“Works for me,” Kip said. “I want to get right to the point.”
“Of course you do,” I said.
“What’s his deal?” Kip asked Barr, referring to me.
“Who knows anymore,” Barr said.
“I’m standing right here,” I said.
“We know,” Kip said. “These two beauties behind me are taking a quick dip and then we’re heading down to the beach. Catch a little surf and then… we’ll see…”
“There’s a party going on tonight,” Barr said.
I gritted my teeth. “Yeah. I heard about that.”
“Might as well crash it, right?” Kip asked. “Show up and keep things under control.”
“I’m not a fan of that idea,” I said. “Not with this Cole thing going on.”
“That’s on you, man,” Barr said. He grabbed my shoulder. “That we should just take head on. Beat those three pieces of shit into nothing and throw them over to Mac. A reminder of what happens if one of them steps out of line.”
I nodded. “Yeah. You’re probably right, Barr. This is now on me.”
“No, it’s not,” Kip said. “It’s always us. The Rulz. Don’t forget that.”
“I was hoping to calm things down for a minute here,” I said. “Give Tinsley a chance to breathe.”
“Maybe if you took a break from being on top of her, she could breathe,” Barr said.
“He climbs off, I climb on,” Kip said.
I moved toward Kip and Barr grabbed my shirt. “He’s fucking around, man.”
Kip jumped back and playfully laughed. “No, I’m not, Pres. Remember… she chose me first.”
“I’ll fucking kill you, Kip,” I warned.
I heard giggling and looked past him to see the two girls in the water at the edge of the pool. Knowing right where to stand and how to stand so their tits were resting outside the pool.
In a different life Barr and Kip wouldn’t have stood a chance here.
With the snap of my fingers I’d have the two of them out of the water. Another snap of my fingers and they’d be out of their clothes.
They both stared at me.
I pushed Kip out of the way and approached the pool.
I towered over them more than I normally would have.
They looked up at me.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked.
They both nodded.
“You’re not from around here,” I said. “Everything you’ve heard is true. And yet at the same time, it’s all a lie. You can’t imagine how real it is. This isn’t a fucking game. Understand?”
They kept nodding.
I bent my knees and lowered down.
I reached forward with both of my hands. My pointer fingers touching their jaws.
Their mouths fell open as their bottom lips quivered.
“We are the Rulz and that’s not just a name, sugar. Do not fuck around. But feel free to fuck…”
I stood back up and walked away.
I heard them both sigh behind me.
“Real smooth,” Barr said.
“Just warming them up for you,” I said.
“Don’t need your help with that,” Kip said.
“Yeah,” I said. “Because your hillbilly sleeveless look really gets them wet.”
“They’re soaked already, man,” Kip said. “They’re in the pool.”
“Wow,” I said. “Kip knows how water works.”
The guesthouse front door opened and when I saw Tinsley, my heart stopped for a second. I pictured her rushing outside, topless, looking for me.
She was clothed though.
Super short jean shorts and a tight tank top that left nothing to the imagination when it came to her curves.
She looked right at me. “I’m leaving.”
“Oh yeah, sugar?” I asked. “Where to?”
“The fucking beach party,” she said.
She threw the hoodie at me that she had been wearing.
Just another little jab at me.
I clutched it tight in my hand and all three of us watched Tinsley strut away.
She paused at the pool and laughed.
She looked back. “Make sure you clean the pool before I get back. The whole glitter and whore thing makes the water cloudy.”
The two girls in the pool made a noise, but before they said anything Tinsley looked at them, showing them her middle finger.
I slowly smiled.
“Fuck, she’s brutal,” Barr said.
“Maybe it’s a good thing she ended up with you, Pres,” Kip said. “You might not make it out of this alive.”
I looked down at the hoodie in my hand.
I nodded.
Tinsley was beautiful and brutal.
And I wasn’t going to make it out alive… I was in this thing for the rest of my damn life.
* * *
I kept my distance and left my presence to do its job.
There was a big fire, plenty of drinks, a few guys playing guitars, and more than enough people hanging on the beach for a damn cool night. It was so cool that the big dare of the night was to go into the water. To freeze your ass off for a few seconds before running back out.
Of course, Barr and Kip worked that angle perfectly to get their girls into the ocean. They came running out, screaming like a shark was after them.
Tinsley had her hip glued between Gi and Iris.
Which was fine.
It was sort of cute to watch her try and be pissed at me.
She kept looking at me, curling her lip, then going back to her drink.
There was something genuine about it.
Real.
A little bit of a hint that our lives could somehow be normal.
Even though my hands and face still had the truth of the fight with my father.
That was a darker sense of reality. But it was done. I stood my ground. I handled my business.
“Have a drink with me, man,” Barr said.
He handed me a cup. I took a sip. It was straight whiskey. I threw the cup back and chugged it all down.
I tossed the cup to the sand.
