“You haven’t cut your hair yet?” Miles asked puzzled.
“I would, but everyone is being opinionated,” I announced sweetly.
“Yeah, well, I love your hair the way it is.” Asher offered, his cheeks tinged pink. A flutter of butterflies went off in my stomach. It had been a long time since I had felt them. They weren’t huge, like they used to be, but the butterflies were there.
“Because it’s heavy, catching on everything and I want to,” I explained. The twins opened their mouths to argue.
“Lexie should cut her hair any way she likes,” Miles declared.
“Hell no!” Ethan countered going so far as to point a finger to the ceiling. “I say we call for a vote.” I snorted.
“Yeah, a vote as to how she cuts her hair,” Isaac added. I smiled. I was so not going to follow the vote and they knew it.
“We are not voting on how I cut my hair,” I told them, holding back laughter.
“I propose a trim,” Zeke announced. The others nodded. I shook my head smiling. I knew exactly how to end this. I looked up to Mira who was looking at the guys as if they lost had their minds. She met my eyes.
“Yeah, I can settle for a trim.” Isaac voted.
“Alright.” My voice grew raspy as I raised it over all of theirs. I went to drink from the bottle in my lap to find it empty. Crap. “I’m cutting my hair now. Mira, for every new opinion or complaint, take another inch off.”
The guys instantly went silent as Mira burst out laughing, Riley joining her. Asher took my water bottle from my cape covered lap then went over to the water cooler and filled it. When he came back he handed it to me. I smiled gratefully and took a sip. “Now, what were you guys saying?”
The boys looked at each other then looked at me.
“Cut your hair however you want,” Isaac offered, smiling. I rolled my eyes. Riley was down to giggles.
“Okay, now, get out. This is our girl time. I’ll see you guys later,” I told them playfully.
Ethan leaned in and kissed my cheek, Isaac did the same on the other only to give me a raspberry instead. They all filed out of the salon door. When they were gone, Mira looked down at me.
“Who were those guys?” she asked.
“Those were my friends.”
“They’re pretty sweet,” she said as she turned me in the chair towards the mirror.
“They’re my guys,” I said quietly, that feeling of being loved warmed me. Mira smiled and got to work.
Another stylist came in and put Riley in the chair beside me.
“So, what happened Friday night?” Riley asked. Damn, I had hoped she had forgotten.
“I had a flashback,” I said simply, hoping to drop it.
“How’d that happen?” Riley asked, looking down at her lap so her stylist could work on the back.
“Um… Ryan’s cologne set me off.” I admitted.
She lifted her head and eyed me playfully. “How did he get close enough for you to smell his cologne?”
I cursed myself. I just shouldn’t have answered. “He kissed me.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Shut. Up,” she all but yelled. “Ryan kissed you?”
Mira asked me to look down. I was looking at my lap as I answered. “Yeah.”
“How was it?”
“I had a flashback Riley, I wasn’t exactly in the right mindset to judge his kissing abilities,” I reminded her sarcastically.
“Yeah, but…” She shook her head. “Ryan kissed you.”
“And got chewed out and almost killed by the guys for it,” I added.
Riley sobered. “Zeke almost lost it, huh?”
“Everyone but Miles almost lost it,” I corrected. “I’ll be surprised if he ever comes near me again.”
There were several heartbeats of silence except for the cut of the scissors. “Do you want him to come around?” she asked.
I sighed. “I’m not interested in him like that.” I lifted my head to look in the mirror again.
Riley eyed me before looking back at her mirror. “Is there anyone you are interested in?” she asked carefully. Mira told me to look left. I did happily.
“I’m not looking to date right now, Riley.” I reminded her. Even if I wasn’t crushing on three of my best friends. “What about you? I saw you talking to a few hotties Friday night.”
Riley waved her hand dismissively. “Those are just my friends. You know, the three I was trying to hook you up with.”
“Was trying?” I asked with a smirk. “Have you finally given up?”
