Page 14

Chapter 6

August

Ruben

Ever since Shane had sent me the picture of his lunch out of the blue, we had fallen into a strange rhythm. Every few days, we would write each other short, meaningless messages. We’d send each other photos of everyday things.

On the one hand, it was good to keep in touch. On the other hand, reading these aimless messages drove me a tiny bit crazy. It was as if neither of us knew what to do with the other. We sought each other’s company without really committing. We danced around each other without addressing my cowardly escape or Shane’s outburst.

I read Shane’s last message again. A pile of sand that he had titled My first sand cake.

Still grinning, I thought of a witty reply.

“Watch it, boss!” Sway yelled in my ear from behind. I jumped that I almost dropped the phone.

Her malicious laughter only grew louder as I tried to give her a fierce glare. The emphasis was clearly on the word “tried.”

“If I drop dead because of a heart attack, it’s all your fault.”

Grinning, she briefly patted my shoulder and walked past me into the food truck.

“You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Putting my phone away, I hurried after her. There was a reason I was at the truck early. The plan had been for me to get everything ready before my assistant showed up. We would have to tackle this task together.

“You’re early,” I commented on her arrival, glancing at my watch.

“Oh, why should I stay in bed when I can scare you to death?” She wasn’t going to lose that grin on her face anytime soon. “What was so fascinating about your phone, anyway? You could have had a parade of drag queens march past you and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“Nothing.” My answer was too short and too curt.

Sway laughed again. “Oh, okay. You don’t have to tell me your secrets.”

“I don’t have any secrets . . . ” My thoughts wandered off to Shane. There was nothing to tell. “It’s . . . nothing. Unfortunately.”

“Oh dear. Come on! What’s bugging you?”

She pulled her long black hair back into a tighter ponytail.

“Nothing. A guy.”

I could barely finish speaking before she interrupted me. “Ha! I knew it! Is there a new guy?”

“A new guy? What do you mean? There isn’t an old one.”

Laughing, she waved her hand dismissively. “You know. The one from Ocean View. The surfer. The one you’ve been pining for all summer, and suddenly you were inseparable. And then . . . ” She narrowed her eyes slightly and raised her head, tapping her forehead thoughtfully. “And then we moved here. Hmm. Why did we leave so suddenly? You never told me that.”

She was scrutinizing me with her dark eyes, reminding me of a sniper who had her prey in her sights.

Frustrated, I opened the small refrigerator and stared blankly into it. “We had to move on. The business was done anyway. We were able to get here a few days earlier than planned.”

“And . . . your lover?”

“My lover!” I snorted. And gave up. Abruptly, I stood, pushed the refrigerator door shut, and crossed my arms in front of my chest. “It would never have worked out between him and me. There’s no need to worry about it.”

“Got it! Everything is pointless. But tell me again: why wouldn’t it have worked out?” I tried to get a word in, but she continued talking over me. “Would you have wanted it to work out?”

I had been proud to avoid that line of thought since I left Ocean View. Now it had caught up with me.