Cruiser

by Dee J. Stone

  “What are you going to do? You—”

  “Oh my God, Cruiser, that’s so funny.”

  My head snaps to the lockers. Cruiser’s eyes catch mine. I whirl away from him.

  Dani eyes me. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing.” I shrug. “I’m being stupid, right?”

  “About…?” She raises an eyebrow, and peeks at Cruiser.

  “About quitting the squad,” I quickly say before she gets the wrong idea.

  “Yeah, you’re being stupid. On both accounts.”

  I don’t want to deal with that right now, so I focus on the poster and think back to yesterday’s practice. I was never that annoyed with my poms before. I touch the letters one last time, hoping they’d ignite a spark in me. They don’t.

  “I’ll see you,” I say.

  I have no choice but to pass Cruiser on my way to history. The girls’ giggles have magnified, like they’re holding mics to their mouths. The only thought running through my head as I walk by is don’t look at him, don’t look at him. But my eyes refuse to obey. His arms cross over his chest lazily and a lock of hair kisses his eyelashes. In the split second that our eyes meet, he flashes me a cocky grin.

  I jerk my gaze away and enter my classroom.

  Chapter Three

  Cruiser

  I slide two smoothies across the counter. The kid grabs a straw, jabs it into his cup, and takes a sip. His mom drops the cash on the counter and walks away. Couldn’t bother to leave a buck in the empty “Tips” bowl.

  Don’t know why I’m on edge. Fine, I know exactly why. Lex Woods is standing outside Juice Me with her best friend.

  I landed this job yesterday. Learned the ropes. I thought it’d be a good place to get away from everything. Pathetic, really, since I came home to stop running. Things didn’t turn out the way I hoped. Don’t know why I assumed it would. I thought my parents missed me. Thought they’d finally stop controlling me once they saw I’m my own person.

  I know why Lex is out there. Know why she’s arguing with Dani. Because yours truly is the guy behind the counter.

  They’re killing me, these thoughts spinning around in my head. Is she going to come in? And what if she does? Do I pretend like she’s just another customer? Or do I smile and hope she’ll give me one, too?

  I yank a straw from the box on the counter. Shred off its wrapping. Stick it between my teeth and gnaw. After a year, she still hasn’t forgiven me.

  “Hey, there.”

  A girl sits on one of the stools at the counter. Black hair down to her waist, blue eyes locked on mine. Low-cut shirt. Very low.

  On any other day, I’d give her a smile. Work my magic. Get her number in record time. But right now, every single part of me is riled up. All because of Lex. Why won’t she just make a damn decision?

  “Hi,” I say to the girl. Didn’t realize I’m still chewing on the straw. I pull it out and give her a lame smile. I probably look like a kid’s science project gone wrong, with all these smoothie stains on my apron.

  I rest my arms on the counter and say, “How’s it going?”

  Something’s not right. I sound like I’m twelve years old trying my hand at the art of flirting.

  Her eyes flick to my nametag. She bends forward. “Hello…Cruiser? That’s an interesting name.”

  “Long story.” I flash her a smile. Not a lame one this time.

  My cap itches like a bitch. I should take it off and let my head breathe. But my hair probably looks like dead leaves.

  The girl stretches out her hand. “I’m Erica.”

  I squeeze it. Soft skin, smooth. “Hello, Erica.”

  Her eyes check me out. I wonder if I’m working this stained apron. “So what’s the best smoothie here?” she asks.

  I reach for the stack of laminated menus and hand one to her. Point out my favorites. A small sound echoes throughout the shop. The bell at the door. My head snaps up. Lex has finally made a decision. She and Dani are headed my way.

  The stack of menus I’m holding slides out of my hands. They tumble to the floor. Damn. I scoop them up and dump them on the back table.

  Lex’s eyes are cold and hostile. I remember how they used to be warm and welcoming, inviting me to talk to her, trust her, tell her everything that lay in my heart. But they’re not like that anymore.

  I focus on Erica. “So what will it be?”

  She flattens the menu on the counter and rubs her hands on it. “Choosing is always so hard. Want to help me?”

