The Avery Shaw Experiment

Where does one even begin when talking about Avery Shaw? I’ve known her, her whole life, and yet I’ve never really gotten to know her.

She and her mom have been unofficial members of my family since our moms threw up on each other in a prenatal yoga class when I was fourteen months old. They only got closer after Avery’s dad skipped town when Avery was four. My family sort of adopted them, and my father took his place as the only male role model in Avery’s life.

I always looked at her as sort of pesky little sister, but that all changed the day my brother dumped her. Why, you ask? Let me put it this way: When a girl lets you be the one to hold her as her entire world falls apart, even though you’re ass naked, it changes the way you see her.

The soaking-wet, see-through t-shirt didn’t hurt, either.

It took me a while to get out of the shower after Avery finally left. I had to let the water run cold first because, well, because I had to. Plus, I needed some time to process. Avery Shaw had suddenly barged into so much more than just my shower. She’d also crashed into my head in a way I never thought possible and maybe even wormed her way into my heart a little bit. I had no freaking clue how to handle that, much less what to do about it. But I had to do something. Avery was destroyed and completely incapable of fixing herself.

That was the moment the Avery Shaw Experiment started for me. It wasn’t defined yet, and I had no idea I’d be earning extra credit for it—that was an added bonus—but that was the first time I realized Avery Shaw had the potential to be so much more than what she was. All she needed was a little help from someone normal and cool who could introduce her to life the way it’s supposed to be lived.

I decided, as I cooled off in the shower that day, that I was going to fix Avery Shaw. I was going to help her get over her dependency on my brother and turn her into a normal, socially-competent person by showing her how the world really worked.

I was going to start by making her celebrate New Year’s Eve the right way—at a real party, on a real date, with a real kiss at midnight. I was excited about it too. No joke, when I got dressed that night, I looked in the mirror and was like, “Watch out, Avery Shaw. Grayson Ke

Well somebody had to.

No surprise, I found her in bed buried deep beneath the covers. I sat down near the head-shaped end of the lump under the quilt, and her croaky all-cried-out voice said, “Please, just go away, Mom. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

I don’t know why, but that made me smile. “Good, because listening really isn’t one of my strong points.”

I could practically feel the horror radiating out of her when she realized it was me. “Go away, Grayson!” she shrieked. “Haven’t I already seen enough of you for one night?”

I’ve always teased her about the boy/girl stuff because it’s too easy to make Little Miss Prude blush. But had the girl always been so hilariously cute?

“You had your eyes closed the entire time,” I teased. “You didn’t see anything interesting.”

“Well, I definitely felt it!”

I laughed again. I knew I should probably drop it, but I couldn’t help myself. “I’m well aware of what you felt, Aves. I was feeling plenty right then too. Obviously. So, was it as good for you as it was for me?”

“Ugh! You really are made of hormones! Just go away and let me die!”

I backed off before she had a stroke. “No can do, girlie. There’s a wild New Year’s Eve party over at the resort with our names on it.”

I knew she wouldn’t say anything, but I paused and gave her the chance anyway before I said, “Unless you’d rather spend the evening with the rents and my idiot little brother, drowning in awkward silences and avoiding all eye contact, because you know there is no way our moms will let you hide out in this room all night. I heard them discussing removal strategies not two minutes ago.”

I actually hadn’t, but I was sure that’s what they were doing.

Avery knew it was true too, because she threw the covers off her face and glared at me.

“Come on, Aves. Let’s go before they make us do the dishes.”

Slowly her glare faded into a wary look. “I don’t really have anything to wear to a party.”

I’d seen Avery in everything from jeans to pajamas to dresses to swimsuits, but as I let my eyes slide over her then, it was as if I was seeing her for the first time.

Avery’s never going to win the award for hottest girl in school, but she’s definitely cute. She seems tiny compared to my hulking six-foot-four, hundred-and-eighty-five-pound self, but I think standing next to each other, we have the same effect that a big old golden retriever and a kitten would. Somehow it just works.

She has decent hair—light brown and straight. It goes nicely with her pale skin and light smattering of freckles. She also has a cute little button nose, but her most attractive feature, aside from the amazing rack I’d just discovered, was definitely her big, expressive eyes. They were a vibrant blue very similar to my own, but she never guarded them. You could always see right into her soul. That was the one thing I had always noticed about her before. She was always so honest. All you had to do was look closely and her eyes would tell you everything you wanted to know. That’s a rare thing in girls. At least it is in all the ones I’ve ever dated.

“Just put on whatever you have that’s warm,” I said.

I started to leave the room, but she stopped me at the door. “Grayson?” Her tone tugged at something inside me. “You really want to take me with you tonight?”

She sounded so small and unsure of herself. It was how she always sounded at school and around strangers but never when she was at home with us. I think my brother had really broken her. I was seriously going to have to beat him sometime.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know I really freaked out on you earlier, but I promise I’ll be fine. Aiden’s right.” She swallowed back a lump in her throat. “I’ll manage without him somehow.”

“Aiden’s a tool. You can learn how to manage tomorrow. Tonight’s New Year’s Eve, and for once in your life, you’re going to spend it without Aiden or The Discovery Cha