Page 71 of Forbidden Kisses
“I do. I just don’t know the lingo all that well. And Joey will just be Joey. He’ll make sure we get where we’re going and back safely, like he always does.”
Grace turned to Abby, who was always the voice of reason. “Is this a good idea?”
“It’s the only idea. Do you want to win the tournament or not?”
“I do, but do we even have a chance without—”
“There’s only one sure thing,” Abby said. “You have absolutely no chance if you don’t get your ass out there on Saturday morning.”
“So?” Krista said. “Are we a crew?”
Grace’s shattered hope reassembled, rearranged. She nodded. “Yes.”
—
Jack had driven around the entire town of Blushing Bay twice and had somehow ended up here. The point was a large cliff in town that overlooked the ocean. Jack and Chris had come here many times in their youth with girls they’d dated. They’d also come just to talk. Once when they were sixteen, Chris had nabbed a few of his dad’s beers and they had gotten drunk here for the first time.
Jack sat down on the grass and stared out onto the dark water. The moon was high in the sky, lighting up sections of the water and leaving other sections like a dark hole. Jack wished he had a few of those beers right now. He wished he had his best friend, too. Chris had teased him about liking Grace way back then. And, of course, Jack had denied it. But when Chris had shown interest in Grace, he’d threatened to throw him off this very cliff.
“What would you tell me now?” Jack asked out loud.
The water made a hushing sound as it hit against the bottom of the cliff. It rolled and hushed, rolled and hushed. “Would you tell me to go for it? Tell me to leave it alone?” Jack wondered. “She’s just a girl, right?” As if answering his own question, the response rose up inside of him. She was more than a girl. She always had been.
Jack stared at the water for a long time until it felt like his eyes might close. Falling asleep here at the Blushing Bay point might land him in jail. Someone might mistake him for being homeless.
Shit.Jack remembered what Tristan had told him. Did Tristan have a place to sleep tonight? After his fight with Grace, he’d forgotten all about the teen. Picking himself up, Jack headed back to his truck. He grabbed his cellphone and dialed Tristan’s number. It rang and went to voicemail. “Call me,” Jack said into the phone. Impatiently, he dialed the kid’s number again. He hung up as the voicemail came on. On the third attempt, Tristan finally answered the phone.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Tell me where you are and I’ll come pick you up,” Jack said. “I have a spare room in my house that you can stay in until things cool down and we figure out something else.”
“You’re the reason I can’t sleep in my own bed tonight,” Tristan said, his voice making it clear that he was still angry.
“No, that would be your father. He’s the one that hit you and he’s the reason that social services came to your house. I called them because I had to.” Jack wasn’t going to be responsible for the lost life of someone else that he cared about. “Where are you?” he asked again.
Tristan hesitated, then blew a breath into the receiver. “I’m on Sandy Drive,” he finally said.
Jack recognized the street as a less-than-ideal part of town. “What are you doing there?”
“Surviving,” Tristan said, as if he’d been homeless for months instead of half a day.
“I’ll come get you.” Jack got into his truck and started the engine. “I’m on my way now. Give me ten minutes. Don’t go anywhere.”
Tristan didn’t respond.
“I’m serious, kid. If I get there and you’re not waiting for me, I’m going to be furious.”
“Guess that would make us even,” Tristan said.
Jack decided to take his chances and head toward the location that Tristan had given him. Ten minutes later, he pulled onto Sandy Drive and found Tristan leaning up against the stop sign. Jack slowed to a halt on the roadside and waited for Tristan to head toward the passenger side. He opened the door and got in without saying a word. With a nod, Jack pulled back onto the road and headed home.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m hungry,” Tristan said.
“I can fix hungry.” It was a world of other problems, namely the one he had with Grace, that Jack had no idea how to fix tonight.
They drove to a fast food restaurant and ordered. After devouring their burgers and fries, Tristan finally cracked a smile.
