Like You

by Rachel Leigh

  “Free beer.” her eyebrow raises with a smirk.

  “Free beer, liquor, and weed.” His face holds a devilish glare to hers. He’d hand out hundred dollar bills, just to get people to come to his house over hers. All because he was uninvited. “Listen, you’re no match. Keep moving.” He sweeps the air with his hand.

  Harper lets out a huff and spins around on her heel.

  “Was that really necessary?” I shake my head in disappointment at Axel’s behavior.

  “More than necessary. And, if any one of you goes to her house tonight, you’re out.”

  “This is getting ridiculous. You two need to just kiss and make up. Quit putting us in the middle of your bullshit.”

  “I mean it. Out!” His voice raises as he stands up, grabbing his tray in one quick motion and storming off like a pissed-off child.

  I know exactly what he’s talking about. He means we are out of the club. Which would be fine by me, if I weren’t in it to pay a debt. The other guys, though, they’re in it because they like it. They crave the adrenaline rush and the attention. The money is a nice bonus, too.

  “See you all at Axel’s tonight?” I laugh.

  “I guess so. Damn, that was intense.” Kip joins in on my laughter.

  Ms. Hyland was pretty quiet in art class today. She looked like she had a lot on her mind. I hope she isn’t embarrassed about last night. I know she was tense during the drive. Probably feeling ashamed for having to have one of her students drive her home when she couldn’t drive herself. It was almost as if the last couple of days never happened. She had that same blank look on her face and refused to make eye contact with any of her students. The same way she has been the entire school year. I was sort of hoping we hit a breaking point yesterday.

  “Ready to get the hell out of this place?” Kip hooks his arm around my shoulder, as I slam my locker shut.

  “You need a ride?” I ask him, already knowing the answer.

  “You know I do. And, a new car while we’re at it. Or, just a job would be nice.”

  Kip has had a rough go at life. He’s being raised by his single mom who was is on disability. They don’t have much, but you’d never guess it. He is the most grateful kid you will ever meet. Kind to everyone, a sense of humor that can make the devil himself laugh, and a heart of gold. He’s good people. I just wish I could do more to help him.

  “Have you given any more thought to the fights? You could make some good money,” I ask him, as I push the door to the parking lot open.

  “That’s a hard no. I’d prefer to keep living.”

  I’m not surprised; Kip isn’t a fighter. Then again, neither am I. Yet, here I am.

  The parking lot is pretty empty, except for the staff vehicles and a couple kids hanging out in the back of a pickup truck.

  It isn’t until I climb in the driver’s side that I hear the continuous cranking from another vehicle. My eyes skim the parking lot, looking to see who is having car problems. I turn around and that’s when I see her. Ms. Hyland is sitting in her little white car. Pissed off, she slams her hands on the steering wheel, and I don’t know what she’s shouting, but I’m sure it’s not church hymnals.

  “Who’s that?” Kip turns his head and looks at the car in the small parking lot behind us.

  “Ms. Hyland.” I push the door back open and climb out, slamming it behind me.

  I look back to see if Kip is following, but he’s not. I make my way over to her, and at this point, she’s got her hood popped, and she’s beating something inside of it, with what appears to be a large pipe.

  “Everything alright?” I creep up on her, scaring her half to death.

  “Shit,” she shouts, “I mean shoot. Excuse my language. This piece of….shoot, just decided to give me trouble again.”

  “And you thought that beating it with a pipe was the answer?” I calmly take the metal rod from her hand and back away slowly.

  “It’s the starter. I read somewhere that if you beat on it, it will get it going. It’s worked for me a couple of times. This time, not so much.”

  She’s not wrong. That can work. It’s just comical, seeing her cute ass out here trying it. “Go ahead and try to start it.”

  She gets in the car with her legs hanging out the door and turns the key.

  Still nothing.

  I take the pipe and give a couple blows to the starter. It wants to turn over but doesn’t.

  I twist my head around the open hood and holler, “One more time.”

  Smack, Smack. Nothing.

  “This is just great.” She steps in front of the car.

