Pops grabbed hold of his shoulder. “About that sail?”
Sun diamonds flashed off distant cars crossing the bridge. The weight of his father’s hand on his shoulder asked but didn’t demand. He turned back to face Pops. Dampness swam in eyes he knew better than his own. He stepped away from his father’s hand. “Fine.”
Sam let out a breath. “I want to hear about this Avra.” They stepped across the water onto Freedom’s Call, their legs in sync like the first step of a military march.
Kallie shifted on the metal chair between Avra and the aqua glow of Jenna Malone’s pool. Cisco, Jesse, and Billy warmed up the band on the grass nearby for their first gig, Jenna’s nineteenth birthday party. If one of Jenna’s friends asked what she was doing at the party, she’d have to tell them she was with the band—like one of Jesse’s groupies. Like Jenna.
Students streamed out of Jenna’s house and through the wooden gate into the backyard. Colored lights swung in the wood smoke and chlorine-scented air. Kallie dug her hands deeper into her jacket pockets.
The band quieted. Chattering voices swelled and filled the yard. Beside her, Avra spoke to Rand Cortina about the bongos Cisco had scared up from somewhere. Kallie’s chair jostled and she startled.
Jesse squatted next to the pool, hanging onto the arm of her chair for balance. “Tell me we’re ready for this. Tell me we’ll fly.” His voice was tense, almost pleading.
Warmth flooded through her. “Careful, Jess, your insecurity is showing.”
He grimaced and grabbed the back of his neck.
What did he need from her? She drew a deep breath and tried again. “Everything has come together at practice. You’re ready, trust me.”
Jesse’s face relaxed.
She shook her head. “Amazing that you can’t see how good you are.”
Cisco bent over Avra, sliding his arm around her shoulders. He whispered something in Avra’s ear and she smiled at him.
“Cisco.” Jesse jerked his head for Cisco to follow him.
Cisco shot a grin at Avra. “I’m coming, man. I’m talking to my girl.” He walked back to the instruments with Jesse.
A Cuban girl in sprayed-on jeans and a low-cut Lycra top leaned a palm on each bongo, talking rapidly to Cisco. Cisco returned monosyllables with a clenched jaw. She spun, her thick, dark hair arcing behind her to brush the bare skin between her jeans and her blouse. She marched away, her shoulders rigid.
Kallie shot a glance at Avra, but her face was blank.
Jesse yelled, “One, two, three, four,” and sliced his hand across the strings of his guitar. Cisco’s curls danced with the beat. Billy hunched over the keyboard, his thatch of hair hanging in his face like a real rocker. Jesse strutted back and forth across the yard without a hint of the fear he’d just shown her.
Of course, exposing his music to his peers for the first time frightened Jesse. Why hadn’t she anticipated his fear?
Kallie held her breath. She heard every missed note. But the kids wouldn’t notice—the positive of playing your own music.
In the split second after the song ended, Jesse’s eyes darted to Kallie’s. She smiled faintly and nodded. Good job.
Sixty kids hooted and clapped their approval. Jesse laughed and grinned. As the noise died down, Jesse launched the group into “Happy Birthday, Jenna.”
Jenna giggled and feigned embarrassment. She twirled a finger in a mahogany tress. In the middle of her applause, Jenna threw her arms around Jesse and planted a kiss on his lips. Jesse fell back a step, surprise written on his face. The crowd laughed.
Kallie trailed a finger through the wind-ruffled water and watched the squiggly lines of light radiate outward like the chill moving through her body. Smartest thing she’d ever done—choosing not to trust Jesse with her heart.
Cisco scooted closer and slid his arm around Avra in the backseat of Jesse’s Neon. Everything inside her warmed and ran together like butter and cream and brown sugar swirling into caramel.
Jesse and a silent Kallie rode in front as they headed toward Avra’s.
The picture of Isabel facing off with Cisco flashed through Avra’s head. What was their history? She had a good guess and she didn’t want to think about it now.
Jesse drummed nervous energy on the bucket seat near Kallie’s shoulder. He broke into You’re Callin’ My Name.
