I was on an airplane. I thought it was the greatest machine I had ever seen. A five-hour trip, and I couldn’t sit still for any of it. I was too excited.”

“Well, you
were
only three,” Ava reminded Max.

Max ignored her and continued, “One minute you’re on the ground, the next you’re in the air, able to travel to places in just hours that would otherwise take days or weeks to get to—soaring through the clouds, thousands of miles off the ground, moving against gravity at incredible speeds. Completely defying nature. Aerodynamics is fascinating. All it takes is something to be one thousandth of a millimeter off and that plane is nose-diving back down.”

“I gotta say, Max, you’re really not making it sound all that appealing.”

“Oh, I’m just messing with you. It’s actually the safest form of travel. Don’t you like to fly?” Max asked.

“I’ve never been.”

“You’re kidding.” Max laughed. “Really? Never? Wow!” He shook his head, laughing all over again.

Ava took another bite of her salad, trying to decide if she was insulted or not. She chose instead to change the subject. “So nude modeling, huh? You know there
are
other ways to make money.”

Max looked up at Ava, still smiling from his last comment. “Maybe, but the money was good. Besides, I had something nice to look at also.”

Ava felt the heat rushing to her face and wished they were still talking about flying. She once again pushed her lettuce around her plate, pretending to be more interested in her salad than her dinner companion.

“What about you, Ava?” Max continued. “A dual degree in art and business is pretty ambitious. What do you plan to do with that?”

“Well,” Ava began. She looked at Max. He seemed to be sincerely interested in her response. “Short term I’m hoping that the art gallery where I’m interning will offer me a job after graduation ... a paying job that is.”

“And long-term?” Max gazed across the table at Ava.

“Long-term, I’d like to have an art gallery of my own some day.”

Max continued to just stare.

“Sounds dumb, right?” Ava asked.
Great,
she thought.
He’s probably trying to think up some excuse now why he has to cut dinner short.
Ugh. Why did she care?

“No, not at all,” Max said, resting his chin on his hands as his elbows leaned on the table. “I think it sounds perfect.”

“Thanks.”

“There’s another reason I chose to be a nude model, you know,” Max offered.

“You mean besides wanting to show the world your stunning good looks?” Ava glanced at her empty wine glass and wondered if maybe that second glass was too much—especially after the drinking disaster she just had with Thomas.

“Thanks … I think,” Max answered. “Actually, I’m a huge art fan myself. My trip to California when I was three was only the first of many I took as a child. My parents were big into traveling. We traveled the world and stopped at every museum along the way. The art museums were always my favorite.”

Ava wrinkled her forehead and looked at Max in a sideways sort of way. Was this just some ploy to get her more interested in him? “Oh really? And which one was your favorite?”

“Well, I’ve been to so many ... the Louvre in Paris, the National Gallery in London ... then there was the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Vatican Museum in Rome, and of course our own Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.”

Ava sat back in her seat, arms crossed, unimpressed. Okay, so he knew the names of the biggest art museums around the world. Big deal. Most people could rattle off those. He still didn’t answer the question. “So they’re all your favorite?” she asked.

“They’re all amazing. But my favorite? That belongs to the Musée de l’Orangerie.”

“In Paris,” Ava added, now more intrigued by this person sitting across from her. “Interesting choice.”

Max leaned across the table, and Ava swore she saw a sparkle in his eye as he began to talk … well, gush was more like it. “Monet’s paintings there are spectacular ... and enormous, like nothing you will see in any of his other pieces. The rooms where the
Water Lilies
are housed are oval shaped, and the paintings are made up of massive panels set around in the ovals, completely surrounding you. Everywhere you look in the room, you are pulled into his scenery; it is a masterpiece of pure beauty and tranquility. I could sit there for hours.”

“Wow,” Ava replied, feeling her breathing beginning to slow with each of his words.

