Page 26 of Anger Bang
He hit send before he could stop himself.
Seriously, my dude, what is your major malfunction?
And why was his pulse going ninety miles an hour while his stomach felt like he was going over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel? He was a grown man, not some teenage fool. He talked to women all the time without ever mentioning murder—okay, fine, there wasn’t really a whole lot of talking going on with the women he hung out with, but that wasn’t the point. Something about this wedding had broken his brain.
The three dots indicating she was texting back appeared and disappeared before a message finally showed up.
THEA:Are you trying to flirt with me?
KADE:Depends.
There you go. No mention of even a misdemeanor.
Baby steps, asshole. Baby steps.
KADE:Is it working?
THEA:Maybe.
He sat there grinning at his phone like a fool and then high-fived the air. Yes, he was immediately embarrassed by himself.
KADE:Then yes.
THEA:Did you know that there have been more dinosaur fossils found in North America than on any other continent?
He settled back in his bed, picturing Thea on her bed, with her glasses and an oversize T-shirt on. From an ex? No, he didn’t like that.
KADE:Did you know the elbow is the strongest point on your body, which is why you should use it if someone ever grabs you from behind?
Maybe she was wearing a tank top—the kind that was so thin it was more of a tease than a cover-up—and those ridiculous bridesmaid panties from last night. One strap of her top would have slipped down off her shoulder, so she would have just given in and let it hang there. Yeah, he liked that. He liked that a lot.
THEA:Good to know when it comes to keeping both my kidneys. Did you know that the Dreadnoughtus schrani is the biggest dinosaur ever?
That sounded fake, but that was the thing about real life—it was often filled with more bullshit than fiction. That was part of the reason why he’d stayed on the nonfiction side of crime writing.
KADE:Did you know managers commit more criminal offenses than hourly employees?
THEA:Did you know there are about 700 known species of extinct dinosaurs?
KADE:Wait, does that mean there are species of non-extinct dinosaurs? Are you telling me Jurassic Park is real?
THEA:If I answered that, I’d have to turn you into one of your crime stats. What’s up with that, by the way? Are you some kind of investigator or attorney or something?
He had to force himself not to respond with the truth. There was a reason why he didn’t have chats with women he hooked up with. That’s how people moved from the fuck-buddy section of his life to the something-more section. He didn’t do that shit. He liked his life compartmentalized, with the lines well-drawn in permanent marker.
KADE:No personal stuff, remember?
THEA:Exception to the rule because I already let it slip that I’m a paleontologist.
She does have a point.
Shut up, brain.
And you want to tell her anyway.
Do not.
Then why are you typing?
