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"I don't know … pinch his butt?"

  She laughs loudly.

  "Yanno, like surprise," I say weakly.

  "Yeah, I'm sure it would've surprised him, but I don't think Wes would've appreciated it."

  "He'd understand. You gotta take one for your bestest!"

  With all the yelling, my throat is dry and scratchy. I take a big sip of my Coke, my eyes water a little. Ahh, carbonation. "I'm ready to get out of here."

  "Okay. I'm gonna stay with Wes. I'll see you tomorrow?"

  I nod. "Yeah. I'll call you when I'm out of work."

  She embraces me in a big hug, "Okay. See you." I squeeze her back, "Let my brothers know, please."

  She releases me, "Will do. Drive safe, text me when you get home." We go our separate ways. Since I didn't plan to race, my car is parked in the back lot. I press the unlock button on my key fob, the amber lights flashing allowing me to see where exactly I'm parked. I slide into the driver’s seat, press my key in the ignition turning the crank over. A loud rumble escapes from the exhaust, as the car idles, a nice steady purr fills the inside. Making sure no one is driving by or walking behind me, I push the clutch down and shift into reverse to back out of my spot. A few catcalls come from my right. I ignore them because a gentleman never calls out to a lady. Sometimes...I don't want a gentleman, or to be a lady.

  Chase

  Most teenagers get to sleep in on their Saturday mornings. I haven't been able to sleep in on a Saturday since I was old enough to get a work permit. My alarm is going off, but I'm so comfortable I don't want to leave my blanket cocoon. I start to doze off again when my door is thrown open.

  "V!! Turn that shit off!"

  I peek an eye open to see the back of Vance as he walks out. I only know it's him because of the large Egyptian tattoo on his back. I groan, stretch my arms out. I slap the top of the alarm and find the knob to shut it off. I get up, throw my ‘Victor's Garage’ tee over my tank, change into some jeans, and throw on some socks. I hit the bathroom before heading down the stairs, pulling my long hair into a ponytail. At the bottom of the stairs, I make a left into the kitchen. Vin is sitting at the middle island already, shoveling food into his mouth and Mom is facing the stove making breakfast.

  "Morning!" I make my way over to Vin and hop up on the stool next to him. He's wearing his black fitted Victor's Auto Garage T-shirt too.

  "Good morning, sweetie." My mom smiles back at me. Mom has always been an early riser, but I guess with five children, she got used to being up around the clock even though we're all old enough now.

  "Where's Dad?" I’m curious.

  "Your father is at the restaurant. There was an issue with this morning's delivery." Our family owns an Italian restaurant, Russo's, that has been in our family for two generations. They also own an auto garage, Victor’s, that my great grandfather opened. He named it after himself, then also named his son Victor, who named his son Victor...and so on. It became a family tradition, which in turn meant that family gatherings were always very confusing. My father is semi-retired but doesn't know how to relax even if his life depends on it. Vin has been running the garage for a year now. Victor--the Fourth Victor and my eldest brother--was supposed to take over the restaurant but decided to go into accounting, so even though he's not in the family business, he does the books for both. Vance kinda does whatever. Right now, he’s getting deeper into the racing scene with Wes. Vaughn is now in line to become the owner of Russo's after he finishes his degree at the community college.

  Mom scoops some eggs from the pan on the stove and turns to the island to put toast and bacon onto the plate before placing it in front of me.

  "Thanks, mom!" I put the eggs and bacon onto the toast, making myself an egg sandwich and take a big bite.

  "Hmmmm" I moan. Mom smiles wide as she places a glass of orange juice in front of me.

  "You ready?" Vin asks.

  I glare at him. Seriously? I just sat down. "Do I look ready?"

  "You better eat that fast because your messy ass ain't eating in my car!" I take another large bite of my egg sandwich, and smile wide, allowing some of the food to show.

  "You're gross."

  "I luff yoouu brudder," I mumble with my mouth full. Vin pushes away from the table, then leaves the kitchen. I cackle loudly.

