Page 5 of Ava After Midnight (Chaos and Chemistry #2)

Chapter Five

AVA

Z oe’s grip tightens around my wrist as she drags me toward the Airbnb’s master bedroom. Behind us, Jade runs interference with Domingo in the kitchen, her voice light, teasing—keeping him occupied. My skin still burns where his lips touched mine. The ghost of his rejection lingers, stinging sweeter than it should.

“Spill,” Zoe demands, shutting the door behind us. “And don’t give me that ’nothing happened’ bullshit. Your lips are swollen and you’re practically glowing.”

“He stopped it.” The words taste like confession and disappointment. “When I kissed him, he?—”

“Hold up.” She grabs my shoulders. “You kissed him? Our good girl Ava made the first move?”

I collapse onto the California king bed, head spinning with tequila and what-ifs. “He said he wouldn’t be my revenge fuck.”

“Damn.” Zoe flops beside me. We both stare up at the ceiling; somehow it’s easier than looking directly at her. I’ve always loved Zoe for our gossip sessions, and this moment reminds me why.

“A gentleman stripper-turned-bartender with morals.” Zoe winks. “No wonder you’re sprung.”

“I’m not sprung . I’m—” My weak protest dies as Jade slips in, wearing a shit-eating grin. Both Zoe and I turn to look at her, propping ourselves up on our elbows.

“Your boy’s out there stress-cleaning my coffee mug like it personally offended him,” she announces. “And muttering in Spanish. Very hot.”

“He’s not my boy.” The denial sounds weak, even to me. I can’t even make it sound like I don’t want him. “Speaking of boys—what’s happening with Mia?”

Jade’s grin turns feral. “Let’s just say her phone had an unfortunate accident with some top-shelf vodka. But,” she holds up her own phone, a video playing silently. “not before she drunk-posted this.”

My stomach drops.

I watch myself in the club—Domingo’s hands on my hips, my head thrown back laughing. Even through grainy footage, the chemistry crackles.

“Matthew’s called six times,” Zoe says softly. “I’ve been sending him to voicemail.”

“Shit.” I press my palms against my eyes until stars burst behind them. “I should?—”

“You ’should’ nothing.” Jade snatches my reaching hand back from my phone. “That controlling piece of khaki isn’t your problem tonight.”

“But—”

“No buts.” Zoe’s voice turns serious. “We saw how he looked at you, Ava. Not Domingo—Matthew. At the engagement party. Like you were another acquisition for his portfolio.”

The words hit like a physical blow.

“He loves me.” I tell the room the same thing I’ve told myself since we started dating. Why would he put up with me if he didn’t love me?

“He loves the idea of you,” Jade corrects. “The perfect Black trophy wife who’ll make his firm look progressive while playing by all his rules.”

“That’s not—” But isn’t it?

My protest dies as memories flood in—Matthew vetoing my natural hair for work events, suggesting I “tone down” my laugh at his firm’s parties, his subtle grimace when my family gets “too loud” at Sunday dinner.

He loves me. He does.

But love shouldn’t feel like walking a tightrope. Like shrinking yourself to fit someone else’s expectations. Like apologizing for simply existing the way you were made.

When was the last time he touched me like he wanted to?

Not for an event. Not out of obligation. But because he couldn’t help himself?

The answer sits heavy in my gut.

“Look.” Jade perches on the bed’s edge, humor gone. I sit up fully now, crossing my legs to keep my balance. “Nobody’s saying jump from Matthew’s cage into Domingo’s bed.”

“Though that wouldn’t be the worst life choice,” Zoe mutters.

“The point is," Jade continues, shooting Zoe a scathing look, “you’ve got this look in your eyes I haven’t seen since college. Like you’re finally remembering who you are under all Matthew’s rules.”

“And who’s that?” The question comes out smaller than I intend.

“A fucking force of nature.” Zoe sits up and squeezes my hand. “The girl who used to paint until sunrise, who danced on bars, who didn’t need a man’s permission to breathe .”

My throat tightens. “That girl was reckless.”

“That girl was free.” Jade’s voice softens, but her conviction doesn’t. “And hot bartender out there? He sees her. The real you.”

As if summoned, Domingo’s laugh drifts through the door—rich, warm, dangerous. My body reacts like he’s touched me; I feel heat pooling in my lower abdomen.

“Speaking of Mia’s mess,” Zoe checks her phone. "Jade and I should probably clear out of here. Get a hotel room.”

“Wait!” The word comes out too quick, too sharp.

Jade’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “Unless... you want to come with us? Don’t you want more time alone with tall, dark, and morally upstanding?”

Heat floods my cheeks. “I just…Thank you—I don’t want to deal with Mia tonight. Or Matthew’s calls. Or anything except…”

Except the way Domingo makes me feel alive.

“Girl.” Zoe’s grin turns wicked. “Say less.” She grabs her overnight bag, eyes glinting. “Just remember— he may have morals, but you’ve still got a ring.”

“Had a ring,” Jade corrects, dangling my three-carat cage from her finger. “Which I’m keeping safe until tomorrow. You know, in case you decide to use the hot tub again.”

My bare finger tingles. I press my fingers together, and the absence of the metal feels strangely right. “Nothing’s going to happen.”

“Uh huh.” Zoe doesn’t even try to hide her disbelief. “That’s why you’re blushing every time he speaks Spanish.”

“I’m not?—”

“ Papi, ven aquí ,” Jade coos in an exaggerated accent, waggling her brows. “ ?Quieres que te ensene unos pasos, mi amor? ”

Zoe cackles. “Damn, that was terrible. Domingo would?—”

CRASH.