  I’m about to say some lame shit like, “I can help you in more than one way, baby,” but Dani snaps her fingers in my face.

  “Excuse me? We want to order.”

  She and Lex glare at Erica like she’s some bug invading their picnic.

  “Sorry, Danielle, but Erica was here first.”

  Lex crosses her arms over her chest. “We don’t have all day.”

  Yeah, talk to me like I’m a piece of shit, why don’t you? Two can play that game.

  “Excuse me for taking up your time, my lady.” I bow. “Princesses are on a very tight schedule.” I turn to Erica. “Do you mind if I take their orders?”

  “Sure.”

  I look at Lex. See how her lips are pressed together. The glare in her eyes. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that comment. I clear my throat. “What will it be?”

  Dani snarls. “Banana mocha smoothie and pineapple. Hopefully your smoothie-making skills will make up for your serious lack of social skills.”

  My attention goes to her for a minute. She used to be such a girly girl. Dressed in shades you’d find in a kid’s coloring book. She changed over the year. Wears black and gray, dyed a strand of her hair blue, and has an invisible “fuck you” stamp on her forehead.

  Pretty hot.

  “Seriously, Cruiser?” she demands. Was I staring her down?

  I keep my eyes on her as I call to my coworker, Freddie, who’s been cooped up in the back room studying for a college exam, to work on their orders. I bend closer to Erica, running my hand down the menu and purposely brushing my fingers against hers. “How about the Mango Supreme?” I ask.

  “I’m going to get a table,” Lex mumbles.

  My head snaps up again. She’s moving to a booth in the back. Turns around to look at me. For a second, it feels like she and I are the only ones in here, staring at each other. But I’m the only one who feels that way. Lex whisks around and sits down.

  “Mango Supreme?” Erica says. “Okay. I’ll have a small.”

  I walk over to the smoothie machine to work on her order. Notice she’s checking me out again. Wonder what Lex thought when she looked at me. Why the hell do I even care?

  I return to Erica with her smoothie and place it down near her. My gaze travels to the booth in the back. To Lex. She’s not looking at me. It’s like I don’t exist to her.

  “Want to hang out during my break?” I ask Erica loudly. Lex still doesn’t look at me.

  Erica gets up from the stool, clutching her drink. “Depends if this smoothie is as good as the guy who made it.” She winks. Walks off to a table, hips swaying, hair blowing under the ceiling fan.

  Freddie hands Dani the smoothies and returns to the back. She slams a ten dollar bill onto the counter. “You haven’t changed. Still the disgusting scumbag you were a year ago.”

  I sweep my hat off my head and wipe the sweat away with my lower arm. Let my hair get some air. Replace it. “Lots of girls beg to differ, Danielle. So is something wrong with them, or is something wrong with you?”

  Muttering under her breath, she takes the smoothies and her change, and heads to Lex’s table. Lex still doesn’t look at me.

  I rest my elbows on the counter, watching the customers in the shop. It’s pretty slow today. Wish more people would come in and keep me busy. Just to stop my gaze from darting in her direction.

  My break comes at last. I glance at Lex giggling with Dani. She’s got a cute giggle, kind of high pitched, but not in an annoying way. Makes her
eyes go as small as Rice Krispies. I used to tease her when we were kids. She’s always been embarrassed and never realized how much I loved it.

  Snap out of it, man.

  Erica waves at me from her table. Looks like my smoothie passed the test. I peer over at Lex’s table again. Gives me the urge to walk right up, grab a chair, and join them.

  But she doesn’t want me anywhere near her. Yeah, so it’s a no-brainer who I should sit with. The girl who hates me or the girl who wants me?

  I choose Erica.

  Chapter Four

  Lex

  His eyes are penetrating. When he works the smoothie machine or goes to the storage room for supplies, I feel him. It doesn’t matter if we’re twenty feet away from each other—my body reacts to his. And that’s not good.

  “Lex?”

  I jump out of my trance and some of my drink spills onto the table. My cup’s lid popped off—I must have been squeezing too tight. I grab a napkin and wipe the mess. When I look back at Cruiser, he’s sitting with that girl, bending close to her with his famous girl-melting smile.

