She jostled me back hard enough to make me stumble. “Fine. Let’s go. First, we have to go pay. And by ‘we’ I mean you, Daddy Warbucks.”
I hid my face. I hadn’t exactly lied when I said the fees were covered by Buffount. They would be. Eventually, when he paid up. For now, I would use my own savings to pay for everything. She didn’t need to know the details. No one needed to feel like a charity case.
“That it?” The cashier smiled and started to scan each item.
Suzie’s eyes grew wider with each beep. Behind us, someone whistled long and low.
“Damn, that’s a fine ass,” a gravelly voice said.
Another said, “I know that ass.”
Suzie tensed subtly at the sound of the rough voices before placing a smile on her face and turning around. “Hey, boys. What’re y’all doing here?”
Her accent grew thick, taking on a character. She leaned back against the counter so her whole body was on display. I frowned. The two men approached, clearly bikers, clearly lost, and from the looks of it, ones she knew. They were both clad in leather and frantic facial hair. One had a hawkish nose and bright red hair that stuck straight up. He took his time to scrape his gaze up and down her body.
“Damn, I miss you at the G-Spot. Don’t forget I called you for some private time.” He sucked in his lips with eyes focused on her chest.
The other one, who was rounder with a gleaming bald head, crossed his arms and looked me over with a frown.
“I’ll be back soon. Been busy.” Suzie’s face looked strained. To me, she said, “This is Cueball and Rooster.”
The one she pointed out as Rooster pushed his chew into his lip and stuck out his chin in my direction. His voice was slurred as he talked around it. “This your man?”
Cueball gazed at me. These names were ridiculous and a little too on the nose. His face was impassive, but gears were turning as to why Suzie was with me. I'm sure if he could do math, it wouldn't add up.
“This is Clifford Rutledge,” she said. Her introduction jarred me. She hadn’t called me by my full name since we met. “He’s a, uh, business associate.”
None of us moved to shake hands.
“Business?” Rooster snorted.
Cueball laughed. “What? The business of showing your tits?”
Anger flashed through me. I was about to step up when the cashier announced the total for all the clothes. The amount was staggering. I handed her my card.
Rooster noticed the piles of clothes being hauled into the bag and grinned. “I see now. Business associate.”
“Razor know about this? Seems like you got you a good deal here. He getting his cut?” Cueball said.
I opened my mouth to point out several mistakes in those sentences, but Suzie gripped my arm and said, “He knows. I pay Occum. Occum pays Razor.”
“I’ll be asking.” Rooster frowned and spit a brown wad into a nearby flower planter.
She nodded. I couldn't speak; the rage threatened to boil over. Suzie looked forward coolly. Taking it. Not defending herself. This was not the woman I knew. This woman was passive, her face an empty mask showing nothing real. Where was the firecracker that spoke back and stuck up for herself? Where was my Suzie? I swallowed the thought back. Not mine.
“I just dance.” She spoke with wide, innocent eyes. “Occum takes his cut. Razor gets his. All’s good, y’all.”
I kept trying to catch her focus. None of this made sense. I thought Occum was her boss? Who the hell was this Razor character, and why was Suzie paying him for anything?
“Good.” Cueball crossed his arms and nodded.
The other one shook his head at me. “Hope you know what you got here.” He cupped Suzie’s jaw and ran a thumb over her lips.
The edge of my vision clouded in black. I couldn't remember my last inhale. It was like being an out of control teenager all over again. Suzie grabbed my hand behind her back, hidden from view, lacing her fingers through mine with some effort and squeezed.
“UT Professor Starts Brawl at Local Mall.”
I ground my teeth but kept my mouth shut.
