by Tess Oliver
I glanced down at my jeans. “Yeah, why?”
Lexi shrugged. “I just thought since you hadn’t seen Chase in awhile you might dress up more.”
“You sound like my mother. I’m not really the dress up type, and Chase knows that.”
“You look great anyway. I just noticed how flawless your skin is. You should be in a cosmetic commercial. Did you ever have zits?” Lexi glanced around the cabin. “Is there a mirror in here?” She pointed to her forehead. “I need to check on my little friend.”
I smiled and motioned to the bathroom. Suddenly I remembered why I could only take Lexi in small doses.
Lexi’s old car sputtered and clanked the entire way to town, and I was sure we’d be pushing it back home later. She babbled on about a ton of people, most of whom I no longer remembered, and most of whom I could have cared less about. I was so nervous about seeing Chase I wasn’t really listening, and she talked so much she didn’t seem to notice my lack of attention.
We parked several blocks away. The night air in Pinecliff was brisk, and I hugged myself against the chill. “I wish I would have brought my sweatshirt.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t need it. It gets hot and crowded inside.”
Lexi was right. The atmosphere inside was steamy with bodies and hot coffees. Most of the seats were already filled, but we found a couple of stools at a counter high table in the back. The other girls at the table smiled weakly at us as we sat down. One slightly familiar girl kept staring at me.
Lexi finally spoke. “Ashley, remember Jessa. She’s moved back to town.”
As soon as Lexi said the girl’s name I recognized her. I’d always felt sorry for her in elementary school because her mom was one of those busy bodies who was the head of every parent club. The lady was always at school, and by fifth grade it was obvious that Ashley wished her mom would just stay home. She’d had grown up pretty.
“Hey, Jessa, when did you move back? I guess you came to hear Chase sing. That guy is one big hunk of hotness, isn’t he?”
I smiled thinking about Chase being described as a hunk. “I actually haven’t seen him yet. I just got back today.”
“Nico doesn’t even know she’s back yet,” Lexi inserted unnecessarily.
Ashley grimaced at the sound of his name. “Don’t even bring him up.” She leaned over and put her hand on my arm like we were close friends confiding in each other. “Stay away from that guy. He’s nothing but trouble.”
I didn’t respond but pulled my arm out of her grasp. She spoke about Nico as if I hardly knew the guy, but I knew everything about him. And most people thought he was a spoiled, rich kid. They had no idea of the shitty life he’d lived.
Lexi elbowed me and leaned closer. “There’s Susie. She’s the one with the tight, low cut dress and expensive looking boots. She takes every opportunity to flash those boobs around.”
I followed Lexi’s gaze to the stage area. There was no sign of a band yet, but Susie Pruitt was holding court at a front table with two other guys and a girl. Lexi was right. She did seem to be pushing her cleavage into everyone’s view.
The band walked onto stage. Chase was last. He picked up the microphone and smiled out at the crowd. Everything about him, his blue eyes, his lopsided grin, even the way he moved his eyebrows, was instantly familiar. I had to fight the urge to run up to the stage and hug him. He had filled out nicely, and I always knew he’d be incredibly handsome.
Chase had always been the perfect kid. He got good grades and excelled in every sport. Unfortunately, when we were growing up, his parents had had little time for him. His older sister suffered from an eating disorder, and they spent so much time carting her from doctor to doctor, they had no time for Chase. It was possible the lack of attention and doting was what made him so awesome, but I’d never liked his parents because of it.
The music started, and Chase’s deep, pleasing voice filled the room. His voice had changed a lot, yet the tone of it was wonderfully familiar. I could not hold back a smile. There were a lot starry eyed girls in the crowd. Occasionally, Susie would scan the audience with a harsh glare, like a lighthouse giving a warning for everyone to stay away.
“Did you catch that look Susie shot at the girls behind her?” Lexi feigned a shiver. “She is such a witch.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Chase. So many memories came floating back. Chase was the one who could make me laugh so hard it would make my stomach hurt. Once he’d made me laugh so loudly I’d gotten kicked out of the school cafeteria. Mrs. Braxton, the meanest teacher on campus, was walking through the cafeteria with a lunch tray. Chase leaned across the table and said, “I guess Mrs. Braxton decided to eat real food instead of one her students for lunch”. Milk sprayed out of my mouth and over the table, and the lunch lady dragged me to the principal’s office to finish eating.
Susie scowled at the girls behind her again. She didn’t look much like the laughing type.
The applause ended and Chase walked over and picked up the stage lamp. He swiveled it around and began spotlighting the crowd. “We’re taking requests for favorites.”
Hands shot up as he moved the light around the audience. The light moved over our table for a second then it slid over to the next table. I sighed in relief until the light snapped back to our table and landed directly on me.
“Jessa,” Chase whispered but the microphone caught it. Susie stood so fast I half expected her chair to fly backward. I shrank down in my seat as the entire room fell silent, and the faces turned toward me. I wanted to hide under the table, and thankfully, Chase seemed to sense it. The light fell away and his voice cracked a couple of times as he started to sing a request for a Neil Young song.