A string of rapid-fire Spanish curses spills through the wall as something hits the floor in the kitchen.

I press my lips together, but it’s no use. The heat creeping up my neck betrays me.

“My God.” Zoe gasps dramatically. “Your body is physically reacting to him swearing.”

“Shut up.”

Jade fans herself. “Girl, you are in trouble.”

“The good kind of trouble,” Zoe adds, heading for the door. Her face turns serious. “But for real—you good? We can stay if you need us.”

Matthew’s future was always so certain. So safe. A straight path, no detours, no room for error. But safety never made me feel alive. Not like this. Not like him.

Domingo is dangerous in the way choices are. A fork in the road, a leap into the unknown. And maybe that should scare me. Maybe it does.

But what terrifies me more? The thought of walking back into a life where I keep pretending I don’t know what I want.

“I’m good. Really good."

“That’s our girl.” Jade hugs me tight, whispering, “Just... be sure. Whatever you decide tonight—be sure it’s what you want, not what anyone else wants for you.”

“Text us,” Zoe demands, squeezing my hand. “Anytime. Even if it’s just keyboard smashing about his abs.”

“Which are ridiculous, by the way,” Jade fans herself. “Like, who approved those?”

“Out!” I get up and shove them toward the door, laughing despite myself. “Before I change my mind.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Jade calls over her shoulder.

“Again, that leaves her a lot of options,” Zoe stage-whispers.

“I heard that!”

Their laughter echoes down the hallway, followed by a rapid-fire exchange with Domingo that I can’t quite make out.

The front door clicks shut. Suddenly, the Airbnb feels too big. Too quiet. Too charged with possibility.

I linger in the bedroom doorway, my heartbeat hammering against my ribs. Three hours until sunrise. Three hours of being alone with a man who makes me question everything I thought I wanted.

“They left?” Domingo’s voice carries from the kitchen—rough like his hands against my skin.

“Yeah.” I force my feet to move, padding down the hallway. My arms are wrapped around my midsection, hugging myself tightly as I approach him. “After thoroughly embarrassing me.”

He’s loading the dishwasher, muscles flexing under his shirt. The domestic normalcy of it hits harder than any of our heated moments—this glimpse of what simple happiness might feel like.

“Impossible.” He doesn’t look up, but I hear the smile in his voice. “Nothing about you is embarrassing, mi cielo .”

“You didn’t hear Jade’s commentary about your abs.”

The plate he’s holding clatters against the counter. He curses, but quickly extends his hands so it doesn’t shatter on the floor. Once he’s satisfied that it’ll be fine, he looks up at me. “Do I want to know?”

“Probably not.” I boost myself onto the kitchen island, legs dangling—the same spot where he made us coffee earlier, before everything got complicated. More complicated. “She’s not exactly subtle.”

“Says the woman who kissed me on impulse.”

Heat floods my face. “About that?—”

“Don’t.” He fully turns, leaning against the counter. The kitchen lights catch the gold in his hazel eyes, turning them molten. “Don’t apologize for knowing what you want.”

“What if I don’t know what I want?” The confession slips out before I can catch it. “Everything used to be so clear. Graduate college, land a corporate job, marry the right guy, make everyone proud.”

“And now?” He closes the space between us, and suddenly, I’m surrounded—by him, by the lingering bite of chlorine, the rich warmth of coffee, and something deeper, something that makes my pulse stutter.

“Now?” I laugh, but it comes out shaky. “Now I’m sitting in an overpriced Airbnb with a stranger who makes me feel more alive than my fiancé ever has.”

“We’re not strangers anymore, princesa .” His hands brace on the counter on either side of my thighs, caging me in without touching. “I know how the catch of your breath sounds when I get close. How your hips move to bachata before your brain catches up. How you bite your lip when you’re fighting what you really want.”

As if on cue, I release my lower lip from between my teeth.

His eyes track the movement.

“See?” His voice drops lower, rougher. “Not strangers at all.”

“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” I challenge, desperate to shift his focus before I combust. “Something real.”

Domingo exhales slowly, like he’s debating whether to actually give me the truth.

“Something real?” His voice is lower now, rougher. “When I was nine, I used to sneak onto the roof of my abuelo’s shop to watch the city lights. He caught me once, didn’t even yell. Just handed me a beer and said, ‘If you’re going to be reckless, at least enjoy the view.’”

I let that sink in. “Did you?”

His lips curve, but there’s something distant in his eyes. “For a while. Then life got bigger, and the view didn’t seem so limitless anymore.”

Domingo’s fingers trail lightly up my arm, a slow, measured caress that steals my breath.

“Wanna know something else, princesa ?” He leans in, his breath warm against my jaw. “I haven’t let myself want anything in years. But right now?” His lips ghost over my skin, not quite kissing, just enough to drive me insane. “ Te quiero tanto que duele. Lo quiero todo de ti, aunque no debería. ”

My stomach tightens, heat rushing through me at his words. I want you so badly it hurts. I want all of you, even though I shouldn’t.

A breath shudders out of me. “Then take me.”

His eyes darken. “Not yet.” His thumb drags over my bottom lip. “But when I do? Vas a rogarme por más. ”

My thighs clench instinctively. My stomach flips, stirring a need sharp enough to leave me dizzy. I swallow, but it doesn’t help.

He’s not wrong.

If I let him touch me the way we both want?—

I will beg. And I won’t even be ashamed of it.