by Pamela Wells
Horace started the song off, his guitar riffs pulling the audience in, fingers flicking the pick over the strings. Dean and Hobb came in next, and Raven ran up, taking the mike in her hands.
She avoided looking over where she knew her mother was. If she was going to storm the stage, Raven didn’t want to see her coming.
The mixture of the guitar strings, the bass chords, and the drums thumping behind her had Raven’s adrenaline pumping through her veins. She forgot about the nausea and the fear of her mother.
Time to jump in.
Raven parted her lips and sang. She closed her eyes, belting out the moody lyrics, tapping her foot in time with the drums. There was no audience, no mother, just Raven and the music, everything coming together perfectly.
The song built, emotion and excitement rose in Raven’s gut. This is what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing. Living a month without this kind of excitement would be like living a life without air.
She needed this.
When the song ended, Raven glanced over at her mother, afraid to see anger and disappointment, but instead she saw a smile on her mother’s face and maybe even mistiness in her eyes. And standing right behind her was Raven’s dad.
“Wooo-hoooo!” he yelled, fists flailing in the air. His ex-wife shot him a glance, but he just kept shouting.
Ms. Valenti shook her head as if amused and came onstage to announce the next act. But before she grabbed the microphone, she hugged her daughter and whispered, “I’ve never seen you look so beautiful as you did up here onstage. We’ll talk about this at home.” Then she said into the mike, “Give it up for my daughter and the band October!”
The applause was thunderous, claps mixing with hollers and whistles. Raven couldn’t help but smile as Horace grabbed her hand and winked at her. She closed the distance between them, sliding her hands up his jaw, pulling him over.
And then she kissed him.
“Hey,” Drew said when Sydney reached him.
“Hi. Happy belated birthday, by the way.”
He grinned. “Thanks.”
“Here.” She pulled the ring she’d bought him from her jeans pocket and handed it over. “I know we’re not together anymore, but I bought it months ago and it wouldn’t be right to give it to someone else.”
Twirling the ring in the light, he read the inscription. “To the day I die.”
“It’s still true,” she said. “I’ll always love you in some way, whether we’re in love or not.”
“I’ll always love you, too.” He slipped the ring on his middle finger. It fit perfectly. “I liked your poem.”
She met his eyes. “Yeah?”
“I liked it enough to want to kiss you right now.”
She giggled. God help her, she giggled. How long had it been since she’d lowered herself to giggling? Probably two years. Since she and Drew started seeing each other. There was something about him now that made her feel girly and carefree.
“So, are you? Going to kiss me?”
“That depends on whether or not you want me to kiss you.”
“You always did plan too much,” she said, and leaned in.
“I did,” he whispered, his minty breath fanning across her face. “And you were always too impatient.”
“I was.” It was time to be completely honest with herself and Drew. She had a lot of things to work on, obviously, but she was willing to change if it made their relationship stronger and made her a better person. But the most important thing was that being single had showed her who she was and what her flaws were. As much as she hated to admit it, being without Drew had been good for her. She was Sydney now, not Sydney and Drew. She was her own person.
“So,” Drew said, running his fingers across her jawline.
“So…” she echoed.
The audience went wild as the band October hit the high note of the song. Sydney thought this moment couldn’t be more perfect, here now with Drew, with Raven’s awesome voice sounding around her.
God, she’d remember this for a lifetime.
“Just kiss me already,” she said.
And he did.
Alexia was running on pure adrenaline. It seemed to be in the air tonight like laughing gas, muddling her brain, moving her feet beneath her. Maybe what she was about to do was crazy, but she had to do it. Sydney read her poem in front of everyone, spilling her innermost thoughts through the microphone, and Raven sang her heart out while facing the wrath of her mother.
In the spotlight now, Alexia turned to Ms. Valenti and motioned toward the microphone. “Mind if I make a quick announcement?” She wasn’t even sure if he was here, or if he’d even care now, but she had to get it out there.
