Page 89 of Jaked


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He gave me another look. This one stretched out so long, I started to squirm. "Sorry," I mumbled. "So you throw around money, and…?"

After a long moment, he continued, "And I hear that Maddie's got a roommate that fits your description. Different name though. So I start asking Maddie about you. At first, she's all tight-lipped, thinking I'm an ex of yours looking to track you down."

"So, she was protecting me?" I asked.

"No. She was worried about competition."

"Oh come on. How do you know?"

"I know," he said, "because as soon as I mentioned settling a score, she gets real chatty about you."

"Really? What'd she say?"

"Nothing you wanna hear."

"Oh come on," I said. "Yes, I do."

"Alright," Jake said. "She said you were a deadbeat."

"Me?" Well, that was rich, considering she still owed me fifty bucks and a security deposit.

"And a thief," Jake said.

"What?" I sputtered. "I am not." Well, not in the technical sense anyway.

"And," Jake continued, "she said you got busted last month for hooking."

My blood pressure shot through the roof. "Oh come on!" I said. "That was her other roommate. Not me."

"That wasn't the story she told."

Flabbergasted, I sank back against the sofa. "I knew she wasn't the nicest person in the world, but…" I shook my head. "Wow."

"Yeah," Jake said. "So the next time you stick up for her, remember something."

"What?"

"She thought I was there to hurt you, and she didn't give two shits one way or another."

"And yet," I reminded him, "you had sex with her."

"Yeah. So?"

"So, aren't you seeing the disconnect there? I mean, you just proved she's not a nice person, but you still got intimate with her."

"Intimate?" He gave a hard laugh. "No. I fucked her. Big difference."

"Oh come on," I said. "It's the same thing."

"No," he said. "I don't fuck nice girls."

I almost didn't know what to say. "So, uh, whatdoyou do with them?"

"Nothing."

I felt my brow wrinkle. "So you don't have sex with nice girls? Is that what you're saying?"

"Pretty much."