Page 44 of No Romeo
Bellamy’s footsteps pounded the pavement behind me. “You left it running!”
“No shit.” I hurtled over a dead bush, then booked it across the highway to the gas station, climbing into Wolf’s idling truck.
“Dude…” He leaned over the wheel a little more, staring in the direction of the garage. “I hope to hell Tony wasn’t the one who got busted.”
“Who else would it be?”
“A police chase? A drug bust? It’s Dayton.”
And any of those options were a helluva lot better for us. If it was Tony, my skint ass would be down to bare bones.
Bellamy clamored into the extended cab, completely out of breath when he slammed the door. “Damn, Hendrix. You can run.”
“Of course, I can. How the hell do you think I got away with jacking shit from Wal-E-Mart for so long? If you can’t outrun a security guard on one of those high-powered scooters, orange is going to be your new black.”
A fleet of cop cars zoomed past on the highway, sirens blaring as they screeched to a stop in front of Tony’s.
Wolf put the truck in drive. “We should probably get out of here…”
My adrenaline was still up when Wolf dropped me at my house. Wouldn’t that have been some shit. Me getting put in the slammer for grand theft auto a month before my brother got out for the very same thing?
I went inside and turned on the living room light, stopping halfway past the couch. A fresh hole decorated the wall above the TV, and my cracked game controller lay on the floor. “What the…”
“I got your Taco Casa.”
Lola stepped out from the kitchen, holding up a paper Taco Casa bag. With a smile, she kicked the trash can over the threshold, flipped the lid, and dumped the bag inside.
“What the hell!” I grabbed both sides of my head at the pure sacrilege. There was a lot of crap food someone could throw away. Taco Casa was not one of them. “Are you crazy?”
She stared me right in the eye, that insane batshit, Medusa rage flickering to life. “I ate all your Pop-Tarts, too.” She flipped me off. “I hope you starve.”
I felt my brow wrinkle, my eye twitch. “Why would you do that?”
“Why would you fuck me the same night you banged Virginia Ford?”
Where in the hell was she coming up with this crap?
“I didn’t fuck anyone last night except you!”I took a step toward her, my annoyance at the situation and ruined Taco Casa quickly escalating.
“You didn’t even have time to change the damn sheets.”
“What are you not listening to?” I used hand signals like an air traffic controller waving down a 747 to emphasize my frustration, punctuating each word when I said, “I didn’t fuck anyone last night.”
“I saw her hair clip in your room, Hendrix.” She took a step into the living room. “She turned up for a repeat this afternoon.”
The fact she felt entitled to be pissed over a non-existent encounter shethoughtI’d had when we weren’t even together—after she had cheated on me—was gas to an already lit fire.
I’d told her twice I hadn’t slept with the girl, but if she didn’t want to listen. If she wanted to let that psycho rage of hers billow, well then, I’d give it enough wind to burn shit down. “Already told you in Brown’s office. I don’t do repeats.” I cocked a grin I knew screamed arrogant smartass.
Her eye twitched before she took a deep breath. “You know what, I don’t care where you stick your dick.”
Great. Because she didn’t need to. And I didn’t need to want to stick it in her. “It’s none of your business who I fuck!”
Her jaw set as she crossed the living room, stopping to slap her hand against my chest. “Here’s your rent. Less twenty-five dollars for the morning after pill.” The money fluttered to the stained carpet when she moved toward the entrance.“I’ll let you know how much it is when I get tested for STDs,” she called before she rounded the corner.
Angry footsteps stomped up the stairs.
I swallowed back the urge I had to scream, then punch the wall. I may have been an asshole, but I wasn’t that big of an asshole. If there was a chance I could have had something, I wouldn’t have touched her.
