Page 44 of Rough

“Wanna hear something crazy?” I asked.

He glanced around the shop, and then looked at me and grinned. “I can’t wait.”

“Her ex was a biker. He’s doing life at Pelican Bay.”

“You’re shittin’ me? Pelican fucking Bay? God damn, that’s a shitty fucking joint. What the fuck did he do?”

I shrugged. “She wouldn’t say. Said it was between him and God, and it was none of my business.”

“Tight-lipped bitch, huh?”

“About some things. She’s kind of like you about others.”

He scowled at me. “What the fuck’s that mean?”

“She tight-lipped about some shit, and then she’s real mouthy about other stuff. She talks shit to me half the time, just like you.”

“If her ex old man’s in Pelican Bay doing life, my guess is you’re not going to be able to bullshit her, Brother. She’ll see right through it. She probably talks shit when you start fucking with her, huh?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Maybe don’t be such a prick around her, and she’ll tell ya.”

He had a good point. Her mouthy comments and snide attitude were always a result of me acting like a dick. I wondered what she might act like if I wasn’t a dick, and how much different things would be.

Now, even more so than I had before, I wondered about her ex, and why he was in a place reserved for the worst of the state’s most notorious criminals.

“Was he patched with any club?” Crip asked.

“Said he was an independent.”

“She from here?”

“Not sure. I think so.”

“Wonder who that fucker is?” he said. “Or was.”

“Hard saying.”

“If you find out, let me know.” He slapped my bicep with his open hand, and then squeezed it. “And tell your pop I sent my well wishes.”

“I’ll do it.”

THIRTEEN

Tegan

I swallowed my food and wiped my mouth. “I don’t know if I like this game.”

Bradley looked at me and laughed. “It’s not a game, it’s called being human. Abstract thinking and our ability to communicate are a few of the things that separate us from animals. Answer the question.”

“But this stuff’s personal.”

He pushed his plate to the side. “Personal?” He let out a long laugh. “Excluding my mother, you’re the only person who’s wiped my ass. Except for me, of course. And, you and one other woman have seen my cock. That’s it. So, we’re connected on a weird personal level. Answer the question.”

I thought what he said was adorable. Adorable, but unbelievable. “Only two?”

“My cock?”