And Then She Was Gone(21)
“You coming?” Chandler called.
As Jack got in the car, he remembered the old neighborhood saying: “It’s never good when the suits show up.”
6
When the Suits Show Up
They drove down Aunt Haddie’s street and then onto the road that ran alongside Hamilton Park. As they pulled up at the light, a young man swaggered down the sidewalk. He wore his pants low and his baseball cap backward and at an angle.
In the back seat, Makayla wrinkled her nose. “Why do guys do that? Wear their pants down around their ankles. Don’t they know how unattractive they look?”
Chandler leaned forward and tapped Jack’s shoulder. “Is that J-Dog?”
Jack stiffened. “No. It’s Two Point.” His hand gripped the steering wheel tighter.
Kelly looked back and forth between Chandler and Jack. “Two what?”
“Chandler thought that guy crossing the street was J-Dog,” Makayla explained. “But it’s his brother, Two Point.”
“J-Dog and Jack don’t mix,” Chandler said.
Two Point glowered at the Impala. He gave Chandler a curt nod but glared at Jack.
“Looks like Two Point and Jack don’t mix either,” Kelly said.
Jack took a right.
“I can’t believe Nina is dating him,” Makayla said.
“What?” Chandler turned to her. “Since when?”
“I saw them at the movies last night,” Makayla said. “Then Nina posted all about it on Facebook.” She tossed her hand over her head dramatically. “She likes to announce every detail of her life in real time.”
“Why do they call him Two Point?” Kelly asked.
“It’s short for Two Point Oh,” Makayla explained. “His real name is Tommy. He’s a year younger than his brother, Jay—that’s J-Dog’s real name. They look alike and act alike, so people started to call him Jay Two Point Oh, but that nickname’s too long.”
“Do you have a nickname, Jack?” Kelly asked.
“Jackie,” Chandler called out.
“No.” Jack held his hand out like a militant school crossing guard. “Only older people call me that.”
Chandler smiled. “We also call him Jack-O. Jackster. Jack-a-reeno. Crazy Jack.”
Jack shook his head. “Don’t listen to him. It’s just Jack.”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Chandler pounded the seat. “You got a new one yesterday. Super Jack Flash!”
“Super Jack Flash?” Kelly’s voice went high.
“He ran like the Flash and swooped in like Superman.” Chandler stretched his long arms over the seat like a little kid pretending to fly. “And he saved this little old lady’s handbag.”
“You were there too.”
Jack didn’t know whether he broke into a sweat because of embarrassment or because of the way Kelly gazed at him.
Chandler scoffed. “I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who chased the junkie down. Jack almost got stabbed.”
Kelly’s eyes widened. “The guy had a knife?”
Jack felt a surge of pride rush through him. He took his eyes off the road and looked at Kelly. “It was just a small knife.”
She leaned so close that her breath lightly touched his neck.
A car horn blared. Jack quickly swerved back into his lane.
“Keep it between the buoys, Captain Jack.” Chandler sat back and broke into a wide grin. “Hey! That’s another one—Captain Jack.”
“Great.” Jack shook his head.
They ate at the Burger Hut and then headed over to the bowling alley. Once it became clear that Kelly had no idea how to bowl, Jack offered to get the manager to put up the bumpers for her, but she was a good sport about rolling gutter balls all night. Jack won, and Makayla came in second—a fact Jack planned to rib Chandler about later that night. They all had a great time. When the bowling alley closed and kicked them out at ten o’clock, they headed back to Aunt Haddie’s.
Chandler leaned forward in the back seat. “You did great, Kelly.”
Kelly blew a raspberry. “That was harder than it looks.” She crossed her arms and mock-pouted. “I stank.”
Chandler leaned toward Jack and stage-whispered, “This is the part where you say, ‘No, you didn’t.’”
Kelly batted her eyelids at Jack.
“You gave it a great try,” Jack said.
Kelly frowned even more.
Chandler groaned and looked at the ceiling.
“Say she did great,” Makayla said.
“I said it was a great try.”
“That’s not the same,” said Chandler.
“I’m not going to lie and just say she did great.”