Page 48 of Sweet Pea

“Why do men always make everything sound so simple?”

“I never said I speak for all men, hell I doubt I even speak for most men, but I do think most things in life tend to be simpler than we allow them to be.”

“Such as?”

“Sex, for one.”

“Here we go again.” Callie rolled her eyes. “Can you stop trying to get me back in there?” she asked, motioning in the direction of the boardroom.

“I object, Your Honor. The prosecution is attempting to prejudice the jury.”

Callie cocked her head and smiled in surprise. “Objection sustained. You may continue your argument.”

“All I said was people overcomplicate sex. If two consenting adults want to have sex and aren’t morally bound to be monogamous, then they should be able to knock boots without anyone getting in their business.”

“So, you ‘knock boots’ with a lot of women, then?”

“Leading the witness, your honor.”

“I’m impressed, counselor.”

“I told you I attend a lot of hearings.”

“Why is that?” Callie asked.

“It started when I first got to Portland. My brother would be busy with club business and I’d be all alone for hours. I was completely broke and wasn’t even old enough to drive, so to pass the time, I’d take the bus down to the courthouse and attend hearings. Small cases, big cases, I didn’t really care, I just loved being there. I’ve been doing it ever since.”

“Libraries and parks are free too. Why not hang out there?”

“Believe me. I’d hang out wherever I could until someone would tell me to fuck off. I guess no one ever did at the courthouse, not that it would have mattered. By then I was pretty hooked.”

“What possessed you to watch all those hearings, do you think?”

“I don’t know, really. If I had to put it into words, I guess something inside of me wants to see the scales of justice balanced. I kind of go into a blind rage when I see people being victimized.”

“Is that why you became an enforcer?” Callie asked quickly, before taking a sip from her glass.

“You trying to show me up? I throw out a few legal terms, so you go biker on me?” I teased.

“Well?”

“Yeah, I guess. Without going into too much detail, my job in the club was to protect the people who paid us to keep them and their property safe. I was good at it, but now I’m a Road Captain and the club is out of that line of work.”

“Have you ever thought about becoming a lawyer?”

“Are you serious?” I asked, unable to tell if she was busting my balls.

“Why not? You seem to have a real passion and interest in the law.”

“Been pretty good at breaking it too, and law schools tend to frown on that kinda shit.”

“You don’t have to go to law school to take the bar exam,” Callie said.

“Really?”

“Really,” she said.

“There is still an ethics review, though, and a criminal record would definitely show up on that.”

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