15. Ava
15
Ava
K ids screamed as The Zipper turned them upside down with a jolt. Parents laughed with their arms crossed over their chests as they stood at the base of the ride, staring up at their children with macabre fascination.
The scent of hoppy beer descended on the large green field littered with monstrous oak trees, their gnarled branches reaching for the sky like skeletal fingertips. German food and beverage booths lined the area in a food court circle, allowing each patron to skip from one line to the next.
I shifted my chain purse strap over my shoulder and hugged it to my side as I stood in line for my IPA, my body on alert, my eyes scanning the crowd.
He'll be here.
The line shortened, and I stepped forward, my brown ankle-length boots keeping my ankles straight in the lumpy grass.
"Do you like horror movies?" His deep voice whispered in my ear. Fingers dug into my sides, causing me to whirl with a jump.
My heart skipped two beats as my eyes landed on his black aviators mirroring my reflection, my hand swiping his chest clad in soft white. "You scared the piss outta me."
He laughed, leaning away as I raised my hand for another whack, his blue-green plaid sleeves bunching at the shoulders. "I couldn't resist. It was too easy."
I hiked a brow and smirked. "Thanks a lot."
My eyes hit the green grass beneath my feet, his tight black jeans sitting snug over his muscular thighs.
How did he ooze sex appeal?
"Next."
I glanced around him and stepped up to the counter. " Zombie Hopocalypse , please. No head." I turned to Nate. "Do you want one?"
Nate tore his gaze from me and glanced at the list lining the side of the mobile cart. " Uh... Lemme try your Creepy Crawler IPA. "
The man grabbed two cups and poured our beers from the spout as I dug out my cash.
"Keep the change."
I jerked up.
Nate laid a bill on the counter and grabbed our two cups.
"I was going to pay for that."
"It's a date. Remember?"
I closed the clasp on my black leather purse, shifted my rustic orange sweater sleeves up to my elbows, and took the cup he held out.
"Yeah, but I offered—"
" Nah, I asked you out. I will pay."
I hiked up my brows. "How chivalrous."
The rim of his cup covered a broad smile pulling at his lips. "I try."
I took a sip of mine and puckered at the intense bitterness with a slight caramel sweetness and a hint of mango and pine. "Wow, that's something special."
"I don't think I've had an IPA that tastes like earth before." He frowned, tipping his cup to the side as he eyed the see-through plastic.
"You did ask for a Creepy Crawler. Where else do they live?" I chuckled as we walked toward the carnival games where a child threw a tantrum.
"I didn't expect them to really capture the living environment." He took another sip with a frown, and I let out a dry, amused breath.
"Here, I'll switch you."
"No." He pulled away as I reached my hand out. "This is my beer."
"Okay, I guess you dug your grave; now lie in it." I laughed, and the scent of bratwurst with sauerkraut filled the air, making me lift my nose like a hound.
"That was clever."
"Thanks."
The collar of my sweater slipped off my shoulder, letting the cool evening air caress my bare skin.
Smoke billowed into the air from the food carts.
"Have you eaten yet?"
I took another sip of my beer, then shook my head. "No. I was thinking about hitting that trailer..." I pointed to Brats and Kraut and then moved my pointer to the apple strudel drawing me in. "And then that one."
"Interesting combo..." He cocked his head.
"I get it every year, and it doesn't disappoint." I jerked my head towards the line. "Come on."
"Been to any parties lately?"
I twisted my lips and hid behind my cup. "Nope. Just the one."
Nate tucked his hand in his pants pocket, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "And an eventful one, too."
I raised an eyebrow. "Eventful, as in dodging cops? Yeah..." The man in front of us drew his child in closer as he glanced over his shoulder, his torso twisting in our direction.
Nate leaned in, his beer sloshing in his cup. "I look at it with a positive outlook." His lips stretched into a smile. "It was the most fun I've had in a while—dodging cops and sharing secrets."
"I don't remember sharing any secrets."
A child screamed and jumped up and down with a beaming smile while their mother took the stuffed animal prize from the employee.
"Maybe not. But we'll see what happens after apple strudel."
I laughed, shaking my head. "Don't hold your breath. My secrets are locked up tight."
He stepped closer as the line moved forward, his arm brushing mine. "Challenge accepted."
I looked away, taking in the surrounding chaos as my chest exploded with fiery pressure points.
Was this a mistake?
Far in the distance beyond the buildings, smoking foods, and happy families was a bench beneath a sprawling oak tree. The shining stone caught what little light shone through the branches above, the edges rounded into the shape of a heart.
We should do this every year, Peanut...
"Ava... and mustard?"
I gulped and tore my gaze away. "Huh?"
"Ketchup and mustard, did you want some?"
Swallowing down the lump swelling in my throat, I stepped forward and took the brat from his outstretched hand. "Ketchup on a Brat and Kraut. That's sacrilege." I smiled at Karl standing in the trailer, putting buns together. "Spicy mustard, please."
