Page 40 of Liquids

The guy leans over and takes the phone out of her hand. “Hey!” she says as he presses the button to end the call.

I narrow my eyes on him. “It doesn’t matter if you hang up, I’ve got cameras on this place.”

He laughs. “Girl, you’re hilarious. Cameras on a dump like this.”

“If you think I’m a single woman living on my own in town like this and I wouldn’t have cameras, then you’re the one who’s hilarious.”

“Give me my fucking phone, you big oaf,” Marni says, and a flush climbs up his neck and into his face.

“One day, girl, that mouth of yours is gonna land you in serious trouble.”

“Ha-fucking-ha. I’m always in serious trouble.”

I don’t see his hand come out; he moves so fast. He clips her across the face, and she screams as her face jolts to one side.

“What the fuck was that?” I shout.

And I don’t know what possesses me, but the anger bubbles up like a red mist, and before I’ve thought about what I’m doing, my hand is on the frying pan on the stovetop. He doesn’t even have time to blink: I swing it into his face, putting my whole body weight behind it. It smacks into the side of his head with a satisfying crunch, and satisfaction fizzes through my veins. This is for Charlie, you asshole. No one hits my buddy and gets away with it.

“Arrgghh! You fucking bitch!” he shouts, grabbing the handle and twisting it out of my grasp. His friend appears in the doorway to the living room.

“What the fuck, Dean? You fighting with a couple of women?”

Unfortunately, Dean has now got hold of the pan, and he stands in the middle of the kitchen, breathing heavily, a huge red welt all down the side of his face.

Dean’s buddy in the doorway shakes his head. “He’s not here.”

“Who?” I say.

And the guy in the doorway’s eyes narrow on me as he points a finger. “Don’t play that game, girl.”

“What game?”

“Rig,” Dean says, nursing his jaw with one hand.

I shake my head. “Why would Rig be here?” I hope my acting skills are as sharp as they were in college.

“Heard you hooked up with him, girl.”

“And?”

“I told you,” Marni says. “But would you believe me? No. You’re a couple of stupid heavies with shit for brains. Why would a guy go back to someone he’s hooked up with? It’s always a one-time deal. Come on, that’s like the oldest rule in the book.”

I think she’s overplaying this, but yeah, good call, Marni. And she’s judged these guys better than me, because I can tell right away it’s always a one-time deal with them. I’m surrounded by assholes.

“You see him, I wanna know,” the man in the doorway growls, moving toward my front door. “Come on, Dean, you jackass. Fighting with women.” He heads out the door, shaking his head.

Dean throws the pan at my fridge, denting the door. Fucking hell. That’s a repair I can’t afford.

“My fucking fridge!” I shout.

“You’re lucky you’ve got no broken bones, girl,” he grunts at me, glowers at both of us for several seconds before following his buddy out the door.

Maybe Rig wasn’t far off the mark with his idea of teaching me to fight. Looks like I might need it. And Rig can pay for that fridge repair next time he’s back in town. Except now I’m not speaking to him because he’s got an apartment he didn’t tell me about with another woman who may or may not still be his girlfriend.

“Did that just happen?” I say.

“They’re idiots,” Marni says. “Angelo and Marco made a ton of money on that fight, and they want Rig to fight again. They’re going to be very unhappy with a couple of guys waltzing around town threatening him.”