I looked at Barr as he stood there, a flame dancing at the end of his lighter.
He was frozen in place, trying to light a cigarette.
“That kind of night?” he asked.
He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag.
I waited for Kip to join us. “Man, that one is a little crazy. I might have to find a way to ditch her for good.”
“Send her my way,” Barr said. “I can handle both.”
“We need to attack,” I said.
They both looked at me. “What?”
“I want to take Cole out. Fuck what he wants. I’ve ran it all through my head. I thought I could silence it for the sake of Tinsley. Knowing he’s using her to get to me. He thinks he’s got power. And I let him think it even more by playing into his hand. I want to bury him in the sand and leave his head sticking out. Watch the tide do the rest.”
Barr exhaled smoke. “That’s dark.”
“Let’s fight them,” Kip said. “Celebrate you saving the ditch.”
“Then Cole will crawl back to Mac and start shit,” Barr said.
“I don’t even want to talk to Mac,” I said. “Fuck him. This is personal.”
“Let’s enjoy the night and talk tomorrow,” Barr said.
“Nothing to talk about,” I said.
“Pres…,” Kip started to say.
I looked at him and he shut up.
He nodded.
Barr nodded.
I then set my sights on Tinsley.
She was staring at me again.
I curled my lip and started to walk toward her.
She finally stepped away from Gi and Iris.
She dropped her cup to the sand and lifted her hands.
Like we were going to fight.
When I got close enough to her, I slowly grinned.
She did the same thing.
If this
was true love then it really was fucking crazy.
* * *
Tinsley wiped her mouth with the sleeve of the hoodie.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I sat on the edge of the bathtub and shook my head with a big smile on my face.
We were back to where we started.
She was wearing nothing but the hoodie and the same black panties from before.
On her knees, over the toilet, showing off what kind of night she had been having.
“It was that last drink, huh?” I asked.
“Fuck off,” she groaned.
“I could have told you to stop, but I didn’t want to get in your way, sugar. Hate to see you lock yourself in a room again to get away from me.”
She slowly looked at me. “Why don’t you go screw one of those whores then?”
I leaned toward her and touched her chin. “Not my type.”
“Oh, but I am?”
“Sexy, drunk, puking everywhere?” I asked. “I’m hard as a rock…”
“I hate you, Pres,” she said.
“I know you do, sugar. That’s why I’m here though, right?”
“I think I’m done, okay? I just want to go to sleep…”
Her chin quivered and she looked ready to cry.
I stood up and grabbed a washcloth for her to wipe her face with.
She slowly moved and sat against the wall in the bathroom.
Her head bobbed left to right as her eyes fought to stay open.
I sat down on the bathroom floor across from her.
“I’m going to fix all of this, sugar,” I said.
Tinsley’s eyes fluttered. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. One fight at a time though. I don’t want you to ever get hurt.”
“Yeah? Well… maybe you should fight the vodka then… because…”
I laughed. “Okay, sugar. I’ll go break some bottles later. In your honor.”
“My hero,” she whispered.
I stood up and scooped Tinsley up off the bathroom floor.
I carried her to the bed and got her settled and tucked in.
My lips brushed her cheek and let out a breath.
“You don’t know how much I love you, sugar,” I whispered. “You are a pain in the ass. It’s like you’ve lived here your entire life and you’re spoiled. And yet I can’t look away from you.”
“You’re an asshole,” she said with her eyes shut.
“Oh?”
“You never came after me.” Her eyes opened. “When I locked myself in the bathroom. Why didn’t you kick down the door? Why didn’t you scream at me?”
I stared into her eyes. Her drunk and pretty eyes.
“Next time I’ll move the entire fucking house to get to you,” I whispered. “But I knew you’d cool off and come back out.”
“And I did, Pres. Wearing nothing but panties. And you weren’t here.”
“That I will regret for the rest of my life.”
“Good. You should. Asshole.”
I kissed her cheek again. “Close your eyes, sugar. You’re going to feel like hell in the morning.”
“I know,” she said. “Fuck.”
Tinsley then let out an ooohhh sound and jumped.
She slapped at the blankets.
“My phone.”
“I’ll get it,” I said.
I dug through the covers and her pocket to get her phone.
“You can look in the morning,” I said. “It’s nothing important.”
“Who was it?”
I looked at the screen and swallowed hard.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Good,” she said.
A few seconds later, Tinsley was asleep.
I stood up and carried her phone through the room, reading the text message over and over.
Tinsley let out a cute little drunk snore.
I looked back at her.
I shook my head.
One fight at a time?
That was no longer possible.
Chapter 12
“What are we doing here, man?” Barr asked as he twirled a cigarette like a drummer would a drumstick.
“It better be fucking good,” Kip said.
“I’m sure you both enjoyed your night,” I said. “I just gave you an excuse to get the hell out of Crazy Land.”
