Page 13 of Perfectly Imperfect Us
“Hey, you two!” Skylar jumped in front of Ava, pulling her into a hug. “We were just looking for you guys.”
Max and I did our hand-slap routine and then I gave Skylar a hug and cheek kiss. Kids and parents darted around us, off to ride the rides and get their faces painted and buy deep-fried foods we’d all regret the next morning.
“Dude, you gotta lay off kissing my girl. This ain’t Europe.” Max gave me a dirty look, but the twinkle in his eye gave him away.
“Maybe if she got enough kisses at home, she wouldn’t have to come to me for them.”
Max lunged at me and I darted away, the girls laughing at us being ridiculous as usual. I hit something solid as I backed up and looked behind me to see Heath standing there. With his dark hair, sunglasses, and a ridiculous amount of muscle mass, he looked like a security guard. He really should lay off the testosterone before someone got hurt.
“’Sup,” he mumbled.
Max snorted, the difference between the two guys’ personalities making them an odd choice for friends. For every Heath scowl, Max threw out a grin, like it was the universe’s way of balancing things out. It just seemed to work for them.
Lacey and Kadee walked up to the group and we were almost set. Just missing Jase. I shifted toward the back of the group and lifted my camera, snagging some candid shots of my friends, the carnival we’d grown up with the backdrop.
“Did you forget which side of the camera you’re supposed to be on?” Max joked, the whole group turning to look at me. A few giggled and I felt like an insecure kid in junior high again, getting teased for “looking like a girl.”
I felt each eye on me and wished I could melt into the ground. Ava accepted my photography, but that didn’t mean everyone else did.
I shrugged. “Just grabbing some shots for fun.”
Ava folded her arms over her chest and lifted one sculpted eyebrow at me. I looked away and let the camera hang from my neck, stuffing my hands in the back pockets of my designer jeans.
Ava swirled around and addressed the rest of the group. “Oh, you didn’t know? Ryder here takes some wickedly good photos. If you’re lucky, he might show you. Some of us can only catch a little ball while others of us are multitalented.” She glared at Max whose stunned face drained of color the longer she gave him the evil eye.
Heath clapped his hands and ushered everyone to a ride the second Jase walked up to the group, the lights and sounds drowning out further arguing. Skylar grabbed Max’s hand and dragged him away, whispering in his ear.
Ava didn’t move, just stood there looking at me. I felt like I’d disappointed her in some way. I walked up to her and lifted a hand to her face, smoothing her hair behind her ear. Her eyes went soft and an ache grew in my chest. I’d missed having friends that stuck by me more than I would have guessed.
“Thanks for sticking up for me, but Max didn’t mean anything by that comment. We’re always teasing each other.”
A smile ghosted across her lips. “I’m sure he meant well, but sometimes you need someone to hit you across the face with a two-by-four before you realize you’re hurting people with your careless words.”
And with that, she walked away to join the others.
When I’d collected my jaw off the ground, I rushed to catch up. Because I was beginning to see that wherever Ava was going, I was going too.
6
Ava
My wedges almost caused me to sprain an ankle on the bumpy grass field. I knew carnivals were no place for high heels, but they went so perfectly with my dress I couldn’t say no. Besides, it wasn’t really the shoes’ fault. It was Ryder’s fault for making me so dang angry I couldn’t see straight.
I rolled my eyes at my own internal thoughts. It wasn’t really Ryder’s fault either if I was being honest with myself. It was the fact that his friends made fun of his photography that made my vision go red. I knew Max was just teasing and meant no harm, but he’d pushed a button that only I seemed to know about. Ryder was sensitive about his photography. So much so he hadn’t even told his best friends about it.
A gush of warmth flooded the anger out of my system, thinking about the implications of Ryder telling me his secret, but not the Nickel Heads. Either way, I had a big ol’ soft spot for the ones getting teased. In school, if there’d been a bully, I’d been the first to defend whoever he was picking on. I’d had my share of bullies when my vitiligo first started showing—and before I’d learned how to cover it up successfully.
“Hey, wait up, Ava.”
Ryder touched my arm and I froze right there in the middle of the crowd mid-step. Didn’t mean to, in fact, I wish I hadn’t, but my body had decided to stop in its tracks the second Ryder touched us. Me. Whatever.
“They’re about to name the Poppy Queen. Should we go check out which of your girls made it?” Ryder smiled and I forgot all about being angry or protective. He was a fully grown man. Capable of taking care of himself without some girl he used to know from a map-dot town coming to his rescue.
“Yeah, we should do that.”
Ryder put his hand on my back and steered me toward the stage at the north end of the park. I didn’t bother to check, but I knew our friends were close by, probably heading in the same direction and wondering about Ryder’s hand touching me like we hadn’t spent the last few months bickering. I was wondering too and every answer I came up with lit my heart with so much hope I had to squash it down just to stay connected to the earth below my feet.
The mayor pulled the card out of the envelope. “It is my very special honor to announce this year’s Poppy Queen, a position inherent with much responsibility and distinction, a young lady who will represent Nickel Bay in all she does…Annabella Weatherington!”
