“You want the truth?” Crazy Bitch turned to stare at him fully, not caring if anyone else overheard. “I’m sick of men. I’m so sick of them I’ve decided to take a break from them.”
“How in the hell are you going to take a break from men?”
“Easy. What am I going to miss, anyway? Their companionship? There isn’t any. The only time they give me attention is when they want to get laid, and as soon as they get it, they roll over and go to sleep. My cat gives me more attention. I can’t remember the last time a man bought me a burger past the first date. They want to throw out how women are supposed to pay for themselves when they go out with them. I don’t have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is when they want me to buy theirs, too. Men either stand you up”—she couldn’t resist that particular dig at him—“or, when they do show up, they give you a drunken kiss that tastes like another woman. I’m tired of the bullshit—have been for a while—so excuse me if I’m not kissing someone’s ass just to fill the other side of my bed.”
“It’s not easy for men, either.”
“Really? What problems do you have, Calder? Which slut do you want to spend the night with? Ginger and Gina have been all over you tonight. Take my advice; if I were you, I’d pick Ginger. I saw Gina coming out of Dozer’s room half an hour ago.”
“Some women can be just as irritating. When’s the last time you’ve seen me take a bitch to my bed?”
Crazy Bitch had to think about that. It had been a while, she had to admit to herself.
“Either they’re just using you, or they are accusing you of knocking them up. When Demie couldn’t blame her being pregnant on Cade, she accused me. I might have fucked her when I got out of prison, but I was gloved every damn time. I had to spend two hundred dollars on a paternity test, and so did two other brothers. When she left the club, none of us knew who the father ended up being; we just knew it wasn’t us. Men are supposed to just take a woman’s bullshit.”
Crazy Bitch was pretty sure that was a dig at her.
“We’re supposed to suck it up as if we don’t have any feelings because, guess what? Men aren’t supposed to have any of those. And let’s not forget, if you fuck up, they never let you forget, even though you’ve apologized over a dozen times,” he added.
Yeah, it was a dig at her.
Crazy Bitch sighed. “All right, you win. I’ll cool it with throwing it up to you that you stood me up.”
Calder squinted at her from two swollen eyes. “I told you I wanted another chance with you. I can understand you going through a manhater phase, but if you want to win one of those bikes, then we have to come to a compromise.”
“Only one? If we win, you can keep your bike and all three of the jackets. I think that’s fair.”
“How is that fair? We’ll let the Destructors have the jackets. I’ll keep my bike, you can take your choice of the other two, and we’ll sell the one you don’t want and split the money.”
“I want both bikes,” she argued.
“Why?”
“I want to sell the one I don’t want. I need the money. I don’t want to share.”
“I don’t either, but I will. I need the money, too.”
“Fine, but you pay for the gas when we’re out looking for clues.”
“I can live with that.” Calder grinned. “Don’t look so angry; it’s supposed to be fun.”
“It’ll be fun when I’m wearing Viper’s jacket to the next party we have with The Last Riders.”
“I thought you were friends with them?”
“I am. That doesn’t mean I can’t torture them. They expect me to. I might be able to bribe Rider to take me out on a bike ride the way Killyama did. That worked out great for her. Maybe it will for me, too.”
“I thought you were off men.”
“I am, but I’d make an exception for Rider.”
“You and Rider wouldn’t get along.”
“How do you know? You barely know the man.”
“I don’t. Stud does, though, and he said Rider is a big pussy.”
“He doesn’t say that.” Skeptically, Crazy Bitch peered closer at Calder’s nonchalant posture.
“Not to anyone else, but he did to me.”
“How would he know?”
“A man sees things a woman wouldn’t notice.”
“Like what?”
“Like that goofball you broke up with.”
“You were around Sam for two seconds.”
“Long enough to see that he might have jumped at getting a drink for you and Killyama, but he didn’t open the door for you when you got to Stud’s house.”
“How in the fuck do you know?”