“That’s not how I see it.”
“You’re biased.”
The smallest smile sneaks onto her face. “True. But I like to think I’m right anyway.”
“Is that any surprise? You’re stubborn as a damn mule,” I say, reaching out to squeeze her thigh. “By the way, don’t take my mother’s behavior personally. She’s never liked any woman I’ve dated—the few Ihavelet her meet.”
“No worries. I’m not that charming, so pretty sure your mom wouldn’t have liked me no matter who she was.” She reaches for her seatbelt to buckle herself in. “So where are we headed next? Back to the studio?”
“If I go back to the studio right now, I might lose my mind. You want to know why I train at Malone’s so much? Why I go to the Rialto late at night? That’s why.”
She tilts her head, a thoughtful look on her face. “So let’s go somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else? What place would that be?”
“Remember how I’ve told you you need to let loose sometimes? You need to celebrate yourself and do something other than work-related stuff?” she asks, the small smile returning. “How about if we go spend the day doing that? Letting loose a little?”
“You suggesting that? You’re almost as big of a grump as I am.”
“Which is why webothneed it.”
I sit back in the driver’s seat and consider her idea. She’s got a point that I rarely, if ever, do anything that’s purely for entertainment. The closest to that is my visits to the Rialto, but even that’s a piss poor example considering it’s usually late at night and it’s one of the only places open.
But the last time I blocked out an entire day to enjoy myself? To do something other than train for fights or handle clan business?
It’s easily been years.
“Alright,” I say, twisting the key in the ignition. “What did you have in mind?”
Jhene’s smile only spreads. “Drive.”
The last time I came to Coney Island, I was twelve and not yet angry at the world. Me and Maeve had come at the start of summer using birthday money we had stashed away from our Granny Alice.
We rode the Cyclone six times and both threw up once.We stuffed our faces with cotton candy and played for hours at the arcade games. By the end of the long summer day, we were exhausted and red faced from all the sun.
But we had had the time of our lives. It was one of the last happy childhood memories we ever shared together.
As Jhene and I arrive twenty years later, the park still has the same spirit. It’s the air of endless possibility and excitement. An immediate reminder that even though a couple decades have passed, some things have stayed the same too.
Jhene peers up at the park as nostalgically as I do.
“Me and Eva used to come here,” she says. “Mom brought us every summer. She loved eating the funnel cake and browsing the shops while me and Eva rode all the rides.”
I glance over at Jhene and realize what this means to her. Why she even suggested we come here.
This was a place where she once enjoyed herself. There hasn’t been a lot of that for her in recent years.
“Sounds like me and Maeve,” I say. I slide my arm around her shoulders and pull her up against me. “Want to find out if we can still hang with our younger selves?”
“Something tells me the answer to that is a big fat hell NO.”
“Something tells me you’re right. But we won’t know ’til we give it a shot.”
We set off into the park like two explorers headed for an adventure.
Jhene’s hand is warm in mine as we walk along the boardwalk, her eyes wide as she takes in the sights and sounds.
It’s nice to see her like this. An instant mood improvement for me too.
