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."