by Dee J. Stone
Cruiser ruffles her hair. She twitches her lips like she’s holding back a giggle. He curls two of his fingers and catches her nose between them. She swats his hand away, trying to stifle another giggle. “If you want me to go away,” he says, “you better smile.”
“What if I don’t want to smile?” She’s fighting it, but a smile is capturing her face.
“Then I’ll just have to keep trying to make you laugh.”
My gaze meets my parents’ and we exchange smiles. They appreciate all Cruiser does for Rosie. When Mom found out we were together, she wasn’t as shocked as I thought she’d be. She admitted she knew I had a crush on him for years and it was only a matter of time. Dad was a little uneasy because of Cruiser’s reputation, but he understands how the accident affected him, and knows he’s a really good guy.
“No!” Rosie shrieks as Cruiser tickles her. “Not the Tickle Monster!”
“Om nom nom.”
“Okay! I’m laughing!”
Cruiser chuckles. “That’s better.” He ruffles her hair another time and, making a fist, lightly taps her cheek. “Rosie Posie.”
“Cruiser Muser.”
“You gotta do better than that.”
She juts out her chin. “I’ll find something.”
He ruffles her hair a third time. “You better.”
Rosie pats it in place. “Stop. I’m gonna lose all my hair.”
He chuckles again before reaching for my hand. “Ready?”
Rosie pouts. “I want to go out to a restaurant. Can I come the next time you go out, Mom and Dad?”
“That’s special Mom and Dad time, Rosie.”
“So?”
Mom squeezes her thigh. “We’ll see, honey. Right now, you need to focus on school and pick up your math grade.”
“I hate math.”
“We’ll see you guys later,” I tell them.
“Have fun,” Mom says.
Hand in hand, Cruiser and I leave the house. We can’t take the bike because it might ruin our clothes. Cruiser unlocks Rey’s car. “Are you sure?” I ask.
“He lets me borrow it.”
Cruiser opens the door for me and I thank him. After he starts the car, I ask, “Do you want to talk about him?”
Cruiser puffs out some air. “I...” He shakes his head. “Damn, I don’t know.” He pulls out of the driveway. He rubs my hand and smiles sadly. “I want to enjoy the night with my beautiful girl.”
That causes my heart to swell. I put my other hand on top of his and squeeze it.
The restaurant isn’t far, about ten minutes. We get out of the car and a valet drives off with it. I stand there, my eyes soaking in the place. It’s beautiful.
“Not exactly my scene,” Cruiser says.
“I know, right? You’ll actually have to have some manners,” I tease.
He pokes my shoulder. “I’ll do the teasing, thank you.”
“But I love teasing you.”
“Not as much as I love teasing you.”
A memory suddenly fills my mind. “Hey, do you remember when we were like eleven and had to do that science project? The one with the erupting volcano?”
Cruiser stares off in the distance. He smiles warmly. “It exploded all over you and you cried.”
“It hurt.”
“I called you Erupti Lexi for days.”
“I know! You were so annoying.”
He wraps an arm around my waist and tucks me close. “Even back then, I was sort of in love with you.”
I stare up at him. “You were?”
“Yeah.” He plants a kiss on my lips. “Let’s go in.”
Dani and Simon are already seated at a table in the back. She looks stunning, wearing a black dress, her hair down her shoulders in curls. Dani’s not one to wear a lot of makeup, either, but she was generous tonight. She looks amazing. Simon looks pretty hot in his dark dress shirt and pants. He has red hair and a few freckles sprinkled across his cheeks and nose.
Dani’s eyes light up when she sees us. “Finally. There’s only so much Coke I can drink.”
Cruiser’s arms come around me. “Sorry, my bad. I just can’t keep my hands off this girl.”
My cheeks flame. I slap his chest. Dani and Simon giggle.
“Simon, this is Cruiser. Cruiser, Simon,” Dani introduces as we sit down at the table.
