Rip It

by A. D. Herrick

  The reservoir was cool if you wanted to pound some pavement or bomb a hill. However, it was no good for getting air or verts. I loved the thrill of landing some good air.

  That’s not to say I was any good at it. I had the coordination and decent speed. What I lacked was dexterity. That’s why I was out her night after night pounding the concrete practicing.

  I was a professional bailer and concrete smasher. I have the broken bones to prove it. That didn’t stop me from trying, though. If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again.

  I decided to work on my lip grinds and threw my board while running. I pumped until I hit the lip of the pool and pulled off an anchor grind as I rode the concave rim of the pool. Before I ran out of speed I did a bitch slap and landed my wheels on the deck of the pool.

  The sound of someone clapping shocked me to attention. I hadn’t heard anyone come up and didn’t know anyone else came here.

  I jerked my head to the shallow end of the pool in time to watch as a tall lumbering figured dropped into the pool, flying across the bed at lightning speed and popped up beside me in a blur of motion.

  A tall guy with wavy dark blond that had been streaked by the sun stood beside me. His hair was long in the front, brushing against the top of his pierced ears. I took notice of the quarter inch gages in his ears and the rings along the left ear.

  My eyes scanned his face. He was amazingly sexy. His oval face was smooth and etched with light stubble. His large bright blue-green eyes twinkled with mischief beneath his arched pierced eyebrows.

  He had high sculpted cheekbones and a small nose that fits his face perfectly. My eyes were drawn to his thin rosebud lips. I could see the small intentions where he habitually bites his lip by the small ring that hooked into the tender flesh.

  He stood close enough that I could smell the cherry Chap Stick on his lips. I should have been concerned about his close proximity but I was too intrigued to care. Fear and concern were replaced by genuine curiosity and intrigue.

  My eyes traveled further down the column of his neck, taking in every square inch of him. I watched as his prominent Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. Along the side of his neck, I watched as his carotid artery pulsed with the beating of his heart. The tender skin beckoned to me. I bit my lip in hormonal appreciation. I wet my lips absentmindedly as I stared.

  “Are you done checking me out now?” He asked.

  His voice we deep and rich like velvet jolted me out of my silent hormonal appreciation. I had no idea what had taken over me. I had never been one to openly lust after a guy. Hell, I had never even lusted after a guy until now. My eyes darted up to meet his. I saw the spark of amusement in his eyes as he openly checked me out in turn.

  My eyes widened with shock. I flushed with embarrassment at being called out by this stranger. He was right I had been checking him out. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He was well over a foot and a half taller than me. Every part cell in my body screamed out for me to touch, caress, taste, and devour him.

  I needed to get myself in check. This was so not me. I was the quiet girl that spent her days with her gay best friend riding skateboards or locked away in my bedroom creating decals and skateboard skins. I was an introvert with absolutely zero experience in the guy department.

  I gave him a non-committal shrug, extracting myself from the confusing situation. I pushed off on my board leaving him standing there. I worked on my lip grinds, working the edge of the pool, grinding and ending with a bitch slap, over and over again. I needed to build up my speed and skill. Though I could land them both easily it was all about doing it quicker and more effectively.

  To build on to the tricks you have to make sure there is no room for error. Your lines have to be clean and crisp. It also helped me to keep my focus away from the new guy.

  He intrigued me in a way no man ever has. The thought both scared and thrilled me at the same time.

  My eyes kept darting to the tall new guy doing verts in the pool. I nearly careened into the pole on the steps watching him as he did an invert fakie in the shallow end. I thought that by forcing my mind to focus on my board that I could push the new guy out of my mind. I was dead wrong. My body seemed to be hyper aware of him.

  The way his body moved with fluid like grace. His muscles flexed and contracted as he forced his body to defy the laws of gravity. I felt butterflies take flight in the pit of my stomach and a tingling sensation much farther south.