“You really get a sense of the emotion Monet must have been feeling as he painted his gardens. The way he captured the change in the natural light was just …” Max shuddered slightly and shook his head, as if trying to bring himself back into the present. “Oh, I must sound like a complete dork talking like that about a bunch of paintings … of flowers no less.”

Ava smiled. She suddenly no longer felt the need to be on guard anymore. Even if Max was making it all up, he went through a lot of trouble to learn about Ava’s favorite paintings, by her favorite artist, in her favorite museum. Not that she had ever been there, but given the choice to visit just one museum in the entire world, Ava would choose the Musée de l’Orangerie, hands down. “No, I’ve always wanted to go to Paris and to the Musée de l’Orangerie.”

“I hope one day you get to go,” Max replied. He looked around the restaurant, as if unsure of what to say next. “So, we should probably get going. I’m meeting Megan at 8 a.m. for tutoring.”

“Oh.” Ava wished the mention of her name didn’t have to have such a negative effect on her evening. Max was there with her, tonight, not Megan—she was just a tutor. Of course, Max was just Ava’s tutor also. Did she want more?
Yes. No.
She wasn’t sure. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so focused on my own exam. You’ve spent so much time helping me. I really appreciate it.”

Max signaled for the check when the waitress walked by. “It’s fine. I’m happy to help you. I have my afternoon free tomorrow. Do you want to get in some more study time?”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

Max snatched the check out of the waitress’ hand before Ava could grab it.

“Hey! I’m supposed to pay, remember? To thank you for tutoring?”

“You can get the next one,” Max replied.

“So there’s going to be a next one, huh?” Ava asked playfully.

Max waved the check in front of Ava’s face and smiled. “There is now, but only if you get all of your problems right tomorrow.”

“Oh, I’m going to get them right, don’t you worry. And I’m going to pay for dinner next time, too … got it?”

“Yes, ma’am. You sure are cute when you’re bossy, did you know that? Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

Chapter 16

Ava excused herself to use the restroom before they left. The walk back to Ava’s apartment was only a couple blocks, but Ava needed a few minutes to regroup and get advice. She considered texting Carly, but knew that would probably only end in disaster. Instead, she called Holly.

“Holly? Can you hear me?” Ava asked when she heard the familiar voice pick up. Ava tried to keep her voice down as she wasn’t sure who else, if anyone, was also in the bathroom. D’Angelos Café was a popular Wolfenson College place to eat. Not as popular as The Spot, but definitely more popular than Habaneros.

“Ava? What’s up? You sound like you’re in a tunnel. Is everything okay?” Holly asked.

“I’m in a bathroom stall, and I only have a few minutes. I’m on a date,” Ava explained.

“With that Thomas guy?” Holly asked.

“No, I’m with Max.”

“What happened to Thomas? I thought you were having dinner together tonight? Hold on, who’s Max?” Holly asked, sounding confused.

Ava sighed. “Okay, so Thomas and I were supposed to have a date tonight, but he cancelled. Max is the guy I told you about from art class. You know, the model? It’s a long story, but he’s now tutoring me in statistics.”

“Av, you know that doesn’t make sense even a little bit,” Holly replied.

“I don’t really have time to explain right now, Hol, except we kissed—Max and me. Well Thomas and I kissed, too, but this is about Max. Anyway, we said it shouldn’t have happened – the kiss, I mean, and now he’s tutoring me, and he’s about to walk me home.”

“From your date?” Holly added.

 “Yes. I think. I offered to buy Max dinner to thank him for tutoring me because he wouldn’t let me give him money. Except he grabbed the check before I could, and he wound up paying it.”

 “Geez, Av, you really took that
I’m going to stay man-free so I can focus on finals
advice to heart, didn’t you?” Holly teased.

“Hol, I need advice, not mocking. I like both of them, Thomas and Max. What should I do?”

“Do what you tell me to do, Av … follow your heart, and don’t get caught. Speaking of, I gotta go. There’s this guy, Jared, and he’s super cute. Anyway, my roommate says she’s friends with his roommate, and she’s going to introduce us. So I gotta go get ready. Wish me luck.”