Cruiser (18 page)

Cruiser

I
haul one of Rey’s suitcases down the stairs. His flight is in a few hours. School won’t start for another week, but he and Mom decided to fly out early to check out the place. See the sights. Truth is, Mom’s shitting a brick about Rey living all the way on the other end of the country. She won’t rest easy until she sees him settled in.

Truth is, she’d do the same for me.

“Sure you can’t come with me to the airport?” Rey asks when I return to his room.

I shake my head. “Promised Jackie I’d take the night shift. Sorry.”

He packs some last minute things. My heart clenches. Can’t believe this is actually happening. My twin bro is leaving. Wish I could stow away in one of his suitcases. Would be fun to hang with him in Cali. The Dalton Twins take on L.A. Maybe I would have stuck with the damn violin if I knew this would happen.

Except, I’d be away from Lex.

Haven’t seen or spoken to her in a week. Been busy helping Rey pack and shop for clothes and shit. Truth is, I’m scared. Yeah, I’ll admit it. When she was with Rey, she was only a dream. Now she’s a possibility. A reality. I’m scared like hell.

“What?” Rey asks.

“What?” I ask back.

“Looks like you thought of something.”

I shrug. “Just wondering how I’m going to live here with the parents for the next year and a half. Don’t know how it’ll be with you gone. Kind of freaked out by it.”

He laughs again. “You’ll be fine, Cruise. They’re really not that bad.”

I lean against the wall. Maybe with Rey gone, they’ll no longer compare us. Maybe they’ll see me for who I am. Maybe we’ll be cool.

Dad sticks his head inside Rey’s room. “We need to leave for the airport soon,” he says to Rey, then looks at me. “Say your goodbyes, boys. Your flight is in three hours, Reagan.”

We look at each other. I smile weakly. “You’re going to be your own man now,” I tell him.

He rolls his eyes. Smirks.

“Let’s go,” I say, clapping him on the back.

We get downstairs. Dad’s lugging Rey’s suitcases into the car and Mom’s going over the packing list. I turn to my bro. “Come here.” I pull him into a hug. “I’ll miss ya, you know.”

He returns the hug. “I’ll miss you, too, Cruise.” His voice cracks.

“Keep me posted on what’s going on. I want to know every detail. What the girls a
re like, the sights, the food.”

He runs a hand across his eyes and nose. “I didn’t know how intense this was going to be.” He gives me an embarrassed smile. “Damn, I hate goodbyes.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Maybe you can come visit me over spring break. Or maybe I’ll come home. Damn.” He rubs his eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening. My whole life’s going to change.”

“Yeah. It will,” I say and lean closer to him. “Don’t get into too much trouble,” I whisper. “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Hell, don’t do anything I
would
do.”

His smile is strained. “I’ll remember that.”

It’s quiet. We just look at each other.

“It’s time,” Mom says.

Rey nods to her. Turns back to me. “Well, this is it.”

“Yeah.”

He hugs me again. “Bye. And remember what we spoke about. Lex.”

I smile weakly again and nod. “Bye, Rey.”

He picks up his carry
-
on from the floor and waves. I watch him, Dad, and Mom climb into the car and drive away. I wave back. Wipe my eyes. Yeah, I knew this day would come. But I didn’t know it would be this hard.

***

I hang up. Rey and Mom are at the airport. All set for their flight. I carry the last few of Rey’s boxes down to the basement. Since he was cleaning out his room, he put all his useless shit into boxes. I’m stashing them in the basement until we get rid of them.

I drop the last box. Stretch my muscles. That’s when I catch sight of the violin sticking out of one of the old boxes. Must be sitting here for years.

I head toward it. I don’t come here because I don’t have a reason to. I didn’t know Mom kept my old violin. Thought she threw it out years ago when I quit. I pull it out. Feel the cool wood against my skin. It’s been years. I’d lie if I said I don’t miss it. It drove me insane and I remember wanting to smash it against the wall. Throw it in the gutter in hopes that a car would run it over. But truth is, deep down, I kind of liked playing. I didn’t like how the parents would pressure me and yell at me for screwing up the notes. But I did like to play.

I fish the bow out of the box and press the violin against my neck. I start to play. Ain’t got a clue what, but it’s a classical song I spen
t weeks practicing. Thought I played it flawlessly at a recital, but Mom didn’t agree. It comes back to me. I’m sure I’m screwing up the song, but I feel at peace.

When I finish, I
go again. Not saying I’m going to pick it up again, but it feels nice right now. Makes me feel connected to Rey.

A creak on the floor. I spin around. Lex stands in the doorway. I lower the violin from my neck.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I heard the violin. I was wondering who was playing, since Rey left.” She runs her fingers through her hair. Eyes meet mine.

We stare at each other. For eight seconds.
Yeah, I counted.

She breaks away and steps inside. “Please don’t stop.
I love your playing.”

I stare at the violin. The bow. The last time I played was when I was twelve, at my last recital. Lex was there. Cheered me on. Said I
did so well, and it made me so happy.

I motion toward a chair. “Do you want to sit down?”

She gives me a small smile. Drags a chair close and sits down.

I clear my throat.
Place the violin to my neck. Feel my hands shake. It’s silly, but I want to impress her. Want to play the song perfectly.

‘Course I screw up. More than once. Lex doesn’t give a damn. She smiles as I play and cheers when I’m done.

“Come here,” I say.

With confused eyes, she gets up and walks over. I take her
arm and gently pull her toward me. Press her back into my chest. Her hair tickles my nose. I inhale her sexy Lex smell. Fight the urge to moan. I reach over and position the violin against her neck. “Take the bow.”

Her fingers close around it.

I wrap mine around hers. “We’re going to play
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
.” Was one of the first songs I learned.

