Rationally, Aaron knew he was naive, and Angie was overzealous when it came to romance, but his sensitive heart still soared. Truth or not, he believed it and would continue to believe it for as long as possible.
After twenty minutes of bickering back and forth, they flipped a coin on what to do for dinner and wound up at a shabby pizza joint with checkered floors, big red booths, and a minuscule arcade area. Aaron sat beside June, sharing an oversized menu and feeling incredibly domestic. Under the table, where no one else could see, the two of them held each other’s pinkies. Aaron had initiated it; June had given him a sly look from the corner of his eye and sighed.
For the most part, things were going extremely well. So well it was a little suspicious, and therefore unsurprising when six teenager girls entered the restaurant and flocked over to them. All wide-eyed curiosity, glaring, blushing and different degrees of disapproval. June let out a strangled whine as the leader fastened her sharp eyes on him, but it was Angie who spoke first.
“Ladies.” She leaned back in the booth and smiled, unphased. “What’s up?”
“We didn’t expect to see you here!” One of the girls pushed her way from the back of the entity to the front. Aaron recognized her as the younger one that didn’t quite fit in with the rest of them. The one with the ponytail and the braces.
“No shit, we didn’t exactly send out invitations,” June growled.
“Relax, we’re not here to crash your party.” The leader crossed her arms and leaned against the wooden frame of the booth beside June. She was quite tall, and apparently, able to see the space between the two of them where their fingers touched. June released Aaron’s pinky immediately and placed both his hands on the table in plain sight.
“W-What do you want then?” Charlie, who was typically too shy or insecure about speaking up around new people, looked rather annoyed.
“We just wanted to say, hi.” Another girl.
“Not to you though, to Aaron!” The youngest one. Her round eyes were bright and cheerful. Innocent. It made Aaron want to turn invisible, or at the very least, hide under the table. His ears burned with embarrassment, and worst of all, he could feel June’s mood sinking like the Titanic beside him.
“Shut it, Ellie,” the leader commanded. “June.”
“What?”
“Tell your sister I said, hi.” She pursed her large, shiny lips for a moment and glared as if trying to convey some secret motive between them.
“Over my dead body.” June, obviously done with the exchange, grabbed the menu, and propped it open against the edge of the table. He was rigid beside Aaron now.
“So…bye, you guys!” Angie added before they could say any more. She was still somehow smiling as they one by one broke away from the entity and headed toward their booth across the restaurant.
The last one to leave was the youngest, Ellie, who didn’t seem bothered by her controlling and pushy leader. Aaron didn’t understand the hierarchy between those girls, let alone why this one would choose to stay with them when they weren’t even nice to her. In a way, he felt sorry for the girl. In another way, she was starting to really freak him out.
“Umm, Aaron?” She waited until everyone else was out of earshot. Picked at her fingertips and crossed one foot nervously over the other.
His heart sank, and for the first time in his young adult life, Aaron knew what was coming. He’d witnessed this same thing happen to Arco many times, and it never ended well. Rejection was a painful burden to bear no matter whose side you were on.
“I-I was wondering if maybe you’d wanna…go out…” Her confidence was fading fast under the three other pairs of eyes piercing her. “With me? Sometime…maybe?”
“Oh, boy.” Angie, unable to sit there any longer and watch this train wreck, excused herself from the table and lopped off toward the bathroom. Charlie watched her go in disbelief, probably wishing he could follow.
Aaron looked at June for some help, but the boy was too busy making sure his face was turned away from both of them. Aaron was stuck, and he had no way but the hard way out. Was it easier to let her down quickly and tell her he wasn’t interested? Or would the truth suffice? June and he hadn’t talked about the dynamic of their relationship in public yet, and Aaron wasn’t sure if that was a conversation he wanted to have anyway. He didn’t care what people thought about him being with another man, but June might have other reservations. They were too new to tread into this dangerous territory.
