Indecent Promposal, page 25
An hour and a half later, Ava was in tears. ‘Poor Carrie. She just wanted to be accepted!’ she wailed.
Cody shuffled down the sofa and put a comforting arm around her girlfriend. ‘I know.’
‘No wonder my mother didn’t show me that one,’ Ava said, sniffing and wiping away a tear. ‘That was the worst prom ever.’
Cody smiled sardonically. ‘Ours was worse.’
Ava was offended. ‘What?’
‘Just the ending,’ Cody said quickly. ‘What with the cops being called and everything. But the décor was second to none. The snacks and drinks, the music?’ Cody did a chef’s kiss. ‘Tre bon!’
Ava raised an eyebrow. ‘What a save.’
‘Like you care. You practically nuked the event,’ Cody pointed out.
Ava grinned. ‘That’s what made it epic, though.’
‘How so?’
‘Everyone had a great night before it ended in chaos. People will have something to talk about for years,’ Ava concluded. ‘You couldn’t ask for more.’
Cody chewed that over. ‘You are a Machiavellian genius. Promise me that when you get elected, you’ll only use your powers for good.’
‘You can use a degree in politics for anything,’ Ava said quickly. ‘I’m not necessarily going to be an elected official. I might be an advisor or maybe just a civil servant.’
‘You’re going to run this country one day. I’d put money on it,’ Cody told her confidently.
Ava immediately changed the subject. ‘Speaking of rulers, you know, Sally is still posting about her grand coronation. She didn’t even care that a fight broke out right after she was crowned.’
‘That’s Sally. Nothing can get her down. We should all aspire to be Sally,’ Cody said.
‘Funny you should say that. She keeps doing TikToks in her crown as the “The People’s Queen”. People have started DM’ing her their problems.’
‘That might be stretching her singular take on life a bit far,’ Cody said.
‘She gets a lot of things spot on,’ Ava told her.
Cody laughed. ‘Yeah? Maybe I should be on TikTok after all.’
Ava’s jaw dropped. ‘Well. Good day to buy a lottery ticket.’
‘I only said maybe.’ Cody checked her watch. ‘Shit! We’re gonna be late!’
Ava jumped up. ‘Oh, crap! You’re right!’
They ran out of the flat they shared. It was kind of a shit hole, but it was within walking distance of Stanton, the uni they both attended.
That’s right, Cody Foster was not at Medford.
Once the dust had settled and the grades were in, Cody had done a little better than expected. Her and Ava’s Media Studies project got top marks, which brought her average up markedly. The only thing left to do was see her things through with her dream course, however it turned out. So she sat down and banged out her statement, describing her year and all the events of it. Ava had called it a ‘barnstormer.’
But it still couldn’t crack the walls of Medford. But as it turned out, Cody was very OK with that. The course leader called her story about the events up to and including the prom, ‘Totally unbelievable.’ Cody was happy she’d put it like that. It conclusively proved that she didn’t know shit. It was just one place, anyway. The world was bigger than that for Cody now.
She’d gone through clearing with her good enough grades, getting into Stanton easily along with Ava, whose grades were not to be sniffed at either. The uni was second tier, but they were happy to be there.
Cody was writing, and Ava was learning, but what was great was that Cody felt she was exactly where she should be. Together, they were becoming Cody and Ava, 2.0.
They spent most of the first year in individual halls before deciding it was silly to pretend that they weren’t gonna spend every spare second in each other’s wonderful, occasionally infuriating but satisfying company. Cody was worried about taking the plunge, but she did it anyway.
They’d moved into a flat together two weeks ago. They kept arguing about what day the bin went out, how to stack the dishwasher correctly, and whose turn it was to hoover, but other than that, Cody was happy. She was where she wanted to be.
***
Ava and Cody stood in front of the doorbell. ‘You ring it. I don’t want to get chlamydia on my finger,’ Cody grinned.
Ava rolled her eyes and pressed the doorbell. They were at the house where Ava’s life had begun to unravel a year ago. Leo’s. He was throwing a summer barbecue. It had taken a while to get everyone to agree. Considering how things had ended for key members of the gang at the prom, he was lucky anyone had come at all.
The door opened. Leo smiled gratefully when he saw them. ‘Guys, you came. Thank you.’
