Page 19 of Perfectly Imperfect Us
The clank of the lock disengaging was followed shortly by my mother opening the door and fussing over the two of us when I explained what happened. Ava said all the right things to my mom and made to leave in a hurry.
She glanced over her shoulder when she reached the side gate, that little smile telling me she was still thinking about that kiss, just like I was.
“Bye, Ryder.”
I lifted a hand, but didn’t say goodbye.
I was far from done with her.
8
Ava
I lay on my bed with my laptop, going through the pictures Ryder had emailed over like he said he would. I studied them, looking for the flaws, the angles in which I didn’t look my best. Obsessed with my image was one way of looking at it. Looking for cracks in my armor was another. But most of all, I looked at the girl Ryder said was beautiful, wondering if he’d say the same if he saw me without the facade I kept between me and the world.
My phone vibrated next to my leg. Thinking it was one of my girls with plans for the weekend, I picked it up.
Ryder:My turn to ask a question.
I smiled despite myself. Any more questions from my handsome friend were going to cause some serious heart issues. Every time I thought back to the kiss in the shed earlier today, my skin flushed and I needed to sit down. I bit my lip and asked what I’d been wanting to know since I walked out of Ryder’s yard.
Ava:Actually no, it’s my turn. So, why did you kiss me?
The bubble stayed on the screen for quite some time, which meant he was either writing a long reply or simply stumbling over how to answer. I died a thousand deaths waiting for him to acknowledge my question. Sitting up in bed, I shut my laptop and willed the phone to vibrate with a response. It came right as I was looking for a way to delete my last text.
Ryder:Why does one breathe? Because one has to.
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “Holy crappers, the man can flirt,” I said aloud to my empty room. I sighed and flopped back on the bed.
Ryder:Now it’s my turn. Will you go cliff jumping tomorrow afternoon with me?
Ava:How did you know that’s on my bucket list?
Ryder:Isn’t it on everyone’s? Besides, you already crossed off “Kiss Ryder Steele,” so what else would be left on that list?; )
Ava:Wow. That ego…
Ryder:Just say you’ll come.
Ava:Alright, fine. But only if you bring me more Cheetos.
Ryder:Anything for you…
And because I couldn’t keep a juicy secret to save my life, I group texted my girls to update them on Ryva-gate, the name they’d given to this flirtation between Ryder and me. I didn’t take it too seriously because how could a guy like Ryder seriously be interested in a girl like me? Flirting—and kissing—was fun, so I’d continue to participate, but it would never lead to anything, of that I was sure.
Now if I could just get my heart to agree.
* * *
“Why did you pick this spot? Seriously?” Skylar folded her arms across her chest and glared at Max who grinned like a man who knew he could sweet-talk his wife into doing anything.
“Come on, Gingersnap. It’ll be exhilarating.” Max nuzzled into her neck, whispering something else I didn’t want to know about.
“Agh, that’s enough of that,” I groaned.
Having one of our friends happily married really killed the dynamics of our group. Now Skylar brought Max everywhere, which meant all the Nickel Heads came along and I wasn’t the only one having issues with that.
Kadee could teach an acting class on ignoring the elephant in the room. She and Heath had dated briefly senior year of high school and she simply acted like he no longer existed, which was comical considering he was as big as an elephant with all his muscles and the dark storm cloud that hovered above his head at all times. Lacey, when she came around, was polite to everyone, but Jase was so tongue-tied around her it made me uncomfortableforhim.
