"Well, good luck with that!" He clapped me on the shoulder. "I'm going to meet with the ever-rosy Rosie, who is pleasant as a peach."
"Asshole." I growled at him before shoving him off. "Bye."
"Later."
Chapter Four
"Nah, dude. It's in the ollie." I pointed at the board at Wyatt's feet. "Since when do you jump like that?"
"It's the wheels." He stomped on the tail and caught the board on the rise. "I changed them today. They're new."
"They're shitting your jumps." I held my board to him. "Take mine. Let's see."
"'Aight," he said, and we swapped.
Wyatt took to the ramp, his long hair fluttering behind him. The freedom that came with the wash of wind suited him. The casual comfort in his stride, the way he rode the curves of the ramps brought a sense of calmness to him. It settled me as well, and I watched as he launched himself off the lip and performed the trick with ease.
On the ride back, he nodded to me, and tossed up some duces. I chuckled and returned his peace sign before taking his board for a ride. He wasn't wrong. The new wheels vibrated differently and forced me to control the board vigorously. I shifted left, and the wheels squealed annoyingly the way they usually do when they need to be broken in.
Wyatt slapped my hand when we passed each other, and I chuckled.
"Jags," Tatiana called, and I turned to find her waving from the bench beside the halfpipes. I rolled over to her, then hopped out to join her on the ledge.
"Hey," I said, and kissed her cheek.
We sat together and she handed me a wrapped sandwich. "Fixed this."
"Aww, a picnic." I chuckled when I accepted it. "Thanks."
"Hey." Wyatt appeared a moment later, bright-eyed and smiling as he looked to Tatiana. "How you doin', Tati?"
"Doing good." Tatiana smiled up at him, then offered him a wrapped sandwich just the same. "Like avocado?"
"Oh yeah." He accepted it with a grin, then dropped down to sit beside her. "Thanks."
Despite knowing each other for like, ever, their awkward silence made our casual hangout just as awkward. I sat down on the lip of the ramp, one foot hanging over while eating, and observed the two love-struck dopes figure out how to deal with themselves. It amused me somewhat, but pained me in other ways.
"What are you working on here?" Tatiana motioned to the lightly occupied park.
"Just chillin'." Wyatt shrugged, attempting his casual attitude.
"He's working on his Backslide 360 for one." I narrowed my eyes at Wyatt.
He ran his fingers through his floppy, tangled hair and glared at me. "And vert drop-ins."
A grin tugged the corner of my mouth. "Yup."
"Uh huh…" Tatiana snickered while listening. "Those all sound pretty intense."
"He'll show you," I said, motioning in Wyatt's direction. "After he devours the delicious and totally unexpected lunch you've fixed for us."
Tatiana's cheeks tinged pink despite her tanned complexion. She glanced from me to Wyatt, and he just smiled.
"It's good," he said, holding up the half-eaten sandwich. "Fresh."
"Thanks." She chuckled and glanced at me again.
"Hey, folks." I clapped my hands once and stood up from my position. They both looked at me with wide eyes filled with suspicion. "I'm going to relieve all of us of the torture we're suffering. Wyatt, Tati likes you. Tati, Wyatt likes you." I wiggled my fingers at them. "You like each other." I paused to allow them a moment to react with tons of tension and lots of puke faces. "Now, I'm gonna go over there." I pointed to the rails behind me. "And run my ass down the stairs while the two of you figure out what to do next. Cool?" I gave them a thumbs up before kicking up my board to catch it. "Cool. Later."