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Michael’s usual seat at The Wild Pony hadn’t changed since his break up with Maria. Really, it hadn’t changed in years, dating Maria hadn’t changed it and Michael should have seen that a break up wouldn’t either. Still, he hadn’t quite expected it to be so lonely. Sure, Maria still stopped by to talk to him, but Isobel had been spending less time at the bar recently and more time with Maria and Rosa outside of it, and any other drinking partner was long gone, off in California or their distance was more metaphorical. Either way, Michael sat alone at his usual seat, a beer bottle in hand. No whiskey tonight. Whiskey was for forgetting or for celebrating. The $2 domestic from happy hour would do.
“Hey there cowboy,” a voice said from his left side and he sighed.
Before, it wouldn’t have bothered him. He would have smiled at the woman, would have flirted, would have found somewhere private with her to do some private things. It wasn’t before though. No, he wouldn’t do that in Maria’s bar. He wouldn’t do that to the pool of hope he carried around in his heart.
“Real sorry,” he said, barely moving his head to look at the stranger, “but I’m gonna stop you right there. I’m not interested in finding anyone tonight.”
The voice laughed, delighted and amused. It wasn’t the derisive sound he was expecting to hear, the pissed off sound of someone who thought they were better than him and he should be flattered that they were giving him the time of day.
“Well, I can’t say that that was what I was looking for.” At that Michael had to look over at the woman. She was lovely, that was for sure. Her eyes were a deep brown and they seemed to be laughing at him as much as her mouth was. She brushed the length of her braid behind her shoulder, dark hair disappearing into the shadows of the barely lit bar.
“Then what were you looking for?” Michael asked, curious about whatever line she was about to give him, because it would be a line. It was always a line.
The thing was, no one ever talked to Michael unless they were hitting on him or starting a fight with him. For his family, Alex, Maria, and Liz included in that, it was often those things too, though an ask for help was not uncommon. People never came up to him just to talk. This wouldn’t be the exception, he was sure.
“I was looking for a game of pool.” At Michael’s unimpressed look she continued. “I’m serious. I’ve seen you play before. My girlfriend had to take our friend home and, no offense, you’re the least shitty man here. And the best pool player,” she admitted after a moment.
“Girlfriend?” Michael asked, seeking confirmation on just what kind of ‘girlfriend’ she meant.
“Girlfriend, yes. As in partner. As in we’re dating. Didn’t expect you to be a dick about it,” she said, standing up and pissed. Michael cut her off before she left.
“Not being a dick, I promise,” Michael said, hands pointedly not reaching out to stop her departure. “More like I wanted to make sure this isn’t some line. No offense to you, but people don’t just talk to me or ask me to play pool, without some other kind of motive.”
“That,” the woman said, not coming any closer but also not moving away, “is very sad.” She said and went back to her previous spot at the bar. “I’m being serious though. I’m looking for someone to play pool with me, who isn’t going to be an asshole, won’t hit on me, and won’t tell me that I just haven’t found the right dick yet.”
“Well, I definitely won’t tell you that. Can’t promise that I won’t be a bit of an asshole though. I’ve been told that I have my moments.”
“Well, that’s a risk I’m going to have to take.” The woman reached her hand out for a shake. “My name’s Ava. My partner and I moved here about six months ago.”
“I’m Michael.” Michael took her hand with a small smile. “I’ve lived here for too damn long. What brought you two out here?”
Ava used the handshake to pull Michael up and started walking towards the pool table she had claimed. “My girlfriend is in the Air Force, she just got stationed here. I can work from home, so it was no big deal.” She looked around at the bar, at the patrons and the loud group of Wyatt Long and his friends in the corner. “Not the most welcoming place we’ve lived, but I definitely didn’t expect to roll into a gay bar here. Not really my scene though,” she explained.
“Air Force,” Michael said, focusing on that rather than her opinions on Planet 7. It wasn’t his favorite place either, too much glitter on any given day and he always ended up seeing way more of Isobel than he frankly wanted to.
“Yeah, she’s been in for about six years now. We started dating four years ago come August.” She handed him a cue. “Honestly, the Air Force is how I knew you wouldn’t be a dick. We’ve seen you around with Captain Manes. I figured, if you’re friends with him you would take my ‘not interested’ at face value.” She sent him a pitying look. “Didn’t expect you to turn around and tell me no one’s ever tried to be your friend before.”
