Again the macho-speak.
“Crowe –”
“I’l ask around, get one of the guys to ride with you.”
“Crowe –” I started again but I heard the disconnect.
“God dammit!” I shouted at my dead phone.
“What?” Roxie asked.
“Vance is arranging for someone to ride with me tonight even though I’m perfectly fine going it alone. I mean, I did flip a drug dealer onto his back and nearly shot another one in the foot not a week ago and two nights ago, on my own, I dropped a pimp and two of his whores!” I snapped.
The customer service representative who was ringing up my sexy, silky, lacy, satiny delicate, pretty, girlie underwear gasped.
Roxie’s gaze swung to her then back to me and she giggled.
Then she said, “Ask Uncle Tex. He’s dying for some action.”
This was true, he was. But Tex was a little scary. Tex had an old gym bag ful of tear gas at the ready. Tex, I thought, was not a good idea.
“I don’t think –” I started but she was already hitting the green button on her phone.
“Uncle Tex? It’s Roxie, listen Jules needs someone to ride with her tonight…”
I sighed and looked at the customer service representative. She looked pale.
“What can you do?” I asked her.
She shook her head and rushed through my purchase.
Cal number eight came while we were walking towards California Pizza Kitchen. I pul ed out my phone wondering if it could overheat. I’d never been this popular.
It was Zip and he didn’t have the courtesy to identify himself either.
“What? You got the big boys teachin’ you the fancy moves, you don’t need me, Heavy and Frank no more?” Uh-oh.
“Zip –” I started.
“You’re comin’ in to target practice. Tonight.”
“Zip, I just doubled up on toiletries because Vance told me to leave mine at his place. Now I’m getting pizza with Roxie. Then I’m going out to crack some heads. I don’t have time to shoot.”
“You left your stuff at Crowe’s? I thought you two had broken up,” Zip asked.
“There was a misunderstanding, apparently we hadn’t.”
“Yeah. I bet. Heard you’ve been on the street with Stark.
One moves out, the other moves in, the first one decides he doesn’t feel so much like movin’ out no more.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Don’t got time to process your love life. Girl, you are loco. Fuckin’ loco. You don’t leave your stuff at a man’s house after knowin’ him for a week!”
“Of course not,” I snapped, “I’ve known him for a week and two days.”
“Shee-it. Those fuckin’ guys,” Zip said then gave up.
“You’re in here tomorrow night. No excuses.” Disconnect.
When our pizzas were served, I asked Roxie. “So, did you ever double up on toiletries with Hank?” She shook her head. “I lived in Chicago. When I was in Denver most of the time I stayed with Hank. I went back to Chicago for a few weeks to pack up and when I got to Denver, I moved right in with Hank. I was supposed to get an apartment for six months but Hank didn’t like that idea as in really didn’t like it.”
I blinked at her. “These guys move fast,” I whispered.
She smiled and I realized that she’d been living with Hank for as long as I’d known Vance, she’d moved to Denver the day I met him. Their relationship was stil relatively new.
“How’s it going?” I asked softly.
Her smile got bright but her eyes got soft and she didn’t answer because she didn’t have to.
“I’m so glad, Roxie.” Then, before I could stop myself, I reached out, grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.
She squeezed back then she started giggling and again, I did too.
Cal number nine came after Roxie and I said good-bye and I was walking back to my car. It was Luke.
“What the fuck?” He also hadn’t taken phone etiquette classes.
“What the fuck what?” I asked.
“I thought you were givin’ me a week? Shortest fuckin’
week in history, you goin’ out tonight with Tex.”
“How did you know I was going out with Tex?”
“How did you know I was going out with Tex?”
“Clue in, Law. People talk.”
I was beginning to realize that. “I thought our deal went south when Vance and I got back together.”
“A deal’s a deal.”
I thought about this. I thought about what Vance would think about this. I figured Vance wouldn’t like it much.
Furthermore, I decided I didn’t like ride-alongs partly because they reminded me that people sucked and partly because Luke hogged al the action.
“You hog al the action,” I told him.
“Babe,” he replied.
“No, seriously.”
“Wasn’t me who took down a pimp and two whores single-handed.”
Hmm.
He was right.
Time for a different tactic. “If we keep our deal, I have to explain it to Vance. I’m not sure Vance can take another Yoko Ono conversation,” I told Luke.
Silence.
“Luke?”
“Jesus,” came the muttered reply.