Page 116 of Bang

And yet, I had.

On the phone, Cami's tone grew sarcastic. "It's direct deposit, remember?"

"What?"

"Those 'checks'?" she said. "They're direct deposits. And just so you know, if you bring up that bonus check again, I swear, I'm gonna…" With a sigh, her words trailed off, leaving dead silence in their wake.

The silence hung there like a dark, empty void. And me? I made no move to fill it with empty platitudes. I felt like shit for hurting her feelings, but I'd feel even shittier if I gave her the wrong idea.

I wasn't a relationship kind of guy.

In the end, it was Cami who broke the silence. "You know what? I don't even know why I'm arguing."

"Yeah, you and me both."

"Imeantabout the check-signing. Because yes, Idorealize that you're the one supplying me with money for a service. But just so we're clear, that servicedoesn'tinclude taking your crap."

At the word "crap," I almost smiled. Silently, I waited for her to correct herself, to claim that she'd said the c-word, or make up some funny non-curse word to take its place.

But she didn't.

Instead, she said, "You know what? You really can be a jerk sometimes. Youdorealize that, don't you?"

I did.But it wasn't something I dwelt on. With a tight shrug, I replied, "Hey, I've been called worse."

"How's this for worse?" she said. "You're being a total lunk-blaster. And you know exactly what I mean by that."

"So you're calling me a mother-fucker."

"Well you're certainly acting like one." She made a scoffing sound. "And thankssomuch for rubbing it in my face."

"Rubbing what?"

"Youknowwhat," she said. "Look, so we 'banged', okay? And yeah, I didn't think we had some big romantic connection or anything. But Ididthink we were at least friends. And just because you sign my check, that doesn't give you the right be a, well, whatever you are."

I was an asshole.

But I didn't say it, because from the tone of her voice, she already knew.

With another sigh, she said, "Now, do you want to hear the rest of it or not?"

"The rest of what?"

"The reason I called."

Shit."There's more?"

"Of course there's more," she said. "That's why I’m still on the phone, because I'll tell you one thing, if Iweren'tcalling about Willow, I would've hung up on you a long time ago."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Yeah, well you're not welcome," she said."Anyway…I called because I thought you should know that Willowwantsus to be boyfriend-and-girlfriend."

Son-of-bitch."What?"

"Yeah. She didn't come right out and say it, but trust me, thatiswhat she's hoping for."

"Shit."