Текст книги "Thizz, A Love Story"
Автор книги: Nicole Loufas
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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 19 страниц)
The street is quiet except for the music echoing from inside the house.
“DiMarco is Lucy’s last name.” It feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my chest.
“But your parents did die in a carjacking, right?” Matt looks like he’s trying to figure out a puzzle in his head.
Just tell him. Tell him everything. You can trust him.
“The police consider the shooting a failed carjacking, but there’s more. My father may have been the target.” I think about some of the people my father defended. “He had a lot of shady clients. They think one of them may have been angry with the outcome of his case or something. Since I was in the backseat when they were shot, I’m technically a witness. Only I didn’t see anything. I had on headphones and my music was turned up pretty loud. I heard the shots, but by the time I realized what happened and sat up, the gunman was gone. They have one witness. A waiter in the restaurant across the street saw a man run from our SUV. That’s their only lead.”
Matt’s face looks white, like he’s about to pass out.
“Are you ok?”
“So, the witness is a waiter,” he confirms. “You didn’t see anything?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. The name change was really just to give me a chance to start over. A clean slate. I was never in danger.”
Matt finally exhales. “You scared me for a second. I thought…I don’t know what I thought. I was confusing you with another story I heard.”
Other than the muffled sounds coming from inside the house, the block is quiet. The roar of the motorcycles is faint at first. By the time I realize it’s getting louder, they’re here. We watch eleven bikes park in front of the house before Matt pushes me inside the door and yells for me to get Nick.
“Dani, go!” Matt closes the door and I run to find Nick.
The crowd has thinned. I see pockets of people talking, dancing, rubbing lotion on each other. No Nick. No hot girl Nick was dancing with.
My pulse races.
I look for Nick in the kitchen. I knock on the bathroom door. I run to the deck out back, the courtyard. No Nick. No girl.
Upstairs. I don’t want to go upstairs.
“Dani!”
I turn and see Nick with K by his side. They’re coming through the door that leads to the garage.
“Matt.” I can only get his name out.
“I know.” He grabs my hand and pulls me into the living room. “Stay here,” he demands.
Nick and K run out the front door along with half the party. I stay behind and watch the garage door. Before I know it. I’m at the door. I open it.
Two girls are sharing a cigarette. One girl nods in my direction and her friend turns around. She shrugs and turns her back to me again. They laugh at something. At me.
I want to murder her.
“Dani.” Aurora moves me aside and looks in the garage then closes the door. “They’re desperate. And they aren’t worth your time. We have bigger problems.”
She drags me to the second floor, turns off the lights in the room, and stands next to the window. “Come here,” she whispers.
I join her at the window just as Arnie comes out of the house. “We got a problem here?” He lifts his arms at a funny angle as he walks towards the bikers.
Teddy, the biker that chased us from the Lost Coast, smirks and says something about everyone being strapped. He tells Nick he’s just here to talk.
“Talk then.” Nick stands next to Arnie. K is with them too. I don’t see Matt. I’m glad. I don’t want him anywhere near those bikers.
Teddy takes off his helmet, sets it on his seat, and leans against his bike. “I heard it’s your birthday, Nicky.” He crosses his arms over his massive belly.
I’d like to think Nick could beat him in a fist fight. Nick is twenty years younger and faster, but Teddy’s tree stump arms look like they can do some damage.
“Who told you that?” Nick doesn’t sound at all worried. Just like the day we ran into them at Lost Coast. His confidence astounds me.
“A little birdie.” Teddy snickers and his followers laugh with him.
“This is a private party.” Arnie sounds anxious. It must be pretty hard to be serious when you’re high on thizz. “Unless you’ve brought some strippers for the birthday boy, I suggest you leave.”
“We aren’t here to break up your sweet sixteen. I just want to talk to Nick. Man to man.”
Nick steps in front of Arnie. “You could’ve just called. I’m sure some of your boys have my number.” He nods to some of the younger-looking guys. I can’t tell if Nick is bullshitting, and from the look on Teddy’s face, neither can he.
Teddy takes a step towards Nick and K moves forward. I’m not sure if K would actually hit Teddy. K has a lot to lose, like a scholarship to play football at UCLA. He shouldn’t even be here.
“Look, you cocky little fucker.” Teddy points at Nick. “You tell your uncle we’ve got a better offer on the table. Turns out he wasn’t the only city scum trying to move into Humboldt.”