  I slam the hood down, and, just as it latches, the rusted bumper comes loose and is now hanging down on one side, only centimeters from touching the pavement.

  “Stupid car.” She gives it a kick, finishing off the job, as the right side of the bumper drops to the ground.

  I bite down on my bottom lip. She looks over to me, and although she is on the verge of a breakdown, all she can do is laugh.

  “C’mon,” I nod toward my Jeep, “I’ll give you a ride.”

  She stands there for a moment, deep in thought, before she walks over to the driver’s side and stretches her arm through the open window. I can’t help but notice how firm her ass looks in that tight skirt, as she bends over with one foot kicked up.

  Damn. I turn away and blink a few times to lose the image, before my dick stiffens against my jeans.

  I look over and find Kip standing next to me. His eyebrows rise and fall repeatedly, with a shit eating grin on his face. He must have caught me staring. I follow his gaze and realize he’s watching her, too. I give him a smack to the chest and shake my head. “Knock it off.”

  Ms. Hyland pulls back with a bag in one hand and her keys and a large coffee mug in the other.

  “Her car won’t start.” I fill Kip in on the situation. “She needs a ride.”

  “Ahh, that sucks. You just leaving it here?” He asks her.

  She shrugs. “I guess so, for now. I’ll call a tow truck when I get home and figure something out.”

  We all climb into my car, and Kip takes the backseat. The ride is insanely quiet, which is rare for Kip. He almost always has a joke to crack or question to ask. I’m sure he’s pretty intimidated, having such an attractive lady in such small quarters.

  I look over at her, as she punches something into her phone, with a smile on her face. I wonder if it’s her boyfriend. I wonder if she even has a boyfriend. Maybe she’s engaged. Then again, I think I would have seen him around.

  She was out with Mr. Jones last night, and even though I told Mom it was a date, I know it wasn’t. I just felt like I needed to take some of the spotlight off of me. Probably because I know how she made me feel, and I was worried Mom would see it and suspect something.

  She could be in a long distance relationship. The idea turns my stomach, as I imagine a man with his hands all over her. I don’t know why, but it does.

  “Will your boyfriend be able to fix that for you?” I’m not sure why I just asked that, but it felt like the most natural way to get an answer to the lagging question in my head.

  She lifts her head and looks at me. “No, I’ll probably just have it towed to a mechanic in town.”

  There was no denying a boyfriend there, but there was also no confirmation of one. I glance back in the rearview mirror and see Kip doing that eyebrow dance again, and he mouths ohhh yeah.

  I shake my head no. I know exactly what he’s thinking. He thinks I’m trying to throw Axel off his game and snake my way in, so he doesn’t win. The way he sees it, right now, I’m at least three steps ahead of Axel.

  “I’m gonna drop him first since his house is right up here,” I tell Ms. Hyland, who is still concentrated on her phone.

  “I’ll just come to your place. We can go to Axel’s party together,” Kip retorts from the back seat.

  Ms. Hyland’s head shoots up. “Party? Aren’t you all a little young to be drinking?”

&n
bsp; “Who said anything about drinking? Maybe it’s a birthday party with cake and balloons.”

  “Uh huh, sure. In that case, I’ll be sure to send a gift for the birthday kid to your mom. Maybe she can drop it off to Axel’s for me,” she teases.

  “Good one, Teach,” Kip bursts up between the front seats with head smack dab in the middle of us. “She’s pretty funny, Knox.” He pauses. “You were joking, right?” His tone quickly shifts to a more serious note.

  “Yes, she was joking.” I use the palm of my hand to try and push his face back, but he doesn’t budge.

  I turn down Kip’s road, and he looks puzzled. “I thought I was coming over to your place?”

  “I’ll pick you up in a couple hours. I’ve got some things to take care of,” I lie. I don’t really. I just wanted a couple minutes alone with Ms. Hyland. See if maybe she’ll open up to me a little bit. See if I can make her smile again. I’ve only been in her company a couple times, but I like it. There is something mature and real about her. Something that the girls at Redwood High don’t offer.

