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Peter
“What the fuck is Darian doing here?” are the first words out of my mouth. Because, seriously,what the fuck is Darian doing here?
“I could ask you the same question,” Darian snaps back.
“How about you answer me first.”
“I washerefirst, so how about you answerme. Or, better yet, turn your ass around and leave.”
I could hit this motherfucker.
“Come in, why don’t you?” Becky says.
That’s when I realize I’m still standing in the doorway. The neighbors up and down the hall can probably hear me. I step in, chagrined.
“Huh. Brave choice,” Darian scoffs at me.
“Alright, look,” I say, bringing my tone down a bit. “Let’s discuss this like rational human beings.”
“Wouldn’t you need to be both rationalanda human being for that to work?”
“Look who’s talking.”
“Peter, would you like something to drink?” Beck asks, obviously trying to get us to cool it a little.
“The strongest thing you have,” I tell her.
She looks at Darian.
“Anything he can handle is good for me,” Darian says.
“That’s an interesting way of putting things,” I tell him. “You love to handle what I have, don’t you?”
“Now that sounds intriguing,” Becky says, pausing in heading to get us some alcohol. Her eyes dart from one of us to the other. “Wait a second. How far back do the two of you go?”
“Too far,” Darian snarls.
“Something we can agree on,” I snarl back.
“OK. I think I’m definitely having a drink, too,” Becky says as she turns and leaves the room.
With her gone, the tension in the room seems to come down just a notch. I rub my eyes with my thumb and forefinger and try to think.
“Just like old times, huh,” Darian says, settling into a chair. The dude is actually smiling at me.
“Are you seriously enjoying this?” I ask him.
“I try to enjoy everything. Life is life, right? Like, it’s all meant to be savored. Even the bad shit. You savor that and it makes the good shit even better when it comes to savoringit.”
“You’re a real fucking philosopher.”
“You can’t appreciate the irony of this situation?”
“No. No more than I appreciated the irony the first time around.”
His smile turns into a tight-lipped frown. Good. Seeing him smile like that, it… well, fuck that smile.
There’s nothing good about rehashing the past,I think.No fucking good will come of it. Just focus on the present.