Teddy’s news stuns Nick. He doesn’t say a word as Teddy rallies his guys to leave. The bikes start up with a loud roar, and they pull away one by one. Teddy starts up last. Just before he backs away, he pulls his bandana down and yells to Nick.
“You’re eighteen now. That’s big time. You do real time.” He pulls his skull bandana over his hairy jaw and rides away.
“What the hell was that?” I step away from the window and look at Arora’s frightened face.
She sits on the bed and pulls out a cigarette. She fiddles with her lighter and finally gets it lit. Smoke circles her head as the red tip of her cigarette pulses. She sucks in a lungful of smoke, then exhales. “I think we just got shut down.”
I search the house and find Dani and Aurora in the bedroom upstairs. Aurora looks like she’s going to puke.
“Dude, I’m fucking out.” Aurora snuffs her cigarette on the bottom of her shoe then tosses it in her cup. “I can’t have those biker assholes after me. I’m graduating next month. I don’t need this shit.”
“Chill the fuck out.” I lie on the bed and close my eyes. I feel good. Real good. The pill I just took has kicked in. I needed something to calm me down. It seems to for Dani. “Nick’s got this.”
“Yeah, that’s what you think,” she says in a loud whisper. “You don’t know them like I do. My uncle was in their crew, now he’s doing thirty-eight years for murder.” She lights another cigarette. “You tell Nick I’m done.”
I sit up just as she slams the door. Dani is pacing the room. She moves from the window to the door and back. She’s scared. “Hey, it’s gonna be ok. Come here.” I sit up and pat the space beside me. “Aurora is just freaking out.”
“I know.” She bites her thumbnail and continues to pace.
I want to say something to make her feel better. But words don’t come. I don’t know if it’s because there is nothing I can say to make her feel safe, or if it has anything to do with the fact that I’m high as fuck.
“Here.” I pull out my stash and take out a pill. She takes the pill and puts it in her mouth. She looks around for a drink and I point her to the bathroom.
Once that pill kicks in, she’ll relax. We can hang out a little longer, maybe watch the sunrise. Nick is busy working shit out with Will. He’s been on the phone since the Devil’s Gold crew left.
I get to have her to myself a little longer. Maybe we can finish our conversation from the yard earlier.
Dani opens the bathroom door at the same time the bedroom door opens.
“Hey, I was looking for you guys.” Nick steps inside and closes the door. He doesn’t have an ounce of worry about anything that’s going on. He trusts me. Right now, he shouldn’t.
“Is everything ok?” Dani rushes into his arms.
Nick caresses her back and kisses her head. “It’s all good, baby. You know I got this.”
It kills me that he’s the one that gets to comfort her.
“Matt, I’m going to take Dani home.”
Dani pulls out of his arms. “No, why?”
I don’t want her to go. But I don’t say anything. I can’t without sounding desperate.
“I don’t want you here in case those assholes come back.”
I see the worry on his face now. He’s right, she should leave. We all should.
“I don’t want to be alone.” Dani looks at me quickly, then back at Nick.
I’m about to suggest we go to my place. Nick may even leave her and come back here to close up. That would be perfect. That would make my night. And Dani’s, I think. If anything she said in the yard was true, then we have a lot to talk about. What am I saying? We had this conversation already. Who cares, have it again, maybe this time with a better outcome? One I will benefit from. Thizz is so smart. I don’t know what I’d do with it.
“You won’t be alone. I’m staying with you.” Nick raises an eyebrow, and Dani’s face turns red.
I suddenly regret giving her that last pill. Giving her any pills. I hate pills. I hate thizz.
The house is almost empty. The bikers scared everyone away. Even the DJ left.
Arnie comes out of the kitchen with the two girls from the garage trailing behind him. “Are you guys out?” He takes Nick’s hand and they bump chests.
“Yeah, I’m taking Dani home. You guys can hang out. Just make sure you call me if any shit goes down.” Any apprehension I had about Nick staying with me disappears when I see the girls from the garage. The last thing I want is Nick alone with them.
Arnie pulls Nick to the side, away from the girls. “Dude, everyone’s fading and nobody’s got any funds. Can I hook these two up?”
Nick looks at the girls and smiles. They smile back. I want to scratch their eyes out.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Arnie holds up his hand for a high five.
“But Matt’s in charge,” Nick adds. Matt looks up with a bewildered expression. He’s really high.
