Rip It

by A. D. Herrick

  Frontside flip, backside flip, noseslide, frontside 180, into an Ollie, Fakie flip on the bank, Kickflip into the bank, Crooked grind, Fakie ollie switch, frontside 180 revert on the quarter pipe, ending with a kickflip fakie bank.

  I was exhausted and out of breath by the time I landed. Sam landed beside me. We could hear Cindy cheering with a large group of spectators that stopped to watch. There was a kid standing on the landing who thrust out water bottle out to us. We took them greedily and downed them in one drink.

  “Holy fuck,” Sam exclaimed and wrapped me in a giant bear hug. I knew what he meant. We had gone hard and my body and lungs were screaming at me. We had never been able to complete a full run without one of us taking a spill or bailing.

  “you’re a rock star,” I told Sam in earnest.

  He really did nail it out there.

  “Bull shit,” I didn’t see you bail once.

  He was right. I didn’t even feel like I needed to. The difference between a pool and a legal legit pipe was everything.

  I heard a loud whistle and looked up to saw where it came from. I saw Jeremy on the other side, the board in hand. He was ready for me. I gave him a single salute. I was ready.

  We dropped in on opposite sides, passing one another on the bottom.

  “How hard do you wanna run?” He called to me in passing.

  I pulled an Ollie on the lip and dropped back in.

  “How hard do you think you can take it?” I asked as we passed again.

  I hit the lip and planted my hands on the coping pulling a one-foot invert. I dropped back in.

  “All the way baby,” Jeremy said as I passed him.

  Our timing was catching up, which was what I had been hoping for. To took several more passes before we were finally in full sync.

  “You ready to blow their minds, baby?” Jeremy asked as he dropped in beside me.

  “Hell yeah,” I replied excitedly.

  We hit the lip or the ramp. Jeremy went high and pulled off a fakie 540 big spin over me as I went low doing a half cab flip. We hit the ground running toward the other side. It was my turn to go high since I dropped first, allowing Jeremy to go low and regroup.

  I flew through the air and pulled a fakie ollie switch. Jeremy went low, pulling up short with a stall as I flew over him.

  “Amp it up.” He called out to me.

  I gave him a thumbs up.

  We rode back and forth until we lined up again.

  “Let’s give them a piece of home, baby.” He called.

  We dropped in and pulled a kickflip and swapped boards. Landing it and riding back up the ramp. I Ollied and landed on Jeremy's back while we were midair.

  I sent up a silent prayer as we landed the stick and rode it out. I dropped off Jeremy back as we reached the lip. I landed on my board and dropped in. Jeremy waited on the landing for me.

  I dropped in and dropped down the ramp gaining speed as I dropped low. I planned to go high and do a deck swap, I hoped Jeremy was ready.

  When I hit air I did a mute grab and released my board when I was above Jeremy, he immediately swapped my deck out and I landed on my original deck under me.

  Jeremy dropped in on his board and went high. He pulled off a 360 big spin and I half cabbed under him. We rode out and I landed on the other end of the pipe. Jeremy pulled a Judo over me and dropped in.

  Once he dropped in I watched as he crests the other end and pulled an Alley-oop.

  We dropped in on opposite ends. As we neared one another we pulled a switch backside flip and swapped boards. The momentum of one another’s boards slowed us down and we rolled into the slow rock before exiting the ramp.

  There was a huge crowd of people cheering and pulling us in for hugs. It was astounding. I hadn’t even noticed they had shown up. I could tell Jeremy was just as surprised. We had been in our groove. I know Jeremy was like me and Sam when we are in our groove nothing else matters. It’s just you and your deck and if someone else is riding with you then you tune into them, but nothing else matters.

  Big strong arms wrapped around me like a band and held me close, my body immediately seized up. I could feel and smell Tristin all around me and relaxed into his arms.

  “Holy shit, where have you guys been hiding?” Dave shouted above the crowd.

  I just shrugged. I didn’t think I was that good. I still had a lot to learn. I just gave Dave a weak smile. I was glad that he at least enjoyed the show.

