I bare my teeth, wanting to tell everyone exactly what he did, but I’d be outing myself. When his expression turns smug, I know he knows it too.
I open my mouth to tell him to piss off, but Penn beats me to it.
“Shut up!” Penn roars. “We’re dealing with this now so we can get back on the road.”
Everyone stares at me, waiting for me to speak up, but I don’t feel like it.
Penn sighs, rubbing his temples. “What happened tonight?”
My tongue ring runs across the roof of my mouth as I wonder what’s the best way to spin this so I’m not the one at fault. All I was trying to do was piss. “I went to use the bathroom, and the line was crazy long. I knew I didn’t have time to wait, so I went outside to piss in the alley.” At least, I thought I was in the alley. Turns out I stumbled a little farther away from the building and was nearly in the street, pissing on the dumpster of the pizza shop next to the bar.
It just so happened to be at the same time two cops were strolling by, and from the way that random chick was hanging off me, it looked like we were doing some freaky shit. My eyes slide sideways to Ellie, wondering if that’s the pictures she was talking about online. I hadn’t thought about it before, but that must be why she’s so mad. More guilt presses down on my chest. Fuck, I cannot get it right when it comes to her. Shit, when it comes to anything.
“And?” Tanner urges.
“I was peeing and two cops walked by.” I shrug.
He scoffs. “We’ve seen the charges online, Travis. That’s not all it was.”
Shit.
“Public intoxication, indecent expos?—”
I cut him off. “I know the charges.”
“You urinated on a police officer.” He stares at me, and I try not to laugh. It’s not funny, but damn, I probably ruined that cop’s night.
“That was an accident.”
“Jesus,” he sighs. “That’s not even the worst part, is it?”
I grind my teeth, flicking my eyes to Penn. I know what’s next, but the minute my eyes catch his, I see the shift. His brows furrow into confusion, and I realize he didn’t read the charges. He was probably waiting for me to explain myself. Fuck.
“Possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.”
Penn’s eyes close, his chest rising with a heavy breath, and my stomach knots.
“Real cliché, Travis,” Tanner quips. “What was it?”
“It wasn’t like that,” I grit. “It was just some Adderall someone from the bar gave me. I wasn’t going to take it.”
“Sure.” Tanner laughs sarcastically.
Penn’s eyes shoot to mine, searing into my goddamn soul, trying to tell if I’m lying. I stare back, doing my best not to give anything away.
“Alright, let’s move on for a moment,” Calvin chimes in. He’s probably sweating over there, waiting for me to give him up. “You’re going to need a lawyer for the assault charge. I’ll reach out to some of my connections. What was your bail, and how did you pay it?”
“Uh.” I hadn’t thought about that. I was booked and released fairly quickly, considering, and Mr. Pissy Leg wasn’t happy about it either. But one cop had a teenage daughter who is a huge fan. I signed some stuff for him, promised him VIP tickets to any show he wanted, and he was cool with letting me out.
“His bail was two thousand, and I paid it. His court date is in two weeks, so we’ll need to make sure he can be here,” Ellie says.
My spine goes stiff. “Youpaid?”
“Well, it’s not like I had a choice.”
“Use the business card! Not your personal account,” I yell. She’s never once flaunted her money around, but I know shehas it. Her parents own their respective practices—Dental and Law—and her car is probably worth more than my house.
“That is not a business expense,” Calvin notes.
