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owner’s son, comes barging in,
looking a little pissed.
    “ Ava, Dad needs you back
out there.” He looks from Ava to me before offering, “Hey, Declan,”
and shaking my hand.
    Ava squeezes me gently with her arms before
pulling back away. “Thanks, Dustin. I’ll be right out.”
    Dustin nods once and then leaves us standing
in silence.
    “ I need to go, Declan,”
she says, her voice shaking the tiniest bit.
    “ Right. Ava, I’m not
asking you out and I’m not asking for your secrets, but let’s at
least swap numbers, okay? That way we don’t have to miss each
other, even on a friend level. I feel the need to make sure you’re
okay, so if I get called to go across the country again I can make
sure everything’s all right with you.”
    “ Ok.” She looks and sounds
hesitant, but she gives me the answer I wanted.
    I’ll take it.

Chapter 6
    Ava
     
    Nearly three months
later…
     
    Declan- Morning Sunshine!
    It’s been almost three months since Declan
and I exchanged phone numbers. I thought hiding behind the phone
would keep me safe from any growing feelings I might experience. I
was wrong. He texts me every day, several times a day. I haven’t
taken him up on any of his offers to go out with him and the guys,
which I’m sure didn’t surprise him any, since he’s quickly becoming
aware that I wasn’t lying when I said I had zero free time on my
hands. He still doesn’t know about Harper, which has been a
challenge on several accounts, but I keep telling myself its better
this way.
    Ava- Good Morning Dec! Sleep well?
    Declan - Yup. Could have been better if a certain someone would stop
being so damn stubborn
    Ava- Don’t start.
    Declan- Haha. Ok. I have a fight in NY this Friday. Wanna
go?
    I still see him a couple times a week down
at Max’s and he’s been trying to get me to go to a fight. I refuse.
I have no desire to see him intentionally hurt himself. Now New
York? I would absolutely love to go, but of course I can’t. No way,
no how.
    Ava- Yeah, I have absolutely nothing going on.
    Declan- All right smartass. I fly out tomorrow so I’ll
come to Max’s tonight.
    Ava- See you then, have a good day.
    Declan- You too Sunshine.
    Declan is quickly becoming a very important
person in my life. It’s hard to deny it when I wake up looking
forward to his morning texts and can’t wait to crawl into bed at
night for our evening chats. There’s still so much that I keep from
him and it’s not fair to him; this I know. But when I talk to him
and when he and his friends come into the bar, I feel like a 22
year old should feel. I feel young and carefree and I actually feel
like a fun person. When Declan isn’t around, I feel like a 40 year
old who can barely keep her head above water trying to keep food on
the table and money in the bank. I’m afraid if I tell him
everything that my life actually entails, he’ll run very far away
and I won’t have my friend anymore.
    I’ve never had an issue
juggling friends and a social life. Before my future and fate were
decided for me, I just had Jax. Now, aside from Max’s family, I
have Jax and Declan’s daily phone calls and texts to keep up with on top
of my busy schedule. For the most part, it’s not a big deal. My
nighttime phone calls from Jax have drastically diminished since
Declan has unofficially claimed that time as his own. Surprisingly
enough, Jax hasn’t complained; it hasn’t even been a
discussion.
    I wasn’t planning on Declan coming into the
bar tonight and normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but tonight it
really is. Another thing that I’ve kept from him is that today is
my birthday. I don’t like to celebrate my birthday. It’s just
another reminder that one more year has passed and I’m still
struggling to live my day to day. Max’s family has learned to tone
down the celebration per my wishes, but they still do the gift
thing and dinner if we can make it work. I don’t want Declan to
find out about it and go crazy with