“Because you’re my best friend’s little sister, I guess. Somebody needs to keep an eye on you .”
“Yeah, well, it certainly won’t be Mark .”
“Was he bad to you? Do you need me to have him killed ?”
She giggles again. I can’t help but watch the muscles in her stomach ripple as she laughs. I like the sound too, even though I shouldn’t .
“When I was in the Marines, I learned a lot of things. You just say the word, Ava, and I’ll get him taken care of for you .”
She laughs, waving her hand in the air. “No, no… he’s just your average jerk. Nobody special. Certainly not worth killing .”
I can hear the weight in her sigh. The disappointment. Makes me feel kinda bad for the kid .
“One day, Ava, guys won’t all be jerks. I promise. Somebody will treat you like you deserve .”
“Oh yeah? How can you be so sure ?”
“I just know. If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get. Just don’t stop looking until you find him .”
She stands swaying for little bit, digging her toes against her flip-flops .
“Yeah, well… we’ll see,” she says finally. Then she walks away, kicking her flip-flops off as she goes. I watch her until she climbs the diving board, bouncing once, and then executing a perfect pike dive into the water. She starts swimming laps, barely even making a splash .
“Jeez, our parents must be planning some kind of coup,” Aden mumbles as he comes back. “They’ve been in there a long time, haven’t they ?”
“Yeah, I guess so .”
“My dad looks mad. Because of the restaurant? Have you heard anything ?”
I shrug. “I don’t know anything. I keep out of their business as much as possible. I’ve got my own stuff to worry about .”
“Yeah, like Jessie,” he teases. “Just kidding, man .”
“Don’t worry about it .”
“
They all go for you anyway. Rich motherfucker. They don’t know you like I know you .”
I have to nod. He’s totally right. Aden gets me, always has. Jessie did not. And he’s right, I shouldn’t have been with her. He did sort of call dibs. It was kind of a shitty thing for me to do .
“You know who I think you might like?” I ask him. “Barbie Newsom. Do you know her ?”
“Barbie Newsom,” Aden repeats dreamily. “Yeah, I know her. She’s some kind of model or something. Do you know her ?”
“I think you would like her,” I continue. “I think she would like you too. Want to go out? I could set it up .”
“Shit, man, are you serious? Yeah, that would be great .”
“Yeah, let’s get out of here. I’ll see if she can meet us at the Presidio, okay ?”
“Absolutely! Thanks, Ethan. A lot .”
“Don’t mention it,” I say, scowling into the pool room. Ethan’s dad’s hands are up around his shoulders, gesturing with a chopping motion as he speaks. No one in that room is happy. I’ve got a bad feeling about that .
Chapter 22
AVA