  “You were amazing, babe,” Tristin whispered in my ear.

  “Thanks,” I replied shyly.

  “If you don’t mind, Tristin, I need to talk to Sam, Jeremy, and Haven alone,” Dave said with a gleam in his eyes.

  I felt Tristin tense up behind me.

  “Relax,” I whispered to him.

  Sam, Jeremy, and I followed Dave into an impromptu office that had been set up in one of the buildings where the officials usually stood to judge demos.

  Dave offered us a seat at one of the tables.

  “I have to say, I was highly impressed by the three of you. When Tristin asked me to take a look at the footage he sent me I thought it was good but seeing you in person, I know that what was on those videos was nothing compared to the raw talent the three of you have. I would like you to sign on to our team.” He said with a bright smile.

  I was floored. Of all the things, I had not expected to get on a team today. I hadn’t even really thought of the run as a tryout. Jeremy and Sam each grabbed one of my hands and squeezed. I squeezed back.

  “can we have a moment to talk this over?” I asked nervously.

  “Yeah, sure,” Dave said nearly tripping over his words.

  “I’ll just step out. You give a shout when you’re ready.” He offered and removed his self from the room.

  “What do you think?” I asked Sam and Jeremy.

  “I think we should do it.” Said Jeremy without hesitation.

  “We will be in San Diego instead of Huntington.” I reminded them both.

  “Have, what was the reason we were all moving to Huntington?” Sam asked, his eyebrow rose in question.

  “You have a valid point.” I conceded.

  “What about school?” I asked Sam.

  I knew he wanted to go to college. He knew the likelihood of building a profitable career skateboarding was a one in a million shot.

  “They have schools in SD. Look we can all get a place together, it would be cheaper on the three of us, we will be on the same team, we can travel together. It will be fine. So it’s not Huntington. It’s not like we will have to fight to get on a team. We just took a shortcut.” Sam said excitedly.

  I was surprised when he mentioned the three of us living together. I didn’t mind, I loved both of them. I was just surprised that he was ready to take that leap. I was happy for him. My life would be so much easier if the two of them could get along.

  “What do you think Jer?” I asked.

  “Dude, I’m ready to sign. I think Dave is a pretty cool straight up dude. I’ve only known him since Friday but he has been legit the whole time and even had that ass-wipe removed that put his hands on you.” He said excitedly.

  “Okay,” I threw my hands in the air.

  We were doing it. We were taking the plunge, joining Fearless, and moving to San Diego.

  “Dave,” I yelled.

  Dave came in the room with a bright warm smile. I could tell he already knew our answer by the way he stood smiling.

  “You have room on your team for three hooligans?” I asked with a bright smile.

  “Hell yes,” He beamed up at us.

  “I’ll have all the paperwork sent to your hotel rooms.” He said with a wink.

  I gave a girlish squeal grabbing Jeremy and Sam in a death grip of a hug.

  “On my fucking Gawd, I can’t believe we did it.” I squealed again.

  “You know Cindy and Teddy are moving to SD,” Jeremy said with a bright smile.

  I squealed again and hugged them even tighter
.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tristin

  I was pissed. Pissed actually didn’t even begin to cover it. I was flaming hot, fucking out of my mind, fuming mad. I couldn’t believe Haven was protecting that piece of shit, Max. That dirt bag put his hands on my girl. I saw red when I was coming off the ramp and saw him yank her back and kiss her.

  Yes, I saw her punch him in the face, that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve more. The mother fucker deserved to have his ass handed to him and hauled off in a body bag. I couldn’t believe she stood there and held me back from him.

  I stormed off angry with her, with Max, the whole damn situation. It was complete bullshit. Jeremy found me sitting under the bleachers. It was times like these I wished that I smoked or drank. Though I knew that either of those habits would have been an end to my career that was just taking off.

  “Why the fuck was she defending that piece of shit?” I shouted at Jeremy.

  I could tell that he was pissed too. I could see it in his eyes and the way he held his body, the stiffness in his shoulders and the throbbing vein on the side of his neck.

