Page 15 of Artfully Wild
I look at her, confused. “Say what?”
“You are the most oblivious person I have ever met.” I raise my eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. “Seriously, when I first came here, I thought you two were already a couple. The way you two looked at each other, I thought you’d been together for years. And I think in a way you have, but you’re both so afraid to risk anything, neither of you have had the courage to make the first move. You’re letting fear run your lives instead of making your own decisions. Take it from someone who recently figured it out. Take the risk, the jump,the leap, whatever you want to call it. But stop wondering what it would be like to be with him and justbewith him.”
I think about her words and can’t see any way around it. “But what if I ask him out and he says—”
“Yes? Because there is no way on this Earth he is going to turn you down, Sky. And if he does, then clearly, he’s been possessed by the dumbest type of demon out there. Trust me, if you ask him, he’s going to say yes in a millisecond and if he could, he’d say yes a lot faster than that.”
“So, this painting thing…is good?”
“You and Jacob in the studio…all by your lonesome…blank canvases, paint, no one else around? Imagine the art you could create,” she says, raising her eyebrows.
“That’s the point, Avery.”
“Sheesh, you’re clueless when you’re in love.”
“I’m not—”
“Just shut up and take my advice. Ask. Him. Out.”
The hesitation must show on my face, because she jumps in again before I try to argue with her.
“Look, I’m not saying youhaveto do this, Sky. Stay “just friends” if you want to,” she says, putting air quotes aroundjust friends. “But honestly, it doesn’t seem like that’s what you really want and I think you’d regret not at least trying. See what could come of it. It might be something good.” She smiles before adding, “And the deal you made? Complete bullshit.”
She stands and does her best to wipe off her pants and finishes taking pictures.
“So, do you think you have what you need?” I ask.
Her voice is muffled by the camera as she responds, “Yeah, I think I have what I need for now. We might as well keep this display up so I can come back later tonight as the sun sets and get it in a different lighting. I think it would have more of a cozy vibe to it then.”
“That’s actually a good idea. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
“It’s really not a problem. It’s the least I can do considering you helped me get the studio.Ourstudio.”
“Yeah, yeah…I need to come back and finish one of the paintings I was doing the other day, but I feel bad encroaching on Charlotte’s space up there.”
I try not to show up too much, because I don’t like people encroaching on my space, so I don’t want to do it to other people.
“Please,” Avery responds. “Charlotte needs the company. With all the time spent working on the studio and then wedding planning and the Winter Festival on top of that, we have been severely lacking in the girl time department. So it would be beneficial if you went up there more, trust me.”
“Okay, yeah, maybe I’ll go up there later tonight.”
“Honestly, she’d probably love that because Hudson and I have plans.”
“Of course you do,” I say. “Naked plans.”
Avery immediately blushes. “Shut up,” she says.
I stretch my neck backward, “Notice that she didn’t deny it,” I mumble to the sky, loud enough for her to hear. A wind breezes through the branches above us, loosening some of the snow and it slowly cascades to the ground. Avery angles her camera quickly and takes a few shots of the snow falling on to the campsite.
“See, even nature agrees with me.”
“Just because I love your brother doesn’t mean that all we do is have sex.”
I roll my eyes at her because I know it’s a lie, considering what Jacob and I witnessed on our hike. But also because Hudson butt dialed me thatsamenight and I really questioned my place in the universe by the end of the day, wondering whothe hell I pissed off to deserve both of those instances in one day.
“Tell that to the butt dial your fiancé made the other night to my phone. It’s not exactly a pleasant experience listening to the sounds your brother makes during sex.”
Her blush deepens and I can’t help but laugh. She’s easy to fluster.