“Hell yeah! I told you we’re all getting laid tonight,” Arnie says to me.
I look at Nick and scowl; he shrugs like he didn’t say anything. “Let’s go.” Before I change my mind.
“Later, D.” Arnie gives me a hug. “Take care of my boy.”
“Dude, shut the fuck up,” Nick scolds him as they shake hands.
Arnie pretends to be sorry, but we all know he isn’t.
Nick offers his hand to Matt and they do their ritual handshake. Matt’s eyes never leave mine. He’s sorry. Sorry I’m leaving. Part of me is too.
I don’t remember the drive home or how I even got in the house. One minute I’m standing in the living room of the beach house saying goodbye to Matt. The next thing I know I’m in my room undressing while Nick watches from the doorway. He’s grinning as I struggle to pull off my boots. He laughs when I fall onto the bed. The pill Matt gave me kicked in. I’m totally wired. Totally not myself. Totally happy Lucy isn’t home. I get my foot untangled from my pants and toss them on floor in front of Nick. He stops laughing. His eyes follow my hands as I unhook the buttons on my shirt. When I reach the bottom button, he steps inside and closes the door. I don’t think I’m much to look at, but Nick doesn’t seem disappointed.
Nick takes his shirt off and I realize I’ve never seen him shirtless. His body is nothing like Matt’s. Matt’s chest and abs have more of a natural curve. They suit his build. Nick’s body is bulky. He has a deep V separating his abs and hips.
I reach for his hand and pull him onto the bed. He pauses slightly to kick his shoes off. Each one falls to the ground with a thump, and he arranges himself beside me. Until this moment I felt as if I were putting on a show. That I was just going through the motions, not really committing to what we are about to do. All of that changes once I’m wrapped in his arms. This is the most intimate we’ve ever been, and not because we’re lying half naked in bed. I’ve never felt as close to him as I do right now. My jaw tightens and my teeth chatter. I take a deep breath to try and gain some control. It’s really difficult given the amount of drugs I’ve taken tonight.
Nick runs his hand down the side of my face then lowers his lips to mine. I’m lost in the movement of his mouth when he kisses me and the way he pulls me closer with every breath he takes. Just as I fully succumb to the rush of emotions flowing through my body, he pulls back.
“Is something wrong?” I ask nervously. Then I realize we’ve forgotten something. “Don’t worry. There’s, um, protection in the bathroom.” Lucy has kept the bottom drawer stocked with condoms ever since she found out we were dating.
“It’s not that.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “I actually brought something.” He blushes, then slides a misplaced hair from my face. “I just wanted to look at you.” The utter devotion I feel is indescribable. If I ever had any doubt about my feelings for Nick, they are washed away in this moment.
“I love you, Dani.” The vulnerability in his voice makes my chest ache. I don’t know how to respond. Words are just words. Saying I love you isn’t enough. I need to show him.
I want to believe the millions of tingles rushing through me have nothing to do with thizz. That the chills, the pleasure, the euphoria I’m experiencing is without a doubt, one hundred percent caused by Nick.
Only that would be a lie.
I slide into the booth next to Nick and watch the parking lot of the diner. Nick and I felt pretty confident after the party when Will said he had everything under control. That was a week ago. Sitting in the diner across from Will Walker today, I’m not feeling as bullet proof.
“Shit isn’t looking too good, kiddo.” Steam from the scalding hot coffee rises around Will’s face, making the situation even creepier. “Devon made a deal with those DGC assholes. They’re giving him Humboldt.”
Nick swears under his breath. This is a guy who gets everything he wants. He isn’t going to give up without a fight. “So, we’re out. Just like that?”
“It’s politics, Nicky. Shit that goes way beyond a bunch of kids slinging dope.” Will leans back and rests his arm across the back of his bench seat.
Nick makes a grunting noise at Will’s comment. Politics or not, Nick is offended.
Will realizes he’s just insulted his nephew and starts to backpedal. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He reaches over and messes Nick’s hair. “I’ve got bigger problems to deal with. They’re trying to pin me with a double homicide. I can’t make any moves until this blows over. I gotta find this witness. I have my guys on the street using some fancy online shit. It’s all fucking high tech now.”
I choke on my spit and start to cough as I think about Dani. The story she told me about her parents, the shooting. I have to make sure it’s just a coincidence. “Do you know who you’re looking for?” I clear my throat. The cop said it was the daughter of the people that were killed. So, it can’t be Dani. She said she didn’t see anything. She said it was a waiter.
