If I Forget You (21 page)

“Tam.” Avery gritted her teeth.
Acknowledge her and walk into class. Easy.

“Hey, wait.” Tam grabbed Avery’s arm.

Avery stopped in her tracks. Class would start in three minutes and she didn’t want to be late. “I don’t want to talk to you,” she growled, ripping free from Tam’s hold. “You made it clear you don’t want anything to do with me since I’m ‘still the same old Avery.’”

She should have gone into class, but curiosity got the best of her and she waited for a response. Tam looked like she always looked. Long eyelashes. Dark eyeliner. It was maddening how good she looked. Put together and confident, as usual.

“I’m sorry I said that,” Tam said, glancing at the floor. “I’m sorry about everything our senior year. I feel bad about all of it, even if you made mistakes too.”

Avery adjusted the strap on her shoulder and shifted her weight. It was true that she’d made mistakes. She’d kissed Ryan
—
right in front of Tam, no less. It was a cold, hard fact. “What are you saying?”

Tam shrugged. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“That’s it?” Avery tilted her head and folded her arms. It was something she thought she’d never hear from Tam. “Apology accepted. I’m sorry too, for what it’s worth. Ryan liked both of us. It was a bad situation.”

“Yeah, it was.” Tam let out a heavy sigh. “I know you have to get to class, but I had to let you know. I’m sorry
—
about everything. It seems so juvenile now, you know?”

Avery wasn’t sure if she completely agreed on that point, but she nodded anyway. “I’ll see you around,” she said, and grabbed the door handle. Something about the whole situation felt too fast, too forced.

“Oh, wait. This is for you.” Tam held out a Post-it note. “There’s no official invitation, but I thought I’d write it down for you. It’s a Halloween party next Friday night
—
not
over twenty-one. Wear a costume if you want.” She smiled weakly, and Avery took the Post-it. Was this a setup of some sort? She wanted to believe Tam’s apology was sincere, but warning flags were shooting up everywhere.

“Where’s this at?” she asked, looking at Tam’s pretty cursive writing.

“Over in Ballard. My dorm mate’s sister has a house there. I thought it would be good for us to go together, just like old times. I promise I won’t try to set you up with anyone.”

Avery almost laughed, but she couldn’t quite manage it. “How are you getting there?”

“Dorm mate has a car. Do you want us to pick you up?”

“I … guess so.”

“Okay, text me your address.”

Maybe it was a bad idea, but she figured she could pull out later if she didn’t feel up to it. All she wanted to do right now was get rid of Tam so she could think about what had just happened. She looked down at her watch. “Gotta get to class,” she said, forcing a smile. “See you around.”

“Yeah, see you.” Tam’s eyes softened, her entire expression almost pleading. “I really am sorry,” she said, her voice cracking. “I’m trying to change.”

Avery twisted the knob on the door, her mind reeling. “Are you saying I should change too? Since you’re being so noble about all of this now?”
Completely out of the blue.

Tam stepped back. “That’s not it at all.”

“Well, like I said, see you around.”

Avery walked into class, her heart pounding. The world felt upside down.

19

Avery was halfway through dinner when she remembered it was Friday.
The
Friday she was supposed to go on a date with Jordan and his parents.

“Oh, no,” she gasped as she stared down at her plate. “I forgot.”

“Oh?” Chloe twirled her fork through her pasta. “What did you forget?”

“A date.”

“With who?”

“Jordan, and it’s supposed to be a dinner date.”

Chloe set down her fork. “Oh … well, you don’t have to finish if you don’t want to. I won’t be offended.”

“He hasn’t even called me or texted. Maybe it isn’t happening.” She pulled out her phone, only to find that he had texted her three hours ago. Go figure. She’d been so caught up in worrying about Tam and the stupid Halloween party next weekend that she hadn’t even bothered checking her phone.

I’ll pick you up at 7:30 or you can walk over to my place. We’ll be riding in my sister’s car. Hope that’s okay. And thanks again for doing this. I owe you.

Lovely. She checked the time. 7:00.

“I’ve got half an hour to get ready,” she said, pushing away her plate and standing. “Sorry, Chloe.”

Chloe waved her hand. “Go!”

