Page 41 of Dirty Reads

Shit! I wanted to hear the details.

“So, what are we going to do?”

“Come on,” he said. “We’re going to the car. I need to think.”

We walked around the restaurant, to his car, and then drove right back to the dirt parking lot we were previously standing in. The building sat on a corner, and the place where we were sitting allowed us to see most of the cars that were parked on the street. While we sat in the dark and stared at the parked cars, he began to explain things.

“I don’t know why, but I like you,” he said.

I could list all the reasons I liked him, but my guess was he really didn’t want to know. I opted to go with the condensed version. “I like you too.”

“I’m a thief,” he said.

I played it cool. “Okay.”

He stared out into the street, seemingly preoccupied with the parked cars. “I take shit. Big shit. From big people.”

I acted unimpressed. “Okay.”

“I take most of what I steal, turn it into non-traceable funds, and give most of it to people who need it.”

He may have been a modern day Robin Hood in his own mind, but based on what his home and cars looked like, he didn’t give it all to the needy. Not even close. I decided to use one of his own words to describe my thoughts.

“Interesting.”

He turned toward me and glared. “Interesting? That’s all you’ve got to say?”

“It’s not real tough to figure out that you’re into shady shit, Dude. I mean, really. I’ve known you for a week, and we’ve ran from the cops, you left me at some guy’s house who has his own fucking casino – while you did a delivery and a pick-up – and then, two days later, you come to pick me up for a date and you’ve got a huge gash on your face. Oh, and the day we met, you were threatening to sell a guy’s wife to the drug cartel. Yeah, I think interesting is a pretty accurate statement.”

“So what do you think?”

What did I think? I thought he was sexy. I liked the thought of him being a criminal. I wasn’t ready to tell him that just yet, so I shrugged. “About what?”

“About what I told you.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Will I see you again? I guess that’s the question.”

I didn’t get my point across. Maybe it was because I was too busy being a smart ass. We had gone from having a few random sexual encounters to him opening up to me, and I was really excited that he was. I often had a difficult time conveying my feelings and I found it no surprise that he was confused regarding what I was feeling or thinking.

I turned in my seat to face him. “I like you. I liked you the day we met. I like bad boys. Criminals. Tough guys. Whatever you want to call them. I just have really bad luck in relationships. Maybe it’s my mouth, I don’t know. But that day we ran from the cops? That’s the most fun I’ve had in a long, long time. So, am I okay with you stealing big shit from big people? Yeah, I really am.” I paused for effect and then continued. “Do you need an accomplice? A partner?”

He chuckled. “No.”

“You sure?”

He laughed again. “Quite.”

“This stuff is exciting,” I said.

“What stuff?”

I waved my hands toward the street. “This.”

“Oh shit,” I whispered. “It’s the Asian guy and that creepy ass Drake.”

Dick turned and looked out the windshield. As the two men stood beside a white car and talked, he clenched his jaw and breathed through his nose.