Page 50 of Road Trip
Her phone buzzed and she jumped.
“Hello?” she answered with a frown. “Who the hell is this? Who does that, calling up someone else’s phone and says ‘who’s this?’ Didn’t your mama teach you any manners? Oh. Oops.” She turned and handed me the phone. “It’s your partner.” She blushed a little, and I felt kicked in the gut.
A call from Manny meant real life. I really hated the interruption, especially now that we were starting to talk serious. That just made her laugh. She leaned in and kissed me...and kissed me…
“Hey, asshole,” I heard from the phone.
I pulled away reluctantly from Abra, who excused herself to use the restroom.
“Your girlfriend’s got a potty mouth! Damn, she sounds like a spitfire. She as hot in bed as she sounds?”
“Don’t be crude. What’s up, Ramirez?”
“Nothing, I just missed your voice, sweetie.”
“Cut the crap. Look, I’m sorry I haven’t called—”
“You get laid yet?”
“Manny! I am so not discussing this with you! What is wrong with you?” I couldn’t help but laugh, though. I knew my partner was crass, but he still cracked me up.
“Seriously, dawg. How are you holding up? That was some shit.”
“Yeah. It was. I’m managing, but that’s basically because I’m trying not to think about it. I’m enjoying the distraction.”
“I don’t blame you. It will hit you eventually, and then we’ll get you squared up.”
“Yeah, last night I almost took out some kid for bumping into me. I’m edgy for sure.” That situation could have gotten ugly quick. I never had a quick temper before. What would this mean for work?
“For real. When I got shot, I was hella angry. It took a long time before I stopped flinching every time I heard something. Those first few weeks on the job? Fuck. You keep it together because everyone’s watching, but when you get home, you fuck shit up. You hit the gym hard. That’s what we’ll do when you get back, dawg. You got this.”
He told me they hadn’t heard anything else from the CHP, but they’d checked surveillance cameras from the rest area and he recognized the van.
“Fallout from the trial, no doubt. Those motherfuckers.”
Manny was just checking on me.He told me to give him a call when I got my new phone, and I told him to be safe tonight. It was weird not being on patrol with him. We’d been riding together for a long time now, and I almost missed the hard time he gave me. Almost. Could I walk away from that life? What the heck else would I do?
