“I need you to come get me.”
Chapter 21
The Girl’s Night
Ava wiggled her toes, admiring the ruby red nail polish after she finished painting on the topcoat. Her nails were already a matching red, courtesy of Summer's steady hand. Ava returned the favor by painting Summer's a dark navy blue. While Ava was not in a celebratory mood for the Fourth of July holiday coming up, she could admit pretty nails made her day the slightest bit better.
She looked at Summer hunched over her foot with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth.
“Need help?” Ava asked.
“Nope, almost got it. Done,” she declared, sitting up and screwing the top on the nail polish bottle.
Ava grabbed her glass of red wine off the coffee table and leaned back into the soft yellow cushions of Summer's couch. She admired the vibrant hues of the yellow and orange throw pillows and the soft pink rug under her feet. Summer’s loft apartment encapsulated her fiery personality with the warm colors of an evening sunset. The manygreen plants lining the walls and any available flat surface made her loft apartment feel alive with positive energy. And Ava would take all the positive energy she could at the moment.
“I still can’t believe Alec showed up at the cabin out of the blue like that. What a stalker move,” Summer said, throwing herself on the couch beside Ava.
Ava tightened her grip on her wineglass to keep it from sloshing over the rim.
“I know. He acted like we were still together. Trying to kiss me and insisting I was grieving and didn’t know what I wanted. Like he would know what I’m feeling better than me,” Ava scoffed, getting worked up all over again the more she talked. Then she deflated, remembering why he’d been there at all. “Morgan went behind my back. I know she wants me to come back home and to work, but I didn’t think she’d try to use my ex to speed things along.”
“She’s a snake. I’ve always told you there was something about her I didn’t like.” Summer propped her feet on the coffee table in front of them.
“She’s not a snake.” Ava felt the need to still defend her other friend, even if she was upset with her. “I think her intentions were good, but she went about it all wrong. At least I’d like to believe she meant well.”
“Have you talked to her?”
Ava shook her head and took a big gulp of wine. “No word from her. And with the day I’ve had, I can’t deal with her right now, anyway. Let’s just hope no more unexpected visitors show up at the cabin.”
Ava took another sip, her mood further souring when she remembered the news Lucas had dropped earlier. “Not that I’ll have the cabin much longer, anyway,” she said.
“Do you want to keep the cabin? Since you’ve been here, your plan was to pack it up as soon as possible and get out of here. Has that changed?” Summer asked, her face blank.
Ava sighed into her wineglass. She swirled the deep red liquid like it would give her answers.
“I don’t know. With the cabin gone, what reason do I have to come back here again?”
Summer reared back like Ava had slapped her. “What the hell do you mean, you have no reason to come back here? You have me. I’m always in your corner. You’ve just conveniently ignored that fact for the last ten years.”
Heat rushed to Ava’s face. In retrospect, her words sounded callous. Adrenaline filled her chest once more, her body on edge at the prospect of yet another fight to round out her awful day. She placed her wineglass down to face Summer.
“I didn’t mean it like that, I swear. I know you’ve always been there for me, and it’s my fault I never came back. It took my dad dying for me to see that.”
Summer’s lips pursed, and she stared at her feet propped on the table, not responding right away.
Ava tried again. “Summer, please. I can’t stand to fight with one more person in my life right now. I’m sorry.”
Summer blew out a breath and turned to look at Ava. She gave a too-bright smile and relaxed her shoulders. “It’s fine. And you’re right, you’ve been through a lot today. Let’s go out tonight. Have a girl’s night. We haven’t been out to the Mucky Duck since you’ve been in town.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Plenty of tourists are in town for the Fourth of July holiday, and we just painted our nails. Let’s go out and see where the night takes us.”
Ava would rather stay in and take comfort in a bottle of wine but knowing she’d hurt Summer’s feelings convinced her to shove aside what she wanted to make Summer happy. Who knew? Maybe a night out could be what she needed. She doubted that, but there’d be alcohol.
“Sounds perfect,” Ava agreed, feeling the complete opposite inside.
Once their toenail polish dried enough to walk around, Summer insisted on doing both of their makeup and coaxing Ava out of her usual messy bun and into some loose curls that bounced just above her shoulders. With dark purple eyeshadow to complement her hazel eyes and deep red lipstick to finish the look, Ava could admit she looked sexy as hell.
She walked out of Summer’s bathroom and over to the outfit laid on the bed. Or rather the shorts laying on the bed. Tiny and red, she wasn’t convinced they’d fit over her hips no matter how stretchy they were. At least she’d shaved today.
“Stop staring at them and put them on already. They’re going to fit.” Summer rolled her eyes as she entered the bedroom, fluffing her hair. She was dressed in a plunging navy jumpsuit that showed off her killer arms, and a cinched middle that made the difference in their waists even more apparent.
