Chapter 12 - 12

Ava was playing tennis, and she was so involved in the game that she missed her lunch. Even though she was very shy, and had an introverted personality, she loved playing tennis.

During her childhood, she did not like playing outdoor games. She always stayed in, played with her dolls, or just followed Sara wherever she went.

At the parties, Sara would go and hang out with the other kids. Ava would sit in the corner to avoid attention. She would only play with other kids when Sara was around.

If Ava was getting bullied or teased, she'd go and complain to Sara. Sara was very protective, and she would deal with the bullies. 

One time her father's friend had a party in this huge house. She decided to go exploring, and she got lost. She was very young, so she started crying. In her mind, she thought she will never find her family ever again. She was scared, but then a big brother came, he consoled her and took her back to her parents.

When she found her parents, she clung to them and refused to move. She feared losing them again. Big brother brought her cake to cheer her up. He talked to her gently, and she opened up to him.

Whenever she would see big brother, he would often play with her and pamper her. Gradually unbeknownst to her started looking forward to going to the parties because she knew she was going to see big brother again. She was not as shy and as afraid as she used to be.

Big brother taught her to play tennis. She refused at first and wouldn't even touch the racket. He coaxed her and patiently taught her how to play. He said he enjoyed it more when she played with him. That brought her out of her shell.

The first time she won a friendly match at the park her big brother had the biggest smile, and he praised her. That was the brightest smile she had ever seen on her big brother's face. From then on, she always wanted to see that smile directed towards her. 

She liked that every time she played tennis, she would be reminded of big brother.

Hardin seems to be a regular at the tennis courts these days, even though he never played. He would always come to see Ava, but Kelly was also present, and that made it difficult to talk to Ava.

Kelly was always in fangirl mode whenever she saw Hardin. She just couldn't stop talking. Hardin was not interested in anything she said. He'd always nod like he was listening, but his whole attention was on Ava.

Today when he came to the courts, he was happy when Kelly was nowhere to be found. Finally, he could spend some alone time with Ava. He wanted an opportunity to let her know that he was interested in her.

"Hey, Ava! How are you doing today? I was waiting for you," Hardin said.

"For what?" Ava questioned.

"Well, I knew you were playing tennis and noticed that you missed your lunch. 

I'm on my way to get lunch, do you want to have lunch together?" Hardin directly did not want to confess to her and get rejected.

He wanted them to be friends first, then when he feels that things are progressing, he would confess and let her know that he would like to date her.

"Oh okay, let me change. I will let Kelly know where to meet us," she said. 

Kelly was her friend and they always had lunch together so she thought maybe he wanted to have lunch with Kelly too.

He wanted to take her out, but he thought if he directly asked her out for a date, she may refuse to go. So he thought going out casually for lunch as friends were better.

"I think she already had her lunch. I saw her having lunch with other people at the cafe before I got here," he lied. 

He just wanted to spend time alone with Ava. He did not want Kelly to interrupt his plans.

"Ava, we can go with your friends next time," he tried convincing her.

"Ok," Ava agreed reluctantly.

When the car stopped she saw that they were at a nearby top five-star hotel.

"Why are we here? Why did you take me to such a place?" Ava asked, confused. It was just a casual lunch. Why are we in such a fancy place?

"Well, I heard from one of my friends that the food here is very good. So I thought we should go," he lied. He thought since Ava was from a rich family he wanted to bring her here. He needed to impress her.

Yesterday, he had searched online for a good restaurant, and after weighing his options, he had chosen this fancy restaurant.

"Sure, let's go," she agreed.

The restaurant had several floors, and it looked very extravagant. They got a table on the first floor. The food looked good, and it was nice that they didn't have long to wait.

Tristan was on the second floor of the same restaurant for a business meeting. As he was looking around, he saw someone. It reminded him of Ava. 

He thought he was just thinking too much of her that he started seeing her everywhere. So he got up from his table to get a closer look. It was Ava! Suddenly his mood felt lighter. 

She was having lunch with someone. It was a younger guy, he looked good, but he had nothing compared to him.

He went back to his table and sat where he could see Ava. He was stewing. 

It looked like a young couple having a date, his temper rose. Seeing Ava with some other man did not sit well with him. He looked away.

He took a drink and sneaked another peak. The boy said something and he saw Ava laugh. So, he's such a joker that he can make her laugh? I wonder what he said. Unconsciously, the grip on his glass tightened.

Are they dating? Is that her boyfriend? Why are they here? Don't they have classes? Why did she choose him? She had very bad taste in men. 

He wasn't even listening to the meeting.

This is just puppy love. They're in college. They can't be serious. 

Ava is so innocent and naïve. That boy probably tricked her. 

I should warn her. College men are players. She shouldn't be dating one.

Tristan had all these thoughts running in his head. He didn't know he was getting jealous by the minute. 

He had never felt this mad at someone, he's never even met the guy. Where are these thoughts coming from?

These feelings were a first for him. It was also the first time someone caught his eye. He needs to sort this out.

He was an eligible bachelor. He has been handling one of the most prestigious companies around the world at a very young age. He was confident. He knows that nobody compares to him, but why is he comparing himself to a college boy.

He looks back at their table. 

What? Now that boy is serving her food? She's not a child. Let her get her own food.

He's had enough.