Spark: Book 1 (The Heat Series) Read online

  Ava crawled into bed. She didn’t know what hurt more, her pride or her body. What a mistake it was for her to agree to go out with Liam. Men had hurt her before, and it was part of the reason why she kept to herself. Now she had a new problem: Xander. She shuffled around in her bed looking for a comfortable position while her mind drifted. Sleep did not come easily, but it did come. Two hours later, she woke up. She wasn’t sure what time it was. She moved in her bed and the pain in her knee radiated down her leg.

  “Owwww,” She gasped aloud.

  Her door burst open, and Xander was standing there. “What is it?”

  She was startled and what’s more, annoyed. “What are you still doing here?” she said angrily. “Go home. I don’t want to be around you right now.” What she said stung, but Xander understood.

  “Fine, when you are ready to talk, you know how to reach me.” He went out to the living area, picked up his bag, pulled on his sneakers and left her apartment. It felt good to yell at someone even if it was Xander. But it was totally out of her nature to hurt someone intentionally, and she started to feel sorry she had yelled at him. She was angry at Liam, but she had no way to vent that anger towards him.

  The worst part is that she had no one with whom she could share any of this. Her cousins were in Maryland, and Samantha was in the Hamptons. When Sam found out, she would want to fly to London to kick Liam’s ass. She felt sorry for Justin because he was going to bear the brunt of Sam’s anger since he was the one to introduce Liam to Ava. She had no idea what she was going to do come Monday. How was she going to work for someone who was in love with her? She was having trouble dealing with everything that happened to her the last three weeks. It seemed instead of things getting smoother and going into a rhythm; there was a new wrinkle almost daily. At this rate, she would be taking her medication daily and have to go back to regular visits with Dr. Newman. She could already feel her anxiety beginning to build with the anticipation of a new week, and it was only Saturday.

  Chapter 10

  Xander left Ava’s apartment feeling dejected. Everything had gone horribly wrong today. Ava had injured herself, and he had made a fool of himself telling her he was in love with her. He thought that it would solve one problem, but it seemed to create more of them. He had expected her to be more responsive to his admission of love, but that was wrong. He was sure it was because she lacked confidence that someone like him could be in love with her. She still believed herself to be that young woman from years ago. But he also understood why she felt that way. A man who she once had a crush on treated her badly and he had a hand in that even though she didn’t know it yet.

  The look on her face when she read Liam’s email tore him apart. Monday was going to be very awkward if they didn’t work this out before then. But he didn’t want to press her. She had to make her own decisions, and if that meant that she didn’t want him, then that was her choice. It was a choice he hoped she would not make because it would devastate him. He slowly walked back to his apartment. When he arrived, he dropped his bag on the floor and made himself a double scotch. It had been that type of day, and it was still early.

  Ava limped to the freezer and got a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. It was the perfect pick me up for all the bullshit that had gone on today. She needed to ice her knee, but ice cream came first. She was at that point of not caring anymore. Why should she? The nicer you were to people, the more they stepped on you. Even Xander had his moments. She had to admit that he had been more than sweet to her when she was sick, and again today. Maybe that was the way he was, or it could be he was trying to impress her.

  Michael had been telling her for years that she needed to stop giving people the benefit of the doubt. She had always felt that everyone had good in them, even those that made her leave Georgia. She wanted to go back there for Michael’s wedding and show them that they didn’t break her.

  She finished eating her fill and limped back freezer. She got the ice and wrapped it in the towel Xander had left on the counter and noticed his wallet there. Oh great, he left that here and now I’m going to have to call him to get it. She would worry about that later. She then limped to her bedroom to get the pad she kept on her bedside table and saw that on it was the note that Xander had written to her the night before. She ran her finger over the handwriting and noted he had written “Sweetheart” at the end of the paragraph. She tore the note off and threw it in her bedside drawer.

  She was going to make a list of the changes she needed to make in her life. She finished and then noticed the ice pack had melted, and some of the water had leaked on the couch. “Shit!” Ava quickly moved to minimize the mess and limped over to the sink. The bandage was wet, and she needed to change it. The bathroom cabinet was very limited in first aid items. She had gauze but no tape. She had antiseptic, but it was expired. So she did the next best thing, she used alcohol. It stung horribly but at least it would keep it clean. Next, she improvised and used scotch tape to secure the bandage. She would need to order some first aid items the next time she purchased from Stan’s. Or she could call Xander to get her some. He was her only friend in the city for the next day or two. She didn’t want to call him. She was still angry at him even though he hadn’t done anything.

  By five that night, Xander was on his fifth double scotch. He had nothing to do and nowhere to go. He was drunk and feeling sorry for himself. Two women had dumped him in the same week, Abby, his ex, and Ava, who wasn’t anything to him just yet. She had cut him off before they had even begun. He hadn’t eaten all day, and he was feeling nauseous, but he continued to drink. Who gives a shit. He hadn’t thrown up in a long time but could feel it coming. He tried to get up, but he stumbled and ended up on the cool hardwood floor. He lifted himself, but before he could get to his knees, he vomited in his discarded sneakers. “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck,” he screamed aloud.