“In a way,” she said in an odd voice. “Never mind that, tell me how things went down with Ryan. Every detail.” I sighed and told her everything up until my flashback.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t know he liked you,” she said.
“I still can’t believe he kissed me.” I countered.
Riley changed the subject to what happened after we left. Apparently, drunken antics by the football team occurred. She had me laughing for over an hour.
* * *
Riley decided to get her nails done and it was tempting to stay, but I was meeting Isaac at the skate park.
I looked at my hair one more time in the mirror. The curls were frizz free and a little below my shoulders. Mira hadn’t expected my hair to have that much curl to it. I liked it anyway.
As I finished paying I said, “Go ahead and send my hair to Locks of Love.”
Mira smiled as she handed me my receipt. “You’re going to make one little girl very happy.” I smiled back then headed out the door with Hades.
I was almost to my Blazer when I noticed him. Asher was sitting in his truck playing on his phone. I walked across the parking lot and knocked on his window. He jumped, then gave me a sheepish look as he got out.
“What are you still doing here?” I asked with a smile.
His cheeks turned pink as his gaze ran over my hair. “I wanted to see how your hair came out.”
I ran my hand down the back of my hair suddenly feeling self-conscious. “And?”
He grinned. “It looks good.”
My cheeks warmed. “She took a little too much off,” I muttered.
“It still looks good,” he reassured me.
I met his ocean eyes. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He looked away from me to the Blazer. “You’re headed out to meet Isaac?”
“Yeah, he’s going to try to teach me to skateboard,” I said, my voice full of doubt. He chuckled.
“Don’t get hurt,” he warned.
“I won’t,” I grumbled.
“I’ll see ya at the barbecue tonight, Ally.” Asher got back in his truck. I waved good-bye as I headed to the Blazer with Hades in tow.
The drive to the skate park wasn’t long. It was just on the south side of town. I pulled up and climbed out. Hades’ tail was wagging as we walked towards the cement section of the park.
There were several others already there. A couple were riding down rails, a younger kid was practicing making his board jump. I didn’t know the terms. I knew nothing about skateboarding whatsoever. I walked to the railings of the skate park and looked for any sign of Isaac. I found him standing with several others around what looked like an empty swimming pool. Isaac had his skateboard braced against the cement, the other end in his hand.
I was about to shout to get his attention when he moved onto the board and rode it into the swimming pool. I watched as he moved across the surface and up the side only to slide along the edge before dropping down into the pool again. He was moving fast as he rode up one side, flipped his board over under his feet, before hitting the wall of the pool again.
Impressed, I watched him run through several more tricks. Eventually, he was riding horizontally along a wall when he lost his balance. Instead of falling, he took several running steps to slow down.
Several of the guys hooted and whooped. Isaac picked up his board and hurried up the side of the pool. He climbed out practically in front of me.
/>
“Hey, Red. Nice hair.” He grunted as he pulled himself up onto the walkway around the swimming pool.
“Hey, Cookie Monster. Glad you like it, I guess I’ll keep it.” I grinned down at him. “That was impressive.”
He chuckled as he got to his feet. “You have no idea what you just saw, do you?”
“Not a clue,” I admitted, unembarrassed.
His grin turned mischievous. “Well, you’re going to learn.”
I eyed the empty swimming pool then looked back to him. “Oh, no I’m not.”
“Just the basics, Red,” he assured me as he took my hand and started walking.
We walked over to the other side of the skate park where there were fewer people and more open space. Hades found a spot on an empty bench, he immediately began to hog it. Isaac set his board down and stopped it from rolling with his foot.
He tugged me to him. “Okay, first, are you right handed or left handed?”
“Right.”
“Then you’re going to want to put your left foot in front and your right in the back. At least that’s what feels right to me. Come on, step on.”
I grumbled as I carefully stepped onto the board and immediately lost my balance. I grabbed his shoulders instantly. Isaac’s hands went to my waist, steadying me.
“How’s that feel?” he asked.
I thought about it. “Like I’m going to roll away any second,” I said dryly. He chuckled.
