“Take you down.”
“Really.”
“Yes,” I taunted right back into his blue eyes.
“Like this?”
I screamed as he dunked me under the water and pulled me back out again. I got in a few good punches to his side. He just laughed in my ear as he carried me to the side of the pool. Jess dumped me next to Natalie on the cement.
“You really should wear a suit. I can see through your shirt.”
“Then stop looking, jerk!”
Crossing my arms over my tank top, I turned to Natalie. She seemed bored, flicking her purple toes in the water.
“We still on for tonight?” Jess climbed up next to us on the side of the pool. “I lifted the keys this mornin’ to the Jeep.”
“You want to come with us?” I invited Natalie knowing she would say no.
“Where are you going?”
“We’re sneakin’ out drivin’ tonight,” he said in that syrupy voice. “Maybe out toward Nickel Creek.”
“That’s lame.”
Ignoring her stupid comment, he turned a sweet smile over to me. “I’ll be over ‘round eleven-thirty. Your dad should be asleep then, right?”
“Yeah, I think so.” My stomach did a little flip flop at the prospect of sneaking out of the house. However, it was just too tempting not to go driving with Jess.
I heard the phone ring after dinner. My father answered, and I knew immediately from the tone of his voice, he was discussing something with Mrs. Mason. My body tensed up, hearing the phone click back in the cradle.
“Hey Pumpkin? You in the kitchen?” My father yelled from the living room. I’d just finished putting away the dishes in the cabinet.
“Yeah,” I said back a little hesitant.
He leaned against the door jam. “I just had an interesting discussion with Mrs. Mason.”
“Um, you did?”
“So I guess she looked at some of your sketches this afternoon.”
I didn’t see that one coming. I knew something flashed on her face as she looked through the pictures. Anger festered under my skin.
“Well, Mrs. Mason talked to a friend over in Fort Worth and found some fancy instructor who’d like to see some copies of your work. If he finds you promising, her words,” he chuckled, “this instructor would like you to come over two Saturdays a month to work one-on-one.”
You had to be kidding me! Her interceding involvement in our life would never stop. I’m sure this fancy instructor, who only took a student based on an audition, would be extremely expensive.
“Isn’t that exciting?” He smiled while the silent screams stayed inside my body
“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Are you sure?” His smile fell just a little. “If you’re worried about the money…Mrs. Mason said she’d handle the cost.”
Of course she would. I shook my head, knowing this couldn’t happen. We had to draw the line somewhere.
“Dad, I don’t want them paying for it.”
“But I want you have these kinds of opportunities. You’re good, Pumpkin. I’m proud of you.”
He always wanted the best for me and I didn’t want to crush my father. A snarl formed in my throat. He was going to guilt me into letting the Masons pay for it. Fine!
“Ok, I’ll do it,” I muttered. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. I wished I felt differently, but I just couldn’t.
After finishing in the kitchen, I went back to my room to wait for Jess. I pulled out my list, penciling in the new entry. Most of the columns were full on the front side. The large, blank backside waited for more of the inevitable charity that came from the family. I chewed on my bottom lip as I absorbed the magnitude of the debt. Shaking my head, I tucked the paper away in the drawer. No one had ever seen the list. I’m not sure how I would explain the columns of items if anyone every stumbled across the hidden paper.
Climbing under the covers, I pulled Carrot up next to my face. A deep purr vibrated through her entire orange body. She was my favorite present from that crazy boy. I thought about Jess coming by later. This wasn’t the first time we snuck out after dark. Sometimes, we took the four-wheeler to his thinking spot on the meadow.
After the tree house fire, Uncle Frank removed the charred boards. He cut down the tree, leaving just a smidge of its former glory overlooking the meadow. Jess carved our names into the stump as a reminder of the night we almost lost each other.
JESS + ALEX
The letters etched in time, forever. Jess loved the place before the fire and now it became a place he shared with me. His place became our place.