‘I didn’t want to, but Cody insisted,’ Ava told him.
Leo looked stunned. ‘You did?’
Cody shrugged. ‘Our friends happened to be at your house, so we’re here, too. Don’t read too much into it.’
Leo didn’t seem to mind the reasoning. ‘Come in. Everybody’s out the back.’
They walked through the house and straight out to the big backyard to find the whole crew there, a barbecue warming up on the patio. Though Ava had seen many of them throughout the year, they hadn’t been in full assemblage since prom night. Tara, Mia, Noah, and Ben were all there, along with Rian and Becky. How the hell Leo had talked them into coming, Ava didn’t want to know. Neither of them looked enormously happy.
Leo handed out beers to everyone, and they all clinked. ‘I’ve Got Harewood! Together again!’
Everyone looked at him, and his shoulders dropped. ‘I know, guys. I’m a fucking dickhead. I screwed it all. But I want to make it right. I don’t want us to lose each other.’
‘As a matter of fact, many of us managed to keep our friendships going despite your behind-the-scenes activities,’ Mia said snarkily.
‘Yeah,’ agreed Ben. ‘This group didn’t turn on you, mate.’
Leo nodded. ‘No, yeah, sorry. I can totally see that this is a very good example of my self-centredness. I want you all to know that you should all feel free to speak your truths. Don’t feel pressured to enable my toxic behaviour or protect my ego. I will listen actively.’
‘You’re in therapy, aren’t you?’ Noah said.
‘How did you know?’ Leo gasped.
‘Just a hunch.’
Becky, quiet until now, glared at Leo. ‘Well, I hope you know I’m over you now.’
‘Good,’ Leo said with a magnanimous smile.
‘Me too,’ Rian added.
‘Great,’ Leo said. His smile wobbled a bit. ‘I’m really glad.’
‘And I was never really under you in the first place,’ Ava added.
‘Babes, maybe don’t pile on?’ Tara said.
‘I’m speaking my truth,’ Ava said. ‘He gave me permission.’
Leo pressed his palms together in front of his mouth. ‘Ava. Ava, Ava, Ava. I hurt you worst of all, didn’t I?’
Ava scrunched her face up. ‘Not sure about that.’
‘I was a total gas lighter. I know that now. I benefited from patriarchal power, and I used that to damage you because I was insecure about my position in society despite my advantages. I see that, I really do.’
Ava was getting rather bored of this. ‘That’s about the size of it, yeah. But it’s cool now.’
‘It is?’ Leo said, excited, leaping forward to hug a stiff Ava.
She flung an eye roll to Cody, who just grinned.
Leo began to sob into Ava’s shoulder. The entire group started to look a bit uncomfortable but stayed quiet. After a moment, Leo gathered himself and released Ava, looking around and wiping his face.
‘This is what healing looks like, guys. Strong men cry.’
‘Yeah, we know,’ Ben said irritably. ‘But not usually at barbecues.’
‘I’m making it about me, aren’t I?’ Leo said, wiping his tears away. ‘Classic Leo. Please, let’s just have a normal one, shall we?’
‘Thank fuck for that,’ Mia said. ‘Right. I’m gonna get the meat going. Leo, you’re not allowed anywhere near it.’
Leo laughed, his face drying. ‘Of course. You have control. I can let it go.’
***
The sun was setting on the gathering. Everyone was buzzed. Some more than others.
Ava and Cody, sitting near the fire pit that Mia kept stoking, were sharing one of the final beers from the case.
‘Do you think he’s really changed?’ Ava asked quietly, throwing a look at Leo, who was flexing a muscle for Rian and talking about how he’d added half a millimetre’s diameter to his whole arm since they’d last seen each other. Rian was nodding but didn’t look massively interested.
‘Why? Think you might wanna get back with him?’ Cody asked, grinning.
‘What a great idea!’ Ava exclaimed. ‘I can have his kids and listen to him talk about how he shed his toxic masculinity while I change nappies.’
Cody laughed. ‘You know what? I’m joking, but he’s starting something. Maybe we should watch and see. You never know. It might actually take.’
‘Aren’t you an optimist these days?’ Ava said.
‘Don’t get me wrong,’ Cody added quickly. ‘He’s still a self-centred pillock, but we all have to start somewhere.’
