Page 22 of Tony

Soshee is wincing.

“I know,” I say. “I get it. I should go home. I have a business to run.”

“But you’re not going to, are you?”

I shake my head. “I think…” I look at the tattoo shop again. “If I could just fuck her one more time, ya know? I could put it behind me.”

“You don’t really believe that?”

“I do. I put her behind me before. For nearly ten years. I can do it again.”

“Hmm. Well, how did you do it last time?”

I think I blush. Because Soshee laughs. “Oh, my God. What did you do?”

I shake my head. “I can’t say it out loud.”

“Yes, you can!” She reaches across the table and slaps me on the arm. “You can’t leave me hanging like that. Tell me!”

“We… screamed at each other. Said every fucking insult you could think of. I’m talking some very mean shit. And then we fucked. Still insulting each other. Still raging. Still willing to display our hate. And then when it was over?” I shrug. “It felt… over.”

“Hmm. The be-all-end-all ultimate rage-filled hate fuck. That’s intriguing. So you’re gonna try that again?”

I nod. “I think it’ll work. I need to make this girl go away.”

“Are you sure you’re not in love with her?”

“No. No way. We’re not meant to be together. This is some sick obsessions shit, Sosh. We are not soulmates, or lovers, or even frenemies. She is the one who needed to get away. What we had together wasn’t blind love, it was sick rage. We were a match made in hell, it was hate at first sight, and when she walked away from me and never looked back it was a relief. It was bliss. I need to get that bliss back.”

“Wow. I think that was the most thoughtful sentence you’ve said all night.”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

Soshee laughs. “So you simply need a hate fuck?”

“Yeah.”

“And then you’re out of here?”

“Yup. Gone.”

“Well, I’m not going to lie. I’m really going to miss you when you go.”

“We literally just met a few hours ago.”

“So funny. Because right now, you feel like my best friend.”

I hold up my nearly empty glass of wine. “Cheers, my new BFF.”

She clinks me and smiles. “Cheers to us.”

CHAPTER SIX - BELINDA

The anger I felt when Vann drove off and left me on the side of Mulberry Street, a good three miles out of town… yeah. That’s some rage right there.

Of course, the practical version of me knew I’d asked for it. I did. I said drop me off. I got out. He pulled away.

But what the actual fuckety-fuck?