“You know how outsiders can affect us, and you were already warned about this one and how he has influenced one of our own. How can you let him stand there?”
Brandon glanced over his shoulder and up at me. The doubt in his eyes was obvious along with the same sorrow and confusion that had been there all day. The tension around his eyes lessened as he looked at me, and he gave me a bit of a grin. Keith’s little speech might have been pretty once, but it wasn’t hitting home for Brandon any more—I could see that and assumed Keith could, too.
“He seems okay,” Brandon said with a shrug. “He’s definitely no worse than that asshole Eric you hung out with from school. Besides, he’s with Tria, and you were always going on about how Tria was one of us, no matter what.”
More smirking because I was pretty sure those same words had once been used by Keith, against Brandon. From Keith’s narrowed eyes, I knew I was right. Brandon leaned back a little and sipped his beer, and Keith must have decided to ignore him.
“I said you aren’t welcome here,” he told me again.
“And I pretty much ignored you,” I replied. “You wanna go for round two?”
“Always about the fighting, isn’t it?” he said. “Always about the violence. Have you hit her yet?”
“Fuck you,” I said with a glare.
“You don’t belong here!” he bellowed.
“Well, you got that right,” I replied as I waved my hand toward Brandon and then back behind me and toward the house. “I wouldn’t stand for this shit.”
“What have you told him?” Keith asked Brandon in disbelief. “You shouldn’t be talking to him at all!”
“What does it matter?”
“Dammit, Brandon!” Keith yelled. “I told you about him and how he’s screwing around with her! You really want her involved with someone like that?”
Brandon looked over to me, and his shoulders rose and fell again.
“I dunno,” he replied quietly. “I mean, he seems okay, and Tria really seems to like him. I mean—it’s not like what he’s doing is illegal or whatever.”
“He fights in a fucking bar for cash.” Keith snarled and it was obvious he was losing the cool façade he had been trying to keep up. It was funny, and I gave him a big smile as I took another sip of beer.
“Yeah, and you do what?” Brandon’s words were sharp. “Wait around for your dad to retire or die so you can get his disability checks? It’s not like you’re doing anything all that noteworthy. When was the last time you even went fishing?”
“What the hell?” Keith threw his hands up in the air. “This guy is around for a couple hours and has you poisoned against your own people?”
“I’m not poisoned!” Brandon said. He pushed himself off the steps and stumbled a little. “Everything I’m doing today is about my family, and we are a part of this community! You think I want this? You think I want to watch you lose your virginity with my wife?”
It just figured.
Keith’s hands clenched into fists, and he looked away from us with a tensed jaw. I was pretty sure his dark complexion was the only thing hiding his embarrassment.
I couldn’t help myself; I snorted out a laugh.
“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about getting her actually turned on or anything,” I said with a nasty, cocky smile. “By the time you get to her, she’ll be so full of cum you ought to be able to slide in pretty easi—”
The punch to my face wasn’t from the direction I expected it, and it caught me off guard. I spun to my right, caught my balance before I fell over, and then looked to Brandon as I righted myself. He was standing with his legs spread slightly and knees bent. His hands were still in fists like he was ready to take me on fully, but I just held my palm out to him as I stood up straight.
“You’re such a tough guy,” Keith said with a sneer still plastered across his face and his own embarrassment forgotten for the moment. “You don’t even defend yourself?”
“No reason to,” I replied as I rubbed my chin. It was a pretty good hit for a guy without much muscle. “I deserved that one.”
“Yes, you fucking did,” Brandon growled.
“I know, dude. Sorry. My mouth is on its own sometimes.”
Brandon narrowed his eyes for a second and then nodded briefly as his hands relaxed again at his sides. He bent over and picked up his dropped cigarette and spilled beer.
“You just don’t get it,” Brandon said quietly. “Nikki wants a baby, and I haven’t been able to give her one. What am I going to do? We don’t have health insurance, and there’s no way we could afford going through a doctor to have it done.”