He swallowed hard, trying to find the right words and wondered what Arco might say in this situation—probably something smooth and charming. God, he wished he had even a fraction of his cousin’s skill when it came to the opposite sex.
“You don’t have to decide now.” The girl took a step back, trying not to look utterly miserable. She pointed a thumb toward the entity of girls waiting for her to rejoin them. “I-I’ll be over there…”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” June slammed the menu down, making her, Charlie, and Aaron jump in unison. “He’s already seeing someone.”
The girl blinked owlishly and licked her lips. “O-Oh.”
Aaron cleared his throat. “I-It’s true…I am.” He wished he’d have just said that from the beginning instead of panicking.
“Right.” She forced a smile, although her eyes did nothing to hide how she felt. “Okay, that’s cool. S-Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Aaron murmured. Out of all the girls in the group, she was by far the most pleasant. Maybe, had he met her back in Portland when he was younger, they could have gone out on a date or two. It wouldn’t have worked out in the end, but maybe they’d have been friends anyway.
Without another word, Ellie turned away and left. Not to rejoin her friends either, but straight out the restaurant doors. Aaron sighed. He hoped she wouldn’t cry over him.
“That was awful,” Charlie commented.
“She shouldn’t have even bothered.” June rested his cheek in his palm and glowered at Aaron. His brow was pinched together tightly. “You could have told her we’re together.”
“I-I didn’t know if you’d like that.”
June watched him for a long moment, dark-blue eyes softening. Aaron wished he knew what he was thinking, but was too afraid to ask. With Charlie sitting there awkwardly, listening to every word, it didn’t feel right.
Thankfully, Angie came back from the bathroom at that moment and popped the bubble of tension surrounding them. She slid into the booth beside Charlie and wiped her damp hands on her shorts.
“Is it over?”
“Thanks for the moral support,” June grumped.
“I can’t believe she had the guts to ask Aaron out in front of all of us. She’s so brave. A girl like that has no business hanging out with the rest of them.”
“I agree,” Aaron mused. He wasn’t going to suggest it now because that girl would probably want nothing to do with him after being rejected, but he almost wished they would have invited her to be their friend earlier. “...I feel really bad.”
“Nah...” Angie disagreed gently. “Don’t worry about it. She’ll be fine.”
“Never had to do that before?” Charlie mused.
“Girls didn’t like me until I got here,” Aaron explained. It was still a mystery to him. Nothing had changed except for his sexuality; if anything, girls should be even more deterred.
“I thought you had an ex, though?” Angie asked.
Aaron snorted, shifting a little closer to June, so their bodies pressed against each other. His ex was worse than any of those girls across the room right now. It had been so long since she’d even crossed his mind, looking back now it felt like a dream. Or a nightmare. She’d been so inexplicably bad for Aaron. A parasite.
“She didn’t like me either,” he muttered. It was a shame he hadn’t gotten out of that relationship sooner.
June’s hand snaked its way into his from under the table. A mild comfort. “Forget about her.” He rolled his eyes. “Let’s order somet
hing.”
The conversation soon returned to normal, and while the loud caterwaul of the other teens still interrupted them from time to time, it was easy enough to ignore while stuffing garlic knots in their mouths. They talked a little bit about Angie’s first real relationship with a dock boy, which made Charlie highly uncomfortable, and then a lot about how June was outed by his sister several years ago at a bonfire. Aaron told them about Arco and his love of marine life and how he was part of this exclusive internship in Monterey. About how they’d grown up together and were more like brothers than cousins. June had a running commentary on Arco’s good looks and charisma that put sparkles in Angie’s eyes, and in the end, Aaron covered June’s mouth with his hand to get him to shut up.
