Free Nobody's Obligation (Swimming Upstream #2) by Rebecca Barber

it,” Ava declared.
    “Mischievous eyes, hey?”
    “Oh, shut up!”
    “Ava, you and I could be great friends,” Tyler conceded, pulling Ava back into his grasp and draping his arm around her waist.
    Ava was gobsmacked. She had tried her damnedest to make him as uncomfortable as she was, and he had simply shrugged it off. What the hell is wrong with him? Ava wondered as she walked along all wrapped up in him.
    Moments later Tyler was holding Ava’s door open for her as she slipped into the car. Tyler silently started the car. A strange sense of melancholy settled over the car as they edged closer to town. Tyler changed the radio and some sad melody played softly, but it was quickly interrupted by the loud screeching music coming from Tyler’s phone.
    Ava reached into the front pocket of his hoodie that she was wearing and pulled the phone out, holding it in her hand.
    “Who is it?” Tyler asked nervously, his eyes never leaving the road. One traffic violation a day was more than enough for him.
    Quickly Ava flipped the phone over. “Um, it’s a number. Did you want to answer it? I can put it on speaker.”
    “You sure?” he said reluctantly.
    Ava didn’t answer but instead just accepted the call and clicked on the speaker function. “Tyler!” a deep voice boomed through the phone. Suddenly aware that she might be intruding on a personal conversation Ava focused her sights out the window.
    “Hi,” Tyler offered, his voice wavering slightly.
    “Where the fuck are you?” the voice roared angrily. “You were supposed to be here two hours ago.”
    “Ah, shit,” Tyler muttered. “Sorry, Jonathan. I had something urgent come up that I had to take care of,” Tyler confessed, sneaking a look at Ava.
    “Something you had to do, hey?”
    “Yeah, sorry, man. I can be there in half an hour?” Tyler suggested.
    With a huff, the voice agreed and Tyler quickly ended the call before turning his attentions back to Ava. “Look, Ava, I’m so sorry—” he began, but this time it was Ava’s turn to cut him off.
    “Tyler, please don’t. It’s okay. I know you didn’t plan on having lunch with me,” Ava admitted with all the fake strength and resilience that she could conjure.
    Ten minutes later a very bewildered and disappointed Ava stood in the driveway and watched Tyler drive away. Releasing a deep breath Ava hadn’t even realised she was holding, she watched as Tyler turned the corner and vanished out of sight. It was only four o’clock and Ava was torn between right and wrong. Should she climb the stairs and face the ever growing mountain of paperwork, or give in and head home early? Since Tyler’s unexpected arrival, her whole day had been thrown into chaos, and she was under no illusions that it wouldn’t continue.
    “Fuck it,” Ava swore under her breath as she stuffed her hand deep into her bottomless handbag searching for her car keys. Moments later Ava was sliding behind the wheel of her beat up silver Mazda and willing the engine to life. As it coughed and spluttered, Ava couldn’t control the snort as she realised just how far she’d fallen in a matter of minutes. From Tyler’s prestigious all leather, all creature comforts and every gadget invented car to her own battered and bruised Mazda. Pushing the thought from her mind, Ava slipped the car into gear and headed home.
    By the time she made it into the parking lot of her shoebox apartment she had no idea how she’d gotten there. She’d completely forgotten the forty-five minute traffic congestion she’d fought through while she daydreamed her way home. The frustrating part was she couldn’t even recall the daydream she’d had that had gotten her there.
    Bumping her way through the front door, she kicked off her shoes and sank into the threadbare carpet. It wasn’t comforting and relaxing but after spending the last two years in the same apartment, Ava knew what to expect, and that alone brought her comfort. “Honey, I’m home,”