“Not that any judge’ll hear your case, seein’ as Lauren divorced your ass before I alienated her affection, but you manage it, I’ll pay the fine. In the meantime, I’ll keep alienating her affection. You should know, and feel free to share it with your lawyers,” Tate continued magnanimously, “schedule’s comin’ out mornin’ and night. Usually, in the mornin’, she sucks me off or I make her come in the shower. Night, man… shit, that’s even better. Definitely worth the fine.”
I rolled my eyes (mostly in an effort to ignore the fact that Jim-Billy, Nadine, Steg and Wings were all grinning at me, the men somewhat lasciviously, Nadine just happily) but Brad glowered at Tate then his eyes moved to me.
“Honest, Ree? Is that filth what you like?”
“Oh yeah,” I muttered the God’s honest truth and heard Nadine, Steg and Wings all chuckle but Jim-Billy guffawed.
Brad glared at me then looked at Tate. “I’m moving to have the divorce declared null and void.”
I felt my body tense, unsure if this was even possible and hoping to God it wasn’t but Tate didn’t seem concerned.
I knew this when he replied, “Good luck with that.”
“Ree didn’t want the divorce until she came up here and met you,” Brad went on.
“Maybe not but you should know before you drop a shitload of cake on this crap, she’s glad she’s got it now,” Tate returned.
“You’ve brainwashed her,” Brad shot back, Jim-Billy guffawed again, I stared at Brad in stupefied disbelief at the mind-boggling extent of his conceit and he continued. “I get her away from you, we’ll find our way back, she said so.”
“Yeah, that was before. Since…” Tate paused, leaned in, fists again wide to his sides and in the bar. “Since, she’s tasted the good life and she knows you’ll never give her that.”
Brad’s lip curled up, he looked around the bar, back at Tate and sneered, “This is the good life?”
“Part of it,” Tate replied instantly, taking his fists from the bar, leaning into his forearms and asking softly, in a tone meant both to challenge and provoke, “She ever ignite, lose so much control she’d attack you? Climb on top and fuck you so hard she can’t breathe?”
I watched Brad suffer that blow because I hadn’t, not even close. We’d had good sex but not that good and Brad was extremely proud of his sexual prowess. He was convinced he was the best. And he knew, with Tate’s words, he was wrong.
“Jesus, you’re disgusting,” Brad muttered, calling up revulsion to save face.
“She does that to me,” Tate continued.
“Fuck off,” Brad snapped.
“All the fuckin’ time,” Tate pushed.
“Fuck off,” Brad repeated.
“It’s fuckin’ magnificent,” Tate declared.
“Thanks, honey,” I whispered and grinned at him when his eyes came to me.
I was actually expressing gratitude, although embarrassed by his conversation, but I was also kind of joking to get in Brad’s face.
Tate wasn’t. His expression was serious when he said, “You are, Ace. Fuckin’ magnificent.”
He meant that and he meant it about more than me fucking him so hard I couldn’t breathe. And this meant so much to me, I stopped breathing as I looked into his dark, tawny-flecked eyes.
“I suggest you find an attorney,” Brad butted into our mostly nonverbal exchange.
Tate’s dark, tawny-flecked eyes cut back to him. “Got one, bud. You’re stupid enough to bring it, bring it.”
Brad looked at me but insulted Tate, “Jesus, Ree, he can’t even speak proper English.”
That was when I stopped thinking this was fun. And I stopped thinking this was fun because no one insulted my man.
“I’m in love with him,” I announced and Brad’s lip curled again.
“He’s twisted your –” Brad started.
“No, he hasn’t,” I cut him off. “You did. You fucked Tina, you fucked Hayley, you’ve never been faithful to me and you made me feel unworthy. You did it on purpose. You’re even doing it right now with the way you’re looking down on me, on Tate and on this bar. You’re an asshole and I regret every minute I spent with you. Every… single… minute.”
“Ree, you –” Brad started and I advanced on him a step and leaned into his face.
“Don’t you tell me what I think,” I hissed. “You don’t know what I think.” I leaned back. “Do it, Brad,” I invited. “Make the divorce null and void. I want you to. I want you to because I want to divorce your ass again and take you to the cleaners. I’ll get a private detective and dig out all your dirt. Tina, Hayley and all the ones in between. I’ll take everything you have. Do it, I can’t wait. Tate and I need new countertops and carpet and I like the idea of walking on you and slicing vegetables on you. Go ahead, Brad, do it.”