Clean Slate (3 page)

The ride attendant beckoned her forward. “How many in your
group, ma’am?”

“Four.”

“Perfect.” He waved all four of them forward.

Jerry hopped into the back compartment of the log that had
stopped in front of them, sat, and held his arms up for Trinity to step in. She
climbed over the side and had a seat between his legs, leaning back against his
chest.

Ben stepped over into the front compartment, and Daisy
stood frozen.

“Something wrong, ma’am?” the attendant asked.

Daisy clucked her tongue a few beats. “Um, I guess I
didn’t remember there only being the two benches. I guess I can just sit this
one out or wait for the next…”

“Jesus, Daisy, Ben’s not going to bite you,” Jerry said.

“Um.”

Ben made a beckoning gesture with his hands. “Get in.”

She turned around and assessed the people in line behind her.
They grew impatient as the queue of logs filled with people waiting to debark
backed up.

Jesus.

She took Ben’s outstretched hand, and carefully stepped
into the damp enclosure. She squatted onto the cushioned bench between his legs
and stretched her own legs out into the log’s hollow front.

Gripping the railings at the sides, she gritted her teeth.

Oh my God.

“Ready?” the attendant asked, eyeing her specifically.

She nodded. “Sorry.”

“Enjoy the ride. Please hold onto any hats or other loose
possessions and keep your hands inside the log at all times.” He took his foot
off the front of the log and let it bob down the line toward the start of the
meandering track.

She sat tense, hyperaware of the man whose thighs grazed
her hips, and tightened her grips even more on the handles.

I bet my hips look a
mile wide from where he’s sitting.
She let go of the sides just long enough
to smooth her T-shirt down over her backside.

“Daisy, take off your hat if you don’t want to lose it.
This thing has at least two drops and the wind is high today,” Trinity called
up.

“Oh.” Daisy put her hand on the brim and peeled the cap
nearly off, then jammed it back down. With the one hundred percent humidity
level at the moment, her hair would be a big embarrassing triangle by the time
they made it back to the boarding zone.

Ben said something fast she didn’t quite catch.

She turned around to look at him right as a gentle spray
of water shot out at them from a bed of flowers they bobbed past. He had a hand
held up to shield those cornflower blue eyes from the sun and the other hand
extended.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand what you said.”

“Sorry. I sometimes forget what my accent must sound like
to people who don’t speak Dutch. I said I can put your hat in my pocket if
you’d like.” He pointed to the deep well of his cargo shorts, or at least she
thought she saw him doing it through her periphery because at the moment, the
movement of his lush lips hypnotized her. “Deeper than yours.”

“Yes.”

He held the hand out a little closer to her, cocking up
one eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“Your hat?”

“Oh.” She peeled it off and pressed it onto his palm. She
tried to wrangle her curls into a quick braid, but gave up the endeavor quickly
because she had to grab the rails. They had gone down their first drop and
endured a massive splash in the process. Further, the fall had jerked Ben
forward on their bench so his front pressed against her back.

Jerry, Trinity, and Ben laughed at the dousing, but Daisy
was frozen yet again, as if Ben’s touch had rendered her nervous system
dysfunctional. She didn’t have the good sense to wipe the water out of her eyes
until he backed up a bit.

He gave her shoulder a little squeeze. “Sorry. I’ll hold
on for the next one.”

“Don’t bother.”

He leaned forward so his lips were near her ear and said
over the churning of the rails ride gears, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” He
was so close; his breath was warm on her cheek as she turned her face to the
right.

On the second try, she got the words out. “I said it
wasn’t a problem. You couldn’t help it.”

“Oh.” He leaned back as Jerry called up, “There’s a camera
mounted at the top of the next fall. Try not to pull the donkey face, all
right, Ben? We’re making memories and shit.”

Daisy giggled, and the ball of tension in her gut unfurled
somewhat. She’d seen the donkey face. Ben sometimes perched against Jerry’s
desk when he was on the phone with clients and pulled it. Jerry always had to
close his eyes to get through the calls. When he hung up, he’d spend the next
five minutes wrestling Ben until one or the other cried “uncle.” It was good
fun at the N-by-N barn. Sometimes the shipping guy, Juan, took bets on the
winner.

