Page 28 of Perfectly Imperfect Us
Looking around at my friends, I delivered the news I was all too eager to share. “So. Ava and I are dating.”
“Like, officially dating or just hooking up?” Kadee asked, no malice in her tone, but the insinuation irritated me anyway.
“Kadee!” Lacey chastised.
“What? We all want to know, don’t deny it.” Kadee sniffed and lifted her chin, then shot Ava a wink.
The sly minx wanted a full relationship status description, not necessarily for her own benefit, but for Ava’s. These women were smart. I guess when you needed a wingwoman, you wanted Kadee.
“We’re dating dating. Tonight should have been date number two but then you losers wanted to meet up.” I wrinkled my nose in feigned disgust, but we all knew there was nowhere else I’d rather be than with my best friends. Only now, I could include Ava in that group.
“Congrats, you two.” Max and Skylar beamed at us, probably glad to have another confirmed couple in the mix.
“Are you sure you know how to date a girl who isn’t some snobby supermodel or actress?” Heath didn’t waste time, zeroing in on the exact thought that had probably gone through everyone’s head at our announcement.
If looks could kill, I hoped the one I was shooting at Heath did some major damage. “Pretty sure I can figure it out, Aston,” I said through a clenched jaw.
Heath put his hands up like he didn’t mean anything by it. I wanted to jump up and wipe the smirk off his face, but Ava sitting on my lap kept me right where I needed to be.
“Listen, Heath. Based off our one and only date so far I can confirm that Ryder does in fact, know how to treat a lady,” Ava piped in. “In fact, you might want to take some lessons.”
Everyone oohed and aahed over that snappy comeback, but Heath just laughed. I squeezed Ava tighter, appreciating her standing up for me. She and I were shaping up to be quite the team and she was turning out to be quite the protective tiger.
“Ava, darlin’, you might be right.” Heath bowed his head graciously and the party moved on to other topics.
My fingers itched to grab my camera and catch the expressions on my friends’ faces, the flames reflecting on their skin as they talked and joked. Instead, I used those fingers to stroke Ava’s skin, enjoying the way she felt beneath my fingertips, the way she shivered after each pass like she was just as aware of me as I was of her.
“Yeah, well, try working for Virgie. That woman will have you fear aging.” Ava laughed, the vibration hitting my chest. I loved the sound of her laugh. Like pure sunshine and sass bottled into a sound only she could produce.
“She’s not even fifty and she’s got color-coordinated pants suits and a string that holds her reading glasses around her neck. I mean, I’m all for aging gracefully, but holy Moses, she’s got one orthopedic shoe in the grave already.”
The group laughed, lamenting bad bosses, but I frowned. What in the world was Ava doing working for someone like that? We hadn’t really talked about her day job much. She’d glossed over it and mostly talked about her YouTube channel. I assumed her day job was fine. Clearly, I had assumed wrong.
“Can you work elsewhere?” I blurted out, my fingers stilling.
Ava swiveled to face me, a patient smile on her face that looked forced. “Not a lot of entry-level jobs in Nickel Bay. I could work in some other town maybe, but why bother? Minimum wage is minimum wage. No sense adding a long commute to it.”
The conversation continued around me and I slowly realized what a privileged ass I’d become. There I was suggesting Ava get a new job when it just wasn’t that easy without a college education. I was successful and had enough zeroes in my bank account to give me a sense of security. Many people, Ava included, didn’t have that kind of security. Having a job, any job, even one that had a jerk of a supervisor, was far superior than not being able to put food on the table that week.
I ran a hand down my face and promised myself I’d do better. Listening more than I spoke had always been a tenet I strived to live by, but I rededicated myself to do even better. And while I tried to see things from others’ point of view, I also wanted to do whatever I could do to get Ava in a new job. Or simply support her in getting her YouTube channel providing her paycheck entirely. Her talents were being wasted at Knot A Chain.
“You’re dying to take some pictures, aren’t you?” Ava whispered, catching me lost in my thoughts.
Her eyes danced in the firelight, a teasing grin on her face. I thought about denying it, but it was Ava. I was finding I could be completely honest with her.
“Yeah,” I shrugged, pulling her in tighter.
She put her palm on my cheek. “Then go do it. Who cares what anyone else thinks?”
She was right. I was tired of tiptoeing around my fascination with photography. These were my closest friends sitting here in this circle. If I couldn’t be myself in front of them, were we even friends at all?
I kissed her all too quickly, and then she climbed off my lap. Grabbing my camera from Ava’s purse, I sank into the darkness of the night behind the ring of chairs, clicking away at everything and everyone. Wasn’t easy to get a good picture with complete darkness splintered by one bright fireball of light in the middle. With each press of the shutter matching my slow heartbeat, I sank into a creative zone where outside stresses couldn’t touch me. It was just me and my camera.
“You gonna show us some of those pics, Steele?” Max’s voice cut through my thoughts. With a jolt, I realized all eyes were on me.
I walked back into the ring of chairs, a sheepish smile on my face. “Sure. If you want to see them.”
“Of course we do!” Kadee said, standing up and extending her hand for my camera.