"Just for you, Ava."
"Thank you." I took the packets of mustard and stepped out of the line, tucking my half-full beer cup against my chest with my arm.
"You know him?"
Tearing open the packet with my teeth, I squirted a dime-sized amount on the end of the brat. "I wasn't kidding when I said 'every year'."
I bit into the brat, snapping the skin with my teeth as we walked toward the covered picnic tables, careful not to spill my drink. Sauerkraut hung from my lips in strings as I chewed, the lumpy grass causing my beer to foam as it sloshed.
We sat down across from each other as I swallowed, my tongue swiping over the remnants of food, and placed my mustard packet down, then my beer.
"Wow, you're right, these are good," he said around a mouthful.
"Would I ever lie?"
He laughed as we ate our food.
"They need to have these available year-round." I rolled my eyes into the back of my head as I ate the last bite.
"Then it wouldn't be as special."
It would always be special to me.
"Maybe." I gave a lopsided shrug and drank my beer as I glanced away.
"Where did you go before?" He pointed at the food cart. "Back there in line."
"Nowhere. What do you mean?"
He crumpled his paper into a tight ball. "You checked out for a minute. You're not bored of me already, are you?" He gave a short chuckle.
"No, no." I propped my elbow onto the table and twirled the ends of my hair in a discreet twist. "This place holds a lot of memories for me."
"Oh yeah?" He glanced at me over the brim of his beer cup. "You come here with your family?"
"Something like that." I wrapped my hand around my near-empty beer. "How's your work been?"
"Subtle change of subject." He laughed with a curt nod. "Not bad. It's been pretty quiet, not a whole lot of broken sinks lately." His dimple deepened as he smiled. "You?"
I shrugged. "Slow."
"Did you get what you needed from the drug?"
"Shush.” My hand bounced up and down. “ I don't need the town knowing I bought that stuff."
That I contributed to the problem.
"You don't think they'd understand?" His brows disappeared behind his aviators.
"No. I don't. They don't understand what goes into stories like these." I sat back in my seat, my spine rigid as I dropped my hands into my lap.
"Well, then maybe they should."
I let out a dry laugh. "And compromise my investigations?" Leaning in, I braced my forearm against the table. "If I were to release too much information early on, it could compromise my story, put my sources at risk, and hell, even me."
I would never let that happen.
"Do you ever think that your investigations cause the panic you seek to avoid?"
What was he getting at?
"No. Everyone deserves to know the truth. Especially when their livelihood is at stake."
"Even if it means destroying the very foundation they grew up on?"
I nodded. "It's what I would've wanted."
"If what?"
I shook my head. "Never mind. I need another beer."
"How about something sweet?"
My lips tugged to one side. "How about both?"
Nate picked up his cup and swallowed the rest of his beer in two gulps. "Looks like I need one too."
I let out a dry laugh and stood, snagging my trash from the table before tossing it in the bin on our way to the apple strudel line. "Have you ever been to one of these before?"
"A festival?"
"No. Oktoberfest."
He shook his head. "I don't have a whole lot of time to go to these kinds of things."
I stared at him with my mouth gaping. "Oktoberfest is like church. You set aside time in your busy life to go, and you don't miss it... ever."
He held his hand up. "Okay, okay. Sorry to the Oktoberfest gods."
Smiling, I rolled my eyes and stepped up to the front.
"Hi, Ava." Katrina waved her plastic glove-clad hand.
"Hey. How's it been?"
"It's busy as always. You want an apfelstrudel?
I held up two fingers. "Two, please."
"Coming right up." Katrina eyed Nate with a smile, winking at me, and then plated our pastry. "Enjoy." She reached over the partition as Nate paid with cash, handing me two plates with the browned dessert.
"Thanks, Katrina. I'll see you around."
I moved out of line and he followed, taking his strudel from my hand.
"This will change your life. You'll see."
I bit into the golden brown, flaky pastry.
"I almost expected this to be a mini apple pie," Nate said around a mouth of food.
"No. This is a league all on its own."
"Is this almond?" He pointed to the brown spot in the filling.
"Walnuts... even better."
I bit into the pastry. The warm filling oozed out from the sides, coating the corners of my lips as I chewed and swallowed.
"You've missed a spot." Nate stepped forward and swiped his thumb over my mouth.
I glanced up, my reflection staring back at me through his damn glasses.
What was he thinking right now?
His thumb pressed against my lips, and they parted, letting my tongue dart against his skin, the twist of flavors a treat on its own.
"Ava?"
I snapped out of my gaze and jerked away from him, heat slapping my cheeks as though I'd been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
Oh crap.
"I thought you weren't coming?"
"I, um... found some time."
Nate stepped closer. "Who's this?"
"Nate, this is Liam, Liam, Nate."
God, I'm a shitty person.