She nods.

I move her hand. Back and forth. The song’s not flowing well, but it sounds decent. Lex twists her neck and looks at me. “I’m playing.” She laughs.

Those Rice Krispy eyes. My lips move toward hers, but she turns away and focuses on the song.
I tell her to hold the violin. Then I wrap my hand around her waist and push her closer to my body. Her legs brush against mine. I nuzzle my lips into the back of her neck. Her head falls back. I push it to the side and run my lips down her throat.

“Cruiser,” she
moans.

My response is another round of kisses to her throat.

“What are we doing?”

A
groan escapes my mouth. “What I’ve always dreamed of doing.”

She lets me continue kissing her for
six seconds. Then pushes off and stands before me. Chest heaving. “We need to talk,” she says.

I don’
t want to talk. Just want to be with her.

“
Rey texted me before his flight.” She bites down on her lip. Eyes search mine. “Do you want to give us a chance? A real one.”

Hell yes. She’s the girl for me. Always has been and always will be. I nod
because I can’t talk.

“Then we need to take things slow. We can’t just jump into this.”

I reach up and stroke her cheek. “Whatever you want, Lex. Now that I have you I never want to let you go.”

She smiles. Brings her hand up to my face and pushes some hair out of my eyes. “And I never want to let you go.”

Lex

Dani rolls onto her stomach and shakes her head. “Not sexy enough.”

I hold the green dress in front of me and face the mirror. “We’re having an official first date. The plan is not to end up in bed together.” My heart races at the thought of growing that close to Cruiser. Hopefully I will one day.

Dani wiggles her eyebrows. “Uh hu
h.”

I rummage
through my closet to hide my scorching cheeks.

“Where
’s he taking you?” she asks.

I hold a white top in front of me. “Not sure. He said it’s a surprise.”

Just then my cell phone beeps. Dani grabs it and scans the screen. “Oooh. The man says to dress casually because—and I quote—‘We will be using unconventional transportation.’”

My hands shake. I turn to her. “His motorcycle?”

“Mmm.”

“How are things with Simon?”

“Are you trying to steer the conversation to my love life instead of yours?”

“Definitely.” I search my closet for casual, yet dressy pants.

She rolls onto her back and locks her fingers behind her head. “It’s going great, actually. I didn’t know how nice it is to be with a sweet guy. It kind of terrifies me.”

I look at her through the mirror. “Why?”

She continues to stare at the ceiling. “I’m worried I might grow too attached, give him my heart, and let it get crushed again.” She shrugs. “I’m worried he might turn out to be another abusive ass, like Jimmy.” She sighs. “But mostly, I’m terrified I might screw up my chance with a great guy. I don’t think I deserve him.”

I sit down near her and rub her arm. “You
do
deserve him, Dani. You deserve the best of the best. You’re such a good person. An amazing friend. And if I recall correctly, a certain person in the room said you never know until you try.”

She forces a smile. “Yeah.”

I rub her arm again. “Everything will be okay. Simon is crazy about you. He’d never hurt you.”

“Yeah
, I know. I guess I worry sometimes.”

“
That’s totally normal.”

She shrugs and sits up. “Okay, enough of this.
Have you spoken to Rey since he got to L.A.?”

“Yeah. We’ve spoken a bit and exchanged emails. He loves it there so far, but classes don’t start for another week.”

She studies my face. “You guys are cool?”

“
We’re getting there, and moving on. That’s what’s important.”

She raises an eyebrow. “And he’s totally cool about you
and Cruiser?”

I study my nails. “
He texted me before his flight and apologized.” I look at her. “He said Cruiser and I belong together.”

She
thinks for a second. “He’s being mature about it.”

“I know. I think it’s because he loves Cruiser.”

Dani smirks. “Well, he’s not the only one. What time’s your date?”

I check
my watch. “In two hours.”

“I’ll head home to give you enough time to get ready. Good luck and have a great time.”

I walk her out because I want to check on Rosie. She and Jamie are sitting in the living room, playing video games. They are so, so cute. Rosie keeps giggling and Jamie’s face is as red as the licorice he’s eating.

I join them on the couch. “
You kids having fun?” I ask. I elbow Rosie.

“Don’t you dare embarrass me,” she whispers.

“Don’t worry. I know how to be cool.”

She rolls her eyes. “Sure.” Then she says in a louder tone, “When are Mom and Dad coming back?” She glances at Jamie. “They went out to a fancy restaurant.”

They haven’t gone out since the night of the accident. My hearts soars. Things are starting to get back to normal. “They should be back soon.”

“My sister has a date with
the boy from next door,” Rosie says to Jamie. “She lurves him.” She giggles.

I softly punch her arm. “Hey!”

She and Jamie continue to giggle. My cheeks are on fire. “I’m going to get ready.”

When I’m back in my room, I head to the window and peer out.
Cruiser’s carrying boxes outside. He raises his eyes to my window. He flashes me a grin and waves.

I wave back.

He points to his watch and says something, raising his eyebrows. I don’t understand. I lift the window and stick my head out. “Hey, you.”

His grin widens. “Hey, back.”

We stare at each other, still smiling. His hair blows in his face. I want to run my hands through the strands and feel his lips on mine.

“I can’t wait for our date,” he says.

“Me, either. I heard you have a surprise for me?”

He chuckles. “Maybe I do.”

My heart beats in excitement. “I’m going to get ready, okay?”

He waves again and disappears into his house. I close the window and lean my back on it. My cheeks hurt from smiling. I’m in a better place than I was a month ago. I feel like I grew. I’ve learned to forgive myself for Rosie’s accident.
I helped paste my family back together. I know what I want to do with my life. What’s best for me.

I
learned to open my heart once again.