“That funny?” Ben asked with a chuckle.

All she could manage was a nod, because they were
approaching the second fall. She reached for the handles, but couldn’t complete
the action because he wrapped his arms around her torso and put his chin on her
left shoulder right as they approached the decline.

“Smile pretty, Daisy,” he said as the log tipped over the
edge and hurtled toward the pool below.

“I think
Moeder
would like it, don’t you think, Jerry?” Ben held the log ride photo T-shirt
against his torso and wriggled his eyebrows.

Trinity groaned. “Two out of four ain’t bad. Jerry, you’re
pretty as always, although the
hang ten
sign language is a bit over the top. Ben, you asshole, you look smiley and
wonderful and terrified poor Daisy in the process, so she looks like she saw a
ghost. Me, I just look grotesque with the way I’m cringing. Wouldn’t you rather
do one of those Western costume portraits and give that to your mom instead?
That thing is majorly humiliating.”

Jerry laughed and wrapped an arm around his girl’s neck,
steering her toward the next attraction. “Oh, pix, if it makes you feel
better…” Jerry turned his head and gave Ben a wink.

Ben winked back.

“We’ll give her something else.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely, pixie.”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I love you, though.”

As they meandered up the path, with Ben on Jerry and
Trinity’s heels, Daisy lagged behind.

He stopped walking and turned to find her deftly plucking
up thick cords of her curly hair and weaving them into a loose braid. When she
caught up to him, by then tying off the end of her braid with a rubber band she
begged off the photo technician, he held her sodden hat out to her.

“I hope what I did on the ride didn’t upset you.
Moeder
expects any photo I’m in to be at
least a little foolish.”

She shook her head and offered him a wan smile as she
pulled wet cap over her coppery hair. “No, it was okay. Just a bit of sensory
overload.”

“Ah.” He held his elbow out for her to take. “Shall we?”

Her cheeks flushed pink, and he felt his heart fill. A
woman that was shocked by such small things? How unusual. This was a woman who
hadn’t been hardened, who hadn’t closed herself off from feeling things. What
would she feel about him if he pressed a bit? Would she make some excuse and
run? He gestured to his bent arm.

She swallowed. “Sweet of y’all to ask me to tag along for
the log ride, but you don’t have to babysit me all afternoon. I’m not a hell of
a lot of fun, and I don’t want to hold you back.” Her eyes, shadowed by her hat
brim, widened a bit.

He knew it. She was waiting for a gentle letdown. Well,
she wouldn’t get it. “Bullshit. You let me decide what company I want to keep,
ja
? Besides, I’m the…” He snapped his
fingers and tried to pluck the correct idiom out of his memory. “…spare tire?”
He lifted one eyebrow for her confirmation.

Her smile broadened, and finally she slipped her arm
around the crook of his. “Third wheel is what it’s called.”

“Yes. Trust me, you’re doing
me
a favor. I get a stunning woman on my arm and my brother won’t
have to fret so much about keeping me entertained.”

“Right. Stunning.” She turned her face away and blew a
raspberry. Uh…does Jerry do much fretting?”

Ben nodded. “He’s a bit of a mother hen.” He caught sight
of his brother’s blond ponytail several yards up the path. He steered her
toward it.

“Listen, Ben…uh…”

“Looks like they found Nikki and Charlie. We should break
them up before they stage a business meeting in the middle of a theme park.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Nikki. Working while she plays.”

“I’m sorry, what were you going to say before I
interrupted you?”

Her bottom jaw grated side to side in a manner that put
him on guard, but then she tightened her grip on his arm as they approached the
N-by-N delegation. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

He didn’t believe her, but wouldn’t press. He wedged them
into the clump congregating very near a refreshment cart.

She let go of him and eased back.

He breathed a little sigh of relief to find she hadn’t
run. She was very near, staring at the cart’s menu board. His heart rate had spiked
just from that little snub. She’d raised the stakes and he hadn’t even known
what game they were playing.

