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Myself, I think this is what we are facing. But Jasper and Ethan are more optimistic. Maybe it’s my hardscrabble background, but I always assume things will blow up before they go right. If they ever do.
Jasper and Ethan, who come to all this with more privilege than I do, always look on the bright side of things, assuming everything will work out just the way they want it to. They come from a world where they’re granted the benefit of the doubt, have networks of people to support them, and grew up with a type of financial security I’m only now just acquiring for myself.
All this is to say, guys like Jasper and Ethan have a different worldview than I. Things tend to work out for them. Me, I’m fifty-fifty on a good day. Guess that’s why I work so hard.
So, when we came up with the idea to do something special for Ava, I agreed to go along with it against my better judgment. Maybe she’ll shoot us down. Maybe she won’t.
Only one way to find out.
The three of us approach her cubicle, as planned, and I can smell her before I even see her. I don’t know if it’s the shampoo she uses or some kind of fancy hand lotion, but her scent is imprinted on me like a freaking engraving. The minty-lemony-ness of it is somehow sexy and fresh at the same time.
Just like she is.
When we round the corner, we find her hunched over her laptop, typing furiously. Her blonde curls are piled up on her head with a pencil stuck through them, barely holding them in place.
I’d love to pull that pencil out and watch her curls go tumbling down her back.
By the time she sees us, we’re already gathered around her. As agreed, we don’t crowd her, not wanting to overwhelm her, nor give her the chance to tell us to hit the road before we’ve had the chance to say our peace.
As planned, I slap a plane ticket down on her desk.
She wrinkles her brow, her eyes darting between Jasper, Ethan, and me. “Um… hi?” she says uncertainly.
Jasper adjusts his heavy glasses, and beams at her. “We decided you need a vacation. Some time to… reset. And we’d like to treat you to that.”
“Damn, Jas,resetis something you do with a phone. Or a computer. Not with a woman like Ava,” Ethan says, amused.
Jasper gives him a dirty look.
I run my hand down my chin and continue the pitch. “Ava, we’re here to take you on a little trip. And we’re hoping you’ll say yes.”
She scoffs. “Oh yeah. Sure. Like right now?”
I nod and she looks at us like we’re crazy. Maybe we are.
“Okay. I’ll just grab my bag and follow you guys wherever you want to go. My job doesn’t matter. My bills don’t matter. I’m free as a bird,” she quips. “I can just pick up and take off whenever I want.”
Leaning closer, Ethan tilts his head. “Funny girl. Yeah, we’re asking you to drop everything and leave now.”
Actually, we are.
“Give us a little credit,” he continues. “We’ve… made arrangements.”
She sits back in her chair, arms crossed. “Well, that’s great. Tell me about thesearrangements,” she says, using air quotes.
Here comes the good part.
Jasper props his ass on her desk. “We’ve cleared a little time off with your boss, Glenda—”
She jumps to her feet. “Youwhat?”
Jasper gestures for her to sit back down. She does not.
“—and Cami has packed a bag for you.”
Ava frowns and looks past us to Cami, on the other side of the office. Cami grins back, grinning and throwing us all a thumbs up.
Ava throws her arms up in Cami’s direction, her face covered in a giant but very pretty and very confused question mark.
