Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
AVERY
I jump out of my skin when the microwave screeches behind me. Leaping off the couch, I race over, letting the bag cool before prying it apart and dumping the popcorn into a bowl. Dolly sits below me expectantly, and I drop a few pieces onto the floor for him. He’s a popcorn fiend.
“Ready?”
I startle again as Ty sneaks up from the hall.
Maybe “sneak” isn’t the right word. I mean, I did invite him to watch a movie tonight.
Although the only reason I had the gonads to do it is because he asked me first, and there was something about being alone with him—even in public—that I couldn’t resist. I clear my throat, my nerves on edge.
The details of our trivia night play over and over in my mind.
Am I really that much of a pushover that I couldn’t speak up and leave?
An insignificant night out with a guy is not important enough to compromise my career, so why did I stay?
Why did I jeopardize everything I’ve sacrificed so much to accomplish?
I turn and stare up into Ty’s big blue eyes, his warm, spicy scent filling my senses.
Beyond how awkward it would have been to ditch Ryan publicly, this is why I stayed.
Because despite living in the same house as him, it isn’t enough.
Friends will never scratch that itch. I need more than seeing him in passing within the walls of his baby-mansion.
Seeing Ty out tonight—finding myself alone with him in that darkened hall—was like some cruel sort of torture.
A brutal reminder that our little bubble isn’t real.
That we both have completely separate lives out in the real world.
Ty arches a brow, brandishing a yellow box from behind his back. He smiles as he pries it open and dumps it into the bowl. I melt faster than the Milk Duds at the sight.
“You remembered,” I say breathlessly.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s just candy,” he says, turning to the fridge to retrieve two glass bottles of sparkling water.
The special flavored kind my mom always refused to buy when I was growing up.
The kind that I’m not even sure if I like the taste of or not, but knowing the price, it makes me feel fancy.
And sometimes a girl needs a fancy little snack.
I watch as he cracks them open, his forearms flexing as he twists and breaks the metal cap’s seal.
Stop being so hot, Ty. He could swat a mosquito, and I’d practically faint.
I know I should have left, but tonight served its purpose.
Larissa was right, I needed to make a definitive choice about Ryan.
After being ignored for half the night by him and running into Ty, it was clear.
Ryan is not for me. Is it Ty’s fault that this is my decision?
Maybe. Despite my completely unacceptable crush on my roommate, having the comparison of Ryan and Ty alongside each other was all I needed.
When Ty talks to me, he listens. I know we haven’t often had the chance to ignore each other for others since we aren’t really supposed to be seen together, but Ty is too attentive to ever be like Ryan.
So when Ryan walked me to my car tonight and asked if I wanted to meet up again soon, I told him no.
I didn’t glue on some confusing, apologetic smile.
Instead, I said exactly how I felt—that we’re incompatible—and the world didn’t implode.
And that was the end of Ry-Dawg and Avery.
“So are we going to pretend we didn’t both just publicly break our contracts?” Ty asks, grabbing two wine glasses from a cabinet. He smirks as he pours the bubbly water into each of them.
“I wasn’t going to say anything if you weren’t.”
“What were you going to do? Pretend like it didn’t happen?” He peeks at me over his shoulder. “Why didn’t you leave?”
“Why didn’t you?”
He cocks his head back, leaning against the counter, amused. “Why do you think?”
“Because I’d get fired and you’d get slapped with a minimal fine?”
Slowly, he appraises me, and just before I lose my composure, he turns back toward our drinks. “That’s part of it.”
Part of it? My heart does a tap solo in my chest as I wonder what else influenced his decision, but before I dare to ask, he’s forging on.
“I do have cash to spare when it comes to fines. I’d even pay yours if that’s all it came down to, but being fired…” He shakes his head. “You and I both know you’ve worked too hard to just let this go. It’s risky enough that you’re sleeping under my roof.”
“Ugh. You sound like a dad or something. As much as I appreciate your concern, let me worry about me.”
“I’m not worried about you, Avery. I’m worried about what you’d have to give up for…”
“For what?”
