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 f**k 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 f**kin’ time,” Tate pushed.
“Fuck off,” Brad repeated.
“It’s f**kin’ 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 f**king 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 f**ked Tina, you f**ked 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 ass**le 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.”
“That would not be good,” Hayley whispered and my eyes swung to her.
And for the first time, I saw her, straight into her black soul.
And seeing that, I told her, “You’re a joke.”
“What?” she was still whispering.
“You’re a vulture but the thing is, you aren’t very good at it.”
Her back straightened, her eyes narrowed and she came right out and showed her true colors when she stated, “Good enough to get your man.”
“Right, good enough to get that,” I pointed at Brad. “But, see, I’m good enough to get that.” And I pointed at Tate. “And that, darlin’, is something you’ll never have because a good man will see straight through you and want nothing to do with that and that’s just plain, old sad.”
Hayley stared at me then she looked at Brad and asked incredulously, “Is she really what you want when you can have me?”
“He only wants me because he can’t have me,” I educated Hayley. “And he no longer wants you because he knows he can have you and he knows someone better than him doesn’t want you. Jeez, Hayley,” I muttered impatiently, “wake up and get a clue.”
She opened her mouth to speak but Tate got there before her.
“Five minutes are up, Ace,” Tate cut in, I looked at him then I saw Steg, Wings and Jim-Billy come off their stools like soldiers who had just been given orders.
I nodded to Tate and looked at Brad, deciding to sum up. “I don’t hate you. I hate her.” I pointed to Hayley and my eyes went to her. “Women have it hard enough, we don’t need our sisters behaving like you. It was up to me, we’d take away your membership card.” Nadine laughed softly at this but I looked back to Brad. “But you, I don’t feel anything for you. I just want you to get out of my life so I can live it. And you, you’re so full of yourself, after taking so much from me for so long and not giving anything in return, not love, not attention, not affection, not understanding, not even birthday presents, you won’t give me even this. So you want to take more so you can try to save face? Do it. I don’t care. It’s all the same to me because while you’re making a fool of yourself, I get to go home to Jonas and Tate and make them dinner and watch TV and climb into bed with my old man and you don’t exist until you make your presence known and then you’re just a nuisance and a reason for Tate and me to share a laugh because just like her,” I jerked my head at Hayley, “in the end, you’re just a joke.”