A light tapping sound pulled me from a foggy haze. The side table clock glowed a quarter until twelve. I stumbled from the bed over to the window and lifted the glass panel.
“Hey, you ready?” Jess whispered, the pink lips grinning in the moonlight.
“Yeah,” I mouthed the words. Jumping through the window, I followed his silent footsteps down the road to where he parked the Jeep just out of sight from the house. Jess wore a dark, navy shirt with his Wrangles that made his body blend in with the hot night.
We drove down the dirt road toward Nickel Bridge. On a Saturday night, the old metal contraption would be full of drunk, high school kids hanging off the rails, laughing and smoking. Their truck gates folded out like tailgate mini-bars.
Jess had the Jeep cruising about seventy-five down the dirt road. He weaved around another washed out hole in the ruts. I clenched the door brace tight in one hand and the bottom of the seat with the other. The Jeep skidded through a curve, making me scream.
“Hey sorry, I was just testing it out.”
His hand went up to the radio dial and flipped through some stations. The Jeep didn’t get many channels.
“I like that song,” I said, reaching over to stop him.
“I’m the one drivin’.” He swatted my fingers away, settling on a station with a George Strait song.
“I don’t want to listen to country all night.”
“Don’t be hatin’ on George. He’s just a guy with a guitar.”
“Exactly,” I snarled. Jess grinned back at me, singing along to the swaying words. I rolled my eyes. “You’re a dork.”
“It just feels wrong you know. A little like blasphemy, listenin’ to anythin’ else when you’re drivin’ out here with the dust kickin’ up and the wind on your face. Don’t you feel it?”
I gave him a whatever glance. Living in Arlis or even Texas made me feel conflicted. Some of those feelings came from my over-all attitude toward the Masons, but some of it came from my inner desire to know what else was out there.
I had a poster of Paris taped to the wall of my bedroom. A mesmerizing picture of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night with the city in full swing around it. Sometimes, I closed my eyes tight and imagined I was part of that world. I sat on the bench at the bottom of the photo, watching the beautiful and exotic place that always smelled like pastries. In this fictitious world of my poster, I was independent and self-reliant while the favors of others never existed. It was a dream that ended in reality when I opened my eyes. My beautiful picture hung on the wall of a house owned by someone else, in a town that never heard of petit fours.
Jess commented once on my print of the Eiffel Tower. You know there’s a Paris, Texas. I followed with a sharp whack to his arm.
Jess never mentioned his secret dreams for the future. The die-hard country boy would seem out of place in a city with a tower. I tried to picture his boyish grin all over the globe, but the puzzle piece only seemed to fit in one place: Sprayberry.
The Jeep bounced down the road as the hot air blasted me in the face. Watching the grass fly by, the moment lulled me into a sleepy trance. This was nice. Everything else faded into the distance, even George Strait and his pathetic love song.
“Stand up.”
Hearing his deep voice, I opened my eyes long enough to shake my head, no. He motioned again with his hand pointing up to th
e clear sky.
“Come on, I’ll drive nice.”
I looked as his sweet smile that I knew so well. Just another one of his five hundred and twenty-seven ideas of fun that would probably get me killed. Jess slowed his foot on the accelerator to a reasonable pace.
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
I took a deep breath and took my seat belt off. Balancing against the door, I climbed to a standing position on the dash. My fingers grasped the roll bar at the top. Strands of my red hair whipped around my face in every direction. Wedging a thigh against the window, I lifted my hands high above my head. The darkness engulfed my body, and I felt wrapped in a cocoon from everything else in the world. My palms pushed back against the rushing breeze. A slight smile curved across my lips as my head dipped back.
It was a magical sensation of flying high above the ground. For the first time since coming to Arlis, I finally had that moment. It was the freedom I once knew so long ago, sitting in the garden tree. One by one, the cells in my body jumped to life.
