Page 90 of Wrench
Stop comparing every woman you see to her, I snapped to myself. All week, a vivid
picture of her hung in my mind. It tormented me, a constant reminder of what I wasn¡¯t
allowed to have. I took a sip of beer and turned from the blond to Archer. I needed to get
Samantha off my mind. Now.
I smirked at Archer, ready to finally put the topic of Samantha to rest. ¡°I think you¡¯re
right, ¡°Archer.¡± I pushed myself from the seat and Archer laughed.
¡°Atta boy!¡± he said and looked to the rest of the club, beaming. ¡°Check it out guys,
we¡¯ve got our ol¡¯ Wrench back.¡±
They laughed and joked, and it felt good. A week of glares and comments that I was
¡°whipped¡± was enough for me. All I had to do was go back to the ¡°Old Wrench¡± and fuck
chicks like they were a dime a dozen. Shouldn¡¯t be hard, just like riding a motorcycle.
¡°See ya tomorrow,¡± I said and before walking toward the woman, hearing a couple
obnoxious whistles and hollers from the guys. They were way too involved with my sex
life, I realized, rolling my eyes.
Time to turn my charm back on. Taking a seat next to her, I called Evelyn. ¡°Evelyn,
beer me.¡±
Behind the bar, Evelyn put her hands on her hip with a scowl. ¡°Please.¡±
I laughed and put my forearms on the bar, leaning just enough to catch the blond
eyeing me up in her peripherals. ¡°Evelyn, may I please have a beer?¡±
¡°Yes, Isaac, you may,¡± she said with over-the-top politeness before cracking up and
handing me a Pabst. ¡°How¡¯s poor Buddy doing?¡±
My heart sank when I was transported back to the veterinarian clinic, sitting in my
truck with Buddy, spotting Samantha for the first time. Inside my head, I yelled, Stop
finding connections in everything, you fucking moron. Recovering before anyone
noticed, I smiled back. ¡°Good as new.¡±
¡°Thank God. Good vet? Sometimes they¡¯re so clueless, doctors, even with animals, you
know.¡±
¡°She was good.¡± The way I said it, simple, blunt, and to the point, made it obvious I
didn¡¯t want to talk about it. A curious look grew in Evelyn¡¯s eyes, inspecting me for a hint
to something deeper. The curiosity turned to concern.