Kallie’s soprano joined him on the chorus. “You’re that mysterious pond in the woods.”
Cisco jumped in with his Donald Duck voice. “No one knows you’re even there.”
Everyone dissolved into laughter.
Wherever Cisco went, fun happened. She still couldn’t believe he wanted to go out with her. She relaxed against his side. His fingers squeezed her shoulder. Happiness pinged and popped inside like Vernor’s Ginger Ale bubbles.
Kallie peered over Jesse’s arm, still stretched across the seat, at Avra and Cisco. Longing showed in the shadow-light-shadow on Kallie’s face as the car motored down State Route 44. Her jealousy of Kallie flopped over, lifeless.
“Yeah, man, this is the life,” Cisco said. “The kids loved our stuff. Got my girl in the backseat of the pink-mobile. Sweet.” He squeezed Avra close. “Oughta try it, you guys.”
“Did.” Jesse shot a sideways glance at Kallie. “Didn’t work.”
“Little crowded with me and Jesse and half the groupies in Jesse’s Neon,” Kallie blurted.
“Whoa. I’m not getting in the middle of your issues. Just pointing out that life is sweeter together.” Cisco pasted a loud kiss on Avra’s cheek.
His lips were soft and moist on her skin. She felt the roughness of his cheek against hers, and the kiss was over. Avra’s stomach turned over. Would she get her first real kiss tonight? It looked so complicated on TV. She should so know how to do this by now. She rubbed her clammy palms on her jeans.
Cisco’s chest expanded and contracted against her arm with the rhythm of his breathing. His head lolled against the seat. Kallie stared through the windshield. Jesse darted glances at Kallie, but said nothing.
They pulled into Avra’s driveway.
Cisco didn’t move. Avra nudged his shoulder.
Cisco’s eyes slid open and he mumbled something unintelligible. He rolled out of the car and stood groggily. He yawned, knocked knuckles with Jesse through the window. “Thanks, Jess. Good show.”
Avra threw an I-can-see-what’s-going-on look at Kallie and scooted out of the car. Help them talk it out, Lord.
She stood in the driveway with Cisco and watched Jesse’s taillights disappear down Faulkner Street.
Cisco moaned and stretched. “I’m beat. Gotta go sleep. Pulling early shift tomorrow.”
So much for the big event. All the nervousness whooshed out of her.
“I’m glad you were there tonight. Thanks for comin’. We were good, huh?” He looked at her, eyebrows raised.
“Yeah, you were good.”
A sleepy smile curved his mouth. His gaze traveled to her lips and back to her eyes.
Her breath caught. He had to hear her heart pounding.
His smile widened. “Don’t stress, Avra.” He pulled her into a hug. “Good night, mí vainilla.” He kissed her hair and released her. The spot he’d kissed felt warm. Her fingertips were warm where she’d touched the back of his sweatshirt—everywhere they’d met in that short hug felt like she’d sat in front of Jenna’s fireplace all evening.
“What’s that in English?”
He grinned at her. “My vanilla.”
She scrunched her nose, puzzled.
He ran his knuckles over her cheek, rubbed her hair between his fingers. “Your pale skin, light hair.”
“Oh.” She snickered.
“What’s so funny?”
“Your eyes are the color of hot fudge.” She turned and jogged up the porch steps. “Night, Cisco.” She pivoted with her hand on the doorknob.
He shook his head. A slow smile stretched across his lips. He turned and headed for his Geo parked on Murra
y Street.
Her first kiss was coming. Soon. She felt like such an idiot. Cisco had had sex and she hadn’t even collected one real kiss. Would a few respectable kisses over the years have been too much to ask?
Amazing Cisco even bothered with her. But he did. She ran up the stairs writing the words in her head she’d scribble in her journal. It’s so incredible to always feel his eyes on me, watching for my reactions, smiling when I smile. And he really wants to know what’s in my head, like it’s important to him. And his touch ...
The silence in the car drummed against Kallie’s nerves.
Jesse braked at Canal Street and motored through the intersection. Streetlight warmed his face. He shot her a wary look. “Tonight was incredible.”
