The Avery Shaw Experiment (23 page)

I didn’t know what to say. My eyes fell to her and Aiden’s clasped hands. Whatever happened between them at the museum on Saturday obviously went well enough to pull her out of her depression and find acceptance.

I wasn’t sure it counted as acceptance if she simply got what she’d wanted in the first place. Did she really get past the heartbreak, or did he just un-break it when he asked her out? There was a difference. But she looked so happy, and she’d clearly forgiven him for everything he did to her, so I didn’t point that out.

I swallowed back bile and forced myself to smile at her. “That’s great, Aves. I guess we have more than one reason to celebrate today then, huh?”

Avery nodded enthusiastically. Then she glanced at Aiden, and her smile died as if she’d just remembered my brother and I were not exactly getting along right now. She mustered up her courage and then asked the entire group, “Do you mind if Aiden comes with us? Debate is over, and I’ve been trying to convince him to come back to science club for the rest of the year.”

I felt everyone’s eyes turn to me, waiting to see what I thought so they could follow my lead. I was surprisingly touched to have earned the geek squad’s loyalty.

I wanted to say no. Aiden didn’t deserve to be welcomed back with open arms when he’d abandoned everyone in this room. I also wanted to tell him to get lost because I couldn’t stand the sight of him and Avery together. I’d told myself this was coming, but seeing them standing so close to one another with their hands woven together was way harder to stomach than I’d anticipated. I wasn’t sure I could survive them being a couple, but I had to find a way because Avery needed someone right now, and as much as I hated it, that someone obviously wasn’t me.

“Sure,” I forced myself to say. “If he wants to come.”

Avery asked me to ride in Brandon’s van with her, but I hopped in Owen’s car with Libby and Tara. Was I avoiding them? Hell yes. I needed the ride to mentally prepare before I had to spend time with Avery and Aiden, The Couple.

At least no one else seemed to be having such a hard time with Aiden’s presence. It helped keep the awkwardness to a minimum. Everyone was laughing and joking around as we all laced up our shoes.

“So you geeks want to explain to me how bowling is physics?” Owen asked.

Everyone laughed and Levi started spouting off words like velocity and inertia until Brandon interrupted. “No! No physics today. This is a celebration. Today we just play and have fun.”

“I get Avery, Grayson, and Owen on my team,” Levi said. “Losers buy the pizza!”

Libby stopped entering names into the computer and said, “No way. It’s boys against girls. Winners get to kiss a boy of their choice.”

“But I don’t kiss boys,” Owen argued.

Libby rolled her eyes at him. “Duh. But you won’t be winning, so it doesn’t matter.”

I smiled to myself, feeling a “friendly wager” coming on. “Whatever the stakes, it can’t be pizza. That’s on me today. I really do owe you guys for my grade.”

“Hey, yeah. Speaking of that, do you guys do math at all or just science?” Owen asked. “I’m getting a D in calculus.”

Brandon sighed—probably because Owen looked like another dimwitted jock living up to the stereotype.

“Libby tutors calculus,” Levi offered.

I snorted. It had to be Libby.

Owen cringed. “Does anybody
else
tutor math?”

Everyone laughed, and the game got started while I went to order the pizzas.

Just as I finished paying, someone walked up behind me. I knew without looking who it was. Besides the fruity smell that always followed her everywhere—today it was a tart apple smell—I could just feel it. I could feel her. My body was aware of hers on some sort of chemical level. Is that even possible? Someone should do a science experiment on that.

I knew Avery well enough to recognize that her tiny voice was on the verge of breaking when she said, “I’m sorry, Grayson.”

I took a second to slam a poker face into place before I turned around. “It’s okay,” I lied. “I just want you to be happy.” Well, that much was true anyway. I did want her to be happy. I just wanted to be the one who made her happy. “We’ve all been worried about you, Aves.”

Avery cast her eyes down in shame. “I know. I’m sorry I let things get so out of hand.”

“That wasn’t really your fault.”

Avery clearly disagreed, but she shrugged it off. “I went to see someone. She gave me medicine. She says it could take a week or so before I start to notice any differences, but I already do feel a little better.”

I had a feeling it wasn’t the meds making a difference. I didn’t really want to have this conversation right now, but we needed to hash it out or else things would be awkward between us forever, and I didn’t want that.

I gestured toward a couple of stools at the food counter, and Avery nodded. “Are you feeling better because of Aiden?” I asked once we sat down. I kept my voice as neutral as possible, but it still sounded a little strained.

Avery nodded again. “We made up.”

“I noticed.”

“He actually had this great hypothesis about finding acceptance. I was trying to forget about him, but people don’t forget about their deceased loved ones. They make peace with them being gone. I needed to make peace with Aiden. I needed closure.”

Closure? It didn’t look like closure to me when they showed up holding hands, but whatever. If it made her feel better. “I’m happy for you.”

Avery frowned at the false note in my voice. She put her hand on down on my arm. “I’m sorry I pushed you away.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I started folding my pizza receipt into a tabletop football.

When I didn’t respond, she apologized again. “I’m sorry, Grayson.”

“I know, Aves.” I sighed and kept my eyes trained on the paper football. I couldn’t look at her. If I did, all of my resolve would crumble.

“I’m too late, aren’t I?” Avery whispered in a trembling voice.

The guy behind the counter slid three large pizzas in front of me, but I totally ignored it.

“Too late for what?”

Avery stared at her lap, and I barely heard her next words. “You said you’d wait for me.”

“What?” I was so shocked I almost fell off my stool.

Avery mistook my question for confusion and started to ramble out an explanation.

“I know that was a long time ago. I know you usually have a short attention span where girls are concerned, and I know I lasted longer than all the girls before me, but I was sort of hoping you meant what you said about giving me another chance once my heart was all fixed.”

