The space between us was already so tense and awkward and I hated it. We’d been all business up to this point, relatively speaking. This was such a casual thing that I wasn’t entirely sure how to do it. “Um… Thank you for coming down. I always have meals alone and I know you do too, so I figured, ya know…. We could eat together.”
To my surprise, Avion gave me a small smile. “I’m appreciative of the company.”
I let out a little sigh of relief. It seemed she wasn’t entirely holding a grudge against me, which was good. Now if I could just figure out how to be less awkward, we’d be in a good spot. “I also wanted to tell you that I’m relaxing your restrictions entirely. I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner in my home. I want you to feel like a guest.”
She smirked. “A guest that can’t leave?”
It was difficult to read the expression on her face. Was she making a joke? But she wasn’t wrong. “Well, you know…”
She shook her head, still with a smile. “It’s okay. I get it.”
“You can leave your room.” I lifted an eyebrow. “Draw more arrows on the walls.”
Her cheeks developed a very light hue. “You noticed.”
“I didn’t think I’d ever have the heart to tell you this, but you got really close. The stairs and elevator were to the right, but you went left.”
She dropped her head. “Of course I did,” but then when she lifted it again, she had a sly smile on her face. “All’s well. I got one hell of a show.”
I grinned at her. “And then I got one.” She frowned and I was afraid I’d overstepped. “I’m sorr… I didn’t… Too soon for th…”
She snickered and then started laughing. It was a joyous sound that made my stomach twist into a knot. She looked up and rested her head casually on the back of her hand. “Even the great Gio can get flustered. That’s good to know.”
Her confident tone sent a shiver down my spine. She was flirting with me. “Just don’t tell anyone, or I’ll have to kill you.”
She held up her hands, giggling. “Deal.”
Thankfully, things were going way better than I anticipated. It seemed the measures I’d taken to prove that I wanted to shift the relationship between Avion and I were working. The fact that her family or the police chief hadn’t come storming the gates likely meant that she had followed through on the trust I gave her not to use her phone to tip someone off.
It seemed like my plan was finally getting back on track.
We were able to maintain a light, friendly conversation through dinner, and I legitimately enjoyed just spending time with Avion, talking and getting to know her. Eventually, however, the conversation shifted, and I had to make an important decision.
“So, don’t get mad at him because I don’t think he did it on purpose, but Milli mentioned that Merrick and Tamryn aren’t your real parents,” Avion said. “If you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine, but…”
I didn’t like talking about myself. There was never really any reason to focus on the past, and in general, any woman’s attempts to learn more about me meant they were trying to get closer, which typically I didn’t want. Avion felt different to me though, and it seemed like she was making her own attempts to alter the relationship between us. It was the way forward I’d chosen, so it didn’t feel like I had a choice tonotshare more with her, but even with that considered the idea of doing so didn’t terrify me. Not many people knew about my life or real self.
One more wouldn’t hurt.
“That’s true. My real parents abandoned me when I was a child. I guess they didn’t want the responsibility,” I explained.
Avion furrowed her brow. “I can’t imagine abandoning my own child.”
“I originally went into the foster care system, but I was a bit of an asshole, even as a child.”
She snickered at that. “I never would have guessed.”
I chuckled alongside her. “I ended up on the streets sort of struggling to survive. I had a hustle that I ran, I’d wait for the other street kids to steal from someone, then I’d play the hero and go get whatever they took back.”
Avion’s eyes widened. “Hey, that’s pretty good. They’re so grateful you got their stuff back that you got all the rewards.”
“And if I could slide some money out and blame it on the original thief, I would.”
“Smart.”
I took a sip of my wine before continuing, taking the moment to just take in the beauty of Avion hanging on my every word. “Eventually, though, I met a worthy adversary, Merrick. Some knuckleheads snatched his wallet, and I took off after them. I slipped about forty bucks off the top and returned the wallet, but he had my hustle pegged from the second I brought it back. He invited me to dinner and eventually offered me a job. That of his son.”
“Wow. You don’t have any other siblings?” she asked.
