Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Avery
By the time dinner time rolled around, I’d taught four more classes without disaster and had managed to replay the situation with Levi a million times in my head.
I wished I lived in a city because then I’d never see him again. Instead, I was stuck in this tiny-ass town, and there was gonna be no avoiding him while he was back in Texas.
At some point I’d have to apologize for snapping, but that wasn’t happening today.
It didn’t help that Mateo had handled it the way he always did. After Levi left, he’d stayed to help for the rest of the class, and then he gave me a hug and left when it was finished.
That was it.
I could still feel him against me. His scent fucking haunted me. There’d been nothing sexual in his touch, just pure support, and that’d been enough to truly ruin my day.
A knock on the studio door had my gaze lifting from the front desk.
I waved my hand at Evie, one of my best friends since high school.
She was gorgeous as ever, not looking like she’d been up since 5 a.m. like I knew she had.
Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, crimson red lipstick perfectly unsmudged.
She wore a cute dress with strawberries on it that hugged her plus-sized body in a way that made me drool, the sweetheart neckline doing god’s work.
Evie stepped inside and held up a piece of her famous pecan pie.
“I come bearing pie. I heard you might need it,” she said.
I sighed dramatically. “Have I ever told you that you’re beautiful?”
“You say that every time I bring you pie on a bad day, Blue.”
I groaned and put my forehead down on the countertop as she approached. I’d forgotten that the bastard had sent the group chat a message about my little situation. I hadn’t checked my messages all day.
Now, I was sure the entire town was going to be calling me Blue for the rest of my life.
“Oh boy. That bad, huh?” Evie sat the pie plate down next to me and stabbed the fork in it. “I was swamped all day, otherwise I would have rescued you sooner. June is on her way too. She’s dropping off her niece at her brother’s.”
I raised my eyes to meet Evie’s gaze with a frown. Both of us had noticed just how much more June had been caring for her niece, Laura. She hadn’t talked to either one of us about it, which probably meant it was much worse than we knew.
“Do we need to run an intervention with her?” I asked hesitantly.
“Maybe. Too soon to tell. Her brother has never been my favorite person, but that’s just because he’s always caused her trouble. I know he’s having a hard time right now.” Evie pressed her lips into a thin line. “Tell me about today. Spill the beans.”
“Well, today was a disaster,” I said into the counter. I turned my head, keeping my cheek pressed to its surface as I broke off a bite of pie with the fork and shoved it in my mouth. The sugar rush eased the frustration around today just a bit.
“You’re being a little dramatic,” Evie snorted.
“I’m not,” I protested. “Not only did my hair dye go everywhere this morning, I ran into Levi Rayburn, of all people. Then Mateo. Levi is even hotter in person than he is on TV. And Mateo makes me want to melt into the damn dirt, but he treats me like a kid because of Austin.”
“Well, maybe remind them you’re not a kid? I mean, you’ve been back for two years, Avery. Maybe it’s time to stop pretending like you’re just his friend.”
I sat up, giving her a dirty look. “And how in the hell should I do that, Evie? Get a push up bra? Not everyone has tits like yours. I look like a boy under my overalls. Besides, Mateo and I can’t be together. Austin would kill us.”
Her laugh rang through the gallery as she dragged a barstool over from the wall, sitting down and resting her pretty face in her hands.
“Okay, one, I’ve seen you in a bikini, you do not look like a boy.
Two, Austin isn’t the boss of your love life, regardless of the Kevin situation.
Three, so far, all I’ve heard is you saw two hot men. What else happened?”
“Then they ended up in my fumage class and my hair caught on fire. Then Mateo threw water at me to put it out. I was wet and humiliated.”
“I thought that was your kink.”
“Evie,” I hissed. “Be serious.”
The door swung open and June burst in carrying two bags of hot fries from Whynot Burgers, a joint two miles outside of town and worth the calories.
June’s hair was cosmos pink and cut into a wavy bob.
She wore a green tank top and palazzo pants, her arms covered in flower tattoos that bloomed up to her shoulders.
Most people in Whynot thought they were so cute given that she ran the local flower shop—but Evie and I knew every single one of those flower tattoos were actually poisonous plants, which was just perfect for her.
Sweeter than sugar on the surface, but she’d rip someone’s heart out through their throat if she needed to.
“Oh hell yes,” I said. “Have I told you that you’re beautiful?”
June flashed her dimples. “That bad of a day, huh? Why the fuck is your face blue? And why didn’t you tell us this morning when we were asking about your new neighbor?”
“Because I was running late.”
“And what’s new?” June countered. “I could have helped you get the dye off. How do you think my hair stays so damn vibrant? I certainly don’t let Betty at the hair salon touch it. If you’re turning your hair blue, you need to bleach it first. I’ll come over tomorrow to do it.”
“You’re an angel,” I sighed. “I just want the ends done, honestly. I need some sort of change.”
“So you woke up at seven this morning and decided to make one?” Evie asked.
I scooped up another bite of pie. “Have you met me?”
June plopped the bags on the counter and grabbed a stool, taking her spot next to Evie. The two of them exchanged glances and I frowned, wondering what they were thinking about me. Probably that I was a mess.
