Page 16 of Sour Brew Face

“Step away from the violent chemist and no one else will get hurt.” Then his corded arms wrap around my waist and haul me off of a hysterical Dave. He doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry or get angry.

I point my finger at him as he lays on the ground dumbstruck. “Don’t comment on lady smells.” I go limp in Langston’s arms, and he hesitantly drops me to the floor. I mutter to myself, “Jeez, he gets laid one time and suddenly he’s an expert on vaginas.”

“Actually, it was three times and I spent considerable time performing fellatio on her. I made her cum twice.”

I spin around and gloat, “Ha! He just made me cum three times on that very table!” The other guys step away from the conference table with expressions of disgust, but they don’t stop eating.

“That’s gross, we conference here.” Mike says to Langston. “However, this is like the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever had so I’ll forgive you this once.”

Langston 14.

“I’m sorry to wake you.” I say softly into the phone, wishing like hell I was with her, holding her, feeling her silky hair between my fingers.

Her sleep roughened chuckle awakens my cock. “No, you’re not.” She’s right, I’m not. “How was work?” I hear her shifting around in bed, probably sitting up so she can stay awake long enough to talk to me.

“It was work. Couple of your boys were in harassing my waitstaff.”

With a smile in her voice, she says, “I bet the waitstaff loved the attention, though.”

“Yeah, they did. Especially Jesse. He and Mike seem to have really hit it off.”

“Oh, believe me,” amusement lacing her tone, “I know all about Jesse, far more than I would ever care to. Did you know he’s pierced—”

“Lalalalalala!” The sound of her laughter has my cock jumping in my boxers. Fuck, I hate this not seeing each other for days at a time.

“Why’d you open a bar?” Her question throws me, considering it came out of nowhere. She’s does that a lot.

“Uh…well, alcohol.”

“Naturally. Any other reason?” She inquires innocently. I think back to when I first had the idea after I finished college.

“After I got my business degree, I didn’t really know what to do. I didn’t want to work for anyone else, but that’s as far as I got in my thinking. I met a couple of buddies at a bar to catch up one night and the owner and I got to talking while I waited. He was looking to sell…and it felt like kismet. Mom and I talked through my options, and she co-signed a business loan and then Mayes was born.”

“That’s wonderful that she believed in you that much, Lang.”

“Yeah.” I swallow around the lump of emotion in my throat. “That’s mom though. She’s always been my biggest fan, my staunchest supporter. I help her whenever I can. It’s the least I can do.”

“And you’ve never had any contact with your dad after he left?” I shake my head even though she can’t see me.

“No. In fact, my mom changed our names back to her maiden name. Said he didn’t want anything to do with us, so we shouldn’t use his name anymore. Shouldn’t give him ownership over us.”

“Hmm.” I sit up straight, my body tensing at her reaction.

“What?”

“Nothing, just listening to you.”

“Bullshit.” I whisper harshly into the phone.

“Langston—”

“No, that was a loaded ‘hmm’, what was it loaded with?” I ask, my hackles rising. I’m obviously protective of my mom, but I really like Mo.

“There’s always three sides to every story, Langston. Hers, his, and the truth, in this case. You haven’t ever felt the urge to get the other sides?”

“Why would I? He left. He LEFT us. Mom worked her ass off to take care of Emerson and I. And then Emerson does the same damn thing.”

“Again, she told you about your dad leaving, she told you about Emerson leaving, she told you about his note, but you never saw it—”

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