  "Veronica Marie!" Mom scolds me, pulling out my middle name. I close my mouth and finish my sandwich without another word. Mom starts doing the dishes. I pick up my plate, take it to the counter, and drop it into the sink filled with soapy bubbles. "Okay Mom, I'll see you later. Thanks for the yummy breakfast."

  I skip out of the kitchen, slip into my work boots at the front door, and grab my bag before walking out the door. Vin is already in his beamer, windows down, white sunglasses on, rock music blasting loud. I slide into the passenger seat, "The Guido look fits you, Vin." I grab my seat belt but get punched in the left arm, instinctively my right-hand goes to my arm letting the seat belt snap back.

  "OW!" I yell. "What the hell!"

  "Oh, c’mon, that didn't hurt!"

  “Yeah, it did!" I rub my arm and look at it. There's a nice red mark. He laughs, "You better hope you never get into a street fight. You’ll get your ass kicked."

  "No way! I'll throw down any chick!" I throw up my arms like I'm Mike Tyson and punch the air.

  "I hope you don't hit like that." His voice falls. I drop my arms and shrug. "If all else fails, I'll pull some hair and bite her ear."

  This earns a burst of laughter from him. A short drive later, we pull up in front of the garage. It's about ten minutes before we open. Vin opens the front door, turns on the office lights, and I follow after him. Heading straight to the desk to boot up the computer, then into the lounge to start the coffee maker for the rest of the guys. I man the front desk, answering phone calls, keeping track of appointments, and putting together bills to mail out.

  When it's really busy, I'll help with oil changes and tire rotations. To uphold our reputation, all our mechanics are certified, and I'm not...so, I can help out with the small things that don't require certification. The bells on the door jingle, signifying that someone opened the door. I peek around the corner from the little break room to see Jimmy walk in.

  "Hey Jimmy," I yell and wave, smiling cheerfully.

  "Hey, kiddo."

  Jimmy's older, in his forties, and married with three kids. He's worked for my dad for the past seventeen years, and his wife makes the best cookies, muffins, pies, fudge...well, everything.

  "Cindy made some chocolate chip cookies," he says. He holds up a circular tin and shakes it.

  "I love your wife!" I tell him while taking it from his hands.

  "Yeah, some days, I do too." He laughs as he walks away.

  I place the cookies by the coffee pot, swiping one for myself, and walk back into the front to log into the computer. Saturday is our busiest day, considering that most people don't work, and think it's the best day to have their car done. Today is no different, by the looks of our schedule. The office has a massive window that looks out into the garage. Vin has already pulled in a car and has started working. I see Craig around his toolbox. He must've snuck in. Craig is quiet and keeps to himself most of the time. Nice guy, ex-military. Mark is the only one missing...no surprise there. It's a minute until we're officially open by the time he finally waltzes in.

  "Veronica, you're a sight for sore eyes."

  "Maybe you should get your eyes checked if they’re hurting."

  "Why, when you're the cure?"

  I groan. Mark is the definition of a player. He's the cliché. Hot, rides a motorcycle, sleeps with just about every willing woman, mom, wife in a fifty-mile radius. I shake my head and smile,"Oh Mark, save your lines for the dumb girls they actually work on." He chuckles and walks into the garage.

  The morning and afternoon move relatively quickly. Thank goodness. I keep myself busy with the daunting tasks of an office assistant. Victor stops in to grab the books but doesn't stay long. He moved out of our
parent’s house about six months ago, and now lives with his long-time girlfriend, Melissa. We don't get to see him much. They come over for our Sunday dinners sometimes, but it's not the same.

  I order food for the guys, a Saturday ritual, and before I know it, we're shy two hours until closing. At five-thirty, Vance comes bursting through the door.

  "To what do we owe the pleasure, big brother?" I don’t need to look at him to acknowledge him.

  "Just wasting some time before I have to get Chase from the airport." This causes my head to snap in his direction.

  "Chase is coming home? Why are you picking him up?"

  Chase has been Vance's best friend since elementary school. He was always at our house growing up. He's an only child and always said that our house was ‘full of life’. But in reality, I think he enjoyed coming over and helping Vance torture me endlessly.

  Vance shrugs, "His parents are in Hawaii or some shit."

  "What!? He's coming home from deployment, and they're on vacation?" I find myself irritated.

