Everything That Glitters Ain't Gold by Danielle Martin (sneezy the snowman read aloud .txt) 📖

seconds, he spoke again. “So… what’s making you uncomfortable???”.

Ava noticed Jades breathing was heavy. She was a nervous wreck and Blake was about to close in on her. Anxiously, she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know…” Jade looked up, noticing everyone at the table was staring at her waiting for her to say something. She bit her bottom lip, her eyes dropping into her lap. “I feel like all eyes are on me…” she laughed jokingly.

Blake glanced around the table, noticing Ava and Lance were extremely intrigued by what she had to say. He laughed. “I see…” Blake turned his body in his chair towards her. “Well, what do you say we get our own table???”

Ava’s jaw dropped but she quickly caught it before anyone noticed. Jade too looked shocked by his request as if she were not expecting it at all. “Ummmm…” she stammered in response.

Blake laughed calmly. He could tell he had caught her off guard. “Sorry. That’s only if you want to….

Hurriedly, she wasted no time to answer. “No, no, no I do… I definitely do…”

Ava continued to watch silently, in complete disbelief this encounter was going so well so quickly. She had been convinced it would take a lot of persuading to get these two together. But obviously, she was wrong.

Suddenly, Blake looked over at Ava. She flinched, his sudden eye contact snapping her out of her daze. “Hazel, do you mind if I steal your girl for a few???” he asked her with a smirk in the center of his face.

“Uhhhh…” Ava also stammered. She shook her head quickly, gathering herself together. “Sure, sure no problem.” She waved her hand giving him her approval.

Blake smiled at her again, shooting her an intense gaze. “While you’re at it,” he leaned over the table and whispered directly at her. “Maybe you can get to know my boy Lance while we’re gone… he’s a good guy. And he’s single…”
 Blake winked at her while hinting towards his friend who sat quietly next to her. Ava rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.” Her tone was dramatic as she whispered back across the table. “You know I have a boyfriend…” she pretended to answer with confidence, although she had none when it came to her relationship. Ava had been in denial. Instead of confronting the truth, she pushed everything into the back of her mind as if nothing were happening. Although Lance was attractive, Ava wasn’t attracted and now was not the place or the time to be checking for anyone new.

Blake shook his head. “Yeah, alright” he answered her sarcastically. He smirked at her one last time before turning to Jade and extending his hand towards her. “May I?” he asked in a smooth seductive voice.

Jade blushed even more. She nodded her head and placed her hand into his. “Of course you may…” she spoke with a little bit more confidence this time. Politely, Blake helped her stand from the chair and walked her around the table. Together, they both trailed around Ava and Lance and fell into step towards the walkway heading for an empty table. They located one that sat far across the room in a corner far away from earshot. Ava watched, noticing that Blake held Jade’s hand the entire way. She watched them walk hand in hand disappearing around the corner. Suddenly, her smirk faded. It didn’t take long for her to realize she could no longer hear what they were saying. Ava sighed. She wasn’t against the two having alone time but definitely was not expecting it this soon into the introduction. She shook her head, pushing those feelings into the back of her mind after coming to the conclusion that Jade was a grown woman and could handle her own. She could not monitor the entire conversation no matter how badly she wanted to. Their table was very well hidden around a secluded corner. She couldn’t even read their lips so she could make out what they were saying. She couldn’t do anything… She was completely out of control now…

“You okay???” a deep voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

Ava jumped in her seat, the voice startling her. For a second, she had almost forgotten she was not sitting at the table alone. “Huh???” she looked over at the man sitting next to her.

Lance was leaned back in his chair, smiling at her. She made eye contact with him, noticing he was gazing at her in amazement. He stared as if he had never seen a beautiful woman before. The extreme interest plastered on his face was painfully obvious.

He laughed. “Your seemed so disappointed when they walked away….” He chuckled while calling her out.

Ava flinched, taking note that he had been watching her. She sucked her teeth, quickly masking her expression. “Why would I be disappointed?” she asked a question she did not know the answer to. Truth be told, Ava had no idea why she cared what Blake and Jade had to say to each other. It didn’t involve her. She had done her part. But Ava couldn’t help her curiosity. She couldn’t help the desire to ensure Blake was really into Jade and not playing with her emotions. She knew him well. Blake was a nice guy with a big heart. He didn’t believe in rejecting women he wasn’t into and would string her along if he believed it would make her feel better about herself. Jade was fragile. Damaged. Her heart wasn’t ready for that type of rejection. I can’t fall back just yet. Jade will understand and respect my decision to watch them closely. I have to be involved… I have to guide her through this… it’s for her own good…

“Would you like a drink???” once again, Lance interrupted her thoughts.

