Page 59 of The Last Good Man

This woman did.

Perhaps because I never considered I’d have such an effect on someone like her.

But when her eyes lit up, and her lips started to tremble, I knew I couldn’t walk away.

“You’re crazy,” Noah says as he finally pushes out a few words, his eyes still trained on her.

He shifts his gaze to me.

“Are you for real, man? Is she married or something? Who’s that dude?”

His index finger points to the man in the picture.

“I have no idea. The pictures are from a couple of years back.Hecould be anyone.She’ssingle now.”

“For real?”

I give him a smile.

“Yeah.”

“You talked to her and shit?” he asks, incredulous.

“Uh-huh.”

“Where did you meet her?’ he asks suspiciously.

“You think I’m making this up,” I say, collecting my phone and sliding it inside my jacket.

“It’s crossed my mind. You’ve got pictures from a website and shit. Why not?”

“She’s real,” I say, evading his eyes. “I ran into her in the city.”

His stare burns through me.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I fucking am,” I say, pushing the chair back and rising to my feet.

He looks up at me.

“There’s no way…” he gestures to the table as if my phone is still there, his breath catching. “There’s no way you can get that woman. Does she like you?”

I flash a knowing grin.

“More than you’d expect. And yes, I’ll gether,” I say, scooping up my jacket and moving toward the exit. “Go to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“You’re crazy. She won’t… She’s not even…”

The more he talks, the more agitated he becomes.

I stop at the door and look at him.

“Go,” I say. “And don’t tell our mother. I don’t want her up in arms.”

“Uh-huh,” he mumbles, his mouth open. “So what do you plan to do with that woman?” he asks as I pivot away and grab my boots.

My answer comes after a moment.

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