Michael watched as she racked the balls. He waited until she took the break shot. “What can I say, the only friends I have are my family, the people dating members of my family, or people I’ve dated in the past.”
Her head snapped up at that last one.
“Captain Manes is your friend.”
Michael sent her a tight-lipped smile and aimed his first shot.
“Alex is also an ex.” His smile grew. “Bisexual.” He pointed at himself.
“Huh,” was Ava’s only response.
They played in silence for a while, just enjoying a well-played game. Ava won the first round but Michael won the second. It was after his win that Ava broke the silence.
“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t see that one coming,” she admitted.
“The bisexuality?” Michael asked as he reracked.
“I’m sorry I let the general air of cowboy stereotypes blind me.”
“I’m pretty used to it. But also, saying from experience, cowboys are pretty gay.” She laughed in response to that one. Michael laughed as well.
“You shouldn’t have to be- used to it, that is. I assumed you were straight. I should know better than that.”
Michael placed the cue on the table and went to lean next to Ava.
“For a long time, I just let everyone assume. It was easier that way, you know? I’ve known since I was 17, but the town was definitely not nearly as accepting back then. Plus some other thing, personal things, made it necessary to just hide.”
Ava leaned her shoulder into his. “I know what that feels like. It took moving away from my family to feel comfortable enough to utter the words ‘I’m gay’ and it took even longer to be comfortable living it daily.”
Michael looked around, saw a group loitering near and eyeing the table.
“Hey, let me buy you another drink,” Michael said, knocking her shoulder and tilting his head towards the group.
“Yeah, sure. We can talk more about shared life experience.” She smiled and walked to the bar.
It became a thing. Michael would meet up with Ava once a week, generally when her girlfriend was out with her Air Force buddies. Michael started clearing his schedule too, not that it was that full. Sometimes it meant telling Isobel he had other plans, which she often made her give him a speculative glance. Once she asked who he was meeting. Michael tried not to be insulted by her snort when he had replied with ‘a friend’.
“You don’t have friends,” she said, not entirely unkind but with her usual brisk nature. “You have people that you sleep with and you have your family. You’re not turning down your family for someone you’re sleeping with.” She declared the last sentence, leaving little room for arguments.
Michael found the small inch that she left him, still trying to wiggle out of the dinner.
“I’m serious Isobel, I have plans with a friend. It would be rude to cancel.”
“It would be ruder to miss the dinner celebrating the one-year anniversary of my husband’s death,” she retorted.
“Fine,” Michael sighed as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll be there.”
-
Ava had a beer waiting for him at their new usual space at the bar. It offered them just enough of an angle to people-watch, without making it too obvious that they were doing so.
“Sorry I had to cancel last week,” Michael said the moment he sat down. “Isobel-”
“That’s the one that’s basically your sister, right?” Ava asked for clarification before he got too far into the story.
“Yeah, that’s her,” Michael agreed after a sip of his beer. Ava was trying to get him to try something other than the happy hour drafts he normally got. This one was from a brewery back east she used to go to when she lived in Philadelphia. It was good, a white ale with subtle spice and a strong citrus finish. He didn’t mind her insistence on him expanding his drinking habits, the same way she didn’t mind when he had her do whiskey tastings. “Her husband died a year ago and it was the anniversary,” he explained.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry. Is she ok?”
“Turns out he wasn’t as wonderful a guy as we all thought he was. She found out after that he’d been cheating on her basically the whole time, and the affairs weren’t all consensual. She worked hard to free herself, you know? She was starting to reconcile the man she thought she loved and who he really was.”
“So you were with your sister,” Ava summarized for him. “That’s not something you have to apologize for, especially when all you missed was Sam and two of her squadron losing spectacularly to me at pool.”
“Sam was here?” Ava nodded. “Damn.”
Michael had met Ava’s girlfriend twice now, once they ran into each other on main street as they were making their way to The Crashdown and Michael, Isobel, and Rosa were leaving Beam Me Up. She had been good humored as they stopped to chat for a few minutes, until her hunger got in the way. She had joined them at The Wild Pony the next week. She started out the evening by telling Michael she was an open book, moved on to her complex family history, and ended the night drunkenly telling Michael about her sex life with Ava in way too much detail.
Michael liked her. He liked her lack of filter. He liked her determination. He even liked when she spoke of life on base, even if he still hated the Air Force as a whole. She talked about seeing Alex around base too. Michael especially liked that.
