Page 35 of That Kind of Guy

“Uh,” Avery startled.

I leaned down and gave Avery a kiss on the cheek. Her skin was soft, like velvet.

“No, a real one,” Miri pressed.

Avery cleared her throat. “I have garlic breath.”

I don’t know what happened, but one second, I was standing there with my arm around Avery, and the next one, I was pulling her toward me, about to press my mouth to hers.

She turned quickly, and I got her ear and a mouthful of hair.

“What the hell, Adams,” I murmured in her ear.

“What the hell, yourself,” she murmured back, her gaze blazing. “A little warning next time?”

“Well,” Miri chirped, handing my phone back to me. “I’ll see you to lovebirds later. Have a great night. Avery, I’ll email you those details about the schoolwork program.”

“Goodnight,” Avery said.

“What was she talking about?” I asked her on the way to the car. “The school program.”

“There’s a work program at the local high school that places queer teens in accepting and welcoming work environments. We could use some summer workers at the restaurant.”

Something clicked in my head. Avery was the only straight woman, unrelated to me, that I’d ever met who wasn’t attracted to me. She didn’t date much—only hookups, from the sounds of things. And now Avery was showing a lot of interest in an organization for queer youth in town.

My pulse stilled. Avery wasgay. This made so much sense. Of course. Jesus, why didn’t I realize this before? Perhaps she just wasn’t ready to come out to our community, or didn’t plan to.

I felt the sink of disappointment that things with Avery and I would never go further. It would be fun to have a couple hookups, if she ever warmed up to me. At the same time, relief settled in my chest. I wasn’t losing my mojo. I wasn’t aging out of being attractive. Avery not liking me had nothing to do withme. It was all about her. Completely out of my control.

I slid into the driver’s seat and turned to her with a sympathetic look.

“It’ll be our little secret,” I told her.

She gave me a strange look. “Yeah, I know.”

I started the car. “I hope you know that Queen’s Cove is an incredibly liberal place, and no one would treat you any differently.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “What are you talking about?”

I gave her aduhlook. “Avery, you’re gay.”

She gave me an amused look. “Am I?”

There was an inkling of hesitation inside my head. “That’s why you don’t like me. Because you’re gay.” My gaze cut from the road to her. “Right?”

She burst out laughing. “Wow.”

“What?”

“Is your ego so massive that you actually can’t believe a straight woman doesn’t like you?”

“No.” Yes. I felt the frown settle on my face. “But you’re getting involved with—”

“I’m getting involved because I think it’s a great cause, Miri seems really nice, and last week, a customer told Max he was a sinner, so it felt like a perfect opportunity.”

“That’s awful.”

“About the customer telling Max he’s a sinner or me not being gay?”

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