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“What is wrong with you, Luke?”

“What’s wrong withme”

“He must think I’m such a bitch now!”

“Yeah,” I say with a wave of my arm “And who cares? Why the fuck do you care what Boat-Lover Brian thinks of you? He’s a stranger, Ava Who gives a fuck?”

“I do!” she snaps, and I shake my head, head back to the couch, and take a seat

“You don’t Or you shouldn’t anyway Just relax and be thankful the date with loafer boy is over”

“It was my date,” she says, as if she was in control of it at all

“If you don’t want me involved next ti the volume on the TV back up to an audible level

She stays by the door, stewing for a while—I can see her out of the corner of ives in, kicks off her shiny black heels, and walks toward my kitchen

“You got any ice cream?” she asks and pads her bare feet into my kitchen “I didn’t have dessert”

“Ava” A laugh jumps from my chest “You are…”

“Enchanting?” she asks with a teasing lilt as she opens my freezer

“You’re soht,” I mutter to myself

“What was that?” she asks, walking fro me on the sofa

“I said, I guess I was right about Brian”

She rolls her pretty sapphire eyes “The date was horrible He is a wine snob who kept ordering all oddaet out of there before I had to sit through a forty-minute dessert with hihy so many times before she snaps”

“Is dinghy a metaphor or…”

She s else, I venture into the dark place of our friendship where I have to slap reality across her face

“You should’ve just told hiht, Ava Or you needed to get home Or, I don’t know, thanked him for dinner and just been honest that you weren’t really feeling it with him”

“I just… I didn’t want to offend him”

“It’s always better to be honest Especially with guys We’re very simple creatures, babe”

She shoves another bite of ice cream into her mouth and mulls over my words