My heart is racing, a steady beat thumping in my chest. I’m not sure what takes over me, but my reluctance suddenly snaps.I lean forward, my eyes traveling to his lips before I grab his shirt and tug him forward.
I could blame it on the weed, or the sentimental item I just discovered, or on the fact that I’m lonely and he’s here, but none of it would be true. The actual reason is because I want to. I always have.
And as his lips savor mine, I realize just how long I’ve been waiting for the courage to go for it.
TEN
Playing: “forget me too” by mgk ft. Halsey
DECEMBER, 2002 – 20 YEARS OLD
“Ew, Ledger, stop it!” Tini laughs and throws the oil-stained rag back at him. They push each other a few times, their smiles wide as oil collects on their skin. I recoil a bit, taking a step back so I’m not in the line of fire.
“Will you two quit playing around?” Lou huffs as he puts his wrench down and uses his own rag to actually wipe the grime from his hands. “This is my place of business, not the circus.”
“Don’t be a wet blanket, Lou,” Tini laughs. “You don’t want to be here either. Who likes working on a Saturday?”
“Anyone who actually needs to work will take any amount of hours that they can get.”
“I didn’t say I don’t work on Saturdays, just that it’s notfun.”
Ledger and I both sit this one out, because we don’t have itlike these two do. Lou has been working since he dropped out of Oak High, and Tini had to go right into working at the local diner after graduating to help pay for her family’s rent and utilities.
“I’m going for a smoke,” I tell them, walking out before they have a chance to lecture me about the expensive habit.
I rethink it myself when I get outside and feel the blistering cold. Thankfully, there hasn’t been any snow yet, and it’s still bearable to be outside in normal clothes, but it’s getting there. I can almost see my breath when I blow outwards, exhaling the smoke after each puff.
A few moments later, I hear a car pull in and park, but I avert my eyes. Most people in Oakson are nice about Ledger and me, but there’s occasionally an asshole or two that doesn’t like that we hang out here. Despite the way we look, we’re still “rich” and “privileged” and “live in that hell across the bridge.” So, unless I know them, I tend to stay in my own lane. That goes out the window, however, when there’s a flash of pink walking my way, and blonde hair that sometimes haunts my dreams.
Stacey fucking Hawthorne.
“You know smoking is bad for you,” she says as she walks up.
I smile, remembering when I said that same thing back in the old gym. When she took one of my cigarettes and proceeded to start a fire with it. “That’s never stopped you.” I echo her response back at her.
She looks genuinely confused, so I decide to drop it. If she wants to pretend that day didn’t happen, that’s fine with me. “What are you doing here, Little Reckoning?”
Her face pinches, and she tilts her head as if curious about the new nickname. Instead of asking about it, she tries to shrug casually. “My car is a bit messed up.”
Now I’m the one who’s curious. “Oh? And none of our parents’ fancy mechanics could fix it?”
It’s unusual for anyone from Greenwood to come into Oakson Lake for anything. We had everything we needed. The only reason to leave was to get some fresh air that’s not polluted by snootiness or perfume that’s too expensive.
“I—Well…” She bites her hip. “My car is new. I don’t want my parents to know that I fucked it up.”
That explains it. Nothing happens in Greenwood without everyone knowing about it. I nod in understanding, but then look behind her to her Mazda and my eyes widen. The mirror on the passenger side is completely ripped off, and there are scratches all along the new paint. “What the fuck? What the hell happened?!”
Stacey winces. “I may have accidentally side-swiped Miss Foster’s fence.”
“And it didthat? Is her fence fucked up too?”
“No.” She huffs with frustration. “It’s fucking indestructible, apparently. At least no one will knowthatpart, but if my parents find out, I’d have to tell them how and I really don’t want to do that. Ergo, I’m here.”
“Ergo,” I repeat with a snort.
She flicks me. “Focus, Axl. Do you think someone here will help me? I still have the mirror, it just needs to be reattached. The rest of it is just… buffing and stuff?”
I sigh. “My friend Lou works here.”