  I ground my board to a halt, pulling it beneath me as I sat to watch him work the bowl. I pulled my bag over; unzipping it, I pulled out a couple bottles of water. I silently prayed that I could get my body to obey me for once and be normal.

  The new guy pulled off a few more verts before cresting the lip at the shallow end, landing on his board in front of me. I snatched up a bottle of water and threw it at him. I watched his eyes grow in surprise as he caught the bottle midair. He gave a jerk of his head in thanks.

  “What are you riding?” I asked as he dropped down on his board in front of me.

  “Birdhouse pirate on Havoc 5.0’s and STF Bones.” He said proudly.

  I was immediately jealous. I had wanted to try out the Havoc’s but was waiting until I had banked some more cash. My boards are the only place I splurged. I have over twenty-five decks with almost as many sets of trucks and wheels. Maybe I was a bit obsessed, but who cares. I know I didn’t.

  This was it, I could do this. Talking shop was definitely not sexy. It was solid ground and would keep my mind from drifting off to other places, like the way he smelled, a hint of sweat and a woodsy musky smell that was all him.

  I nodded my head in approval taking another swig from my water bottle to cool off.

  “First deck?” He asked motioning toward my board.

  I nearly spit my water out from shock and laughter. I shook my head, negative.

  “New set up.” I corrected him.

  He held his hand out for my board. I rose up and slid it from beneath me. I handed it over carefully, afraid to touch him. I had no idea what would happen if I did. It was an illogical reaction, but I didn’t trust myself either way.

  I watched as his eyes lit up with appreciation. The dark blue of his eyes grew brighter as he studies my board.

  “Fletch fan?” He asked appreciatively.

  I gave a small shrug.

  “I like the Sprite series design. I wanted to try out helium and see how it rides.” I said confidently.

  “Helium, nice. How is it?” He asked. I motioned with my head toward the pool.

  “You tell me.”

  He snatched up my board running and throwing it under him. He pumped up his speed dropping into the pool at lightning haste. He carved along the concave wall of the pool riding the wall like a pro. When he met the end of the bowl he popped up the lip and landed a board slide along the lip of the pool, grinding to a halt in front of me. He flipped the deck into his hands and handed the board back over to me.

  I slid my deck back beneath me and waited to hear his assessment.

  “Hot damn that may be too lightweight for me.” He laughed nervously.

  I laughed shaking my head.

  I jumped back on my board and did a few more runs. I did a few small ground tricks then moved into practicing my verts, careful not to get too wild on the board.

  I wasn’t alone anymore but I still didn’t know this guy well enough to entrust my life to him and the last thing I wanted to do was eat concrete in front of him.

  We rode in silent compensable tandem until it was too dark to continue.

  I popped back to the deck and snatched up my bag and threw it over my shoulder. The Hot guy popped up beside me.

  “The name’s Tristin.” He said holding his hand out.

  I placed my small hand in his much larger one, unable to help myself. His large hand engulfed mine, his long slender fingers wrapping around mine swallowing them whole. I felt a warm pulsing sensation shoot up my arm.

  The h
eat of his skin sent shivers down my spine. I immediately imagined jumping into his arms and pressing my lips to his. I quickly shook the image out of my head.

  “Haven,” I said weakly still in shock by the images my mind was conjuring.

  He released my hand and ran his hand through his thick wavy blonde hair. His muscles flexed as he did. I watched as his shirt rode up in the front exposing a glimmer of tight toned abs and the top of his boxers. I was disappointed when his hand dropped, his shirt following suit.

  “See ya tomorrow?” He asked flashing me a smile.

  I gave him a small nervous smile and a nod.

  “Tomorrow,” I replied.

  I jumped on my board and rode to the house eager to get away from the gorgeous new guy before did or said something stupid. My nerves were on overdrive.

  The sexy new guy’s name was Tristin. I hadn’t heard about anyone new moving into town. I guess with so many people moving out no one noticed someone new coming in.

  The house was dark and empty when I pulled up. It was no surprise. I pulled my deck up to a stop and popped it into my arms. I unlocked the door and took my deck straight to my room.

