“So I see you like old men.” That was as good an opening line as any. I hadn’t quite worked out what I wanted to say to her if or when I ever did speak to her on one of my drive bys.
She jumped a mile high and turned to face me, looking around as if searching for cover from the crazy guy who’d just walked up on her, and she very well might be.
“I’m sorry what?” Why was she staring at me like that? Certainly she couldn’t have forgotten meeting me just a few short days ago.
“Old man Stan I saw you all cozied up to him, is that how you got your job?” Her face turned pale white and she looked as if she was about to shake. What the fuck was her problem anyway?
“Well?”
“Well what? You’ve obviously drawn your own conclusions already think what you like why should I care?”
She turned to walk away from me and I snapped; maybe some of my brother’s crazy had rubbed off on me after all. I don’t know but I found myself grabbing her and pulling her around to me. She froze under my hands. I don’t mean she went still, I mean she froze from head to toe, her eyes rolled back in her head and she was about to fall the fuck out.
“What the fuck, I’m not hurting you cut that shit out.”
Her body shook in my hands and I released her quickly like I’d touched a live wire. We just stood there, me staring down at her until she came out of whatever that was that she’d gone into; this chick had serious problems.
“Can I go now?”
“What?”
She looked at me as though she was deathly afraid of me, and it made me feel off, like something was way wrong. I’d just watched her hug the old man so it couldn’t be that she had an aversion to the male of the species, so what? Was it me that she disliked? I wouldn’t be surprised after the way I’d treated her at our one and only meeting. No, this was about more than disliking me. I didn’t like where my mind was taking me, and again I asked myself; why the fuck should I care?
“What were you doing with him?” What the fuck Matt?
“He’s my dad.” It had taken her a moment to answer me but her words did something strange to me. That feeling I’d had that made me want to punish her for some unknown reason was suddenly gone at her softly spoken admission. I felt settled inside again except for the prickly skin and what I was beginning to think were heart palpitations. But there was still the question of her strange behavior.
“Why did you freeze up on me?”
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She fidgeted and shifted from one foot to the other.
“Don’t lie to me it pisses me off, now why did you just go into a damn near catatonic state when I put my hands on you?”
“It’s none of your business; look don’t you have someone else to annoy? I have no interest in anything you have to say.”
“Too bad because we’re not leaving this spot until you tell me, unless you want me to go ask your dad, we’re pretty cool him and I.”
“No don’t.” She actually grabbed my hand until she realized what she’d done and dropped it like a hot potato.
“Well then talk.” I folded my arms and glared down at her. In the back of my mind I could hear myself telling me to calm the fuck down and back off but somehow I couldn’t.
“Why do you even care, I thought you didn’t like me?” At least she had some fire in her and wasn’t acting like a scared rabbit anymore. I almost smiled at the thought as she glared back at me with her hands on her hips looking ready for battle.
“Who said I didn’t like you?”
“Well you sure acted like it the other day when you were with your friends.”
“Listen forget that ever happened okay I was having an off day; now tell me what’s wrong with you.”
She took a deep breath and somehow I knew she was about to lie to me before she even opened her mouth.
“You just startled me okay that’s all, now can I go? I really have to be somewhere.” She looked everywhere but at me.
I chose to drop it for now, besides we didn’t even know each other that well and I had no right to be acting like a caveman just because I’d seen her with another guy. I’m really going to have to get to the bottom of whatever the hell is wrong with me. I hope to fuck it’s not what I think it is. I’ve already made up my mind never to wade into those shark-infested waters ever again. Not anytime soon anyway and especially not with her. I finally answered her plea to go her way even though I wanted to stand there until I got some answers.