  As he tried to get up a second time, another eruption of vomit came out of him, landing on his t-shirt and sweatpants. He just sat there, stinking of vomit, leaning against his leather couch that he thankfully had missed with the mess. He wiped his hand on his shirt and reached for the scotch on the coffee table. It was out of reach, but instead, he grasped his phone. He took it off the table and pressed her number. The phone rang and rang until her voicemail picked up. He left a drunken message, hung up the phone and passed out.

  Ava’s cell phone rang. She looked at who was calling and swiped it to go directly to voicemail. When the buzz came to indicate the message was ready, she called it. Xander was slurring his speech badly. Most of the message was incomprehensible and slurred, but she caught the words “love you” and one whole sentence, “I’m sitting in puke.” Her first thought was to go to him, but then she had a change of heart. Screw him, let him wallow in his vomit. Then she thought again. Suppose he chokes and dies. Do I want that on my conscience? She was not in the best of shape herself but felt bad for the man. He was probably drunk because of her.

  She didn’t have his address or any other way to reach him. She called his phone and kept getting his voicemail. Ava felt a sense of foreboding. As much as she did not want to, she was going to have to go over there. But where was over there? Did she have to go all the way to Central Park West? Where did he live? Then she remembered his wallet on the counter. Flipping it open, she looked at his license. It turned out that he lived only a few blocks from her. Her knee was feeling better, and her limp was less noticeable. She quickly dressed and grabbed his open wallet. In one of the slots was a keycard. She slipped it out, and the card had the building name on it. Between the keycard and his license she should be able to locate him. It was cool out with the early evening setting in. But by the time she got back, it could be chilly. So she wrapped a sweatshirt around her waist.

  Her knee was a little stiff, and her jeans were rubbing against it, but otherwise she was able to walk. She wanted to run but couldn’t trust it. When she arrived at his building, she had made it within twenty minutes. The concierge was b
usy, and she was able to slip into the elevators unseen. She had Xander’s wallet in her back pocket and took it out to find the right floor. The elevator shot up to the thirty-eighth floor very quickly. She got out and looked for apartment J. It was at the end of the hall, and she got out the keycard to open his door.

  The first thing that hit her was the putrid smell of vomit. Xander was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, his shirt, and sweatpants stained with vomit. Next to him a pair of sneakers full of the same. She held her nose and inched closer to him. He was breathing, but he was a mess. She would let him sleep for the time being. His apartment was large, and she went through several cabinets in his kitchen to locate garbage bags, cleaner and paper towels. She picked up the sneakers and deposited them in the bag then started to clean up the vomit. The stench was revolting, but she couldn’t leave the apartment like that.

  She cleaned up the floor, the coffee table and washed his scotch glass before turning her attention to him. She first called his name, when he did not wake, she resorted to more aggressive tactics. Lightly slapping his face and pinching the inside of his arm. That worked. He woke up from his drunken slumber.

  “You came to me.” His words were slurred.

  “Come on; we need to get you into the shower, can you get yourself up?”

  “Come here, just sit with me.”

  “I’ll sit with you after we get you in the shower.”

  “Don’t wanna take a shower unless it’s with you.”

  “Later, work with me,” she said frustrated. She pulled at his arm, and he finally pushed himself up using the arm of the couch. When he was up, she carefully rolled up his shirt so none of the vomit would fall on the floor and she helped him slip it over his head. She deposited that in the garbage bag.

  “Let’s get your sweatpants off now.” She started to slide them down and realized that he was not wearing underwear.

  “You trying to get me naked, huh?”

  “I’m trying to get you in the shower to clean you up.” Oh, the hell with it. Ava pushed his sweatpants down to his ankles and helped him step out of them. He was now stark naked, and she was staring right at his genitals when she looked up. He was quite large, larger than Liam. She quickly looked away while she deposited his sweatpants into the garbage bag.

  Ava grabbed his hand and looked for the master bedroom. She found it down a long hallway. It had a large attached bathroom with a beautiful glass enclosed shower. She helped him lean against the edge of the counter while she got the shower warm. She opened the door and pushed him into the stall.

  “Ya gonna join me? Join me Ava. Wanna sees what ya got under that stuff.”

  Xander stood under the water, not moving but letting the spray rain down on him. Ava removed her sweatshirt so she could reach in and put some shampoo on his hair. It was hard for her because of their height difference, but she was able to do it. Xander kept trying to pull her into the shower with him. He eventually succeeded, and she got soaked from head to toe. She jumped back, reached over and turned the water to cold then closed the shower door. She watched as he jumped away from the frigid water.

  “Not nice,” Xander yelped.

  The cold spray seemed to bring him out of his drunken haze, and his speech was becoming less slurred. He reached over and turned the faucet to hot then slid back under. He washed himself off while she undressed. Her pants and shirt were drenched. The bandage on her leg had come loose, and she pulled it off. She was in her bra and panties which were also soaked. She wrapped a towel around her, slid her panties down and unclasped her bra. Then she tucked the towel tight around her body and scooped up her wet clothes. She had noticed a laundry area off the kitchen and was going to put her clothes in the dryer.

