The Union

by T. H. Hernandez

  We exchange pleasantries, but Jack appears to be anything but pleased to meet us. Awkward silence hovers over our little group until it becomes a living thing.

  “It’s good to see you again, Bryce,” I say, then grab Lisa’s arm and drag her with me into the corridor.

  Lisa’s eyes bug out as she glances over my shoulder. I swivel to find Bryce followed us. Lisa and Colin suddenly find the movie schedule on the other side of the hall fascinating.

  “Evan, do you want to get dinner tonight?”

  I tear my gaze away from my traitorous friends and turn back to Bryce. “Uhh…” Why am I hesitating? Isn’t this what I always wanted? Or did I only want what I couldn’t have? Part of me likes the idea of going out with Alivia’s ex, even if she never finds out about it. My own personal payback.

  He flashes his dimples and gives me a pleading look.

  “Sure,” I say.

  “Cool. Pick you up at seven?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “See you then, Evansville.” He heads back into the rec room, an explosion of sound pummeling us before the door closes again.

  “Well, well, well,” Lisa says, a trace of smugness lacing those words.

  “Don’t even start,” I warn.

  On the way back to our rooms, we stop at a café with a dark green door and gilt lettering spelling out Alice’s Coffee. Inside are rows of booths that look like sculpted hedges setting atop a black and white checkered floor. In the corner of each booth is a topiary tree with twinkling lights. A hostess dressed as the White Rabbit leads us to a booth and the Queen of Hearts takes our order.

  “What do you think of Bryce’s friend, Jack?” Lisa asks while we wait for our drinks.

  “I think he’s a douche,” Colin says.

  Lisa spins in her seat and pins Colin with a glare. She may be the only person on Earth who doesn’t know how Colin feels about her.

  “He’s hot, I say. But he did seem friendlier before he realized we knew Bryce.”

  “Did anyone else notice Jack called him Mike?” Colin asks.

  “I could have sworn that’s what he said, too,” Lisa says.

  “Maybe that’s a nickname or something,” I say.

  “Right,” Colin says. “Like everyone knows Mike is a nickname for Bryce.”

  I roll my eyes. We finish our coffee and head back to our rooms where Lisa helps me pick out something to wear for my date. Nothing I packed is really first-date worthy.

  “Oh, I have just the thing,” she says, tugging me down the hall to her room. She pulls a pretty little black dress with white polka dots and long flared sheer sleeves from her closet. It’s flirty, without being too flirty. Good for a first date with a guy you’re interested in, but aren’t sure how much, and don’t want him to know if you are or not. That’s asking a lot of a dress.

  The overhead speaker beeps and a voice says, “We’ll be pulling out of the station in thirty minutes. Thirty minutes until departure.”

  Butterflies scramble in my stomach. I’m actually leaving the Eastern Province.

  Half an hour later, as we slowly glide forward, Lisa and I stand at the window in my room, watching the station recede from view. A smile stretches my face until my cheeks ache.. “This is it, the beginning of my life.”

  Lisa puts an arm around me. “I’m so glad you decided to come with us, Ev.”

  The train gains speed and I watch the coast whiz past for a few minutes in a giddy state of euphoria. Everything is about to change. I plop down on my couch and examine my feet. Days of wearing flip-flops has left them calloused. “Let’s go get pedicures,” I say.

  “Now you’re speaking my language.”

  I shake my hands, trying to calm my racing heart. “I haven’t been on a date since Cade Stewart in grade eleven.”

  “Oh, he was hot. Whatever happened with him?” Lisa asks, coaxing a few of the more uncooperative curls out of my face.

  “He tried to jam his tongue down my throat after he walked me home.”

  “Eww, creepy. I hate when the cute ones are creepy.” She sets the spray bottle down and turns me around to face her. “You look really good, Ev. You should wear makeup more often.”

  I check out my reflection and take in her handiwork. She managed to tame the crazy that is my hair, and applied just the right amount of eye shadow and mascara to make my eyes pop.