Avery changed into the yellow dress that showed off her legs. She pulled on a cardigan and swung her purse over her shoulder. She yelled goodbye to Chloe and promised she’d do the dishes when she got home.

“Don’t worry about it!” Chloe yelled from the kitchen. “Have fun!”

Avery headed out the door and spotted Jordan on his front porch steps, dressed in his usual three-piece suit. He looked so good she wanted to kiss him right then and there. Then she remembered they weren’t on those terms anymore. In fact, she had no idea what terms they were on. He probably didn’t either.

“Hi,” she said, giving him a little wave as she cleared the bushes dividing the two properties.

He looked up from his phone and grinned. “You look fantastic. Is that the dress you wore to my party?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe you remembered that.”

He cleared his throat and stood. “Heaven should be here in a minute. Are you two … have you …”

“I haven’t seen her since that night in your living room. I have no idea.”

“Oh, this should be fun.” He sat back down on the steps. “Have a seat while we wait.”

“Sure.” Sitting next to him, she put her purse in her lap and arranged her dress so she wasn’t flashing the street. She glanced at Jordan’s clean-shaven jaw and then at his fingernails. They were filed and smooth. He shifted across the step, running a finger along a gray pinstripe on his slacks. She looked away, blushing as she remembered him tracing the pinstripes on her bra.

“H-how’ve you been?” she asked as she twisted a piece of hair around her index finger.

“All right, I guess. My job isn’t that exciting.”

“I thought you said you like it.”

She finally lifted her eyes to his. They were so blue
—
bluer than Kent or Owen’s.

“I do, but work is work. Sometimes I just want a week off, that’s all. Sometimes I like to spend more time with my friends.”

Those blue eyes gleamed, and she blushed again. Why the hell was she blushing? “You want to throw another party, is that it?”

He smirked. “Heh, yeah. Those parties are fun. They were kind of what helped me get over Cal
—
”

He stopped short and looked away.

“Callie?” she asked, proud of herself for remembering the name.

“Yeah. After she died I didn’t want to be around anyone. I hid away for a long time, but then I started making some new friends and they all liked to drink, and the parties just kind of evolved. It’s not that I’m that likeable. I just happen to have a house and enough money to pay for the booze.”

She laughed, but it died quickly. “Did being around people help?”

“It did. I like to see people happy.” He started tracing the pinstripes on his pants again. She wanted to take his hand and hold it. She wanted to tell him it was an admirable trait to like seeing people happy. Sometimes it seemed like that’s all anyone wanted until they weren’t happy themselves, and then they wanted the world to be miserable with them. Jordan, however, seemed to have thrived on the opposite.

“Here comes Heaven. You ready for this?”

A dark green BMW pulled up to the curb. Heaven’s bright red dreadlocks were visible even through the tinted windows.

“I thought she’d be more the Seventies Volkswagen bus type,” Avery whispered as they walked across the lawn.

“The BMW was a leftover from the divorce,” he said. “It was in both my parents’ names, and instead of fighting over it they just gave it to Heaven.”

“Nice.”

“There was a lot of that kind of fallout,” he mumbled. “Now I get to remind myself of the whole ordeal every time I use the china Mom gave me or ride in this stupid BMW.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

He opened the passenger side door and motioned for her to get inside. Right next to Heaven. Great. Jordan got in the backseat and Heaven pulled away from the curb, her jaw tight.

“Okay, you two,” Jordan grumbled as he leaned forward between the two front seats. “No hating each other from here on out. Heaven, you know how these dinners work.”

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and then relaxed. “I’ve been avoiding Avery at the library for almost two weeks. I think I’ve got the anger out of my system.”

Avery looked questioningly at Jordan, who smiled and leaned back in his seat. “Just like my little sis
—
step away for a bit and you’re fine.”

“I was worried she was going to hurt you, Jordan.”

“She told me what happened. It’s fine.”

Heaven grunted. “Avery, if you’re going to hang around me and Jordan, get used to this. All we ever do is argue.”

Jordan kept his eyes on his sister, and Avery suddenly understood why he’d wanted to fulfill her challenge to bring a date tonight. The juvenile rivalry between them was so palpable it could be cut with a knife.

“So, Heaven,” Jordan said with a smirk of his own. “Where’s
your
date.”

