Babysitter or Boyfriend?

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Alex's POV:

When Avery had gone home for the night, I jogged upstairs and headed straight for Conner's room. His door was closed tight, and I rapped my knuckles twice. There was light coming from beneath the door, so I knew he couldn't possibly be asleep.

"Come in," Conner's voice said a split second after I had knocked.

I opened the door and found him sitting at his desk, typing something into his laptop. He barely glanced at me as I entered. "Hey, Conner," I said casually, leaning against a bare spot in the wall.

Finally Conner stopped what he was doing and turned his body towards me. "Hey, man," he gave me a long, curious look. "What's up? Did Avery go home?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she did," I replied. "That's actually why I'm...Conner, just out of curiosity, are you developing feelings for Avery?" At his surprised and slightly embarrassed look, I continued, "It's just that I haven't seen you even look at a girl since Becca, and not only are you looking at Avery, you're helping her with her homework and stuff. I know it's not really my business, and you're one of my best friends, Con, but so is Avery. I just don't want her to get hurt."

Conner's eyes flashed defensively, but the look disappeared as quickly as it had come, and he sort of slumped over in his seat. "Dude, I don't even know what's going on with me," he said in a quiet voice. It was strange to hear him talk that way-while him and Becca were together, Conner was one of the most lively, outgoing people I knew. "I mean, Avery's so cool and she doesn't try to be all flirty or touchy...but I don't think I could put a label on how I feel about her, because I don't know that my feelings are that substantial."

"Do you think they could be?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

If possible, Conner's shoulders slumped even more. "I don't know," he grumbled. "And the last thing I want to do is hurt Avery, you know, down the road. Do you think...do you think I should stop hanging out with her and stuff?"

A part of me wanted to say yes, although I wasn't really sure why. I'd known Conner for a few years now-he was a good guy and I knew he'd do whatever he could to make sure Avery didn't get her heart broken. It wasn't that I didn't trust him "hanging out" with her.

It was something else. Something I didn't understand. Or perhaps something I wasn't quite ready to admit to myself...

"Nah," I finally replied, knowing if Conner stopped hanging out with Avery and she ever traced it back to me, she'd have my head in a frying pan. "Just be careful with her, okay? Not that I think you won't be, but Avery's really...special. She's never had a real boyfriend, so I guess I'm just worried about her getting in over her head."

Conner nodded. "I don't want to hurt her," he said. "But I don't know if I'm ready to, you know, date again. It seems so soon." His dark brow furrowed.

Suddenly, an idea came into my head. An idea that could either turn out to be utterly brilliant, or completely ridiculous. "Con, what if you, Avery, me, and Brooke all went on a double date?" I asked, seeing his wary look. "I mean, we don't even have to call it that-we can call it a small group of friends, hanging out. Maybe...maybe it will help you decide whether you want to pursue something with Ave, or stay friends."

I had to admit, my reasons for suggesting a double date were partly selfish. There were feelings deep inside of me that I knew I had to either sort out, or get rid of. I'd felt incredibly bothered when I first walked into the apartment and saw Avery and Conner studying calculus together. Maybe if we all went on a date, and I was able to get used to their budding friendship-or whatever it was-I wouldn't feel so conflicted.