Hades gave a short half bark with his own grumble at the end. I smiled. Even Hades agreed this was nuts.
“Relax, Hades, she’s not going to fall,” Isaac said. Hades grumbled again but stopped. He turned his attention back to me. “Okay, now to move, shift your front foot until it’s straight. Just like when you’re walking.”
I shifted my foot, still holding on to his shoulders.
“Good. Now, you use your other foot to push off on the ground. Again, just like walking.” He was using his ‘instructor voice’ now.
I lowered my leg and gave a small push.
“Good.” He moved with me. “Now, bring your back foot onto the back of the board. Shifting your front foot sideways on the board at the same time, if you can.”
I did as he said, wobbling a bit. He steadied me again.
“This is the ride position. After pushing you always come back to this position. This is where you do all your tricks.” he said, still holding on.
I looked up at him doubtfully. “I doubt I’ll be doing any tricks.”
He smirked. “You never know.” He looked down at my feet. “Let’s just get you used to moving.”
Isaac kept a hand on my lower back or hip as I slowly moved around the area. “Okay, big push and glide.”
I did as he said then started listing to the left. I tried to correct only to start falling forward. Isaac became the only thing that kept me on the board.
“Yep. No tricks for me.” I stated as I clung to his shoulders. He chuckled as he made sure I got off the skateboard safely. He picked up the board before we walked over to sit on the bench so we could watch the other skaters.
“Thanks for coming out, Red,” Isaac said. “I feel like I don’t get to see you much anymore.”
“You see me every day,” I pointed out.
He looked down at the ground. “You know what I mean.”
I bumped his shoulder with mine. He bumped back. “Yeah, I do.” I wrapped my arm around his and gave him a squeeze. “Ethan does have a habit of hogging the car.”
“You’re telling me,” he muttered.
I shook his arm. He looked down at me. “You know you only have to call me to go somewhere.”
He gave my arm a squeeze. “That’s not really better.”
“Is that how you started skateboarding? It was faster than walking?” I asked, curious.
He looked back out to the crowd. “Nah, Ethan actually started skateboarding when we were nine. He learned pretty fast too. Then he taught me.”
Ethan knew how to skateboard? “That doesn’t bother his back?”
He moved his arm so he could take my hand. “He can’t anymore.”
I gave him a sad smile. “That’s why you let him have the car more. Because you could always skateboard.”
“Or ride a bike. Yeah.” He scratched his eyebrow, his face pensive.
“You miss skateboarding with him,” I said softly. He just squeezed my hand.
“Red, leave it,” he said quietly.
I rested my head on his shoulder. “So, what exactly were you doing in the empty swimming pool?”
He smiled then began explaining to me what I was seeing.
We talked for a couple hours about nothing and everything. With Isaac, every conversation was always different, we never stuck to one subject. We bounced around wherever the conversation took us.
I didn’t realize how late it was getting until my phone rang. It was Rory.
“Hey, Rory.”
“Hey, Kid. I forgot some things at the store. Can you stop by and pick them up?” Rory asked.
“Sure, hit me.” I listened to the short list that happened to include buns and chips. When I got off the phone I turned to Isaac. “Want to go shopping with me?”
He grinned. “Sure.” He picked up his skateboard and got to his feet. “Let’s go.”
* * *
When we pulled up to the house we had the groceries that Rory had asked me to pick up. The street was already lined with cars I knew. I climbed out, grabbing as many bags as I could carry. Isaac got the rest as I headed for the door. Once I opened the door Ethan got up from the couch to take several bags from me.
“Thanks. Where is everyone?” I asked as I got out of Isaac’s way.
Ethan headed to the kitchen. “They’re outside. Miles and Asher are already here, so are Ma and Aunt Ana.”
Isaac took his bags into the kitchen and set them down. He winked at me before heading upstairs, probably for the bathroom.
“Are the kids driving Rory crazy yet?” I asked as I began pulling large bags of chips from a bag.
