Page 37 of Lines We Cross
Max hovered close, despite making conversation with every single person there. I’d feel his hand on my low back now and then, a fresh beer handed to me when I took the last sip of the original one. He was being so attentive and sweet. And yet…I just couldn’t trust it would last.
“He’s brand new?” Max’s loud question to Jim across the circle caught my attention.
Jim’s prosthetic hand held his beer bottle just fine while he gestured wildly with his other arm. “That’s what I’m saying. No one has given him the official welcome. It’s a travesty. This town is headed in a bad direction.”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked Max.
He turned his blue eyes to me, still bright even though the sun had already set a few hours ago. “The new principal at the high school. Dwayne Miller. He moved here right before the new school year started and it’s almost prom and no one has given him the official welcome.”
I smiled as I shook my head. “No one really does that any more. That tradition kind of faded away a few years after you boys left. By the time I came back from college, no one even talked about doing it.”
“Well now, that’s a shame.” Heath leaned forward in the chair, his forearms on his long legs.
“Exactly what I was thinking.” Max stroked his chin.
“Seems to me we have strength in numbers now. We should bring it back,” Jim interjected, looking mighty happy to have fellow troublemakers back in town.
Max hopped up and strode over to Ava. He whispered in her ear, and a second later, she whipped out her phone to turn down the music blasting through the speaker. Another car pulled up, the headlights slicing through our group until they shut the car off.
Max spun around and addressed the group of us. “Can I have your attention? I think as a town of close-knit neighbors, we need to welcome newcomers to our midst. And what better way than a TP party?”
A cheer went up from most of the people in the circle. I felt a little uneasy about it just because if the Nickel Heads were actually moving here, more than likely both Max and Jase would be needing to interview with Principal Miller to get jobs. Didn’t seem like a good idea to prank his house.
“We had this fine tradition going years ago, and though I’m not exactly happy you let it die out, I think it’s time we revived it. Who’s with me?”
Most jumped right on out of their chairs, ready to fling toilet paper with abandon. Those that didn’t stand up right away, like me, eventually stood up because it was either that or get left behind. Someone folded up all the chairs and threw them in the back of a truck bed. Max put away his cooler and Ava shut down the music. Lacey looked at me with one eyebrow raised as if to say “are we really doing this?” I hesitated, but then nodded. They shrugged and got in Ava’s truck.
“Come on, Gingersnap. Let’s go live on the wild side, huh?” Max had a grin on his face that reminded me of when we were kids. How could I resist that?
“Okay, but maybe we should be real quick about it. And maybe you shouldn’t be the front runner since you just said you might apply to be the baseball coach, huh?” I let him help me into his truck, grabbing his arm to make him hold still long enough to listen to me.
He threaded his fingers through my hair and cupped the side of my face. The simple touch sent a shiver down to the tips of my toes.
“Don’t worry. It’s just some harmless fun, I promise.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek, the light scrape from the scruff on his face causing another wave of the shivers. Then he was gone, rounding the truck and hopping in. He threw it in gear and pulled out of the parking lot, grabbing my hand and holding on tight while we drove the short couple of miles to the principal’s house.
Everyone parked a block over, figuring ten cars pulling up at night might draw some attention. We all stood around on the sidewalk until Jim pulled up, several packages of toilet paper in hand.
“Come on, now. This is single ply,” Heath grumbled.
“You’re not going to actually use it on your delicate skin, boss man,” Max teased him.
Heath shoved Max with a hint of a smile, and I reluctantly followed as we walked to the principal’s house. He had a reputation for being super strict which didn’t bode well for having a good sense of humor about this whole thing.
When we got up close, Max whispered for half the group to take the trees in the front yard, while our group decorated the front porch. Of course, he took the most dangerous part of this thing.
“Meet back at the cars. If lights come on, run like your life depends on it,” he whispered urgently. Giggles lit the night sky and the serious TPers hushed the rest of us.
I crept behind Max, his hand holding me tight even as we gripped several rolls of toilet paper in our other hands. I didn’t see one light on in the house, which made sense since it was a school night and almost eleven o’clock. Max let go of my hand and started tossing the first roll up and over the roof overhang of the porch. I cringed but threw mine too.
Max’s face pulled into a huge smile. He pulled me into a hug and whispered in my hear. “I’m super proud of you, my little rule breaker.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed him away to get busy throwing the toilet paper everywhere. The sooner we were done, the sooner we could get back to our cars and back home without anyone knowing who did it. I tried to leave my toilet paper where it wouldn’t be too hard to get back down, but Max was going for height with the roof being his primary target.
I was just about out of my last roll when a light turned on in the back of the house, the light coming through the side yard, illuminating all the shrubs. Everyone froze for a breath and then it was a mad dash of movement as we all lit out of his yard like our pants were on fire. Max grabbed my hand in the mayhem and tugged me to the right the second we cleared the lawn. The trees were pretty dense on this side, so the camouflage they offered made that turn a good idea. Most of the group had gone left, the way we’d come in. We slowed to a walk once we were a few houses down the road. We had a longer walk to make it back around to the cars, but we’d be well hidden as we moved.
Max didn’t release my hand and I couldn’t have pulled it back even if I wanted to. My heart was still pounding, equally terrified and thrilled at coloring outside the lines. I couldn’t remember the last time I did something exhilarating. I couldn’t remember the last time I really felt anything beyond exhausted and numb.
“Fun, right?” Max whispered to me as we walked by the light of the moon.
