Murray
How was it thegirl of my nightmares was a dream come true? Yes, she’d put me in a precarious position with the band, but once I had a chance to think about it, I didn’t even mind. I wouldn’t have spoken up. I would’ve kept the status quo and probably gotten resentful over it.
The song was important to me.
The band was more important.
That didn’t mean I wanted to choose one over the other.
“Are you sure you aren’t pissed at me?” Yael asked for the hundredth time since we left Mo’s place.
“Positive, boo. I’d rather you let me handle band stuff in the future, but I’m not pissed.”
She dropped her skateboard on the sidewalk and pushed off. “Good, because you’re going to be pissed when I beat you to the plaza.”
She took off, weaving past a few pedestrians, wobbly but confident. My chest ached seeing her in her helmet and pads, wishing like hell we could have done this years ago.
When she got far enough ahead of me to think she had a chance of winning, I threw down my board and blazed after her. A block from the plaza, I left her in the dust, throwing a salute as I whizzed by. Her laugh echoed off the skyscrapers surrounding us, then bounced around my chest for a while too.
We skated around the plaza for a while, our homeless friend its only occupant, as usual. Yael was determined to master an ollie. I kept telling her it was too soon, but she wouldn’t be deterred.
She stopped in her tracks, hands on her hips. “I’m ready to learn.”
I rolled up next to her, flipping my board into my hand. “Doesn’t the teacher get to decide that?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you saying I’m not ready?”
“I’m saying you’re cute as hell.” I snagged the end of her shirt, tugging her close to distract her, but she was having none of it. She pushed me away, a look of determination on her face.
“Don’t try to charm me, Alex Murray. And thank you.” She tossed her ponytail back and cocked her hip to show me just how cute she was. Add in the skateboard and pink helmet, and I was gone, falling through time and space and eternity. The only thing I saw was Yael.
“Okay.” I cleared my throat. “We’ll try it, but if you crack your ass, I’m not taking the blame. I mean, I’ll be really sorry, and I guarantee I’ll kiss it better, but—”
She smacked my chest. “You might be the worst teacher ever.”
Laughing, I tried to turn on my game face, but it didn’t work. The thing of it was, I was too damn happy to be serious about anything. Feeling this light was so new for me, it was almost scary. I had shit to worry about, my dad being at the top of the list, but at this very moment, none of it weighed on me.
Yael and I spent a good hour working on her ollie. By the end, even the homeless guy was chanting “pop, slide, jump” with us. And when she got the board and herself off the ground, even though it was barely an inch, the three of us whooped and cheered together. Yael jumped into my arms, beaming with pride.
“Oh my god, can we call Brian and tell him what I did?” she asked.
I pulled my face back from hers. “You want to call my dad?”
“Yes. Is that okay?”
The smile on my face was stupid big. “Uh…yeah, it is. I think he’ll be pretty proud.”
The call got delayed for a while when Yael wanted to shower her skateboarding sweat away. Since Yael naked and wet was my siren song, I crashed in and sank myself inside her.
After, she dressed in one of my hoodies and leggings, her wet hair piled on top of her head, and grabbed my phone, perching on the end of her bed.
“Were you serious?” I asked as I pulled on a pair of gray sweats.
“About calling Brian? Absolutely.” She snagged me around the waist with one of her long, creamy legs, pulling me between them. “Only if it’s okay. I’ve overstepped enough of your boundaries today.”
“Yeah, Boo.” I cupped the side of her wet head, smoothing my palm over the cool strands. “It’s more than okay.”
My dad picked up quickly, and before I could say hello, Yael pressed her face next to mine. “Hello, Brian. I’m here, so keep the trash talking to a minimum. How are you?”