He also liked talking to someone who knew absolutely nothing about his life, his family and the messed-up stuff they were involved in. Ava knew some, mostly just figuring out who was in his stories and he knew about hers too. Sam though, Sam just knew that he was Ava’s friend from the bar and that he knew Captain Manes as well. Michael kind of liked that, liked that he’s defined by his friendships.
“Mhmm,” Ava agreed as she finished her beer. “She said she’d come next week, if you’re cool with one of the guys coming with. He’s new to the base, like us.” She gave him a smirk. “Cute too. And single, if you’re interested.”
Michael laughed before he shook his head and took another sip of his beer. “I’m taking a break from dating, you know that.”
“Doesn’t have to be dating, you know.”
“Oh, I know all about that.” He smiled at her, a little sad. “Taking a break from that too. And, well.” He threw a look over at Maria who was manning the bar on the far side. “That would be another ex. It was fairly recent too. I think it would be pretty bad form to pick someone up in her bar.”
“Wow. Shit, you weren’t kidding about all your friends being your exes.” She looked over at Maria, back lit by the neon in the corner. “You do have excellent taste though,” she said as she bumped her shoulder against his. He just laughed in agreement. “So… you said exes or family or dating your family. I know about Isobel, and Captain Manes, and now Maria. Who else?”
He nodded to another person she’d often seen behind the bar, a tall white man with fluffy hair and sad eyes.
“That’s Max, Isobel’s brother.”
“So also basically your brother, because of being found together when you were young.”
“Exactly. Total big brother type too. Then there’s Liz, she’s out in California right now. Max has been in love with her forever, though they broke up recently. Between you and me, I don’t really think it’s gonna last.” Ava nodded as if she understood, though from what she’s told Michael about some of her friends back in Philadelphia, she probably did. “Anyway, she’s probably my best friend besides Isobel.”
“Ok, is she the one that calls sometimes?”
“Yeah, I kinda feel bad ignoring her because I haven’t seen her in months.”
Ava smiled at him and said, “Don’t feel bad about it. I totally answered a call and was on the phone for a solid half hour last time.” She flagged down the bartender, the not Maria one who was new that Michael didn’t really know that well yet. She got them another round. “Ok, so your siblings I now know. And your exes. And your sibling’s exes. What about the girl I saw you with when we ran into you near the diner? She was with Isobel.”
Michael laughed. “Are you ready for this? That was Liz’s cousin, who Isobel had a minor crush on back in the day. She really only just got to town a little before you did.”
“No shit,” Ava said. “This town is not that small. How are these your only friends?”
“There’s also a doctor, who was Alex’s best friend and then high school bully now best friend again. Who is also Liz’s ex. And Rosa’s half sibling.” Ava’s eyes got bigger as he described Kyle’s relationship to everyone. Once he was done, she laughed through her incredulity. “Plus. I don’t really like many people,” Michael admitted into his beer. “A lot of them really suck.” He looked at her with a smile. “I like to think I’ve found all the good people in town.”
“I’ll cheers to that.” Ava clinked her bottle against Michael’s. “Ok, I’ll be right back. Gonna go claim us a table.” She nodded her head in the direction of the pool tables.
Michael took a sip of his beer and watched her go. He smiled to himself.
“You know she’s a lesbian, right?” Maria asked, startling Michael. “I know you’re waiting for the right time or whatever with Alex, but… I just really need you to know that you are barking up the wrong tree there.”
Michael sighed and put down his bottle.
“You know I'm not looking for anything right now. And you know I wouldn’t do that here of all places.” She looked like she was about to say something in response to that, so he cut her off. “And I know she’s a lesbian. I’ve met her girlfriend and everything. She’s my friend.”
Maria eyed him for a moment. He could tell she was fighting back the reflex to try and read him, bracelet be damned.
“You’re friend?” She asked. He couldn’t entirely blame her skepticism. The entire time they dated, he either spent time with her, his siblings, or Alex and Liz and barely anyone else. Him having a friend now would be weird after a year of knowing he had none.
“Yeah, my friend,” Michael agreed with a small smile. “I think maybe the first real one I’ve ever made.”
She opened her mouth again to object, he could tell, but she closed it. “I guess you can’t say we were really friends,” she admitted.
“Too many feelings in the way for that,” Michael agreed.
“Well, we got there eventually, didn’t we?”
Michael met Maria’s gaze. They shared a smile.
“Yeah, we did.”
-
The sun was out, high and bright as summer started to ease the lingering chill of spring. It was cool under the awning outside the coffee shop, a reprieve from the sun as they sipped their coffees in companionable silence.