  “Stop it,” Dani snaps.

  “Huh?” My eyes move to her for half a second before returning to Cruiser. He’s laughing with her.

  Dani snaps her fingers in my face. “Hello? Too many Zs in my story?”

  “Sorry.” I give her my full attention. “Was just—”

  “What? Checking out this week’s best-selling smoothie? Or is it Juice Me’s new employee?”

  I play with my straw, wondering if my cheeks are the same color as the raspberry smoothie the boy across the aisle’s chugging down. Am I that obvious?

  Dani leans back in her seat. “He’s back now, and I see it on your face.” She shakes her head like she can’t believe it. “Did you forget all the shit he put you through?”

  My insides feel like seaweed. Yes, I remember how he hurt me. Yes, I remember the pain he caused my family. But since he came back, I’ve started feeling things. Deep things. Things I’ve never even come close to feeling with another person. My boyfriend’s twin brother.

  “What is it, Lex?” Dani asks. “Cruiser returns and it’s like the whole year disappears. Like we’re transported back in time and you’re that girl again. After it took you so long to get over him and everything that’s happened.”

  I look away from her. Dani’s not the type of girl to be all up in your business, but if she has something to say even a speeding train can’t stop her. But I don’t want to talk about this. Looking around for anything to change the subject to, I find it. “That guy two tables down keeps staring at you,” I tell her. She doesn’t turn around. “He’s cute.”

  “I know who he is,” she mumbles. “And I have better things to do than waste my time talking to him.”

  “Well, get ready,” I say. “He’s coming this way.”

  The cute redhead walks up to Dani. She pulls the latest People out of her bag and opens to a random page. The guy takes a hesitant step closer, probably thinking Dani’s too busy reading she doesn’t see him.

  “Hey,” he says, raising his voice just a little bit. “I’m Simon.”

  “Not interested,” Dani growls, her eyes on the celebrity couple.

  “I’ve seen you around Jefferson Street. You take karate there, right? I was thinking—”

  “Do you mind?” Her gaze is still on the magazine.

  The guy looks at me, defeated and crushed. I wish I could explain, tell him that Dani has a really sweet and soft interior—if you bring a big enough shovel. But like all the other guys who tried to make a small dent in her wall, he slumps away, not bothering to look back.

  “Dani…”

  She raises her eyes. “Don’t start.”

  “He’s so cute. You could have at least, I don’t know, looked at him?”

  She turns the page so sharply it tears in half. “I know who he is, okay? He’s been staring at me from that sports store across the street from my karate class. Don’t think this is the first time the creep tried to talk to me.”

  Her ex-boyfriend screwed her up pretty badly. He’s the reason she turned into the bitterest person I know, why she believes every single guy in the universe should drop dead. Sometimes I see the scars when her sleeves fall away from her arms.

  “When are you going to give boys a chance again, Dani? What you went through with Jimmy sucks. I’ve been there. I know how hard it is to trust a guy. But I picked myself up. I found someone else. I love him. You can find someone, too. He can love you.”

  She makes a face. “Right. You’re with the guy you love.” She snorts. “Then why can’t you keep your eyes off—?”

  “Hi,” a female voice says. I look up and find the girl Cruiser’s been flirting with standing before me.

  She’s really beautiful, like model-turned-movie-star beautiful. The first thing I noticed about her when I walked into Juice Me was her hair. So sleek and smooth, with so much life and bounce. Her hair is similar to mine, dark and wavy, except mine looks like it went through a hurricane.

  “I’m Erica. Do I know you?” she asks. “I’ve been staring at you for ten minutes, but I can’t figure it out.”

  My eyes move from her to Cruiser, who’s behind the counter. His gaze is locked on us.

  I return my attention to Erica. “I don’t think so.”

  Her eyes scrutinize me and she takes a small step closer. “Are you sure? I swear I know you from somewhere.”

  Cruiser lifts the counter and heads toward us. My breath catches in my throat. He stands next to Erica and says, “Hey.”

