She reached for a bottle on the shelves behind the bar, tagged it with a shot glass then she slammed it down in front of me and started pouring.
And she also started explaining, her eyes locked to mine. “Uh…yeah. Totally. Your brother was known by everyone and everyone liked him,”
She stopped pouring at the exact right time even though her eyes didn’t go to the glass which meant practice and I thought that was pretty cool.
She kept talking, “Sorry for your loss. He came in a couple of times, he was the shit. That totally sucks and I’m not makin’ light ‘a that. It just sucks. And then there are rumblin’s of trouble. That sucks too. I hope that’s sorted out ‘cause death and trouble sucks even more than just death and death is the worst there is so that’s sayin’ somethin’. Then you light into town and nail down the numero uno eligible bachelor in The ‘Burg in, like, a day. Half the bitches in this place are plotting your murder as we speak. This is seein’ as they’ve been plottin’ to become the next Mrs. Haines for about three years and you killed their dreams, I’ll repeat, in a day. So yeah, Dusty, I know you.”
I stared at her. Then I grabbed my shot of tequila. Then I tossed it back.
When I put my empty down to the bar and after I took in a deep breath, I informed her, “I like you. I need a new best friend. I’ve added you to the top of a list that has one name. Yours.”
She threw her slutty blonde, huge head of hair back and roared with laughter this shaking her big, probably fake knockers that were incased in a skintight tank top. This was a show I was pretty certain every man in the room took in except Mike, Colt, Joe Callahan and Tanner Layne mostly because all their women had knockers that rivaled Cheryl’s albeit not encased in a skintight tank.
Cheryl laughed but Mike muttered, “Fuck.”
I looked at him. “What?”
He looked at Cheryl and said, “No offense,” then he looked at me and explained, “She’s a fuckin’ nut.”
“No offense taken,” Cheryl stated generously.
“So am I,” I reminded him.
“She’s a different kind of nut,” Mike clarified.
Cheryl put her forearms on the bar, her eyes on Mike, all ears. “What kind of nut am I?”
Mike looked at her. “The kind I don’t think is cute because I’m not sleepin’ with you.”
Cheryl smiled huge at me.
“He’s a good guy but he can be bad,” I shared, her huge smile got even bigger and she leaned toward me.
“Do tell,” she invited.
“Fuck,” Mike muttered.
“I mean, he can say it straight,” I explained.
“Girl, if I didn’t know that already, I’ve just learned,” she replied.
“This is true,” I mumbled.
“Right, so, now that I know I like you, time to get this over with,” Cheryl announced and before Mike or I could say anything, she turned her head and shouted, “Vi! Get your ass over here.”
Oh my God! No! Shit!
I looked at Mike and he had his head bent and his eyes closed.
“Mike?” I called and he opened his eyes and looked at me.
“Fuck,” he muttered then his eyes shifted over my shoulder and he sighed.
“Uh…hi,” I heard and turned.
There she was. Violet Callahan. And she was even more gorgeous close up. Worse, Jessie and Mimi had followed her down. They either started our way before Cheryl gave them the okay or they had the ability to dematerialize and re-materialize at whim.
“I’m Violet,” she told me sticking her hand out. I took it, her fingers curled around mine tight and she kept talking. “And, so this isn’t more uncomfortable for you and me, I’ll get it out of the way. I know you know about, uh…you know and obviously I know since I was, um…there so we both know. And that’s done. Oh, and I know you’re Dusty. And I also looked you up on the internet and saw your pottery. It’s pretty. So pretty I bought a bowl and a platter. Joe freaked because I spent three hundred and fifty dollars on a bowl and a platter. He said the most he’s ever spent on a bowl was twenty dollars and it came with four of them and a set of plates and he’s never owned a platter. But they were worth it, they were that pretty. And I’m not sayin’ that to get you to like me. I’m just sayin’ that because it’s true. And I didn’t buy them to get you to like me either. I bought them because I liked them. And Joe didn’t say that about them because he didn’t like them. I don’t know if he liked them. He’s not a pottery kind of guy. They came through the mail a couple of days ago and I put them out on the shelves in our livin’ room and I’m not certain he’s even noticed them. Probably not. But not because they aren’t pretty. Because he’s Joe. Oh, and I wasn’t internet stalking you or anything. I was just curious. It’s not like I read everything about you, though there isn’t much. Just your gallery page and –”
“Vi, shut up, you’re babbling,” Jessie cut in.