Rip It

by A. D. Herrick

  The night before I had asked Tristin what hotel they were staying at. I had gone onto my phone and booked me and Sam a room to share at the same hotel. I figured we would take the cab to the hotel and put our things in the room then head out to the demo.

  By the time we reached the demo it was almost noon. From what I read on the website they skaters would be practicing all morning and the event wouldn’t start until noon which meant we had made it right on time.

  “What team are they riding for? Sam asked. I honestly had no clue. I pulled out my phone and text Jeremy and asked. Jeremy’s reply came quickly.

  “They’re with Fearless,” I told Sam. I immediately remembered Tristin telling me that. I had forgotten in the rush to get to Sam.

  Sam was much taller than me so I knew he would have a better chance at finding them than I would. Sam and I both searched through the crowd as we made our way to the bleachers. The event was pretty crowded considering there had been other demos going on today. I was glad to see that so many people had come out to show their support. I had read that all of the money generated today would be donated to a program designed to help children with autism and their families.

  It only took a few minutes for Sam to point out Cindy sitting on some guy’s shoulders. She was wearing a hot pink tank top and a pair of tiny white shorts. We made our way over to her, knowing that the rest of our friends wouldn’t be far away.

  I pulled out my phone and shot a quick text to Tristin wishing him luck. He replied immediately.

  Tris: The only luck I need is you here with me!

  I spotted him leaning against the small fence that surrounded the skating area from the crowd, his phone in hand.

  Me: What would you do if I was there?

  Tris: I would wrap my arms around you and never let you go

  Me: Then maybe it’s a good thing I’m not there

  Tris: Why is that?

  Me: We haven’t worked on our double skate enough to perform in front of a crowd.

  Tris: Ha Ha

  Me: You look good in your white shirt and jeans

  I was standing right behind him on the other side of the fence. Tristin spun around to search the crowd. His eyes landed directly on mine. I watched as his eyes grew wide with shock. The shock faded quickly and was replaced by fire as he openly undressed me with his eyes.

  Before I knew what was happening Tristin had jumped the fence and had me in his arms. His lips came crashing down on mine. I wrapped my arms around him holding him close. His tongue begged for entrance as it ran across my lower lip. I opened up to him, my tongue seeking his. He kissed me like the world was ending and this was our final goodbye, leaving me breathless and gasping for air.

  “I can’t believe you made it.” He said still in shock.

  “I told you I missed you,” I said smiling brightly up at him.

  It was true; I had missed him like crazy.

  I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned to see Sam standing there with wide eyes.

  “What have you done to my best friend?” He said half in jest. His eyes told a different story.

  Tristin tucked me under his arm and held out his hand to Sam.

  “Nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard so much about you.” Tristin’s said smiling.

  I was relieved when Sam took Tristin’s hand and shook it. I knew how protective Sam could be. I wanted my two favorite people to get along more than anything.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you too,” Sam said shooting Tristin a strange look that I couldn’t decipher.

  “Where’s Jer?” I asked breaking the tense moment that had started to develop.

  “He’s about to come out. He had to finish up a few things.” Tristin said.

  “We start in ten,” A loud voice came over the speakers.

  “I have to go, babe. Have Cindy show you where we’re at.” He gave me a quick kiss before jumping back over the fence.

  Cindy was easy to spot, still sitting on the stranger’s shoulders. She said goodbye to her new friend and led us to a spot just to the other side of the stands where all of the teams were lined up. I wasn’t sure where I had expected her to take us, but out into the middle of all of the teams of skaters was definitely not what I expected.

  “So you’re the girl that stole my guy, huh?” A tall man with short spiky bleach blonde hair and hazel green eyes said as he approached me.

  “Depends, what does he look like?” I asked coyly.

  “Eh, he’s a tall fucker, blonde hair, blue eyes, looks like a pierced ken doll.” He said with a smile.

  “OH, that guy. I totally stole him. You should have put a collar on him.” I shot back with a wink.

  The man laughed and smiled brightly.

  “I’m Dave, the captain of the team.” He said sticking out his hand for me to shake.

  I took his hand in mine giving it a firm shake.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Haven and this is my best friend Sam,” I said tipping my head in Sam’s direction.

  “No shit,” He said in surprise.

  “Nice to finally meet you, Sam,” Dave said putting his hand out for Sam to shake.

  Sam smiled nervously as he shook Dave’s hand.

  “I know you are probably both confused. Jeremy and Tristin showed me videos of both of you skating. I have to say, I was impressed.” He said proudly.

  Sam and I looked at one another in confusion.

  “Videos?” I asked confused.

  “Yeah, Jeremy had some on his phone, footage of the two of you bombing hills and catching air in a pool. I have to say, I was highly impressed. I would like to see what you guys can do on a halfpipe.” Dave said confidently.

  “Um, sure, we don’t have our boards or anything, though,” I said nervously.

  Dave just waved my concerns away.

  “We will have you taken care of. You guys didn’t have a chance to warm up so I won’t throw you in now. But after the demo is over, I’d like you both to hang out so I can see what you can do.” He said.

  Sam and I just nodded our heads. Inside I was freaking out.