  The shower was still running, and she was going to have to find something to wear. The last thing she wanted was a drunken Xander to see her naked. She entered his room and searched his drawers and closet for something that might be suitable to wear. She found a t-shirt and a pair of shorts that were too big but would have to do until her clothes were dry. She then headed into the living room to finish cleaning. The place smelled less like vomit than when she had come in. She finished wiping the floor, deposited the dirty paper towels in the garbage bag and tied the bag closed. She left the bag near the coffee table because she wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his clothing or sneakers.

  Xander emerged from his room in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. His thick hair was neatly combed.

  “Geez, what smells?” He was no longer slurring his words, and he seemed much better.

  “Uh, you did until a few minutes ago and this.” She held up the bag with his clothing, sneakers and the paper towels she had used. “I cleaned. Do you want me to dump this? It’s your sneakers and clothing that you vomited all over.”

  Xander wrinkled his nose. “Yuck, I’ll take it.” She handed it to him, and he left the apartment with it. When he got back, he noticed that her bandage was gone.

  “Where is the bandage for your knee?”

  She looked down. “It got wet when you pulled me into the shower with you. I had to take it off. Do you have any bandages here?”

  He started to walk to the bedroom, “Come with me.” She followed him into the bathroom, and he sat her on the vanity. He opened up the medicine cabinet and put antiseptic, gauze pads and tape on the counter. He expertly got the pad positioned on her knee and taped it.

  “Ava, what are you doing here?” He sounded almost angry.

  “Well let’s see, you drunk dialed me. Left me a message about sitting in your puke and hung up. You also left your wallet on the counter at my apartment. That’s how I found you. I didn’t know you lived so close to me.”

  “So you thought you would come here and save me from me?” Ava started to get upset.

  “No, I thought you needed me and I felt bad about throwing you out of my apartment.” He looked at her and chuckled.

  “That is quite a getup you are wearing?” His t-shirt hung almost to her upper thighs, and the shorts were like large baggy pants. She had rolled them up above her knee to prevent tripping over them.

  “I wouldn’t be wearing it if you hadn’t pulled me into the shower when I was just trying to get you clean.” Xander smiled widely.

  “It’s not funny!” He could see she was upset.

  “Do you want to stay for dinner?” She looked at him incredulously. “You feel like eating after the mess you just made?”

  “Well, I always invite the women that see me naked to dinner whether they clean up my vomit or not.” She gritted her teeth. “You are so exasperating, Xander Wilder!” He laughed until tears came out of his eyes.

  “Thank you for coming over and cleaning me up.”

  “I have a feeling I might have had something to do with your condition. I think we need to have a talk about some things.”

  He agreed.

  “But can we get some dinner, though? I‘m starved.”

  “That makes two of us.” He went to the kitchen and came back with several menus. There was Thai, Chinese, Italian, Burgers.

  “What do you want to get, ladies choice.” She looked at the menu for burgers. She had a craving since watching Xander eat his burger at The Half Pint. He ordered delivery and then went into the kitchen set two places at the breakfast bar. His kitchen and apartment alone were twice as large as hers. It was bright, and the windows were floor to ceiling in the bedroom and along the entire wall that faced the Hudson River. He was on a high enough floor so that you could see the river and the lights of New Jersey across the way.

  When the order came, he went down to the lobby to pay. His building had a strict policy of not allowing delivery people to roam the halls. She opened his refrigerator looking for a drink and was surprised to see well-stocked shelves. Apparently, Xander was not a typical bachelor. She chose a bottle of Pellegrino water for herself, and he asked her to get him one as well. They seated themselves at the bar, and Xander unpacked the bags.
Everything smelled great, and she was starving. After they had finished, she helped him clean the kitchen.

  “Do you want to watch a movie?” Xander asked.

  “I can order one on cable.”

  Ava nixed the idea. “You promised we would talk, and I think we should.”

  “Yes, I know.” They went to sit down in the living room, but there was still a faint odor of vomit.

  “If you don’t mind, we can sit in my bedroom and talk? It smells a lot better in there. I will have the cleaning lady steam that area when she comes next week.” She followed him into the bedroom, and he settled with his back against the headboard of his king-sized bed. She sat with her legs crossed at the end of his bed and he started to talk.

  “I guess I should explain myself. My timing was shitty, but I just couldn’t continue to see you day after day without expressing my feelings. I was a fool to think that you were just going to fall into my arms and love me just by kissing you.” He had a sheepish look on his face.

  “I can’t begin to understand what you are going through. I have never really been in love or allowed myself to be in love. I thought that Liam was going to be the first, but I guess I came in as far as distant second to his ex. I want you to know that I am not against dating you, but we are in a touchy situation. I work for you and after what happened with David Townsend, we would have to be careful. Of course, I could ask to be assigned to someone else.”