by Jolene Perry
I have no idea what they’re talking about. I realize I don’t even know her brother’s name.
“What meeting?” My voice is quiet.
“You’re kidding, right?” Windy’s head shoots in my direction.
Jen kicks her foot and Windy settles back into her chair.
There’s something I don’t know. Something everyone here knows, but me—something about Sky.
She must sense my tension. “We’ll talk later,” she whispers in my ear, but I’m only mildly appeased.
My phone buzzes in my pocket making me jump. I hate being so jumpy. It’s Mom. Crap, I forgot to text her.
“Just a sec.” No one needs to overhear this conversation. I answer my phone, but I don’t say anything until I’m on the other side of the van. “I’m sorry I forgot to call.”
“Where are you? I saw your car down the street, but they said that Sky was out hiking, and I knew you’d tell me if you went that far and…”
“It was all last minute, Mom. I’m sorry. We’re up at Red Rock and I’m with a group from UNLV.”
“Well, it’s a school night, and I want you home.” Mom’s not usually this strict with me. I get good grades, and she leaves me alone.
“It’s not really up to me. I’m not the driver.” There’s no way I’m asking them to cut their night short for me—no way.
Her sigh is dramatic, even on my end of the line. “Fine, but I’m not happy about this. We’re going to have a talk when you get home.”
“Okay.” There’s really no point in arguing with her. I didn’t ask her permission, and I didn’t tell her where I was going…it just sucks.
When I walk around the side of the van, the beat hits me. Is it drums? No one’s talking, chanting or singing, but everyone’s part of the rhythm. I stop and soak it in for a moment before stepping into the light of the fire. Sky smiles at me, but easily keeps the complicated rhythm. They’re all doing something different, keeping the same beat, but it sounds like music, not just drumming. Their hands are separate, yet they’re all working together.
Sky speaks just long enough for me to hear. “Drum circle, even though we know different rhythms, and different songs—some parts of drumming are universal.”
I nod and sit next to her. Rob is keeping a simple low beat on the cooler in front of him. Tony is using his chair. Windy and Jen are actually using small drums. One is playing a quick succession of beats. Sky is using a combination of slapping the skin on her calves and the bottom of her metal chair—the high-pitched melody on top. If there even is a melody when you’re just drumming.
Tony slips and they all stop, laughing.
“Geez Tony!” Windy pushes him. “You’ve got the easiest one!”
“Rob does!” he protests.
The two younger guys, who are still nameless to me, sit quietly.
“That was amazing,” I say.
“One of these days we’ll need to bring some real drums out here and get closer to the rock face.” Rob smiles. “Are we all ready to head back?”
Without a word, the chairs are folded up and Rob pours the contents of the cooler over the fire.
As sad as I am that our night is over, Mom’s still at home waiting to talk. The longer she has to wait, the more she’ll have to say.
“Thank you for coming.” Sky kisses my cheek.
“Thanks for asking.” I kiss hers.
“Are you in trouble with your Mom?” Sky guesses, frowning in apology.
“It was totally worth it.” I rest my arm over her shoulders as we head back to the van.
***
“We need to talk.” Mom’s voice is all business.
This is how I’m greeted the second I step through the door. I hold in a sigh and kick off my shoes.
“Come, sit.” Sitting on the couch, she shuts off the TV and turns to look at me. She’s wearing an expression that I’ve never seen on her face before. Her jaw looks tight, her lips are pursed and her forehead is furrowed. Not a good combination.
“Sorry, Mom. It was all last minute. It was so amazing though. They all…”
“Jameson!” Her eyes widen.
I stop talking.
“This is not a joke. I came home and had no idea where you were!”
“You called, Mom, and then you knew.” I’m baffled. It’s not even ten o’clock.
“I need to know where you are. It’s completely unfair to me for you to be running wild without so much as a note or a text!” She’s leaning toward me, and I’m in a state of shock. This is so out of the ordinary that I’m not sure how to respond.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” What else am I supposed to say in this situation?