Will’s eyes shoot in my direction like he just realized I was sitting here. “Don’t worry about what I know. My intel is solid. It’s a witness, that’s all you need to know.”
I relax when he doesn’t say it’s the daughter. Even if it isn’t Dani, the thought that any girl is being hunted by Will makes me sick. He wouldn’t care about the witness if he was innocent.
We’re sitting at a table having coffee with a murderer. I continue choking. Nick slides me his iced tea and asks Will if he can help.
Will laughs and leans in towards Nick. “Look at you, ready to put in work for me.” He rustles Nick’s hair again. It’s so demeaning, yet Nick looks like a happy puppy. He’s so desperate for Will’s approval, he’d do anything for him; even help him hunt an innocent girl.
“I want to help. I’ll do whatever I have to. I can’t lose Humboldt. We’re building something huge here. We have guys in Arcata and Chico…”
Will cuts Nick off. “Forget Humboldt. You’re out of here in a few months anyway.” Will’s phone buzzes, and he walks outside to answer it.
Nick looks at me, confused.
“I think he means college.” I clear my throat.
Nick lets out a long sigh. He doesn’t want to have this conversation with his uncle, and I really don’t want to be here for it. Nick throws some money on the table and we head outside. Will is standing by his truck. He’s got a Ford F150. It’s covered in mud, like he’s been off-roading.
“Come here.” He grabs Nick around the shoulders. “I’m proud of you. You know that, right? I mean, what you’ve done here is pretty impressive. You’re gonna be the next Tony Montana if you play your cards right.”
“That’s what I’m saying. We have all the contacts up here. Maybe we can work something out with Devon.”
I hate watching Nick plead with his uncle. Losing Humboldt is the best thing that could happen to Nick, to all of us. This was never supposed to be a career.
“Look, I get it, you’re pissed. You gotta let it go. Devon’s got Humboldt now. You need to focus on school.”
Nick kicks at a rock and shoves his hands in his pocket like a sulky kid.
Will opens the door to his truck and leans against the seat. He pulls out a joint and lights it up. “Where did you apply?”
Nick runs his hand through his hair. “I was thinking I’d move to the city for a little while. Maybe work with you and learn more about the business, then next year…” Nick stops talking when he sees the look on his uncle’s face.
Will closes his eyes and flicks the joint across the parking lot. Some kid is going to score big when they find that. Will slams the door to his truck and stands in front of Nick. He towers him by two or three inches. “Please tell me you applied to school?”
I don’t know why Will is so worried about Nick getting a college degree. What does he have to gain from it?
Nick looks at Will like a defiant son. “Fuck college. I’m not going.”
Will sucks in a long breath and exhales slowly to calm himself down. “What did I tell you about going to school?”
“I know what you said but—”
“But nothing!” Will raises his voice, causing some unwanted attention.
I take a few steps away and pull my hood over my head.
“How many times have I told you that you need to graduate from college? How many times, Nick?”
“A lot,” Nick says quietly.
“So, what the fuck is this shit about not going?” He throws his hands in the air and shakes his head like Nick is the biggest disappoint of his life. “Did you apply to any schools?” Will stares Nick down.
Nick shrugs and shakes his head. I don’t think he’s ever felt as bad about anything as he does right now. Will kicks at the ground, then opens his truck door and slams it shut. He throws the biggest bitch fit I’ve ever seen. I doubt Nick’s ever taken this type of abuse. Unlike Arnie. We’ve all seen Arnie getting yelled at by his old man. He’s a high-strung ex-military guy. When you go to Arnie’s place, you expect to see some sort of confrontation. Arnie’s father would pace back and forth in their small house screaming orders to Arnie like he was a private in boot camp. To make matters worse, Arnie always, and I mean always, talked back, which drove his old man even more insane. I’ve seen Arnie tossed out the front door, thrown against a wall, and verbally abused by his father more times than I can remember, but I’ve never felt as bad for Arnie as I do for Nick right now. I’m waiting for Nick to come to his own defense, to tell Will to fuck off or something. But he just stands there and takes it.
“Do you realize what this means?” Nick’s eyes stay transfixed on the ground. “It will take that much longer to get the money!” He screams at Nick like he’s nothing—a nobody.
