Cruiser Read Online Free Page B

the armrests.
    I sink down on the bed. “Hell, I don’t care what they say.”
    “Then why trash your room?”
    Because all my life I’ve wanted them to just listen . I got a brain and I sure as hell know how to use it. “Joining the Navy is an honorable thing to do,” I say.
    “Yeah , but you know how Mom gets. Her growing up with a Navy captain dad and all the crap she had to deal with.” He shrugs. “She’s just looking out for you, y’know.”
    I don’t want her looking out for me. I just want her to accept my damn decisions and not make me feel stupid for thinking them. And I just wish Dad would say something instead of sitting in the passenger seat. “Forget this. Got time for a few rounds of All For One ?”
    “Sure.”
    My anger seeps out of me as I hunt down soldiers. I don’t think about the parents or the future, or even Lex.
    I’ve missed spending time with Rey. We kept in touch throughout the year, but it wasn’t the same. He and I have always been tight. Never hated one another like some other twins. He’s one of the reasons I decided to come back. Now that I’m here, it’s like I never left. We’ve fallen back into how things used to be. Like we were never separated. I worried things would be strained, but we’re cool. Maybe it’s a twin thing.
    Rey’s phone sings the melody of Pachelbel’s Canon . From the little time I’ve been here, I know it’s Lex’s ring. I scan the screen, see her name. Like I’m seeing her. Being close to her. Damn, I need to stop thinking about her. She’s not mine.
    Rey ignores it.
    “Lex?” I ask , keeping my voice neutral.
    He shrugs. “Yeah.”
    My thumb slips off the button of my controller. “Something not right on Planet Love?”
    He shrugs again. “ She keeps blowing me off. It’s always one excuse after another, so I’m ignoring her tonight.”
    I want to tell him to get his butt over to her house, gather her into his arms, and kiss her until her lips go numb. Man, if only…
    “Call her back, Rey.”
    He doesn’t say anything.
    Sweat gathers under my arms and the back of my neck. I pull off my shirt and hurl it across the room. “Come on, man,” I say. “Call her back. She probably needs you right now. You got something good going on with Lex. Don’t screw it up.”
    He gets to his feet. “Yeah, you’re right. Catch you later.”
    “Later.”
    He can’t screw things up with her because she loves him. And he loves her. Only a dick would try to break them up. And as much as I want Lex, I’m no dick. He’s got to be the perfect boyfriend to her, make up for all that I’ve done.

Chapter Six
    Lex
     
    Rey and I are making out on his living room couch while a romance movie plays in the background. No awkward silences, no worrying what’s wrong with us and desperately trying to fix it. Making out is also the best way to take my mind off the problems going on at home. Before I escaped here, Mom and Dad argued again. No, not argued. Arguments are exchanged between two civilized people. My parents were at war when I left the house. Instead of talking things through calmly like caring, devoted parents, they yelled so loud they could have cracked the walls or shattered the glass cups drying on the kitchen counter.
    What’s worse is that Rosie’s home. I offered to take her for ice cream, but she insisted on finishing her computer game and watching her next TV show. All excuses. Rosie likes to torture herself by listening to how she causes such a rift in the family. Which is not true, but that’s the lesson my parents teach her with their bickering. I can’t stand being there.
    With Rey’s arms around me, I feel protected and loved, something I never want to lose. Even though we haven’t communicated properly in what feels like forever , I know we’ll get back on track soon—we need to. Maybe when he’s no longer tied down to his extracurricular activities, or when he’s no longer stressing over his recital.
    I kiss his lips,