“No, it won’t.” She stands up and walks out of the room.
Now that I’m alone, and in shock, I realize I never asked Sky about her brother—or the meeting.
FOURTEEN
I don’t want to talk to my dad, but I have to. I wonder if there’s a way for us to talk without me getting angry again. I’m not sure. As I flop on the couch I scroll down to his number, but end up getting his voicemail.
“Dad, it’s Jameson. Call me when you get a chance.” It seems like I should have more to say to him, but I don’t. He might not even want to hear from me. Just thinking that adds more weight to my chest. I sit for a moment in silence before hanging up.
“Couldn’t get through?” Mom asks. I didn’t hear her walk in.
“Nope.” I wonder if she’s still angry from last night.
“That’s too bad.” She walks into the kitchen with bags of groceries. “Wanna talk?”
I guess she’s not angry anymore, and I’m certainly not going to revisit last night’s scolding. “I don’t need anything in particular from him. It’s just that we haven’t said anything to one another since I put my fist through the wall.” I stand up to help her put the groceries away. It’s just the two of us now, and I should be helping her more with household stuff.
“How are you and Sky?” Mom tries really hard not to sound too interested. I’m waiting for another comment about last night, but it doesn’t come.
“Good…no, more than good.” Just talking about her sends a feeling of warmth through my chest.
“And how’s Sarah?”
“We’re uh…I don’t know what we are anymore. Sky has this honesty thing, and it made me realize how Sarah and I never did. Anyway, we’re all going out on Friday.” I take a deep breath—at just the thought of it.
“You and the two girls?” Mom stops to stare.
I do my best to ignore her, and reach for the groceries sitting on the floor. “No.” I grab the bag of potato chips and set it on top of the fridge. “Sarah and her boyfriend, and Sky and me.”
“Won’t that be awkward?” She is leaning against the counter watching me—her mind is definitely not on groceries.
I pick up the eight boxes Mom got of my small peanut butter packages, and bury myself in the pantry. “Probably, but it feels like I lost the girl I loved, as well as my friend, all at the same time. Sky knows the whole situation, so…”
“Just because she knows the situation, doesn’t mean she’s okay with it.” I know without looking that Mom’s gaze is aimed straight at the back of my head.
“I know…I think…I hope…Sky and I are past all that. And I’m relying on her to tell me if it gets weird.” I sigh and turn to face Mom.
“Do you think she will?”
“She has so far.” I think about the story she shared with me the other day and she’s right, that’s the kind of closeness I want right now. And I know, we’ll get to all the physical stuff I can’t stop thinking about.
“Okay, but make sure you put the girl you go with, first. No matter what.”
“That’s easy.” I’d never do anything to hurt Sky.
“Good.”
But now I’m nervous about this stupid double date all over again. It shouldn’t be a big deal, right?
“Oh, I’ll be working all ni
ght on Friday. They need someone to cover the shift,” Mom says, walking to her room.
“Aren’t you tired, Mom?” She’s worked every day this week and generally doesn’t come home until after seven o’clock.
“We can’t keep up this house without your dad’s income, and I have all weekend to sleep.” Her voice snaps, as she disappears into her room.
I clench my jaw and do my best to hide my frustration. “Okay.” Once again, I want to scream at my dad. If he calls me back tonight, we’re going to have words.
***
It feels weird to be doing something so normal with Sky. I wonder if she’ll like it, or if it’ll feel weird to her, too. Too bad Dad’s not around so we could take the Porsche. But I still haven’t spoken to him, and I don’t think calling to borrow his car is something I should do until we at least try to patch things up.
“So, are they meeting us here?” Sky asks. Her skirt is short, as always. Her legs look amazing, as always. Right now, I’m wishing we didn’t have to go on a double date because I want her all to myself.
“That’s the plan.” I lean back against my car, and Sky leans next to me.
“Are you nervous about this?” Her hip bumps mine.
