“Get some good shots, girl?” I asked.
“Holy shit, yes,” she said. “I’ve wanted to do this…” She swallowed hard. “After you all dropped me off that day… I know you saw me and Gram hugging. But five minutes later we ended up arguing. It was a big fight between me and her. She told me I was as rotten as my mother. Which she later apologized for. She was just scared. Like you said.”
“You know you’re not rotten,” I said. “You might smell a little, but not rotten.”
“Fuck off,” Ruby said. “I came here that day, Kip. I was going to run away. I was going to work my way back to… somewhere else. But I stopped here. And I sat on this rock. And I cried.”
“Alone,” I said.
“Alone.”
I gritted my teeth. “You should never have to do that alone, girl.”
“It’s okay. I needed it. Now I’m here again. With this awesome camera and this really hot guy.”
I looked around. “Oh, me? Of course it’s me. I’m the hot guy. I’m always the hot guy.”
Ruby sighed. “And then you ruin the moment.”
She turned and I grabbed her hips.
I pulled her close to me. My chin rested on her head. “I fucking love this right now, Ruby. Watching you take pictures.”
“Here, look at this sequence,” she said.
She held the camera up and clicked the pictures. She got the perfect set of pictures. Of a wave crashing into a rock, spraying everywhere.
“You’re good at this,” I said. “Really good. You can do this for real. Like make a living out of it.”
“Stop it, Kip,” she said.
“Hey, I’m serious, Ruby. Why not? This is amazing.”
“It’s like six pictures.”
“So?”
Ruby put her head back to my chest. “Thanks for saying that. Can we go to the next spot?”
“That’s it? You’re done with pictures?”
“No,” she said with a grin. “I’m just done here. I have to paint next, right?”
I slowly turned Ruby around.
I stared into her eyes.
I was in big trouble around her.
Really big trouble.
“You just tell me where to go, girl,” I said in a soft voice.
Ruby smiled. “Duh… I own you today, remember?”
* * *
I came to a stop and pulled over again.
We were on the outside of the town Ruby called home.
I wasn’t comfortable at all with being there.
Not for fear of something happening to me. But I was worried about her intentions and what it all meant.
“We’re good here,” she said. “Far enough away. But you can see everything. So I guess I’ll try to paint something.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“The row homes,” she said. “With the different color bricks, shutters, porches, pillars, steps… it’s all so real.”
“Then let’s get you set up, girl,” I said.
I set up the easel right outside the passenger door and planted a fresh, white canvas on it.
Ruby sat with her feet hanging out of the SUV, paints and supplies next to her on the floor.
She smiled for the millionth time, shaking her head yet again.
“What?” I asked.
“This is just…” She took a deep breath. “My mother dated this guy. His sister was a painter and photographer. When they would go out and disappear for days at a time, I would stay with Diandra. I called her Di. She was so cool. She had no clue how to take care of a kid though. So we’d just look at pictures and paintings. And she showed me how to do some stuff. I would go with her to places too.”
“Makes more sense now about who you are,” I said.
“Yeah, well, spoiler alert… the ending sucks,” Ruby said. “My mother stole from the guy. He cheated on her. Things got really bad. Violent. And he ended up in trouble. My mother got away free and clear, but Di never talked to us again. My mother told me Di was a vindictive whore. I even tried getting in touch with her a few times but I couldn’t.”
I inched closer to Ruby.
I touched her shoulder. “Hey. That’s messed up. That’s messed up that you found someone who understood you and it was taken. I’m glad you found something you’re passionate about though.”
“Something nobody cared about, Kip.”
“Yeah? Well I care. So make this fucking painting epic.”
Ruby did her laugh-snort.
I had to turn my head to take a breath.
“And what about you?” Ruby asked. “Do you have any secret talents?”
“Everything about me is well known,” I said. “Nothing to hide.”
“You can’t draw? Or sing? Or ride a unicycle?”
“Are you saying I’m a clown?” I asked.
“Everyone knows that,” Ruby said. “What makes you… you?”
“I told you, girl, I go with the moment,” I said. “Right now, what makes me me is you.”
“Those lame answers aren’t going to get you far,” Ruby said. “At least not with me.”
I crouched down and kissed her cheek. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Ruby, but haven’t we already gone really far? As far as you can go?”
Ruby looked at me. “I’m sure there’s places we can still take each other.”
I hung my head. “You’ve got to stop saying shit like that to me.”
Ruby laugh-snorted and went back to painting.
A short while later she was finished and when she turned the easel, I was damn jaw dropped.
I wasn’t sure what the actual term for it was, but it was a messy painting that looked like something. Meaning the row homes she painted weren’t painted to detailed perfection but rather a messy outline and mix of colors. And it was fucking cool.
“I’m not very good,” Ruby said. “I usually only have pen or pencil to scribble with.”
“Stop doubting yourself,” I said. “This is amazing. I would buy this.”