  Kip doesn’t argue. I didn’t figure he would. Once again, he thinks I’m working her. Let him think that. I hope he goes back and tells Axel, so that maybe he’ll back down.

  I pull into the trailer park where Kip lives and drive down the road to his lot. The driveway is empty because neither he nor his mom have a car. Kip usually rides the bus to school, and we all pitch in, giving him rides home. Occasionally, I'll pick him up in the mornings, when I’m not running late.

  Kip climbs out of the back door. “Later, man.” He snaps a finger gun at me. “Ms. Hyland, I’ll see you Monday.” He tilts his head at her in a respectful nod.

  Once it’s just the two of us, I try and think of the best way to start a conversation. One that doesn’t make me sound like a kid, but also doesn’t come off as too forward or nosey.

  “Got any weekend plans?” I ask, as I turn out of the trailer park and onto the main road.

  “I didn’t, but now it looks like I’ll be pricing starters.” Her face falls into her palms.

  I feel bad for her. She’s new in town, doesn’t know many people, probably doesn’t have much money, and now this happens.

  “Listen, Blakely is out of town for a week. Her car is at the house, I can ask her—”

  “Oh no,” she stops me, “I could never. Ms. Porter has done so much for me already.”

  “Just a thought. I don’t mind asking her. I’ve asked her for worse.”

  She clicks her phone shut and stuffs it into her bag. “Are you two pretty close?”

  “We’ve been best friends since we were kids. We don’t spend as much time together now that she's adulting, but nothing’s changed.”

  “That’s good. Everyone needs a friend like that.”

  “Do you have anyone like that?” Another opportunity to dig a little about a potential boyfriend.

  “I do.” She goes quiet for a second. “I miss him very much.”

  There it is.

  I pull into my driveway; it’s actually a closer walk from there to her place than it is from the main house’s driveway. This time, Mom isn’t standing outside waiting for me. Thank fuck. She’d probably really question my motives if she saw me driving Ms. Hyland, two days in a row.

  “Thank you, Knox. Hopefully, this is the last time I’ll be needing you to drive me home.”

  “Anytime.” I turn the ignition off and slouch back into the seat. My aching body thanks me for not having a training session today.

  She gathers her things and gets out, stopping with the door still open. “Please be careful at Axel’s party tonight.”

  I give her a nod and watch her walk away. It’s a beautiful sight. Knowing I might not see her until Monday in class has me feeling all sorts of disappointed.

  Once I see her door close behind her, I get out and walk into the open garage. Mom’s car is parked inside, but Isaac must be working late.

  I walk into the kitchen, and Mom is skimming through a recipe book. “What ya doing?” I give her a kiss on her cheek.

  “Oh, just looking at different ideas for the rehearsal dinner.”

  Mom and Isaac’s wedding is coming soon. She’s been planning this spring wedding for the last year.

  “Don’t you have a caterer for that?” I chuckle.

  “Nope.” She shakes her head. “Not for the rehearsal dinner. I figured we could cut an expense, and we’d all just pitch in and cook ourselves.”

  My mom, always trying to be frugal. I’m not surprised, but I sure hope that when she says we’d all pitch in, she didn’t have me in mind.

  “That means you, too. I was thinking maybe we’d do Mexican, and you can make your delicious seven-layer dip.”

  “Really?” I sigh. “You know I don’t like cooking for people.”

  “It would mean a lot to me.” She lifts her head and gives me that pouty face -- the one that always has me doing whatever the hell she wants.

  “Fine.” I hunch my shoulders in defeat. “Is it cool if I stay at Axel’s tonight?” I grab a banana off the counter and peel back the layers.

  “What are you boys planning to do?”

  “I dunno. Video games, porn, and drugs,” I joke, and I’m sure she knows it's a joke, but she reacts regardless.

  “Not unless you want to be homeless, expelled, and hungry.” She tilts her head to the side with a smirk.

  I stuff the rest of the banana in my mouth and toss the peel in the trash can, making it on the first shot. I turn to walk up the stairs. “Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you, Son.”

  As suspected, cars line Axel’s gravel driveway. Music can be heard blasting down the path, before Kip and I even get out of the car. “Time to party.” Kip beams, as we climb out.

