Page 56 of Cash

“Bullshit.”

I DID

My eyes thinned in disbelief of his claim. “How?”

GOOSE SAID HER HAIR WAS BLACK

“When did he say that?”

AT CHURCH

Church was biker slang for our weekly meeting. I felt uneasy. Much worse than the feeling of being wrong. Or, being doubly wrong. I felt like the idiot that Baker often said I was. As necessary as an apology was, I wasn’t going to allow Tito to beat a dead horse. I was wrong, and I was willing to admit it, but I wasn’t going to be chastised for an hour about it.

“Well, I was wrong, and I’m sorry.” I waved my hand in his direction and stood. “Maybe when you get your jaw unwired you can go back and see that chick. She’s pretty cool. Got big titties, too.”

He typed another message, and then stood. He turned the screen to face me and held it tight to his chest.

I’M SORRY FOR WHAT HAPPENED WITH ASHLEY, TOO

He’d never apologized for what he’d done. I’d spend the years wondering if he thought he was right, or if he was simply too stubborn to apologize. Having him do so, even if it was written on a computer screen, seemed to cleanse all the ill thoughts I’d been harboring for all those years.

I clenched my fist and extended my arm.

He tucked the computer under his left arm and pounded his right fist into mine.

I embraced him in a hug and patted him on the back. “Get well, Brother.”

He patted me in return and murmured something through his clenched teeth. As I released him, his knee came crashing into my nuts with so much force it lifted me from my feet.

Taken by complete surprise, I folded up like a cheap suit and fell at his feet. In utter agony, I writhed on the hardwood floor, wondering if – or when – I’d ever be able to have sex again.

Eventually, my stomach stopped convulsing. As my vision came into focus, I noticed he was hovering over me. The laptop’s screen glowed, waiting for me to read his parting message.

I looked at the blurry screen, blinked a few times, and then read the words he’d typed.

WE’RE EVEN