Page 20 of Rough

“Jesus. Settle down. Ask him what?”

“Ask the invalid father about the murdering son.”

“Where do you come up with this stuff?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea. Are you going to ask?”

“No.”

“Don’t you have an adventurous bone in your body?”

I did. But, I gave people the benefit of the doubt. My perceptions were solely based on my experiences from what I saw or experienced first-hand, not on what others said. So far, Pee Bee had been nothing more than an asshole. Considering what I’d done to his motorcycle, I wasn’t surprised.

“I don’t care enough to ask. I’m sure I’ll find out plenty just by being there.”

He let out a dramatic sigh, and then glanced at his watch. An ear-piercing shriek shot from his mouth and he jumped up. “I’m going to be late. Bye.”

I stood. “Date?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Brian. The one with the dick like a banana.”

“I thought--”

“So did I.” He opened his arms. “But, I’m a sucker for a dominant male.”

Brian was an old boyfriend that had been abusive to Marcus. After several months of the offensive behavior, they split up. Or so I thought.

“Be careful,” I said, hugging him as I spoke.

He kissed my cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He walked to the door, pulled it open, and looked over his shoulder. “And stop taking the hormones, or I’m going to have to find another friend.”

“Goodbye, Marcus.”

“I was kidding about the hormones.” He laughed. “Toodles, T-Girl.”

EIGHT

Pee Bee

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. His scowl met me the instant I entered the living room.

He exhaled and sank into the recliner. “What a letdown.”

“What the fuck, Pop?”

“It’s six-forty-fucking-five in the morning.” He looked at me as if I had no business in his home. “What the fuck, me? What the fuck you. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I stopped by to check on you,” I said. “See if you needed anything.”

“Check on me?” He struggled to sit up straight. “I’m not some pre-pubescent teen that’s home alone. I’m sixty-fucking-seven years old, and if I wasn’t all bandaged up, I could still kick your ass. I don’t need checked on.”