Page 28 of My Thursday Throwback

“I’m staying with my Zelda,” he said. “I hate it when you call me Scottie. It feels nasty.”

“I’m sorry, Scott,” she told him.

“Who is this Scott, your Grandma?” Michael asked, eyeing Samantha sideways. His vision was blurred and he saw two of her, two of Scott and a myriad of little birds flying about his head which he tried feebly to catch.

“No, she was my first girlfriend. She loved me so much,” he said, feeling teary-eyed.

“You had a cougar when you were a cub?” Michael asked, laughing then making pawing movements at Samantha and mewling.

“Shut up, both of you, and get in the car,” she said, pushing them towards her limo. She already knew where Scott was staying, instructing her driver to take them all to the suites where Zelda was waiting impatiently for his return.

“We never got to talk much after...,” Scott said, slobbering a bit. “Except for those two times on my burfday.”

“There wasn’t anything to say, but I tried to see you and say I was sorry for what I did to you,” Samantha said.

“No apology needed. I turned out okay,” he said, grinning sheepishly.

“But I was wrong. What I did to you was wrong,” she said as the car came to a stop at a red light. “Your heart is so pure and sweet, I feared I had damaged you irrevocably, but then I met Zelda. You are lucky to have her. Don’t let her get away.”

“She’s my sister,” Michael said with pride, his eyes red from the last round of whiskey shots before boarding the gondola. “I love her so much.”

“Zelda is a very lucky woman to have two men love her the way you both do,” Samantha added.

“My girlfriend told me this morning that I would be happier if I stuck my cock in my sister since it seemed like she was the only woman I could ever really love,” Michael said with a sad face.

Scott burst out laughing.

“I thought the same damned thing!” he said giggling. “Pip said that! God, that is funny!”

“It’s not funny! It’s not funny at all. Did you know that 1 in 12 women are assaulted every day? Sick men prey on vulnerable young girls and my sister was vulnerable. I protected her,” he said. “I kept her safe. I’m a good brother!”

“Yep. So safe, she is afraid to live,” Scott said. “So are you. I need you to break up with my woman, so I can have her all to myself.”

“I need you to break up with mine, so Pip can feel free to love me. She is holding me to your standard, and I feel like I’m falling short,” Michael said, leaning against the window.

“Zelda is holding me to yours,” Scott said, wiping the drool from his mouth.

Michael leaned in, laying his head on Scott’s shoulder. Scott rested his head on top of Michael’s hoping to ease the spinning feeling. “I love you man,” Scott mumbled.

“I love you too bro,” Michael said, starting to tear up a bit. “Man, I am so tired of this shit. I just want my woman, a nice life, and some kids after I travel a bit. That’s it.”

“I want to travel with my wife, then have a few kids, and remodel that crazy ass house. I love your sister, Mike.”

“I know you do Scott.”

“Then let her go,” Scott said.

“I am letting her go,” Michael mumbled. “You let go of Persephone.”

Half passed out, they clung to each other like children after a long field trip. The vehicle rolled down the Las Vegas strip taking two men back to the women they professed to love to start a new chapter of a life they both wanted but was fighting to start. The past haunted them both in different ways, leading to a dimly lit road, full of bumps.

Samantha watched the exchange between the two understanding a kindred spirit had been found with Scott, but the outing had been about more. The drunken spree was about friendship. A connection. Finding a common ground to voice the words that would have otherwise caused an outright brawl between the two men.

“So, you two had to get drunk in order to get that out?” Samantha asked.

“Shut up you mu-fuckin’ pedophile,” Scott said, giggling again. “I am going to be sooo sick in the morning. Hey! Mike! Look! It’s our hotel. I’m going to get a cookie.”

“His blood sugar is dropping,” Michael said softly.

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