  Voices from the group in front of us carry down the driveway. The breeze feels nice, as the dry heat has been unusually high for March. Through the trees, I can see the flames shooting up from the blazing bonfire. Bodies stager around it with red cups in their hands. Some are high school students, and some graduated years before us.

  My phone buzzes in the pocket of my black cargo shorts.

  “Who is it?” Kip asks, as I pull it out and look at the lit screen.

  “Harper. Fuck man, what do I say? I know she’s gonna want us all there.”

  He’s no help, as he shrugs his shoulders.

  I hit accept. “Hey, Harp. What’s up?” I plug my finger into my other ear, as we get closer to the party.

  “Knox, please tell me you’re coming. I really want you here. Scratch that, I need you here.”

  “Harper, you know I can’t. Axel would kill us all.”

  “Please, Knox. Only three people have shown up. I feel like the biggest loser.” I can hear the desperation in her voice.

  “Why don’t you all just carry your party over here. Bring your booze, and I’m sure it’ll be fine. Axel is probably three sheets to the wind already.”

  “Ya think?”

  Kip gives me a nudge of disapproval, but I ignore it.

  “Yeah, I mean, technically he never said you couldn’t come. You just said that to him.” I look to Kip. “Right?”

  He throws his hands up and takes a step back, indicating that he wants no part of this. Maybe it’s wrong of me. But, I guess, if it’s a problem, he will let her know. We’re all friends, have been for as long as I can remember. It shouldn’t surprise him much that she might show up.

  I end the call, after she says she’ll think about it. Now, I just need to get a buzz going, before all hell breaks loose.

  I stuff the phone back into my pocket and dig my toes into the gravel, kicking rocks up and feeling like I may have just invited Harper into the lion’s den.

  “He’s gonna be pissed,” Kip says, emphasizing pissed.

  “He’ll thank me later. He loves the girl, he’s just too much of an ass to let anyone believe it.”

  We head straight for the keg that sits in a barrel next to a large oa
k tree. Most of the people I recognize, but some I’ve never seen before. Only Axel can throw together a party of this magnitude, last minute, just to piss a girl off.

  “My boys.” Axel joins us, throwing an arm around our necks. Ten after nine and he’s already wasted. Maybe he’ll pass out before Harper even shows up.

  “We’re crashing here tonight. You cool with that?” I ask, pumping the keg and tipping my cup to let the foam roll off the side, as I fill it.

  “Mi casa, su casa. My boys are always welcome.” He pauses for a beat. “Cold-hearted bitches, not so much.”

  I slam the freshly tapped beer in one drink and refill it, as I see Kip’s bugged out eyes, looking at me fearfully.

  “Damn bro, you wanna get shit faced, I’ve got something to do the trick.” Axel pulls out a bottle of caramel colored liquor. Some foreign stuff I’ve never heard of. Probably cost his dad a pretty penny.

  He passes it to me, and I unscrew the cap. I’m not much of a liquor drinker. I usually stick to beer, but something tells me I’m gonna need this. I don’t even smell it; I just tip it back and take a big swig, chasing it down with beer. The burn is intense, but moments later, I’m already feeling more confident and carefree.

  “Taya is looking pretty hot tonight, in case you didn’t notice.” Axel directs my attention to her, as she stands next to the fire talking to a guy who graduated a couple years ago. She looks over at us with an expression that says save me from this conversation.

  “When doesn’t Taya look hot?” Kip chimes in. He’s always had a little crush on her. Taya and I had a little fling last year, but it was short-lived and never went further than a couple of school dances and a harmless kiss. We didn’t want to ruin our friendship over something that would probably never last.

  “Go get her,” I tell Kip, knowing he won’t. Kip is a different breed of man. He’s soft-spoken and his self-esteem is low. I wish he’d just take a chance. He might surprise himself.

  Kip grabs the bottle that I gave back to Axel, throws his head back and lets the liquid courage drop down his throat. He’ll regret that later. Kip is a lightweight, so this means I’ll be babysitting later, when he’s inches from falling into the fire pit.