Chapter 2
Sweat drips down my body, covering the grease I’ve accumulated while trying to fix this axle on a Volkswagen. It’s been a piece to deal with. I prefer American-made cars to work on instead of these international cars. Their complexity makes them harder to fix and takes more time.
Tightening a bolt on this hunk of junk, I can’t help but look over my shoulder at my dream car. I searched high and low for this 1970 Chevelle. I found her when I was at a junkyard looking for spare parts to stock in Leland’s shop. I refer to this car as a ‘she’ since she was singing for me. She is my girl.
Some people think it’s weird that a girl is a mechanic, but cars are all I know. Lawson and I have been working with Leland since we were kids. Our dad ran off with a new girlfriend when I was a kid, never looking back. My mom was in a terrible car accident. She survived, but with a traumatic brain injury, there wasn’t much of ‘her’ left. She’s barely mobile, hasn’t spoken a word, and her eyes look hollow. Her sky-blue eyes show no recognition of anyone. Even when she looks at us, her kids.
Without a second thought, Leland stepped up to take care of us. He worked as a mechanic for Mr. Lee in high school. Mr. Lee took him under his wing and taught him everything he could. Leland worked every single day until Mr. Lee’s untimely passing. Now he runs Mr. Lee’s garage. Lawson and I naturally followed in Leland’s footsteps and worked alongside him. It surprised me how quickly I picked up the skills needed to do this job. Tiny hands can reach some of the most impossible places in an engine.
Leland walks in the back door of the tiny workshop and makes his way to the front lobby. He lives in an extremely small studio apartment that is attached to the building out back. He lives and breathes this place. Lawson is nursing a hangover in the corner. His disheveled, deep brown hair and his normally tan skin pales from the amount of anxiety he carries day after day.
“Collins. Is that Volkswagen ready?” Leland yells from the front. He pokes his head around the doorframe to look at what I am doing.
“Yeah, it’s good,” I responded.
“Sweet. I’ll call the owner and let him know.” His voice muffles as he walks away from the shop door.
I climb into the car and drive it around to the front so the owner knows it’s ready. Quickly, I wipe the car down to make sure there is no oil or dirt left over when I see my best friend, Massey, parking her car. We’ve been best friends since grade school. She’s always been my person. Someone I could run to when life felt like it was swallowing me whole. Though we are from different worlds, she’s never made me feel anything other than accepted. Even her father would turn a blind eye when I snuck into their house in the middle of the night. I couldn’t stand the parties my brothers would have or be alone when they worked late or went out with friends. Sometimes she even slipped food in my bag.
Unfortunately, Lawson still lingers in this party stage but doesn’t go out nearly as much as he used to. Leland wasn’t that bad, but he worked all the time. That minor fact hasn’t changed.
Massey skips toward me with the biggest smile. Her dark brown hair blows wild in the wind. “Collins! Clean lines across the surf. It’s begging to be ridden. Ready to go?”
“Yeah, let me clock out,” I say as Massey follows me inside.
Tossing the keys into their slot, we walk to the office where Leland hovers over paperwork on his desk.
“I’m out.” I offer a nod as my brother looks up at me.
“Cool. Night surf, right?” Leland questions.
“We will be there.” I point between Massey and me.
Leland nods and waves us off. Lawson pops his head from the shop, giving Massey doe eyes. “Party at mine after?”
“Nope,” “Not a chance,” Massey and I say at the same time.
He groans, then gives me a quick fist bump. Following Massey out of the garage, I give her a knowing nod to follow me to my home. I’ll need a shower to wash off all this grease and sweat and grab my longboard and shortboard. I place them in the bed of my late nineties Chevrolet pickup truck. It’s an old beat-up thing but handles the off-road better than Massey’s little Jeep. Yes, it’s a Jeep, but it’s a standard Jeep and too girly to be off-road material. Plus, we are going to a locals-only spot, which means it can get rowdy. I wouldn’t want her car to get messed up by drunken locals.
