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‘Say what?’ she asks innocently.
‘That I’m wise, they’ll never believe you,’ I kid.
She laughs to herself.
‘Where are we eating?’ Laney asks as we exit the theater, sort of killing the moment between Jade and me, which might be for the best considering the situation.
14
JADE
‘Why can’t love be like the final scene of an eighties rom-com? Someone tell me why?’ I ask as River drives the three of us to a burger truck he ‘just knows we’ll love’. His words, and considering he’s impressed me with his food taste recently, I trust him. But the movie is sticking with me, along with the flirting River and I did pretty much since I walked into the place. I can’t think about it too deeply, or I’ll wonder if he was suggesting something I shouldn’t be considering right now.
‘Maybe because the innocence of the eighties is gone?’ Laney snaps. ‘Back then, people were friends with their neighbors and slept with open windows. Kids came home when the streetlights came on, and no one knew where they were because there were no cell phones. Now we live in a world full of sex offenders, serial killers, the dark web, and all kinds of toxic bullshit. Kids can’t even play outside anymore unless constantly supervised, and even then, let’s hope their guardian isn’t a super creep.’ She groans with frustration. ‘Can you please watch one of the true-crime episodes I constantly send you? You and your walking around downtown at night will one day get you killed if you don’t.’
‘Yeah, Jade.’ River continues the lecture jokingly. ‘Don’t get murdered; it’ll greatly inconvenience your sister. Alright?’
Finally, Laney laughs. ‘That’s right. I mean, what would you even wear?’
My jaw drops. ‘To my murder?’ I balk. ‘You think I’ve got an outfit planned for that?’ I ask. ‘This is a weird conversation. How did we even start talking about this? Let’s change the subject. River, tell us about this food truck,’ I say. Earlier, he bragged that he knew all the best food trucks and visits them so often that they know him (and his order) by name.
‘Bun Jovi,’ he says with a goofy grin. ‘Get it?’
‘Like Bon Jovi?’
‘Yep. The owner’s name is Jovi, it’s a hamburger joint, hamburgers have buns…’
Of course I get it, but watching him explain it is funny. He’s excited to get to this food truck.
‘Seriously,’ he continues. ‘Jovi is the coolest guy you’ll ever meet. Big guy with an accent I can’t place. It could be backwoods southern, who knows? What I do know is that Jovi is a burger genius.’
Ten minutes later, we pull up to a food truck, in an iffy part of the city lit by a super old streetlight flashing intermittently. Creepy, but the truck has LEDs around the top, so it’s less horror film and more amusing with a giant photo of who I assume is Jovi, the owner, drawn cartoon Bon Jovi style with a burger in his hand.
‘River!’ The man matching the cartoon on his truck greets him by name, just like River said he would. ‘Two dates tonight? You’re living the life, my man.’ He reaches out the window, and he and River fist bump one another.
‘Actually, neither is my date. I’m just entertaining two beautiful women.’ He waves a hand Jovi’s way. ‘This is Jovi, the proud owner of Bun Jovi, also known as the best burger truck in the world.’
‘Ha-ha! Yes! River is my best customer!’ Jovi says; the accent River previously mentioned is very prominent. ‘You know what… uh-oh,’ he says, checking his phone then nodding at River. ‘Tonight’s the night you become a man.’
‘Oh, really?’ River asks, raising his eyebrows.
‘The coronary express,’ Jovi says. ‘You promised next time, and this is the time, brother!’ He extends his fist to River, who, a little less enthusiastically, responds with another fist bump.
‘Shit,’ he says under his breath, not an ounce of the excitement Jovi has in his tone. ‘Was that this time?’
‘Wait!’ I say, stopping whatever weird deal is about to be made. ‘What is the coronary express? Drugs?’
River and Jovi both laugh, then Jovi leans out the food truck window, pointing at an item on the menu. ‘The coronary express, the one burger that promises heaven with how good it is, and hell if you finish it. It includes two pounds of beef, multiple kinds of cheese, smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, ghost peppers, habaneros, and a sauce that’s recipe will be buried alongside me.’
I glance at River. ‘According to the menu, your upcoming death costs twenty-two bucks. Do you have a coupon?’
He chuckles, shaking his head. ‘Nope, but I made a promise,’ he says with a shrug. ‘I’m not a man who breaks his word. I gotta do it. I understand if you’d rather not see this side of me.’
‘We’re staying,’ Laney says gleefully, glancing at her sister with a smirk. ‘Dinner and a show, plus he’s paying. Why wouldn’t we stay?’
He confirms his order of the coronary express, and we girls get regular-sized burgers. Then we head to the patio furniture on a deck attached to the back of the truck. Laney and I sit beside one another, and River sits across from me.
‘This won’t even be the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done in front of people,’ River says.