He chews his cheek. “For something I pressured you into.”
“Pressured me into?” I snort. “Ty, if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t. I have a perfectly comfortable backseat I could be sleeping in. Living here is temporary. Eventually, this won’t be a concern, and we’ll both move on. I just don’t know what we do until then.”
“Don’t get caught?” He hiccups a laugh at his quip like a dork. “Not sure what the protocol is since it’s not really a normal thing.”
“It isn’t, is it?” I groan. “At least there weren’t too many cameras, right? Since it was trivia. Everyone had to put them away.”
He pinches his face up, nodding. “I didn’t notice any cameras. Not until after, at least.”
I’m not sure I buy his assurance. “I’m so stupid. I should have left as soon as I saw you guys.”
“You’re not stupid.” He leans in, lowering his voice. “But I’m glad you didn’t.”
I shove a handful of popcorn into my mouth to keep me from blabbering only God knows what.
“I had fun with you.”
“Same,” I say around my mouthful.
My phone buzzes across the counter. It’s an alert from a client, and I’m grateful to have the interruption. I assume it’s them replying to the confirmation text I sent earlier tonight. Clicking the message, I wait for it to open. Instead of a confirmation, it’s a cancellation.
“What’s wrong?” Ty asks, taking the bowl from my hand.
“Nothing.”
He eyes me. “You’re frowning.”
I frown harder, trying to make a joke of it.
A joke is easier than admitting to myself that I just lost more money.
More credibility. I understand cancellations, but I’ve had two this week.
And I only have three clients right now.
My numbers are dwindling, putting me scarily close to “part-time” with this gig.
If I didn’t consider McMurphy’s shop under the umbrella of my plant business, there’s no doubt in my mind that Stacey and the other higher-ups would be booting me to the curb for not holding up my end of the contract. If they only knew.
It’s hard to decide what scares me more: failing at a business that could be nothing more than a current hyperfixation—albeit a long one—or letting go of dancing, the one thing I’ve held dear for as long as I can remember.
Now that the two are side by side in my mind, I think I’d rather lose the latter.
Shaking my head, I try to push the ridiculous notion aside.
I squint at him, snatching the bowl from his hands and heading to the couch. “Can’t a girl frown every now and then?”
“Not if her name is Avery Joy Hinkley.”
He remembers my full name?
Plucking the yellow and white flower blanket from the sofa, I plop onto a cushion, cradling the popcorn in my lap. “Just because I prefer to smile—unlike some people—doesn’t mean I’m incapable of having a frowny moment.”
“Some people?”
“I said what I said.”
“You better press play before you dig yourself deeper.” Ty frowns, but there’s a grin trying to crack through.
“What if I don’t? What are you gonna do about it?”
I can’t decide if I’m actually trying to push his buttons or if I’m flirting with him. Am I flirting with him? I wrinkle my nose at him and press play.
He snorts, sitting down at the opposite end of the couch. “You did good at trivia tonight, by the way.”
“What? I can’t hear you all the way down there.”
He shakes his head and moves closer, his hand dipping into the bowl of popcorn in my lap. My heartbeat blasts off into medically concerning speeds as his arm brushes mine. I didn’t mean he needed to be right next to me, but I’m not complaining.
“You’re a little ridiculous sometimes, you know.” His gaze is warm as his perfect jaw flexes with each chew.
“So I’ve been told. Actually, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that tonight.”
Ty tilts his head, pulling his attention from the opening credits to focus on me.
“Ryan said the same thing when I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. But it was different when he said it. Mean.” A heat crawls up my neck. Whether it’s from the memory or the way Ty’s looking at me now, I can’t decipher.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I’m sorry—”
“No, I know. You’re fine. Ryan was just… He was upset.”
“So he called you ridiculous?”
I nod.
Ty stiffens. “That guy’s a joke. I can’t believe you agreed to see him more than once.”
“We only hung out twice.”
“I know.”
My brow knits. “Were you keeping tabs on my personal life?”
