Page 82 of Wrench

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her or someone I met here?¡±

Over his shoulder, he smirked at Crow who scoffed. ¡°Isn¡¯t it clear? Any other chick

you¡¯ve fucked in the past ten years, you haven¡¯t thought of for more than twenty minutes.

Then this chick suddenly has you looking like fuckin¡¯ Bambi. Jesus, last week going on

about her ankles, today you miss Hollywood dying so you could nut one into her.¡± By the

end of his rant, Archer¡¯s smug, douchey act dropped and a mixture of anger and grief

filled his eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it clear?¡±

¡°Yeah¡­¡± I said. It was clear. Sure, tonight with Samantha felt like I was existing in

some bubble where nothing mattered but her body against mine, but that was the

problem. Nothing felt like it mattered while I was with her, but everything always

mattered. Hollywood died while I was with Samantha. I couldn¡¯t let that happen again.

¡°Is this going to be a problem again?¡± he asked.

¡°No.¡±

¡°Good,¡± he said, relaxing into his chair. ¡°No one here wants to see what¡¯ll happen if it

is.¡±

¡°I kinda do,¡± Maverick said with a sideways grin and I shot him a glare.

¡°The fuck, Maverick?¡±

¡°I was joking, Christ.¡±

¡°Yeah, ¡¯cause we¡¯re in the mood for jokes right now,¡± Ripper said.

¡°What¡¯s so good about this chick, anyway, Wrench?¡± asked Rooster. ¡°Sure, we¡¯re

depressed and pissed, give us some good news. Was it her tits or ass?¡±

Annoyance began growing inside at the crude talk toward Samantha, but I didn¡¯t dare

show it.

¡°Honestly?¡± I said, directing my eyes at the desert. Through the walls of the Ironhead

Tavern, I imagined the cacti dancing in the sand. ¡°Nothing. She was as boring as the rest

of them.¡±

¡°Atta boy,¡± Archer laughed.

Without prompting, Crow stood up from his chair and grunted a quick, ¡°I¡¯m going to

bed,¡± and quickly everyone else did the same. Once the Tavern was empty, I locked up,

climbed into the attic, and flopped onto my bed.

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