  My stomach growled reminding me I hadn’t eaten since I got out of school. It was nearly eight o’clock.

  I went into the kitchen, opening the fridge I pulled out some cold cuts, cheese, and mayo. A sandwich and coke, the dinner of champions. I set to work making what would be my dinner.

  I wrapped my sandwich in a paper towel and put everything away. I carried my goods to the living room and plopped on the couch. Just as soon as I sat down my phone began to vibrate in the pocket of my jeans.

  I pulled it out and answered knowing it could only be one person.

  “Please tell me you’re alive.” Sam bellowed into the phone nearly in hysterics.

  “I’m alive,” I said confused.

  “I just rolled by the Dillon’s and saw you leaving. There was a tall guy following behind you. Haven, I swear, he went into the house right next to yours.” Sam’s voice was tight with worry.

  “Are you sure he went to the house next to mine?” I asked confused.

  “Yes, do you need me to come over?” Sam asked.

  “No, I’m fine. Tristin is harmless, I think.” I said in an attempt to comfort Sam.

  “Tristin?” It was Sam’s turn to be confused.

  “Yeah, Tristin. The guy that was behind me.” I said.

  “Who is Tristin?” Sam asked.

  “Some new guy in town. He is hot as hell too, Sam. That boy can get air like no one I’ve ever seen” I gushed like a school girl with a crush.

  “Where did you meet him?” Sam asked put out.

  “He rolled in after you left. We skated for a while and then went home. I didn’t know he was behind me.” I said.

  “Did Ms. Grace say anything about having company?” He asked.

  Ms. Grace was my neighbor and apparently where Tristin was staying. She was always looking out for me. Ms. Grace had saved my bacon when my mom started drinking.

  She used to bring me over to her house and make sure I had dinner and everything I needed for school. When I started making my own money she taught me how to pay bills and helped me open a bank account. Ms. Grace was a surrogate mother to me, though more like a grandmother because of her age.

  “I hadn’t talked to her much,” I admitted ashamedly that I had been so busy with my boards and decals that I hadn’t dropped by to see her.

  “Well fill me in on the new hottie neighbor and send me pix.” He said. His voice was still tight with worry.

  I laughed.

  “Sure,” I offered.

  We hung up the phone. I finished my dinner and stretched out across the couch. I flipped on the TV in hope of finding a demo playing. There were a lot of Demo’s in the summer in Huntington that usually aired.

  Chapter Three

  Tristin

  What started as an awesome year turned into an absolutely shitty summer. My dad got word that he would be deploying. So, instead of us taking a trip down to the Bahamas, I ended up being shipped from San Diego up to my Aunt’s house in Seal Dana.

  Seal Dana is a shit hole of a town. Where San Diego is a crowded metropolis full of life, Seal Dana is the complete opposite. It’s a small seaside town that looks like it is a second away from being blown over by the Santa Anna winds.

  The streets are filled with vacant boarded up houses and businesses. The only places I saw open on the drive into town was fast food chains and a Petro gas station.

  The one good thing I could see about the town was all of the available places to ride. In San Diego skaters were restricted to the skate parks.

  Seal Dana didn’t look like they enforced any kind of laws. I saw kids riding their boards up and down the sidewalks and down the empty streets. I was intrigued.

  I really needed to work on my street skate and this looked like the perfect place to do it.

  “Dad, Are you sure I can’t just stay home? I’m eighteen. I have a lot to prepare for if I’m going to make the team.” I begged.

  “Tristin, I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone. Your Aunt Grace could really use your help for a while. Please just try and hang tight here, at least for the summer. When the summer ends you can go back home. You are eighteen and I trust that I can count on you to go to practice and handle yourself. But your aunt Grace could really use someone with her for the summer. Besides, you know you made the team. You have the whole summer to work on your tricks here before any demos come up.” My dad said encouragingly.

