“Meatloaf?” Jess laughed.
“You know how everyone was talking about Sara Beth Nelson baking cookies in her car? Well, Skeeter apparently tried to top that with a pan of meatloaf on the dash of his truck.”
“Gross. I guess he ate it?”
“What do you think? I had to listen to every detail about how it was a little dry and chewy on top, but still gooey in the middle from all the eggs and ketchup.”
“Really? I’m eatin’ here.”
“How do you think I felt? I swear I saw a piece of raw meat still caked in his dirty beard.”
“Geez, you can be real nasty sometimes.” His nostrils flared in disgust. “I guess it doesn’t surprise me. I heard he went fishin’ and got down to the pond with his Marlboros but no lighter. Skeeter decided it wouldn’t be much different if he just chewed ‘em up and ate ‘em.”
“No way, he ate cigarettes.”
“Why would he make up somethin’ that stupid.”
“I don’t know,” I muttered.
Jess took a drink of his Dr. Pepper. I went back to picking at the strands on my wrist. He chewed for a few minutes. The hot sun baked more freckles into my pale skin.
“I want to talk to you ‘bout somethin’.”
“Ok?” I asked, hesitant at the direction this was going.
“I’m gettin’ a back to school campin’ trip together over Labor Day weekend. That’s our off week with football, so everybody should be free. I want you to go with us.”
“Us?”
“Buzz, Gentry, and Ashley. Maybe a few of the girls. Thought you and Natalie could come too.”
“You want me to do what?” My throat tightened as I spit out my Coke. The bubbles burned in my nose. Just last week, Ashley had dumped a bag of trash in the cab of my father’s truck while I was at Jeeter’s. Now Jess wanted me to spend the whole damn weekend with her.
“Al, look at me. Don’t do this. It’ll be fun.”
I watched Jess take another bite of the burger. The cheese dripped over his bottom lip as he licked it back into his mouth. He continued to chew while staring at me, waiting for an answer.
“I’m starting to regret that I brought you lunch.”
“Come on. You’re gonna have to talk to me. What’s your hang up with Ashley?”
“It’s nothing. We are just different people.” I pictured her perfect fake smile and gagged.
“She’s not that bad. You should spend some time with her. She’s a fun person.”
Fun for you! We didn’t discuss that part of his life, but I was fully aware of his sex-capades. The whole damn school heard plenty from Ashley. I hoped for the sake of public sanitary purposes, most of the stories were just inflated gossip.
I watched Jess cram the rest of the burger into his mouth. Leaning against the tractor tire, he wore a fitted white t-shirt and old pair of Wranglers. His shaggy black hair was pushed back off his forehead with a University of Texas cap. Almost a decade older now from when we first met, but he still had the same deep, blue eyes. Those same pink lips turned into a frown. I squinted back with a mean stare.
“You’re goin’ to have to do better than that. Either you talk to me or you’re goin’ to Possum Kingdom with us.”
“There’s nothing to say and I am not going camping.” I gritted my teeth in aggravation.
“You need to give her a chance. Spend some time with her.”
He had to be kidding me! Give her a chance my ass! Just knock me in the head, tie me to a rock, and throw me in the freaking lake! I’d rather spend the weekend dead instead of being in a cabin with her!
I took a deep breath, inhaling through my nose, trying to calm my patience. I cared about Jess and hated seeing him with such a terrible person. It was my fault that his kind heart was currently being held captive by the Devil’s sister. I should have told him months ago about her dark side, but now it was past the point of no return.
“Al, please do this for me. You don’t have to get in the lake. I know you hate it. Please…just say yes.” He wrinkled his eyebrows up at me. “I don’t feel like I see you as much lately.”
“Don’t tell me you miss me. I see you all the time.”
“You know that’s not true. It used to be just us. Now there’s school, and football, and you’re at Jeeter’s and I help Frank.”
I frowned at his words. I wish it was just those things keeping us apart. Why was growing up so tough? I missed being those carefree kids running through the meadow.
“Please say you’ll do this.” Jess put a palm on each side of my face; his thumbs rested on the corners of my lips, forcing a smile. He moved my head up and down. “See, I knew I’d get you to say yes.”
“Gross! Get your cow manure hands off my face. I can see it under your nails.” I glared at him, batting his hands away.
Everything was just too complicated. Come clean about Ashley, or go camping. “Fine! I’ll go, but I’m doing this for you and only you.”
“I knew I’d talk you into it.”
“I hate you sometimes.”
He gave me one of those irritating grins. The things I do for this boy. Shaking my head, I stood up. “I gotta go back to work.”
“Stay and ride a couple of rounds with me.”
I looked up at the old tractor that lacked an air-conditioned cab. “Why are you driving that one?”
“The new one already needed some hydraulic part. I kinda like the old one. It’s nice, once you get goin’.”
“Fine. I’ll go, but just a couple of rounds. I have to change before I go back to town. Thanks to you, I’m covered in sweat.”
“Stop complainin.” Jess climbed up to the cab and leaned down to pull me up beside him.
“I’m not complaining.” His fingers clung to my wrists as the soles on my gray, canvas shoes slipped up the worn steps.
“It’s hot. I’m sweatin’. I don’t want to go campin’,” his voiced pitched high to mock me.
“I’m going to hit you.”
“Shut up and sit down.”
“Fine!” I hissed, despising the fact I had to touch him.
The cab didn’t have room for two people. It was really just one seat with a small fender ledge over the tire. I plopped down on the hot metal, feeling it burn through my jeans. Jess fired the tractor up and we rolled forward. The breeze picked up as we made the first curve.
“You wanna drive?”
“Is that your apology for being an ass?”
“Stop shootin’ off your mouth and get over here.” Jess pulled me from the ledge into his lap. My fingers grabbed the steering wheel as my shoulders relaxed into his chest. It was hot and sticky being pressed against him. The sweat of his body seeped through the back of my shirt.
“This is different than driving a car.”
“Yeah, it takes a little body movement to turn the wheel. It’s got some power steerin’ issues.”
I made the turn a little wide and tried to line back up in the row. My palms fought the wheel to stay in a straight line. Tractor driving was hard, but fun. The wind kicked up putting a breeze across my hot cheeks.
“Al, you smell like hamburgers.”
“Hamburgers? Geez, Jess. You smell like sweaty gym socks washed in horse shit.”
“You must like it too, or you wouldn’t be sittin’ here,” he laughed in my ear. “You know you want some of it.” He smeared his hands over my arms and across the top of my legs.
“Stop it, jackass!”
I heard the laugher building in his voice. This was bad. Jess seriously would not go there today. His fingers dug into the side of my ribs and tickled their way up under my armpits.
“Quit,” I screamed, but his fingers moved down across my stomach. I fought back, but his hands kept finding more places to grab my body. Finally, I elbowed him hard in the gut. “Stop!”
“I’m sorry.” Jess released his hands, letting me slide back to my place on the ledge. “It’s just too much fun, making you look mad.”
“I am mad at you!” I spat back.