“Sure.” Ms. Valenti stepped aside.
Alexia went to the microphone and took it in her hands. The stage lights seemed to bake her freckles, beading sweat on her forehead. She tried to ignore the knot in her stomach and the hundreds of eyes trained on her.
“Hi,” she said, her voice sounding too loud through the speakers. “Um…I just wanted to say…” She was probably committing social suicide but who cared? “That I really like Ben Daniels and…”
Someone sidled up next to her. She glanced over as Ben took the microphone in his hands. “And I just want to say that I really, really like Alexia Bass. I like her more than banana splits and sunny days and Yo Mama jokes.”
Alexia laughed with the audience. Someone started stomping as if they were at a basketball game, cheering on the team. The rest of the crowd joined in and yelled, “Kiss her! Kiss her!”
Ben wove an arm around Alexia’s waist, put his other hand behind her head and dipped her, planting his lips on hers as the crowd roared.
Alexia was pretty sure this was the best night of her life.
Kelly cheered with the rest of the crowd as Ben kissed Alexia onstage. “Woo!” She screamed, clapping above her head. This sure was one night to remember.
When she was old and gray and her body was too wrinkly and run-down to fit in a nice pair of jeans, Kelly would look back on this night. Maybe she didn’t have a boy like her friends, but that, actually, was good. She’d been chasing after Will so long she’d forgotten who she really was. It was time to get in tune with Kelly.
When she knew herself again, she’d know who the perfect guy was. And maybe, if she stopped looking so darn hard, the perfect guy would find her.
THIRTY-TWO
Rule 25: Do not ever think that you will never meet or love a guy the way you liked or loved The Ex, because you will—just give yourself the chance by letting The Ex go.
“So we’re all in agreement,” Alexia said, “that we are done with The Breakup Code? And that it’s time to lay it to rest?”
Raven stopped scrolling through her iPod, wound the earbuds up, and slipped it inside her bag. “I’m in agreement. I hope I never need The Code again.”
“So you and Horace are doing good?” Sydney asked, before chomping on a few pretzel sticks.
Raven waited to answer while Alexia’s mom set a tray down on the coffee table with four glasses filled with soda. “There you go, girls,” she said. “If you need anything else, let me know.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Alexia took a glass for herself.
After Dr. Bass’s footsteps disappeared into the kitchen Raven said, “Yeah, we’re doing more than good. It’s a little scary, actually. But, hey, it’s only been two weeks.”
Kelly grabbed a handful of pretzels from the bag on Sydney’s lap. “Why is it scary?”
“Because,” Raven shrugged, “I really, really like him and I don’t want to screw it up. You guys know how I am.”
“But you can change,” Alexia said. “Besides, Horace is actually a good guy.”
“Okay. Okay,” Raven said. “Enough of me. How are you and Ben?”
Alexia’s face lit up and she looked away. “We’re fine.”
“Ohhh!” Kelly widened her eyes. “By the look on your face, you’re more than fine!”
“Stop, you guys!” Alexia thumped Kelly with a throw pillow. “I’m not in love just yet, so calm down.”
Sydney laughed, drawing their attention.
“And what about you? How are you and Drew?”
With a demure expression she said, “We are so good that I’m in agreement that I’m through with The Breakup Code. I don’t think I’ll need it anytime soon. Drew and I are better than we’ve ever been.”
“She’s definitely in love,” Raven said. “Look at how googly-eyed she is.”
“Shut up!”
“Kelly?” Alexia said. “Are you in agreement? Should we lay The Code to rest?”
Kelly slipped her worn four-leaf-clover rubber band off her wrist and set it in the shoe box they’d deemed The Code Casket. “I may be the only one of us still single, but I’m in full agreement that we put The Code away for safekeeping. I’m never going back to Will Daniels. I will never, ever sacrifice myself to please a guy. That’s definitely the number one thing The Code taught me.”