“I don’t know. It’s weird, but it’s not weird. The fact that it’s Sarah makes it more weird and less weird, which makes no sense. But it feels more and more like she wasn’t the person I thought she was—and that makes things a lot easier. But she’s still my friend…sort of…and I think Eric’s a bit of a jerk.”
“So expectations for our evening are low.” She chuckles.
“Very.” I smile and scoot so our arms touch. “I bet you’re more excited than ever to be a part of this little experiment.” My face is so close to hers that she’s all I see.
“I’m honestly curious to learn more about this girl you’ve been in love with for the past three years.” Her cheekbones are even higher when she smiles. I love how she looks up at me—like this is exactly where she wants to be.
I shake my head. “I thought I was in love with her, but I think I was in love with the idea of her. Or I was in love with who I thought she was. Maybe things just feel different because of what you and I have.” I lean over and kiss her soft hair. “You know you smell amazing, right?”
“They’re here.” She laughs before standing up.
Eric jumps out of his dad’s Mercedes SUV. “I thought we’d just take this. We can all ride together.” His voice is short, tense. Sarah probably begged him to do this.
Eric and I aren’t friends, but we’re not enemies, either—at least we weren’t until he started dating Sarah.
“What do you think?” I lean toward Sky and whisper.
“I think we can take a cab home if we’re desperate,” she says, taking my hand.
“Good point.” I laugh. This is going to be okay. Even two weeks ago, if someone told me that I would be on a double date with Sarah and Eric—and that I’d actually be okay with it—I would never have believed it. But here I am.
“At least we get to share the backseat,” Sky whispers.
Wow, that one hits me in the chest, and the gut, and maybe other places…in a really good way.
“There is that,” I say, as I open the back door to let her in.
When I climb in, Eric and Sarah are silent.
“Hey, guys,” I say.
“I’m glad you two made it.” Sarah turns around to face us. “Nice to see you again, Sky.”
“You, too.”
“So, Sky?” Eric asks, while pulling out of my driveway. “Where did you get a name like that?”
“My Mom.” She laughs.
Eric doesn’t look impressed.
“She’s Native Alaskan. Tlingit.” And really, that should be explanation enough.
“But still, bet you took a lot of crap with a name like Sky.” He glances in the rearview mirror.
“I grew up in a Tlingit village, so it was no big deal.” Her face is still relaxed. But I’m starting to tense up.
I reach my hand over and slide my fingers down her leg. Hopefully, she’ll see it as an apology. But now that my hand is there…I realize that with her bare legs…it’s like I’m trying to come on to her…and I don’t mean to…I mean, I do, but…crap, I really am a mess right now, and am wondering why, again, I agreed to double.
“So, In-N-Out Burger and a movie, right?” Eric asks.
“Yeah.” Sarah and I say at the same time.
I know she’s dying to say jinx, because she always does. But she doesn’t say it, and that makes me a little sad.
***
“Sky is hot.” Eric leans toward me as the girls walk to the bathroom.
I start to say something about Sarah, but realize that probably isn’t a good idea.
“Hmm.” I take a drink.
“And she’s in college, right?” He stuffs another handful of fries in his mouth. I don’t think he could fit the jock stereotype better if he tried.
“Yeah, she’s a freshman.” The less I say, the less likely I am to tell him what a jerk he is and how much he doesn’t deserve Sarah.
“Way to go for snagging a college girl, man.” Eric laughs and nods.
I take another long drink of my soda so I don’t have to talk. What does Sarah see in him? During dinner, Eric half-clutched Sarah while still making sure to check out every girl who walked in. I always thought Sarah was too smart to fall for a guy like this—apparently not. Sky catches my eye immediately when she comes back out. And then I stare at her, like an idiot, as she walks toward me.
“Ready for a movie?” Sky stops so close that her bare thighs are against my arm…snugly against my arm…like on purpose.