After they paid, the four of them wound up feeding dollar bills to an old coin machine in the arcade area. Aside from an outdated Pacman machine and the assortment of different claw grabbers, the only thing of interest in the tiny room was a worn out air hockey table, and while Aaron wasn’t particularly fond of getting his fingers smashed by a plastic puck, he did know how much June enjoyed competition. They gathered around it with wicked grins, inserted the coins, and grabbed the respective paddles. Aaron had the puck first.
“You’re going down, Valentine,” June teased, squaring off across from him.
Aaron knew he was probably right, but what fun would it be admitting defeat before they even started? He shifted his legs farther apart and bent down, free hand bracing the edge of the table for support.
“We’ll see.” He smiled as sickly sweet as he could.
“Should we make it interesting?” June swiped a tongue across his teeth. Almost predatory.
Aaron wasn’t the type to place bets. He was far too nervous and definitely not lucky enough, but June was having fun, and that was all he cared about. He shrugged.
“What do you want?”
June hummed for a moment, fingers sliding idly around the tiny holes blowing air up from the table. He glanced behind him toward Angie, maybe to see if she was listening or if she had any good ideas. She was busy peering into one of the claw grabbers while Charlie struggled to pick up a heavy, purple elephant.
June stepped away from his side of the table and toward Aaron, dropped his voice low and whispered. “If I win, then I want to break into that lube tonight…”
Aaron cocked an eyebrow at him, fighting the rush of heat to his face. “That’s not a very good bet. I’ll lose on purpose.”
June pouted. “Fine then, I wanna drive your car home.”
Aaron’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Eyes blinking open wide as he imagined June—reckless and impulsive June—driving his convertible. That car was perhaps the most important (and by far the most expensive) thing he owned. It had been his for merely a year, and he’d worked his ass off the save up for it. To get out of the hand-me-down he’d shared with Arco throughout high school.
“Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “No way.”
“Oh, come on!” June crossed his arms stubbornly, eyes narrowed and smirk intense. “You afraid you’ll lose?”
Taunting didn’t work on Aaron in the slightest. He shook his head. “Yeah, afraid I’ll lose my car to the bottom of the lake.”
June gasped, completely taken aback. Hand flying up to his chest as if he was truly, personally offended. He looked around the room again, and this time, Angie was listening, laughing, in fact. Charlie looked like he was trying to reign it in, in fear of being socked.
“I-I’m a good driver!” June gestured madly. “Angie, tell him I’m a good driver!”
“You failed your permit test twice!” She howled, coming up behind him and throwing an arm around his shoulder. He shoved her off.
“They gave me an outdated version of the book! All the questions were different!”
Aaron couldn’t help himself; he was laughing now too. Not because he didn’t believe June but because his face was suddenly the same color as the convertible, and it was such a rare thing for June to be this flustered.
“Aaron!” June whined. Looked like he wanted to step on his toes too. “Don’t be a jerk! I’m a good driver!”
Aaron leaned both hands on the table and waited until the laughter died down. Really, it wasn’t personal. Aaron didn’t like to let anyone drive his car, regardless of their driving history or level of experience. He was about to disagree again; to apologize to June and tell him to pick a different bet because he wasn’t going to risk it. However, when he looked up, June’s eyes weren’t full of anger, but instead a distinct and longing kind of hurt.
“Aww…June,” Aaron cooed. “I’m sorry…”
“Take the bet.” He sulked. “I promise, if I win, I’ll be extra careful.”
Maybe he was a pushover, or maybe he was just moved by the way June looked sincere. He sighed, wishing he’d just taken the first bet—that was a win-win situation for everyone.
“He actually is a pretty good driver,” Angie added. “And if he can drive my truck without crashing it, he can drive anything.”
Aaron sighed, picking up the puck and turning it over in his palm a few times. It was rather quiet on this side of the mountain, and June knew the roads like the back of his hand. Not to mention, he would have to hear about it for the rest of the summer if he didn’t budge.
“Alright, fine,” he gave in. “If you win, you can take the convertible. Just this once!”