“Hard not to when we’re living under the same roof.”
Dollyboy hops onto the arm of the couch, chirping as he beelines for the open spot beside Ty. He scratches behind the cat’s ears as Dolly curls up beside him. “You can’t tell me he hasn’t acted like this from the jump.”
“Like what?” I press.
“Like everyone else in the immediate vicinity is more important than you.”
“Well, we were sharing a table with the reigning Super Bowl champs.”
“So?” His eyes lock on mine, his tone hardening. “If your date is ignoring you for a bunch of dudes, that’s a red flag.”
I chuckle.
He frowns harder. “What? You’re a thousand times more interesting than any of those guys, and I’d know.”
“Ryan would disagree.”
It’s meant to be a joke, but Ty’s jaw clenches so hard I swear I can hear his teeth grinding. “You deserve better.”
“Thanks.”
I grab for popcorn at the exact same time he does. A fluttery warmth zings its way up my arm as our fingers brush in the bowl. My body tenses, and I pull my hand back like I’ve been shocked. Good gravy, Avery. Overreact much?
“If you wanted to hold my hand, you could just ask, you know,” I joke.
He fixes me with a hooded gaze. “Would you say yes?”
A laugh burbles from some awkward place in my throat.
I feel like I’m back in eighth grade on my first date at the movie theater.
Only this time, my mom won’t be waiting to pick me up after.
A shiver works its way over my entire body as his focus falls to my mouth before finding my stare again.
Even in the dim ambiance of movie night, his eyes are unbelievably blue.
They’re beautiful. They’re also incredibly bloodshot.
“Ty, are you okay?”
He clears his throat, leaning back, blinking a few times. “Yeah, I—um. It’s my contacts. And maybe a cat allergy. I don’t know. I just need to—Will you pause the movie?” In a second flat, he’s standing, practically sprinting across the house and up the stairs before I even hit the button.
Great job, Avery. Way to ruin the moment.
There was a moment, right? I mean… he looked at my mouth? I think? That’s got to mean something. Maybe I imagined it all. Maybe it was the allergies.
Dollyboy stares up at me but doesn’t move from his spot beside where Ty once sat. It’s like he’s waiting for him to come back. That makes two of us. A few minutes later, Ty returns, and my heart stumbles around my chest.
He’s wearing his glasses.
“Sorry,” he apologizes, head tilted down, but he can’t hide his face from me.
“Don’t be,” I say breathlessly as he plops beside me. “I never see you in your glasses.”
“I try not to wear them much.”
“Why?”
“Just reminds me of when I was younger. Skinny with glasses. Bad skin. Bad hair. Probably smelled.”
I can’t help but giggle and immediately feel awful. “Sorry, ‘probably smelled’ got me.”
He shrugs. “I wasn’t exactly everyone’s first choice. Didn’t help that I was painfully quiet.”
“Not much has changed.” I flap my hands, squeezing his arm in an apology. “No, I mean in the quiet part. Everything else...” I let out a long whistle, and I swear he blushes at my overcompensation. “Don’t even get me started on the glasses.”
He smirks, his eyes dropping to where my hand still attempts to cinch around his thick, tattooed arm. For a fraction of a moment, I debate whether or not I should drop it but quickly decide against it. Seeing Ty tonight—especially in contrast to Ryan—sparked something in me.
So instead, I lean in, lowering my voice. “Glasses are my weakness.”
I expect him to laugh—regardless of how rare I know that is—or at least to scoot away at my gall. But he doesn’t. He sits there, chewing his cheek like he’s choosing his words.
The movie drones on in the background, and I have absolutely no idea what’s going on on the screen. All I can focus on is Ty and the intensity that’s overcome him.
Then his eyes flash to mine again. “And I’m beginning to think that you’re mine.”
My mouth goes dry. Is this real life right now? Am I really here?
There is no way Ty Brewster just said that to me.
But when he lifts a hand and brushes a piece of hair behind my ear, I realize that this is very much a reality. My reality.
And I am very much here for it.