CHAPTER 3-AVA
He was the exact opposite of Josh, and i still marveled at the fact that they were best friends. Personally, I thought Alex was an asshole. I was sure he had his reasons, some kind of psychological trauma which shaped him into the unfeeling robot he was today. Based on the snippets I'd gleaned from Josh, Alex's childhood had been even worse than ours, though I'd never managed to pull the details out of my brother. All I knew was, Alex's parents had died when he was young and left him a pile of money he'd quadrupled the value of when he came into his inheritance at age eighteen. Not that he'd needed it because he'd invented a new financial modeling software in high school that made him a multimillionaire before he could vote.
With an IQ of 160, Alex Volkov was a genius, or close to it. He was the only person in Thayer's history to complete its five year joint undergrad/MBA program in three years, and at age twenty-six, he was the COO of one of the most successful real estate development companies in the country. He was a legend, and he knew it.
Meanwhile, I thought I was doing well if I remembered to eat while juggling my classes, extracurriculars, and two jobs front desk duty at the McCann Gallery, and my side hustle as a photographer for anyone who would hire me. Graduations, engagements, dogs' birthday parties, I did them all.
AVA CHEN
Are you going to Josh's party?
I tried again to make small talk. The silence was killing me.
Alex and Josh had been best friends since they roomed together at Thayer eight years ago, and Alex had joined my family for Thanksgiving and assorted holidays every year since, but I still didn't know him. Alex and I didn't talk unless it had to do with Josh or passing the potatoes at dinner or something.
Okay, then. Guess small talk was out. My mind wandered toward the million things I had to do that weekend. Edit the photos from the Graysons' shoot and work on my application for the World Youth Photography fellowship, help Josh finish packing after
Crap! I'd forgotten all about Josh's cake.
I'd ordered it two weeks ago because that was the max lead time for something from Crumble & Bake. It was Josh's dessert, a three-layer dark chocolate frosted with fudge and filled with chocolate pudding. He only indulged on his birth day, but since he was leaving the country for a year, I figured he could break his once-a-year rule.
I pasted the biggest, brightest smile on my face.
AVA CHEN
Don't kill me, but we need to make a detour to Crumble & Bake
ALEX VOLKOV
No. We're already late.
Alex stopped at a red light. We'd made it back to civilization, and I spotted the blurred outlines of a Starbucks and a Panera through the rain-splattered glass.
My smile didn't budge.
AVA CHEN
It's a small detour. It'll take fifteen minutes, max. I just need to run in and pick up Josh's cake. You know, the Death by Chocolate he likes so much? He'll be in Central America for a year, they don't have C&B down there,and he leaves in two days so-
Alex's fingers curled around the steering wheel. and my crazy, hormonal mind latched onto how beautiful they were. That might sound crazy because who has beautiful fingers? But he did. Physically, everything about him was beau tiful. The jade-green eyes that glared out from beneath dark brows like chips hewn from a glacier: the sharp jawline and elegant, sculpted cheekbones; the lean frame and thick, light brown hair that somehow looked both tousled and perfectly coiffed. He resembled a statue in an Italian museum come to life
The insane urge to ruffle his hair like I would a kid's gripped me, just so he'd stop looking so perfect-which wasquite irritating to the rest of us mere mortals-but I didn't have a death wish, so I kept my hands planted in my lap.
ALEX VOLKOV
If I take you to Crumble & Bake, will you stop talking?
No doubt he regretted picking me up.
My smile grew.
Yes!
Ava Chen: One.
Alex Volkov: Zero.
When we arrived at the bakery, I unbuckled my seatbelt and was halfway out the door when Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me back into my seat. Contrary to what I'd expected, his touch wasn't cold-it was scorching, and it burned through my skin and muscles until I felt its warmth in the pit of my stomach
I swallowed hard. Stupid hormones.
AVA CHEN
What? We're already late, and they're closing soon.
ALEX VOLKOV
You can't go out like that.
The tiniest hint of disapproval etched into the corners of his mouth.
I asked, confused. I wore jeans and a T-shirt, nothing scandalous.
Alex inclined his head toward my chest. I glanced down and let out a horrified yelp. Because my shirt? White. Wet. Transparent. Not even little transparent, like you could kind of see my bra outline if you looked hard enough. This was full on see-through. Red lace bra, hard nipples-thanks, air-condi tioning-the whole shebang.
I crossed my arms over my chest, my face flaming the same color as my bra.
AVA CHEN
Was it like this the entire time?
AVA CHEN
You could've told me.
ALEX VOLKOV
I did tell you. Just now.
Sometimes, I wanted to strangle him. I really did. And Iwasn't even a violent person. I was the same girl who didn't eat
gingerbread man cookies for years after watching Shrek because I felt like I was eating Gingy's family members or, worse, Gingy 1 himself, but something about Alex provoked my dark side. 1 exhaled a sharp breath and dropped my arms by instinct,
forgetting about my see-through shirt until Alex's gaze flicked
down to my chest again. The flaming cheeks returned, but I was sick of sitting here arguing with him. Crumble & Bake closed in ten minutes, and the clock was ticking.
Maybe it was the man, the weather, or the hour and a halfI'd spent stuck under a bus shelter, but my frustration spilled out before I could stop it.
AVA CHEN
Instead of being an asshole and staring at my breasts, can you lend me your jacket? Because I really want to get this cake and send my brother, your best friend, off in style before he leaves the country.
My words hung in the air while I clapped a hand over my mouth, horrified. Did I just utter the word "breasts" to Alex Volkov and accuse him of ogling me? And call him an asshole?
Dear God, if you smite me with lightning right now, I won't be mad. Promise. Alex's eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch. It ranked in the top five most emotional responses I'd pulled out of him in eight years, so that was something.
ALEX VOLKOV
Trust me, I was not staring at your breasts,
he said, his voice frigid enough to transform the lingering drops of moisture on my skin into icicles.
ALEX VOLKOV
You're not my type, even if you weren't Josh's sister.
Ouch. I wasn't interested in Alex either, but no girl enjoys being dismissed so easily by a member of the opposite sex.
AVA CHEN
Whatever. There's no need to be a jerk about it,
AVA CHEN
Look, C&B closes in two minutes. Just let me borrow your jacket, and we can get out of here.
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