June gave an excited bounce, blue eyes, and white teeth flashing. “Yes!” he hissed and returned to his side of the table.
“You’re whipped, bro.” Charlie scoffed, and June stuck his foot out to catch him by the ankle as he walked by. He just managed to catch himself before falling into a machine; cursed distastefully under his breath.
“Shut up, Charlie. I’m concentrating.” June adjusted the paddle in his hand and got into the same stance as before.
“Let’s do this.”
As it turns out, June is far more talented at air hockey than anyone bothered to warn him. The group of teenage girls had all gathered around to watch, cheering for him and booing June as the puck went flying this way and that. There was yelling, cursing, some blood from June’s nail when Aaron struck him just right, and finally, the inevitable end. He lost ten to seven and couldn’t say he was surprised. June was an absolute heathen.
“Fork em’ over!” June boasted, wiping his sweaty forehead with his arm. “I win fair and square! Keys, Aaron!”
Aaron ran both his hands through his thick hair and shook his head before reaching into his back pocket and pulling them out. He held them in his fist at his chest for a moment.
“Please don’t wreck my car,” he begged.
June shot him a Christmas-morning grin, beckoning for his prize. “I would never.”
With another sigh of defeat, he dropped the keys into June’s palm and looked up at the watching crowd. The entity of teenage girls was starting to dissolve now that the show was over, but Angie and Charlie stood by faithfully.
“Let’s go!” June marched away from him. His fist held high and triumphant in the air. He didn’t stop until he was pushing open the restaurant doors leading to the tiny parking lot.
Aaron caught Angie on the way out, torn between how much he wanted to watch June’s expression as he pushed on the gas for the first time, and how much he also didn’t want to be a part of the whole experience. It was about fifteen miles back to the cabin, and he wasn’t sure his nerves could take it.
“Can I ride with you?” he asked sheepishly.
“Oh, sure!” She linked her arm with his and winked. “That’s actually a great idea! We’ll make Curls go with June, just to stick it to him.”
Aaron nodded, hoping the two of them in such proximity wouldn’t cause more trouble than it was worth. They’d been getting along fairly well today; he’d hate to ruin it now.
“And we can talk,” Angie added, reminding him of their conversation earlier in the day. She patted his forearm gently. “If you want to.”
Aaron was surprised she would bring it up again so soon, but he did want to talk. Very badly, in fact. Almost bad enough, the cost of letting June drive was worth it.
Once in the parking lot, they made a hasty run for her truck, and left June standing, absolutely aghast with one hand on the handle of the driver’s side door. When they peeled out, June flipped them the bird with both hands, screamed something obscene, and stamped his foot into the dirt like a toddler.
17
Hope
June was livid.
He’d gone into the parking lot first, unlocked Aaron’s car and started adjusting the seat when he heard the wheeze and cough of Angie’s truck coming to life behind him. When he turned and looked back to see what the rush was, why they were leaving so fast, he saw Aaron, the bastard, climbing into the passenger seat. Their eyes met, but there was no time for June to stop him as he slammed the door shut and the wheels started spinning.
He cussed, flipped them the bird, and then stood dumbfounded and confused until it occurred to him that Charlie had also been left standing outside in the lot.
“Fuck.” He leaned against Aaron’s car and threw his head back. This was hardly fair! He’d wanted to prove he was a good driver to Aaron! He wanted to pull over off the side of the road and give him head! This had been a real opportunity, and now he couldn’t even enjoy it.
Charlie approached him slowly, cautiously. Hands in the baggy pockets of his ugly swim trunks and head tilted down at his feet. June bristled like a cat. It wasn’t Charlie’s fault they were now stuck together, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. For a moment, he considered leaving the kid to call his daddy to come get him but thought better of it on account of Angie, who would be utterly disappointed in him. Bringing parents—especially deadbeat dads—into their shenanigans never ended well.
“Don’t say anything,” June growled. “Just get in.”
The Maple Effect Page 37