7. Tanner
Chapter Seven
Tanner
Pepperoni and teenage wisdom
“How’s your mom?” Maisie asked, looking up from behind the counter—or as she called it, her command station—at Willow Brook Fire ) Pepperoni. Triple pepperoni if they have it.
Me: Be there in thirty. Don’t go anywhere.
Ava: As if.
Ten minutes later, I was walking into Alpenglow Pizza, the best pizza place in town. I’d called in the order on my way over, and Jake, the high school kid who worked the counter, had laughed when I asked for triple pepperoni. “Dude, that’s not a thing.”
“Well, that’s what I want.”
“You usually get regular pepperoni. Why the change?”
I wasn’t about to explain, but when I walked in to pick up the order, Jake eyed me with a sly grin. “Do you have a date?” he asked.
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m bringing pizza to a friend in the hospital.”
“But it’s a woman, right?”
I tilted my head. “I could be into guys.”
Jake shrugged. “Not that it matters, but you’re not into guys.”
“How do you know?”
“My best friend plays for the same team. I knew before he did.”
I snorted. “Okay, man. Good for you.”
“Yeah, thanks. But seriously, this is very romantic, Tanner.”
“Oh my God, dude. Don’t even start.”
He shrugged. “I like you, Tanner. You’re solid. That ex of yours—whatever her name was—didn’t appreciate you.”
I studied him for a beat. “How would you know?”
“I might be a lot younger than you, but her parents live next door to us. My mom heard all about it and thought it was dumb.”
I chuckled. “Ah, well then. How much do I owe you?”
Jake turned to pull out a pizza box from the warmer. “Twenty bucks even.”
After I paid, he added, “I hope she’s nice. I know she’s just a friend—” He waggled his brows with that. “But you’re a good guy, so she better be good.”
I took the pizza box from Jake. “Thank you.”
“For the pizza or the life advice?” he quipped.
“Both. Smart-ass.”
As I drove away, I reminded myself it was just pizza with a friend. So what if I thought Ava was cute?
As I walked down the hospital hallway a short drive later, pizza box resting on one forearm, I could hear Ava laughing with someone. My lips tugged into a smile. Her joy was infectious. She created a sense of lightness inside me. I didn’t even know what to think about that.
“Hey, hey,” I called as I peered around the doorway.
Ava grinned, waving from her hospital bed. “Hey!”
Holly stood by Ava’s bed and glanced over. “Well, hi, Tanner. I heard you had a date with Ava.”
I kept my expression neutral. “Told Ava I’d bring her some pizza.”
“Because you are a good guy, and that smells freaking amazing,” Holly said as she approached.
I lifted the box higher. “Oh no, this is for Ava.”
She winked as she went past me, mouthing, I like Ava. Holly closed the door behind her on her way out as I approached Ava.
Ava shifted her shoulders against the pillows, wiggling her free foot happily. “I know this isn’t really a date and you’re just bringing me pizza, but I’m so grateful. Holly brought some paper plates for us,” she added, gesturing toward a counter across from her bed.
Ava insisted the pizza be on her lap, so we carefully positioned it to accommodate her elevated leg. “You don’t need to be that careful,” she murmured, gesturing at it. “I hate my ankle. It’s an idiot.”
A laugh rumbled in my chest. “I don’t think anyone’s ankle is an idiot.”
Ava shrugged nonchalantly. “Let’s eat. This smells amazing.” She rubbed her hands together.
Somehow, wearing a hospital gown with her hair pulled up in a ponytail and tendrils escaping around her cheeks, Ava looked absolutely adorable. As we settled in to eat, beyond the fact that I was starving, I could have spent days on end with Ava. It was just easy with her.
She polished off four pieces of pizza, wagging her finger at me as she lifted the fourth one. “Don’t you say a word about how much I’m eating.” As I reached for my own slice, she muttered, “My ex told me I was chubby.”
“What? Oh, hell no. That is not okay,” I said flatly.
“Right? It’s not.”
“You didn’t believe him, did you?”
Ava shrugged, and my heart twisted at the uncertainty that flashed through her gaze. “I mean, it’s not easy being a woman in the world. We’re picked apart no matter what we do. I know maybe I’m not as skinny as some, but this is how I’m built.” She gestured her hand up and down.
All I could recall was the feel of her lush curves against my back when I carried her down the mountain. “I don’t know your ex,” I said, “but I’d kick his ass on your behalf. You’re beautiful, so he can fuck all the way off.”