Simon holds out a hand. “Nice to meet you. Cruiser…is that your real name?”
Cruiser shakes his head. “Nah. But you’ll have to pay me a million bucks to learn my real one.”
“It’s Elvis,” Dani tells him.
“Hey. I said a million bucks.”
She slides her hand into Simon’s. “Sorry. Simon and I have a policy not to keep any secrets from each other.” They stare into each other’s eyes like they’re love-struck.
I’m so happy for her, I want to dance. Dani’s in love! I want to tell the whole world. She was in such a bad place a few months ago and has come a long way. I want to hug her, but she doesn’t like hugs.
Cruiser bends toward me and whispers, “Do we have a tell-each-other-everything policy?”
I think for a few seconds. “I don’t know. I don’t hide anything from you. Do you hide anything from me?”
“No, but I’m still getting used to sharing everything with you. I’ve held everything in for so long.”
I reach under the table for his hand and sandwich it between mine. “Just know that you can tell me anything.”
He nods. “Same with you.”
Simon says, “I think Elvis is a cool name. My neighbor’s name is Elvis.”
Cruiser makes a disgusted face. “Were his parents Elvis Presley fans?”
He shrugs.
“Cruiser loves the Navy,” I tell Simon. “His grandparents gave him a cruiser ship for his tenth birthday. You should have seen him—he fell in love. That’s where his nickname came from.”
Cruiser shifts in his seat. He doesn’t like the attention. My hand squeezes his again and I give him a reassuring smile.
The waiter hands us menus. I scan the items. So much to choose from and I don’t know what half of them are. I turn to Cruiser and find his eyebrows furrowed.
“My uncle says the filet mignon is really good,” Simon says.
Cruiser and I exchange a glance. “I’ll try it,” I say.
“Me, too.”
“Same with me,” Dani chimes in.
The waiter returns to take our orders. When he’s gone, the four of us look at each other. An awkward silence passes. Finally, Simon says, “So I hear you guys have been really good friends since you were kids. It’s cute.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling at Cruiser.
“She was in love with me,” Cruiser says. “Chased after me and wouldn’t take no for answer.”
“That’s not true.”
Cruiser grins.
We start to eat and talk about many things, like school, movies, music. Sometime during the conversation, Cruiser’s phone beeps. He slides it out of his pocket and scans the screen. A shadow climbs onto his face.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
He blinks and glances at me. Then his gaze moves to Dani and Simon, who are looking at him.
“Yeah.” He stuffs his phone into his pocket. “Everything’s fine.”
“I was thinking of signing up to karate,” Simon says, picking up from the last conversation. “My girl can kick some ass. I need to defend my manhood.”
Dani and I laugh. “Trust me,” she says. “No one’s challenging your manhood.”
Cruiser’s phone beeps again. He checks it, and like the last time, his face clouds.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Nothing.” He shoves it into his pocket, his gaze on his plate, a grave expression on his face.
Dani and Simon are quiet as their eyes move from me to Cruiser. The only thing I hear is the clatter of their utensils and the voices drifting from the other diners.
Cruiser’s phone beeps for the
third time. He gets to his feet. “I need to go.”
“But, Cruise—”
He makes his way toward the door.
“Please excuse me.” I rush after him. He’s in the middle of flagging down the valet. “What’s going on?” I ask.
He looks at me and then at the door of the restaurant. He looks disoriented, like someone hit him on the head with a hammer.
I reach for his hand, but he pulls away. “Go back to the table, Lex,” he says in a detached tone. “I’ll come back in a few minutes.”
“What’s going on?”
He rakes his hand through his hair. The valet pulls up with Rey’s car and he dashes toward it. “I need to take care of something,” he says over his shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”
He gets into the car and speeds off. I watch as the car grows smaller and smaller, until it’s out of sight. Something brews in the pit of my stomach. It’s a mix of confusion, fear, and worry.
