Page 102 of Reaching Avery
The handle turned before the door slowly creaked opened. When I saw Avery standing there in his white jacket, gold shoulder pads, and red pants, I laughed. Hard.
“You officially suck, Mav,” he said, cutting his eyes. “Just for that, you have to try on the Mother of Dragons one. Wig and all.”
His plan backfired when I actuallydidtry it on. I came out of the dressing room, wearing the low-riding skirt, leggings, and crop top, and I flicked the long, silvery-blonde hair of the wig. Avery tried to roll his eyes at me, but when I started saying lines from Game of Thrones in my girly voice, he laughed mid-eye roll and covered his mouth in the cutest way.
After more goofing around, wefinallytried on the costumes we went in there for. I handed Avery his before taking mine into the dressing room. He was in the stall next to me, and I heard him grunting as he tried to put his on.
“Should I come in and assist you?” I asked, using my superhero voice. I even put my hands on my hips in the iconic stance, even though I was in a dressing room… alone… and no one could see.
“Stay in your own room, God of Thunder,” he said from the other side of the wall separating us. “I can dress myself.”
I grinned and looked at myself in the mirror. I was the Ragnarok version of Thor, so I didn’t have the blond wig. My arms were showing, and I flexed my biceps, making sure they looked okay. The chest piece fit like a glove, and it hugged my torso perfectly. The red cape swooshed behind me, and the pants really showed off the muscles in my legs. Thank you, leg day at the gym.
Not to be vain or anything, but I looked good.
“Okay,” Avery said. “I think I’m ready.”
We walked out of our rooms at the same time, and I honest to god gawked when I saw him. So much formelooking good… Avery was mouthwatering.
He was one sexy as hell Loki. The black bodysuit clung to his thin frame, and his green cape drifted behind him as he walked toward me. All he needed was the headpiece, and he’d be set.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked as his cheeks darkened a shade. “I feel silly.” He looked me up and down. “Wow.”
Pulling him into my arms, I said, “Wow to you too. You may feel silly, but you look amazing.”
“Thanks.” Avery buried his face in the crease of my neck, and I felt him smile.
After we changed back into our regular clothes and I paid for our costumes, we left the Halloween shop and walked down the sidewalk. My car was in the lot a few blocks over, so we had a small distance to go before reaching it. The sun had set already, but the streetlamps and lit-up window displays in the other stores gave off enough light. Not much, but enough.
I wasn’t ready to leave him yet, and by his slow pace, I got the impression he wasn’t ready either.
“Can I ask you something?” I said, taking his hand.
“Sure.”
My heart raced in that moment, because I knew it was probably something he didn’t want to talk about. But I had to know.
“When we were in my car last night… why did you move away from me?”
Avery stopped walking, which caused me to tug him a little before I stopped too. I turned back to him, and his expression was exactly as I’d thought it’d be: guarded.
“Remember when I said I was complicated?” he asked. “That’s part of it.”
The cryptic answers were understandable. Not everyone opened up about their problems. But I’d thought he and I were at a point now where he could tell me those kinds of things. If not all of them, then at least some.
I was afraid he didn’t feel the same as me. That he might’ve liked me, but not nearly as much as I did him.
“Are you ever going to give me real answers?” I asked, hearing the hurt in my voice. “I’ll be patient as long as I need to be, but it sucks being left in the dark.”
Avery watched me and didn’t say anything. The guarded expression slipped from his face as his pain showed through. Pain and perhaps fear.
“You won’t want me anymore if I tell you,” he choked out, and when his voice broke, the same echoed in my chest. “You’ll see how screwed up I really am, and you’ll run.”
I stepped toward him, not able to stay away when he was hurting. When I grabbed him, he shrugged out of my hold.
“Why are you pulling away from me?” I asked, hating the way my insides coiled. He wasn’t just physically pulling away, but emotionally as well.
His normally pale blue eyes appeared darker in the poor lighting, and the eyeliner around them only made them more so. It also seemed symbolic, as if the shadows he kept locked inside were reflecting in his eyes.
