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“They must pay students better than they did when I was in school,” Eric said.
“Nah, I bought this with my side venture. Sling a little bit of that crack.”
“I’m sure you do.”
Kellen smiled. “One of these days I’m going to get a white guy to believe that.”
“Matter of time,” Eric agreed, walking around to the passenger side, opening the door, and sliding into the leather seat. “It is a damn nice car, though.”
“My brother gave it to me,” Kellen said. “Twenty-fifth birthday present.”
Eric raised his eyebrows. “That’s one hell of a present. What’s he do?”
“I’ll show you in a while,” Kellen said, and he didn’t elaborate as he started the engine and drove them away from the hotel. Eric didn’t question him. On another night, the remark might have caught his curiosity more. Tonight, all he wanted to do was press his head back against the seat, shut his eyes, and believe that when he opened them again, the only things he’d see would be of this world.
10
JOSIAH BRADFORD WOULDN’T HAVE minded just sitting on the porch with his feet up and having a few beers in privacy that night, waiting on the heat to settle and letting a day’s work ease out of his muscles. Da
Da
Pathetic shit, if you asked Josiah.
Could’ve stayed home, of course, but once Da
He was inclined, as he often was, for a good screw. That was fortuitous, because the women did more drinking on a weekend night, a circumstance in his favor. He and Da
It was carrying on toward ten when he walked by the blackjack tables on his way to take a piss and saw Da
Josiah took a leak and came out and stared around the room, feeling the weight of his anger again, anger driven even deeper because he hadn’t found a woman. Oh, there were some tens around, no mistake about that, but they were all hanging off somebody else’s arm already, rich bitches come down for the weekend with their boyfriends. Wouldn’t look at Josiah but would look through him, same as the hotel guests always did. There were people-Da
Hell with it. He’d have one more drink and call it a night.
He was halfway back to the bar when he heard someone scream, a wild impression of a rebel yell that came out more like a little girl’s sound, or maybe a pig’s squeal, something that made the hair rise up along his arms and neck, not because it frightened him but because he knew the source-it was Da
Da
There were wild bells and chimes going off somewhere back among the slot machines, and Josiah fell in grudging step with a handful of other onlookers and walked toward the sound.
“Josiah! Josiah, where you at? You got to see this!”
Da
“Josiah!”
“Shut up, I’m right here.” He shouldered up beside Da
“You see that, Josiah? Twenty-five hu
“I put in a dollar, was all. One dollar, you believe that? Had myself some luck on over at the blackjack table, was starting to feel it ’cept for the last hand.”
Except for the last hand. Brilliant. How many broke sons of bitches had said that?
“So I’d lost my money but I knew I had the luck going, right? Didn’t have nothing but two dollars left, and I only played one of them here. Took a pull and won, took another and won, and then this one, this one was just the third pull.”
Some stupid blond chick was clapping for him now, trying to get others involved, and Da
Da
“I’ll tell you one thing, hoss,” Da
“Better believe it,” Josiah said, reaching out and-this took great effort-punching Da
“I always said it, I always said it,” Da
Anonymous with success. Holy shit, he’d actually said that, and not on purpose.
“It already is,” Josiah said, and Da
“Like I said, go on and cash that out. I’ll be at the bar,” Josiah said.
Da