Where did he run off to? Does this have anything to do with Rey? And why didn’t he tell me?
Chapter Eleven
Cruiser
I see him as soon as I turn the block.
He stands at the corner. Looks like a lost puppy. A lost puppy that’s about to get his ass killed. I pull up and stop the car. He sees me. My entire body sags with relief. I lean over and crank down the passenger window. “What the hell, Rey?”
He sprints to the car and jumps inside. “Drive!”
This is a shady area in town. I’ve never been here before. I step on the gas. “The hell, Rey,” I say. “What’re you doin’ here?”
He glances out the window like someone’s chasing after us with guns. “I can’t believe they ditched me.”
“Who? Nate and his jackass crew?”
He cranes his neck, trying to get a better view of the street.
“Rey?”
He sits back in his seat. Knees shake.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
His knees continue to shake.
“At least put on your damn seatbelt.”
He does. His movements are robotic. Like he’s functioning on autopilot.
“What shit are they getting you into?”
“Nothing,” he snaps.
“Then why the hell do you look like you met the Angel of Death?”
He bangs his head on the window. Mutters to himself.
“You’re scaring me, Rey.”
He continues to mutter.
I slam my hands on the steering wheel. “Your texts scared the crap out of me. What the hell happened?”
“Just drive home.”
“Like hell. You tell me what’s going on right now. Or else I’m going to drive back to that corner and drop you there.”
“Go ahead. Nate will probably be back for me, anyway.”
“Those jackasses are not your friends, Rey! Why would you—shit. Drugs? They’re getting you into drugs?”
“What? No!”
“Then what the fuck are you doing on this side of town?”
We reach the house and I park in the driveway. Rey unhooks his seatbelt. “It’s none of your damn business.”
“None of my damn business? Rey—”
He pushes the door open and climbs out. I yank off my seatbelt and get out, too. “Why won’t you talk to me? Hanging out with those idiots will only get you into trouble. Will make you do things you don’t want to do. Do you want to screw up your future?”
“I’m done listening to this.” He storms toward the house.
“Rey,” I call. But he doesn’t listen. Doesn’t stop. He slams the door after him.
I rest my hands on the hood of the car, leaning forward as I breathe. In and out, in and out. What the fucking hell has gotten into him? Is he doing drugs? I know he’s drinking. Know he got a fake tattoo. I run my hands through my hair. I need to stop this before he gets worse. I can’t let him go down this path. I gotta knock some sense into him before he screws his life up.
“Cruiser?”
I whirl around. Lex stands there, face creased with worry. Dani’s car pulls away from the curb. I grab the sides of my head. Rey’s going to cause me to pop an artery.
Lex comes closer and rests a hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
I can’t…I can’t think. Can’t deal with this. I don’t know what’s going on with him, if he’s doing drugs.
“Cruiser?” she says softly.
I take her in my arms. Hold her tight. She comforts me. Her soft body, sweet smell, caring heart. She makes me want to forget about all this crap with Rey and just focus on her, on how she makes me feel and what we have together. I only want to think about good things. And the best thing that’s ever happened to me is Lex.
“Is it Rey?”
“It’s okay,” I murmur against her temple. “Everything’s okay.”
I don’t want her to worry. I got no clue what’s wrong with him, but I don’t want her to get involved in any of it.
I don’t think she wants to drop it, but she lets me hold her. I draw in her strength until I have enough energy to move. I hold her tighter. Kiss her. And only let go when I’m ready to go into my house.
He’s locked up in his room doing who the hell knows what.
He told me he’s not doing drugs. I want to believe him. But I don’t know if I do.
***
Lex and I sit on my bed with her math book opened on our thighs. She’s in the middle of explaining some crap with sine and cosine? I run my finger down her arm. She’s got a sleeveless purple tank on. It exposes her beautiful, tanned skin. Her eyes flit to me for a second before she continues to tutor.
