8 Mile & Rion Read Online Free Page B

email and my calendar then when I see my answering machine blinking, I hit play. Yes, I was one of those weirdo’s that had an answering machine. They were reliable and for some reason I loved having something everyone else threw away.
    Sipping my coffee, I have the privilege of hearing Peter’s message with an audience.
    Dumped via answering machine, oh how perfect. Resting my head on my hand I had to admit I wasn’t surprised by it, knew it was a matter of time, even. In fact, when I offered Mr. mean and bitchy my place, I was heading to Ann Arbor to dump Peter in person, like a grown up.
    “I was gonna erase that,” he says, leaning against the refrigerator looking uncomfortably sexy. “None of my business, though.”
    “So you heard,” I mumble. “That’s not humiliating.”
    “Sounds like a bitch.”
    “Pretty much,” I say smiling into my cup at feeling the same way. “Not my problem anymore, though. Plus he saved me the money in gas, the dick.”
    “Fixed the lock I broke.”
    “Thanks,” I tell him. “Since I’ve been dumped electronically, I’m home this weekend and that makes you a lucky guy. Since you’re stuck with me unless you’ve made other plans, I need a name to go with the scowl.”
    “Scowl?”
    “Yeah it’s what you do when you look at me.”
    “Name’s Loyal.”
    “Loyal what?”
    “Is my first name,” he says rolling his eyes.
    “What’s your last name Loyal?”
    “Hart.”
    “Loyal Hart,” I say testing it out and found that I really liked it. It was unique, like the person. Walking over and grabbing him a cup to have coffee with me I say, “I’m Rion Reynolds but my friends call me Junior.”
    “I’m not your friend,” he says totally ignoring the cup I’m holding out for him.
    “If we aren’t friends then what are we?”
    “Temporary,” was all he said as he grabbed his bag and left me standing in my kitchen looking like a fool twice in one morning.
    Speaking to the ceiling, I try calling on my patience. “What have I gotten myself into this time, Senior?” When I don’t get an answer, I look at the door he just walked through wondering why the place felt smaller all of a sudden and if I was offering a second chance, would he even be willing to take it? God, hot and cold much? He breaks into my office, acquaints my face to my desk, fixes my lock, helps me through my headache, bruises my arm then snuffs me.
    And here I thought I had problems…
     

‘You don't know what people are really like until they're under a lot of stress.’
    ~Tim Allen
    Not having a car is problematic. I have a truck back in Missouri but when all the shit went down, grabbing it was the least of my concerns. Now I find myself on foot and I’m pissed off about it. Walking a half mile to a party store, I try getting cash out but my account was empty. Of fucking course it was. It’s not enough that over the years she bled me dry, she had to kick me while I was down too.
    All these years of serving my country for God and man, I’ve got jack to show for it. Now I’m stuck in hell with a gorgeous woman who’s too fucking nice for her own god damn good and I put my hands on her in thanks. Watching her listen to that message was painful. Shouldn’t be, I don’t know her, but I didn’t like that someone did her wrong. She didn’t deserve that. The female was dealing with enough shit as it was, now my bullshit and that asshole. Not letting it affect her, she made me a cup of coffee and that simple act bothered me so much, I left her standing there looking stupid.
    She’ll need to get over it because I have no time for a woman wearing a false face. Because she was, they all do. I’ve seen it play out like a movie on repeat with the guys in my unit. They fall for the chick, give her everything while they’re away trying to do good, because they also feel like shit for not being there. Only to come home to a cheating whore who blames you for everything, then leaves you with