“What are you all talking about?” he asked, keeping one
eye on the slippery redhead.

Nikki, a short, dark-haired firecracker of a woman,
guffawed. “There’s some country music group I’ve never heard of playing in the
amphitheatre, and Charlie wants to go see them. Megan and the Cleavers, they’re
called.”

Charlie, her husband, shrugged and adjusted his hat to
scrape his hair back from his eyes. “I like what I like.”

“Oh, I love
them
!”

They all turned to look at the source of the bright voice
behind them, and found Daisy actually smiling as she plucked a red sports drink
out of the vendor’s ice bucket.

Hmm
.

“I knew I liked you for some reason, Daisy,” Charlie said.
“You’ve got good taste, sweetheart.”

“And you don’t want to go?” Ben surmised, directing his
gaze to Nikki.

“Not even a little bit. I’d rather roll this park map into
a cylinder and use it to stab my own eardrums.”

“You’re wrong for that. You better be glad you’re cute,”
Charlie said.

“You want to go, Daisy?” Ben edged over to the cart and
handed the vendor a five-dollar bill before Daisy could pry her cash out of her
bra. Yeah, he’d noticed. It was hard not to after they’d all gotten soaked on
the log flume. At least she’d had the good sense to keep it in a plastic
sandwich bag.

She nodded.

Ben held his arm out for her once more and she took it. “Okay,
Daisy and I will go with Charlie. Jerry and Trinity, you can adopt Nikki. Maybe
we can meet up afterward.”

“You’re a brave man, Ben Thys,” Nikki called back as she
let herself be swept toward a vicious-looking roller coaster’s entry line by
her senior staff members.

“Oh, don’t listen to her, Ben,” Charlie said, adjusting
his hat again. “If it ain’t fancy, Nikki don’t like it. Come on and let me show
you what real music is. I’m gonna teach you all about redneck rock stars.”

“Oh boy.”

* * *

Daisy couldn’t remember when she’d last had so much fun.
Charlie seemed to be just as worked up as she was at the band’s rousing
performance, but Ben had only seemed bemused. She supposed bemusement was a
hell of a lot better than outright boredom, but she still felt a bit guilty for
subjecting the poor guy to something he wasn’t getting a whole lot of enjoyment
out of…even if he had been the one to volunteer.

She kept waiting for some insult to pass his lips, but one
never came. He just sat there politely at her right, occasionally bobbing his
head to the beat and smiling whenever she cheered along with Charlie about the
next songs coming up in the set.

Her ex-husband would have volunteered to come along, too. She’d
give him that much credit. But his jaw would have started flapping from the
very first twang of the slide guitar, and he wouldn’t have stopped criticizing
until days or weeks later.

Before the divorce, she’d gotten to the point she just
wouldn’t go anywhere anymore because the fun wasn’t worth the aftermath. She’d
tried to go off on her own a time or two without him, but Barry had always
found out and given her the third degree. “Who were you with? What’d you do?
Why are you so late?”

“Who were you with?”

“Who were you with?”

“Who were you with?”

Always the same damned thing, and she regretted it took
her as long as it did to reach her breaking point.

Then, a year passed before she even thought about being
with anyone else. The marriage had left a bad taste in her mouth, and she knew
she wasn’t being entirely fair in judging other men before they’d had a chance
to meet or exceed Barry’s particular brand of fuck-up-itude.

Still, she wasn’t going to start letting her guard down
for a man who was due to return to Europe in a bit over two weeks. That just
sounded like the worst kind of stupid. She was a lot of things, but stupid
wasn’t one of them…regardless of what Barry had said.

“That was a damn fine concert,” Charlie said as they
waited comfortably on the benches for the amphitheater to clear out. “Well
worth the cost of park admission.”

“You’re not a fan of roller coasters, Charlie?” Daisy
asked.

He rubbed the sandy blond scruff on his chin and shook his
head. “I tolerate them for Nikki, but I kinda like having my feet planted
firmly on the ground.”