Neither of us brings up last night. I pretend like it never happened. Don’t want to deal. Can’t deal. And Lex…maybe she’s giving me space. Maybe she wants to forget about it, too.
I move my hand a little higher. To her shoulder. I massage it.
A moan escapes her lips. “Cruiser.”
“Go on.”
She does. ‘Til I lift her hair off her neck and press my lips to her skin.
“Are you trying to seduce your tutor?” she demands.
I chuckle. “Caught in the act.”
She closes the book. “As much as I want to have fun, we need to concentrate. Your test is in two days.”
I grumble.
She goes on with her tutoring. I listen. ‘Til I get bored. I shake my leg. Stare at the ceiling. This is lame. I gently grab hold of her waist and push her down on my bed, climbing on top of her. “Cruiser.” She giggles as I nuzzle her nose.
“Why you gotta wear that perfume that makes you smell so good?”
“I’m…not wearing perfume,” she whispers between kisses.
“Your shampoo. Whatever it is. Mmm.”
“Cruiser? Yo, Cruiser!”
My door flies open. Rey walks in. I tried yelling at him some more this morning, but he acts like everything’s cool. Like it’s no big deal that those bastards ditched him in some shady area. I wish I could open his head and press “rewind” on his brain, to get him back to who he was before he left for Kelman’s.
His mouth drops when he sees us. He steps back. “Oh, excuse me.” He smirks. “Finally getting it on, huh?”
Lex straightens up. She grabs the book and reopens it.
“Shut up,” I say. He still stands at the door. Doesn’t look like he plans on budging. “Be right back,” I tell Lex. I take Rey’s arm and pull him out, shutting the door. “What?”
He shrugs.
I study him. He’s still wearing those ridiculous clothes, but he didn’t hang out with those losers today. Maybe the guys leaving him to rot lit something in him. Maybe made him realize what douches they are. Yeah, maybe. I can dream, though. Damn, I hope this is the start of him returning to his old self. If not, I’m sure as hell going to do something about it.
Now as I look at him, I see something else in his eyes. Not sure know what. Jealousy? “You cool?” I ask.
He presses
his lips together. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
“What are your plans for today?”
His eyes narrow. “Why? Trying to get rid of me so that you and Lex can finally—”
“Will you shut up about that? Why you keep saying that in front of her? Doesn’t make her feel good.”
He snorts. “So now I should care how I make her feel?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shakes his head. Bumps my shoulder as he walks past me.
“Wait.” I catch his arm. “I’m going to ask you something. I want you to answer honestly. Got it?”
He shrugs.
“Does it bother you that I’m with Lex?”
He presses his lips together again.
“Rey, I’m serious.”
“And if it does? You’ll break up with her?”
I feel something in my gut. Something that pinches me from the inside and sends jolts of pain throughout my body. Rey’s assured me countless times that he’s okay with me and Lex. He was all for it a month ago, told me to go after her because he felt we belonged together. But that was after he knew he was going to L.A. Even if he doesn’t love Lex, I’m sure it hurts to see us together.
But I love her. I don’t want to lose her. I don’t want to lose Rey, either.
He smirks. “Relax, I’m kidding. I don’t care that you two are together. I don’t like her like that.”
I feel relieved. But then I see his eyes. They’re hostile. “You telling me the truth?”
He nods. A big swallow goes down his throat.
I sigh. “Why are you lying to me, Rey?”
“I’m not lying!” His eyes blaze. “I’m not jealous of Lex. I don’t want her. I just…I just…” He rubs his arm across his eyes.
I get it. Get what upsets him every time he sees me with my girl. “You want to meet someone.”
His jaw clenches.
“What about the girls in L.A.? You said a few caught your eye. None work out?”
“Obviously.”
“You’ll meet someone, Rey. You’re a good guy. Smart, ambitious, talented. You’ve got lots of interests and knowledge. Just give it some time.”
“Whatever.” He bumps my shoulder again and runs down the stairs.
