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Chapter 56 Run Ava, Run!

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Although Ava had her new plan to get Jax out of her life while staying in her father's will, she knew it would take awhile to implement it. She was still trapped in this joke of a honeymoon. To be honest, she was looking forward to the New Orleans part of the trip. She had wanted to go back since she'd been a kid.

The itinerary Jeeves put together looked like a lot of fun. It even included a haunted midnight cemetery tour. She would never be brave enough to go alone and it was better to go with someone she knew even if that person kissed like a dog.

He really needed to watch some Hallmark movies to see how a kiss was supposed to be done. How could a guy think kissing like a dog was romantic? There was nothing romantic about a man trying to gag you with his tongue.

Ava opened her eyes and saw Paul passing by the cabana.

"Do you need anything?" he asked.

She was about to ask for mouth wash to get rid of that Jax Teller taste, but she changed her mind. This was a perfect opportunity to practice her plan. She could try out her tragic tale of her marriage on Paul.

Everyone always thought actors had so much talent because they could say words that someone wrote out for them. That didn't take talent. What took talent was making up a story and acting it out live without the benefit of rehearsals, re-takes or a director. It was real life and far harder than acting on some dumb TV show.

"If you could just reach me a bottle of Coke from the cooler, I'd really appreciate it," Ava said sweetly.

Paul opened it before handing it to her.

"Would you mind rubbing some suntan lotion on my back? I'm afraid my skin's going to fry if I go out into the sun again."

She wasn't worried that Jax would come storming over in some kind of rage. His back was to her and he was far too busy meeting and greeting his adoring fans.

Ava sat up leaning a little forward so he could apply the lotion.

"I noticed the name Teller on the cabana. Is that Jax Teller from the documentary?" Paul asked nodding his head in the direction of Jax.

Ava knew from the way Paul looked at her and the slow strokes he was using with his fingers on her back, that he was into her and enjoying himself. He would be the perfect sympathetic audience.

"Yes. It's tragic what the government did to him. A real crime. Really, people should go to prison so they would know what it felt like. I married him while he was in prison because I loved him and wanted to help him." Ava rubbed at her eyes trying to make it look like her eyes were tearing up. "I thought he loved me too, but he was just using me for my father's legal connections."

"That's horrible," Paul said automatically. People always wanted sympathy for something. He didn't blame Jax for using a spoiled rich girl to get out of prison. It was the smart thing to do.

"He not only doesn't love me, it turns out he doesn't even like girls," Ava shut her eyes pretending the reality of this confession was too much for her. She put her hand over her heart to emphasis how sad she felt.

"He doesn't like girls?" Paul asked watching Jax. He didn't pick up on Jax being gay and he considered himself an expert.

"No. He fell madly in love with his cellmate. He won't even have sex with me," Ava dropped her voice to a whispered sort of moan. "I don't think I can stay married to him. It breaks my heart that he will never be able to love me because he loves men."

"That does sound like a big problem for a marriage," Paul said as he finished up applying suntan lotion to Ava's back. "Is there anything else?"

"No," Ava said putting heartbreak in her voice. "Thank you for listening."

Jax began walking towards the cabana finally free of his admiring entourage. Paul rushed out to intercept Jax. Ava wondered if Paul were going to come to her defense and tell Jax how horrible he was for mistreating Ava.

For a few moments she wondered what it would feel like to have someone stick up for her. When she was little, Jeeves used to come to her defense. When she became a teen, that changed and he turned on her. Paul did seem to be crushing on her a little though. He might say something to Jax.

Ava's eyes got big. Oh, hell, hell and hell! Fucking hell! If Paul told Jax about her telling him that Jax was gay, that could be a problem. A big one.

Jax had turned when Paul came up to him and she saw him look at her. Paul had a strange smile on his face. What was going on with that? Jax was only about fifteen feet away and she couldn't completely read the expression in his eyes. That might be good because just looking at the expression on his face was a little scary.

Run away, Ava! Run away now! The voice in her head was screaming at her.

Ava had her phone, room card, some money and a credit card in a waterproof case she wore on a belt around her waist. She slipped on her flip flops and ran as fast as she could through the sand.

It wasn't until she was in their room that it occurred to her that Jax would figure out where she'd gone. She wished the voice in her head was smarter. Damn you voice in my head, she cursed.

Screw it! She wasn't afraid of Jax. Well, not very afraid of him. What could he really do to her? Scold her? Give her another dog kiss?

Ava underestimated Jax Teller's creativity.

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Author's Note: Last year I wrote a short three chapter story called Trick or Treating Happy Style. If you're looking for a light silly Halloween story, give it a read. I think you'll like it and you'll find out one of Happy's biggest secrets-what he keeps under his bed.