Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AVERY
I’ve done a lot of humiliating things in my life, but having the hottest guy I’ve ever seen watch me almost burn his house down while tears streaked down my face might top them all.
Dolly and I plop onto my bed—my new, super-soft bed, I might add—after the door is securely closed.
Frankly, I’m surprised the mortification hasn’t taken me out yet.
But who cares what Ty Brewster thinks of me?
All he is to me is a room until I “get on my feet,” right?
I know I should probably still be embarrassed, but somehow I’m not sure I am.
Ty handled my little hiccup well. Better than my dad ever did when I made some trivial mistake growing up.
Better than any of my exes. He was… calm.
No yelling. No accusing. It was unexpected coming from his stoic mug, but refreshing, to say the least.
I lie on my back, staring at the smooth ceiling overhead.
Back home, our ceilings were cracked, stained, and muddled with that popcorn texture, and every place I’ve lived after has been too.
It’s nice to live somewhere that feels so…
fresh. Even if the arrangement is short-term, the break alone from the high rent of the city is a breath of fresh air.
Pulling out my phone, I open my inbox and scroll through today’s emails.
I have a few new client interest forms to sort through, which is super exciting.
Starting a business is hard. I’m told it’s worth it in the end, but it doesn’t come without challenges.
Celebrating every tiny win is the only way to do it. If I don’t, I may go crazy.
Next, I open my chat with Larissa to let her know I’ve found my new favorite sushi spot and realize I opened something from her hours ago with no reply. Typical. I reread her text.
Larissa
Practice is at 8 am Monday, right?
Me
Yes! It is! Can’t wait =)
Larissa
OK. Thought so.
So Josh has this friend…
Me
Oh no. I’m scared.
Larissa
Don’t be! He’s pretty cute and…
Me
And?
Larissa
And I showed him a picture of us at try-outs and he wants to meet you
And I’m sick of third wheeling the two of them. I’m here right now. And it sucks.
Please say you’ll meet up with him. Please.
Me
3 texts in a row? You must be seriously bored.
Larissa
You have no idea.
Me
I’m not really in a place to date… but send the pic anyway
Larissa
Yay!! I’ll find a good one
My heart pounds out of my chest. Thank God Larissa seems to have as much anxiety as I typically do about being late.
It’s clear she hasn’t known me too long.
Most people I’ve spent any amount of time around know I’m not the girl you come to when you need to double-check something.
Which has proven to be true, yet again, considering I thought it started on Wednesday this week.
I burst out of bed, rifling through my suitcase and setting out all of my shoes, shorts, and tops I’ll need for the week, and place them right on top of the dresser.
If I see them, then they exist. Object permanence is something I’m still working on, even at 25.
That means the day after tomorrow, my years of dreaming will be a reality.
Everything I’ve devoted to this milestone will finally be coming to fruition.
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt prouder of myself.
Little Avery who always saw this coming might not be surprised, but the girl she became over the past few years of rejections might be.
Sometimes the things you don’t see coming turn out to be the best things.
“How was practice?”
Ty’s question catches me off guard. Is he showing interest in my life? I try not to seem too excited as I continue to casually water his plants.
“Pretty good for the first day. And a Monday. Started learning the routine for the kickoff game. Lots of high kicks so—” I wipe my brow melodramatically. “I’m beat. You?”
“Same.”
I smirk, leaning over to continue watering my row of plants. “I didn’t take you for a kickline guy.”
My joke almost drags a smile out of him. I shouldn’t be, but I’m proud of myself for amusing him.
“What’s that?” he asks, lifting his chin in my direction.
“A watering can, Ty, we’ve been over this.”
He snorts, gesturing toward the coffee table. “No. That. The book.”
“That? Oh. Yeah. Night of the Hollow Court. I found it when I was putting a few of my knick-knacks out. I remember you said it was good when you were reading it a couple weeks ago.”
He arches a brow, following my gaze to the gold owl and a duo of porcelain kittens I tucked into a corner of the built-in entertainment center.
I smile. “It’s not bad. It’s almost as good as Starless Veil.”
“Really? Let me know what you think when you finish. I liked it.” Ty grabs a baseball cap he abandoned on the kitchen counter last week and slips it on.
“Where are you going?”
“Where are your keys?”
“Why?” I counter.
“I wanted to take a look at something in your car. Been thinking about the sound it was making. Think I might know what’s wrong. I’m gonna pull it into the garage and troubleshoot it.”
“They’re on the island.”
Some fluttering thing stumbles through my chest as he snatches up my gaggle of keys and keychains with a curt nod, then exits into the garage.
I finish watering the plants and plop onto the ashen couch with Ty’s book.
This couch is in need of something… lively.
A throw blanket. I make a mental note to add my floral one the next time I get a chance.
After maybe five pages, Ty barges back in.
“Can you come out here for a second?” he asks.
I peek over the top of the couch, dropping the book beside me. Before I can reply, he’s already retreating back out. Pushing to my feet, I make my way across the kitchen and through the cracked garage door.
“Whatcha need?” I ask.
His head is dipped under the popped hood of my sedan. My car looks incredibly out of place. For a garage, Ty’s is nice. And orderly. And like the house, it feels sterile. Like it never gets used. There’s barely an oil stain on the ground. No smell of gasoline lingers in the air.
