Page 28 of The Crafting Con

“Same.” He makes a show of glancing around the room. “Now if you could just point me in the direction of the snacks…?”

Ava laughs, placing her hands on his shoulders and turning him toward an arched opening leading into the next room. “Kitchen’s that way. I recommend the mini-donuts. They’re amazing.”

“Sold.”

Hiro takes off, leaving me to mentally plot my revenge. Abandoning me in my time of need—some friend he is. I scrape my brain for something witty to say, or even passably un-moronic. “This is, um, different than what I expected.”

Ava glances around the room in surprise. “How so?”

I gesture toward the blackberry seltzer in her hand. “There’s a distinct lack of red, plastic cups. I thought cheap, stale beer was a high school party staple.”

Ava wrinkles her nose. “Gross. Why, were you looking for a drink? We didn’t get any, but there’s usually someone skulking about with a flask or two.”

“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant.” Panic sweat beads my forehead and slides down my back. Gah, she’s going to think I’m some kind of alcoholic or something. “I just thought that’s, like, what popular kids did at parties. You know, keg stands and sloppy rounds of flip cup, puking off the back porch. That kind of thing.”

“Ha!” Ava snorts. “You clearly aren’t familiar with our school’s athletic code. It is rigid when it comes to underage drinking. One strike, and you’re out for the season. Most of the people here aren’t dumb enough to risk it. Now, once school lets out for the summer… that’s another story, from what I’ve heard.”

“What? Boozy bonfires not your thing?” I’m joking, but the way Ava’s body tenses makes me wish I’d kept my mouth shut.

She picks at the tab of her can. “I’ve seen enough alcohol consumption. Not really looking to add to it.”

Well, that’s not a response I would have expected from the bright and eternally cheery Ava. I take a step closer, hand stretching out toward hers. It’s not a conscious movement on my part, so much as an instinctual need to hold her hand. To offer some modicum of comfort for whatever stole the shine from her eyes. My arm falls back to my side, however, when Tyler emerges from the crowd, his appreciative gaze set on Ava.

Although he does pull it away long enough to give me an assessing once over. Sizing up the competition. Ha! As if you could call me that. Just looking at him makes me feel like some goofy court jester. He, of course, being the handsome knight destined to win the fair maiden’s hand.

It shouldn’t sting quite so much, but it does.

“Hey, man.” He gives me a friendly chin up, and I hate that he’s not like the stereotypical jocks who would say something rude about me being here or just outright ignore my existence. His niceness only makes me feel smaller. “What’s up?”

I shrug, mumbling, “Nothing much.”

“Right on.” Tyler throws a casual arm around Ava’s shoulders, his smile positively blinding. “Mind if I steal Aimes away? I need to show her what she’s in for at prom with these sweet moves of mine.” His hip bumps hers, and I low-key want to punch him in the balls.

“Actually…” Ava slips out from under Tyler’s wing, and wraps her fingers around my forearm. Pinpricks of heat flare to life where her palm presses against the sleeve of my hoodie, and I can’t help but wish I’d worn a T-shirt instead. “I was just going to show Declan around. He’s never been here before.” Her smile turns my way, warm but with an underlying waver of uncertainty. Like she isn’t sure how I’ll react.

Almost as if I make her as nervous as she makes me.

“Stasia’s parents have a Ping-Pong table downstairs in the rec room,” she adds. “I know how much you liked playing it at summer camp.”

My heart does a funny little flip. She remembers that? But it was years ago. I haven’t even gone to Camp Wildwood since the summer before fourth grade, much to Hiro’s chagrin. He still spends every summer there, but I learned early on that I preferred making epic crafts with Ava over hiking through mosquito-infested woods and jumping into ice-cold lakes.

Or, you know, making epic crafts by myself. That’s cool too.

Not this summer, though. This summer you’re making something so epic, it’s bound to put every other project to shame. A collab with Grady Wells. Assuming you don’t let your stupid hormones and a little nostalgia distract you from what really matters.

That’s right. I need to stay focused.

Rekindling my friendship with Ava? Sure. I can live with that, especially given the fact she’s helping me out at OA Con. But I cannot, will not, let my feelings go any farther. I have pined after and mourned the loss of this girl enough to last a lifetime. I won’t risk losing sight of my goals simply because of a pair of tight jeans and a handful of shared memories.

I draw my arm back, breaking the light hold she has on it, and stuff my hands firmly into the pouch of my hoodie. “Sounds good.” Voice casually unaffected. “Lead the way.”

“I’ll join you.” Tyler shifts his massive build between us. “I’ve been dying for a game all night.”

“Tyler is the reigning Ping-Pong champion,” Ava says, and a twinge of bitter envy pricks my chest at the thought of them playing together. Okay, so maybe I’m not as over Ava ditching me as I thought. All the more reason to keep my walls up high.

Just as soon as I put Tyler in his place.

Then it’s nothing but focus, focus, focus.