I finally get it. Will is referring to Nick’s inheritance. The Marino’s have this rule. You can’t get your inheritance unless you graduate from college with a degree. I’m just wondering why Will cares so much. Why is he’s so invested? Unless he is. Does Nick plan on going into business with Will?
“I’ll make it right,” Nick promises.
“God damn right you will. We didn’t work all these years to lose it in the home stretch. Don’t do what your old man did. Don’t fuck this up.” Will grabs Nick around the neck and kisses the top of his head.
That was a low blow. Everyone knows Nick hates being compared to his father.
“I won’t. I guess I thought I could get a jump-start on the business now with the money I got for my eighteenth. With the way things were going, I could have tripled it in a year,” Nick starts to explain, but Will cuts him off again.
“Patience, nephew.” He nods his head in my direction like I’m not supposed to know what they are up to. I don’t want to fucking know.
“So, how was your party?” Will walks back to the door of his truck with his arm around Nick’s neck. I’ve never seen anyone play with Nick’s emotions like Will Walker. He goes from an abusive thug to a loving uncle in the blink of an eye. “I hope you at least got laid!” Will looks at me. “I hope you had some fine girls lined up for our boy.”
I sort of laugh in a shut-the-fuck up kind of way.
“It wasn’t like that. I have a girlfriend,” Nick reminds him. “I really want you to meet her.”
“Yeah, sure.” Will opens his door and gets inside. “I’ll call you next week. You better have a plan to get into some kind of fucking school. Have granny pull some strings.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Nick assures him. I guess this is a good thing. At least now Nick is motivated to go to college, even if it’s just to please his asshole uncle.
Will points at Nick and smiles. “I have faith in you, kid.”
Nick beams at his uncle’s approval. I feel sick.
“And you.” Will points at me. “Take care of our boy!”
I keep my hands in the pockets of my jacket and give him a nod. “Yeah, of course.” What a prick.
I hate the way Will just had Nick groveling for his approval. I can’t believe Nick doesn’t see it. He’s blind when it comes to Will. What’s worse is that I can’t say shit about it. Will is the closest thing Nick has ever had to a father. He can do no wrong.
We get in Nick’s car and head to the café. There is only one thing that may change Nick’s mind about school, and that’s Dani. She deserves better than a drug dealer for a boyfriend. We’re at the light waiting to turn into the parking lot of the strip mall when Nick pulls an envelope from under his seat and hands it to me.
“What’s this?”
“It’s for Stanford.”
I open it and look inside. There is at least a year’s worth of tuition in my hand. I look at Nick; he’s staring straight ahead with a smile on his face. I didn’t earn this. Saying I’m in Nick’s crew and putting in work are two different things. Arnie is the one out there selling and risking his life, not me.
“I don’t know if I can take this,” I force myself to say.
“It isn’t a gift. This is your cut.” My cut should be somewhere around nine or ten grand. This looks like five times that. I want to mount some sort of argument, but I don’t know how to refuse the money without insulting him.
“Really? Business is this good?” I ask just to hear him say yes. Just so my weak ass can keep the money. “Are you sure you can afford to pay me after what Will said about closing shop?”
Nick scoffs at the question. Nick can afford to pay all four years of my tuition plus housing. He doesn’t need drugs to make money. All he has to do is go to the bank.
“You earned it for having my back.”
“I’ll always have your back, dude.” He doesn’t need to pay for my friendship.
We navigate through the parking lot and my eyes go directly to the café out of habit, not because I’m desperate to see her. I’ve stayed away from her all week. I said too much at Nick’s party. Things got way too intense, but that’s over now. I’m not giving her anymore pills, and I’m going to keep my distance. I tell myself it’s the right thing to do—for her. But I’m really doing it for me. It’s too hard to be around her now. She told me she loved me. She was whacked out of her mind, but I know she meant it. Then she went home with Nick. I can’t play this game with her emotions or mine.
Dani walks out the door and I look at Nick. He sees her too. His tunnel vision almost causes him to hit a shopping cart.
“Whoa!” I yell just as Nick swerves out of the way.
“Damn, Matty!” Nick points to the floor. The money from the envelope is scattered at my feet.
“Oh shit.” I reach down and start scooping bills as Nick parks the car.
Nick leans over to help. He names each bill as he goes. “This is English, this one is math, and this bad boy is art history.”
“Art history?”
“Yeah, you need some place to meet girls.”