I hung from the top of the Jeep until Jess parked in a field area on the outskirts of the bridge. Seclusion was a big draw for the weekend parties, and the abandoned bridge had the perfect cover nestled down a small ravine. Jess grabbed a box out of the back, but I couldn’t see the contents in the dark. I followed him down the gravel side, sliding a few times. My knee came down on a large rock, ripping a layer of skin from my leg.
“You ok?” Jess reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist to trying to keep us steady.
“Yeah,” I said, holding tight against his arm.
It was an impressive drop off the side that would make me scared to death to experience it drunk. We made our way to the center of the bridge and sat with our feet dangling over the edge. Jess pulled something out of the box making my skin crawl.
“Are you crazy? You swore no more firecrackers. They’ll put it together if we get caught out here.”
“They’re just little ones,” he grinned.
Back in June, Jess and I snuck out to the north side of the ranch with homemade bottle rockets. The Landrys had a group of round bales across the dirt road. The air and grass held the dryness from a record breaking drought. After the third shot, the hay burst into flames like an explosion in a desert. Jess and I ran back to the house. Two kids were no match for a fire of that size. We kept silent as the arson rumors circled through the lines of Arlis gossip. We agreed there was no point to confess when it didn’t change the fact the hay was gone. Jess and I swore never to shoot off fireworks again.
“Jess, I still feel bad about the Landry’s.”
“I know, but we ain’t gonna hurt anythin’ tonight. Here, hold this.” I held the small tube as he lit the match and touched the end. “Hurry up and throw it.”
I threw the fireball forward and watched the explosion a few yards below the bridge. The pink sparkles illuminated the creek before falling into water.
“See, it’s all in the water so stop worrin’. I’m not gonna burn somethin’ up.”
His smug grin made me laugh. “Yeah, ok…give me another one.”
I tossed a second stick off the bridge. It sizzled white, all the way down to the creek bed. Everything was quiet except the bang of the firecrackers. I looked at this fourteen-year-old boy. Jess was older now. He looked older and definitely sounded older. My best friend was changing right before my eyes.
“Jess, are you going to come out here with everyone, you know on Fridays after the game?”
“Maybe, I guess. If that’s where everybody’s headed.” I felt his shoulders shrug against mine.
“You planning to do a lot of stuff with the football team?”
“Maybe, I don’t know.”
I still couldn’t believe he caved into the whole football thing. I had an interesting summer watching Jess become friends with the people he’d always hated. It wasn’t long ago that he ran away to a treehouse, to avoid the superficial families who tried to associate themselves with the Masons.
“You gonna come watch me play?”
“If you insist.”
I got a whack to the arm on that one. This sucked. I wasn’t sure how I felt about everything at this point. I wasn’t sure where I fit into his new life.
“You could’ve been a cheerleader, you know. Could’ve rode the bus to the games with me.”
“You really see me, dancing around, showing my ass at the games?”
“I just think you should make some new friends beside Natalie. She’s all…you know.”
“Dark and dreary, like me,” I replied.
I never thought it possible, but Jess Mason might be on the verge of becoming a snob. Looking down at my fingers, I knew some of her influence affected my choices, but they were mostly harmless. My nails were painted in her favorite shade of crimson black.
“No, you ain’t like her. She’s just a little too, I don’t know. It’s like she’s dressin’ up for Halloween every day.”
“So you’re calling Natalie a freak. Stop it, Jess,” I spat. “I like her because she’s nice to me.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I like Natalie. Most of the time, anyway. But I got a little afraid today, the pool might turn black from her hair,” he laughed.
“Really? A hair joke? Maybe I should just dye mine black, too.”
“Yeah, maybe you should,” he taunted back.
I didn’t reply, but I pulled my ponytail holder off my wrist to tie back my hair.
“You should leave it down. You never do,” Jess said, looking over at me.
“What’s with your dumb hair obsession tonight? You’re being more annoying than usual.” I wrinkled up my nose as I pulled it back anyway. He rolled his eyes and dropped another red explosion off the bridge.
