Page 65 of Dean

“I can help you, if you want.”

“I can change all by myself. I’m a big boy.”

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “I mean…I can get you off, Dean. If that’s what you want.”

I freeze, my hand on the hem of my shirt, my heart thundering so loud I can hear it in my ears.

“If you want me to, that is.”

He looks so unsure, as if I’m going to turn him down. As if everything hinges on my answer.

I let out a long exhale, not sure what to say. “If we do this, Avery, there’s no going back.”

“I don’t think I want to. Go back that is.”

I take a step forward, my fingers on the button of my jeans, ready to open myself up to him, to lay myself bare. But before I can take anything off, before I can relieve the ache inside of me, the doorbell rings.

It’s an annoying, bitter thing.

“I swear to god,” Avery mutters. “If that is a solicitor, I will cut them into bits and bury them in the backyard.”

“No one is cutting anyone to bits,” I murmur and then tug my shirt off, hoping to cover some of the mess he made from whoever is at the door.

“You know, we don’t need to answer that. We can just pretend no one is home.”

“Yeah, or we could answer it and tell them to fuck off.”

“Hmph, fine, old man. We can answer the damn door.”

I can’t help but laugh at how absurd he is as I pull the door open, seeing a young man standing on the other side, a clipboard in his hand, his red hair a wild mess, his cheeks pink from the chill in the air. “Hi! So glad you answered the door! I was wondering if you were interested in solar.”

Avery groans in frustration. “No. No one wants solar. And honestly, did you trek all the way up this driveway to ask this? I mean that’s like half a mile at least.”

The guy shrinks back and bobs his head. “Um. Yes? I mean, I don’t mind walking. It’s good for my heart.”

I peer over at Avery and bite my lip to keep from chuckling. I don’t say a word. I want to see what he does.

“Well, you really shouldn’t have bothered, heart or no. We don’t want solar. Right, Dean? And honestly, is that even a thing these days…the way the electric companies are robbing us blind? We might as well just sell our souls to the devil.”

“Avery,” I say lowly. “It’s fine to let him give his spiel.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” the man says, looking slightly ashamed. “I was just trying to do my job. I’m just…you know, times are tough…like the economy is bad and inflation…have you seen the price of eggs?”

Avery sags and sighs, realizing how rude he’s being. “Shit, you’re right. I’m sorry. Egg prices are atrocious. All of this was so rude of me. You know what? Come on in, solar man. We have beer. You want a beer? I was just going to make dinner.”

The guy perks up slightly. “I mean, yeah, that would be nice. If you don’t mind. I haven’t eaten all day.” As if on cue, his stomach rumbles.

“Oh, you sound famished.” Avery pushes the door open a little wider. “Dean has a fire pit out back. We could sit there and chat. Kill some time. Talk about saving the Earth. With solar panels.”

“Okay, yeah. That sounds nice. If you don’t mind.” He looks overjoyed, as if this is the best thing that has happened to him all year.

Fuck, I can’t ruin it for him.

He’s delighted.

“Avery,” I murmur, trying to get him to change his mind because I wanted him to be nicer to the dude, not invite him in. But he’s already moving into the kitchen, the guy following behind, the two of them chattering like old friends. But this is how Avery is. He has this ability to lure unsuspecting people in. They don’t know what’s happening, but he wins them over.

He won me over in his interview.

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