9 Roughneck Bears Two - Part 3

By the end of the day, Ava wasn't sure if any of the work she'd done was worth the hours she'd spent in the office. She was just ready to leave the space. Exhausted, she quickly decided to change clothes and head out for dinner instead of cooking. She'd never gotten used to cooking for one anyway. Before Liam became such a fixture in her life, Juliette had been her roommate. On the weeks when he wasn't in town, she would always end up with a mountain of leftovers. The rush hour traffic was not a welcomed sight, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. When she finally made it home, she was in and out of her clothes in a matter of minutes. She didn't want to linger in her space without him. With any luck, she would go to her favorite burger joint, get something decent and a few drinks.

Ava wanted to believe she would maintain enough control to not go crazy on the drinks, but she still called an Uber to take her to the bar just in case. He was already there when she pulled up. She walked inside, completely ignoring his motorcycle parked near the door. She wanted to know where he was in here so that she could seat herself as far away from him as possible. Their eyes met across the room. He looked at her like he'd lost something, but Ava couldn't let herself fall into the valley of his eyes. She quickly looked away and found a seat to herself. The waiter was swift in bringing her a menu. Ava picked the first thing she saw and nervously waited for it. She wanted to go over there and sit with him or just be close to him.

Normally, they never made it out of her place when he would come over. They were often too tangled in each other's arms to do anything like go on a date. Technically, this was the first time since the night that they met that she and Liam were out together. It was fair to believe that should have been fair warning that maybe they weren't headed anywhere. It just never felt like a big deal for Ava. She was in love with him, so time alone in her place was still quality time. She didn't feel hidden until now.

When Ava's food finally appeared, she chanced a look in Liam's direction. In the span of time, it had taken for it to get to her, a young brunette with a tiny waist and large boobs saddled up next to him. She pulled him close and whispered something in his ear. Liam smiled, and Ava's emotions boiled. She was angry and hurt all at once. No amount of her trying to keep her gaze away from him would make it possible. Every time she took another bite, the brunette seemed to inch closer to him. Ava wanted him to push her away. Liam should have known that it would bother her to see him so close with another woman so soon after they'd officially stop seeing each other. If he did know, it created no buffer for his decision.

The longer Ava sat there, the more upset she became. She looked around the bar, two could play this game. She knew how to be flirtatious and sexy even if she was going after someone she didn't want. She found a guy sitting alone in a booth by the window. He looked disinterested and had probably only come to the bar for one of the many big screen televisions and the scantily clad waitresses. His burly size, scruffy beard and distant look would be attractive to some, but he was no Liam. It didn't matter. He would do for the evening.

Ava informed her waiter that she would be moving her seat. She was going to the bar to meet a guy. The waiter nodding seeming to understand, but Ava was sure the waitress had no real idea what she was really up to. Ava checked her appearance in her phone's reflective case. She applied a fresh, and sultry red lipstick and set her gaze on her target. If Liam didn't care about her feelings, then she wouldn't care about his. After downing the last bit of her third mixed drink, she sauntered across the room to the man sitting alone. She felt Liam's eyes follow her the whole way there.

"Hi, I'm Ava. Would you like a little company?" She asked with a broad smile.

The man eyed her up and down. The way his eyes bruised her skin as he took her in made Ava want to run for cover. She didn't have to stay long, just long enough to make Liam as jealous as she was. It was an immature desire to make him jealous, but she couldn't get over her feelings of needing him to miss what he was letting go.

"I guess a little company won't hurt," he said with a crooked grin.

Ava slid into the booth beside him, and he copied up enough for her to get a clean whiff of his cheap cologne and the beer on her tongue. Ava ordered another drink.

One after another she downed her drinks. She laughed too loudly at what were at best mediocre jokes. She stared in his eyes when he would talk and for one minute in time, he was king of the world. Ava wasn't so drunk that she didn't know he thought her nice, but a little desperate. At the moment, she was but not in the way he would think. Liam never took his eyes away from her. Within a few minutes, the girl who'd been hanging on his shoulders was gone. She was done with his neglect and Ava was reveling in his attention.

