Page 70 of Kings Don't Break
Stepping forward, I take mercy on him and produce a towelette wipe from my purse. “Here, Blake Cash, because you’re hopeless.”
He stands still and lets me mop him clean of any sugary powder decorating his face. Seconds pass us by before our proximity dawns on me and the unspoken tension rises to a feverish heat. Even in the face of the December wind. My eyes flick up to find his already on me.
Studying me. Admiring me. Peering into me in a way only he’s ever been able to.
I take an immediate step back, feeling acutely aware of every cell in my body and how each one reacts whenever near him.
Mama’s watching on with a look that says I told you so without actually speaking the words.
Before I can figure out a new direction to take the moment, we’re interrupted by two people approaching us.
“Hey, thought that was you,” Sydney says, an ease about her. She’s at Mason’s side, the two so complementary it’s no wonder they’re together. She smiles at us and asks us how we’re liking the market.
“Very good,” Mama answers. She points a finger at Mason. “But I really want to catch up with this one.”
Mason lets out a short laugh and cocks his head to the side. “What did I do this time, Mrs. McKibbens?”
“It’s Ms. these days, and I haven’t forgotten about your bad little self riding your bike all over my lawn. Look at you, all grown now. Tell me about all the trouble I’m sure you’ve caused.”
Mason holds up his hands. “I’ve been behaving myself, Ms. McKibbens. For once.”
“So a leopard does change its spots!”
Mama shuffles unprovoked toward Mason and Sydney as if by invite.
“Mama, some other time,” I say. “Mason and Sydney are here together?—”
“We don’t mind,” Sydney interjects, sharing a smile with Mama. “We’ll take very good care of her. You two go on.”
Suddenly, it occurs to me I’ve walked straight into a trap.
Everybody knows what they’re doing. I’m the one that’s slow on the uptake. As Mama joins Mason and Sydney and the couple winks at us, I’m left standing alone with Blake. He seems equally pleased with how the situation has been flipped on its head.
Before I can even think up any other protests, Mama’s wandered off in between Mason and Sydney, the trio already engaged in animated chatter.
My nose wrinkles as I shoot Blake a suspicious look. “That was totally coordinated, wasn’t it? Mason and Sydney didn’t just happen to turn up and see us here, did they?”
Blake’s shrug is innocuous. “Who knows? Small town.”
“I’ll say. Full of scheming bikers.”
15
KORINE
“Let’s check out some more of the market. Remember those bratwursts you used to love? The vendor’s still around.” Blake grabs hold of my hand and leads me deeper into the crowds.
I don’t know what I’m more thrown by, his warm hand engulfing my own, or the fact that he’s remembered such a small quirk of mine. The last time we attended this market we were seniors in high school fucking around on a bored Saturday.
The memories flicker in and out before my eyes. As we explore the many booths and displays set up on Main Street, I’m caught between the past and present. We’d pissed people off messing up the winter wonderland display by chucking snow at each other and had nicked extra free samples from food booths when the vendors weren’t looking. On a dare, I distracted Mrs. Igerson as Blake rearranged the snowman at her booth, swapping his carrot nose for a different kind of carrot down below. She’d screamed in outrage as he grabbed my hand and we took off running with sides aching from laughter.
It fades for the present where we’re adults, more mature than dressing up snowmen with carrots for penises, but still playful in our own way.
Blake shoves a beanie over my head at a booth selling knitted goods while I hold up an ugly Christmas sweater against his broad chest.
“Puke green,” I tease. “It looks good on you.”
“You and that mouth of yours. Always getting you into trouble.” He yanks the beanie down ’til it’s covering my eyes and I can’t see. Then he’s whisking me off after tossing a twenty at the booth owner.
