away and began to fidget with those papers again. “Seems like you have some anger issues, Aries ‘The Flame’ Creed.” She huffed. “You said you had a hot temper, but it’s still hot, isn’t it?” Warren’s ‘Heaven’ was playing now as a background to their conversation. “I can answer that for you because you are taking far too long to state the obvious.”
“If it’s so obvious, why in the hell did you ask me? Oww!” She elbowed him in the side, yet somehow managed to keep her eye on the papers. “Sometimes I get a little hot under the collar.”
“A little hot under the collar? That’s like me saying, ‘I’m just a little bit Black, a little bit of a bookworm, or a little bit believing you right about now.’ Your bike shop is called ‘Ring of Fire Motorcycle and Repair.’ Why does it say on your business card, ‘Aries Flame Creed’? Seems to me that you know you’re a hot head.”
“Nah, that’s not how it went. My grandmother nicknamed me Flame. She called me that because she said my eyes were the colors of fire when the sun hit ’em just right. I used that as part of my business title is all… felt it sounded right. It was also a tribute to her. Besides, it suits me.”
“I can’t say I disagree with that. Having a temper you can’t control though can you get into a hell of a lot of trouble.”
He tapped his fingers along the window ledge of the truck and sucked his teeth.
“You’re right, it can, Ms. Goody Two Shoes. Ms. Perfect over there, sent straight down from heaven. Is it any wonder that God hasn’t figured out that one of his prized and most talented cherubs is missing? Better send out an M.A.A.! Missin’ Angel Alert.” She dramatically rolled her eyes, but he didn’t care. “I don’t let that sort of shit happen anymore, at least not to the point that I get caught.” She shook her head and grimaced. Judging him. “I’ve got a son to think about now, so I have to move different, but you know what? I’ve about had enough of you today.”
“What?” She gasped, as if in the dark about what he could possibly be speaking of.
“Stop actin’ like you’ve never done anything wrong, Lauren. It’s annoying.”
“I’m a human being so of course I’ve done things I shouldn’t have. I never said that.” Her brows were bunched up super tight now, the skin between them wrinkled like a Shar Pei’s. “I never said anything like that. You’re just feeling some type of way because you’re in the hot seat and it’s easier for you to express your sadness or dismay with anger rather than with words, Aries, and when someone calls you on it, you don’t like that. You don’t like answering to anyone, especially not some woman.” Her voice broke in the middle, as if her utterings were pouring from somewhere deeper than just the surface.
“Sounds like you’re talking about someone else, not me.” He shot her a look and her eyes were darker than the pit of midnight. She quickly averted her gaze, returning her attention to the papers. “Your husband was a pistol, wasn’t he? Hot headed, huh?” She kept her eyes on the printouts, pretending to be heavily involved in what was written on them. “Oh, so this is how you want to play with me? I know you heard what I said. Oh, no, sweet thing. Aries doesn’t roll like that. You don’t get to call me to the carpet then walk off into the sunset when I pull up a chair for your sweet little ass to sit down at the examination table, too!”
He jerked the truck over to the side of the road, causing the tires to squeal and her to holler out.
“What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?” she barked.
“Nothing is wrong with me.” He reached for a fresh cigarette from his jacket pocket, cocked his head to the side, and lit it. “But something is the matter with you. Let me set you straight. You’re not going to talk to me, say something slick, and not let me respond in the manner I see fit. That’s a bad habit of yours that I intend to break. You’re not perfect, you just pretend to be, and I’m ’bout sick of it. You can say whatever you wish, Lauren, but I won’t be silenced. If you can dish it, you damn sure