Page 81 of Broken Headboards

Chapter Thirty-Three

Austin

“Hello, there Jailbird,”Taylor greets me.

The officer holds open the door and I nod to him, merely just to acknowledge his presence. I’m fucking pissed I got arrested. To me, it doesn’t make any fucking sense.

This is some fucking bullshit, that’s for sure. We were barely causing a scene. What happened between Tess and I was merely a scuffle between two competitive friends.

Friends with benefits.

And, so maybe it spilled out onto the lobby. Have you ever been to New York? That shit happens all the fucking time.

I run my hands through my hair, rubbing the stale piss and sweat off my face.

You might not believe me, but this is my first time in a jail cell. And, trust me, it’ll be my last. If I could not brush shoulders with Mr. Pinkie sporting assless chaps again in my life, I’d be a happy camper. Though, I’m not going to lie, it was an entertaining few hours to say the least.

“Hey, thanks man. I appreciate you bailing me out,” I pull Taylor in for a hug.

“No sweat. You do owe me a drink,” he punches my shoulder. “Bail is not cheap. And that fucking scene you made…well, let’s just say, there’s a lot you have to do to re-establish your reputation in Clarendon Tower. Again,” he’s lips curls in a ‘sucks to be you’ smile.

“It wasn’t that bad,” I argue.

“To you, maybe” is all he says.

Taylor opens the door for me, seeing as I’m still collecting my belongings, tucking them away into my various pockets.

“Oh, shit,” I hold up my hands before my eyes, squinting when the sun sears into them.

“Dude, you’ve been in the joint for less than a day. Calm down,” Taylor teases.

“You have no idea how dark it is in there. This is fucking drastic,” I admit.

The sounds of the busy street surround me, but one voice cuts through the clatter.

“Hey,” Tess says, softly. And, the details of her figure fill in when I step closer. She’s standing next to Ashley, who has a somber look on her face.

God, Tess is a breath of fucking fresh air.

“Hey,” I mutter. “How are you?”

“Good,” she looks down at her hands, her fingers pulling at her skin. “I only have a few bruises to my ego.”

I chuckle, understanding where she’s coming from.

The last time I saw this woman, we were swatting fucking headboards at each other. And in the lobby of fucking Clarendon Tower. I feel like I should still be pissed at her, but I’m not.

Maybe, it was being handcuffed by a 300-pound cop that sobered me up. Or, it’s seeing her now, looking so defeated and exhausted using Ashley as a crutch. Rather than competing with her, again, I want to hold her in my arms and tell her everything’s going to be ok. I want to reassure and comfort her. Even though, I have no idea if it will be.

“Thanks for waiting, Ashley,” Taylor says. “Let’s go get a drink or something. We have something to tell you guys.”

Taylor darts his eyes between Tess and I, and I can a secret that they’re keeping.

“Uhh…ok,” I tilt my head, testing him.

“Yeah, you’ll need a drink for this,” he pats my back and leads me towards the bar on the corner.

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