  “She wasn’t defending him, she was protecting us.” Jeremy spit out angrily.

  “Protecting us from a dirt bag like Max?” I yelled vehemently.

  “No dumbass, from going to jail.” He scoffed.

  I stood there glaring at him, my arms folded across my chest. I knew he was right. I knew in the back of my head that was what she was doing. It didn’t mean I liked the situation I was put in. It didn’t mean I felt better about how the whole thing played out.

  “What the fuck was she thinking?” I growled, my hands fisting the hair at the sides of my head.

  “She was thinking, ‘Oh look at my boyfriend, he’s so cute’,” Jeremy said in a mock girly voice.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. The fucker had me. He had my number.

  “Shut up man,” I laughed.

  “Look she wasn’t doing anything wrong, Max is a dick and got his ass beat by a girl,” Jeremy smirked.

  “I can’t figure out why it took her so long to do anything.” I huffed out.

  “What do you mean? He grabbed her and kissed her, she gave him a nice nut squeeze and then punched him in the fucking face, man. What else was she supposed to do?” Jeremy spit out in disgust.

  “She squeezed his nuts? How do you know?” I asked curiously.

  “I thought her the move.” He said matter of fact.

  “No shit,” I said amazed.

  “Yeah, I thought all my girl's self-defense.” He deadpanned.

  “Your girls huh?” I asked giving him a sideways look.

  “You damn straight.” He smirked at me.

  “What makes them your girls?”

  “The girls I take under my wing, like a little sister. Haven, Cindy, Lisa, and a few others.” Jeremy said.

  Understanding finally hit. He wasn’t talking about girlfriends when he said his girls.

  We heard a lot of commotion coming from the skating area and decided to investigate. All of a sudden Jeremy took off in a dead sprint toward the half pipe. Confused I ran after him. I looked up in time to see Haven and Sam running lines.

  My girl was amazing. I couldn’t believe the stunts she was pulling off. I had heard that she and Sam had skills, I was even able to see a few videos and got to see Haven do a few things, but nothing prepared me for what I was seeing now. They both caught mad air and were pulling off pro stunts.

  I made my way over to where Cindy was standing with some of the guys from the team. I did a quick scan of the crowd and relaxed when I didn’t see Max anywhere.

  “Now you can see the talent your girl has,” Cindy said excitedly.

  “Hell yeah,” I cried out excitedly.

  “Put me on your shoulders, make yourself useful.” Cindy directed.

  I squatted down far enough for her to jump on my shoulders. I hoped like hell that Haven wouldn’t get pissed. Cindy was a cool chick and a friend. I was glad her ass was light as hell. She bounced around on my shoulders fist pumping the air and cheering loudly. She was definitely the best cheerleader I had ever seen. I wondered if I could get Dave to bring her on just to get the crowd going.

  I noticed movement on the left side of the ramp and saw Jeremy up there with his deck. I knew instantly that shit was about to get real. My heart began to hammer in my chest. I knew that Jeremy and Haven liked to push the envelope.

  “It’s about to go down,” Cindy screamed at the top of her lungs as she bounced on top on my shoulders. I hadn’t had the chance to meet her fiancé, but I knew the guy had to be one hell of a man to get a wrangle on this wild child.

  Sam came rolling in off the ramp as Jeremy dropped in. His face was red from exertion and he dripped with sweat. I knew he had been working his ass off up there with Haven. I could only imagine how she felt.

  “You killed it, man.” Sam game me a high-five taking a seat next to where I stood with Cindy on my shoulders.

  “The woman of yours tried to kill me.” He said with a big smile.

  I knew what he was saying was the truth but I also knew that he loved it.

  We watched as Jeremy and Haven blew the park away. People had their phones out recording the whole thing. A large crowd had emerged to watch the two of them tempt fate. I spent the majority of their run holding my breath with my heart in my throat.