They broke routine, sometimes. It wasn’t always at The Pony, sometimes they’d meet up at other times of the day or other places. And wasn’t that new, meeting people beyond The Pony, The Crashdown, or their secret base. It was nice, going to a place not owned by his friends or a place where he didn’t have a reputation.
They frequented the coffee shop, not Bean Me Up with its kitschy alien interior. No, they went to the little shop in a strip on the outskirts of town, where nothing was named after alien puns and the coffee was roasted in a room in the back. The shop fit four tables at maximum, and often they were filled. The metal chairs under the awning outside were always free though. That was their regular spot, by the front door so that the air blew at them every time it opened, but under an awning so they’d always be in the shade. Michael would get the medium roast, black in a mug. Ava switched it up constantly. Secretly, Michael thought it was so that he could never buy her drink. She always paid, claiming it made no sense to use her card for four dollars. For the first time in his life, Michael didn’t complain about it. She got their coffee on the days they ventured out there and then Michael would buy her drinks the next time they went to the bar. It was a little uneven, but that was ok. It balanced out in friendship, he was coming to realize.
He liked that.
They sat at what was becoming known to the baristas as their table and enjoyed the quiet day.
Ava smiled into her chai.
“Sam said she ran into you and Captain Manes getting breakfast the other day.” Michael groaned in response. “What? Am I not allowed to be excited that my friend and the love of his life went on a date?”
“It wasn’t a date and you know that,” Michael grumbled into his coffee, a single origin Ethiopia Yirgacheffe that the shop only had a few times a year. He stole a piece of Ava’s lemon-lavender pound cake to delay talking. She glared but moved the plate closer. Michael sighed. “It wasn’t a date. I would have told you if we had a date. We ran into each other as we were walking in and decided to eat together.” He grimaced. “What Sam missed was Forrest joining us later.”
Ava made an annoyed face, scrunched up nose and all. “I know I barely met him, but I do not like that guy.”
Michael laughed. “You just don’t like him because he’s dating Alex.”
“As if that isn’t the exact same reason you don’t like him!” Michael just raised his coffee mug in agreement. There was no need to argue with the truth. They both took a sip of their drinks before Ava continued, “I really don’t understand why you don’t just tell him you still love him. He obviously still has feelings for you. I know I don’t know them that well, but any time I see him and Forrest around town they look very casual.”
“They’ve been dating for a few months. That’s the longest relationship Alex has ever had.”
“Outside of you.”
“I don’t think our on again, off again mess can really be counted.” Ava made a face that said she disagreed. “Besides, it’s still not the time. There’s still some stuff I have to work on for myself, you know?”
Ava sighed and took another sip of her chai. “Fine, that I can accept.”
“It’s nice that you’re on my side though,” Michael said.
“Of course I am. You’re my friend.”
“In that case, as your friend, can I ask what’s stopping you from asking Sam to marry you?”
Ava froze.
“What?”
“Oh come on, don’t try that with me. I was there last week. I heard Sam talk about how much she wanted to get married.”
“She really needs to stop being a talkative drunk.”
“It’s cute.”
“It is not when she starts spilling all of our secrets!”
Michael covered Ava’s hand on the table. He patted it in sympathy. “I don’t think that was much of a secret.” Ava groaned. “Come on, friend. You can talk to me.”
Ava turned her hand over so that their hands were entwined. She gave his fingers a squeeze.
“I was waiting until we were settled here,” she admitted, eyes on their joined hands. “Four years still doesn’t seem that long, you know? I know it’s a lesbian stereotype, the whole jumping into a relationship and commitment. But four years doesn’t seem that long, not for something that big.”
“You moved across the country to be with her,” Michael reminded her gently.
“Oh, I know. I felt crazy for it then and still feel a little crazy for it now. It just seemed a little less, permanent? Maybe?”
“Like you could pack up and go back if things went south, but if you get married then it gets messy?”
“Yes! Exactly!” Ava made eye contact with Michael. “And it’s not like I don’t want to be with her, and it’s not like I don’t see us together in the future. It’s just…”
“Scary?”
Ava laughed. “Yeah. It’s scary.”
Michael bit his lip. He hesitated.
“What?” Ava asked.
