Page 22 of If Everything Was Easy

Ava

“What was that?” Ashley squealed with excitement.

“That was Carter asking me out on a real date, and me saying yes,” I mused as a grin spread across my face. Maybe I was a little more excited about this than I let on.

“So are you two like together?” Ash clapped happily.

“I guess? Maybe?” I shrugged. “We didn’t really define it.”

“You think he has any hot friends?” She flopped down on the couch as I went to grab a juice from the fridge. “I bet he’s great in bed.” She closed her eyes and sighed.

“All we did was kiss.” I gasped as I took a sip of juice and sat down, visions of Carter flitting through my head. He was lean and muscular and I could feel the definition of his body when I tackled him in the snow.

“So far. God, A. I bet he could take you to another world in the sack.” She started fanning herself.

“All I agreed to was a real date. I’m not ready for that yet.” I slouched back and started daydreaming. I’m sure she was right. Carter worked out daily, and it showed. He was a perfect gentleman today, and I’d bet he was a generous lover. He seemed to want me to be happy.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” She giggled. “I can see it all over your face. You’re thinking about what it would feel like… the two of you… together.”

“Maybe a little.” I smiled dreamily.

“A little?” She smirked.

“Ok, a lot.” I laughed. “He just seems too perfect. Does that make sense? I’m waiting for the bad stuff to show up.” I glanced at the ceiling, willing my mom to give me a sign.

“Not all guys have baggage. He just might be the one you’ve been waiting for.” She shrugged before standing. “Think about it. There’s one person out there for each of us. Maybe you found yours.” She walked away. “I’m going to take a shower. Don’t overthink this date,” she called over her shoulder.

“I won’t,” I called back. The truth was, I probably already was overthinking it. Before a game, I always tried to run all the plays in my head. I didn’t like surprises, and thrived on predictability. I guess dating was kinda the same. Danny and I met as kids. I knew pretty much everything about him. I could predict every date and knew by what he’d say whether he was telling me the truth about things. I didn’t feel this with Carter. Everything was new and I was still learning about him. What if I never learned enough? He was so much of a chance that I wasn’t sure my heart or my head could handle it.

Chapter 15

Ava

It was finally date night and even though I’d been excited about this all week, I was more nervous than I’d been in a long time. ‘Relax!’ I chided myself. ‘It’s just a date.’

“He’s here!” Ashley clapped happily from the living room. I could hear her opening the door and the two of them talking, but their voices were muffled.

“I’ll be right out,” I called as I ran my fingers through my hair one last time. I had no idea where we were going. All he’d told me was to dress casual. Deciding it was now or never, I grabbed my purse and headed for the living room.

Carter was standing there dressed in dark jeans and a gray t-shirt. He smiled and gave what looked like a nervous wave. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I awkwardly waved back.

“You two are so cute.” Ashley squealed.

I rolled my eyes. “You ready?”

Carter stepped back, and as I slipped into my jacket, we headed outside. “Ignore her,” I grumbled. “She’s way too excited for this.”

“And you’re not?” Carter seemed confused.

“I’m looking forward to it, just not like she is. She’s a serial dater. She needs a boyfriend.” I laughed.

“Ah.” Carter chuckled. “I’ll have to talk to Maverick.”

“He might get his heart broken. She’s not the staying kind,” I tossed out. “Don’t get me wrong, Ash is a great bestie, just not really into long-term, if you know what I mean.”

“Then they’d be perfect for each other.” Carter laughed as we reached the car.

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