All of You Read Free Page B

than nails on a chalkboard and the knowing looks being passed around made him sick to his stomach.
    Danny leaned in. “I’m gonna take off,” he said into Rochelle’s ear, not sure of how she’d take his pump-and-run method of operation.
    But she just planted a quick kiss on his lips and waved him off. “Thanks for coming tonight.” Rochelle giggled at her play on words. “Text me later, okay?”
    Danny nodded and made his way to the bar, where he got way too shitfaced to drive in a very short amount of time.
    The blurry numbers on his watch seemed to suggest it was sometime between midnight and 1 a.m.
    Or maybe 1 a.m. and 2 a.m.
    Danny fumbled to get his cell phone out and squinted at the display.
    12:38 a.m.
    Danny pulled Greater Cleveland Cab Co.’s number up in his contacts, but he didn’t call. Instead, he scrolled down to his partner’s name.
    One and a half rings later, Nathan picked up. “Hello?”
    “You up?” Danny plugged his free ear.
    “Yeah. What’s up?”
    “Oh, nothin’. You know, normal shit.”
    “Does ‘normal shit’ include jamming with Justin Timberlake?”
    Danny looked around, wondering if Nathan knew something he didn’t. “Huh?”
    Nathan sighed. “Never mind. You need a ride, Mac?”
    “Yeah. Drank too much. Again. Thought about calling a cab, but…”
    Danny had no ending for that sentence. Or at least not one that wouldn’t have sounded pathetic.
    “No problem. I’m on my way.” Nathan put his hand over the receiver and spoke to someone.
    Probably Stella.
    Or the baby, maybe.
    No, probably Stella.
    “Where you at, Danny?” Nathan asked.
    “Uh…” Danny searched for a reminder. The huge neon sign above the bar helped. “ Epiphany .”
    Nathan scoffed. “Okay, I should be there in about ten minutes.”
    “I’ll meet you outside.” Danny made his way through the thinning crowd toward the entrance.
    “Sounds good.”
    Danny shoved the phone back into his pocket, stumbled through the door and around the corner, and into a narrow alley. He backed up and slid down the brick wall until his ass hit the cold, wet pavement.
    Some drunken college kids staggered by, followed by a pack of high-heeled, slim-legged women wearing hot pink boas and drinking out of dick-shaped bottles.
    When Danny’s eyelids grew painfully heavy, he leaned his head back against the brick and closed them for a few seconds.
    “ No, no, no …”
    Danny shook his back-and-forth and gave his face a few smacks, ‘cause passing out in a nasty-ass alley with his service pistol attached to his hip would rank right up there with some of the dumbest shit he’d ever pulled.
    But he was so fucking tired.
    I’ll just close them for a few…
    “Danny?”
    Danny heard Nathan’s voice, but was too drunk and too tired to respond. Instead, he grunted and curled himself into a tighter ball. He registered the wetness on his cheek and the hard, cold surface beneath him, but couldn’t muster the energy to move – or care.
    “Danny!” This time Nathan’s voice was accompanied by a hard shake to the shoulder.
    He heard Nathan mutter, “ Fucking ridiculous ,” and, even in his intoxicated stupor, Danny couldn’t have agreed more.
    It was ridiculous.
    He was ridiculous.
    But that was Danny’s place in the world.
    He was the crazy one. The funny one. The baller who got all the chicks and didn’t have a care in the world. Danny was every guy’s idol and #1 on every chick’s To Do list.
    Her face suddenly swam behind his closed eyelids – big hazel eyes, a tiny overbite, and a snarky expression he was always itching to kiss off her face.
    Well, not every chick’s list.
    “Fuck her, then,” Danny muttered.
    “Fuck, who? Oh, forget it. Doesn’t matter.”
    Nathan managed to get Danny to his feet and half-dragged him over to the Denali parked at the curb. He unceremoniously shoved Danny into the passenger seat and walked around to slide behind the wheel.
    “So, what were you guys up to?”