“Are you going to tell me the rest of what happened?” June asked.
I was being just a little dramatic, but I let out a long groan and made myself sit up straight. I dragged my pie plate closer and relayed everything I’d told Evie between the gooey bites.
“And in the end, I was an asshole to both of them. I’m certain Levi will never talk to me again and Mateo probably thinks I’m awful. But, I was just so embarrassed, and everyone kept asking about the dye. And I was running late, and I don’t know. Well, and Levi asked about Dad.”
Evie and June’s expressions dropped.
“He didn’t know?” June asked softly.
“No.” I swallowed hard, suddenly losing my appetite. “Not his fault. He hasn’t been back in Whynot in a long time. I think I was fifteen the last time I saw him.”
At fifteen, a twenty-three-year-old seemed like an alien. He was completely in a different stage of life. And I distinctly remembered the last time I saw him, because he’d gotten into a fight with his dad on Main Street that ended with my dad and Austin pulling them apart.
“I’ve seen pictures of him in magazines and online,” Evie said. “He’s done some modeling. I mean, he’s a hockey player. Well, he was one.”
“What do you mean was?” I asked. “Isn’t he some big league hotshot?”
Evie drummed her nails on the counter, clearly mulling over the info she had on Levi. “He quit last week. The only reason I know is because someone was talking about it at the pie shop earlier. They spotted him in town and were shocked to see him.”
“He’s probably looking for some privacy then,” I muttered.
The silver sports car across the street from my house came to mind and I frowned.
Surely not.
Surely Levi wasn’t the new mystery neighbor.
Evie shrugged. “Who knows. I just know the internet is losing their damn minds about his announcement. They’re saying a lot of shit about him, both good and bad. His publicist is earning her paycheck, that’s for sure.”
June shook her head. “You know way too much about this, Evie.”
She shrugged. “It’s all over social media. Hard to miss when the algorithm knows you like hot beefy dudes rubbing all over each other.”
I laughed as June pointed a french fry at her. “Good point. Send me the videos when you get a chance. Sharing is caring.” She redirected the fry to me. “Are you still going to therapy?”
Dammit. “What a fucking segue. Can I finish my pie first?”
“Nope,” June popped the p.
“Okay, well since we’re talking, what’s going on with Laura?”
June scowled. “Answer my question first, bitch.”
“The answer is yes. I’m still seeing my therapist.”
“And how are you feeling about everything?”
I scowled. The everything was so broad, but I knew what she was really asking. Are you still fighting with your mom? Are you still having nightmares about Kevin? Are you still crying yourself to sleep missing your Dad sometimes? “I’m totally fine.”
Neither one of them bought it—and frankly, I didn’t either. Most days, I was fine. But then there were days like today, when it hit me all over again: my dad was gone, the three of us Whynots were doing our best to fill his big-ass boots, and my mother was becoming a reclusive mess.
“Your turn,” I said.
June ate a couple fries and then sighed, her shoulders tightening. “Laura will be spending more time with me. Ethan hasn’t been doing well at all, and I don’t know what to do about it. My mother still insists on babying him despite the fact that he’s failing his daughter constantly.”
“You can’t keep stepping in,” Evie said softly.
“I can and will. I love that kid. You know she called me ‘Mom’ the other day?”
Well, fuck. “She did?”
“Yeah. I got home and sobbed after that.”
Evie leaned over and rested her head on June’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you call?”
June shrugged. “I don’t want to burden you two.”
“Don’t you dare pull that card,” I said. “Not after everything I’ve put on you guys in the last two years, okay? You could show up on my doorstep at 3 a.m., and I’d be there for you.”
“Agreed,” Evie said. “Lord knows I’ve shown up on both of yours. We’ve been friends since kindergarten, June. That’s what we’re here for.”
“I know.” She let out a slow, deliberate breath, her shoulders deflating like a balloon.
“I’m starting to wonder if I should try and take custody of her.
Financially, it might be a little hard. I was looking up how much raising a kid costs, and Jesus Christ. In this economy? I don’t know. But I’d make it work.”
“You know we’d help,” I said.
“You already do plenty.”
“Well, if you’re doing more, so are we,” Evie said. “If she ends up with you as her mother, she gets us as her aunts. That’s how it works.”
“Thank you.” June let out a soft hum and shook her head. “My hope is that Ethan will get into a good rehab program and we can help him recover. I still believe in him. Plus, Mom would fight me on Laura.”
We all knew that to be true. June’s mother had always hated her in a way that made my own mother look like a damn angel. The way she treated June was bad enough that I’d long since dropped the niceties with that evil bitch. She was downright banned from taking classes at my studio.
Evie cracked her fingers and rolled her shoulders. “You know, I have two decades of pent up aggression I could take out on her if need be.”
June’s laugh lit up the room. “Okay, Rocky. We’re not beating up my mom.”
“I’m just saying, I could. Bakers muscles and all that.”
The three of us burst out laughing. The knot in the back of my head eased a little. Even after a bad day, these two never failed to make me feel better.
Now, if I could just focus on that, instead of wondering just who my new neighbor actually was . . .