His arm pops out from the edge of my hood. “Just hold this.”
There’s a flashlight in his hand.
When I don’t grab it immediately, he straightens to stand. The baseball cap he grabbed minutes ago now sits backward on his head. Something in me jolts.
Chickens in a biscuit. Stop being so mouthwatering, Ty.
Those baby blues blink at me once, twice, and then his arm gives the flashlight a shake.
“Sure thing, buddy.” I make my way to his side, taking it from him.
His eyes linger on mine for a split second longer before falling back onto some dark corner of my engine. “Hope I’m not interrupting. I just need you to hold that for a bit.”
“I was just reading.”
He’s quiet for a long moment, and I assume the conversation is over, but then he asks, “You like it so far?”
“Yeah. Got to the part where she decides to transition to a vampire for him.”
“Stupid on her part, wasn’t it?”
I shake my head, though he’s not watching me. “She was in love. Maybe it was dumb, but it makes sense for the story. It’s necessary for her growth.”
“I guess.” He curses, sucking on an injured finger before returning it back to wherever he’d had it before. “She rearranged her whole future for him, though.”
I shrug, maneuvering the flashlight to shine where his hands are working. “Sometimes it takes a little prompting by someone else for us to know what’s best.”
He pauses for a moment, rising up to look me in the eye. I swallow hard, steadying the light even though he isn’t using it at the moment. "Everything she loved was in the daylight. She let go of that for him.”
“I mean, yeah, you’re right. But what if it’s only what she thought she wanted? And no spoilers because you finished the book and I’m only halfway through.”
“Then I don’t have anything to say.” He leans back under the hood, freezing to glance back at me mid-movement. “She was foolish. That’s all I’ll say.”
“You wouldn’t understand it. You’re not a romantic.”
“Point it here,” he says, gesturing sternly to some dark corner of my engine. Obediently, I turn the flashlight to light up the area as he continues to work. “Who says I’m not romantic? I can be romantic.”
I adjust the light. “I’m not saying you can’t, but in terms of grand gestures, turning someone so you can spend an eternity together is the grandest.”
He stands up straight then, his back stiffening as he arches a brow my way. “And things like folding forgotten laundry aren’t romantic gestures? Little things matter too.”
“I mean, maybe. I guess.” My breath catches in my throat as I think about the times my laundry had been so neatly laid out for me atop the dryer after I’d abandoned it. I thought it was just Ty trying to keep a tidy house, but was it his way of showing… affection? “Maybe to some people.”
He chuffs. Leaning back under the dark hood.
“All I’m saying is that I can admire her for knowing what she wants and committing to it,” I say.
Ty takes a while to respond, his hands twisting and tightening things I’ll never know the name of. “I guess. I mean, the vampire got what he wanted, so who am I to judge? They both ended up happy in the end despite the whole final battle against the dynasty thing, right?”
I take a few steps back, his words like a shot through my chest. “I don’t know, Ty! I haven’t finished it!”
He stares at me over his shoulder, a smirk finding his perfect lips. “My bad. No spoilers. Sorry, I forgot.” He nods toward the engine. “I need you to light it up here.”
I roll my eyes and follow his direction with the flashlight. Clamping my lips shut, I watch him troubleshoot. Ty is attractive, there’s no doubt about it, but seeing him work with his hands does something to me. “Do you like tinkering with cars?”
“Not sure if tinkering is the right word, but—” He shrugs, tightening something. “Sometimes. It’s not like it’s a hobby, but it makes me feel useful. Used to take care of my mom’s and Maggie’s cars before I moved.”
“Does Johnny do this for your mom now since you aren’t there?”
He shakes his head. “No, but I send a few hundred dollars home to her every month to make sure someone can. Maggie too. Anthony isn’t a handyman.”
It warms my heart that Ty is still thinking about his family despite the miles between them.
“I think that’s sweet,” I say.
He doesn’t stop working. “What’s sweet?”
“That you care so much about them.”
“Someone’s got to.”
“Sounds like they’ve got their own men to care now.”
He shrugs. “I still want to help.”
“I like that about you.”
“Thanks.” He finishes twisting something before straightening to his feet and taking the flashlight from my hands.
I stare up into his endless blue eyes for a second too long. “Done?”
He nods.
“Thank you, by the way. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I couldn’t just let you go out gallivanting around in something that could die at any second.”
I shrug. “Wouldn’t be anything new. Everyone else lets me do it.”
He hands me my keys. My fingers close around them, but he doesn't let them go quite yet. “You should surround yourself with more people who genuinely care about you.”
My breath catches in my throat as I try to find the words to say. Finally, I settle on, “Thank you. Great advice. Now, if you’re done, I have a few things I need to do for my business before dinner.”
“I’m done for now.”
I nod, snatching my keys and turning back toward the kitchen door.
An unexpected warmth spreads through me.
It’s nice to know someone cares. Even if he can be a little intense—rigid—at times, I’ve seen his pleasantness crack through yet again.
The little things Ty does that I’ve overlooked…
that’s him showing he gives a hoot. It makes me wonder if Ty is like this with everyone, or if he gives a hoot about me.