Page 30 of Reaching Avery
Chapter Eight
Avery
I almost hadn’t shown up at the theater building that day. Maverick and I weren’t exactly friends, but I don’t know. After talking to him Saturday night, I was drawn to him. And I got the feeling he felt the same with me.
The idea scared me. People were hardly ever nice to me; either through bullying or avoidance. The ones who didn’t mock me usually kept their distance because they believed I was bad news.
The logical side of me said to be cautious around Maverick, that he was only being nice because of some ulterior motive. However the other part of me—more than likely the one ruled by my heart instead of my brain—told me to take a chance with him.
Being his friend wouldn’t hurt me, and if it turned out he was a jerk like all the others, then I’d take it as another lesson learned and move on.
To say I felt out of place in that restaurant with him and his friend Sarah was an understatement. It wasn’t because they weren’t nice, but it was just the whole atmosphere. My family was too poor, and we didn’t go out to eat like that. If we did go out to eat somewhere, it was a fast-food place that had a dollar menu, but eventhatwas rare.
Maverick had said this place was cheap, but when I’d been asked what I wanted to eat, all I saw were the prices beside each dish and how I couldn’t afford even the cheapest thing on the menu.
“Have you talked to Chris lately?” Sarah asked before grabbing a chip, dipping it in salsa, and shoving it in her mouth.
“Not really,” Maverick answered, looking down. “We’ve talked on the phone a few times, but that was like a week ago. Other than that, it’s just been the occasional text.”
Yeah, I was confused. I had no idea who Chris was.
Sarah looked at me and explained, “Chris is Mav’s boyfriend who already graduated. He moved to New York with a few of our other friends from theater.”
Maverick is gay?
“I hate to even think it,” Maverick said before pausing, visibly debating his next words. “But I think he might’ve found someone else and is afraid to tell me.”
“Oh, Chris wouldn’t do that.” Sarah shook her head and gave Maverick a sad expression. “He’s crazy about you and is probably just super busy. Before you two even started dating last year, he always talked about how hot you were.”
“There’s more to someone than their looks,” Maverick countered, grabbing a chip from the basket in the center of the table. Instead of eating it in one bite, he tore small pieces off and ate each one separately before dropping the rest on the table. “Maybe that’s the problem. It was always physical with us… and I get the feeling that’s all he wanted. I don’t know.”
No more was said about his boyfriend—and I was thankful for that.
When the food arrived, I could hardly believe the portion size. This sucker was huge, like a mega-chimichanga or something. Or maybe it was the fact I didn’t really see that much food at one time, so it just seemed ginormous.
Damn.It tasted just as awesome as it looked, and I ate it slowly to savor each bite.
Conversation moved to school as we ate. Maverick talked about our history class, and we both agreed that we liked the instructor. I’d already filled out all the terms on the study guide, and had the majority of the important people and events of the section memorized, as well as their significance to that area in history.
Sarah talked about her art class a little and mentioned some guy named Noah and how she wished he was around to help with her assignment. Then, they talked about Noah more, and I eventually figured out they went to school with him last semester and that he graduated in the same class as the Chris guy.
“Bastian texted me the other day and said college is going great,” Sarah said before explaining to me who he was. Bastian was Noah’s boyfriend and was enrolled in a deaf program in college, and Noah had learned sign language for him. “Haven’t heard from Noah, though.”
“I have,” Maverick said before chuckling. “He dropped his phone in a thing of paint and ruined it, so he’s phoneless right now. But he messaged me on Facebook from his laptop.”
After a while, I zoned out a bit, not following the rest of their conversation. That was the downside to going out with people who were already such good friends. It made me feel like the outsider.
That’s what I was, though.
“Can I get a to-go box?” I asked after I’d eaten half of my food. I felt guilty, because I knew Declan didn’t have much to eat at home. Mom had recently bought groceries, but it wasn’t much. There I was having an amazing dinner when he was stuck having whatever he could find in the near-empty refrigerator.
“Sure,” Maverick answered before calling the waiter over to request the box and the check. “Take the chips and salsa too.”
We shared a look, and I wondered if his mind was where mine was. He’d seen where I lived, so probably.
“Thanks for dinner,” I said after he’d paid and we exited the restaurant.
“You’re welcome.” He tilted his head down and gave me a big grin. “Thanks for being here for me today.”