  “Did you know anything about this?” Sam asked.

  “Not a clue,” I replied honestly.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Haven

  Sam and I stood on the sidelines with Cindy as we watched the skaters take their turns on the Halfpipe. The skater’s varied in ages and skill levels. It was refreshing to watch their different styles. Though they all seemed to have their own style, they all seemed to have the same air of confidence as they rode.

  I watched as Jeremy and Sam seemed to have a silent conversation from across the crowd. Their eyes continued to drift to one another throughout the demo.

  Once Jeremy’s name was called, we all watched with baited breath as he took him mark at the top of the landing. I knew Jeremy was killer on the drop, however, I had never seen him work more than the res wall. I held my breath as he dropped in. Sam’s hand slid into mine. I could tell he was nervous too.

  Jeremy’s drop was flawless. He came up the other side and pulled off an airwalk, landing it perfectly. Sam, Cindy and I cheered wildly. We watched in awe as he pulled off trick after trick with flawless execution. Hs final trick was a Benihana.

  When Jeremy skated off the ramp we swarmed him with high-fives and hugs. I was so proud of him. I knew he hadn’t spent as much time as we had hitting the pools and I knew he hadn’t been to the Dillon’s to really catch some air.

  Tristin stole touches and kisses as he waited his turn. I could see tell that in the past week he had really gotten close to Jeremy and Cindy as we as several other guys in our little Seal Dana group. It felt good knowing that they had all bonded even in my absence.

  A tall man with dark curly hair and brooding eyes kept shooting daggers in my direction. I had no idea what his deal was but it was unnerving, to say the least. I could tell he was a part of the same team that Tristin was on. He had the same Fearless decal on his board. He held his
self apart from the group, though. He stayed just to the outskirts, never participating or cheering on his team members.

  “What are you thinking about so intently?” Tristin asked sliding his arms around my waist and placing a kiss on my lips.

  He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off me, I didn’t mind. I loved his touch and craved his kisses.

  “What’s the deal with that guy?” I said motioning toward the brooding guy.

  Tristin looked in the direction I was motioning toward.

  “That’s Max, he isn’t a fan of mine right now.” He said casually.

  “Why not?” I asked concerned.

  “I think it’s because I’m the new guy and I’m bringing in all my friends.” He said, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

  He may not have thought it was a big deal, but I could tell from the daggers Max was shooting that it was to Max.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Tristin admonished giving me a quick peck.

  He was up after the next guy and needed to take his mark. I watched as he retreated through the crowd, my eyes trained on his broad shoulders and tight ass. I never could figure out how guys could ride in jeans. Well, comfortably. I could do it but I felt like I had more control when I was wearing shorts. I had a fear of my feet getting tangled in the pant leg of my jeans.

  My eyes were trained on Tristin as he took his mark. The other rider had just finished his run and now it was Tristin’s turn. I chewed on my nails nervously.

  “Your boyfriend is a worthless piece of shit.” A deep voice said from behind me.

  I refused to take my eyes off Tristin.

  “I think you have him confused with the man in the mirror.” I retorted sharply.

  Tristin Dropped in. He rode up the ramp and pulled off a frontside air. It was an easy trick to pull. I had seen him in action before so I knew he was just warming up. He dropped back down and followed with Madonna. He was gaining momentum with each run.

  “Don’t you want to spend your time and spread your legs for a real man?” The man behind me asked, his words whispered right behind my ear.

  I could tell he was close, too close for comfort. I looked for Sam but found him, Cindy and Jeremy watching Tristin’s run intently.

  “He can’t fuck you like I can. He isn’t man enough.” The man said gruffly behind me.

  Tristin had pulled off his final trick, a stale fish, and was skating off the ramp. The man behind me wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me back against him roughly. His free hand fisted in my hair. He used his grab on my hair to yank my head back and lay a sloppy wet kiss on my lips.

  I heard Tristin shouting. Without thinking I reached between the man’s legs and snatch ahold of his balls giving them a firm squeeze. The man, I recognized as Max, released me and jerked back. I pulled my fist back and slammed it straight into his face, busting his nose.

  Tristin, Sam, and Jeremy reached me at the same time, grabbing hold of me and pulling me away from Max. I watched in horror as Max swayed on his feet, blood pouring from between his fingers as he held his face in his hands.

  “You bitch, you broke my fucking nose,” Max screamed.

  Tristin, Jeremy, and Sam started to go after Him. Cindy and I blocked their path, holding them back.

  “Stop, I handled it,” I told them firmly.

  I know that if they intervened, Max wouldn’t walk away. He would be carried away in a body bag. The three guy’s faces were etched in anger and disbelief. They were seething mad. I couldn’t blame them, but I couldn’t allow them to get disqualified from the team or any chance at being on the team. I most definitely didn’t want them going to jail either.

  “You’re just going to let him get away with it?”

  “Why are you protecting him?”

  “Get out of my way,”

  The guys angrily shouted at me.

  “I obviously handled it and it’s done,” I said as calmly as I could.

  Tristin turned and walked away. His body was tense with rage. I knew better than to go after him. Nothing good could come from cornering him while he was like this.

