Page 50 of Maid in Heaven

“Okay. I’ll text you tomorrow. Drive safe.” Will patted the side of her SUV gently and turnedaway.

As Ava drove away, wheels crunching through snow and black ice, all she could wonder was where she had gone wrong and what she’d done to make him not want toat least kiss her.

14

Ava scratched at hergrandecoffee’s cardboard sleeve.The skin under Ava’s eyes was dark and agitated, covered in layers of makeupthat didn’t quite seem to cover it all. Her hair wasin a messy bun, and hersweatshirt read ‘Namaste in bed.’ Midday sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the cafe. Clean tables and wooden chairs speckled the lounge.The scent of watered-down bleachcommingled with the intoxicating aroma of coffee, giving the place a sanitized but cozy feel.

Madison sat across from her, trying her best to stifle laughter, blondecurls bouncing against her cleavage-baring low-cutsweater.“Oh my God. Only you, Ava. Onlyyoucould get a black eye on a date.”

“Shut up,Madison. It was embarrassingenough.Don’t pile it on, please.”

“I’m sorry.” Madison raised her hands defensively and let them fall back to her cup. “Well, third date, at least you got laid. So, howwas it?I wantallthe deets. If I feel like you’re holding back, I swear to God—”

“I didn’t getlaid.”

Madison nearly choked on her coffee. Clearing her throat with a few weak coughs, her mouth fell agape.“You’re fuckin’kidding, right? The dude’s such a slut.Like anotoriousman-whore!”

Ava shrugged. All the noise from the patrons around them seemed to stop for a moment.“Thanksforthat.”

Madison whispered, over-correctingher loud outburst.“I’m serious. He’sslept with alotof my friends.”

“Yeah. Sure.Right.” Ava rolled her eyes. “Who? We both know I’m your only friend.”

Madison clutched herhand to her hiked breasts. “I have…lots…of friends besides you.”

“Like who?” Ava smirked.

“Like…” she thought for a moment, “Trish.”

“Oh, please! Trish is a gossip.”

“Well, she’s still myfriend.”

“No, she’s your drama spigot. You crank the wheel, and that shit pours outta her like a faucet. You thinkshe’dhavecome to bail you outta jailback in the day when you got caught stealing that standee from Blockbuster?”

“First of all, I was likenineteenwhen that happened.”

“Yeah. No longer a minor. I had to come get you out of big-boy jail.”

“Second, okay, Brad Pitt was fuckin’ dreamy. What can I say? I’m a slut for androgynous vampires in pirate garb! Plus,” Madison scrunched her eyebrows together humorously,“is that really how we are quantifying what counts as areal friend?Someone who can provide bail?”

“I mean, it’s a pretty good metric.”

Madison waved her hands in front of her. “Stop using words likemetric. That’s why you don’t getlaid. Dudes don’t like women who show off how smart they are like that.”

“Oh my God, you just used the wordquantified.”

“Do as Isay, not as Ido.”

“I’mnotgonna act like a bimbo just to appease men.”

“Fine.” Madison crossed her arms. “But I have it on good authority—”

“You meanTrish-the-Mouthtold you.”

“Shhhhh!Do you wanna hear this or not?”

Ava mirrored Madison, crossing her arms, too, with an expression that saidget on with it.

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