Page 11 of Switchin' Lanes
4
Hollywood
I’ve been doingmy best to avoid Tink and Diesel unless there’s club business involved. It’s not that I don’t want to be around them, because I do. I care about both of them more than words can say. I just don’t want the past to repeat itself. I thought distancing myself from them would make things easier. It’s been four months and it’s as painful now as it was the first month. I went from talking to one of them, sometimes both of them, every day to not talking to either of them.
I can keep myself busy all day long to keep my mind off them, but as soon as I lay down at night it hits me like a freight train. Tonight, I plan to drink until I forget. It’s all about pool, pizza, and beer with Tech, Clutch, Buzz, and Saint. This week is Saint’s last week in Texas before he heads to our New Orleans chapter to start his journey looking for his bio-mom.
Clutch and I are at We Knead Pizza to pick up Saint’s favorite pies. Just as we’re about to climb out of his car, Clutch’s phone rings.
“Go ahead, it’s Aria,” he tells me. “Buzz paid over the phone so all you need to do is get the pizza.”
“You got it.” I hop out of the car and head toward the door. I stop short, looking through the front window. Diesel and Tink are cuddled up in a booth together. The sight takes me back to a time I wish I could forget.
* * *
11 Yearsago
“Averie, I love you, but I have some shit I need to work out on my own. I don’t want to hold you back while I figure everything out.” A little over a year ago, my parents ripped me away from everything I knew to move us to Chicago. Averie was my first friend and soon after became my girlfriend.
“You’re breaking up with me?” There’s pain in her eyes and I’m the one causing it.
“I swear it’s not you. You gotta believe that,” I tell her.
“You have feelings for someone else.”
It’s a statement, not a question. And she won’t make eye contact with me.
I hold her hands in mine. “It’s not what you think.”
“Is it a guy?”
Her words take me by surprise. “What?”
“It’s okay, Dex. You don’t have to explain. I understand.”
“You do?”
She lifts her eyes to mine. “I’ve had a feeling for a while now.”
The look on my face must give away my uncertainty.
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone,” she assures me. “You do what you need to do. I hope we can still be friends.”
I move to the other side of the table to sit next to her and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Always. You’re still my best friend.”
Later in the week, I’m hanging out with my friend Scott. We started getting closer a few months ago and my feelings for him have only grown stronger. I’ve never had these types of feelings for a guy before and I tried to ignore them, but it’s been damn near impossible.
There’s been a few times where we’ve flirted with each other. I thought I was imagining things, but after talking to Averie about it, she thought the same. So, today, I’m making a move.
It’s Friday night and my parents are out on a date. Scott and I are hanging out and playing Call of Duty.
“Man, fuck this game,” he says, as his player dies again. “You got anything to eat?”
“Want some pizza rolls or something?”
“Yeah, that’s cool,” he says.
I head to the kitchen with him right behind me. I turn on the oven and grab the pizza rolls out of the freezer while it heats up.