“I suppose you’d never take a trans-Atlantic flight?” Ben
asked.

Charlie closed his eyes and shook his head again. “Fuck.
No.”

“How about you, Daisy? Do much traveling?”

“No.” She could never afford it.

“Want to?”

They stood. The crowd had thinned enough that the trio
could make it up the aisle without becoming separated.

She had to think about it. She’d never fantasized much
about traveling, save for the occasional thought of being on a tropical island.
Perhaps in a little hut with no air-conditioning where she’d be forced to
lounge around semi-clothed or else sweat to death. Maybe she could share a
double-hammock and a bucket of ice with a tall, sexy swimmer with an accent she
couldn’t make out half the damn time.

“Daisy?” Ben nudged.

She gulped. “Yes. I want to.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Oh, nowhere in particular.”

“Ever thought of visiting Europe?”

She laughed. “I haven’t, really. Seems like such a cold,
rainy place.”

“Parts of it are. Doesn’t get hot in Belgium like it does
here. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the feeling I’m being roasted alive.”

“Hmm. I love the humidity, but I can’t handle the sun…for
obvious reasons.” She held out her pale forearms.

“I’ve never had sunburn.”

She stopped walking and stared at him. “You’re lying.”

“Nope. I’m an indoor swimmer.”

Charlie turned and said, “Don’t worry, Ben. You’ll have
your very first one tonight, judging by the way your nose looks right now. If
you stay out of the sun, you might be golden brown instead of lobster-esque by
the time the wedding rolls around.”

“Hmm.” Ben pressed two fingers against his forearm and
watched the coloring shift from pink to white and back to pink.

“N-by-N makes a sunburn butter that’s pretty good. Makes
the itching less noticeable.”

“Itching?”

“Oh, yeah. It’ll burn, then it’ll itch before it starts
peeling.”

“
Peeling
?”

“Yep. It’ll be all done before the wedding, I promise.
Jerry and Trinity probably have some burn butter at the house. Lord knows Jerry
gets a burn or two each summer those first couple times he forgets to take his
wetsuits to the beach. Remind ’em when y’all get home.”

Daisy gave Ben’s hand a little squeeze to get his
attention. “I have some. On the bus. I figured I’d get scorched today.”

“Oh.” His grin was sweeter this time, but no less arousing.
“Well, I know who I’m sitting with on the way home.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Oh, I think I will. I have a perverse enjoyment in
forcing you to talk.” He winked at her. “But don’t worry—I’m pretty sure
we’re all given an unlimited supply of words. I think you can afford to waste a
few on me.”

She raised her chin so he could see her eyes beneath the
brim of her hat. Her expression was wary and she knew it. “Why would you want
me to talk?”

“So I could listen.” His voice was softer when he added,
“The ones who don’t talk usually have the most important things to say.”

Charlie butted in, “Y’all, Nikki just sent me a text
message. They’re just now getting off the ride they got in line for an hour and
a half ago. She’s pissed. She didn’t think there’d be so many people here on a
weekday and she’s ready to bounce.”

Daisy looked down at her watch. “But it’s only three
o’clock.”

“I know. We’re all going to meet up with the rest of the
staff at the brewery. Well, everyone except Gabby and her friend since they’re
underage.”

“Oh. Uh, I know they’re sixteen, but if you want me to
keep an eye on them…”

“You don’t want to do the tasting tour?”

“I already did it. I actually don’t like beer.”

“Why did you do it then?” Ben asked.

Because I made a
goddamned fool of myself this morning.

“I just think people should try things once,” she hedged.
“I’m going to go find my mom a souvenir.” She backed away before either man
could rebut.

Ben, for some reason, looked conflicted. His mouth had
opened as if he was going to say something, but instead of speaking whatever it
was, he furrowed his forehead and pressed his lips together.

“I’ll just meet you all at the bus in a couple of hours,
is that okay? Let everyone know. Don’t take off without me if I’m not there.”
She let out a nervous chuckle and waved as she walked away.

Mute and now
anti-social. Someone should give me a tiara, scepter, and a sash because I’m
the lamest of them all.