Page 100 of Reaching Avery
Travis shoved him before continuing, “Anyway, what I was sayin’. I thought about it. About being in a relationship that made me want to beat my head against the wall, and I decided that, you know what? I’m too young for this shit. Life’s too short to be miserable, no matter how great the sex is.”
Sarah averted her eyes at the last part, and her face pinched in an unpleasant way, causing her neon pink glasses to wiggle on her nose. She was definitely jealous.
“I know there’s a better girl out there for you anyway,” I said, winking when Travis looked at me. His eyes immediately flashed to Sarah before focusing on the table. “Is everyone ready for Noah’s party this weekend?”
Noah being Noah—aka one of the nicest guys ever—he’d invited almost everyone. Well, the seniors anyway. By the sound of it, there was going to be a lot of drinking there, so the invites had gone out to a lot of people, but still within reason. Like definitely no freshmen.
“Hell yeah!” Ricky exclaimed, clapping his hands. “I’m going as a prince, bitches. All the ladies are gonna be all over me.”
“Pfft.” Travis rolled his eyes. “Which prince?”
“Prince Naveen from that frog cartoon,” Ricky answered with a smirk. His hazel eyes narrowed when Travis mocked him again. He picked up a fry and tossed it at him, hitting Travis in the forehead. “You’re just jealous.”
I bet Ricky hadn’t even watched the cartoon, but I had with my mom. Along with watching musicals, we also had a thing for Disney. Ricky could certainly pull off Naveen with his caramel skin tone and dark hair.
“Fine,” Travis said with a defiant gleam in his eyes. “My costume has just been changed. I’m now going as a prince too. It’ll be Battle of the Princes. Winner is who gets more dances at the party.” He looked around the table. “Any suggestions of which one?”
Sarah giggled before going, “Oh! You could be Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty. He’s so swoon worthy.”
“Did ya hear that, Ricky boy?” Travis cocked his head toward Ricky and nudged him. “Swoon worthy. You don’t have a chance.”
As they continued to bicker, I rested my hand on Avery’s side, and he leaned into me. We didn’t have to say anything to know we were on each other’s mind.
Noticing I hadn’t started eating yet, I picked at my greasy pizza with my free hand, but I lost my appetite a few bites in. Maybe it was the excitement of this weekend or perhaps I was still on a high from the previous one. Whatever the reason, I just wasn’t feeling the whole eating thing that day.
Seeing that Avery had already finished his, I placed my barely eaten pizza on his tray.
“You’re going to make me fat,” he said, skewing his brow. But he picked up the slice anyway and started eating it. At my pleased look, he stopped eating. “What? I don’t waste food.”
“I think you’d look adorable with some chubby cheeks,” I said before lightly pinching his.
He glared, and it was too cute. I knew he was capable of some menacing scowls—because I’d gotten plenty of them when I’d first met him—but the one he gave me just then looked like he’d break out into a smile any second.
“How are things with your dad?” Avery asked as concern reflected in his eyes.
“Haven’t talked to him much,” I answered, feeling a shift in my mood along with the shift in topic. “He came up to my room Sunday and apologized. But I doubt he’ll ever change.”
“Sorry I caused conflict.” Avery looked down. “I shouldn’t have said what I did about the sacrifices. I was just nervous and kind of pissed that he was looking at me like I was a pariah.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I told him, rubbing his side.
“What are you two going as?” Ricky asked, nodding to me and Avery.
“It’s a surprise,” Avery answered, not meeting Ricky’s gaze. Talking in front of them was a huge step, though, and I was proud of him. “Mav wants to keep it secret.”
He and I had talked it over on Saturday, and I was more than excited about it. When I suggested the characters, he’d gotten the biggest smile on his face, and I knew it was a done deal.
Our costumes were going to be awesome.
“Idon’t even know what they’re going as,” Sarah said, showing her irritation at the fact. “And Mavy tells me everything.”
Travis’ stare flashed to her, and the smile that spread across his face was so freaking telling that he had a huge thing for her. He’d told me he liked her, but he hadn’t told anyone else yet.
Anyone with eyes could’ve seen it right then. Fortunate for him, everyone was oblivious.
The rest of lunch was more nonsense. Even Ben chimed in, and he and Ricky got into a pretty heated debate about who would win a fight between the Black Panther and Superman. Being a huge superhero lover, it took everything I had not to give my two cents.
I mean… Marvel beat DC any day of the week. So that right there should’ve solved it.
