Page 69 of Slapshot Baby

Her nostrils flare. "That's different."

"How?"

"Because I'm..." She catches herself, swallows whatever was about to come out. "Because I'm helping you recover. That's the arrangement."

"And Lena was making small talk at a family barbecue. That's a normal Saturday."

"She was flirting."

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" Her voice pitches higher. "She was doing everything short of climbing into your lap."

"I didn't notice."

"You didn't notice? That’s the excuse you want to come up with?"

"I was distracted."

"By what?"

"By the woman on the porch steps who kept pretending she wasn't staring at me."

The flush starts at her collarbones and climbs. She unfolds her arms, folds them again. Unfolds them.

"This room is the problem," she says, looking around. "You put us here on purpose."

"My mother assigned the rooms."

"And you let her because it suits you." She pushes off the door and takes a step toward me. "You proposed this whole weekend so you could put me in this room with nowhere to go."

"You can go anywhere you want. The door's right there."

She looks at it then at me. I stand, take a step toward her.

"You want me to be honest? I'm not going to pretend I don't want you, and I'm not going to pretend you don't want me back."

Her breathing accelerates, her pulse hammering in the hollow of her throat

"You don't know what I want."

"You just interrogated me about a woman who was chatting with me in front of everyone. That’s basically announcing your jealousy on the rooftop."

“I’m not jealous of you, and I don’t want you.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why are you scared of staying in this room with me?”

“I’m not…”

“Because you’re afraid of making advances at me? Do you think your control would slip in the middle of the night and you’d…”

Her hands ball into fists at her sides. “Stop it. You’re the one who tries to kiss me every chance you’ve got. You’re the one who can’t get his hands off me.”

I tap one foot on the floor, staring at her. I shouldn’t be taunting Ava, but I’m tired of running around in circles.

If she can be jealous of Lena talking to me while we’re fake dating, then what she feels for me isn’t just physical. And I want to know how far it goes.

“And you’re the one who keeps kissing and touching back like you’ve been starved of my affection,” I say.