“No you wouldn’t,” Ruby said. “You asshole.”
“Okay. Fine. I wouldn’t buy it. Only because I don’t buy this stuff. But if I did…”
Ruby stood up. “You sometimes come across pathetic, you know that?”
“It’s what you do to me.”
“Shut up, Kip,” Ruby said. “I think next is… a run?”
“Oh, girl, I’ll always chase after you,” I said.
Ruby put her head back and sighed. “No matter what I say you’re going to turn it into something romantic and cheesy.”
I slipped my hands to her back and interlocked my fingers.
I looked down at her head as it was still back.
“Is that so bad?” I asked.
“I might get too used to it,” she said.
“Good. I’ll make every day like this, girl. You make me a list and I’ll make it happen. For the rest of our lives.”
“Why don’t we finish this list first?” she asked.
“Deal,” I said. “But I’m going to add a couple things to the end.”
“Like what?”
I brushed my lips against hers. “You’ll see…”
Chapter 13
The day felt like a marathon or something.
The pictures and painting were one thing.
Then came a two mile run where I purposely hung back more than a few times just to catch a glimpse of Ruby’s ass in her tight running shorts. The way her hips moved… and her body moved…
I almost tripped over my own feet a few times.
But I didn’t fall.
At least not that way.
After the two mile run came the bike ride.
I unloaded the bikes off the top of the SUV and stood and watched Ruby. She didn’t know I was watching and she didn’t realize the way she looked right then.
Staring at the ocean. Sweat glistening on her sweet skin. Looking like something I never thought I would ever see in my life again. Or making me feel the way
I did right then. But it was her smile. A real smile. A smile that said maybe she wasn’t feeling it all so hard today.
I quietly reached into the SUV and grabbed the camera.
I turned it on and put Ruby right in the middle of the screen. I held the button down to take pictures and didn’t let up. Because the second she heard the first snap of a picture being taken, she looked at me. And then she lunged at me. And I got every single piece of that action captured through the pictures.
Ruby had me pinned against the open back of the SUV.
I slipped my right arm around her body and kept her close to mine.
We were both sweating. Our eyes devouring one another.
“Don’t take my picture ever again,” she said to me.
“Can’t help it, girl. You’re going to realize how beautiful you are. One way or another.”
Ruby grabbed my mouth. “And stop using those cheap ass pick-up lines on me.”
I had fish lips and said, “Well, then how am I going to get your attention?”
“Trust me, Kip, you have my attention.”
“And you have mine, Ruby.”
She moved her hand to my cheek.
I couldn’t take the bullshit tension anymore.
My left hand touched the back of her head and I kissed her.
We exploded into a full make out session right there in the middle of a parking lot next to the beach.
Ruby snuck her hand to the camera and stole it from me.
She broke the kiss and grinned at me.
“You used me to get that camera,” I said.
“Yup,” she said. “So I can delete the pictures.”
I stood up and gritted my teeth. “Do it then. Delete the pictures. But if you don’t see what I see… then you’re blind, girl.”
“Blind to what?”
She looked down at the screen. She clicked through the pictures.
“You looking at the ocean, sweat on your skin, finally happy,” I said. “Living out everything you want to do. And the thing is, Ruby, you’re not asking to jump out of a plane or pet a fucking baby tiger like Tinsley and Pres…”
Ruby lifted her eyes and swallowed hard. “So I’m easy to please, right? Because I’m so poor that just seeing the ocean makes me smile.”
I shook my head. “No, girl. Your bullshit routine is old already. Stop talking about where you came from. Nobody cares anymore.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yeah,” I said. “You like these things because they’re simple. And they’re important. The ocean means something to you. The waves. The rocks. The beach. Everything matters to you in a way I don’t understand. But I’ll be here when you’re ready to tell me.” I stepped toward her. “And if you want to jump out of a plane, I’ll make that happen.”
“How about I push you out of a plane?” she asked. “With no parachute? That way you’ll stop talking.”
“Anything for you, Ruby,” I said.
She looked down at the camera.
Then she slammed it against my chest.
She didn’t delete a single picture.
I turned my head and saw Ruby getting on one of the bikes.
She started to pedal fast.
I nodded.
I’m going to have to chase her for the rest of my life, huh?
* * *
When I was a kid, I actually quit surfing for a year. I wasn’t sure how it happened but I decided I wanted to ride a bike and do all the crazy tricks. I wanted to do backflips, grind on railings, jump across tall steps, and just be the kind of kid that appeared out of nowhere on a bike, pissing off anyone I could find.
It was a fun year of riding.
But the water was better.
There was a big difference between a bike meant for tricks and a mountain bike.
But… I got on that bike and took off after Ruby with my lip curled.
She stayed on the road, not caring about traffic.
She had no idea where she was going either.
Which was probably her thing.
If and when a situation got too rough, she would find somewhere to disappear to.
