The Avery Shaw Experiment - By Kelly Oram Page 0,17

swear her honor and virtue are both still fully in tact. Much to my dismay.”

I got a few snickers from my friends, and a groan from Avery, who still wouldn’t pull her face out of her hands.

“I covered for her, we had a moment, she looked amazing in a wet t-shirt, it was super hot, and yes, Aves, it was the highlight of my winter break. Until later that night when you let me take you out on a date, and then that was the highlight of my winter break.”

“Aw, you guys are dating now? That’s so cute!”

I smiled really big at my friend Pamela. She was the queen bee of the girls in this school, and the only one I really needed to like Avery. If I could win her over, Aves would be set. She was watching Avery and me with a dreamy smile—a very good sign.

“Not exclusively,” I said. “Aves is still free to play the field if she wants, but we’re definitely feeling out the possibility.”

I was anyway. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since New Year’s Eve. We needed to go out again and finish the date we’d started. The girl owed me a kiss.

“Oh my gosh, Grayson, we are not dating!”

So she still considered me the gross older brother. At least she was showing her face again. If you ask me, her social integration was going rather well.

“I thought we were past the denial,” I teased her. “Shouldn’t you be at acceptance now? Isn’t that what comes after denial?” Everyone frowned at me now. “You know, like when somebody dies?” I explained. “There are those stages . . .”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Owen snapped his fingers a number of times while he tried to figure out a way to explain. “You start out in denial, and then you get all depressed, and finally you learn to accept the truth.”

I looked down at Avery and smiled. “Well you were definitely depressed all weekend, so we should be good now, right? Acceptance? You want to go out this Friday? Maybe not ditch me halfway through dinner this time?”

I gave Avery the grin that I know she can’t stay mad at, and sure enough, she pursed her lips together like she was trying not to smile. “I was depressed about Aiden, not you, and I am nowhere close to reaching any sort of acceptance over that.”

“Oh, that’s because you have to get angry first,” Pamela said. “That’s one of those stages too.” She glanced across the cafeteria and scowled my brother’s direction. “Shouldn’t be too hard to do. I can’t believe he dumped you for that Mindy girl. I had trig with her last year. She is so awful. You know what? I’ll help you get angry, and then you can move on to acceptance and go out with Grayson because you’re so tiny and he’s so tall. It would completely adorable.”

Avery blushed, and even I had to fight back a small tightness in my chest.

“So true!” Pamela’s best friend Chloe agreed. “About your cuteness and about Mindy. She’s the worst. But you don’t need to get angry, you need to get even. Is that one of those stages?”

“I don’t think so,” Avery whispered shyly. She was actually talking to them now! Very, very good sign.

“Well it should be, because the key to curing a broken heart is not anger. It’s revenge.” She suddenly reached across the table and grabbed one of Avery’s hands. “Do you want to come over to my house today after school? Pam and I are awesome with makeovers. We can shake you up a bit and make you so desirable that Aiden will kick himself until he dies for dumping you.”

“Oh, it would be so easy!” Pam agreed. “You’re totally adorable already, and with you dating Grayson? Wow. That is going to drive Aiden crazy!”

“Ooh!” Chloe squealed. “The best part about it all is that Aiden going crazy about Avery will drive Mindy absolutely insane with jealousy!”

Owen leaned close to me and muttered, “Dude. Girls are crazy.”

I had to agree, but inside I was getting really excited. This was exactly what I was hoping would happen. Pam and Chloe would be the perfect people to take Avery under their wings. They could show her all that girl stuff that I couldn’t help her with.

“Um.” Avery shrunk a little closer to me, but I gave her a nudge, forcing her to sit up on her own. “That is so nice of