A quick pit-stop at the store to load up on snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, and glow sticks. I don’t drink that much. I want a clear head when I’m surfing. After arriving at our spot, it’s already packed full of our friends. A few fire pits are blazing and a few people are in the water riding waves.
Massey jumps out of the truck, excited to hit the waves. “Let’s rip this shit!”
I laugh at her eagerness. Climbing out and rounding the truck to pull my longboard out. The way Massey acts, you would never know she works for corporate lawyers. She’s in the advertising and marketing department but still… lawyers.
We wave to our friends and concentrate on the boundless ocean ahead of us. Standing at the water’s edge, we drop to the warm sand to wax our boards. The atmosphere was alive with the sound of fire, laughter, and surfers out on the horizon calling for their waves. This is heaven. Massey and I stand with the waves, gently kissing our toes. As tradition, we link our pinky fingers and swing our arms.
“Big waves.” I sniff the ocean air.
“Big rewards.” Massey follows.
With our ritual words spoken, we charge into the water. Paddling into the surf, ducking under the waves as it rolls over us. Out beyond the reef, we ride every wave we can find. A few hours later, as the sun sets, we head back to shore to grab a bite to eat. Resting on the tailgate of my truck, we are stuffing our faces with food. A sudden rush hits my stomach, like someone is watching me. Looking up, I notice him standing next to my brothers. Tall, lean, eyes gleaming, and two women are pawing at his side for his attention. His dry-cleaned pressed shorts and button-up, short-sleeve shirt are wrinkle-free. Not one stitch of fabric or hair is out of place. My hand sneaks up to shove a large piece of hair back into my messy bun. Wrinkling my brows, wondering why I just did that.
“Damn.” Massey looks over at the group.
“What?” I lean closer to her. Curious why that little curse word escaped her dry lips.
“Victor is here.” She nods in their direction. I slowly tip my head toward her, dropping my chin. Massey knows this guy? I open my mouth to ask how, but her eyes stay trained on the poster boy. “My dad works for his dad’s company–blah, blah–boring work. Victor joined the west coast firm for a real estate deal that is supposedly in the works. My dad and the partners have been hush–hush about it. Victor is one of the most sought after lawyers or consultants in the corporate real estate world. My dad even tried to set us up on a date,” she cackles. “I left after the first round of drinks.”
I’m left dumbfounded. Turning my whole body toward my best friend, my curiosity peaks, tucking one leg under the other. “Oh, please don’t stop on my account!”
“He’s not my type.” She shrugs her shoulders hard while glancing over at the group.
“What is your type?” I respond, knowing she has a crush on Lawson.
She puckers her lips and scrunches her nose. “I’ll let you know when I know. Victor isn’t bad. He’s just… how do you say it without sounding mean? He’s a douche.”
I can’t hold back my laughter. “Wow! Okay. Well, you are a liar. You have the biggest crush on my brother. Don’t think I haven’t seen your sideways glances at him.”
“Maybe if he didn’t party so much.” She shrugs and blushes hard.
I nod in agreement with her statement. We continue to eat in silence while watching Victor and my brothers talking. The two girls are still poking for attention. Shoving the rest of my sandwich in my mouth in the most unladylike manor, I jump off the tailgate and grab the bag of glow sticks.
“Come on. Let’s go catch up with my brothers.”
Massey and I grab our boards and walk over to the fire pit where everyone is standing. As we arrive, we catch the tail end of their conversation. Lawson and Leland look pissed, standing with their arms crossed and shoulders stiff. Lawson has a fire burning in his eyes, ready to pounce. Disheveled blonde hair and rage radiating from his pores. Leland has a calmer, more controlled look. He has his long brown hair pulled into a braid.
“She isn’t your type,” Leland says, shaking his head.
Victor looks over as we approach and his hazel eyes shine brighter next to the fire. He’s taller than I realized as I am standing closer to him. His cheeks tint red, obviously forgetting to apply sunblock today.
