The Avery Shaw Experiment - By Kelly Oram Page 0,12

didn’t quite reach his eyes “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

I burst through the door to the condo less than five minutes later. The adults had cracked open the wine and were laughing a little loudly, but that stopped the instant they saw me.

For once the attention didn’t paralyze me. Breathless from my run and excited to figure things out with Aiden, I hurried and threw my coat, hat, and scarf haphazardly onto the rack by the door. “Where’s Aiden?”

“Up in the boys’ room,” Cheryl answered cautiously. “Where’s Grayson?”

“If I had to guess? On his way to apartment 7B.”

My mom’s forehead creased, and she set down her glass of wine. “Did you guys have a fight?”

“Oh! No!” Realizing what they were all worried about, I gave them my most reassuring smile. “Grayson is the best! Who knew he could be so sensitive?” I remembered the comment about wanting to take my shirt off and cringed. “Well, sort of sensitive.”

None of the parents seemed to know what to say.

“Grayson and I had a nice time,” I assured them. “I just really need to talk to Aiden now.”

I ran up the stairs without waiting for any responses.

I took a deep breath, and then knocked on Aiden’s bedroom door. Thanks to this afternoon’s shower debacle, I was pretty sure I’d never forget to knock ever again.

“Yeah?”

“Can I come in?”

A split second later the door flew open. Aiden was positively livid. “What happened? Did he make a move on you? I’ll kill him!”

Aiden looked so funny when he was angry. His adorable face just wasn’t meant to hold such negative emotions.

Aiden looked a lot like his brother, and yet he didn’t. Aiden was a lot shorter, but he had the same coloring as Grayson—same rich golden hair and skin. He had brown eyes and not blue, but he and Grayson shared the same perfect smile. The difference, though, is where Grayson’s smile labeled him as an obvious lady-killer, that same smile made Aiden look like the adorable class clown. Fury just didn’t work well for him.

“I’m fine, Aiden.” I laughed. “Grayson didn’t make a move on me.” Well, not technically. I didn’t think. He hadn’t yet, anyway.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just felt bad for walking out on you. You asked me to stay and talk, and you were right. We really need to.”

Aiden sagged in relief and pulled me into a hug. “I’m really sorry, Aves. I totally screwed that up earlier. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

I squeezed him back. It felt so good that I almost cried. For a while I thought I’d never feel this again. “It’s okay. What happened was just as much my fault as yours. We should have talked about this years ago.”

Aiden was surprised by my comment. I tugged him over to the bed with me, and we sat shoulder to shoulder. He picked up my hand and rested his head on mine. “I don’t ever want to lose you, Avery. I don’t think I could handle that.”

My heart, which had hurt so bad just minutes before, suddenly soared. “Me either.” I took a breath. No time like the present. “I love you so much, Aiden.”

“I know, Aves. Me too.”

“No, I don’t think you do know. I’m saying I’m in love with you.”

Aiden’s grip on my hand tightened. “What?”

“I’m in love with you, Aiden. I have been for years and years. I should have said something, but I always just figured you’d get it when you were ready.”

I let out a huge breath. I couldn’t believe it. After so long my deepest secret, my biggest frustration, was finally out there. Aiden finally understood.

“Oh no, Aves,” Aiden said quietly. “No. No, don’t say that.”

“Wait! Hear me out.” I swallowed back my sudden nerves. The devastation in his voice had shaken my confidence. “I get what you were trying to say earlier. I totally understand you needing some space and some things to do on your own. You want to go join the debate team, fine. That’s great. I’ll support you. You can go be you, and I can go be me, but we can do that and still be us. I know we need a change, but what I’m saying is that I want things to change in the romantic direction. I’ve always wanted that.”

“Aves . . .” Aiden’s voice broke, and his hand started shaking.

“I know that must sound crazy to you, but I’m sure it could work. I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life. You