  The top three buttons of his shirt are open, and these little bursts of fire go off in my body— between my nerve cells, deep inside my organs, in my bloodstream. If I had a superpower, I’d shoot a laser beam at the hand caressing her arm.

  I quickly shake my head. Why am I thinking these things? Running my hand through my hair, I say to Erica, “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

  Cruiser’s finger twirls around a lock of her hair. Pretty soon they’ll be rolling over each other on the floor. I don’t realize I’m pinching my arm until it stings.

  Erica furrows her eyebrows and pushes some hair behind her ear. “Oh my God. It’s like at the tip of my mind….”

  “Bimbo,” Dani mutters to me. I kick her.

  “I know!” Erica says, jumping on her heels like she’s doing a small victory dance. “I saw you at last year’s nationals. You’re on your school’s pom squad, right?”

  This time, my eyes spring to Cruiser before I have a chance to give them a direct order. He’s intrigued. What? Is he happy to see me play nice with one of his pick-ups? I turn my head away. “Yeah, I am.”

  “I knew it! You looked so familiar because I remember thinking what a great dancer you are. That’s so awesome. I’m co-captain of my squad.”

  Something pricks under my skin. I’m not sure what it is. Maybe that I don’t like having something in common with this girl? I want to hate Erica and call her a slut, but I don’t know if she is one and I have no reason to hate her.

  “Whadya know,” Dani says. “Word has it Lex might be voted captain next year.” I glare at her.

  “Totally cool! I hope to see you at nationals. Good luck!” They walk away.

  When they’re out of sight, Dani says, “Well, you going to listen to a skank?”

  “What?”

  “Erica told you what a great dancer you are. So maybe you should stick with it?”

  “Oh, shut up.” I kick her again. “She was actually pretty nice.”

  She snorts and closes her magazine. “Ready to take on some algebra?”

  I scowl. “Yes, unfortunately.” One glance at Cruiser shows he’s back on duty and Erica’s back to flirting with him. Home seems like the best place to be right now.

  Chapter Five

  Cruiser

  Music plays from inside the house. Bach, is it? Mozart? Who gives a damn. I park my bike in the garage. Rey stands in the middle of the living room, v
iolin in tow. It’s pressed so hard into his neck I wouldn’t be surprised if his skin starts to swell.

  The parents sit around him like they have front row orchestra seats. Eyes shining with pride, love, respect. They’re so into it they don’t hear the floor creak beneath my feet. Rey does, though, maybe because he needs a break. I’ve seen how hard the parents are on him, how they tell him to play the piece over and over until he gets it right. I remember how my arms would kill after practice. Glad I gave that shit up years ago.

  “Sup, Cruise?” Rey says, resting his violin and bow on the coffee table. He looks so glad for the break—stretches his arms and wipes the sweat off his forehead. He’s not a quitter like me.

  “That was beautiful, Reagan.” Mom scurries over and kisses his cheek, his other cheek, his forehead. I bet he’s the only sixteen year old guy to let his mom do that. “Dad and I are so proud of you. I noticed a few small mistakes at the beginning of the piece. Keep practicing and you’ll be perfect.”

  “Elvis,” Dad says. “Where have you been all evening?”

  Geez. Does he even remember I got a job? Even when I’m doing something right, I’m doing something wrong. “You checking up on me, Dad?”

  “We had a meeting scheduled for this evening. You’re late.”

  Yeah, talk to me like I’m your client. And about the meeting? Screw that. “The name’s Cruiser.”

  “We put up with this Cruiser nonsense when you were a little boy, but you’re not a child anymore,” Mom says, her eyes not hiding the frustration and disappointment that have gathered over the years. “It’s a new year, a new start. We will call you by the name we gave you.”

  Hmm, did they take into consideration that maybe their kids wouldn’t like to be named after the king of rock and the former president? Wait, guess I can only speak for myself. Rey’s never had a problem with his name.

  “Let’s sit down,” Dad says, gesturing to the sofa.

  I sit down on the recliner. Rey stands awkwardly at the door, probably debating whether he should stick around. I’d rather he did—I don’t like the parents ganging up on me.