Page 27 of The Curve
5
Atticus
Through the window of the Starbucks I watch Brick approach. Two women are checking him out. They stand between cars talking, but they’re looking his way. One’s flipping the ends of her blonde hair in the universal sign for I’d like to sit on your face. They don’t get a look. He sees it all, but just isn’t interested.
Glancing up at me sitting window side he lifts his chin in a silent hello. The soft bell sounds when he walks in and heads for my table.
“Morning,” I say.
“Morning.” He spots the coffee I bought for him. “Oh, thanks. Need all the caffeine I can get today.”
“What’s up?”
“Ken and Janine are in town for the Firefly Ball tomorrow. They’re meeting me for dinner tonight, and I’m pretty sure it’s a set up because her friend’s gonna be joining us.” A heavy sigh escapes his lips, and it says a hundred words.
“Everybody’s obsessed with your love life, so why not them?”
I get a sneer for my comment. He doesn’t like to be set up, not at forty. But Christ, we all just want him to find some happiness. Taking a sip of my coffee I gather my words.
“You oughta trust your best friend, brother. Have some fun, Brick. And I don’t mean with random one-shot hookups. Get to know somebody for longer than one night.”
He gives me a look only someone who knows me well can pull off. “That’s rich, coming from you, you big whore,” he laughs.
It’s funny because it’s always been true.
“I’m just sayin’. We both need to look at the habits we’ve gotten into.”
“Charlotte?”
“Yeah, she’s getting to me.”
He takes in my statement and I can tell he doesn’t completely believe it. “You two hookup yet?”
“No. Surprised?”
“Not really. I didn’t think she’d jump into that. Even with you. The fact you get tired of women so quickly isn’t gonna be good for her.”
My head is shaking no before I speak. “Not this one. I don’t think so.”
“I’ll believe it when see it, Atticus. No offense.”
“And you, you’ve got a similar problem. You’re not with anybody long enough to get tired. Stay with someone for a minute. There’s all kinds of women who enjoy a casual relationship. You don’t have to marry every girl you screw.”
“Well, clearly you’ve proved that.”
Both of us take a moment to absorb the conversation.
“In the meantime, did you hear I got the go-ahead to catch the game with the Braves in two weeks?”
“Great. I saw Doc yesterday and he said everything looked good for you. Getting antsy to play?”
“If it wasn’t for Charlotte I’d be going crazy.”
“Oh! I forget to tell you. That Tanya chick you took out a few times…”
“What about her?”
“She asked me about you. Specifically, about you and Charlotte.”
