That perked Ava’s interest. Not that she wasn’t paying attention before hearing that Amanda had been engaged before Justin. It seemed impossible to Ava though, with the way the two of them were around each other.
“No, not engaged, but I was in a serious relationship,” Amanda explained.
“With Zack Morris,” Karina, who was one of Amanda’s best friends and also happened to be a global pop star, added.
A small smile lifted on Amanda’s lips and she shook her head. “Even when I was with him, I had feelings for Justin, but I honestly never thought I’d see him again after he left town the day after my seventeenth birthday. But it was Justin. It was always Justin. I was in love with him from the time I saw him when I was five years old.”
“Wait…You dated Mark-Paul Gosselaar?” Viv asked the question Ava was thinking in her head.
The Wells sisters grew up watching Saved by the Bell and they were split down the middle, the two youngest were #teamzack, and the two eldest were #teamslater. Ava had always been a Mario Lopez fan. Even at a young age she’d had a thing for dark features and deep dimples. It seemed some things never changed.
“No,” Amanda shook her head. “Trent just resembled him.”
“Um, he was a dead ringer for Zack Morris as a grown man. Not Mark-Paul, just to be clear.” Karina lifted her hand to the top of her head. “He had the blond tips and everything, about, hmmm, a good decade after they’d gone out of style.”
Viv leaned forward seeking clarification. “But he looked exactly like Zack Morris?”
Amanda and Karina nodded their heads and chorused, “Yep.”
“Do you have his number?” Viv asked Amanda.
“Hell no.” Karina answered for Amanda. “And believe me. You don’t want it. He was a total asshole.”
“I don’t want to date him.” Viv infused the four-letter word with disgust. “I just want to bang Zack Morris.”
Everyone started laughing and Ava listened as the group discussed who their hall passes were and what types of guys they would consider having sex with if the guy was an exact look-alike for said hall passes. Surprisingly, there were several ladies, Viv included (although that part wasn’t surprising) that would have sex with a Jason Momoa look-a-like even if he’d committed murder, depending on the circumstances of the homicide.
As the conversation moved on, Ava kept thinking back to Amanda saying that it was Justin, it was always Justin. She might not have been in love with Asher from the age of five, but she’d been in love with him since she was twenty-five.
The look in Amanda’s eyes when she talked about her husband was exactly how Ava felt about Asher. Ava wondered if she would ever be in Amanda’s position, married to the one and pregnant with his baby.
Since they weren’t even officially dating, it was by no means a sure thing. But something inside of her told her it was a very real possibility.
It’s fate, a voice sounded in her head and it took Ava a moment to realize who that voice belonged to.
It was her mother’s voice. It was strange the memories that faded if Ava didn’t actively try and hold on to them. Her mom’s scent, her voice, her laugh. She’d stopped watching home movies of her mom when she was in her early twenties, because it just became too painful. But now that she’d been reminded of her, she thought she might just throw one on when she got home tonight. And if she was feeling extra sentimental, she might pull out her mom’s perfume and spritz it on a pillow like she used to do in the first few years after she passed.
“Ava?”
Ava was so deep in thought, that the voice saying her name startled her. She jumped a little in her seat and realized that the sunroom had emptied out and she was sitting in it alone. Well, not alone Jenna a.k.a. The Enemy was standing in front of her. “Oh, hi.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Jenna smiled warmly. “I just wanted to come introduce myself and see if we could talk for a sec.”
“Um, sure.” Ava wasn’t sure what the woman wanted to talk to her about, but there was definitely a question that she had. Like when she planned on going home.
* * *
Asher checkedhis phone to see if Ava had responded to his text, and saw that she had. She’d said that she’d just met his ex at the book club thing she was at. He’d known that’s where Ava was going to be tonight, but he hadn’t realized that Jenna was going too.
He hoped that Jenna had behaved herself. His ex could be territorial when it came to him even when she had no right to be. Which worried him. He just didn’t want anything she did to come between him and Ava. Not that he really believed that could happen, but things were so new with Ava he wouldn’t rule anything out, so he texted back to feel out how the conversation had gone.
Asher: How did it go?
He’d barely pressed send when he saw bubbles on his screen indicating that she was responding. Seconds later her message appeared.
Ava: Good…I think.
She added a smiley face emoji at the end.