  Dave walked up and pulled me away from Sam and Jeremy. They protested and tried to argue but it was no use. I followed Dave to a private corner, away from everyone.

  “What happened?” He asked, his face a mask of concern.

  “I was watching Tristin’s run when Max came up behind me. At first, he was saying Tristin was a worthless piece of shit, and then he insinuated that he could, you know, better than Tristin.” My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

  “I tried to ignore him the best I could, but apparently that made him mad. He grabbed me around the waist then yanked me back by my hair and kissed me. So I did the only thing I could think of and grabbed his nuts and gave them a squeeze and punched him in his face.” My voice was just above a whisper.

  The whole incident was finally catching up with me.

  “What about the other guys?” He asked referring to Sam, Tristin, and Jeremy.

  “They went after Max but Cindy and I stopped them,” I told him with more confidence.

  “Why?” He asked genuinely confused.

  “I didn’t want Tristin to be kicked off the team and I didn’t want anyone going to jail. If they got their hands on Max, he would be leaving in a body bag.” I confessed.

  Dave nodded in acknowledgment.

  “You’re probably right.” He confessed.

  “I know you’re probably not in the mood for it, but I would still like to see you make a run when you feel like it,” Dave said giving me a small smile.

  I gave him a wry smile back.

  “Yeah, I’m not a weak child,” I told him confidently.

  “That, I can definitely tell.” Dave shot me a wink and tipped his head to where the team stood.

  “Let’s head back. You have a run to make.” He said with a smile.

  When we got back I noticed that Jeremy and Tristin were both gone. Cindy and Sam both rushed up to me with concerned faces.

  “Are you okay?” Sam asked.

  I smirked at him.

  “Sam, you have known me your whole life. Some little douche bag is no match for my killer ball handling skills.” I boasted in jest.

  This earned me a small smile from Sam.

  “You really kicked his ass, what did he do?” Cindy asked amazed.

  “He kissed me.” I deadpanned.

  This got a chuckle out of Cindy and Sam.

  “Damn girl, Tristin must love the abuse,” Cindy said humorously.

  I laughed and nodded.

  “Yeah, he’s a glutton for punishment.”

  I was glad that we could all laugh about the situation now and that they weren’t mad at me. I just had Tristin and Jeremy left to smooth things over with.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Dave. He was standing with a handful of police officers who were escorting max away. I hated that it came down to this. We could have all been cool. It goes to show that being a dick doesn’t pay off.

  The crowd had begun to thin. The demo was over and teams were loading into buses and cars to head back home.

  A short balding man in an event t-shirt approached the three of us.

  “Are any of you Sam and Haven?” He asked.

  “We are Sam and Haven,” Sam said motioning to me and him.

  “You guys have the pipe for the next hour. Make use of your time.” He said before turning and walking away.

  “Oh yay,” Cindy said jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

  “I have decks, pads, and helmets for the two of you,” Dave said joining us.

  He led us to a pile of equipment and decks. Sam and I took our time picking out a deck. It was hard to get a feel for a new board. After finding several decks that were definitely not going to work, we each found one that would get by.

  “We can do some smooth runs together, what do you think?” Sam asked.

  I smiled broadly up at him. It had our thing, riding togethe
r. After we warmed up we would take turns watching and correcting one another.

  “Perfect,” I told him. It was.

  We climbed the stairs to the top of the pipe and took our marks five feet from one another. We were used to skating at such a close proximity.

  “Remember, Have, we are just doing dry runs to get a feel for the board and ramp.” He reminded me.

  He knew me all too well. He knew that if I felt it, it was going to happen. I couldn’t contain myself when I felt a good run coming.

  “Okay,” I mock whined in surrender.

  We both knew I was lying. Sam also knew that it would do him no good to call me out on it.

  We dropped in and I was immediately ready. The board I had been skeptical about was a good fit and the drop was smooth.

  “Sam,” I called out excitedly as we landed at the top of the other side of the ramp.

  “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I feel it too.” He said with a smile.

  I shot him a devilish wink and we dropped in together.

  “Basic run, 1, 2, 3,” I called out to him.

  I didn’t wait for a response. I knew he wouldn’t back down.

  We hit the lip and pulled off a tail grab. We landed together and rode through the motions our basic lineup was a tail grab, dark stall, nose stall.

  “Amp up to two,” He shouted out as we finished our line.

  I was stoked. It was like nothing else in the world existed. Our second line up was a series of five lines, Rock N’ Roll, Good Buddy, Ho-Ho, tail drop into blunt to fakie into a Miller flip, and end with an everybody.

  I was panting and nearly out of breath but it felt good. I could see that Sam had been exerting just as much as I had. It felt good to be able to run the lines back to back. It was completely different than being at home doing it. These lines ran faster, tighter, and cleaner.

  “Last line give it all you have and then I’m bailing but you hang because Jeremy is just itching to get in with you,” Sam said nodding in Jeremy’s direction.

  I gave a quick nod back.

  We combined all of our trick on the last run. We tied in grabs and flips with the inverts making up our own lines as we went. They were lines we had run millions of times in the backyard of the Dillon’s. This was real, this was us.