Free Spring Fling by Sabrina James Page B

pool. You could have stayed home and gone to the North Ridge Country Club for that.”

    “Just friends?” Ava asked.

    Cooper crossed his heart. “Just friends.”

    “What time did you want to go?”

    “I‟ll pick you up at ten?”

    “Okay.”

    Cooper didn‟t know why he did it, but he gave Ava a hug. Maybe it was because he felt she needed it. “I know you‟re still hurting. Trust me, I‟ve been there. Eventually, the hurt goes away.”

    Just then, Mindy Yee popped up in front of them with her camera. “Say cheese!” she exclaimed.

    Cooper blinked as the flash went off in his eyes.

    Ava, however, had a completely different reaction.

    She tore herself out of Cooper‟s hug and pushed herself into Mindy‟s face. “What do you think you‟re doing?” Ava didn‟t give Mindy a chance to answer. “Are you planning to send that photo to Josh? To tell him I‟m cheating on him? Well, here‟s a news flash for you, Mindy. Josh and I are over! Didn‟t know that, did you? That‟s because I only told Danielle and Lindsey. I didn‟t tell anyone else. We broke up last month, so your big scoop is no scoop!”

    At first, Mindy was speechless. But then she found her voice. “I wasn‟t going to e-mail a photo to Josh. I was only taking pictures of everyone at the barbecue. I‟ve been doing it all night.”

    Lindsey, who was standing next to Mindy, nodded. “She has.” Mindy pulled up the photo she‟d just taken and handed Ava her camera. “Here, delete it.”

    Ava shook her head. “No, that‟s okay.”

    “Then I‟ll delete it,” Mindy said, pressing a button. She turned the camera around to show Ava the empty frame. “It‟s gone. Sorry I made you upset.” Then, before Ava could say anything else, Mindy left the barbecue.

    Maybe I should have picked the brunette , Cooper thought.

    Obviously, Ava was still hung up on her ex-boyfriend if she was freaking out over a picture of herself with another guy making its way to him. It also showed that she meant what she‟d said. That she wasn‟t ready to start dating again. It hadn‟t been a line and she wasn‟t playing hard to get. She still had feelings for Josh.

    It made Cooper like Ava even more because it showed that when she cared about someone, she really cared.

    That was what he wanted in a girlfriend. He wanted someone to care about him the way Ava still cared for Josh. But unlike Josh, he wouldn‟t mess things up. He wouldn‟t throw away a girl as great as Ava.

    Cooper never would have thought Ava could get so angry.

    It intrigued him.

    It made him want to learn more about her.

    And he would.

    Starting tomorrow.

    But right now, he needed to make her feel better. He could see she was upset by her outburst.

    “I can‟t believe I did that,” she groaned to Cooper. “I never lose it like that.”

    “You made a mistake. It happens to everyone.”

    “It was more like a meltdown.”

    “You know what you need to feel better?”

    “What?”

    “Ice cream! And since you‟re a girl who likes ketchup on her hot dogs, I‟m thinking you don‟t go for the same-old same-old when it comes to ice cream.”

    “So what do I go for?”

    “You‟re not a vanilla with hot fudge girl, and I don‟t think you‟re a chocolate and hot fudge girl, either.”

    “Then what am I?”

    “At first I was going to say caramel sauce, but I think you‟re more strawberry sauce.
    As for ice cream, this is going to be tricky. I think you like a little crunch with your ice cream, so I‟m going to say either Rocky Road or chocolate chip.”

    “Close.”

    “What kind?”

    “Cookies and Cream.”

    “I like Cookies and Cream, too!” Cooper exclaimed.

    “Then what are you waiting for?” Ava pointed in the direction of the kitchen.
    “There‟s a gallon of Cookies and Cream ice cream in the freezer with our names on it!” Chapter Eight

    Danielle woke up to the sound of frying bacon. There was no mistaking the sizzling snap, crackle, and