So, this is an invitation to touch her, right? I let my arm fall down and stroke the inside of her calf with my fingers. Yep. Our eyes catch and I stop breathing for a moment. Something’s different between us, something in her eyes maybe, and I’m not sure what it is. I just really want to be alone with her so I can find out.
***
I step into the row first. I don’t want to be put in the position of sitting next to either Sarah, or Eric. So I’m first, then Sky. Is it rude to use Sky as a buffer? Maybe we’ll switch later. Sarah practically elbows her way in to sit next to Sky. After Eric’s comment about Sky, I’m glad Sarah’s between them. I’d probably freak out on the guy if he sat between the two girls. How would he ever decide which one to look at?
I don’t even know what the movie is about except there’s a girl who hates a guy. But even I know they get together in the end. If I already know what’s going to happen, it seems ridiculous to pay attention. That’s good, because I can’t pay attention.
My hand’s resting on Sky’s thigh. I know we had this great moment where I realized that us being together is learning about one another. But her bare skin is electric, and I can’t get enough. My fingers touch her lightly and her head is resting on my shoulder, completely relaxed. If we weren’t in a movie theater, I don’t think I could keep myself from reaching up higher. But we are and we’re in company—which is probably a good thing.
Sarah gets up twice to go to the bathroom. When she stands up a third time, Sky follows her.
When she looks down at me, her forehead is pulled together. “I’ll be right back.”
I watch her closely as she carefully sidesteps Eric, and as Eric watches her slim legs pass in front of him. I have to remind myself that attacking the guy for looking at Sky in a movie theater probably isn’t the best idea. Fortunately, she gets by him fast and disappears up the aisle.
Now it’s Eric and I with two empty seats between us. I’m glad for the distance. I’m also glad we’re watching a movie, so I don’t have to try to keep up a conversation with him.
Sky sits back down next to me, just as the credits start to roll.
“Everything okay?” I whisper.
“I think Sarah was trying to dodge roaming hands.” She’s on the edge of her seat, facing me.
I sigh
and stare at the floor. “This is not something I want to know.”
Sarah and Eric stand up. She smiles up at him in her own adoring way. I’m not sure if Sky’s right or not.
“Look, Jay, as much as I’m totally threatened by Sarah, you have to talk to her about him.” She stands up and turns toward me.
“Yeah, I guess.” I hate that Sky feels threatened by Sarah, but there’s really no arguing with her reasoning. I stand up to face her. The lights are up, and it’s nice to actually see her face again.
“No.” She pushes against my chest. “No, ‘I guess.’ You have to talk to her about him. It’s not just that. Do you see the way he checks out every girl?”
“He’s always been that way, everybody knows it. She wanted him.” I shrug. That’s how it is, right? Everyone knows Eric. Everyone knows his reputation. She knew what he’s like. She wanted him, not me, and now she has him. At this point, I feel more resigned than anything else. I can’t even think about how I’d feel if I didn’t have Sky.
“Just, please?”
There’s no way I can say no to her, even though I really want to. “I will, but I don’t think she’ll listen.” I take her hand.
“She might not, and that’s okay. You wouldn’t be a good friend if you didn’t at least try.” Sky leads me out of the row and toward the door.
“Fine, I’ll try,” I say. Sky’s so good.
“You wimps calling it a night?” Eric asks, as we hit the lobby.
“Yes,” we say in unison. I try to hold in a laugh.
FIFTEEN
Sarah talks about the movie the whole ride back to my house. My hand is higher on the inside of Sky’s thigh than it’s ever been. I don’t hear a word anyone says. Sarah’s becoming more of a memory now than anything else.
When we stop, I can’t believe how short the drive was. “Thanks.” I smile at Sarah and then at Eric. I barely make it to Sky’s side of the car before they pull away.
“Whew.” I breathe out.
“Can we swim?” Sky asks, resting her chin on my shoulder.
“Did you bring a suit?” Please say no, please say no…
“Yeah.”
Crap. “Great.”