Chapter Four Nate #3
He said, “Feelings don’t ruin people. Bad timing does.”
Ava’s gaze held his.
“Convenient,” she said, but there was less bite in it.
“Maybe.”
“And summer is bad timing?”
“For me.”
“For everyone, apparently.”
He nodded toward her. “You said you had three summer goals. Make money, avoid drama, avoid becoming entertainment.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You remember that?”
“You said it.”
“I say a lot of things.”
“I noticed.”
The words landed too close to what he had said earlier.
You noticing.
Ava’s fingers curled around the edge of the counter.
Then she stepped back.
“Saturday,” she said briskly. “Relay. Team requirement. No bet.”
Nate let her have the reset.
“Right.”
“And if Tyler makes one joke about me ending you by July, I am dumping nacho cheese on his shoes.”
“I’ll hold him still.”
Her mouth twitched. “Growth.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try quietly.”
“Less fun.”
“For who?”
“Me.”
“Exactly.”
Nate smiled.
She did not.
But her eyes did.
That was enough to make him stupid.
Fortunately, Paulson saved him by calling his name.
“Brennan! Quick staff photo by the board.”
Nate looked over his shoulder. “Now?”
“Yes, now. Sponsors want day-one content.”
Ava muttered, “Of course they do.”
Nate looked back at her. “You probably have to be in it.”
“No.”
Denise appeared behind Ava with terrifying timing. “Yes.”
Ava flinched. “Do you teleport?”
“Management skill.” Denise handed Ava a clean Lake Briar visor. “Staff partners in the photo.”
Ava stared at the visor. “I have nacho cheese on my arm.”
“Other arm forward,” Denise said.
“I hate everyone.”
Denise patted her shoulder. “That’s the spirit.”
Three minutes later, Nate stood in front of the challenge board with Soren on one side and Ava on the other.
Not too close.
Close enough.
The photographer, a sophomore intern with a camera and a lanyard, waved them together. “Can you all tighten up a little?”
Ava did not move.
Nate did not move either.
Soren moved half an inch because goalies were strange and literal.
The intern lowered the camera. “More than that.”
Ava looked at Nate. “Do not.”
“I didn’t.”
“You thought about it.”
“I thought about following instructions.”
“Dangerous habit.”
Nate leaned slightly closer.
Not touching.
Almost.
The air changed anyway.
Ava looked forward, jaw tight.
Nate looked forward too, very aware of the space between their arms.
The photographer frowned. “Can you look like you don’t hate each other?”
“We don’t,” Nate said.
Ava said, “Pending.”
Soren said, “I’m neutral.”
The photographer blinked. “Okay.”
Behind the camera, Tyler whispered loudly, “Ask them to smile like they’re in love.”
Griffin said, “I will end you.”
Ava closed her eyes.
Nate laughed before he could stop himself.
The camera clicked.
Ava’s eyes snapped open. “Did you take it?”
The intern checked the screen. “Actually, that’s cute.”
“No,” Ava said.
Nate leaned a fraction closer to see the camera.
Mistake.
In the photo, Ava was glaring toward Tyler off-camera, Nate was laughing beside her, and Soren looked like the only person aware of tax law.
It was not posed.
It was worse.
It looked real.
Ava saw it too.
Her face shifted.
The intern smiled. “This is perfect for the announcement post.”
Ava turned slowly. “The what?”
Paulson appeared with a clipboard. “We’ll post team assignments on the Ridgeview Challenge account tonight.”
Nate felt Ava go still beside him.
The photo.
The team assignment.
The public account.
The bet.
No.
Absolutely not.
Nate stepped forward. “Use a different photo.”
Paulson looked up. “Why?”
Ava’s voice was calm. Too calm. “Because if that photo goes online, Tyler will turn it into evidence.”
Tyler shouted, “It is evidence!”
Griffin grabbed him again.
Paulson looked between Nate and Ava. “Evidence of what?”
Ava and Nate answered at the same time.
“Nothing.”
The silence after that was immediate.
Terrible.
Delighted.
Beckett made a sound like a kettle boiling.
Ava slowly looked at Nate.
Nate looked at her.
The photographer, either oblivious or committed to violence, said, “I can caption it Team One: Nate, Soren, and Ava.”
Tyler’s voice carried from behind Griffin’s hand.
“Caption it Team One: Brennan Falls First.”
Ava’s expression went flat.
Nate’s heart dropped.
Then her phone buzzed.
She looked down.
So did Nate, which was rude but impossible to stop because the screen lit up in her hand.
A text from an unsaved number.
Unknown: Already replacing me with a hockey player? Cute.
Ava’s face changed so fast it hit Nate like a check into the boards.
The humor vanished.
The color drained.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Nate forgot the photo.
Forgot Tyler.
Forgot the bet.
All he saw was Ava Lane, sharp and funny and impossible to impress, suddenly looking like one text had found a bruise.
He lowered his voice. “Ava?”
She locked the phone.
Too fast.
“I’m fine.”
No one who said it like that was fine.
Nate took one careful step closer. “Who was that?”
Her eyes lifted to his.
Guarded again.
Harder than before.
“No one.”
Then she walked away before he could decide whether believing her was the biggest lie of the summer.