Page 110 of Thug

“What?”

“All those ball players like pussy.”

“Hell,” I said with a laugh. “You two have something in common.”

“I’d like to see that ass of hers out of those jeans,” he said, nodding toward her as she passed through the kitchen door. “I bet it’s as tight as a banjo string.”

The death of Panzer’s sister took a toll on him, emotionally. Since then he hadn’t been in a single relationship and seemed to care much less about women, other than making an occasional comment. Having been in a similar situation after the loss of my aunt, I hoped that one day soon he’d find a way to let himself begin the recovery process.

I nodded toward the kitchen. “You ought to see if she wants to go for a ride with us sometime.”

“Thought Gray was hiring a cook?” he asked. “Been a couple weeks, and all she’s done is cut the hours that she serves food.”

Panzer was like me in many respects. When he didn’t want to answer a question—or if he was tired of talking about something—he simply changed the subject. I was the world’s worst at answering a question with a question. Panzer was a close second.

“She’s got a couple of ‘em coming in on Sunday,” I said. “She whittled it down to two before ever interviewing them.”

“Dudes or chicks?”

“One of each.”

“Hope it’s a dude,” he said. “Gray would completely walk all over a chick that was trying to cook her recipes.”

I laughed. Gray would walk all over anyone who she felt wasn’t doing a good job, me included. That was one of the many things I liked about being in a relationship with her. I knew if for some reason I wasn’t meeting her expectations, she’d let me know.

An empty bucket hit the bar with a clank. Brisco leaned against the bar beside Panzer. “This day can’t end fast enough.”

Panzer slapped his hand against Brisco’s left shoulder. “I’m sure those cats will show up in good health, Brother. Probably some chick you pissed off who just needs to cool off a little.”

Brisco looked up. “Problem is there’s dozens of bitches that it could be.”

“Just think of the one that you fucked over worse than all the others,” Panzer said. “She’s probably your woman.”

Brisco chuckled a dry laugh and nodded toward the kitchen. “Hell, that’d be Gray.”

“Think Gray took ‘em?” Panzer asked.

“Naw.” Brisco shook his head. “She wouldn’t have done that.”

Panzer sipped his beer. “You don’t think?”

“No fucking way. She told me the other night she had a cat when she was a kid. She knows how a person can get connected with an animal. She wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Yeah,” Panzer said. “Your probably right.”

Teddi burst through the kitchen door and made it to the bar in a few long strides. She looked at Brisco. “Out of beer already?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“Still nothing on the cats?” she asked.

He looked confused. “Since you asked earlier?”

Teddi winked at Panzer. She then looked at Brisco. “Did we talk about this already today?”

He scratched the side of his head. “Yeah. Thirty minutes ago.”

She lowered her gaze to the bar in mock shame. After a moment, she looked up and shook her head. “You know what they say about blondes.”