“Avert your eyes,” Lawson warns. My eyes dart to my brother, who stands to the side with his arms covering his bare chest.
“What’s up, boys?” Massey interrupts. Her cheerful tone offsets the awkward conversation.
Silence falls on everyone’s lips as they look at each other. Nope, not awkward at all. Lawson still has his eyes set on Victor, but it’s Leland who gives it away. They were talking about me. It pisses me off if I am going to be honest.
“Hey, Victor.” Massey waves.
“You know this tool?” Leland jabs his thumb in Victor’s direction.
Looking a little guilty, Massey softly responds. “Yeah, our dads are working together, and Victor just joined. We also went on a date.”
Lawson looks like he is about to lose his shit. “What?” he says louder than we all expected.
“Sorry it didn’t work out, Massey. You are a nice girl. I just…” Victor shrugs.
Massey waves him off. “It’s cool. Don’t worry about it. I feel the same way. No hard feelings?”
Lawson steps in front of Massey with his hands on his hips. Massey gives him a look over. Her eyes wander all over my brother’s body, briefly stopping at his toned abdomen. “You went on a date with Mr. Clean here?”
I can’t hold back any longer and release a hard giggle at his jealousy. I sigh, wishing they would just get over themselves already.
“Mr. Clean?” Victor snickers, amused by a new nickname.
“Yeah, douche. Do you have a hearing problem?” Lawson puffs his chest out further.
Leland, the vigilant big brother, knows things can go bad if Lawson isn’t reigned in. “Knock it off Law. Collins, do you have the glow sticks?” He tries to change the subject.
I grab a couple of glow sticks from the bag and shove the rest into Lawson’s chest. He takes a step back as I hand Massey one. Victor and I make eye contact and my stomach flips. He grabs a glow stick from the bag and holds it up.
“Thanks. Collins, is it?” He asks.
Before I can respond, Leland is right there. “Lose the name from your mouth. You are here as a courtesy to your dad.”
That gets my and Massey’s attention. We’ve done favors for Massey and her dad frequently, but it always involved the garage or car work. Never something of this capacity.
“I’m being nice. You are all making it so damn hard,” Victor replies.
Lawson is quick to jump. “You’re not local! This is a local thing.”
“I’ll be working with the locals on this new deal.” Victor is quick to respond. Tipping his head higher, trying to look like he’s not intimidated.
Leland moves closer to Lawson. “Good. As long as you remember, you are not a local.”
“Back up!” Massey cuts in. She puts her body between the guys and pushes them back to put distance between everyone. Lawson covers her wrist, gaining her attention.
Because I am me and can’t help myself. “Wow. Are you guys measuring dicks tonight?” I laugh. The three “men” are standing and staring each other down. I may have instigated another round.
“No competition.” Leland smirks.
“Winner here.” Lawson points to his shorts, giving Massey a wink.
“The most delusional bunch of assholes I’ve ever seen,” Victor adds.
“Oh, I’ll judge!” Massey smiles widely and throws her hand in the air.
I just shake my head and walk away; this is too much. I am a few steps away when I hear his voice calling to me. “Where are you going, Collins?” Victor asks.
I bite my lip before answering. Looking over my shoulder at the three stooges. “Away from all of you merry bunch of assholes.”
And with that, I grab my longboard and walk away. Massey catches up with me, taking my pinky in hers, and we swing our arms back and forth. I take a moment to turn back and see Victor watching me. A shiver runs up my spine by the way he is looking at me. My brothers are knocking each other’s shoulders as they continue to bicker about who is bigger. Victor is paying them no mind.
“He’s eyeing you,” Massey whispers.
“He can keep it in his pants. I don’t want to be surrounded by overly macho men anymore.” I try to convince myself. Victor is just so different from what I’m used to in every way.
Massey just shakes her head. Knowing me since we were kids, she knows when to push and when to leave things be. At least, I thought she did. “Yeah, well, we will see.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
We drag our bags to the edge of the water and slowly saunter in until we are knees deep. We stand holding our boards, about to jump on, when I feel a tug at my board. I look back to see Victor with his hand on the foot of the board.
