Page 18 of Perfectly Imperfect Us
“I know! Twenty questions, speed-dating style.” Her eyes twinkled and then she quickly added, “Not that we’re dating, but you know what I mean.”
I smiled, the idea of dating Ava seeming quite nice. She wouldn’t play games or arrange things for the paparazzi’s benefit. I bet she’d be real and honest, telling it like it was.
“Okay, I’ll go first. What’s your favorite color?”
“Pink. Obviously.”
I laughed. “Hey, we have to start with easy ones right out of the gate.”
“Okay, my turn. What was your first professional modeling gig?” Ava pulled her legs up onto the table and crossed them underneath her, reminding me of a kid settling in for story time.
I shrugged, wishing she’d asked me about my most celebrated job so I could brag a little. “An online model for Old Navy.”
“Ooh, I bet that was fun!”
No,thiswas fun. Just being with Ava. “Nah, they cut my head off in the final pictures. Only my legs showed.”
She tilted her head, looking down. “Theyarenice legs…”
“Ava…” She was playing a dangerous game.
She grinned mischievously. “Just calling it like I see it. Okay, your turn to ask me something.”
I took a deep breath and thought it through. I actually had about a hundred things I wanted to ask her. Narrowing it down would be tough.
“Tell me something about you no one else knows.”
She didn’t hesitate. “That’s not a question.”
“Humor me.”
She let out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. Uh, well, I have a bucket list. Like an old person.”
“Interesting. What do you—”
She cut me off. “Nah uh. That’s two questions. My turn. What do you plan to do now that you’re semi-retired?”
I shifted, the question more personal than she probably realized. “Well, I’m not really sure, but I do know photography has to be part of it. Maybe as a hobby, maybe as another career, I don’t know.”
Her eyes softened. “I think that’s a great idea. Your pictures are amazing, Ryder.”
And there went my chest, squeezing tight as if my heart was growing too big for my body. I didn’t know what to do with that feeling, so I kept going with the questions.
“What got you into makeup?”
Ava looked away and sighed. “I just really love the idea of being able to create a different version of yourself every morning.”
“Why do you need a different version of yourself?”
She shrugged, but it didn’t look carefree any longer, especially when she didn’t call me out on asking two questions in a row. The gesture held a tinge of hopelessness.
“It’s not so much a need as a want, but I guess having some armor makes it easier to exist in this world,” she answered softly.
“What—”
“Ryder? Are you still out there in the shed?” My mother’s voice carried from the back door of the house, cutting me off and ending a line of questioning I’d become fascinated with.
I hopped off the table and yelled through the door. “Yeah, Mom. We’re stuck. Can you come unlock the door?” I turned back to Ava, who’d hopped down and brushed off the back of her shorts. “We’re not done with this conversation,” I told her quietly.