Sydney threw her clover rubber band in The Code Casket. Raven threw hers in, too. Alexia put a copy of The Code inside the box and shut the lid. “Ready then?” she asked, glancing from one girl to the next. Sydney and Raven both nodded.
Kelly hesitated. She was over Will. She was excited about being single, but that didn’t stop her from worrying that she’d never find someone new. That she would never love someone as much as she’d loved Will.
Still…The Breakup Code had worked. She wouldn’t need to use it anymore.
“Kelly?” Alexia said.
“I’m ready.”
“Wait, wait,” Sydney said. “Let me set up the camera. This is an important snapshot. A picture to remind us of the day we were no longer heartbroken. Don’t you think?”
They all nodded.
“You three crowd around The Code Casket,” Sydney instructed as she jumped up with the camera. She hit a few buttons, checked the angle in the camera’s screen, then set it on the coffee table. She ran over and got in next to Kelly. “Three seconds.”
“All together,” Alexia said.
“As Women of The Code,” they said in unison, “we hereby lay The Breakup Code to rest.”
The camera flashed.
Take a sneak peak at
The Crushes,
the sequel to
The Heartbreakers
Raven threw the bag of trash in the big trash can and closed the lid to wheel it out to the street. She hated this chore. She’d tried getting out of it by hurrying out of the house to meet her friends, but her mother caught her at the back door.
“Before you leave,” Mrs. Valenti said, “make sure you take out the trash.”
Raven grabbed hold of the handle, tipped the can back on the two wheels, and lugged the thing out from behind the garage. She rounded the back corner of the house and heard a scraping noise coming from the street. It was like metal scraping against wood.
Someone rode a skateboard down the street toward a homemade railing about knee height. He jumped and slid the skateboard down the railing.
Raven watched as he made a perfect landing and then kicked the board up with a foot.
It wasn’t until he looked over at her that she realized she’d stopped in the middle of the driveway to gawk.
“Hey,” he said, tipping his head.
“Hi.” Raven tried to kick-start her brain into thinking again and dragged the trash can the rest of the way down the drive. She set it along the curb and was about to hurry inside, when the boy skated over to her.
“You live here?” he asked.
She pursed her lips and nodded.
The boy was new to her. She’d never seen him around town before, let alone on her street.
Blue eyes peered at her from beneath the straight brim of a DC baseball hat. He had on baggy jeans, a black T-shirt, and white DC shoes. The skateboard slung beneath an arm said BLAKE across the length of it with a silhouette of an alien at the bottom.
From what Raven could see beneath the baseball hat, his dark hair was cropped close to his scalp.
“My grandpa lives across the street.” He pointed over his shoulder at the two-story Tudor. That was Mr. Kailing’s house. Raven didn’t know he had grandchildren. He mostly kept to himself and never had people over. He was nice, though. Last summer when Raven had a flat tire, Mr. Kailing had come out and changed it for her. He might have been close to seventy, but he still got around well.
“Your grandfather, huh? That’s nice,” she said, nodding quickly. “Well, I have to go.”
“Hey, Blake!” someone called.
The boy, presumably Blake, glanced at Mr. Kailing’s house and Raven couldn’t help but look, too. The man who’d yelled from the front porch had one of those deep, husky voices that you couldn’t help but follow.
A large black man waved from the porch.
“That’s my…uh…uncle,” Blake said.
Raven raised her brow. “Really?”
Blake looked one hundred percent white, but maybe he had some African American in him? Like Raven. Mr. Kailing was white, but that didn’t mean one of Blake’s parents wasn’t black.
Blake dropped the skateboard and put a foot on it. “It was nice meeting you…”
“Raven.”
He smiled. “Raven.” He propelled the board forward with his left foot. “I’ll see ya ‘round, Raven,” he called over a shoulder before disappearing inside Mr. Kailing’s garage.
