Ava watched, amusement plastered on her face, as Jason and Lydia interacted. Though she could not see her friend’s face, she could practically feel the embarrassed heat radiating from the other girl. That, or she was being cooked alive in her hoodie. One of the two.
	Ava’s money was on the first. 
	She only just managed to stifle a laugh when Jason pushed from the mailbox, leaving it a tad more bent than before. Her tongue rolled around in her mouth, forming an unspoken, [i]I knew it![/i]
	Ava would have gladly doubled-down on her bet with the murderous look Lydia cast her.
	Her lips pulled tight in an attempt at suppressing her grin. She shrugged lightly at Lydia’s silent threat.
	Her expression unwavering, she returned her thumbs to her pockets and followed behind her friend into Jason’s horrendously cluttered garage. The familiar smell of oil, gas, and metal hung in the air, mingling with the faint scent of stale beer. While the calendar drew Lydia’s attention, Ava paused to look at the abused dartboard.
	“Nice shot,” she commented. She looked over her shoulder at Jason with a smirk. “Who’d you have over?”
	Before Jason could respond to her quip, a gentle meow sounded above them. Excitement about there being a cat nearby settling in her, she looked frantically for the source of the sound.
	Her gaze found it at about the same time as Lydia.
	“Well, hello there!” she greeted, Jason momentarily forgotten. The cat’s tail swished irately behind it, dangling down from the opposite side of the rafter. Ava’s head cocked toward Jason when he spoke. “Aww, poor thing.”
	Hoping to coax the cat down from hiding, she reached fully into one of her front pockets. She pulled out a few of the cat treats she often kept with her. She held them up toward Hanna, hoping the smell would entice her down.
	“C’mon, pretty kitty!” she called in a soothing tone, Lydia’s glance going unnoticed. “There’s no mean ol’ dog here.”
	To Ava’s delight, the cat slunk elegantly across the rafter and used a stack of boxes to return to the ground. The cat sauntered over to her with another meow and rubbed against her legs, looking up at her expectantly. 
	Ava crouched down, careful of the worktable she was nearly crammed against. She placed the treats on the concrete floor, and Hanna chowed down happily. She ran a hand over the animal’s soft fur as it ate. 
	She looked up when Jason spoke from the opposite side of the motorcycle. She looked to the bike as if noticing it for the first time. Her brows rose, glad Lydia was the one in the spotlight for the question at the moment.
	The cat finished the treats and pawed at Ava for more. Instead, Ava took the now purring cat in her arms and stood. Hanna meowed in protest.
	[b]“Even you can’t deny this is a sick ride.”[/b]
	“Why? Does it have a cold?” Her eyes widened and her voice sounded so sincerely concerned it could have fooled a human lie detector. At last, she fully took in the plain-looking bike. She shrugged, the cat squirming in her arms. “Bikes aren’t really my area of expertise. It’s a cruiser, right?” She let the cat jump free from her.
	Hanna glared at her, her tail swishing indignantly, before she rushed off to find a new hiding place.