Chapter 6
SHANE
“Christ, what is that smell?” Marlon moaned.
Huh? I lifted my underarm for a whiff and nearly passed out, myself. Damn, that was bad. I slid into the booth beside him, anyway.
“Sorry, lads, I played a raucous game of ball at the community center tonight. Guess I should have taken a shower before I left.”
I stuffed my basketball between Marlon and me to give him some distance. Figured it was the least I could do.
Cross craned his neck, sniffing the air. “Whoa. Now I can smell that, too. Christ, Shane, did you just run ten marathons and not shower for a year?”
“Oh, would you whiny bitches shut the hell up. Good lord, you act like I haven’t showered in weeks.” Seriously. Americans were such sissies about cleanliness.
Marlon scooted as far away from me as he could. The asshole.
“Dude, you are rank. Don’t get any closer,” he said.
On the other side of the table, Cross grinned at Marlon’s disgust.
“Go ahead and laugh,” he said. “You’re far enough away to escape the real stench.”
I was shaking, I was laughing so hard. Okay, yeah, I’d not showered after playing basketball, but c’mon. How bad could it be?
Time to change the subject. I ordered us all a round of beers and some of those disgusting nacho things Americans love so much. I thought that might serve as a nice peace offering to kick the night off in our favorite dive bar.
“So what’d you guys think of the show this morning?” I asked.
Cross shrugged. As long as he got paid, he didn’t care what they made him wear, or who he wore it for. He’d probably model a woman’s evening dress if it earned him an easy thousand bucks. The priority in his life was bringing up his two-year-old. Marlon, on the other hand, was more particular.
“You know, some of Forest’s designs rock. But those trousers today.” He shook his head. “But it’s not like we have to ever wear them again, though, right?”
“Why don’t you just chill, dude? Wear the fucking clothes, walk down the fucking runway, and keep your fucking mouth shut,” Cross said, pointing at Marlon.
I took a big swig of my beer. It was just the ticket after a hot, sweaty ball game. Body odor be damned.
“Yeah, Mar. Why you looking a gift horse in the mouth? It’s easy money, especially for a college dropout like yourself.” I knew just how to goad him. Plus, my Irish accent allowed me to get away with massive amounts of shit.
Rolling his eyes, Marlon ran his hand over his shiny head, which was starting to take on a sheen from the overheated bar.
“Hey, speaking of college boys,” Cross said as Rand arrived, falling into the booth next to him. He shoved his weighty backpack under the table, where landed on my sneaker-covered foot.
“Hey, guys,” Rand said, pulling his shoulder length hair back with a rubber band while I waved the waitress over for another round of beers.
“How was class today?” Marlon asked.
We might have given Rand shit about being a schoolboy from time to time, but the truth was, we were seriously proud of the bastard.
He nodded slowly as a smile beamed over his face.
“Good, man. Really good.” He just looked at the bubbles rising in his beer. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. It just rocks.”
Cross cuffed Rand’s shoulder. “Dude. I know what that means. You got another fucking A, didn’t you?”
He laughed, and his face turned bright red. I liked to see him happy. Hell, I liked to see all my friends happy. But Rand really deserved it. He’d been through some shit. Had come a long way from the Bronx.
Marlon held his beer up. “I’d like to toast my big-brained friend, here,” he said with a laugh, followed by a chorus of cheers.
“Yup. I got an A. Who would have ever believed that I would get an A in college history? Fucking amazing.”
“Well, congrats, my friend,” I said.
He gave me a modest smile. “Hey, speaking of life being amazing, how’s Joey?”
Cross’s face brightened enough to light the entire room. Actually, the entire city block. That’s how much he loved his little guy.
“He’s awesome. Just so incredible. If I do say so myself. Running around, getting into everything.” Cross smiled and shook his head. “Just like I used to. Wish his mom were around to enjoy it.”
The table went quiet for a minute as we all picked at our beer labels.
“Yeah, we know you wish she were still around,” Marlon said.
Time to discuss something more upbeat, and being the court jester I was, I stepped up.
“Guys. Marlon was scoping out a lovely lady at this morning’s show.” How I loved teasing him.
“And how did that go, Mar?” Cross teased. “Wait, who was it?”
Marlon rolled his eyes and looked to the other side of the bar like we weren’t there. But it wasn’t that easy to ignore us when we wanted to be assholes. Actually, it was pretty much impossible.
“Well, since Marlon won’t tell you, I will. It was the beautiful blonde who works for Forest. She was running around like a madwoman as she does at all the shows, but it’s impossible to miss her. A mop of messy blonde hair and these pretty green eyes you can see from across the room.” I looked at my friend, and he just smiled.
“Yeah, Shane’s right. And I did chat her up. Her name’s Kealy. She’s cool,” Marlon said.
Rand shook at finger at no one in particular. “I know who you’re talking about. She’s gorgeous. What does she do for Forest?”
All heads looked in Marlon’s direction, since he was the one who got the skinny.
“She’s a junior designer or something like that. But from what I saw at this morning’s show, she does a lot of shit work, too,” he said. “Kind of kept the whole show together.”
Cross looked at his watch. “I can’t stay much longer, I gotta get back to the sitter. But Marlon, keep us posted. I think she might be just our type.” He said his goodbyes and headed out.
Rand leaned across the table and sniffed deeply. “God, Shane, is that smell you?”
Marlon burst out laughing. And I laughed with him.