“My bus pass is still good there,” Kip said.
“Fuck, I was just getting started,” Barr said. “Played half a song on the piano and then…”
“So that’s part of your routine now?” I asked. “All those years of trying to hide that about yourself. And now, what, you keep a keyboard in the trunk?”
Barr grinned. “No offense to you, Pres, but thank Tinsley for that.”
I curled my lip. “Oh yeah?”
“I guess I was a little blind to the effect music could have on women,” Barr said. “Even the saddest and slowest classical song… if you do it the right way… a cigarette between your lips, glass of whiskey on the piano, smoking and drinking while playing… looking intense…”
“I just picked a fight with someone,” Kip said.
“Who?” I asked.
“What the fuck does that matter?” Kip asked, curling his eyebrows down.
“Yeah, right,” I said. “Doesn’t matter.”
“She wanted me to fight someone. To see if I was as crazy as she was.”
“Well, since we’re on the topic of crazy…”
I slid Tinsley’s cellphone across the counter for Barr and Kip to read.
They bumped shoulders together, probably thinking it was a naked picture of Tinsley. Which if it was they would never fucking see it.
Assholes.
Barr looked at me.
Kip looked up a few seconds later. “Is that…”
“Yeah,” I said. “Tinsley’s out cold right now. She wasn’t feeling so good before.”
“Ah,” Barr said. “Got too drunk. No wonder you’re pacing the house here.”
“I’m pacing the house over this message,” I said. “You know she’s going to want to go.”
“Of course,” Barr said.
“You know I’m going to take her.”
“Always,” Kip said.
“You know I’m going to try and talk her out of it.”
“Without a doubt,” Barr said.
“You know I wanted you both here to hear what you think,” I said.
“Not like you give a shit though,” Kip said.
“This hits home for her,” Barr said.
“She’ll never get away from that place, will she?” I asked.
“You can change homes, man,” Kip said. “But where you come from is where you come from.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” I said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to change. Which I can’t do. I fucked things up with the Cole situation. I don’t want to fuck this up too. There’s no way I can let her go alone.”
“Then we all go,” Barr said. “Give her the protection she needs. Imagine rolling up there with the three of us. And her. She’ll be like a princess climbing out of the back of the SUV, you know?”
“Before we all go on a road trip, can I just swing back through the house and see if my little crazy is still sleeping?” Kip asked.
I swiped my hand across the counter and grabbed the phone. “This is one where I go alone. Unless you two feel like backing me up and convincing Tinsley not to go.”
“Not to go where?” her voice asked out of nowhere.
I turned my head and saw her shuffling from the bedroom, wearing the comforter from the bed. Her hair was all messy on one side. The side she slept on.
“Sugar, it’s too early for you to be awake.”
“I heard you all talking,” she said.
“Look at you, love,” Barr said. He started to slow clap. “A fucking mess yet still so beautiful.”
“Just for the record, girl,” Kip said, “if you had made the right choice, you’d never have to wake u
p alone. Or find your guy talking to two other guys instead of being inside you.”
Tinsley yawned and groaned.
I made a mental note to punch Kip in the mouth later.
“How do you feel, sugar?” I asked.
“Like I drank too much and threw up,” she said.
“That’s about what happened,” I said. “And you should still be sleeping.”
“Why are you three awake and talking?” she asked.
“Life,” Barr said.
“Thought you two had your dates picked out,” Tinsley said. “What happened? Whiskey dick? Little ones couldn’t get hard?”
“For the record,” Kip said, pointing at Tinsley.
“There is no record,” I said. “Nobody wants to hear about what you did or didn’t do.”
“I second that,” Barr said.
“What’s going on?” Tinsley asked again.
Barr put his hands flat to the counter.
Kip looked at me.
I slowly slid my arm around Tinsley and hugged her. “Listen, sugar, you got a text message a little while ago. Heard your phone go off and I looked. You asked who it was but you were too far gone to talk about anything. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t Cole fucking around again.”
“Which we’re going to handle, love,” Barr said. “No need to worry about that at all.”
“I wasn’t worried to begin with,” Tinsley said.
“Good,” Barr said with a wink.
“So what’s with my phone then?” Tinsley asked, looking up at me.
I slowly slipped the phone into her hand.
All I could do then was wait.
* * *
Kip dove at the door and put his back to it.
“Move,” Tinsley ordered.
“Can’t do that, girl,” he said.
“I’ll hit you.”
“Have at it.”
Tinsley threw a punch through the comforter and cracked Kip in the mouth.
“Oh, shit,” Barr yelled.
The comforter fell from Tinsley’s body, leaving her wearing nothing but a black tank top and black panties.
I gritted my teeth, wanting to rip out both Barr and Kip’s eyes.
Kip licked his bottom lip and stayed cool.
“I’ll do it again,” Tinsley said.
PRES: a bay falls high novel Page 10
