Page 89 of What I Should Have Done

“Because of—” I shook my head. “No. We are not grazing past my fucking question.”

“And we are not grazing past the fact that you compared clean dick to a fucking avocado,” he snapped in response.

“I didn’t, Scottie did.” I quickly pointed at my still speechless companion.

“Ex-ex-excuse me?” she stuttered. “I have a perfectly logical reason to know what clean dick tastes like.”

“And it’s not a fucking avocado.” Bernie slid onto the bench next to Scottie. “Anyway.” He paused and glared at both of us, shutting that conversation down. “Now that we’ve all agreed it tastes like just skin, I got mail!” he exclaimed with a grin.

Sighing, I shook my head as Scottie remained shocked. Then his final three words settled into my mind and all the lighthearted banter slipped away.

“Ah, fuck this,” I grumbled. Of course Rachel was going to show up, ruining the aftermath of the most amazing moment I’d shared with Scottie in that shower. “Keep it. I haven’t read the last three sent from her.”

“It’s not from Rachel,” Bernie said.

I furrowed my brows, glancing at Scottie. She finally snapped out of her stupor and shrugged her shoulders, as confused as me. “Well, who the hell would be writing me if it’s not Rachel? It’s not like I’ve got anyone else,” I asked.

“Dude, you’ve got others, dumbass. Like me and Scottie here.” Bernie tossed a thumb in Scottie’s direction and then slid the envelope across the table. “But it’s from Griffin.”

“Griffin?” I grabbed it from Bernie and flipped it over. Quickly sliding my gaze across the return address, I nodded. “Well, I’ll be damned, it is from Griffin.”

“Well, open it. I want to know what the fuck it says!” Bernie drummed his fingers across the table top.

I looked up at him and pulled my lips into a thin line. “Does this envelope say to Bernie or to Mikey?”

“Oh come on,” he pleaded. “You haven’t told Scottie to leave!”

“Fine,” I grumbled and slid my finger beneath the sealed envelope, tearing it open. Unfolding the paper, I quickly skimmed the letter.

“What’s it say?” Bernie asked, practically bouncing out of his seat.

I shook my head and began reading. “‘Mikey. I hope shit’s not too bad out there, ’cause I’m delivering bad news. Jane and I went over to check on your house the other day and someone broke in. Ransacked the place. You and I can both guess who it was, but since we don’t have any proof, there’s not much we can do. By the time this gets to you, I’ll have security cameras installed to hopefully catch her if she tries it again. Anyway, you might want to think about renting out the house or something while you’re gone. Wish I could keep a better eye on it for you. Griffin.’”

Bernie leaned back and shook his head. “Well… Damn.”

“So, I don’t write her back and she goes and messes with my shit? Was she always this crazy?” I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Probably, but you weren’t around much.”

“I bet she’s also acting out because you caught her, so you messed up her perfect little world,” Scottie added.

“Fuck. Like hell, I’d just like for her to leave me alone,” I grumbled. Scratching at my neck, I stared at the scribbled words on the letter. “I mean, at least she didn’t write to me again.”

“No, she just decided to go break into your house,” Bernie replied and then stood up. “Anyway, that was less exciting than I thought it would be.”

“Go bug someone else, then,” I taunted, waving him away.

He chuckled and looked at me, his expression suddenly falling. “What the hell are we gonna do?”

Puffing on my cigarette again, I plunked my elbows onto the table. “No fucking clue.” There it was. All excitement sucked out by a single sentence.

Bernie glanced at Scottie and gave her a tight smile, her eyes glassy and staring at nothing, and then he simply walked away. Leaving us alone.

Alone.

Despite being surrounded by a base full of people, despite the fact that the woman I was absolutely enslaved by sat near me, I’d never felt so alone.

“What did Griffin mean when he said he wished he could keep a better eye on your house? And how the hell do you have an actual house?” Scottie blurted out, focus returning to her eyes.

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