Page 15 of Trusting Laurence
“Larry, my man. I don’t see you in ages then, all of a sudden, twice in one day.”
With a smile for his friend, he stuck a hand out. Shaking, he said, “Pull up a chair. What you having to drink?”
“You having Guinness?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll have one of those too, then.”
He lifted a hand to call Katy, placing Jim’s order when she stopped in front of them.
“So, what brings you by today of all days?” Jim asked.
“Needed to blow off some steam. What better way, right?”
“Yeah, I hear you. Pretty much why I’m here too. I take it you haven’t heard yet?”
A frisson of unease crawled up Larry’s spine. “Haven’t heard what yet?”
“Your man took a beating this afternoon. Makes me curious about who’s watching him and how they’re connected.”
The hand he’d reached out to pick up his drink froze, his whole body locked. That didn’t sound like it was coincidence. “What the hell happened?”
“Not sure yet. Waiting for Forrester to regain consciousness. And, of course, nobody saw anything. You know how it goes.” Jim took a swallow of the Guinness Katy had put down in front of him. “You know it can’t be coincidence, right?” Jim continued, echoing Larry’s thought of just seconds ago.
“What’d the doc have to say? Is he going to be okay?”
“He took quite a hammering. They weren’t particularly gentle. But doc says he should heal up just fine. Their only concern is the swelling on his brain. Only time will tell, I guess.”
Blowing out a breath, Larry rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Shit. Not exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear right now, bud.”
“Yeah, I can imagine.”
Larry nursed his drink, saying nothing more. What was there to say? The damage was done. Nothing was going to un-ring the bell, so to speak. He would simply have to wait and see what happened next.
Taking another mouthful of his Guinness, he spotted one of the regular subs walking towards where he and Jim sat. Ginger was one of his favorites. She was soft-spoken, gentle natured, with a body built to give a man pleasure. They’d played often over the years they’d been members at the club.
And, to be honest, she was the perfect antidote for the funk he was currently in.
She came to a stop a respectful distance away and waited to be acknowledged.
Larry turned in his seat and folded her in a bear hug. “Hey, gorgeous. It’s good to see you.”
“Good afternoon, Sir. It’s always a pleasure to see you,” Ginger replied.
Tapping a finger against his cheek, he asked, “Where’s my kiss, little one?”
Ginger leaned in to place a soft kiss on his cheek. Giving her another squeeze, Larry dropped his hand to rest on her hip.
“You meeting someone? Or just here to check the club out?”
With a shake of her head, she replied, “No, Sir. I’m not here to meet anyone today.”
“It’s been a while since we last played. You keen, little one?”
He saw her eyes light up with excitement. “It has, indeed. I’m always happy to submit to you, Sir.”
“Great. I’ll be another half hour, so if you wait for me in subs’ lounge on the second floor, I’ll come find you, sweetness.”
