Page 102 of Blaze & Ajax

“Yeah, my dad cheated, got another woman pregnant… with me. She died having me, so he brought me home, and my mom… fuck, I don’t know what to call her now. Anyway, he brought me home, and then, you know, they eventually divorced. Instead of taking me with him, he left me with her and paid her a lot for it. He didn’t want me, either. So, yeah… you can justfeelthe fucking love. I have no idea why I wasn’t put up for adoption or why my bio mom even had me. Maybe my dad didn’t find out about me until too late.”

Storm scoffed and shook his head. “What a fucking mess. Jesus, man. I’m sorry. That’s seriously fucked up.”

He eyed me for a minute before going back to his pills. “You seem… awfully calm about all this. Usually, you’re… volatile, no offense.”

“Trust me, I had my moment, along with emptying my lunch into her bushes. Anyway, I’ve found someone, and I’m happy. It’s why I’m not selling. He hates it.”

Storm shrugged. “I get it. That’s cool you found someone, though. You’ve been pretty lonely, I know.”

That Storm noticed reminded me of why we’d been close friends once upon a time.

“Hey, uhm, I’m sorry I’d been such a dickhead for so long. I’ve been apologizing a lot lately. It’s a wonder anyone puts up with me. It was hardgrowing up, even with all that money. I never understood why…shedidn’t take care of me, love me, or barely acknowledge me. I’d been so fucking angry.”

He shrugged. “It’s all good, man.”

“Thanks.”

We sat in silence for a while, thinking about shit, I supposed.

“Uhm, Storm?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we try to be friends again? I mean, we are, but not like how we used to be. I’m doing my best to repair shit with people.”

He sat back and ran long fingers through his golden curls. “Yeah, okay. I always liked you, Aid. You’re a cool dude, even if you were a pain in the ass.”

I laughed. “That’s fair. I may still be a pain in the ass from time to time, but… I’m trying. Anyway, I’m going to head out.”

I stood and paused. “Listen, I have this sort of new crew… family. It’s been pretty great. They’re all skaters. Not me, but it’s fun hanging around them. They skate all the time, but Sundays are like a big day when we all meet up at the skatepark. Since it’s summer, they go to the Skatepark of Baltimore. I’m just sayin’ in case you ever want to swing by. There’s usually some sort of booze.”

Storm stood with me and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Sure, sounds cool. Thanks, man.”

I nodded and pulled him into a quick bro hug before things got awkward and took off.

And then there were eleven of us.

I smiled when I saw Storm approaching our group, looking out of sorts, but I knew he was outgoing enough to lighten up.

To be honest, I doubted he’d come or if he even liked me enough for that, but fuck was I glad he did. He was the only person from my past who hadn’t turned his back on me, and he’d helped me make some money to live on. Even if it’d been illegal, I was forever grateful to him.

Of course, everyone was fucking awesome to him as I introduced him around—except for Jaxon. He knew everything about Storm, including hispinching drugs for me to sell. While my boyfriend was polite, he was wary of Storm, but in time, Ajax would come to like my old friend.

Blondie popped a fireball candy into his mouth, his lips and tongue bright red after eating several earlier. “Is Storm your real name or nickname?” he asked.

“Uh, real. I know it’s weird, but I was born in 1999 During Hurricane Floyd, which hit the East Coast. We’d been living in North Carolina at the time, which was hit hard by flooding because Hurricane Dennis had been there the week before. So, that’s my name. We moved up north to Maryland after that. My parents were sick of hurricanes.”

“Can’t blame them,” Blondie said, taking long licks on his fireball like he was literally licking some dude’s balls. Ugh, gross. “I’m Christopher, but everyone calls me Blondie ’cause of my hair. I’m already blond, but I bleach it, too.” He fingered back the long bangs, showing off his eyes, which fluttered.

God, was he flirting with my friend? Blondie and his twin, Jazz, had just turned nineteen. He was way too young for Storm. Storm liked girls, anyway.

“Knock it off!” Jazz hissed.

Blondie huffed. “What? I’m just being polite.”

She rolled her eyes, stood, grabbed her board, and tugged her brother to stand. “We’re skating.”

Jaxon whispered in my ear. “What’s that all about?”