perked up. “That’s right, pal.”
Craig rolled his eyes, though Parker didn’t see it.
The question slipped out of him. “Are you fucking my mom?”
“The mouth on that brat! With a father like that, no wonder he’s talking to a priest with such language.” Parker muttered this on the way to his kitchen in a frenzy. The taste of Tina was on his lips—her saliva, her skin, and the potent flavor of her sex. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Woman’s stuck in a dead-end abusive marriage. She won’t quit that bastard, but that’s okay with me. I don’t love her, really, and I don’t need to.”
Dr. Krone rifled through the cabinet and discovered Parker’s secret stash of bourbon.
“ Hey ,” Parker yipped, double backing from the intruder, almost stumbling over his feet in shock. “How did you know where that was? And what the hell are you doing in my house? Do I know you? I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”
“I know everything in Craig’s mind, and I know what’s in yours too.” The man poured a shot and threw it back. “ Grrr! —the mangy hair of the dog.”
“What are you doing in my house?” Parker raised his voice, now standing tall. “I don’t know you. Get out. I’ll call the police. Right now, I want you out. This is trespassing.”
“The line is dead,” the doctor warned him, pointing at the phone broken in ten pieces on the floor. He had a romp of a time smashing it. “And there’s no police here unless I want them to be here. Listen, I’m your friend. Let’s talk.”
Parker was shaken. He didn’t trust him. The man didn’t have a choice but to hear him out, too scared to be physical with the intruder.
“Calm down.” Dr. Krone placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I’m a friend. So tell me—and level with me, huh?—is Tina a good fuck? Does she enjoy missionary position? I guess any position with you is missionary.”
Dr. Krone knew he could instruct the man to obey him. All he had to do was think it. Will it. And he did. Flexing his strength was one of his favorite pastimes.
Parker’s face relaxed. He no longer distrusted him. He gave Dr. Krone a chiding expression. “That’s desperate pussy, man. She’s so scared of Brandon. It’s more passionate like that—you know, women in those situations. That’s why I like her. I can avoid marriage and still enjoy that high-altitude fuck. Women like Tina, they pretend they’re in love with you, but it’s exaggerated because of how shitty their romantic life has become. She even said she loves me. Isn’t that funny? She whispered it in my ear. One fuck, and it’s monumental to her.”
“Her tits look great in that tube top.” Dr. Krone poured a shot of bourbon for each of them. They toasted each other, swigging the warm bullets down. “I wish I could have a round with that head case. I know all about the emotionally abused. The insane are the best. You ever fuck a girl in a straightjacket? Fucking girls with dementia, it’s the best time you’ll ever have. The things they say and do, no ordinary woman would ever conceive it. I’ve been around let—me—tell—you! ”
The doctor confided in him, now that they were good friends.“What would you do for another round with her, seriously?”
Parker stared out the kitchen window at Tina’s house, weighing his options. “It’s taking risks. We’re next-door neighbors. It’s been fun. And she’s one hell of a woman. I’m afraid of Brandon, though. He’d smash my face in.”
“Why not have more fun? It doesn’t have to end. You don’t have to be scared of him.”
He shook his head, dismissing the notion. “Naw. It’s for the best. She’s married.”
He winked at him. “She told me she wanted otherwise. She wants to be with you, and only you.”
Parker’s eyebrow arched. “Oh. She said that?”
It was so fun to inject hope into people. It always worked to his advantage, the doctor thought.
“Yes, it’s true, but we’ll have
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