“But . . . but . . .”

I’d never looked so incredibly un-cool in my life. I couldn’t pull myself together. I just sat there sputtering words like a stammering idiot. I’d been so sure things were done between us. She had Aiden back! How could she be standing in front of me right now asking for a second chance when the guy of her dreams was right across the room and totally interested in her?

“But I thought you and Aiden were . . .”

Avery processed that and then gasped. “Is
that
why you’ve been acting so strange? You think Aiden and I are together?”

“You guys went out on Saturday.” It was dumb to feel jealous about that, but I did anyway.

“It was part of our science experiment.”

I resisted the urge to scoff at her. “I’ve got news for you, Aves. When a guy says he wants to take you out
in the name of science
, he’s totally full of it. He really just wants to take you out.”

“But you’ve taken me out like a million times for the experiment. You kissed me once
in the name of science
.”

“Exactly.”

Avery scrunched up her face. She was so adorably clueless I almost kissed her again right then and there. Instead, I crossed my arms and said, “Aiden likes you. He didn’t take you out on Saturday just to help you finish your science experiment.”

Avery’s face smoothed back out. “I know.” She sighed. “We had a good talk. He apologized. He explained a lot of things to me that I really needed to hear.” She shrugged her shoulders and held out her hands in a gesture of surrender. “I forgave him.”

“And that’s all?” I had a sneaking suspicion there was more to it than that. Aiden was too pissed at me Saturday morning not to have tried anything.

“We kissed,” she admitted. A soft layer of pink rose in her cheeks, but it wasn’t the normal overwhelming red that usually overtakes her face.

I didn’t realize my jaw was clenched so tightly until Avery brushed her fingers across it. “We had to Grayson. At least I did. Otherwise I never would have known.”

I caught her fingers and laced them in mine. “Known what?”

“That you were right,” she said simply. “I’m not in love with Aiden. He’s my best friend, and I love him, but I’m not
in
love with him.”

I was half tempted to say “I told you so,” but that would have been rude. “So what you’re saying is there’s hope for you after all.”

Avery chewed her bottom lip. I was going to have to talk to her about that habit because every time she did it, it got harder and harder for me not to kiss her. One of these days I was not going to be held responsible for whatever actions I was driven to.

I watched her mouth and felt myself starting to crack, but then she lifted her big blue eyes and looked up at me completely vulnerable from beneath her lashes, and I forgot about her lips. I forgot to breathe.

If it had been any other girl besides Avery, I would have known she’d done it on purpose in an attempt to kill me on the spot. The fact that she was completely unaware of the effect she had on me made the moment that much more maddening. I was done for.

“No,” she whispered. “I’m saying that I hope there’s hope for
us
.”

The only way to describe what happened next is the word attack. I totally attacked her. Hands and arms and lips and tongue. I fused us together so fast she probably didn’t even know what was going on until the first time I let her up for air.

Her face was all flushed, and I was panting hard and smiling like an idiot, but I didn’t care. “I’d say there’s more than hope for us, Aves.”

I brought my lips down to hers again—with slightly more self control this time, thankfully—but we were interrupted before I could kiss her. Levi and Brandon were standing there, all scowls and rolling eyes. “I thought we came here to bowl. Are you guys coming or what?”

I tightened my grip around Avery. “Bowling is overrated.”

“Seriously?”

Avery laughed at the annoyance in Levi’s tone. “Bowl our first frames for us,” she told him, never letting her eyes leave mine. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

“And take these pizzas with you,” I added, so glad that Avery and I were on the same page at the moment.

Brandon sighed and picked up one of the pizzas, but Levi groaned. “It’s not even your turn! Owen and Libby have both disappeared too.”

“Wait.” My hands finally fell away from Avery’s waist. “
Owen and Libby
are missing?”

I glanced at Avery in shock, but she didn’t seem as surprised. She had an amused gleam in her eyes that told me everything I needed to know. “No way!” I said. “This I have got to see.”

I jumped off my stool and dragged Avery with me, completely forgetting about the pizzas I’d ordered. Hopefully Brandon and Levi could manage all three of them.

“Check the arcade. Libby has a thing for photo booths.”

I stumbled to a stop and blinked down at Avery. “Are you serious?”

Avery laughed and then pointed toward the entrance to the arcade. There was a photo booth there, and it was definitely occupied by someone—or someones—very enthusiastic about getting their picture taken.

“No way,” I said again when Avery and I came to a stop in front of the booth.

The heavy breathing and slurping sounds had to have been somebody else.

“Okay,” Owen said, releasing a low moan that made my mouth fall open in astonishment. “You can tutor me in math. But absolutely no clothes with cats on them when you come over. It’s creepy.”

“Clothes are irrelevant,” Libby rasped. “And unnecessary.”

Just then something hit the curtain, and Owen’s shirt fell to the floor. The kissing sounds increased. When I heard the sound of a belt being undone and another deep groan from Owen, I looked at Avery and said, “Shouldn’t we stop them?”

To my surprise, Avery shrugged. “If anyone can handle Libby, it’s Owen.”

She reached for the strand of pictures that were being spit out of the machine and raised her eyebrows so high that I felt compelled to rescue my best friend. I snatched up the shirt off the floor and then pounded on the side of the booth. “Yo, Owen! Did you want me to go ahead and bowl for you or what?”

I laughed at the panicked string of curses that came from my friend’s mouth.

Libby emerged then, somehow managing to look completely dignified, even as she straightened her shirt and ran her fingers through her messed up hair. She smirked at my shock and plucked the string of pictures from Avery’s hands. “Yummy,” she said, heaving a shudder, and then walked away without another word.