“I know it doesn’t seem all that long, but four years is still a big deal. There’s plenty of stories of people being together for a decade before they get married or people who meet and know and are married within the year. I don’t think time matters, not when you’re on the same page. You want the same future. You live together and work together well. You love and support each other, but you also have lives outside of each other.” He hesitated again before he gently extracted his hand from her grip. He moved his chair closer to hers so he could wrap an arm around her. “You want to be with her, so don’t let your fears hold you back. And, if it’s marriage, the institution that’s the problem, talk to her about it.”
“It’s not,” Ava admitted, head coming to rest on his shoulder. “It’s just me being scared. I want to be with her forever.” She paused for a moment. “Is that why you’re waiting with Alex? Because you’re scared?”
“It’s not the same,” Michael said. “I’m not scared, not anymore. And what I was scared of? Alex proved over and over again that he’s there for me. It used to be different. I never knew if he’d be there when I woke up, if he’d run after every kiss. I’m waiting because we both deserve the space to heal from all the shit the past has thrown at us.” Michael smiled down into Ava’s hair. “You’re helping, you know that right? Pretty sure I wouldn’t be handling this at all if you weren’t here.”
Ava snuggled in closer. “I’m glad I met you Michael Guerin. I don’t think I’d like Roswell nearly as much without you.”
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” Kyle Valenti interrupted them. He was in front of their table, obviously on his way inside.
“Valenti,” Michael greeted with a little wave.
“Oh!” Ava’s head whipped up from its spot on Michael’s shoulder, almost hitting him in the jaw. “Valenti! The bully turned doctor!”
Kyle took a half step back in surprise.
“Oh, um. Yeah, I guess?” He looked towards Michael.
“He’s been a friend for a while,” Michael said to Ava. “Probably best to not call him the ex-bully. Ava this is Kyle. Kyle this is Ava, she and her girlfriend just moved here a few months ago.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kyle said, hand outstretched for a handshake. Ava shook his hand with enthusiasm. “I’m sorry to cut this meeting short, but I’m my way to a shift and I like to start out the day with something a little better than the stuff we have at the hospital.”
He went into the shop and came out a few minutes later with his coffee.
“It was really nice to meet you Ava,” he said as he was leaving. “I hope you get to come and hang out with us all some time. I normally join Isobel at Planet 7, but judging by the fact that you’re friends with Guerin and that I’ve never seen you there, I’d say it’s not your scene.”
“A little too loud and a little too much glitter,” Ava agreed.
“That’s Guerin’s reason too. Well, I’m always willing to see Maria at The Pony, so if you ever want to meet up with someone besides Guerin, let me know.”
“Oh I will,” Ava agreed with a laugh. “I’ll let Michael tell you the next time we go. Hopefully you won’t be working.”
“Hopefully,” Kyle agreed. “Now, excuse me. I have patients to see.”
He waved and walked back to his car. Ava looked over at Michael who said very little since the introductions.
“It's hard,” he explained at her look. “He’s a good guy, and he’s helped me and my family out so many times. But fuck, is it hard to look at him and not see the guy who called Alex names and punched him at prom?”
“He punched Alex at prom?”
“Oh don’t worry, Alex hit him back harder,” Michael laughed at the memory. “I’m pretty sure that was the moment my crush started.”
“Captain Manes has always been a badass. Can’t wait to tell Sam.” She finished her chai and looked into Michael’s still half full glass. “Hey, how about we get you a to go cup and then you and I hit up the one decent jewelry store in town. We can look at rings as I work my way up to not being so scared.”
Michael grabbed her empty cup and stood. “Perfect. We can see how many people assume we’re getting married because this town is still ridiculously heteronormative. Let me just go get a cup.”
“I’ll have you know, if I wasn’t a giant lesbian and you weren’t head over heels in love with someone else, we could make a beautiful couple!”
Michael laughed as he pushed open the door.
-
The Wild Pony was crowded by the time they got there on Thursday. The bar was two deep and all the high tops were full. The booths along the wall had a few open spots. Ava nodded towards a booth near the pool tables. She moved towards them after Michael nodded back. He moved towards the bar.
Maria gave him a frantic smile as he moved around the corner to avoid the crowd.
“It’s only 9!” He called to her as she poured shot after shot of tequila. “What’s with everyone tonight?”
“It’s the first day of summer Guerin!” She called back before she turned to grab the well vodka. “Apparently everyone is celebrating!” He watched as she made mixed drinks, the kind that really only came out in the summer or when Isobel tired of white wine. “A beer for you?” She asked, taking money from a customer.
“Two,” he said before he thought better of it. “Actually, make it three. That way we don’t have to come up too soon. You guys are swamped.”