Soon enough, she was sloshed and ready to go. Her unwitting accomplice was getting a little handsy, and she didn't want to encourage him to go any further. Ava took one last look at him and took her things in her hand. She gave the waiter enough to cover her tab and rose from the table.

"Aw come on Sweetheart. Don't tell me that you are leaving so soon," said her cohort.

Ava smiled. "I have to work in the morning, and I have to sleep this off. You were great fun. Thank you for letting me join you," said Ava.

She kissed his cheek, and he smiled warmly. "Well, if you change your mind I know a little place we can go to be alone," he said.

"The lady is leaving now. I suggest you let her go," said Liam behind her.

Ava was annoyed at his presence. If she didn't think it would be wrong to further lead the man on she might have insisted on staying, but he was the lonely type. Ava didn't want to take him up on his offer only to reject him later. She didn't turn around to face Liam. Instead, she addressed her unwitting partner in crime gently.

"Maybe some other time. Tonight, I just don't think I have the energy to keep up," she said seductively.

The man stood to hug her, but before he could draw her in Ava was pulled from behind. Liam gripped her arm and escorted her outside. Ava was so shocked by the display that she was silent for a few terse minutes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Asked Ava when the words would finally come.

"I'm taking you home. You've had enough," said Liam with a stern set of his blue eyes.

"You're not taking me anywhere," she said as she reached for her phone to summon another über.

She turned her back to him and didn't even notice when he'd walked off. Liam pulled up in front of her. This time, he was in his heavy double cab truck and waiting for her to get inside. Ava didn't move. She crossed her arms and kept a look out of her Uber.

"Look, Ava, I don't want to fight with you. I just want to get you home safely. That's all. Just get into the car," he said.

"I'm not letting you take me anywhere," said Ava in a low voice.

She met his gaze defiantly. He was waiting for her to back down, but Ava knew how to hold strong. Liam ran his hands through his hair in frustration. His long fingers busied in his hair and Ava looked away. He didn't deserve to have her stomach twisted in knots or her heart beating so rapidly. When her Uber arrived, she slipped into the car without another word and closed her eyes. The tears started immediately. She was falling apart, and this was not what she wanted.

* * *

He was halfway to his home and before he turned around. Liam couldn't stop himself. He couldn't control his thoughts and how angry he'd been to see that man touch her. His bear was restless and fiercely determined to assert his claim to his mate. Her heart belonged to him, and Liam didn't want to spend any more time away from her. He veered in her direction even though he was unsure of what he would find. The only thing he was certain of was that he had to get to her. He'd watched her all night, and he'd known from the start that she was only trying to get him upset. He'd let her have her fun. The guy she was with wasn't her type and at any rate, the guy would never have meant to her what he meant. As the night had drawn on, she drank more and more. Alarms went off in his head, as Ava took one drink after another back. She couldn't drown her love for him no matter how hard she tried. He would know, he'd been trying to do the same thing with his feelings for her.

When he pulled up to her home, the house was dark. She should have been home. The Uber would have driven her straight over, and her place was just minutes from the restaurant and bar. He parked and walked up to Ava's door. His heart pumped in his chest as he knocked on her door. They had to talk. Neither of them could go on this way without getting to the bottom of why they should part. He was ready to give her all the reasons their separation was for the best. He could never be the type who would come home to her and build a family. Even though it was in his blood, it wasn't his way.

Liam knocked again a little harder this time. He heard shuffling and then the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer. He prepared himself to charge into his spiel, and then Ava opened the door. Her blonde tresses were drenched in water. Her eyes still a little fuzzy from all her drinks, but otherwise alert. She held a towel up to her chest, and the length barely reached the middle of her fleshy thighs. Liam swallowed as he took in the smell of her exposed sex mixed with the fragrant soap she'd used. His bear roared inside of him. His resolved turned to powder and blew away like dust. He was a fool, and he couldn't go on acting this way.

"Liam, I don't want to fight. I just don't. You can come in, but I'll probably leave you awake," said Ava.

Her eyes were tired, and he knew that look so well. He wore it whenever he was away from her. This was his first time seeing it on her.