“Holy crap, that was intense,” Lexi said. “And awkward. I thought he was going to faint up there when he saw you.”
Ashley leaned across the table. “Did you see Susie? She did not look happy.”
My hands were trembling. I tucked them between my knees and glanced at the stage. Chase was doing a lousy job of trying not to stare at our table.
My stomach clenched into a knot. “I’m going to the bathroom, Lexi.” I hopped off the stool and navigated my way through a maze of curious stares. I heard my name floating about as I skirted around the crowd.
The bathroom was down a dimly lit hall. As I headed to it, the stockroom door at the end of the hall flew open, and two girls stumbled out giggling and adjusting their clothing. They brushed past me. A blinding light glared from the stockroom, but I could see the outline of a tall guy leaning against the shelving. Apparently one of the coffee house workers was taking a make-out break.
I was relieved to find the bathroom vacant. I stepped inside and locked the door behind me. I stood there long enough to straighten the thoughts and emotions in my head and to steady my trembling hands. Suddenly, coming back to Pinecliff seemed like a giant mistake. I wasn’t prepared for the emotions of returning to a place I knew so well. I hoped Lexi wouldn’t mind giving me a ride back home. I didn’t want to stay, and I wasn’t ready to talk to Chase yet. Knowing full well that I couldn’t hide in the bathroom all night, I took a few deep breaths and reached for the door. I willed myself to turn the knob. The hallway was dark again.
I gasped as a hand reached out and rough fingers wrapped around my arm.
“Duchess, you’re back.”
Chapter 4
Nico’s long, light brown hair had been cropped close to his head and his arms were covered in tattoos, an adornment his conservative father no doubt hated. In the dim light of the hallway, beneath a curtain of long black lashes, I could see that same light brown gaze that always hovered somewhere between mischief and disappointment.
I glanced in the direction I’d seen the two giggling girls walk and then smiled up at him. “You smell like wild cherry lip gloss.”
His mouth tilted up into that lazy smile tha
t had always helped him charm his way out of detention. “What can I say? I’m addicted to the stuff.”
The music stopped and people began piling into the hallway and into the bathrooms. Nico grabbed my hand and pulled me into the stock room. We stared at each other in silence. Not because we had nothing to say to each other, like I’d worried would happen, but because we had too much to say to each other.
“Sorry about your mom,” I said quietly.
He nodded. “We were actually starting to get along, and I’d almost forgiven her for leaving me with my dad for so long. Then her liver gave out. Too much drink. Story of my life. Seems like anybody I ever care about either dies or leaves.” He looked pointedly at me. “Is your mom chasing another guy again?”
“This time it’s a job.”
The door stood ajar and Chase appeared in the doorway. He shot Nico a hard look then he smiled at me. “Damn, Jessa, why didn’t you tell me you were back? I screwed up every lyric after I saw you out there in the crowd.”
Lexi had told Susie about my return. Apparently, Susie had never mentioned it to Chase.
Nico leaned against the stocked shelves and crossed his arms over his chest. “Wouldn’t be the first time you screwed up a song out there.”
“Shut the hell up, Nico, I wasn’t talking to you.” Chase stepped inside and lifted me up so my feet left the ground, then he spun me around once. “I’ve missed you so much, Jessa.” He lowered me back down.
“I missed you too, Chase.” I looked at Nico. “I missed both of you. In fact, if you two are planning to spend any time with me, you are both going to have to play nice together.”
I don’t know who looked more disappointed at my suggestion.
“Seriously, you two used to be so close. What the hell happened?”
Chase’s face dropped and he stared down at the floor.
Nico shrugged. “You left, Duchess, and we grew apart. It happens.”
“Well, be prepared to patch things up because I’m back.”
Chase’s face popped up and he threw a glance at Nico that had all kinds of meaning behind it. There was a time I’d known exactly what these two guys were thinking, but at the moment I was at a loss.
“It might not be that simple, Jessa,” Chase said.
“Chase,” a voice came from the hallway. Susie was standing in the open doorway with her mouth drawn tight and fury in her eyes. “What are you doing standing with this lowlife?” She waved her pink fingernails at Nico.
“Always a pleasure to see you too, Susie,” Nico said.
Then Susie turned her attention to me with a cold stare. Chase stepped forward. “Susie, do you remember--”
“Jessie, right?” she said, but before I could correct her she continued. “I vaguely remember you.”
Nico released one short and to the point laugh.
Susie snarled at him. “What’s your problem, Nicholas?”
“I had no problem up until the moment you showed your face in here.”
“That’s enough guys.” Chase took Susie by the arm. “Go back to the table. I’ll be there in a minute.” She allowed him to walk her past the doorway and then she pulled out of his grasp and twisted back around.
“Good to see you again, Jessie. I heard your mom still didn’t land a husband.”
“Thought you only vaguely remembered her,” Chase said angrily. He walked back into the stock room. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Susie’s mouth opened to speak again.
Nico pushed languidly off the shelf. “Her name is not Jessie.” Then he slammed the door in Susie’s face and pushed a cart in front of it.