That’s what she had been doing the day we found her on the steps. She had gotten messed up and wanted to get out of that apartment. She made it down to the steps and crashed. And fell asleep.
I picked up a lot of speed and jumped a curb to a sidewalk.
I stood up the entire time, my eyes never leaving Ruby for a second.
I darted around people or objects in the way.
I cut between two parked cars and made a sharp, right turn that forced me to put my foot on the road to keep from falling.
Then I had to start over to regain all my speed.
It took me a few minutes to finally catch up to Ruby.
When she turned her head and looked at me, I could tell she had been crying.
She looked forward again, now pissed off.
She picked up speed.
So did I.
We flew down a street and came to an intersection with no intention of stopping. Damn, it was such a stupid thing to do. But we speed right through without a care. All it would have taken was one truck doing the speed limit and Ruby and I would have been a sloppy mess on the pavement.
She wasn’t getting away from me.
And she knew it.
She was playing a game with me.
At the next intersection, she suddenly slowed and moved to the right. Her front wheel hit the curb and she almost flipped the bike. She let out a yell and hurried to put her feet on the ground. She let the bike go and jumped off of it.
I jumped the curb with ease and turned the bike and jumped off, leaving it hitting the sidewalk.
Ruby finally stopped, her back against the corner building.
I closed right in on her, my hands cupping her face.
She grabbed my shirt and twisted her hands.
I lowered my lips to her and knew it took a special kind of person to kiss Ruby the right way. It took a strong person to chase this hot mess down and stay the course.
And I was perfectly fine with it all.
Ruby buried her face into my chest and I rested my chin on her head.
We were both out of breath.
“Are you hungry, girl?” I whispered.
“Yeah.”
“Good. This place has some decent pizza.”
Ruby looked up at me.
I walked and grabbed her hand, dragging her toward the front of the building.
We left the bikes crashed on the sidewalk.
I didn’t give a shit about them.
Inside, I ordered food and drinks.
We were the only ones there and sat at a dark and quiet corner table.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked.
“About what?”
I reached across the table and touched her cheek.
“No,” she said.
“Fine with me,” I said. “So after we eat, we have to get back to surf. I think that ends the day.”
“What about the stuff you added to the end of the list?”
“Not sure now,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “You’re kind of grumpy.”
Ruby scoffed. “Is this how you are all the time?”
“And how is that?”
“You just…” She shut her eyes. “You’re kind of perfect, Kip. And it scares me.”
“Perfect?” I asked. “Can you tell that to Miss Carmen?”
“Who?”
“My sixth grade math teacher. She was a mean bitch. She told me I was stupid and that I was lucky my parents were rich so I could live off their money and hopefully stay away from society. That everything I did was wrong.”
“A teacher told you that?” Ruby asked.
“To be fair, I was a prick in class.”
“Not you.”
“Yeah… not me…”
Ruby sipped her soda and never moved her eyes from me.
I reached across the table and touched her han
ds. “Let’s talk about me being perfect. I like that.”
She pulled her hands away. “What do you think is happening here, Kip? Where does it go? Because everything you do and say… it makes me feel okay. I’m not used to someone actually caring about me. Buying me things. Wanting to do things. I mean, someone else used to buy me things, but it was just a way to make me go away. Or make it okay that he was cheating on me.”
I curled my lip. “I’m not any of those people.”
“I know that.”
“And I don’t know what you want me to say about what’s happening here.”
“I can’t live here,” she said. “And I can’t live with Gram for much longer. So if I leave…”
“Look, girl, it’s simple. Stop planning shit. You took off on a bike. I chased you down. You wanted to be mad at me. I wanted to show you I’ll always chase you. I caught up to you. We kissed. Then we realized we were hungry. And it just so happened we were standing outside a pizza shop. Didn’t plan for that.”
Ruby laugh-snorted. “So… what… life is like finding a random pizza shop?”
“Exactly,” I said. “You’re my corner pizza shop, Ruby.”
She grabbed her soda and lifted it. “I will drown you in this if you keep using those lines on me.”
“To be fair, girl, these are all new lines,” I said. “I’ve never compared any other girl to a pizza shop before.”
“Well, then I guess this really is the greatest day of my life then.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
The pizza was done and we ate, exchanging glances every few seconds.
“Hey, girl, this is our first date,” I said.
“If so, it’s the weirdest I’ve ever had.”
“And how many first dates have you had?”
Ruby grinned. “One.”
“One?”
“Yeah. What about you?”
I thought about it. “Actually… I’ve never had a first date.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Dating was never my thing.”
“So you never had a girlfriend, Kip? Someone you actually cared about?”
“Nope,” I said, the lie coming off my tongue way too easily.
“I don’t believe that.”
“It always seemed so exhausting,” I said. “I grew up watching my parents and I knew about Pres’s parents. And Barr’s… it just seemed… why go through all of that?”
KIP: a bay falls high novel Page 13