Ava looked over at him, noticing he was reaching for his wallet so he could call over the waiter. For a second, she stared at him contemplating whether or not she should accept his offer or decline. He stared back at her intensely, gazing into her eyes deeply. She could tell he was interested and she hated being the one to let him down. Ava had a lot on her plate. There was so much in her life she needed to figure out, she didn’t have any space or time to make friends with anyone knew. Damn… he is fine though… If only I was single… Ava took a deep breath, deciding one drink wouldn’t hurt. “Hennessy… with light ice please…”

Lance smiled, visibly eager that she had accepted. He threw his hand up in the air and flagged down the waiter so he could order her drink.

 

Chapter 9.

Chapter 9.

 

“498 Mississippi…499 Mississippi...500!”

Her vision was met by extreme darkness. The room was pitch black. She could only see a tiny beam of light reflecting from the street lights outside the house. Ava blankly stared up at the ceiling, her feet dangling off the love seat sofa as she lay back counting out loud. She had reached the number 500 almost 3 times. Whenever she got there, she would start over.

“1 Mississippi… 2 Mississippi… 3 Mississippi.” Anything to make the time go by fast. It was 4:12 a.m. The house was still and quiet giving Ava an eerie feeling. She hated being home alone. She had made her best efforts to fall asleep, but after a failed attempt and a 45-minute nap, she had awakened and had not been able to fall back into her slumber. Ava knew exactly why she was having trouble sleeping… Jade hadn’t made it home yet...

 It was getting late. The sun would be rising soon and Ava had no idea where her friend had run off to. “20 Mississippi…21 Mississippi…22 Mississippi…” she busied herself while pushing all bad thoughts into the back of her mind. Jade was with someone that she trusted and Ava knew Blake would do nothing to harm her. But she couldn’t help but to be surprised. Apparently, the conversation between the two had gone rather well. Within 1 hour of their private conversation at the bar, Jade had eagerly approached her table to advise she was leaving with him and would be home later tonight. Ava on the other hand had no other choice but to go back to Jade’s house and wait for her to arrive. It had been 4 hours since she left the club and still no sign of her. Ava nervously toyed with a strand of her continuing to stare at the darkened ceiling. Desperately, she hoped Jade would come home soon. She hated sleeping alone and was still a little worried about Desean. He had been calling her non-stop, none of which had been answered. Ava knew it was only right avoiding him but she was afraid he would eventually come after her. Everything still seemed so surreal. It had been a little over 24 hours since she left home and she had no plans on returning anytime soon.  Ava had never seen Desean that way. He had gone off the deep end and she had no idea what he was truly capable of. Picking her brain was silently driving her insane. Ava had no idea where Desean had taken off with her car nor did she know where to begin looking. A strong part of her knew she should bite the bullet and file a police report. But another part of her didn’t want to get the law involved. Ava still had a sensitive spot for the man she once loved. She didn’t want to see him locked up no matter how much in the wrong he truly was.

Suddenly, a key turned in the lock in the front door. Ava perked up, quickly sitting up on the sofa and planting her feet on the floor. Finally, after waiting up all night worried sick, her friend had arrived home. Seconds later, the door pushed open and in walked Jade. She trailed in fashionably late, way later than what Ava expected. Jade shut the door behind her, twisted the lock and immediately reached for the lamp that sat next the entrance on a night stand. The lights flickered on, brightening up the darkened living room.

“Ahhh…” the brightness immediately bothered Ava’s sensitive eyes. She shaded her vision as if she were shading herself from the sun.

“Woops, sorry girl.” Jade quickly apologized. “I almost forgot you were sleeping in the living room.”

Ava rubbed her eyes and stretched, pretending as if she had just awakened from a deep sleep. “No it’s fine.” She spoke in-between a fake yawn. “Long night, huh?” she raised an eyebrow, deciding to jump right into the third degree. Immediately, a wide grin spread across Jade’s cheeks. She sat her bags down on the middle table and walked over to the empty seat next to Ava. She sat down gracefully, a smile still plastered on her face. “Yep... it surely was…” she spoke as if she were barely present. As if she were still floating on cloud 9.

Ava examined her with a raised eyebrow. She couldn’t hide her curiosity and needed to know every single detail. “Soooo….” She spoke dramatically. “What happened??? Spill the tea girl!”

In return, Jade laughed at her friend’s anxiousness. She sat back on the couch and propped her feet up on the middle table.