  I couldn’t believe the amount of air they were getting. They leapfrogged over on another as they did flips and spins. I nearly shit myself right in front of everyone when Jeremy snatcher Haven’s board and replaced it with his own. In my heart of hearts, I could see her falling out of the air and hurting herself. None of that happened thank gawd and I was able to unclench my ass cheeks when she landed the swap.

  “How do you feel about your girl and her friends joining the team?” Dave asked from beside me.

  How did I feel? That was a fucking dream come true. That would mean that I would be able to see Haven every fucking day and that she would live near me, or even rather, together.

  “Dude, I would say you’re an idiot if you don’t. They have mad skills.” I said bluntly.

  Dave knew I was right, there was no denying it. Anyone who thought otherwise was just a complete dick wad with their head so far up their own ass that she couldn’t see straight.

  “I got rid of Max. He’s going to be serving some time for the shit he pulled.” Dave said giving my shoulder a slap.

  “That fucker deserved so much more.”

  “I know, but your girl did you a solid by keeping the three of you out of it.” He said.

  I knew he was right. Hell, I knew they were all right. That didn’t change how I felt. That fucker would get what was coming to him.

  I could tell that the run was coming to an end so I put Cindy back down on the ground.

  “Sorry babes, I have to catch my girl.” I shot her a smile and a wink.

  Cindy just flashed me a bright smile and nodded.

  I knew she understood. Cindy was amazing like that. She always knew the right things to say and how to make someone smile.

  I wrapped my arms around Haven as soon as she came off the ramp. I was so proud of her. She totally killed it out there.

  I felt her tense up in my arms. It broke my heart. I hoped that she wasn’t upset at me for running off. I had to get away before I said or did anything I would regret.

  “You were amazing, babe,” I whispered in her ear.

  “Thanks,” She replied shyly.

  “If you don’t mind, Tristin, I need to talk to Sam, Jeremy, and Haven alone,” Dave said with a gleam in his eyes.

  I knew what he was about to talk to them about. I tensed up with anticipation. I couldn’t wait. I was bummed out that Dave didn’t ask me to go with them for the talk.

  “Relax,” Haven whispered to me.

  I smiled against the back of her head. I wished I could see when face when she got the news. I paced anxiously waiting to see what she said to Dav
e’s proposal. I already knew that Jeremy was going to say yes. He and I had talked at lengths about it.

  I bounced on the balls of my feet. I had so much built up excitement flowing through my system. When Haven walked out of the building I pounced on her, wrapping my arms around her waist, I picked her up and spun her around.

  Her squeal of excitement was music to my ears. I had never seen her so excited before.

  “Please tell me you said yes, baby,” I begged her as I spun her around.

  “Are you kidding me? I get to be with you. Of course, I said yes.” She squealed out. I buried my face in her neck inhaling her sweet scent.

  “I can’t wait to get you back to the house and ravish you,” I whispered in her ear.

  Haven giggled pressing her lips to mine.

  “Aren’t you an eager beaver?” She asked teasingly.

  “You’re damn right I am.” I kissed her again feverishly.

  “You’re mine, Ms. Gray,” I promised her.

  “And you’re mine.” She whispered across my lips.

  “Can you two cut it out? We have a lot of planning to do seeing how our life plans had taken a flying leap and did a complete 180 on local.” Sam called out to us.

  I placed Haven on the ground. She turned around to face Sam and Jeremy. I pulled her in close to me wrapping my arms around her, my chin rested on her head. Cindy came skipping up with a wide bright smile across her face.

  “Please tell me you guys are moving to San Diego. I don’t think I can bear the thought of you living so far away from me and Teddy.” She begged.

  Jeremy and Sam smiled brightly.

  “We talked; the three of us will be getting a place in San Diego. We are going to make a trip down to look at a few locations and see what fits us.” Jeremy said proudly.

  I noticed that he and Sam were standing closer to one another than they had been before. I wondered if there was something there.

  “You guys are all moving in together?” I asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, it doesn’t make sense not to,” Sam said giving me a curious look.

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about my girl sharing a place with two guys. I knew they were gay, but I had kind of hoped that she and I could move in together. Maybe I was moving too fast. I didn’t care. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her.