Shaking my head, I got out of the truck and crossed my arms. He had my information memorized at that point so it didn’t matter if I gave him my paperwork or not.
I’d have liked to think his chief would have told him to ease up. I mean, I’d snaked the fucking guy’s toilet more times than I wanted to count. I’d say we had a somewhat intimate knowledge of each other’s bullshit by this point.
“You want me to walk a line, say the alphabet backwards, or what?”
“I’m just ascertaining if you’re under the influence and above the legal limit.” Rooney pitched me a pointed look, leaving us in a stalemate. By the grace of God—or maybe it was his badge—I complied begrudgingly.
“Well it’s oozing out of my pores as we speak, dickwad.” My mother would be so proud. I could already taste her brand of yellow bar soap in the back of my mouth, like I was ten all over again.
He made a face and opened his mouth—that could use a few less teeth, as far as I was concerned. Leaning in, he taunted me. “Just like my cum will be oozing out from a certain brunette later tonight?”
“Oh, that’s cute; you stick your dick in any other foul places?” I committed myself to beating his ass in a minute. I tried to remember the breathing technique Taylor had taught me from that yoga retreat she and Kristen attended—some crap about cleansing the soul and reducing resentments—but my memory was hazy because he was working me up and we both knew it.
As expected, he went in for the kill shot. “Speaking of dicks, I bet you’re still hung up on the fact that Kristen is still riding mine. In fact, I think I’ll give her a text and see if she wants to hook up when my shift ends tonight.” Rooney tapped my chest with his baton and I finally lost my shit.
Bad move, pig. Maybe she wasn’t my girl, but he was a disrespectful asshole… besides, I was the only one that got to be a jerk to her.
And that’s pretty much how I got myself arrested for assaulting a cop…
* * * * *
A clanging on the bars alerted me to his oh-so-holy-and-perfect presence. “So you want to talk about it?” Hunter stood outside the jail cell, waiting for me to look up from my head resting in my hands over my knees. Rooney had called in backup and they made a big fucking deal of things. The guys that pulled up to our brawl peeled us apart, sent Rooney on his way, and called the chief, who ordered my ass hauled in for holding.
My mother would worry and my dad would shake his head, telling me to get my head straight and be more like Hunter. No surprises there. While I didn’t blame my cousin, it still hurt that my dad felt… I don’t know… something close and fatherly toward him. Hunter and I had a brotherly affection for each other even though we were cousins, and I was envious of the easy relationship he had with my parents. In one summer I went from being an only child to one with an older cousin I shared my room and my life with. It would be a miracle if this wasn’t in the paper tomorrow. It was just what my par
ents needed—me fucking up again and Hunter, the perfectly circumcised dick that he was, coming here to rescue me.
“Not particularly.” The fact that Hunter was there meant the chief had already called my parents and they weren’t coming. I was always disappointing them as much as Hunter impressed them. We didn’t mean for it to be like that, but there it was. Hunter had his own rash of shit growing up, and I certainly wasn’t helping him by getting arrested by a former high school classmate and football teammate.
Evan Rooney picked up the star quarterback spot when Kristen’s brother Chase had graduated. I had played as a wide receiver while Hunter had been conned into playing as a linebacker because of his size. I had played for fun growing up, but the game changed for me when Evan pretty much stole my spot and then my girl. Shaking off the past I collected myself ready to get out of there.
“Chief said there wasn’t any mobile video to charge you with assault, but I’m guessing you can’t get the DUI charge dropped.”
I shrugged as one of the patrolman opened the cell door, handing me a plastic bag with my belongings.
“You should see the other guy.” I smiled through my bruised face and winced taking a step forward. I didn’t leave Rooney any better than he left me. Nope, we were just two dogs having a pissing contest over a girl I couldn’t let go of.
“Well, I’m pretty sure that all doesn’t come from walking a straight line.” Hunter nodded to my roughed-up state and I followed him out, paying the fines I owed. Morning sun barely peeked through thick gray clouds and from the station window the Shawnagunk Mountains loomed tree lined and craggy.
Evan’s asshole buddies had dragged me in there to cool off. Everyone in the department realized it was an old feud between Rooney and me. I wasn’t assaulting him as a cop, although he was in uniform. I was kicking his ass defending Kristen’s tarnished honor, be that as it may. I wasn’t excusing my behavior—hell, I knew it was wrong on every level—but he knew the exact buttons to push for me to lose my shit every damn time.
Walking up to the glass window, Noah Banks, another classmate of ours sat behind it processing paperwork for my release. The silver badge pinned to his uniformed chest glinted in the yellow overhead light aggravating my headache. “We all set here?” I asked.
Noah handed me my keys under the window.
“Drive safe, man, and don’t skip out on the court hearing.” I liked that Noah didn’t give me shit. Hell, he’d watched this fight begin back in seventh grade, and I was sure it wouldn’t end until Kristen picked a side and stuck with it once and for all.
“Court?” Hunter asked, looking concerned.
I shrugged. “Yeah, I have to go for the DUI and get that straightened out.” The weight of that on my shoulders caused me to shuffle heavily out the door. If I got my license suspended it would be a huge pain in the ass, but it was also the least of my worries currently.
Hunter held his hand out and I stared at it until he spoke. “Uh yeah, how about if I drive. Just in case.”
Who knew how long I’d still have a license if the charges stuck this time.
“Sure thing, Hunter.” I threw him my keys, knowing I’d have to pay some consequence for all of this. It would be worth it if Rooney had to pay too, but I doubted the golden boy would get anything more than a slap on his wrist while I looked like an out of control asshole. I figured I could get my car later when I knew Rooney wasn’t working.
“I feel like I need to say something, Damien.” Hunter started up his truck as I buckled in.