Broken Highway: A Thomas Highway Story Read Online Free Page A

“The lawyer’s a
woman, huh?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And let me guess, she’s good looking.”
    “Not just good looking,” Willis said.
“Smokin’ hot.”
    “And you’re hoping that by doing this job
for her you can get in her pants.”
    “Nah, man, it ain’t like that,” he said.
“She’s not my type.”
    “They’re all your type,” I said.
    “Not this one. She’s way too smart for me.
And ambitious. And real. You know me. I like my girls dumb and lazy
and fake.”
    “That’s true,” I said. “But why take the job
then? I don’t get it.”
    He sighed. “Neither do I, Highway, neither
do I. It was like she had some spell on me, you know? She told me
all about the situation, straight-up with no bullshit, then asked
me if I’d help her out.”
    “And you just said yes.”
    “That’s right. I didn’t even mean to. My
mind was thinking no way in hell, but when I opened my mouth, out
came yes.”
    I smiled and let him have it. I had to take
advantage of opportunities like this. They didn’t come around
often. “You were spellbound, my friend. Lapping out of her hand
like a puppy dog. Owned by a girl. Letting yourself—”
    “Yeah, yeah, rub it in all you want,” Willis
said. “All I know is you’re the one doing the job now, so I’m off
the hook.”
    “And I’m on it,” I said.
    “That’s what friends are for, to pick us up
when we’re down.” Willis nodded his head to the right, towards
Amber and Tori, who were walking up to the table. “And speaking of
getting things up, here come the ladies.”
    Amber and Tori arrived. They were still in
uniform but it was obvious from their demeanor that they were off
the clock.
    “You boys ready to go?” Amber said.
“Heather’s already at my house with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a
case of beer.” She sat on the table, facing me, her legs spread
slightly to give me a good look. “So what do you say? Care to come
with me?”
    “Now there’s an offer I can’t refuse,”
Willis said as he stood up. He was smiling from ear to ear, the
previous conversation about the job all but forgotten already.
“What about you, Highway?”
    “I can’t pass up free drinks,” I said with a
straight face. I rose from my chair. Amber held her arms out to me
and I lifted her off the table. “Let’s roll.”

 
     
    4
    The next day I woke up in a strange bed. I
sat up at the waist and felt the familiar rush of blood to my head
like a herd of thundering buffalo. Too much to drink the night
before. Again. I uttered a low groan and fell back into the pillow
and rubbed my temples.
    My memories of the previous night were
jumbled. I remember hanging with Willis, having a couple of
pitchers and wings at Shooter’s, then going off to someone’s
downtown loft—the name Amber came to mind—having some more beers,
then some shots of Jack, then—
    I ignored the pain and sat up again and
looked around. My clothes were lying in a heap at the side of the
bed. An empty condom package was on the ground next to them. On the
nightstand to my right was the alarm clock read 8:45. Next to it
was another empty condom package.
    Damn, I must have been pretty good last
night, I thought with a weary smile. Too bad I don’t
remember anything about it.
    I took a deep breath and swung my legs over
the side of the bed and got to my feet. I shuffled into to the
bathroom and relieved my bladder. As I was standing there I spotted
yet another empty condom package lying on the floor, near the
bathtub. I laughed and shook my head. Crazy stuff.
    I finished up in the bathroom, put on my
clothes, and headed towards the kitchen to see if anyone else was
around.
    The loft was empty but there was a sticky
note on the fridge.
    Thanks for last night. I had a great
time.
    Help yourself to anything you want.
    --Amber
    I grabbed a cup from the cupboard, opened up
the fridge and poured myself some orange juice. It took the edge of
my headache but made my stomach grumble. I was no stranger to