  “You’re stunning,” she says quietly. “Okay, I’d better go before he gets here. I’m dragging Colin to dinner whether he wants to go or not.” She gives me a quick hug. “Have fun.”

  At seven o’clock on the dot, a knock makes my heart skip a beat. With one last glance in the mirror, I inhale deeply and open the door.

  Bryce stands on the other side in a pair of khakis and a fitted white T-shirt that hugs his muscles under a charcoal blazer. His warm gray eyes travel down to my feet and back up to my face. “You look incredible, Evan.”

  “Thank you.”

  He holds the door for me and falls in step beside me as we head toward the entertainment cars. “Do you like Japanese? I hear the sushi is fantastic.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  He stops at a bright red door with a brass handle in the shape of a fish. Inside, we’re greeted by low background music, the soft hum of voices, and the clanking of dinnerware. Most of the tables are occupied and only a few stools are available at the sushi bar. The cheerful restaurant is a mixture of lime green and teal upholstered chairs, chrome accents, and pendant lights resembling California rolls.

  The hostess greets us with a warm smile. “Welcome to Side Car Sushi. Do you prefer a table or a seat at the bar?”

  “Table,” Bryce says with his full-dimpled smile.

  She beams. Apparently, twenty-something girls aren’t immune to his charm either. She leads us over to the window and waits for us to sit before touching the edge of the table. It illuminates, displaying the menu.

  We order an assortment of sushi and attempt to make stilted small talk until our food arrives. But over dinner, we end up talking about school.

  “Do you remember the discussion we had about Maxwell’s The Undoing of Sentience?”

  “How could I not?” I say with a laugh.

  “You said Bidwell didn’t need to sacrifice himself to achieve the greater good—”

  “Because the ultimate goal would’ve been achieved without it, and it was pointless.”

  “We had a discussion about the merits of that logic.”

  “If you want to call it a discussion, it was more like a fight.”

  “All I said was he would’ve compromised his principles if he’d done anything differently.”

  I point my chopsticks at him. “It was the way you said it. And I stand by my argument that as long as he achieved his goal, it didn’t matter what the rest of the world thought of his principles.”

  He grins. “You were rather forceful in that belief as I recall. I’ll admit I’d never looked at it in those terms. But once I did, I viewed all the themes from that angle and decided you were right. Maxwell may never have intended it that way, but it changed everything about the book for me.”

  “In a good or bad way?”

  “Definitely good. I always hated that book before, but now I can see it as something else. A metaphor for the choices we make and how they not only affect us, but everyone around us.” His eyes hold mine with an intensity that curls my toes. “And that was when I first realized you were someone to pay attention to.”

  And yet he went out with Alivia…interesting. “So, I thought you were leaving after graduation,” I say, changing the subject. “That was a month ago.”

  “I was. I mean, I did. I went back home to the Northeastern Province and hung out with friends. Jack decided to come with me to the Northwest and talked me into taking the L-Train.” He pauses to eat a piece of sushi. “What about you? Does this mean you’re not going to work for your stepdad?”

  “I thought about what you said and realized you were right
.”

  He gives me another dimpled smile and grabs a roll with his chopsticks. We slip into comfortable conversation while we eat, talking between bites. Neither of us is in a hurry to leave and we end up lingering at our table long after our dishes have been cleared. Soon we’re getting the stink-eye from the hostess.

  On our stroll back to the room, my feet decide they’ve had enough of the heels I borrowed from Lisa. I bend down and remove my sandals, hooking the backs over my fingers.

  “Can I ask you something?” I say.

  “Sure.”

  “How long have you known what you wanted to do with your life?”

  “Since I was a kid. I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to be a writer.”

  I sigh, wondering what it would be like to have that kind of vision for my life.

  As we approach my room, nerves flutter through me. Is he going to just say goodnight, kiss me, or pull a Cade Stewart maneuver? When we get to my door, I turn to face him, butterflies scrambling in my belly. My eyes rise to meet his gray ones, my breath stalling.