The car slowed a little. “I couldn’t get one,” she snapped. “You win.”

* * *

Avery quickly discovered why Heaven was the way she was. Her mother, who introduced herself as Karma, was just like her. No dreadlocks or black clothes, but in personality they were the spitting image of each other
—
unexpected mood swings, bluntness, easygoing and uptight at the same time. Avery had a feeling Jordan was just like his dad, but since he hadn’t shown up yet, she had to wait to find out.

“He’s not usually late,” Karma said, checking her watch. She was across the table from Avery, and kept giving her an apologetic smile as she fiddled with her freshwater pearl necklace. “He can be such an ass about these dinners.”

“Maybe his flight was late,” Heaven said. “Don’t be so hard on him, Mom.”

Avery looked at all three of them one by one. “So, uh, does he not live here in Seattle?” She had assumed he did.

Karma shook her head. She had platinum blonde hair and dark, thin eyebrows. Avery had expected someone earthier, since she was a biology professor. “He lives in Chicago, but he flies here a few times a month. It’s not a big deal.” She leaned forward and rested her dainty chin on her knuckles. “Jordan tells me you want to go into botany. You’re a freshman, right? Are you taking biology?”

“Oh, yeah, my advisor put me in with Professor Bell.”

Karma let out a long sigh. “He’s all right. Let me see if I can get you transferred to my class. Would you mind? What hour would you need?”

“The 11:45 block,” she said, hoping that was correct without having to look at the schedule on her phone. “Monday through Friday.” At least that wouldn’t put her in Tam’s class. She glanced at Jordan, who forced a smile. There was a lot behind his expression, as if he was apologizing and begging her forgiveness. She smiled back, trying to make it clear she was okay with this. He’d warned her his mom was controlling.

“Oh, that’s perfect. I’ve got a class at that time.” Karma pulled out a small notebook and jotted something down.

Avery cringed, thinking of her own notebooks probably sitting in a landfill by now. This whole night was either going to stick in her memory like glue or fade away into nothing.

Jordan nodded toward the front of the restaurant. “Dad’s here.”

“Oh, good, we can order,” Karma said without even looking behind her shoulder for her ex-husband.

“Just call him Tim,” Jordan said to Avery as a tall, thin man in his early fifties approached the table. He wore a sharp three-piece suit, charcoal gray. Not surprising. His hair was the same color as Jordan’s, but combed in a more retro style. Avery thought he looked familiar, probably because she’d seen his picture somewhere before. If he was as rich as Jordan had implied, he was most likely a leader in the economic world.

“Hello,” he said, smiling at Avery before acknowledging anyone else. “Are we lucky enough to have a guest this evening?” He turned to Jordan, expectant.

“Dad, this is Avery. She’s my date tonight.”

“A … date?” Tim looked truly shocked but pleased, and Avery didn’t miss the triumph on Heaven’s face. “Well, that’s lovely. Welcome, Avery.” He reached a hand across the table, and she took it, impressed with his firm grip and the way he met her eyes.

Tim.
She had to remember his name was Tim. So far she was doing all right.

A waiter pulled out Tim’s chair for him. He ordered a bottle of champagne and then turned to his family, nodding a quick hello to his ex-wife.

“So, how did this happen?” he asked, looking bemused. “You must have stolen his heart, Avery. We’ve been trying to get Jordan to date for months now.”

“More like years,” Jordan interjected. “Please don’t embarrass Avery. Can we just order?”

Tim leaned back, exchanging a polite smile with Karma. “Of course, but I have a bit of news first. Avery, I apologize for jumping right into family business.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” She sat up straight and looked at Jordan, all of a sudden nervous. Why had he brought her here? She felt completely out of place.

Jordan, who must have sensed how uncomfortable she was, grabbed her hand underneath the table and squeezed. His touch reminded her yet again how much she wanted to be near him.

“I talked to some of your superiors,” Tim said, looking at Jordan. “I got you the promotion you’ve been waiting for.”

Jordan’s hand stiffened, his expression wavering between shock, fear, and excitement. “Oh.”

Tim guffawed. “Oh? That’s all you can say?” Then he looked at Avery and his expression changed. “You’re a student, aren’t you, Avery?”