Page 126 of Slapshot Baby

The drive to her place is quiet. She watches the city scroll past her window while her thumb moves over the tiny clay Kai doing the impossible split.

I pull up to her building and turn the engine off, one thought hammering in my head.

She couldn't say no.

Whatever happened between us is ugly enough that she can’t talk about it.

But I’m going to prove to her I’m not that kind of man or I’ve at least changed.

Going home will just keep our relationship on limbo. It’s not like my apartment isn’t one huge reminder of Ava. She practically rebuilt and reintegrated it into my life.

So whatever happened, we’re settling it here.

No more delays.

"Thank you for tonight," she says, turning to face me. "The studio was the best date I've ever been on."

"You're welcome."

She watches me. I can see her searching for something to say that bridges the distance between how the day started and how it's ending.

She leans across the console and kisses me deeply, her hand finding the back of my neck and staying there. When she pulls back, her thumb traces the line of my jaw.

"Goodnight, Kai."

My eyebrows pull down into a frown.

“So it’s not okay to tell me why you won’t be my girlfriend. But it’s okay for you to kiss me whenever you want.”

21

AVA

Stick With Me

“So it’s not okay to tell me why you won’t be my girlfriend, but it’s okay for you to kiss me whenever you want.”

The words make me freeze.

My hand is still on his jaw, my lips still warm from kissing him. But the air between us has suddenly become tighter.

I pull my hand back like his skin burned me. My hand goes to the door handle.

"We're not done, Ava."

"I can’t do this tonight," I say.

"I've been giving you tonight after tonight for months."

I grab the bag of figurines and shove the car door open. The night air hits my face.

I make it four steps before I hear his car door slam.

I walk fast enough that my ankles wobble on the uneven concrete. And I'm furious at myself for wearing heels, furious at the tremor in my hands that's making the key miss the lock.

Furious at the man whose footsteps I can hear behind me, steady and unhurried, like he's got nowhere to be except right where I don't want him.

"Ava."