  Bryce places one hand on my hip and the other on the door above my head. My eyes drift lower, stopping at his perfect lips. Seconds tick by, and the warmth from his body so close to mine does ridiculous things to my circulatory system. Maybe he’s waiting for me to make the first move. I tear my gaze from his mouth and meet his stare, uncertainty dancing in those baby grays.

  I nervously pull my bottom lip between my teeth. He finally lowers his face, soft lips brushing across mine. I sigh and lean back against the door as our mouths move against each other in a slow rhythmic motion.

  Holy crap, I’m kissing Bryce Vaughn and it’s even better than I imagined. And I’ve imagined it a lot. I reach behind his neck, pulling his face a little closer, my shoes still dangling from the fingertips of my other hand.

  His fingers curl around my hip and our kiss intensifies, igniting sparks in my veins. Nothing else exists except us and this moment until he pulls back, his eyes lingering on mine.

  He grins. “See you tomorrow, Evansville.”

  My breathing is shallow and rapid as I watch him walk down the corridor. When he reaches the vestibule, he glances back over his shoulder and waves before the doors open and he disappears behind them.

  I enter my room, my entire body tingling. That kiss was…was nothing like the clumsy experimental kissing I used to do with Avi, the son of my uncle’s chief of staff, nor anything like the mouth probe I got from Cade Stewart. A kiss that’s a zero on the creepy scale and leaves me wanting more is probably as close to perfect as I can get.

  Someone came in to turn down my bed while I was gone. I change and plop down on my back, my mind replaying the events of today. A date with a hot guy and tomorrow I’m going to set foot in someplace other than the Eastern Province for the first time in my life. A smile stretches across my face. I may not know what I want to do with my life, yet, but a whole new set of experiences awaits me on the other side of my dreams.

  8

  New Experiences

  Colin stabs his quiche with a fork. “So how was the date?”

  “Good,” I say, deliberately underselling it.

  Lisa notches an eyebrow. “Just good?”

  I shrug.

  “Uh-uh. Spill.”

  As much as I try, I can’t hide my grin. “Okay, fine, it was actually pretty amazing.”

  “Can you imagine if Alivia knew?”

  I snort. “I know, right?”

  “So, did you go out with him just to spite her?” Colin asks. “Cause that’s not cool.”

  “Of course not. You know I’ve been crushing on him for half a year. But the fact that Alivia would be royally pissed off if she knew only makes it that much more delicious.”

  He rolls his eyes and stuffs the rest of his breakfast into his mouth, swallowing in one oversized gulp. On the walk back to our rooms, we run into Jack and Bryce in the corridor. Bryce gives me a dimpled smile. “Good morning.”

  A sudden bout of awkwardness overcomes me, but I shake it off and murmur a response.

  “Hey, we’re heading into the province today. You guys wanna come with us?”

  The thought of spending the day with Bryce is intriguing and I glance at my friends to gauge their reaction.

  Lisa eyes Jack like he’s the last piece of dessert on the train. “Love to.”

  Colin makes a face, as if he just sucked a lemon. He’s quiet for a long time before answering, his voice devoid of any emotion. “Sure, why not.”

  Bryce reaches out and squeezes my hand. “Cool. See you later.”

  The three of us head back to our rooms where Colin sulks and Lisa is more animated than normal. We pull into the Southeastern Province just before noon and meet the guys. Jack falls in step beside Lisa and the two begin a session of heavy flirting.

  A dark cloud forms and hovers over Colin’s head. I let out an exaggerated sigh and glance up at Bryce. “I’ll be right back.” I drop back and lean in close to Colin. “Tell her before it’s too late,” I say out of the side of my mouth.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Bullshit. I know you’re into Lisa, but she’s clueless. If you don’t’ tell her how you feel, she’s gonna find someone who will.”

  He makes a face and I can’t tell if that means he’s thinking about it or not, but he just shakes his head.

  “Fine,” I hiss. “That’s your choice. But you don’t get to be a jackass because you’re too afraid to man up and be honest with her.” He rolls his eyes and I huff before catching back up to Bryce.

