Page 84 of Reaching Avery
While checking him out, I noticed his pants were new. They were black skinny jeans I hadn’t seen him wear before. I guess his mom really had gotten a promotion—even though I still didn’t even know where she worked.
“Can I help you find something, Mr. Blake?” Mrs. Lane, the librarian, asked.
Avery flipped around to face me.
Crap. Busted.
I smiled at him before answering Mrs. Lane, “No, ma’am. I found what I was looking for.”
Avery’s lips twitched and he looked back at the bookshelf. I went to stand beside him, scanning the row of books too, even though I didn’t know what he was searching for.
“You were checking out my ass, weren’t you?” he whispered.
“I plead the fifth,” I answered, peering down at his amused expression. “What’cha trying to find?”
“The fourthHouse of Nightbook,” he said before sighing. “I think it’s checked out, though. And the library will be closing soon.”
As Avery gave up his search and we left the library, we headed toward the performing arts building.
“I’m sorry for this morning,” he said once we were outside in the sunshine, walking to the theater. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but it was chilly, and I put my arm around his small frame to help keep him warm. “There are things goin’ on with me that make me a bit mercurial. I can’t control it.”
Him using words like ‘mercurial’ was one reason I was so into him. The way his mind worked fascinated me. He was intelligent and kind; shy but also outgoing and sarcastic at times.
“You don’t stop caring about someone just because things get hard,” I said, rubbing his shoulder with my thumb. I felt how boney he was beneath my hand, and I decided right then that I was taking him out to dinner after rehearsal. Fatten him up a little. “I don’t know what’s happening with you, Avery, but I’m not going anywhere. You’re part of my life now. And whether you need me as someone to talk to or someone to help distract you from the bad, I’m here.”
When we reached the building, I opened the door for him, and we went inside. Other people were standing around, and I waved to a kid named Greg, who was playing LeFou in the musical. Something amazing drifted to my nose right before I saw Mr. Lee and a few others carrying large boxes of pizza.
“Since you guys are working so hard, I wanted to treat you guys with dinner,” Mr. Lee said before nodding his head to the auditorium doors. “Can someone get that for me?”
Sarah, who still had a shadow named Travis following her, leapt forward to open the doors for the drama teacher and the trailing students with the food.
Avery peered up at me with big, blue eyes as everyone began filing into the theater. “You really care about me?”
“I wouldn’t have asked you to be my boyfriend if I didn’t, dork,” I said with a light laugh, but on the inside, my heart was going wild.
A smile replaced his shock. “What did I tell you about the dork thing? Did you ever look it up?” At my dumbfounded look, his smile widened. “It used to be slang forpenis.”
I laughed. “I learn something new every time we hang out.”
“I’m just full of random facts, Mav,” he said, beaming with a smile. “In a battle of wits, pretty sure I’d win.”
Yeah. I was sure too.
“Am I really your boyfriend?” he asked. “I didn’t know dating meant relationship.”
“Is that okay?” I answered his question with another.
He nodded as a smile touched his perfectly shaped lips.
My arm was still around him, and I leaned in and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. His body tensed, but he didn’t shove me away or punch me. Instead, he relaxed and angled his head closer, as if wanting more.
I smiled into his hair and kissed his temple before pulling back.
“We should get on stage,” I said, meeting his somewhat dazed expression.
“Uh huh,” was all he said before we followed the others inside.
When we had to go our separate ways—him backstage and me to the dressing room—I reluctantly let go of him. We exchanged a look, and nothing was spoken. But something about the way he smiled at me before disappearing backstage lit me up from the inside out.
