Page 5 of Animal's Reformation
“Yeah … well, he’s definitelynotthe one. The skank had a really bad dye job—her blue hair was all faded with a couple of inches of dark roots.”
“Sounds awful.” Harper patted Olivia’s knee.
“And when I walked into the room all I saw were dull butterfly tattoos flying across her ass as she rode him. It was horrifying.” Olivia shuddered at the memory.
“Who puts butterfly tattoos on their ass?” Alice asked.
“That’s not really the point of the story, is it?” Harper threw a stern look at her.
Olivia busted out laughing. “Alice is right—who the fuck does that? And if you’re gonna ink a swarm of them all over your butt then at least keep them touched up, you know? Her fuzzy, blurred ones just looked like shit.” Thoughts of the flowered vine curling down her spine swirled around in her head, but she’d made sure to touch it up over the years.
“Okay, but what the hell did you do when you saw them together? What did Kory say?” Harper sometimes ran their conversations like she did her classroom—always cutting through the fluff and wanting to get to the point.
“He asked me to join them.” Olivia leaned back against the cushion, the recitation of his words still stinging her.
“What an asshole!” Alice covered her mouth.
“Did he really mean it?” Harper asked.
“Oh, yeah. He thought I’d like to have a threesome. I guess he thought our sex life needed spicing up. I don’t know. I can’t believe I even slept with that sonofabitch.” Olivia poured more wine into her glass.
“I tried to warn you,” Harper whispered.
“I know.” Olivia took a big gulp. “When am I going to break the loser streak I seem to have going on since I started dating?” She sank her fist into the cushion.
“We’ve all had bad boyfriends,” Alice said soothingly.
“True, but you at least found a good one. Jonathan adores you, and you feel the same about him. My problem is, I never get a fucking break,” Olivia replied.
“You’ll find the right one. I never thought I would and then Jonathan just came into my life. It’ll happen.”
“I’m just tired of waiting. I mean, I took the advice you both had given me and accepted a date with Nathan a few months ago, even though I’m not really into cops. I thought maybe if I go out with someone I wouldn’t normally dream of dating, it might work out. Total disaster. He wound up going crazy possessive on me after we’d dated for only a few weeks, and now he’s stalking me. Then Kory enters my life, and he was so different from Nathan that I thought he was what I was looking for … until he goes and does this crap tonight. That’s what I’m saying—I’ve got shitty luck with guys.”
“My problem is that I keep having crushes on guys that I find out are already taken. Take Jim Farley. He’s so handsome and sexy, and I thought that maybe we could’ve had something, but then I find out he’s married and has two kids. Why can’t I find a decentsingleguy?” Harper said.
“Farley’s a jerk,” Olivia said. “He’s always looking to get laid.” On her first day of work at the elementary school, she’d bumped into the seventh and eighth grade science teacher. Jim Farley was more than friendly and even suggested that they go out for a drink that night. With his clean-cut good looks, he wasn’t really her type—she tended to go for the rugged, bad boy look—so she declined the invitation. When she’d later found out he was married, it pissed Olivia off and she stayed away from him. She knew Harper had a major crush on Jim, but her friend would never date an attached man.
“I’ve decided to try online dating. A lot of people I know are doing it, and several of them have found the right person. You never know.” Harper glanced over at Olivia. “You should try it. I put up my dating profile a few days ago, and I already have a few guys wanting to chat with me. Who knows?”
“Isn’t that dangerous as hell? I mean … you don’t know if the person, or what he’s telling you, is even real. It’s so easy to lie online. A lot of people get catfished.” Olivia poured more wine in both her and Harper’s glasses. “Anyway, I’m too busy with working at school, my part-time receptionist job, and taking two online classes to go through messages and decide who’s legit or not. After what happened tonight, I’m done with men. I want to concentrate on finishing my degree so I can be a school counselor. Men and I don’t do well together, so I’m placing a moratorium on dating and relationships and men.” She lifted her glass up in a mock toast and then took a sip.
“We’ll see how long that lasts,” Alice said.
“It’s time to finally break the fucking cycle, and the only way I can do it is to stay far away from men.” Olivia guzzled the rest of her drink and leaned back, suddenly feeling lightheaded.
“Maybe it is a good idea to take a break from dating. I did, and then I met Jonathan.” The corners of Alice’s mouth twitched.
“I just want to get married and have a family. How can it be so hard to find someone?” Harper ran her fingers through her hair.
As if on cue Olivia’s phone buzzed; she glanced down, then groaned. “Does hereallythink I want to talk to him? How could I have gone out with such an idiot? And … he wasn’t even my type, at least not in the looks department.” Exasperated, she clicked off her phone.
“I wondered about that. You like the scary-looking guys—the ones who ride big Harleys, wear leather jackets, and have a lot of chains dangling from their pockets.” Alice laughed.
“That I do.” Olivia closed her eyes and images of her dad and his friends decked out in leather floated through her mind. Her dad was a member of East Bay Dogs—a motorcycle club in San Diego county. The club wore their one-percenter patches with pride. Her dad’s club, his brothers, his motorcycle, and even the club whores meant more to him than his own family. They always had. Her lids fluttered open. “But I’m not into bikers.”
“I hope not,” Harper said. “You don’t want someone like that. When those Insurgents walk down the street, they scare the hell out of everyone. They act so cocky, yet they’re nothing but criminals. Haven’t you seen them around?”
“Not close up.”I’ve avoided them. I’m done with that life.“Anyway, there’re good and bad people in every walk of life.”Leo was a good person who Dad sucked into his club. Mom begged him to leave Leo alone, but he didn’t give a shit. I guess I’m lucky to be a girl, otherwise I’d be a member of the East Bay Dogs.