“Al, I just think next year, you should be lookin’ at all your options. There’s other people out there. Some of ‘em might be nice if you gave ‘em a chance.”
“Like who? Ashley Cartwright? That’s not happening.” My temper edged up by the second. Jess was close to getting himself shoved off Nickel Bridge.
“Ashley’s not that bad if you took time to get to know her.”
Picturing her blonde, curly hair, I threw up a little in my mouth. “No, I’m pretty sure she’s all bad. You’ve always thought the same thing too. When did you start drinking the Ashley Kool-Aid?”
I got up and walked down the bridge. It was too hot, and I’d decided I’d had enough of his thoughts. I had wanted this to be fun tonight. My gray tennis shoes threw up dust as I stomped down the dirt path. I had a deep fear about the way things were changing. I knew Jess spent time with other people over the summer. Practicing with the team as a freshman was a big deal, and it brought attention from certain people like Ashley. I just didn’t get it.
“Al, wait.” He caught up in only few steps and grabbed my arm.
“What, Jess? You want to change how I walk now too?”
“What’s gotten into you?”
“Into me? What about you? You’re just…just…” I looked down at the ground. Now that I had the floor, I didn’t know what I even wanted to say.
“I’m what?” He stood in front of me, but I refused to look at his annoying face.
I knew it would be different in high school. The magnitude of the difference scared the crap out of me. I couldn’t lose Jess even if he was a Mason.
“Al, look at me. Are you worried? You shouldn’t be. I’ll still be me.”
“It’s already changed,” I mumbled. “Everything is already different with you.”
“I know. I get what you’re sayin’. It’s just playin’ football has made things different. For the first time, people notice me for me. It’s got nothin’ to do with my family. It just feels different and I like it. But that’s not gonna change us.”
“But it already has, Jess.”
“No, it hasn’t.” He pulled me against his chest with a tight hug, crushing the air from my lungs. My nose buried deep against
his shoulder. I pulled in a deep breath, smelling his familiar soap. His arms squeezed tight around my back and I heard his voice next to my ear. “We’ll still be us.”
“Promise?” I felt vulnerable asking, like an exposed wound. High school would be a big deal. All joking aside, I needed to hear Jess promise. It was something that was always a constant with us. If Jess looked at me and promised, it would ease the fear in my gut.
He let me go and peered into my face with his familiar sweet smile. “I’ll always promise. You, me, and Sprayberry and burin’ shit down.”
“You promised not to burn anymore shit down.”
“I know. I’m keepin’ that promise too.” Grabbing my hand, he pulled me toward our spot on the bridge. “No more fightin’.”
Settling next to him, I let my gray canvas shoes dangle over the edge. I watched as Jess dropped the remaining fireworks into the water. Tonight felt like the end of an era in some ways. It was only a matter of time before his promise wore thin, like when the teenage boy got a driver’s license and an interest in girls like Ashley. Despite his grand speech, my chest carried a heavy feeling that wouldn’t lift. I was afraid of losing him; even though he really wasn’t mine to keep.
“Wait," I grabbed his arm to stop the next firework. I pointed up at the shooting star. It flashed through the sky, leaving a trail of dust. Alone in the middle of the night, the moment felt magical and surreal like our very own show.
“What’d you wish for?” his deep voice asked next to me.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Will you tell me if it comes true?” he grinned.
“Only if you tell me yours.”
“Maybe I didn’t make a wish.”
“But I know you always do, Jess,” I smirked at him. His pink lips puckered up for a moment in thought and the bright eyes became a little serious. The seemed a darker blue tonight. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’,” he said, shaking his head, making the dark hair flop across his forehead. “You ready to head back?”
“Sure, but I’m driving.”
“Can I trust you with my stolen Jeep.”
“You’re going to say that after the drive out here?” I reached over and pulled the key chain from his pocket. Jess twisted me back against the dirty bridge. His body pinned me down as he bent my arm sideways to pull the keys away.
The Mason List Page 9