Page 22 of Lines We Cross
“Nice to see you again, Ryder,” she answered from somewhere against his chest.
“Easy there, Killer,” Heath whispered in my ear.
I clenched my fists and looked away. I couldn’t see Rae hugging other guys and not react. Like playing baseball and needing to spit. Seeing Mom’s homemade cookies and not salivating. It just wasn’t possible. The two were irrevocably entwined.
“Come on, buddy. Let’s go get that beer.” Jase steered me away, breaking up the remaining stragglers at the finish line.
“Thanks, man. You’re the only one who doesn’t give me crap all the time.”
Jase simply looked out into the forest as we walked. “’Cause I know what it’s like to want someone with every fiber of your being and not get her.” A few seconds later, while I wondered what happened to him in the twelve years we’d been apart, he smacked me on the back and broke out into a smile. “Kind of fun to watch you freak out when anyone talks to her though.”
I rolled my eyes and focused on the sidewalk starting up ahead as we emerged from the park. Unless Nickel Bay had changed more than I thought, The Tough Nickel should be just a few storefronts over. The bar had been around as long as I could remember, the watering hole for all citizens who needed a safe place to blow off steam.
Thank all the Bigfoots for beer and a place to vent amongst friends. I was all kinds of confused about Rae. Actually no, I wasn’t confused about Rae. I knew I liked her, knew she meant more to me than a casual friend, and I certainly knew I was attracted to her.
I was confused by all the emotions hitting me from all angles. Between the injury, the rehab, the potential need to retire, and the pressure from my coaches, that was enough on my plate right there. But then there was the fact I was living with my parents and running from the ghost of my best friend and all the emotions that went along with his death. Add in mixed feelings about pursuing things with Rae, my best friend’s little sister—who also happened to be madder than a hornet’s nest every time I came around—and you had one very off-kilter Max Duke.
When the bright neon lights of The Tough Nickel hit my retinas, I opened the door and held it for my friends. Rae and her parents had disappeared at some point on the walk which was just fine by me. I needed the guy time to get my head on straight.
We found a table in the back and crowded onto the sticky vinyl bench seats. The menus were stacked on the end of the table, almost illegible from years of use and abuse. The waitress, a young girl who didn’t look familiar at all, came over and Ryder ordered a round of beer on tap.
“Remember trying to sneak in here that one time senior year?” Jase asked, the start of a smile on his face.
“Emerson went and blew it by asking for a dirty martini. Who the heck asks for a martini in this place?” Heath huffed out a laugh.
“Guess he thought our first real bar experience should be as fancy as possible,” I drawled, remembering the way the bartender had grabbed us by the back of our shirts and carted us out, telling us if we tried that crap again he’d call our parents.
“I miss him,” Ryder said quietly. The table got quiet, the only sounds the country music pouring from the speakers up on the ceiling and the clack of the balls on the pool tables in the adjoining room.
The waitress set down our beers and rushed off to help another table. I grabbed the frosted glass and held it in the air in the middle of the table, the foam spilling over and dripping down my fingers.
“To Emerson and the Nickel Heads back together.”
We all toasted and drank our beer, each of us lost in our heads, sifting through memories of what we used to be together. The five of us. It was always supposed to be the five of us.
Heath spoke first when we hit the bottom of our beer glasses. “So. You going to ask Skylar out or what?”
I leaned back in the booth, the vinyl creaking as I shifted. “I doubt she wants me to ask her out. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but she seems to hate me. Besides, she’s Emerson’s sister.”
Jase frowned. “Pretty sure that rule went out the window once we became adults. And it definitely went out the window when Emerson died.”
I appreciated what he was saying, but if anything, the fact Emerson died should mean the rule about not dating each other’s sisters should be doubly reinforced not forgotten about. Only Emerson could give me his blessing on dating his sister and he wasn’t here.
“Besides, she doesn’t hate you. She’s just as confused as you are and it’s coming out as anger,” Ryder said confidently.
I gave him a funny look. He’d definitely changed over the years as that was not something the eighteen-year-old Ryder would have said.
“Oh, Wise One, please explain.”
He swiped a thumb down his glass, sending the condensation to the table. “Her brother just died last year. She hasn’t seen you in over a decade though we know she had a huge crush on you all the years we were growing up. She’s confused. Not sure how she feels about you or any of us being back. Think about it. Us being here and Emerson being gone must be a huge emotional bomb in her life. Seeing us together must be painful for her. Quit pushing her buttons, get her talking for real, give her some room to sort everything out, and you may just have a shot with her.”
My jaw dropped open while he talked. I blinked several times, wondering when Ryder got so knowledgeable about relationships.
Heath whistled through his teeth. “I couldn’t have put it so eloquently, but Ryder’s right. Maybe this injury sending you home to Nickel Bay was actually a blessing in disguise. I mean, what are the odds that your trainer would send you to Skylar’s clinic? Maybe you both had some growing up to do before anything could work out between you. Maybe now’s your time. Maybe this, right now, is what you both need to move forward.”
A tiny flame of hope sparked to life and I grabbed hold of it with both hands.
Maybe this injury wasn’t the end of my life.