Ethan chuckled. “Nope, he’s actually out there playing with them.” I shook my head as we threw the bags away. Ethan turned to me and eyed me. “Nice hair, Beautiful.”
I smiled back. “Thanks, it feels about ten pounds lighter.” I picked up several chip bags while Ethan picked up the buns. We headed out back to the others.
Rory had set up a couple of long tables and folding chairs on the patio. He was busy playing with the four-year-old twins. Amelia was sitting in his lap while they played a game with his fingers. Isabel was watching intently from Tara’s lap. I looked around for the boys. Rory must have given Mateo and Marcos fishing poles since they were fishing off the end of the dock. Ethan was called over by his mom.
I put down the chips and looked for the other guys. I found Asher at the grill with Miles. Asher was talking while Miles listened. I grabbed a soda from the cooler and headed over to see them. Miles was the first to look up.
“Lexie, your hair suits you,” Miles offered, his ears turning pink.
“Thanks,” I said with a grin. He smiled as I looked at the grill. “So, how long until food is ready?”
“About five minutes,” Asher said as he flipped the burgers on the grill.
“Good, I’m hungry.”
“How was the skate park?” Miles asked. I turned to him.
“It was kinda fun,” I said as I popped the top on my soda. “Until I almost fell on my ass.” The guys chuckled.
“Things are usually fun until then,” Ethan pointed out as he joined us. I shrugged. The back door opened. Zeke and Isaac came out arguing. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Tara’s posture straightened.
“She didn’t fall,” Isaac snapped.
Zeke shot him a look. “Put a helmet on her next time,” he growled. Isaac rolled his eyes as he headed towards us.
Zeke dropped off a large plastic closed bowl on the table before coming over.
“What’s got
you all pissy?” Ethan asked.
“Interacting with people. I’ve hit my quota for the day,” Zeke countered, his voice dry. I snorted.
“Did Sylvie send that garden salad over?” Asher asked.
“Yeah. It’s on the table,” he bit out. His shoulders were tense, and he kept clenching and unclenching his jaw.
I met Zeke’s eyes. “It’s a barbecue. Stop growling.” I ordered. He shot me a look that told me it wasn’t likely. “Please?” The look went away as he sighed.
“Fine,” he muttered.
“I’ll go get the ketchup, mustard, and all from the kitchen.” I turned to walk away. Miles fell into step beside me. His fingers tapping that staccato rhythm on his thigh. What was going on?
When we were inside loading our arms up I finally asked, “Did something happen while I was gone?”
“No, it’s just…” He hesitated. “It’s Tara. She tried to, well, interrogate me, earlier.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “About what?”
Miles shrugged. “She was jumping subjects. She didn’t stick to any specific subject but she wouldn’t stop asking me questions until Asher arrived.”
“That’s weird,” I thought out loud as I closed the fridge.
“Though, she kept asking about your bloody noses and that party in October,” he informed me.
“Huh,” I muttered. “Why would she suddenly care?” Miles opened the back door and held it for me.
“I have no idea,” he said softly as we walked to the table where everyone was grabbing chairs. I took a spot between Miles and Maria. The twins were down the table with their cousins, trying to keep the chaos at a minimum. Asher and Zeke sat across from us.
Tara immediately took the chair to Zeke’s right.
“Hi, Zeke. How have you been?” Tara greeted cheerfully. Zeke’s posture grew rigid. Ever since Zeke punched a guy out at a party for her, it seemed Tara had started thinking of him as some kind of knight in shining armor. Even though, before that night, she had never even acknowledged his existence. Now, she couldn’t seem to stop paying attention to him.
“Fine,” he muttered as he passed down the buns. I started getting my bun ready for my hotdog.
“How was your week?” Tara asked. That was just the start. As everyone ate, laughed and visited, Tara flirted with Zeke. I tried to ignore it and smile, but it wasn’t easy. Especially when Tara reached over and touched Zeke’s forearm. He immediately pulled his arm out from under her hand.
Whispers From the Dead Page 9