“So, um… I don’t surf,” he shyly says.
“Then stay out of the water,” I respond. I’m confused about why he would be in the water and holding my board while telling me he doesn’t surf. I mean, the pressed shirt and shorts weren’t already a dead giveaway that this isn’t his thing.
“Why don’t you tag up with me? We usually just sit out there with the glow sticks and paddle around. The surf isn’t anything to ride. Just help me paddle?” Massey interjects.
Victor lets go of my board and splashes toward Massey. “Thanks. I’d like to get to know the locals more. You know, for research.”
“Yeah, that’s nice. Like I said, just help me paddle,” she says as she flops down on the board.
I drop onto mine and take a few strokes before the foot of the board drops to the water. “Why are you tagging?” I question my brother Lawson over my shoulder.
“Hush!” He shushes me.
“God! You are such a baby. Help me paddle fatty.” I tell him.
Lawson huffs, but he helps paddle out beyond the reef. He’s propelling us closer to Massey and Victor. My brother is really falling into this alpha male watching those two together.
The ocean is full of surfers holding or wearing glow sticks. We paddle through the crowded waters, finding an open spot. I snatch my glow stick necklace and bracelets, crack it open, and secure the two items around my wrist and neck. I settle my hands on my knees, tipping my head back to the star-filled-sky. The crashing waves, the crackling of the bonfires, and reggae music pumping through speakers settle into the background. These are the nights I live for that give me an escape from working and visiting my mom at the assisted living facility.
“Take your paws off her dog,” Lawson screams, pulling me from my tranquil thoughts.
One douche to another. “What is your deal? I was helping her with her necklace. It got caught up in her hair.” Victor defends himself.
“Don’t touch her!” Lawson continues.
“Hey! I am right here.” Massey points to herself, shocked by Lawson’s outburst.
“Are you dating her?” Victor tries to bait him, and it’s working.
“Well, no.” Lawson pinches his lips together. “Still, you can’t touch her!”
I am so fed up with this behavior. “Technically, he can,” I pipe in.
“Shut it, Collins,” Lawson lashes out at me.
“Woah! Dude, you need to calm down.” Victor holds his hands toward Lawson. That was a big mistake. Never tell someone who is that hot-headed to calm down.
“I’m going to rip you to shreds, dude,” Lawson threatens.
“Come at me,” Victor challenges.
And that does it for me. “Oh, fuck this!” I scream as I roll off the board. I swim toward shore to get away from this pissing match.
“Collins!” Lawson yells after me.
“Wait,” Victor groans.
I stop and turn to face them, bobbing in the water. “No! My night off to relax and you two pull this crap? Shit or get off the toilet, Lawson! You like Massey and Massey likes you. Just fucking go on a date and end this parade of pride. Hell, give her a ride home tonight and sort your shit.” I yell.
“Collins!” Massey gasps. Narrowing her eyes at me.
Shit, I outed her. I dip my head completely under the water to gather my thoughts. Popping out of the water, I apologize. “Sorry for outing you! Forgive me? I’ll make it up to you.” I wave and continue to shore. As I trudge up the sand, I’m met by Leland. He takes a gulp of his beer before stopping before me.
“You good?” He asks, worried.
“Yeah,” I shrug. “Just tired. See that Law doesn’t break my board and bring it to the shop?”
He sighs but agrees. “You need anything?”
“Nah. I’ll be at the junkyard tomorrow. Benny called and said my parts came in, and I’m going to pick what I can for my girl.”
My girl. My car. She’s going to be a welcome distraction.
“Be safe driving home.” Leland says.
Leland isn’t for showing a lot of emotions, so the way he says he loves or cares for us is words like that. Be safe.
I climb in my truck to head out with tonight’s events replaying in my mind. Nothing is worse than ratting out my best friend and brother. I’ll need to make it up to Massey. Maybe Lawson too. It’s still up in the air for that guy.