  We exit the depot and the Southeastern Province comes into view. I suck in a sharp breath at the sight. A rich patchwork of stucco walls adorned with cheerful shutters greets me. Window boxes spill bright flowering vines. Ivy stretches long limbs up the sides of buildings before climbing over roofs.

  From where we stand near the beach, the Union sprawls before me, growing higher as it moves farther inland, like the ancient hillside cities we read about in world history. We head toward the borough and hike up two flights of stairs to an open-air market overflowing with vendors selling fresh produce, craft beers, and baked goods. A musical trio plays contemporary jazz that echoes off the stone walls surrounding us.

  I stop at a booth and select a small clay pot for my mom, painted to resemble the local architecture. The artisan scans my fingerprint into the PrintPay system before wrapping my purchase.

  “I’m hungry,” Colin announces.

  It occurs to me that it’s long past lunchtime now and Colin can’t go more than a few hours between meals. Considering his mood, I’m surprised he lasted this long without blowing a fuse. He’s definitely not himself.

  “Ooo, check out that place,” Lisa says pointing at café nestled into the buildings just outside the marketplace. “I’ve always wanted to try one of Adam LeFevre’s restaurants. I hear his seafood specialties are to die for.”

  I glance over at Jack. “Lisa’s going to be a chef, so she knows her food.”

  “She’ll get no argument from me then. Let’s go.”

  We’re seated on the patio where Colin wedges himself between Lisa and Jack. Lisa leans forward to peer around Colin. “So Jack, how do you know Bryce?”

  Jack grins. “We grew up together.”

  “Why does he call you Mike?” Colin asks.

  Bryce picks up his menu and studies it before answering. “My first name is Michael. My middle name is Bryce. Jack’s known me as Mike since we were kids.”

  “So, why don’t we know you as Mike?” Lisa asks.

  “When I was in grade 8, there were three Mike’s in my class, so my teacher assigned middle names to two of us and it just stuck.”

  “That’s boring,” Colin said. “I was hoping for something more interesting.”

  Our waitress arrives to take our order and after she leaves, the conversation turns to everyone’s future plans. Since I don’t have any, my eyes sweep the courtyard, landing on a ma
n sitting alone two tables over, staring at us.

  He’s older than my mom, maybe early forties, with a tall forehead, long nose, and deep-set hooded eyes. He catches me looking at him and nods before taking a sip from his mug. Our food arrives and when I glance over again, the hooded-eye man is gone.

  “What should we do after lunch?” Lisa asks, stabbing her crab cake salad with a fork.

  Jack and Bryce exchange a look before Bryce clears his throat. “I-I forgot Jack has family in the area, and we’re going to visit them.” He turns to me. “Sorry. I know I invited you to join me. I just forgot about this. I’ll make it up to you, though. I promise.”

  Although I’m mildly disappointed, I don’t want him to know. “No worries. You have nine days to make good on that.”

  He grins. “How about dinner tomorrow?”

  “I need to check with my social calendar.” I turn to Lisa and Colin, raising my eyebrows. They both shrug. We’ve got nothing planned. “Okay, you’re on, but I expect something epic.”

  His smile broadens to include his dimples. “Hmmm, I better start thinking then.”

  The guys say their goodbyes and take off. With Jack gone, Colin’s more upbeat. He leads the way into the heart of the borough where we explore the rest of the afternoon.

  I throw on a pair of designer jeans and a ruffled, layered tank for my dinner date with Bryce. He arrives a little before seven in heather gray T-shirt that does sinful things to his eyes. Dark stubble grazes his jaw and faint shadows under his eyes mar his otherwise perfect skin.

  Over pasta in the café, he asks about my summer plans, which leads to a discussion about Eddie and if I’m going to see him. We end up spending the entire meal talking about me and my jacked-up family drama.

  We leave the restaurant and walk toward the back of the train. Bryce pushes open the door to the pool car where a low rectangular basin of water, about a foot deep, sits in the center, surrounded by lounge chairs, umbrellas, and palm trees. We claim two chairs away from other passengers.