“No.” I winced, having said that a little harsher than I meant to. “Sorry. I just need some air. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here.”
Before Mateo could say anything else, I pushed my chair in and headed for the door. Avery’s voice haunted me as I hurtled to the front, my heart pounding as I ran from both of them.
One week in Whynot, and I’d already ruined everything.
CHAPTER FOUR
Avery
By the time dinner time rolled around, I’d taught four more classes without disaster and had managed to replay the situation with Levi a million times in my head.
I wished I lived in a city because then I’d never see him again. Instead, I was stuck in this tiny-ass town, and there was gonna be no avoiding him while he was back in Texas.
At some point I’d have to apologize for snapping, but that wasn’t happening today.
It didn’t help that Mateo had handled it the way he always did. After Levi left, he’d stayed to help for the rest of the class, and then he gave me a hug and left when it was finished.
That was it.
I could still feel him against me. His scent fucking haunted me. There’d been nothing sexual in his touch, just pure support, and that’d been enough to truly ruin my day.
A knock on the studio door had my gaze lifting from the front desk. I waved my hand at Evie, one of my best friends since high school. She was gorgeous as ever, not looking like she’d been up since 5 a.m. like I knew she had. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, crimson red lipstick perfectly unsmudged. She wore a cute dress with strawberries on it that hugged her plus-sized body in a way that made me drool, the sweetheart neckline doing god’s work.
Evie stepped inside and held up a piece of her famous pecan pie.
“I come bearing pie. I heard you might need it,” she said.
I sighed dramatically. “Have I ever told you that you’re beautiful?”
“You say that every time I bring you pie on a bad day,Blue.”
I groaned and put my forehead down on the countertop as she approached. I’d forgotten that the bastard had sent the group chat a message about my little situation. I hadn’t checked my messages all day.
Now, I was sure the entire town was going to be calling meBluefor the rest of my life.
“Oh boy. That bad, huh?” Evie sat the pie plate down next to me and stabbed the fork in it. “I was swamped all day, otherwise I would have rescued you sooner. June is on her way too. She’s dropping off her niece at her brother’s.”
I raised my eyes to meet Evie’s gaze with a frown. Both of us had noticed just how much more June had been caring for her niece, Laura. She hadn’t talked to either one of us about it, which probably meant it was much worse than we knew.
“Do we need to run an intervention with her?” I asked hesitantly.
“Maybe. Too soon to tell. Her brother has never been my favorite person, but that’s just because he’s always caused her trouble. I know he’s having a hard time right now.” Evie pressed her lips into a thin line. “Tell me about today. Spill the beans.”
“Well, today was a disaster,” I said into the counter. I turned my head, keeping my cheek pressed to its surface as I broke off a bite of pie with the fork and shoved it in my mouth. The sugar rush eased the frustration around today just a bit.
“You’re being a little dramatic,” Evie snorted.
“I’m not,” I protested. “Not only did my hair dye go everywhere this morning, I ran into Levi Rayburn, of all people. Then Mateo. Levi is even hotter in person than he is on TV. And Mateo makes me want to melt into the damn dirt, but he treats me like a kid because of Austin.”
“Well, maybe remind them you’re not a kid? I mean, you’ve been back for two years, Avery. Maybe it’s time to stop pretending like you’re just his friend.”
I sat up, giving her a dirty look. “And how in the hell should I do that, Evie? Get a push up bra? Not everyone has tits like yours. I look like a boy under my overalls. Besides, Mateo and I can’t be together. Austin would kill us.”
Her laugh rang through the gallery as she dragged a barstool over from the wall, sitting down and resting her pretty face in her hands. “Okay, one, I’ve seen you in a bikini, you do not look like a boy. Two, Austin isn’t the boss of your love life, regardless of the Kevin situation. Three, so far, all I’ve heard is you saw two hot men. What else happened?”
“Then they ended up in my fumage class and my hair caught on fire. Then Mateo threw water at me to put it out. I was wet and humiliated.”
“I thought that was your kink.”