She didn’t own Jesse. She needed to let Jenna’s kiss go. She blew the resentment out of her lungs. “Oh, I don’t know. I heard a few mistakes.”
Jesse tossed her a frown. “You know what I mean. What a rush to have all those kids yelling and clapping. Those are my songs. They love me. Wow. Unbelievable.”
“I told you so.”
Jesse eased into her driveway. “I love it when you’re right.”
At least Jesse talked to her. And Jenna’s kiss had been stolen. Jesse had chosen to kiss Kallie. She reached for the door handle.
Jesse grabbed her hand. “Wait.” His eyes bore into hers, more serious than she’d ever seen them. “Thanks for believing in me. Without you, there’d be no band.”
Kallie drank in the glimpse of Jesse he exposed. “I was only telling the truth.”
Jesse squeezed her hand and released it. “Just, thanks.”
The sun slipped behind the dunes. Avra paused with Cisco, their tennis shoes dangling from shoelaces in their hands as a rosy tinge washed over them.
Cold sand squished between Avra’s toes. She shivered and squirmed into the sweatshirt she’d tied around her waist. They turned, hand in hand, to retrace their steps up the beach.
Cisco slowed their pace. “I’d like to kiss you. What do you think?”
She sucked in a breath.
“If you’re uncomfortable, we can do this some other time. I’m a patient guy. I’ve been waiting a long time already. It’ll keep.” He slowed and met her eyes. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you. I’m just embarrassed—twenty years old and never been kissed.” She planted her feet and lifted her chin toward him. “Let’s just get it over with.”
Cisco laughed. “You’re beating on my ego. ‘Get it over with.’ Sheesh.” He tugged her by the hand and they started walking again. “I think I’ll wait for a better offer.”
Their arms swung between them, a gentle pendulum.
Cisco stared at the graying sky where it met the dark water, his forehead creased. “You know, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. A first kiss is a rite of passage. It should be an event to celebrate.”
So, Cisco understood this was a big deal to her. Her feet stilled. Facing him, she drew in a deep breath and let it go. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Cisco searched her eyes. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. She’d never been more sure.
Cisco dropped his shoes in the sand. “I’m a happy guy.” He stepped close and slid his fingers into her hair, his palms framing her face.
Her scalp tingled where his fingers touched. She felt his breath on her cheek. His lips pressed soft against hers. Warmth suffused her. And it was over much too soon.
“You’re just as sweet as I imagined,” Cisco said huskily. His fingers drifted through her hair and rested on her shoulders. “Was it a good first kiss?” Uncertainty hung in his voice.
Good? That kiss was worth every second of the twenty-year wait. “Perfect.”
Cisco bent to grab his shoes and hesitated. He plucked a white cowrie from the sand with two fingers. He dropped the tiny shell into her palm. “To commemorate the event.”
Like she could forget. She slid the shell into the pocket of her jeans.
He dropped his arm over her shoulders and guided them down the beach.
Her arm slipped around the soft cotton of his T-shirt, recording the solid feel of his body.
Cisco paused with his hand on the doorknob. The Saturday Night Live theme song spilled onto the front step. He’d have to kick his sisters off the couch and put his pillow over his head to get any sleep.
He sank down onto the cement slab to wait for silence. Saturday Night Live and kissing Avra for the first time didn’t fit together.
Stars salted the licorice sky. Gardenia scent drifted toward him from the bush at the corner of the house. He could almost believe Avra’s God loved him. He’d never even had a conversation with a girl as fine as Avra, much less a kiss. He didn’t deserve her. I’m going to do it right this time.
Chapter 9
Kallie slid into Jesse’s Neon idling in her driveway. Sunset had siphoned the heat from the day and there was no wind—a good night for the band’s outdoor concert.
Jesse peppered her with words before she could even say hi. “What have I gotten myself into? I’m going to make a fool of myself. We’re not ready. What if nobody shows up at Beachin’ Willie’s?”
Nervous much? She arched her brows at him. “They’ll come. The kids at Jenna’s party loved you guys. They’ll come and bring friends.”
Jesse stared through the windshield, his lips a thin line. “The music’s crap.”
