“November 7.”
“What’s she like to do for fun?”
“Yoga. She’s a freaking contortionist with that shit.”
That got a wide-eyed response from the guys, their prurient minds racing.
“Oh, here’s a good one. What color are her eyes?” Cam added, “I read somewhere that like fifty percent of men don’t know what color eyes their wife has.”
Tox stared at the table. “They’re incredible. Like this pale, pale blue, but with dark blue flecks and a dark blue ring around the outside. Sometimes the blue gets brighter…” Tox drifted for a second. When he looked up five sets of eyes were staring at him dumbfounded.
“Flecks? Did he say flecks?” Cam asked without breaking eye contact.
“What the fuck is a fleck?” Steady asked.
“He wants to fleck her.” Cam fist-bumped Ren.
“Oh, fuck off. She has really cool eyes. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Damn, bro. Might be time to let the bear out.” Cam reached for a chicken wing.
Steady grabbed his mug of beer and took a healthy swig. “You fucks are nuttier than squirrel shit if you think that’s a good idea. We’ve seen the bear. Shit, me and Finn are still breathing thanks to the bear. There’s not a woman out there who could handle Tox full throttle. Find a nice girl, maybe Calliope, maybe someone else, and save the bear for the battlefield.”
Finn kicked both booted feet up on a spare chair at the next table, winking at the woman sitting there. Her affronted look turned to poorly masked shock when she got a look at his scarred face. Before Finn could further disconcert the woman, her husband hauled her up and they quickly left. Finn downed another shot and looked up to meet Chat’s probing gaze.
“What?” Finn challenged.
“There’s nothing I can tell you that you don’t already know.”
“That so?”
“That’s so,” Chat affirmed.
The barbed comeback died on Finn’s tongue as he stared at his friend. Andrew “Chat” Dunlap had talked him through some very dark times. In a very different way than Tox had, Chat had saved Finn’s life. He banked his temper, but nothing could quell the bitterness that ran through his veins.
“This anger in your blood,” Chat continued, reading his thoughts, “it’s like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.”
Finn shook off the comment and grabbed the tray of shots from the waitress, grateful for her timely arrival. He spoke as he passed out the glasses.“Tox has a bear in his head. I’ve got rage in my veins. Chat has a crystal ball in there somewhere, Ren, an encyclopedia, Cam, a chick magnet, and Steady’s got radar. I think God built us out of spare fucking parts.”
“Here’s to a damn good combination.” Steady held out his glass and the men joined him.