Hard Hit by Toni Aleo (IceCats #3) - Toni Aleo Page 0,4
he walks out with that damn coat hanging over his arm. I watch as he leaves, going over what just happened. Am I getting to the age where I have to settle for someone who’s just okay? Or someone I can tolerate for the rest of my life? I don’t want that. I want someone who gives me the fucking spark. Someone I look at and feel safe. Someone I know has my back, as I’ll have his. I don’t know why I want a man—I’m a pretty independent chick, but I do want one. I want my forever.
And I blame this all on my best friend.
When I arrive at Willz Sub Shop, I park beside my best friend’s new SUV and laugh at the sight of it. My best friend, Aviva, never wanted an SUV, or a minivan, but I don’t think she was ever looking for anyone like Nico Merryweather either. As I head to the door, I notice that it’s not busy since the lunch rush just finished, but there are some folks inside. Behind the counter, Aviva moves around, acting like she isn’t six months pregnant. I shake my head as I sit at the newly installed counter. I’m pretty sure they built this so Nico could eat and stare at Aviva with only a sheet of glass between them.
When Aviva sees me, she grins before leaning on the counter. “The usual? Oh, wait. You had lunch with Malcolm.”
“Yup. And paid for it too since he left.” Her eyes widen as I nod, rolling my own. “That’s over.”
“Over? It just started.”
“I know, but he said we’re at the age where we need to settle down and have kids with someone we like, not feel a spark with.”
She makes a face. “Jesus.”
“Exactly.”
She leans on her elbows, watching me, and I let out a long sigh. “This is your fault,” I accuse, and she laughs as she stands up, cupping her belly.
“There it is,” she chuckles as she shakes her head. “No one said you had to want what I have.”
“Well, when you flaunt it all the time, it’s hard not to!”
“I don’t flaunt it.”
I shoot her a deadpan look. “Aviva, you legit are always happy. Like, it’s sickening.”
She mocks, “Apparently not too sickening, because you want the same.”
Ah, she’s got me there, and she knows it. She giggles as Callie, her baby sister, comes out from the back. She’s in a leotard and shorts, ready to go to gymnastics, I assume, since that’s where she always is. She was awarded a scholarship to the University of Bellevue in Nashville for gymnastics and academics for the fall. It’s pretty badass, and I cried like a baby during her graduation. Not sure if I cried more then or when she had her double mastectomy surgery this past spring. It’s a toss-up since I love that girl something fierce.
Aviva and I both raised her. After Aviva’s mom died, it was Aviva, Callie, and me against the world. Of course, my parents were awesome and helpful, but Aviva’s dad was a piece of shit for sure. It was okay, though, because we had each other. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the world we were against.
Breast cancer has always been the enemy.
A bastard of one too. Aviva and I went through a lot of it together, and I think watching us terrified Callie. Add in the fact that she carries the gene for the same cancer we both had, the same cancer that killed her mom, and she was dead set on having the double mastectomy. Now, she has small little implants that don’t get in the way of her gymnastics but still give her that womanly feeling. I promised her tattooed nipples when she finishes her first year of college. We’re also waiting for Aviva to get her implants, which is planned for after the baby is born.
She was supposed to get them with Callie, but a surprise pregnancy stopped that.
Not that I think she cares about the implants at all. Never in my life have I seen Aviva this happy. She has always put on a brave face for Callie and me, but once she rear-ended Nico, even I knew things were about to change for her. He worships her, and I don’t think she could love him any more. He makes her love herself, and I love that about him. I am so thankful for him, but it’s because he is so wonderful that I want a Nico of my