Get a grip, Jess. “What’s the matter? Didn’t Jenna and her peeps give you enough attention this week?”
“What they think doesn’t mean squat. They don’t know music. You do.”
Now she regretted being so snarky. “You’ve got it, Jess—the music, the lyrics, the pipes. Just go out there and do it.”
Jesse’s eyes clung to hers as if he wrestled with whether to believe her or not. Finally, his chin moved up a fraction, then down. He turned the key in the ignition.
She sat a little straighter in her seat. She didn’t know why a born musician and leader like Jesse needed her to inflate his confidence, but it sure felt good. So he lapped up the bobbleheads’ praise. When he was desperate, he came to her.
Kallie sat beside Avra at a card table loaded with sound equipment in the middle of Beachin’ Willie’s carless parking lot. The beat from Cisco’s drums throbbed toward them, tumbling with the crash of the surf behind them. A cluster of girls danced nearby. Couples gyrated in the yellow haze of the streetlights. Beachin’ Willie’s neon sign glared behind the band. The rancid-sweet scent of marijuana blew in off the beach. Kallie wrinkled her nose and eyed the police cruiser parked in front of Inlet Charlie’s Surf Shop.
The set ended. Avra stood and stretched behind the sound board. “Watch the equipment while I get a Coke?”
“Sure.”
Avra strode toward the snack bar half of Willie’s arcade.
Kallie’s gaze idly skimmed the kids standing in groups talking. Jesse shook hands with a man whose yellowing gray hair swiped around a bald dome into a ponytail. Jesse’s eyes found hers and he crossed the distance between them.
Kallie ran a hand over her wind-blown hair.
Jesse planted his palms on the table and leaned toward her. His smile reached his eyes. “I guess we brought in the bucks for ol’ Willie. He’s giving us a regular Friday night gig—for money.”
She jumped up, her arms lifting, body leaning toward him before she realized she was going for a hug. Her thigh bumped against the table, and she dropped her arms. “Congratulations!” She flashed a smile instead. “I told you so.”
Jesse laughed. “I love it when you’re right.” For a second he stood and grinned at her. “Gotta tell Cisco and Billy.” He disappeared into the crowd around the portable stage.
She was so whacked. She couldn’t even finish a spontaneous hug. How could she be afraid of a guy who told her the good news before the rest of the band?
High-pitched groupie screams bottle-rocketed from the stage area.
Avra parked on an orange crate behind the sound equipment.
Isabel shimmied to the music, her eyes locked on Cisco as if she danced with him.
Avra’s chest tightened.
Isabel’s dark hair swung, hiding and revealing olive skin between the girl’s slim hips and blouse.
Cisco looked at Isabel for the first time all evening. No reaction registered on his face.
She’d pay money to know what he was thinking.
He shifted his gaze to Avra.
Her eyes shot to the sound controls. When she looked up, he smiled at her. She smiled back, her insecurities fizzling like Roman candles in the night sky.
Cisco put his head down and bobbed with the beat, his skin shiny with sweat. He twirled the sticks one last time. Even without eye contact, she felt the high voltage wire running between them.
The applause and yells died down. People filtered away from the stage.
She unplugged cords, coiled them, and tossed them into the Tropicana Orange crates she and Kallie had used for seats.
Out of the corner of her eye she followed Cisco as he broke down the drum kit and hiked back and forth across the parking lot to Billy’s van to stow it.
He wiped sweat off his face with the crook of his arm and grabbed a T-shirt off Billy’s front seat. He walked toward her, slapping high fives with the stragglers along the way.
Jesse hauled off the card table, and she stood in the empty spot where it had been.
Cisco reached for her hands. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips as though he’d done it a hundred times. She darted a self-conscious look at the handful of cars and kids in the lot.
Isabel strutted toward them.
So, the kiss was Cisco’s I have a girl text to Isabel. Fine with her.
But Isabel wasn’t reading. She stopped in front of them.
Cisco’s jaw tightened. “Hey.” His hand tightened on Avra’s.
“Who’s this?” Isabel said, as though Avra were a dead grouper rotting on the beach.
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