Ava nodded. ‘You’re absolutely right.’
They shared a secret little smile. Cody leaned forward and kissed her. Ava suddenly wished they weren’t in public. Especially when Noah started going, ‘Awwwww.’
However, not everyone appreciated the PDA. ‘Shit, guys,’ Becky said with an eye roll. ‘You don’t have to rub it in. We get it. You’re happy.’
Ava looked at Becky. ‘Have you considered getting the number for Leo’s therapist?’ she asked her.
Becky snorted.
‘She’s great,’ Leo enthused. ‘I could give you her contact info.’
‘I’d literally rather die,’ Becky said.
‘Growth is hard, Becks. I get it,’ Leo said with empathy.
‘Don’t call me Becks,’ Becky replied with true venom.
Cody snorted. ‘I kinda feel bad for her,’ she said quietly.
‘Don’t. She ruined your life,’ Ava reminded her.
‘She didn’t ruin it. It’s not the worst thing to be on your own,’ Cody told her.
‘I didn’t mean to put it like that,’ Ava apologised. ‘But she took choices away from you.’
‘I guess. Feels like forever ago, though.’
‘So you’ve really forgiven her?’ Ava asked.
Cody mulled. ‘You can afford to be the bigger person when you have everything.’
‘You feel like you have everything?’ Ava said, her smile growing, her eyes happy.
Cody smiled back. ‘For right now, yeah.’ Her smile dropped. ‘Oh God, I totally forgot to tell you, The Invisible Woman texted me.’
‘Your mum? What does she want?’ Ava replied, shocked.
‘She wants to meet you.’
Ava looked terrified. ‘What?’
‘She probably won’t see it through,’ Cody assured her. ‘But she said she thinks we should try to have more of a relationship.’
‘And what do you think?’ Ava asked.
Cody took a sip of beer. ‘God, I don’t know. How do you have a relationship with a robot?’
Ava shook her head and started chuckling. ‘Maybe I should bring my mum?’
Cody laughed hard. ‘Wow. Our mothers, together. What the hell would that look like?’
‘We could throw in your dad and Beth to cap it off,’ Ava said.
‘I would never do that to Beth,’ Cody said. ‘She wouldn’t cope. She’s too bloody nice.’
‘You’re nice,’ Ava said, taking her hand and rubbing her palm with her thumb gently.
‘I’m not nice,’ Cody was quick to reply, enjoying the compliment despite herself.
‘You’re nice to me,’ Ava said.
‘I really must have had a personality transplant if that’s the word you’d use to describe me these days,’ Cody said.
‘It’s not the top adjective I’d use,’ Ava assured her. ‘I wouldn’t want you to change too much, anyway. I like you as you are.’
‘A grumpy, hermit writer with very few personal skills?’ Cody asked.
Ava thought it over and offered her own take. ‘A talented writer with a strong personality and a heart of gold.’
Cody smiled despite herself, feeling a little overwhelmed. ‘That’s a very generous assessment.’
‘You don’t believe it?’ Ava asked.
‘If you say it, I guess I have to,’ Cody shrugged. She paused and then added softly, ‘Your opinion means a lot to me.’
Ava’s smile lit up her entire face. ‘And yours is the only opinion I worry about anymore. Funny when you remember how we were just a year ago.’ She shook her head and sipped her drink. ‘Me, the prom queen wannabee. Crazy.’
Cody regarded Ava’s beautiful profile, warm in the fire of the pit. ‘Ava, to me, you’ll always be a queen.’ She took Ava’s hand and kissed it.
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In the meantime, feel free to enjoy these other books by Natasha West
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Hawke’s Game
Hawke’s Flight
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Plus Two
Something for the Weekend
A Marriage of Connivance
Joined at the Hip
A Mistletoe Moment
Real Love
Waiting for the Punchline
Chase Me
Close-Ups and Mess Ups
Meet You at the End of the World
By Any Other Name
Never the Bride
The Dropout
Only Ever You
The A to Z of Girlfriends
Just Married?
The Matchmaker
200 Hours
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Lost and Found
Ride the Wave
Captive Hearts
Now and Again
Through the Roof
Spark to a Flame
The Missus
All the Right Words
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The Honeymoon Hijackers
Natasha West, Indecent Promposal
