Page 51 of Substitute for Love

Once they got their food, they dug right in. Gabe was about to do his regular “shove all the food in my mouth” move, but he stopped himself. He wasn’t trying to impress Avery or anything. He acted more civilized around her, or something.

Or maybe he was practicing being a better, uh, date. Kind of. Slowing things down and getting to know the girl as a friend first. Not trying to race to the finish line because he knew it would end eventually. Enjoy the process.

He set down his fork. “So you graduated high school and headed off to NAU. Did you like Flagstaff?”

She nodded. “The trees and hiking trails were incredible. But it’s super expensive. And it gets too cold. I had to load up on so much winter gear. And driving in it was horrendous.”

Gabe dipped a chip into some salsa. “Too true. But I loved all the snow sports in Canada. I must have clocked forty miles per hour sledding down a mountain.”

Avery stopped mid-bite of her taco. “You did not.” A piece of fish plopped out of her taco and onto her plate.

“You’re right. I did not. But I had fun trying. You’re telling me you didn’t go sledding up north?”

She shook her head. “No way. Too busy studying.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Williams?” He leaned toward her.

She reached over and grabbed one of his chips. “That’s what subbing’s for, Talon. That’s about all the adventure I can handle.”

Literally no one but family knew his middle name, except for Avery. Hearing her say it made it feel less odd. More endearing. He smirked.

“And hanging out with me,” Gabe added, leaning back.

“Your whole personality is definitely an adventure,” she agreed.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Gabe appreciated this new dynamic. If dating her wasn’t possible—because of Claire, because he might be leaving town—then this was a good compromise.

A pit formed in his stomach, thinking about how he would eventually move on, she would move on, and it would end like all the rest. He craved something more stable. To be honest, he craved her. The way she saw him, noticed things about him, was proud of him, and took care of him. But he wasn’t going to let his heart get the better of him this time. This friendship was worth having no matter how long or short it was.

Chapter 16: Avery

Sunday August 31, 1:00 PM

Avery opened the front door of her house to find Mom napping in the recliner. She tried tiptoeing through the living room, but her mom woke with a start.

“There you are. I thought you were only going to be gone for a bit. How’d it go?”

She sat on the couch, pulling a book off the coffee table and setting the library paperwork on it. “Great. I ran into a friend so we spent the morning working on some stuff, then we went to lunch.”

“Oh. Was it Claire? How’s she doing?”

She hadn’t exactly been a great friend to Claire lately. She’d moved back to Phoenix and still hadn’t hung out with her best friend. And they hadn’t talked about what happened last night. Avery wanted to yell at her, to ask her why she had positioned herself between them, when it was obvious that Avery and Gabe had been spending time together.

Had it been obvious, though?

“Actually, it was Gabe. I was helping him with some research.”

“Gabe, huh? A date last night and this morning? Sounds like things are going well.”

Avery sighed. “Not dates, Mom. We’re just friends. Really.”

Her mom gave her a funny look.

“Mom, I promise. I recently got out of a long-term relationship and Gabe is probably leaving town soon anyway.”

“Uh huh.” Mom smiled and raised her eyebrows.

“Stop it. Now, let me get you a sandwich so you can quit talking while I fill out this library paperwork.”

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