suspected. At first she hadn’t been convinced but after closely inspecting his hand, it seemed there had been no damage done. Not so much as a bruise showed up by the end of the night. He insisted there was no soreness and his fingers were working just fine. Ava decided that he must’ve been right. While she enjoyed sports, she wasn’t exactly a fanatic and therefore, nowhere near an expert. If Gabe claimed the ball had little force behind it, it wasn’t as if she had reason to argue.
She was grateful for the scoreboard she had to keep glancing at. For the first time in her life, she hadn’t been able to track the score in her head. Her thoughts kept wandering to Gabe. She kept sneaking glances at him. He seemed to catch her each time, always favoring her with a warm smile that made it impossible to keep her mind on the game at all.
On the ride home, he had been awfully chatty. Not to mention flirty. When they’d pulled up to the front of her house, Ava had lingered perhaps a little longer than necessary. She hadn’t wanted their evening to end. Gabe simply turned to her, leaning back against his door so he could face her. He’d told her what a great time he’d had and asked if they could get together again. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that Ava was silently willing him to place his lips on hers.
If it had been any other guy, she likely would’ve initiated the kiss herself. However, there was something about Gabe. He wasn’t intimidating, exactly. But the thought of being the one to make the first move felt too daunting to attempt.
Instead, she’d agreed without hesitation to get together with him again.
She’d lugged her backpack inside and greeted her family. She’d texted them to let them know of her plans and they’d showered her with curious questions about Gabe when she’d returned. She’d assured her parents and Grier that she had just been spending time with a friend.
After picking away at her homework for an unreasonable amount of time, she realized that she was no more able to concentrate on it than she had been able to concentrate on the game. She’d only met Gabe a short time ago and already she couldn’t get him out of her mind. Reluctantly, she put her unfinished homework aside, hoping she’d have better luck with it in the morning.
She fell asleep with a small smile on her face. Molly was right. She did have a huge crush on Gabe. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a crush so intense and then she realized that…she never had.
Chapter 6
Gabe was wondering just what he’d gotten himself into. He’d let several days pass since the last time he and Ava had gotten together. He’d called her that afternoon to ask if she was free for the evening. To his consternation, she wasn’t. It was the first time she’d turned him down. Gabe was not used to being turned down by anyone. It had left him feeling stunned.
However, she had timidly asked him if he’d like to join her in her plans and his ego was immediately restored. Never mind that her plans consisted of watching the girls’ varsity tennis match. Apparently Molly was on the team and Ava had already agreed to attend.
His initial reaction was to tell her ‘no’ but considering that he’d just invited her out for the evening, he couldn’t think of a logical reason to excuse himself from her invitation. He’d hesitantly agreed. At the moment, he couldn’t think of anything duller than tennis.
At least he felt that way until he pulled up and noticed all the girls wandering around in stunningly short skirts. His interest was immediately piqued and he decided maybe watching tennis wouldn’t be so dull after all.
He parked and then slowly sauntered up toward the mostly empty bleachers. He wasn’t in a hurry, despite the fact that he was already running late. He’d spent the afternoon
She was grateful for the scoreboard she had to keep glancing at. For the first time in her life, she hadn’t been able to track the score in her head. Her thoughts kept wandering to Gabe. She kept sneaking glances at him. He seemed to catch her each time, always favoring her with a warm smile that made it impossible to keep her mind on the game at all.
On the ride home, he had been awfully chatty. Not to mention flirty. When they’d pulled up to the front of her house, Ava had lingered perhaps a little longer than necessary. She hadn’t wanted their evening to end. Gabe simply turned to her, leaning back against his door so he could face her. He’d told her what a great time he’d had and asked if they could get together again. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that Ava was silently willing him to place his lips on hers.
If it had been any other guy, she likely would’ve initiated the kiss herself. However, there was something about Gabe. He wasn’t intimidating, exactly. But the thought of being the one to make the first move felt too daunting to attempt.
Instead, she’d agreed without hesitation to get together with him again.
She’d lugged her backpack inside and greeted her family. She’d texted them to let them know of her plans and they’d showered her with curious questions about Gabe when she’d returned. She’d assured her parents and Grier that she had just been spending time with a friend.
After picking away at her homework for an unreasonable amount of time, she realized that she was no more able to concentrate on it than she had been able to concentrate on the game. She’d only met Gabe a short time ago and already she couldn’t get him out of her mind. Reluctantly, she put her unfinished homework aside, hoping she’d have better luck with it in the morning.
She fell asleep with a small smile on her face. Molly was right. She did have a huge crush on Gabe. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a crush so intense and then she realized that…she never had.
Chapter 6
Gabe was wondering just what he’d gotten himself into. He’d let several days pass since the last time he and Ava had gotten together. He’d called her that afternoon to ask if she was free for the evening. To his consternation, she wasn’t. It was the first time she’d turned him down. Gabe was not used to being turned down by anyone. It had left him feeling stunned.
However, she had timidly asked him if he’d like to join her in her plans and his ego was immediately restored. Never mind that her plans consisted of watching the girls’ varsity tennis match. Apparently Molly was on the team and Ava had already agreed to attend.
His initial reaction was to tell her ‘no’ but considering that he’d just invited her out for the evening, he couldn’t think of a logical reason to excuse himself from her invitation. He’d hesitantly agreed. At the moment, he couldn’t think of anything duller than tennis.
At least he felt that way until he pulled up and noticed all the girls wandering around in stunningly short skirts. His interest was immediately piqued and he decided maybe watching tennis wouldn’t be so dull after all.
He parked and then slowly sauntered up toward the mostly empty bleachers. He wasn’t in a hurry, despite the fact that he was already running late. He’d spent the afternoon
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