Page 216 of Unhinged

“I like rum.”

I make a face. “That’s gross.”

Candi stops at the bar to give us her order, and as I lean closer to hear her, she grabs my T-shirt. “What the fuck are you doing with her?”

“Picking out our China pattern. Christ Almighty, Candi.” I pull her fingers off my shirt.

“You’re married.”

“I’m not. Simone filed for an annulment. So, moving on.”

Her eyes shine, and she shakes her head, but she doesn’t run her mouth anymore. I fill Candi’s order and return to the counter behind me to grab a bottle and another glass. I set it down in front of Kleo as I pour and say, “Thanks for coming here.”

Kleo studies me. “It looks like you need a friend.”

I laugh. “Who doesn’t?”

I pour more tequila into the shot glasses and down those since I’m on a roll. I refill another glass for Zeke, a construction worker who once set fire to his ex-wife’s car. I can’t say I blame him.

Kleo says, “You’ll be too drunk to do your job or to drive home.”

“I’ll get an Uber. I have a hotel room tonight.”

“Oh? I can always give you a ride. I’m not really drinking much.”

“You’d want to hang around until two in the morning?”

“I can always come back. I don’t work tomorrow.”

“What do you do, anyway?”

“I’m a nurse.”

“You’re smart, then.”

She laughs. “I try to be.”

I laugh as I glance toward the other end of the room, where I see a familiar cocky grin and a roving eye. He stops Candi, who looks disgusted.

My fake grin falls, and my simmering fury boils. Candi returns to the bar as I pretend not to care he’s here. But inside, I’m a hurricane spawning tornadoes. “Tanner just asked about Simone. I told him to go to hell. He needs to leave.”

“Mm-hmm,” I say, shaking. Still tipsy, I know I must keep an even keel and mull over my subsequent actions regarding that college prick who attacked Simone.

Candi stands at the counter, watching him while I go to the storage cabinet in the corner.

Kleo asks, “What’s with the baseball bat?”

I purse my lips and cock my head. “Nothing.”

Harold asks, “What’s your problem?”

I watch Tanner and his friends head for the doors. When he stops to talk to Candi again, his smirk snaps my brain like a dry twig. I turn to round the bar in a blind rage, but Amos blocks my way. I backtrack, set the bat on the bar, climb onto the lower counter, and slide over the top, pushing past regulars. I grab the bat and head over, surprising even myself that I’ve rung every alarm in my head and everyone else’s around me.

Candi does a double-take, seeing me with a baseball bat as I stop at the table next to them. She says, “Greg, calm down.”

Tanner asks, “Indoor baseball?”

Candi stands between us as I laugh. She says, “No. Put the bat down.”

---