Close Out Read Free Page B

caught the flicker in Goldilocks’s eye. If you weren’t looking for it, you might not have noticed. But there was no missing the abrupt change in the guy’s attitude.
    â€œSo look, what’s the story here?” he asked, suddenly impatient. “Are we gonna make a deal? You gonna buy a board or what?”
    â€œKnow what I’d really like to do?” Kai said. “I’d really like to get Big Dave over here to see these things. He’d know what they were worth.”
    â€œHey, screw Big Dave, okay?” Goldilocks snarled. “You guys surf. You don’t need him to know what a good board looks like. And he’d say the same thing.”
    Kai pretended to be confused. “You know Big Dave?”
    â€œUh … No, never heard of him,” Goldilocks said. “So what’s the deal? You want a board or not?”
    â€œDo I want one?” Kai repeated. “Sure. But I don’t know what they’re worth, so how do I know what to pay?”
    â€œHow much money do you have?” Goldilocks asked.
    â€œMan, these are nice boards,” Kai said. “I’m sure I don’t have enough.”
    â€œHow much?” Goldilocks pressed.
    Kai felt himself being backed into a corner. “I don’t know.”
    â€œYou don’t know how much money you have?”
    â€œWell, I … I didn’t really bring any,” Kai said.
    Goldilocks turned to Bean. “You’re the one with the money?”
    â€œForty or fifty bucks,” Bean answered.
    â€œWhat the fuck?” Goldilocks sputtered. “You guys came here to look at these boards, but you didn’t bring enough money to buy one? So why’d you come?”
    Kai shot Bean a look, as if he desperately needed help with an answer.
    â€œHey, don’t look at him,” Goldilocks said. “What’s going on here? What do you guys want?”
    â€œBoards,” Bean said in a quavering voice.
    â€œFor forty or fifty bucks?” Goldilocks said. “You knew that wasn’t enough.”
    â€œI … I was scared,” Bean said.
    Goldilocks frowned. “Of what?”
    â€œThat you were gonna rip us off,” Bean said.
    â€œLike how did we know this wasn’t a scam?” Kai asked, following Bean’s lead. “Maybe you were gonna take us all the way out here into the woods and rob us.”
    Strangely, this admission helped calm Goldilocks down. “I gotcha. So I’d bring you out here, take your money and leave you.” He seemed to like the idea that Kai and Bean thought he was a badass dude. “So now what? We go back to your car, right? Because that’s where you left the money?”
    Kai and Bean glanced at each other. They both shook their heads.
    â€œThe money’s not in the car?” Goldilocks asked, confused.
    â€œWhat would have stopped you from taking us back to the car and robbing us there?” Kai asked.
    Instead of answering, Goldilocks pulled the shed doors closed and relocked the latch. “Okay, let’s go.”
    Once again they were blindfolded. This time the ride was faster and bumpier. Sitting in the back, Kai felt as if he would have beenbounced clear out of the Jeep if he hadn’t held on.
    It wasn’t long before they were back in the parking lot at 88s. By now the sun had turned reddish orange and had dropped close to the horizon. Kai and Bean climbed out of the Jeep. In the deepening light, Kai could see that Bean looked a bit green after the bumpy, blindfolded ride.
    â€œOkay,” Goldilocks said. “So you’ve seen the boards. Next time I hear from you guys, it’s gonna be because you’ve got the money, right? Otherwise, don’t waste my fricken time.”
    The Jeep’s wheels screeched and spun, spitting back loose gravel. Goldilocks took off, leaving a cloud of dust and exhaust.
    â€œYou okay?” Kai asked Bean.
    â€œGreat,” Bean grumbled,