Chase reached for the cart then stopped and stepped back. “Shit, Nico, why’d you do that? Now I’m going to have to deal with her rage all night.”
Nico chuckled. “What, are you worried you aren’t going to get laid tonight?”
Chase pushed up taller but he was still several inches shorter than Nico. His shoulders were just as broad. “At least I’m sticking to one chick.”
I stepped between them. “Hello, remember me? I’m still here, so stop talking about your sex lives.”
Chase relaxed and smiled. “You’re right, Jessa. No more fighting.” He reached forward and tickled my side, and I ducked out of his reach. “Look, Nico, she’s still ticklish.” He tickled me again and I swatted at his hands. “Maybe you should tell us about your sex life.”
I ducked out of his reach. “That should take one second.”
Chase pushed aside some coffee cans and sat on the counter. “You’re not going to tell us you’re still a virgin.”
“I’m not going to tell you anything, because it’s none of your business.”
Suddenly the lights in the small room went out and it was pitch black. I spun around and flew into Nico’s arms. The lights went back on. Nico was smiling down at me. His hand was still on the light switch. “Just wondering if you’re still afraid of the dark, Duchess.”
“You could have just asked,” I said.
Reluctantly Nico released me. “This was more fun.”
“Do you still sleep with the light on?” Chase asked.
I paused. “Sometimes.” Aside from Mom, only Chase and Nico knew about my traumatic experience. My grandma had lived with us. In fact, she had been the most stable part of my life. I’d adored her. When I was five, a thunder storm woke me and I’d crawled into bed with her only to discover the next morning that she had died in her sleep. I never liked the dark after that.
A sharp knock on the door was followed by Susie’s curses.
Chase grimaced at the sound of her voice. “I better go before she starts clawing through the door with her nails.”
“I heard you two got into a fist fight over her,” I said.
“That bitch?” Nico laughed then he glanced at Chase. “Sorry dude.”
Chase shook his head but it was hard to tell if he was accepting Nico’s apology or agreeing with his assessment of Susie. The sparse but meaningful exchange of glances and words in the last few minutes gave me hope that they might become friends again.
“What did you fight over?” I asked
Chase shoved his hands in his pocket and did the twitching thing with his jaw that he always did whenever he wanted to say something but couldn’t.
I looked at Nico but he avoided making eye contact as well.
“We weren’t fighting about Susie,” Chase said quietly. “Definitely not about her.”
“Well then, I’ve decided you two guys are going to make up right here and now, with me as witness.” I stood between them and crossed my arms. “I want you two to hug.”
“No way,” Nico said.
Susie pounded on the door again. “She’s persistent.” I looked at Nico and then swung around to Chase. “I’m not leaving here until you guys hug. Come on, just a stiff shouldered bro hug. Please.”
Chase looked over at Nico with a glimmer in his eyes. Nico seemed to sense what he was thinking. “We don’t need a bro hug,” Chase stepped forward and so did Nico.
“We need a Jessa sandwich,” Chase blurted and they squashed me between them. Jessa sandwiches were a common occurrence five years ago but now the bread slices were a lot bigger and harder.
“You guys are flattening me,” I laughed and squirted out from between them. My hair had come loose from its pony tail. “I worked very hard on this hairdo.” I put my hand over my chest. “I think you broke a couple of my ribs.”
“Why don’t you lift your shirt, and I’ll check for you,” Nico said. He reached for my t-shirt, and I shoved his hand away.
“What are you-- a doctor? Either way, you’re still not looking under my shirt.”
Something hard hit the door on the other side. Chase flinched. “Shit, I think she’s throwing furniture.” He pushed the cart from the door and pu
t his hand on the knob. He smiled back at me over his shoulder. “I missed you, Jessa.”
I ran over and kissed his cheek. “You’d better hurry up and get out there.”
He glanced at Nico. It was not cold like when he’d first walked in. In fact, it was a look between two guys who had a lot of history together, some bad, but mostly good. It was a look between two guys who, just five years ago, would have done anything to protect each other.
Chase put his hand on the door then he looked back at us. “Let’s all go to the hideout tomorrow,” he said enthusiastically. “We can go early before the tourists take over the river.” He motioned toward the door with his head. “Susie’s at church all morning, so I won’t even have to mention it to her.”
“Damn, you’re whipped,” Nico said, but I shot him an admonishing scowl.
He put up his hands. “Sorry, I apologize for Chase being whipped.”
“You know what, Nico? I’m so stoked to have Jessa back, nothing you say bothers me. What do you guys say?”
“I would love it, but someone has to pick me up from King’s Road. My mom might need the car.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven,” Nico said. “I’ve got to be at work by nine.”
“Awesome,” Chase said and slid out the door.
I walked back over to Nico. “Aside from the obvious two reasons, what do you think he sees in Susie?”
He shook his head. “Not sure. Think he’s just looking for someone to love him.”
“What about you, Nico? I hear you’re breaking hearts all over the place.”
“Me? Never.” He reached up and pulled the rubber band from my half-cocked pony tail. My hair fell around my shoulders. He stared at me for a long time with a look that only Nico could produce. It was a look that made my heart ache. “I like it down.”