“Ava with you tonight?” She asked as she grabbed the bottles by the neck. At his nod she grabbed another bottle. “It’s a new summer seasonal. I think she’ll like it,” she said as she placed four bottles in front of her. “We’ll square up later when the crowds die down?” She said as she turned away from him to see to another group of costumers.
He heard her tell the waiting customers that he gets friendship priority and they don’t get to complain, before he walked away. He left the twenty on the bar. He may get the friends and family treatment, but it made him feel better to leave the money. It was one of the things he was working on, not feeling indebted to others. Ava and her ‘friendship balance’ helped, but there was too long of a history of Michael taking booze from Maria to feel like they were at that level. Any balance would be paid immediately.
He grabbed the beers and headed over to the booth. Ava raised her eyebrows at the four bottles.
“They won’t be as cold when we get to them, but it’ll be better than fighting the crowd to get refills,” he explained as he slid into the booth. “And this is some new summer beer Maria wanted you to try.” He pushed the bottle closer to her.
“Oh, cool. She was telling me about this the other day.” She took a sip. “Oh! Grapefruit Shandy. Delicious.” She offered the bottle to Michael who declined. “More for me,” she said with a shrug.
Michael grabbed the white beer and took a sip. He looked around at the bar, somehow even more crowded than it was five minutes before.
“If I knew it would be this crowded I would have postponed,” Michael said. It was crowded, but luckily their spot was relatively quiet. It was still loud, but they could still talk at a normal volume, instead of the yelling he had to do to talk to Maria.
“Did not realize first day of summer was such a big thing,” Ava said with a raised eyebrow. “Would have just offered drinks at our house instead.”
“I do not ever remember this being a thing before.” He shrugged. “Guess spring was colder than usual. That could do it.”
“This is my first spring here, remember? It didn’t feel all that different than spring back at home. A lot fewer storms, but that’s about it. Oh! Alex is here!”
Michael looked toward the door. Alex was barely through the doorway, surprised at the crowd. Ava stood up to flag him down.
“Hey! Alex! Over here!”
Alex turned at the sound of his name. He smiled when he saw them and made his way over.
“Hey,” he said once he was close. “What the hell is going on?”
“Summer, apparently,” Michael said as he moved over. Ava had moved to sit back down, but instead of her spot across the table she moved to sit next to him. “Hey, take a seat.” He offered Alex one of the beers on their table.
“Are you expecting someone?” Alex asked as he took a seat and eyed the two extra beers.
“No. We were just being proactive,” Ava explained. “Is Forrest joining you later? He can have the fourth one.”
“Oh, no,” Alex said as he took a beer. “We actually broke up the other day. I don’t think we’ll see him at The Pony outside of open-mic nights for a while.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Michael had to hand it to Ava, she did sound sorry. The excited way she was hitting Michael’s thigh under the table said otherwise though.
“Yeah, it was coming,” Alex said, pointedly ignoring Ava’s not so hidden gesture. “I, uh, didn’t really see us going anywhere serious and I thought it was unfair to let it continue if I didn’t want to be more serious, you know?”
Ava nodded. Michael tried to kept his face neutral, tried to hide how happy the news made him. Alex for his part kept his gaze on Ava. His eyes flitted to Michael only once, when he said he didn’t see it going anywhere.
“You’re probably right,” Ava agreed, “but break ups still suck, so I’m still sorry.”
“Yeah,” Michael echoed. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks guys. That means a lot to me.” He flashed Michael a small smile. “And thanks for the beer, I really needed it tonight.”
“Tough day?” Michael asked, letting the conversation shift.
“More like long. Had meetings today and every single one of them ran late. I was hoping to talk to Maria a bit tonight, but that doesn’t look like it’s happening.”
“Not for a few hours, probably,” Michael agreed.
They talked for a few more minutes before Alex excused himself to the restroom. The moment he was out of earshot Ava turned to Michael.
“Ask him out!”
Michael smiled. “I will. Not right now though.”
Ava was incredulous. “Why not right now? Are you crazy? He basically just admitted that he still loves you!”
Michael wrapped an arm around Ava’s shoulder. “I will ask him, but not tonight.” He smiled at her and handed her her beer. He picked his up and offered it in cheers. “I already have a date tonight, and as much as I love him, I’m not going to ditch my friend.” Ava tapped her bottle against his.
“I’ll cheers to that.” They took a sip. “But you are asking him out tomorrow, right?”
Michael laughed. “Right.”