Page 57 of She Used to Be Nice
On the night of karaoke, Avery was in such a good mood that she was convinced the guy at the pizza shop she stopped at beforehand slipped her drugs. She was about to take a bite of her dollar slice when she was startled by a dog barking close to her feet, making her yelp and drop her pizza. Disgruntled, she flung open the front door to Planet Rose, where Pete was already sitting at the bar and scrolling through his phone. He looked up, his face dotted with rainbow light from the disco balls hanging from the ceiling.
“Hey, you!” he called out.
Avery dug her hand into a bowl of peanuts on the counter and cracked some open without responding. Pete frowned.
“Uh oh, everything okay?” he asked.
“No,” Avery muttered. “Some dog just barked at me and made me drop my pizza. He’s lucky it wasn’t a fifteen-dollar pad thai.”
“Awww,” Pete said with a tiny laugh. “You’re not a fan of dogs, are you?”
Avery shoved a peanut into her mouth. “You think?”
“I remember how you reacted to Milo. He’s scary, though.”
“Whatever, I’m here. Hi.” She kissed Pete hello. He kissed her back and pressed his body flush against her. The closeness made her woozy.
“Want a beer?” he asked. “I’ve got a tab open.”
Avery nodded, and Pete ordered her a drink, leaning closer into her. All her nerve endings zeroed in on the spot where the skin on his arm brushed hers. She felt light-headed and anxious in a good way, like her feelings for him had already grown since the last time she saw him, like she was a preteen girl harboring her first crush, both scared and exhilarated to bump into him after class.She really hoped that today would go well, that she could keep all her bad parts and past hidden from him for as long as possible.
A bell above the front door jingled, signaling Morgan and Charlie’s arrival. Morgan lifted her eyebrows in Avery’s direction and then darted her eyes to Pete. She scanned him up and down with a satisfied smile on her face. Avery shook her head. Morgan was never one for subtlety.
“Good to see you again, Pete!” Morgan said, pulling Pete in for a hug.
Charlie went next, shaking Pete’s hand and clasping him on the back. “What’s going on, man? I haven’t seen you since college.”
“I know, it already feels like forever ago,” Pete said. “Small world, huh?”
Avery’s heart swelled. She couldn’t believe she was hanging out with her best friends and the guy she might, if she didn’t reveal anything about herself that would ruin it, one day call her boyfriend. She never thought she’d be here again, with anyone.
Pete nodded at the bar. “You guys want a drink? I got the first round.”
“Thanks! I’d love a beer,” Charlie said. “Morgan?”
Morgan hung her purse on the back of the chair. “Vodka soda, please.”
“You’re brave,” Pete said, laughing. “I think I had enough of those in college for the rest of my life.”
“It’s not by choice, trust me. I’m just trying to keep the calories low. Gotta fit into the wedding dress.”
“I hear ya. The metabolism’s starting to slow for all of us.” Pete patted his stomach in sympathy, which was hilarious because Avery knew for a fact that he had abs. But if there was one thing Pete knew how to do, it was make jokes at his own expense. And Morgan laughed, which probably was his goal. “But congrats again!” he added. “Very exciting. When’s the wedding?”
“August twenty-second. So soon!” Morgan beamed. “At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.”
“They do weddings there? That’s awesome. I bet it’s beautiful.”
“It is. It’s amazing.”
“Andveryexpensive,” Charlie added with a self-deprecating chuckle. “My best man hooked us up with a discount, though. He’s a start-up founder and his company is pretty successful, so he’s got some serious connections. He’s probably gonna be onShark Tank, actually.”
“Wow, that’s super cool.” Pete sounded too impressed. Avery indulged in an eye roll. “I love Mr. Wonderful. He’s such an ass but he’s so entertaining.”
“Totally,” Charlie agreed. “Noah’s been talking to the producers. Nothing’s final yet but it’s gonna happen.”
Avery crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Of course Noah would be onShark Tank, would continue to be successful and trick even more people into thinking he was not scum. She looked at Morgan and motioned to the blue binder of karaoke song choices splayed out on the bar. Morgan followed her over, out of earshot of the boys.
“Isn’t that cool about Noah andShark Tank?” Morgan said with a smile when they were alone.
