Page 83 of Benga's Rise

“I can keep telling you he’s crazy, but I’ll just let you see it for yourself.”

“But dick in a dish. It looked like a dish.” I can’t get my brain around these seemingly normal men that tied a man to a big dish and pulled him down the highway chained to a motorcycle.

“He had Horn build it. He welded the foot handles himself. Amos fought with Jinx and Banks to pull it and we brought the dick to the Sheriff’s station. The Sheriff was happy. The dick confessed.” He thinks that all this is reasonable.

I laugh. “I would too. To everything, including the Kennedy assassination.” I’m biker-married to a nut. At least he’s fun.

He laughs. “It was the mortgage scammer.”

Oh. “He deserved the dish.”

I get dragged across his lap and kissed. “I don’t want to talk about work.”

I shake my head to clear it. “You were on the news for biker wars in two states and a dick in a dish. My job would bore you.” I love my job.

He laughs. “I’ve got a better idea. The format isIf you want to.”

I smile. I think this is the song I picked to quiz him.“Go.”

“If you want to climb a ladder on a water tower, then we'll kick it with the stars for a couple hours.”

I laugh. “If you want to dip your toes where the water stops, then we'll let our feet hang off a fishing dock.”

He squeezes me. “If you want to go way out where there ain't nobody around and let your long hair get to falling down and let your red lips leave their mark all over mine.”

I sing the rest of the song for him. “I was using that one next. Did you know?”

“No. I looked up your song and that one was on the same YouTube channel. I need you to get something to Seren for me. Cort has a thing with the music because of his mom. I was reminded today that she used to dance for Reed, his dad. She died when Cort was Daniel’s age. The music has been the same since that time. Newer rock was added with Crow, but he died, then Cort’s dad died. Music has been the one thing they all shared. He’s trying to hold on to them through the music. Or as Brinks said, it’s his constant. He’s okay with one different song for every four rock, but I think we need to make sure it’s one for every four. Cort connects deep to people however he can. For the people he lost, that connection is music and it’s important to him.”

She blinks back her tears. “I’ll make sure she gets that. You’re a good man,Tanielu Malosi Benga. I love you for it.”

“If you wanna then we're gonna, girl,I hope you're gonna wanna tonight.” He sings as he stands up and carries me to bed.

“I definitely want to.”

“Positions, positions, positions. Let’s get you undressed, then I’ll decide.”

I remember to ask, “Where did my big nightshirts go?”

He looks at me then away. “You have a whole drawer of them.” He kneels down and takes my shoes off.

I don’t smile. He replaced them. “I spent twenty bucks at the thrift store on shirts for bed.”

He smiles, but still isn’t looking at me. “I like mine better.” When he stands, he slides his hand right up my leg gathering the dress.

“I like yours better too.” The dress is over my head and I never felt him pull the zipper down. He’s good at this. I pull his belt and he stops my hands. “Do I get a say here?”

My bra is gone and he smiles. “Yep.”

“I want to undress you too.”

“Nope.” His hands slide down, slowly inching my panties over the brace.

“So, Idon’tget a say.”

“You did and I didn’t agree.”

He bends and I put my hand up and take a step back. The confusion on his face almost makes me smile. “I didn’t agree.”