Free rock by Anyta Sunday Page B

enjoyed only by a couple of surfers.
    The sweet vanilla ice cream tastes good, but the silence between Jace and me feels bad. Since he found his mum crying, his mind has been elsewhere.
    Jace slumps into the front seat and rests against the headrest, ice cream melting down his fingers.
    “Nice buy,” I say, patting the dashboard. “Think of the freedom you’ll have now. No more buses.”
    He grunts.
    Why’d you invite me to come along for the ride if you’re not going to speak?
    After we finish our ice creams, he gestures for my rubbish and disposes of it in the bin outside. He wipes his sticky hands on his jeans on his way back to the car, then stops. He bends down and picks something up. His back is mostly to me when he stands so I can’t see what’s in his hand. For a fraction of a second he looks at me, then he slips his find into his pocket and hops back in the car.
    His pocket bulges a bit and I recognize the shape. A smile stretches my lips and it won’t go away. I stare out the passenger window so Jace doesn’t wonder why I’m grinning like a madman. When I regain my cool, I ask him what we’re doing next since we have the whole day to kill.
    He looks at me for a long time without speaking. I lean over and pinch him.
    “Ow! What was that for?”
    “You’ve been lost in your head for days. It’s time to snap out of it.”
    He opens his mouth to protest but slams it shut again. He starts the car, throws an arm around the back of my seat, and backs out of the park. The heat of his arm at my neck makes me shiver, as does the confidence with which Jace drives. He likes it and he’s good at it.
    “You don’t understand,” he says around the corner from home.
    “Then make me understand, or do something about it so you can get back to the real you.”
    Jace slaps a hand on my thigh and then pinches me back. “Stings, doesn’t it?”
    My mouth is dry. All I can do is nod because I still feel the weight and warmth of his hand clasping my thigh the moment before he pinched it. The shocks are still shooting to my groin and making me hard.
    I shift, hoping my hardness isn’t noticeable. Thank the stars he’s concentrating on driving.
    At home, Jace races up to his room and I wander about the house aimlessly like I’m living in the clouds. I don’t know what to do with myself. I feel tingly and happy, like no one could piss me off even if they tried.
    “Good, you’re home,” Dad says in the dining room. “I have a chore for you.”
    “What’s that?”
    Dad raises a brow and a chipper attitude. “The two upstairs bathrooms need cleaning.”
    “Fun,” I say, rolling my eyes but following it up with a grin.
    He observes Lila preparing lunch. “Where’s Jace?” he asks. “I have an extra fun chore for him.”
    “Better than scrubbing toilets?”
    Dad jingles his car keys. “Since he has his own car, I figure he’ll want to keep it clean. He’s going to wash mine while he’s at it.”
    “He’s in his room.”
    “Tell him to come down.”
    I comply. Jace is on his laptop when I push his ajar door, and he hurriedly shuts it when I call his name.
    His face contorts when I relay the menial task Dad gave him, but he gets up.
    I start cleaning Lila and Dad’s bathroom. They have their own sinks, which is a real pain in the ass since I have to clean both.
    Jace strolls in the moment I finish vacuuming. He’s wearing a raggedy T-shirt with a hole near the hem and a pair of soccer shorts. He moves over to Dad’s sink and plucks his toothbrush from the holder.
    I unplug the vacuum cleaner. “What are you doing?”
    He holds the toothbrush up. “Time he replaces it anyway, don’t you think?” He edges to the door where I’m standing. “This’ll make our tire rims shine.”
    He jumps past me and strides down the hall, but he stops suddenly. “I almost forgot,” he says, coming back to me and digging his free hand into his pocket. “This is for you.”
    He throws it to me. It’s a quartz