  “From what I see, you even had a good opportunity to work on your street work.” He said motioning toward some kids doing tricks on the corner of the main road.

  I inhaled deeply through my nose and blew it out through my parted lip.

  “Fine,” I conceded, knowing he was right.

  Even though I was technically an adult and had just graduated high school, my dad was still crazy worried about me being home alone. I couldn’t understand why. He surely had to understand that I was old enough to move out on my own now. Though, we both knew that I wouldn’t do that. I loved my dad and I really enjoyed living with him. Plus, I didn’t want to leave him home alone. Not after what happened to my mom.

  We pulled up to my aunt’s small bungalow. She stood out on the front porch and waved at us. Her small withered frame leaned against the post on the porch. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled back into a high bun.

  I could tell that her life in Seal Dana was taking its toll on her. She seemed to have aged years since I saw her in the spring. She had come to visit us for a couple of days.

  Dad begged her to stay longer but she told us she couldn’t because she had to get back home.

  My Aunt Grace was my dad’s older sister. She was older by ten years.

  I never understood why she stayed in this small hell hole of a town. My dad had asked her multiple times to come stay with us. She was going to once but immediately changed her mind.

  Since then she has always declined. She said she had her own reasons for staying and that when the time was right she would leave.

  After dad helped me haul my bags in from the car, I went to wander the streets with my board, letting him and my aunt Grace talk. I already knew what he was going to tell her.

  I had to stay the entire summer and couldn’t go back home until the summer was over. It was the same thing he had been preaching to me the whole ride up here.

  I was proud of my dad for serving his country. My dad had been in the military my entire life. My mother had served with him in the marines until she was killed by an IED when I was eight.

  Every time my dad was deployed I worried that something bad would happen to him as well. It got easier the more he deployed, I got comfortable with him coming home.

  He always sent letters, emailed and skyped whenever he could while he was away. Before when he would deploy I would stay with my best friend Erick’s family. Erick’s dad got reassigned
to Japan and the whole family went with him.

  My dad wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of me going to Japan for the summer. To be honest, I wasn’t either. Japan didn’t allow skateboarding and that wasn’t the only holdup. The housing accommodations were practically nil. No skateboarding and rooming with Erick. I had to pass.

  I loved Erick like a brother but the man snored like a freight train. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I smothered him with a pillow in his sleep.

  I watched as two guys walked out of the backyard of a vacant house. One of them was toting a nice Alien Workshop Warhol board. He was a tall dude with shaggy brown hair that looked slick with sweat like he had been riding hard. He wore a pair of baggy jeans, an oversized t-shirt and a pair of chucks, typical skater clothes.

  The guy walking with him was wearing a pair of bright red skinny jeans. A navy dress shirt tucked in and a pair or American flag Chucks. His hair was bleach blonde with dark roots and reminded me of Justin Bieber. I could definitely tell that he was not a skater.

  When the guys rounded the corner I made my way into the backyard to see what was so intriguing back behind the house and hoped to find a good place to skate. As I rounded the corner I spotted someone doing anchor grinds with a bitch slap at the end of the lip of the pool. I stopped to watch. As the person got closer I realized that it was a girl.

  Not only was it a girl on a board but it was a totally hot girl. I watched as she pulled off a perfect anchor grind and ended with an effortless bitch slap. They were beginner moves but she pulled them off flawlessly. I clapped my hands catching her attention.

  I wanted to get a closer look so I jumped on my board, pumping myself up I dropped into the shallow end of the pool, drifting across the bottom, popping up just before her I crested the lip and landed my board inches from where she stood.

  Her eyes immediately began to scan my face. She was totally checking me out. That was alright. I was checking her out at well. She was the perfect blend of smoking hot chick mixed with the sex appeal of a girl on a deck. Okay, she was just hot as fuck and the deck made her hotter.

  She was a small sprite, about five foot two. She had an athletic build that came from years of riding a board. I could make out her soft feminine curves, reminding me that she was definitely female.