  "I don't know. He just called me a couple of hours ago asking if I could pick him up. You going to the field tonight?" Guess that conversation is over.

  "Yeah, I told Taylor I would."

  "You want to ride with us?"

  "I suppose." Vance plays on his phone, no doubt making plans for later, and I finish up my work for the day. It's silent for a while until he stands up, "Alright, I'm out! I'll meet you at home then."

  "Are you bringing Chase over?"

  "I don't know...whatever he wants to do." With that, he walks out the door and leaves me reeling. Chase is coming home!

  Home

  I awake with a jolt as the plane drops from turbulence. I lift my hat off my face and look towards Geoff, who was in my unit overseas. We're both from the northeast. It’s comforting to fly home with a brother.

  "We're about to land," he informs me. I sit up and make sure my seat is in its upright position. I've been gone for about eight months, but it's been over a year since I've been in my hometown. Geoff is three years older than me and has a girl waiting for him. He plans to propose to her. I don't have anyone waiting for me, not even my parents. I called my mother a month ago to let her know that I was coming home. I guess a long vacation was more important.

  I knew my boy, Vance, would be around. I called him a few times while deployed. He's my brother from another mother and his whole family is like my second home. The plane begins to descend, and I grip the armrests. I watch out the window as the airport slowly becomes bigger, and cars no longer look like little ants. The plane hits the landing strip, jumping around until it finally starts straighten' out, all wheels on the ground.

  Once the airplane has stopped moving and connects to the gate, all passengers are immediately grabbing their belongings. I guess they’re just as eager as I am. Geoff gets up and grabs our packs from the overhead compartment and tosses mine to me. People are beginning to exit the aircraft. We're still in uniform therefore men are shaking our hands, thanking us for our service while ladies are, not so discreetly, eye fucking us. It's a perk of the uniform. We walk straight to baggage claim where we know our parties are waiting for us.

  Once Geoff's girlfriend sees him, she comes running and jumps into his arms. It's quite a scene. I notice Vance leaning against a beam, his head down focused on his phone. He looks up at the commotion and straightens when he sees me. He meets me halfway, putting his hand out. I smack it with mine, we pull each other into a hug including a pat on the back.

  "Chase, my man! You bulked up!"

  I laugh and pull away from him. "Yeah," I squeeze his arm, "Looks like you put some muscle on, too.”

  "Oh, these?" He flexes a muscle and then kisses it.

  "Dude, seriously?"

  He laughs. "Welcome home man." He pats me on the back again.

  "Thanks, it's good to be back on American soil."

  "I bet. Do you want to go home? Settle in? Or grab some food? I'm going out to the Field tonight if you want to come out and see everyone." This sounds like it's exactly what I need.

  "Yeah man, that sounds good. I wanna grab a shower. Do you mind if we hit up my place first, then grab some food?"

  "Sounds like a plan."

  We head to my house where it's extremely empty...and quiet. I quickly shower and change into some civilian clothes, pull on some boots, put my wallet in my back pocket, and run down the stairs.

  "Where you wanna go?" Vance asks me.

  I only have to think for a second. "Big Woody's?"

  "Hell yeah, best wings in town! Let's go!"

  Woody's is a quaint place, a mixture of restaurant and bar. The tables are tall and scattered around the restaurant. A sign hangs on the hostess desk, ‘Seat Yourself’. I scan the place, noticing a few people that occupy a couple of stools at the bar, and some couples at the high-top tables. I head towards a table in the back for privacy, but mainly I prefer to have my back facing the wall allowing me to see the whole restaurant.

  Shortly after being seated, a really pretty brunette approaches our table, "Hey guys, what can I get you?" Her cleavage is on heavy display and by the looks of it, the rest is about to follow suit...not that I'm complaining. Vance orders us two beers, and she asks for our IDs.

  "Don't worry, sweetheart, we're legal." Vance winks at her, and we both hand our licenses over.

  She takes a look, "Well look at that, you are." She flirts and hands them back to us. She smiles then saunters off. We both can't help but watch her walk away. "Damn, it's been a long time," I groan.

  "I bet, I'm sure your hand could use a break."

