Mateo
Chapter twenty-five
Idon't know why I'm surprised Jade has never been to the beach. Maybe because Wilmont is within an eight-hour drive of the shore? I guess I assumed she'd gone as a kid, before her dad left. Sharing the city with them would've been fun, but I'm even more excited to experience this with them.
Coop takes the bag of snacks from the cashier, and I pile Jade's Red Bulls and our sodas into my arms and follow him out the door.
"We got the good stuff," Coop says as he climbs into the backseat. "Doritos and jerky and they even had that trail mix with the corn nuts we like."
"Sweet," Jade says from the driver's seat. "Mateo you're in charge of navigation, and Coop's on music duty."
I've discovered that silence unnerves Jade.
It's why she lives her life to a soundtrack.
If music isn't on in the car, it's playing on her phone or through her headphones.
It's never quiet with her, and I can't help but wonder if that's what draws me to her so much…
she fills the silence. Her presence is loud, her attitude louder.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
She makes things interesting.
I hit the Bluetooth button on my aftermarket stereo so Coop can connect his phone.
It takes Jade several miles to get comfortable with the clutch, but it's not long before the city is in the rearview mirror.
"I wish it were summer," Coop says. "I want to feel the wind in my hair."
"Um, what hair?" I ask, chuckling. "You must get a haircut every two weeks."
He leans forward between the front seats.
"Mom said if I don't get in trouble at school for the rest of the year, she'll let me grow it like yours over the summer."
"Why would you want it like mine?" I take my hat off and give my head a shake. "It's not even that long right now and it just gets in my eyes."
"Because it's cool," he says with a shrug and leans back again.
Did he just call me cool?
I don't realize I'm grinning until Jade says, "Don't let that head get too big or your hat won't fit."
I flip her off.
"We'll take Topanga's top and doors off this summer and go to the lake. Have— "
"I'm sorry what did you call her?" Jade asks with a snort.
"Topanga," I repeat.
"Dude, you're joking. This Jeep is wasted on you. Gunmetal gray isn't the color of a Jeep named Topanga. You gotta change one or the other."
"What color is Topanga?" I ask.
"Green," she and Cooper say in unison.
"Green?"
Jade nods. "Schedule a paint job, I like the name. And yes, we've been to the lake house. Twice. Coop got to go fishing with your dad."
The traffic in front of us slows until we're at a standstill trying to get off the exit we need.
"What's going on?" Coop asks. "Why are we stopped?"
"GPS says there's a disabled vehicle," I say. "But if we can sneak out of here, and back onto the highway, we can get off at the next exit I think."
Jade eyes her surroundings. A big rig is in front of us, and behind us there's a minivan. She cuts the wheel and shifts the Jeep into reverse. The minivan honks, and she mumbles something that sounds like "twatwaffle" but I don't dare ask with Coop in the car.
Her brow furrows as she shifts the car back into gear. "If this dude would move up just a foot, I could clear it," she says.
Coop stops the song playing, and Jade grinds her teeth. I turn my head to give him a look that says, turn it back on, but he yells, "Move bitch," and then I hear it. Fucking Ludacris.
Jade and I burst into laughter.
If I've learned anything in my life, it's that sometimes the best moments happen when you least expect them. And this is one of them. The three of us sing along, yelling the lyrics until finally the big rig inches forward.
I meet Jade's gaze over the center console and watch as she shifts her eyes to the curb separating us from the highway and then brings them back to me. I give her a subtle nod, and she turns the wheel, presses the gas, and takes the curb.
We catch a bit of air, and Coop laughs.
Jade grins and sticks her tongue out at me.
I snap a photo with my phone.
This is a side of her I doubt many people are lucky enough to see. I want to remember this day forever.