Free Between Dreams by Cynthia Austin

high. Normally I would flip out if someone put their dirty shoe on the dash of my classic Chevy, but with Chrissy, I didn’t even bother. What would be the point? She’d just do it again. If a car wasn’t European, she didn’t respect it. Chrissy had always drummed to her own beat and refused to take direction from anyone, except her father, who possessed the power to cut off her finances.
    I pouted. “Those are pretty dope. I wish I could wear heels that big. Hell, I wish I could pull off that whole outfit, but you know me, I’d be sure to fall flat on my face wearing heels like those.”
    Chrissy agreed. “Well, I’d trade places with you any day, Sidney. I’d much rather be four inches taller and a buck ten like you than live my life at five feet three!”
    She had a point.
    As she said this, her eyes danced over to what I was wearing as the corners of her mouth slowly turned down in disgust. “Jesus, Sidney. What are you wearing? And please do not tell me that you ran your silly little five-mile run before picking me up? Did you at least take a shower?”
    I smiled and shook my head, pleased to sour her expectations. Chrissy had been known to spend hours on her hair and makeup and would never leave her house until it was perfect. I’ve often thought this girl belonged on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, not casual Northern California.
    Among Chrissy’s big features was a big mouth to go with them. She was overly confident and incredibly beautiful. She would never put up with the kind of crap Ray had put me through. She proved that when she broke up with Finn before he ever had a chance to try any of Ray’s shenanigans.
    Thinking of Chrissy and Finn, I remembered the last time I spoke with him. “By the way, Finn says hi.”
    I watched as Chrissy’s eyes shot up at the mention of his name. No matter how hard she attempted to hide her true feelings, I could see she still cared for the big guy. She wasn’t as heartless as she portrayed herself. She played with the paint on her fingernails, pretending not to be interested.
    “What really went on between you two?” I questioned. “It’s not normal, Chrissy. Something bad must have happened because you act like he’s dead.”
    “I don’t want to talk about him.”
    I decided not to press her any further. She would tell me when she was ready. There had to be more of a reason why she broke up with him. It just didn’t add up. Chrissy could be cold sometimes, but not like this.
    I decided to lighten the mood since tonight was all about having fun and living life to the fullest; the gist of the speech Chrissy had given me to agree to come out tonight. I looked over and saw her face buried deep in her phone.
    “What are you looking at?” I asked.
    She looked up at me with wide, secretive eyes. I could tell she was debating whether or not to tell me something.
    “Tell me,” I pushed. Chrissy bit her lip, which was never a good sign.
    “It’s probably nothing. Let’s just go have fun,” she suggested, looking way too excited.
    I sat back in the driver’s seat and folded my arms, looking straight ahead. I knew what she had to say would have to do with Ray, so I sat there, waiting for Chrissy to tell me the bad news.
    She sat up and turned her body so she was facing me. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but no matter how bad it might be you have to promise that you’re still going out with me. I’ve been trying to get you here forever and finally I have you out. You can’t go home now.”
    “I promise, Chrissy, no matter what, we’re still going out tonight.”
    She didn’t buy it. She held out her pinky and made me pinky swear. I reluctantly agreed to Chrissy’s childish ritual and we were sworn in.
    She sat back. “Okay, it’s probably nothing, but I just checked Ray’s Facebook page and I noticed that he’s added a new friend,” she said, trying to downplay it.
    “Okay. He’s probably adding lots of new friends these days. His song is all over