Lucky Gum

The scent of sweat and gasoline surrounded me as I climbed into the back of the van that we used to haul my boyfriend, Rudy's, racing ATV. We were parked behind a large sand dune just outside of the race track where he would be racing that day.

His race crew consisted of three of his best friends, Darren, Thomas and Raif. Despite the fact that they had all been friends for ten plus years, they accepted me and treated me like one of their own. Rudy and the other guys all had matching shoulder length bleach blonde hair, which had prompted me to give them the nickname of bleach boys. They hated it.

Darren walked around to the back of the van where I was sitting and handed me a pack of bubble gum.

"Thanks." I said as he jumped up into the back of the van beside me.

"You might chew an extra piece, there's some pretty stiff competition out here today." He suggested. His torn jeans were covered in sand and grease.

I flipped the pack of gum over in my hand a few times before tearing it open and popping a piece into my mouth. During one of Rudy's many drag racing adventures, I had jokingly stuck a piece of gum on his front tire for good luck. He laughed and told me that it was the weirdest good luck charm he had ever seen, but after he won that race it became a strict tradition.

I smiled as I smacked the gum happily. Raif appeared around the back of the van and sat down between Darren and I.

"That lucky gum stuff is ridiculous." Raif said cooly. He had been in a foul mood all day and it was starting to get old.

"What's you're problem?" I asked popping a bubble between my teeth. He just shook his head and looked away.

"Hey babe." Rudy said loudly as he appeared around the side of the sand dune in front of us. His face was covered in grease and sweat from working on his motor. He walked up to me and embraced me in a loud sloppy kiss.

"Get a room." Raif moaned before jumping off the back of the van. Thomas and Darren knew the drill and averted their eyes while we obliviously continued our make out session.

"Don't lose your gum. I'm going to need it." Rudy teased as he released me. I giggled and popped another bubble loudly in his face.

He winked and walked back around to the passenger side of the van. I could hear him gearing up as Thomas and Darren marched together down to the track. I could tell by the way the crowd of spectators had grown that it was almost race time.

Rudy sashayed back to where I sat, now fully suited up and carrying his helmet under one arm. I smiled and lifted my cell phone to snap a picture of him.

"You're going to want to frame that one, honey." He said as I turned the phone to show him the resulting picture.

"I'll set it up right beside my bed to remind me what a handsome boyfriend I have!" I exclaimed, jumping up and wrapping my arms around his waist.

He laughed boisterously, causing my head to bounce against his chest.

"I have to go help Darren and Thomas roll the car onto to track. I'll see you down there." He said, giving me another quick kiss on the lips. I agreed and watched him make his way around the dune towards the track. I walked around to the drivers side of the van, and was met by Raif's frowning face.

"You never told me what your problem has been today." I said, wishing he would snap out of his weird mood.

"You're my problem." He answered, running his hands through his tangled hair.

"Excuse me?" I asked. He was now smirking at me, as if he knew something I didn't.

"We can't be friends anymore." He said cryptically. He stood and walked in front of me so that his body was trapping mine against the van.

"Why not?" I asked breathlessly. His closeness was unnerving.

"This is why." He leaned down and covered my mouth with his. I instantly shoved him away from me. He laughed as he stumbled backwards.

"What the hell, Raif!?" I shouted angrily.

He stopped laughing suddenly and resumed his scowl.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to kiss you. Can you blame a guy for trying to steal just one kiss?" He shrugged his shoulders. I felt my anger slip away as I tried to decide how to respond.

I heard Darren call out for us, and I turned immediately. I began walking around the sand dune that was graciously blocking us from Rudy and the other boys. I could hear Raif following, and something made me stop and turn around. He stopped too and eyed me suspiciously. I had never kissed anyone but Rudy, and as I stared at Raif, a certain curiosity inside me piqued. I don't know why I did it, but I leapt forward and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"You can have one kiss, and that's it." I whispered before pressing my lips to his. He wrapped his arms around my back and pushed me against the sand dune.

"Come on guys!" I heard Thomas yell out as the race announcer began talking over the loud speaker. I stood and pushed Raif away from me.

He complied and stepped back to allow me passage. I ran down the steep dune towards Rudy. He was getting ready to put his helmet on when I burst through the crowd that was surrounding the starting line and appeared beside him.

"There you are!" He cheered. I smiled and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

"Good luck!" I shouted over the noise of the people lined up on either side of the track.

"Thanks, don't forget my good luck charm!" He shouted, pointing to his front right tire. I opened my mouth and reached for my gum, only to realize that it was gone.

"My gum! It's gone!" I shouted.

Rudy's quad began moving as Thomas and Darren pushed him up to the line. He looked at me like I had just stabbed him in the chest.

"I'll go get more, I have more in the van!" I turned to walk away, but Raif stopped me.

"There's no time." He said, before popping a large bubble of my gum between his teeth. I stared at him in awe as realization sank in.

"It's ok, babe! It's just a dumb old superstition!" Rudy comforted me as Darren and Thomas tightened his harness.

I nodded with tears in my eyes. I felt like my heart was going to burst. I was riddled with guilt as Raif pulled me back behind the safety barrier. Rudy offered me one last wink before he slid his helmet over his face. Thomas and Darren ran to join us as his engine roared to life. The sound of Raif smacking my lucky gum beside me was deafening as the countdown started. 3-2-1...Go! Rudy and his opponent took off. Before they reached the halfway mark on the track there was a loud boom. The front end of Rudys ATV exploded causing him to flip backwards and land upside down. I know I screamed because I felt the vibration in my throat, but I didn't hear it. I saw Darren, Thomas and Raif running out to his destroyed ATV, but there was no sound. All I could hear was the sound that my gum had made between Raif's teeth.

We met Rudy's parents at the hospital. We knew he had suffered severe neck and back damage from the flip, but no one had told us how bad it was. We sat in the waiting room of the small emergency room in a solemn silence, waiting for someone to tell us something.

I sat as far away from Raif as possible. The sight of him disgusted me. After what must have been hours, Rudy's parents were called back into the triage room where Rudy had been taken. I couldn't hear what was being said to them, but when I heard his mother scream, I knew that he was dead. Eventually the doctor came out and confirmed it. There was nothing more we could do or say. Darren offered to give me a ride home but I refused.

The bleach boys left me there that night, on a bench in front of the hospital, broken hearted and angry. I wanted to run after the van and scream at Raif. I wanted to tell him that he had killed Rudy. I wanted to blame him, but I couldn't. I had lost Rudy forever and it was all my fault. I could only blame myself and my damn lucky gum.