  "It's not like there are a plethora of hot women in the sandbox, dude. My hand was all I had!" I exasperate.

  "I know, man, just bustin' your balls." He lands a hard slap on my shoulder blade.

  The pretty brunette brings our bottles to the table, and with a secret smile asks us if we are ready to order.

  "Sure are, sweetheart," Vance orders some wings, and I get a burger with some fries.

  We watch her walk away, again. I can’t help it, it's a really nice view.. When she's gone,

  we jump into all the bullshit I've missed the last year. Vance's twenty-first birthday was epic, and he insists we have a re-do to celebrate mine since I didn't get to. Vance is still single and doesn't seem to want to settle down. This doesn't come as a surprise to me. I was, however, surprised to hear that Victor found a girl and that it's getting pretty serious. He's a full-time accountant, and a totally ‘yuppy’. I laugh because I can't see Victor, the charmer, being serious about anything.

  "How's V?" I ask.

  "She's doin' good. She's a senior this year. I can't believe she's going to be graduating."

  "Damn. I remember chasing her around the house with daddy long-leg spiders while she screamed like a banshee!"

  "She hated us."

  "Nah. She loves you, dude."

  "I've had to beat the guys off her. Literally. I almost don't want to take her to the Strip anymore. Every time we go, there's some douchebag trying to get into her pants."

  "She doesn't have a boyfriend?"

  "Hell no. There's no one good enough for her. Maybe that choir boy, Nate. I mean I'm sure he's saving himself till marriage or something."

  I laugh, "Oh man, poor V."

  "I told you…she hates me."

  "I'm sure she knows you care about her."

  "She was pissed at me last night. That fucker Ryan Wittman...she was about to give her number to him. I wanted to knock him out. He's as big as a manwhore as Mark!"

  "She'll understand, one day.” It felt nice to sit back, drink beers, relax, and spend a couple of hours at Woody’s. At close to eight o'clock when we're ready to leave, I pull out my wallet but Vance pushes my hand away.

  "I got this," he says as he pays, leaving our waitress a nice tip.

  "Thanks," I tell him as we walk out.

  "Thank you, man. What you do, out there, that's brave. It's the least I can
do." Those words mean a lot, especially coming from Vance.

  "You want to head out to the field?" he asks me.

  "Do you mind dropping me off? I wanna drive myself."

  "No man, that's fine. I gotta swing home to grab Vaughn and V." Vance drops me off and I head inside. The house is dark, quiet, and it's almost too much. I haven't been alone in over a year, there was always someone around. I sit on the white couch, in the dark, and take it all in.

  I'm home.

  Crush

  The Field, as we call it, is a massive open area that's surrounded on three sides by a large thicket of trees. A huge lake sits on the edge of the north side; it’s serene. From what I know, this has been around since our parents were teenagers. The dirt road to get back here is about a mile long.

  The property is supposedly owned by an old man by the name of Cletus. He owns acres of land and is the creator of this ‘little’ area. His house is a couple of miles away, far enough to turn a blind eye about the shenanigans going on. I'd like to think we're an okay group and that most of us get along with each other. I think because we all know that if there are problems, they'll shut it down. If someone gets out of control, we find a way to get that person away before we involve the law. Tents are set up along the perimeter, and a bonfire is raging near the lake. There are huge logs situated around the fire, and that’s where I find Tay with Wes.

  As soon as I approach them Tay slurs out a sloppy "V" that sounds more like B.

  "Taylor, " I respond dryly.

  She continues, "Yanno what you should do?"

  "No, what should I do?" I watch as she sways towards me. Wes wraps his arm around her, keeping her upright. It makes me laugh. She looks so funny. "I love you, Wes," she says. She’s looking at me but talking to him. He chuckles, "Love you too."

  Wes continues his conversation with those sitting around us. Everyone has a cup in their hands; their faces illuminated by the fire. Some kids are home from college that graduated with Wes and Vaughn and some of our football players, including Bobby, are all standing in a circle. Bobby is looking in my direction and won’t take his eyes off of me. It seems that since Vaughn has graduated, guys at school are a bit more forward. But my two brothers are around here somewhere.