The man standing on the porch waved Raven a peace sign before heading back inside. The screen door closed behind him.
Raven went inside her own house and passed Jordan in the living room.
“Why are you grinning like a goon?” Jordan said.
“What? I’m not.”
But she was.
Now that she had a boyfriend, Alexia was finding it difficult to have “friend” time. She had had good intentions to split her time between her friends and Ben, but it seemed that when she had a free afternoon, her friends were either working or out with their boyfriends.
Not to mention, spending time with Ben always seemed sweeter. She felt like such a terrible friend for thinking that, but it was true.
It felt like it’d been forever since they all got together, so they’d made plans to get together today. Alexia pulled into Bershetti’s parking lot and parked next to Sydney’s SUV.
Inside, Alexia pulled her sunglasses off and stuffed them in her bag.
Bershetti’s was a nice-size Italian restaurant in the middle of Birch Falls. It was owned by the Bershetti family, who had opened it some fifty years ago. It’d been updated since then and was one of the nicer restaurants in town.
A deep Concord purple Venetian plaster covered the upper half of the walls while white wainscoting spanned the bottom half. A thick chair railing met the two around the entire restaurant. Candle sconces hung on the walls every three feet or so. There were real plants everywhere. Some sat in the window partitions between the lower-level dining room and the upper dining room. They hung in planters from the ceilings.
Alexia’s mom told her that most of the plants were herbs and that Mrs. Bershetti used a lot of them in her food.
The host, a forty-something woman with silver and black hair, greeted Alexia with a wide smile. “How many?”
“I’m meeting my friends here,” Alexia said, scanning the restaurant over the host’s shoulder. “Oh, there they are.”
Kelly, Sydney, and Raven sat in the lower level of the restaurant in the very middle. Kelly waved.
Alexia made her way through the upper level of the restaurant and down the five stairs to the lower level. She sat down next to Kelly, across from Raven and Sydney.
“I’m so happy we’re all together!” Kelly said, clapping her hands. “I’ve been bored out of my mind. Being single isn’t so fun anymore.”
Unfortunate but true, Kelly had taken over Alexia’s previous role
as the single girl of the group, though something told Alexia that Kelly was dealing with it better than Alexia had. There was nothing like feeling unwanted and uncool. Being boyfriendless until your junior year of high school was bordering on lame.
“I’m glad we’re getting together, too,” Raven said. “I sent Horace off to Detroit today. I feel like if I stayed home, I’d go stir-crazy.”
Despite the foul mood Raven seemed to be in, she looked stunning per usual. She had on a white flowing skirt that grazed her knees. She’d gone with a plain purple tank top that seemed to match the Venetian plaster on the walls. She’d pulled her dark, wavy hair back in a ponytail and slipped on a white headband.
Sitting next to her, Sydney was Raven’s complete opposite. Sydney’s straight black hair hung loosely around her shoulders. She had on a white polo and had worn jeans despite the summer temps.
The girls all settled in around the table and started talking, but Alexia couldn’t help but watch her friends inconspicuously over the top of her menu. At the beginning of this year, they’d barely hung out. That is, until Kelly, Raven, and Sydney all lost their boyfriends on the same night.
It was because of Alexia’s Breakup Code that all three girls had gotten over their heartache. And in the long run, all four of them had gotten closer.
When they were together like this, Alexia couldn’t help appreciating her friends, appreciating the little time they seemed to have to hang out together.
Sometimes she wished they still had the Breakup Code or something similar to it to keep them together. The Code had bridged any gaps between them.
“Oh my god,” Kelly said, bringing Alexia out of her reverie.
“What?”
They all followed her wide-eyed expression to the front of the restaurant, where a group of guys had entered.
“That’s the guy I had my kickboxing lesson with today,” Kelly breathed.
Her cheeks had gone pink.
“You took kickboxing today?” Raven said.
“What guy?” Sydney asked. “Which one is he?”