Page 58 of You're So Vine
“I hid it from Jackson,” she explains. “For his own good.”
“Hey,” he protests. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“You’re not the boss of you either,” says his sister, “when it comes to donuts.”
I take the opportunity to slide a glance at Ava. She’s staring right at me, a cool look on her face. Dammit. She’s so beautiful and I am such an asshole. Not sure I can make it up to her. Not sure if she’ll let me.
Jackson and Shelby are still bickering. I move closer to Ava.
“I’m sorry,” I say to her. “I fucked up.”
“You did,” she replies. “Big time.”
The donut frosting is melting. My fingers are getting sticky. But she doesn’t seem angry. Not on the outside, anyway.
“So…” I venture cautiously. “On a scale of ‘I’m open to an explanation’ to ‘the snake pit is too good for you’, how would you rate your current position?”
Ava’s still giving me no clues. Remind me never to play her at poker.
“Did you know,” she says, “that the Gaboon viper produces the second-largest quantity of venom of any snake on the planet?”
“Which snake produces the most?”
“The one I’m stocking your pit with, obviously.”
She’s either deadly serious or there’s a faint glimmer of hope. The frosting from the donut is oozing down my fingers. I don’t dare move, though—this feels like a critical moment. Better think carefully about what I say next.
“I don’t mind snakes so much. Camel spiders now…”
Jesus, Hollander. Words are not your special talent.
“Are they those huge hairy desert things that can run really, really fast?”
“Top speed’s only about ten miles an hour. And they’re notthatbig. But they’re still fucking terrifying.”
“Bet you wouldn’t want one in your sleeping bag.”
Am I imagining it, or did she just move a little closer?
“I’ve seen battle-hardened soldiers scream in falsetto when there’s one three feet away,” I tell her, “let alone in the same bed.”
Ava holds my gaze for a moment. She’s still got her poker face on, not even the tiniest tell, far as I can see. Then she glances down at my hand.
“Seems like you’re in a bit of a mess there,” she remarks.
The donut frosting is pink, with sprinkles. And it’s all down my fingers now and halfway to my wrist. I lift my hand, ready to run it under the tap. Ava grabs it. Sticks my index finger in her mouth. Sucks all the frosting off it. Slowly.
Jackson and Shelby must have left the room. Or they might be right behind me making rabbit ears. Can’t tell. Don’t care. Have to focus.
“No snakes?” I ask, super quietly, just in case this is all a dream and I wake myself up.
“Cruel to have someone of your size landing on them.”
She wipes a sticky sprinkle from the corner of her mouth and sucks it off her own finger. I’m having a coronary.
“I suppose you have to go back to work,” she says.
My gratitude for Nate knows no bounds. I owe him. I owe everyone. By some miracle, I’m being given a free pass, a second chance. Better not fucking blow it, Hollander.
