Her grin grows too. “What?”
“Geez, Avery. Give it to me straight, will you?”
“I’m just saying!”
“Note to self: Even sunshine burns.”
She snorts. “Get that from one of your books?”
I shake my head.
“So… You’re calling me sunshine? I have to admit, it’s better than wrecking ball.”
“You can be both.”
“Get you a girl who can do both, am I right?” Her eyes dip down to her empty glass. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have interjected about your family. It’s none of my business. I think it’s just the booze talking.”
I lean forward, grabbing her cup and making her another mixed drink. “Don’t apologize for being honest. You’re right. And the truth is, they’ve given up on me ever finding someone. Marriage doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me.”
Her brow creases. “Why? Don’t you want to get married?”
Does she sound disappointed?
“I always thought I would, but after one too manycrappy dates.” I lift a shoulder. “It just doesn’t seem like it’ll happen.”
“Not all dates are crappy. Eventually there has to be a good one. Agreatone.”
“I used to believe that, but after all the times I’ve watched people fall in and out of love and end up heartbroken in the end. It doesn’t seem worth it to go through all that tomaybefind someone who will choose to stick around. I don’t want to spend my life searching for something that doesn’t exist.”
“But what if it does? What if you just haven’t met the right person yet? C’mon, Ty. I need a little more optimism here.”
“I’m being realistic.”
“What about your mom and sister? Both of them found someone,” she challenges.
“The end will come eventually. Those guys will walk out, and it’ll be up to our little family to pick up the pieces again. Like always.”
“Is that why you’re not dating anyone?” she asks. When my eyes find hers, she immediately sits back, her hands curling around her glass as she hugs it to her chest. “I mean, I’m assuming you’re single. I've never seen a girl here. Never had to hide my things because you had someone coming over…”
“I’m single,” I confirm.
She sips her drink, then sets it down on the slick marble counter. “Forever?”
“Maybe.” I cock my head. “Why do you ask?”
Avery’s cheeks flush as her eyes dart around the room like she’s looking for a good answer. Which she’s not goingto find. She doesn’t reply. Instead, she knocks back her drink, finishing it off in three big gulps. Her face twists into something adorably crumpled as she sets down the empty glass. I wait as she stammers out a few consonants, enjoying how ruffled she is.
Finally, her eyes lock in on my arm, a little hiccup sneaking out from her pretty mouth before she says, “You know your tattoos are a little creepy. A skull?” She hops off her stool, lunging forward and grabbing my arm. Turning it over in her hands, she runs her fingers over the design.
“It was my first one. Thought it might make me look… tougher.” Heat radiates over my cheeks. I can’t believe I’m telling her this. “I was sixteen when I got it. Hoped it might keep people from wanting to smash my face in.”
She looks up at me, horrified. “People wanted to do that to you? Why?”
“Easy target, I guess. Too scrawny. My skin was too unpredictable, too patchy. Didn’t like sports enough, liked books too much… At least that was the case until sophomore year.”
“Well, you certainly flipped that around, didn’t you? But I know what you mean about the ‘too this, too that’ thing. Always too much of one thing, but never enough of another. Ya know? It’s exhausting trying to keep up with what other people want.”
A sadness crawls into her gaze, and I wish I hadn’t been the one to prompt it. But even so, it feels good to dive deeper with someone. With Avery.
