“That’s awesome, Jay. You really did good today,” Ryder says.
Julien plays soccer and that’s an autumn sport, so his season has already ended. His team made it to the state semis but lost. They held the tournament in Charlotte. Our families pulled us out of school for a half week so we could attend his games. Ryder’s dad, being a car enthusiast who owns his own custom car garage and auto shop, took us all to the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the one day there were no games. It was a total blast and we got to meet some drivers from different racing teams. Needless to say, Ryder was in heaven. Ryder’s dad had competed in the Outlaw Drag Wars the previous summer and plans to go back again this year. He’s been teaching Ryder how to drive and drift in the Fields, which is a private dirt track built in an abandoned field outside the town limits. Even though Ryder has three more years before he gets his license, he drives like a pro already. Yes, he’s that good. Jayson, Julien, and I go out to watch him and his dad lets us sit in the back seat sometimes. Having me and the twins all packed tight together in the back of his dad’s Camaro while Ryder drifts the car around and around feels like being stuck on the Tilt-a-Whirl ride at the amusement park. Maybe he’ll teach me one day if I get up enough nerve to do something that crazy.
“So, are we going to talk about what happened earlier?” I blurt out.
“Nope,” is what I hear from three male voices.
“Seriously? Because that was not cool,” I mumble.
Julien pops open his soda and takes a sip. “Well, guess what? What’s not cool is when some guy comes over when he sees you with three other guys and without checking with us first, decides it’s ok to ask you out. That’s not cool.” He points his can in my direction and takes another sip.
Going back to what Maria texted me about earlier, I decide to ask the big question without really coming out and asking it.
“But why?”
“You’re too young.” This from Ryder.
I’m in the middle of taking a drink of my own soda when I start to choke at what he said.
“Oh my God! You did not just say that! And BTW, you are not my parents!”
“Answer is still no, Liz,” Jayson says coming over to my chair and squatting down in front of me.
“You can’t control my life like that. It’s not fair.”
I’m starting to get irritated and my fingers begin drumming on the chair arm in fast staccato beats. Jayson takes a deep breath and places his hands on top of mine to stop my fingers.
Looking at me with deep mercurial eyes, he softly asks me, “Do you want to go out with Elijah, Liz? Is that what you really want?”
I look down at his hands on mine. For some reason I feel like I want to cry.
“No,” I whisper back.
“Do you trust me, Liz? Do you trust us?” He tilts his head over toward Ryder and Julien.
“Yes.”
“Then can you trust us on this? Can you do that, Liz?”
I nod yes.
Jayson gazes into my eyes a moment longer before standing up and going back to his chair. I decide to drop the subject and enjoy the rest of the evening. Jamie and her boyfriend arrive and after eating dinner, which takes forever to fix on the grill, we gather around the firepit. My dad is actually on break for a month from touring, so he was with us for Jayson’s swim meet. He left about twenty minutes ago and said he would be right back. I begin to wonder what's taking him so long when I see him walking towards us holding two guitars.
“Want to put on a show sweetheart?” he asks me.
I love performing with my dad. I get settled on the grass and he hands me my acoustic as he places his guitar strap around his neck. He’s holding two picks between his teeth and offers me one.
I look around at everyone. “Any requests?”
I start to warm up by strumming lightly while turning the tuning pegs. “How about this one. It’s one I’ve been practicing.”
I start strumming the intro to “Stitches” by Shawn Mendes. Dad waits a beat and then joins in as the percussion parts of the song, slapping and thumping his hands on the outside of his guitar, his deeper voice melding with mine so we sound like John Cozart’s acapella cover of the song. I start singing the words and Jamie, Brea, and Hailey join in. Freda and my mom take out their phones to record our impromptu concert. To my total shock and surprise, Ryder joins in and sings. Jayson and Julien whoop it up, banging their hands on the chairs to the beat. It’s amazing. We get to the end and everyone joins in for the last lyrics, even Jayson and Julien. Dad and I take a bow.
Jayson strides over to me and rubs his hand down the length of my hair. “You were so good, Liz.”
And just like that, our disagreement and my hurt feelings from earlier float away in the air like the sparking embers blowing away from the firepit.
It’s almost midnight. Faith brings out blankets for us to lay on so we can watch the meteor shower. Ryder’s dad puts the fire out so the light doesn’t affect our view. Ryder and Jayson pull the blanket out flat, and then Jayson lays down and motions for me to join him. He extends his arm out so I can rest my head on it. Ryder and Julien take their places on the blanket with us so that Julien’s head is resting on my stomach, his face gazing up at the sky, and Ryder lays down on the other side of me linking his pinky finger with mine. We’ve always cuddled together since we were children, so our parents don’t think anything of it. It’s as natural for us to do as breathing.