“Very funny.” I snatch the money from his hand and put it back in the envelope. “What about you? Why is Will so interested in you going to college anyway?” I try to sound clueless.
“Because it’s a sweet deal—a college degree to be set up for life.” I don’t know how much Nick will inherit, but it’s a lot.
“I thought you wanted to make your own money? You’ve been preaching that for years,” I remind him. I always thought he was full of shit. I want to hear him say it.
“In the back of mind I always knew I would take the money. I was going to apply to barber college or something just to fuck with Mariann.” Nick opens his door and gets out. “I just wanted to do it my way, you know?”
“Sounds like it’s Will’s way,” I say sarcastically and regret it immediately.
“Hey, Will’s just looking out for me. And he’s right, I’m being the asshole. I don’t want to be like my father. He was three credits away from graduating and quit. I’d be just like him to walk away and get nothing. There is no shame in taking the money. Not when it’s that much money. I can buy myself some pride later,” Nick jokes, but I know it kills him to take anything from Mariann. Nick is prideful to a fault.
“I thought your dad graduated.” That’s what I heard anyway.
“Nah, he never finished. After football was over, he started getting high; that’s around the time he met my mom. He wanted to go into business with Will, but he fucked up. He couldn’t stop using. And well, you know.”
“Yeah.” I nod. The rumor is he went on a binge right after Nick was born. Maria finally reached out to Mariann for help. Mariann agreed to take them in, but only if he went to rehab. He died a few weeks later. I really hope Nick isn’t trying to finish what his father started. “Do you plan on going into business with Will?” I ask as we walk towards the café.
“I don’t know. I might branch out on my own.”
He can’t do that. I won’t let him do it. Not to himself and not to Dani. “What does Dani think about all this?” I look in the café and see her wiping down the counter.
Nick stops walking and pulls my arm. “Hey, dude. You can’t say anything. She doesn’t know how deep I’m in. She thinks this is a part-time thing.”
So did I. Nick needs to know he can’t stay with Dani and keep his business. “Has Dani ever told you about her father?”
“What do you mean?”
I know I shouldn’t tell him about Dani’s father being a lawyer, but he needs to know where her head is. I tell him about her dad’s practice and his views on drug dealing that seemed to be passed to Dani. “I know she gets it, she gets you. But Dani sees dealing as a last resort in life, not a career choice. She thinks you’re out come graduation. If you plan on staying in business, you need to let her know now.”
Nick runs his hand through his hair. “I just can’t walk away, Matt. I tell myself every day that I need to stop. That I’m going to get myself killed or locked up, but I can’t stop. It’s a rush better than thizz.”
It hurts to hear my best friend tell me dealing drugs makes him happy. “Well, if you want to be with her, you have to choose. She deserves better.” Nick knows I’m not trying to put him down. He knows Dani deserves better than the life he would give her if he stays in this game. She’ll always be looking over her shoulder, waiting for someone to use her to get to Nick.
“I know I have to let her go.” Nick looks into the café like it’s a million miles away. “I know.”
I almost can’t believe what Nick is saying. He would rather break up with Dani than quit his business. I want to punch him in the face, tell him he’s a fool. I should. But I don’t. If he’s willing to let her go, then he doesn’t deserve her.
“So, what else did she tell you about her parents?” Nick sounds a little hurt that I know something about Dani that he doesn’t. I do, I know a lot. I know her last name isn’t DiMarco…I realize she never told me what her real last name is. The bikers came, then she went home with Nick, and I guess I forgot about it. Thizz is turning my brain to Swiss cheese.
“Uh, just that they were killed in a carjacking.” I can’t think about that without thinking about Will’s witness, even though I’ve decided it can’t be Dani. Those cops wouldn’t lie and put someone in danger like that unless she was in protective custody.
“Oh man. That’s fucked up.” Nick runs his hand through his hair.
“Don’t tell her I told you.” I grab his arm, suddenly aware that I just broke her trust.
“Of course, dude.” He doesn’t ask when she told me, and I’m grateful.
I check my pocket to make sure the envelope is still inside. I’ve never held this much money in my life. “You sure you can afford to give me this? If you’re branching out on your own…”
“Shut the fuck up.” He grabs me in a headlock, then let’s go and pulls me in for a bro hug. “Hell, you’re the best investment I’ll ever make. You know I’ll need a good lawyer someday.”
We both laugh, but in the back of my mind, I hope it isn’t true.
