It Didn't Start Like This

It started on that sweltering day in June three years ago when he drove past in his red Chevy C10 Fleetside, his square, stubble-smudged jaw and deep cleft chin hanging out the window. And then the squeak of his brakes, the honk of his horn, and his sun-bronzed forearm beckoned me, the twists of damp hair crawling outa his tank-T.

“Come ’ere, gorgeous.” His voice was slow and thick like honey. “Looks like you need a ride and a drink.”

Or did he say a drink and a ride?

But it changed quickly:

“I know. I know. Things are tough right now. But just gimme a little more time, and our luck will change. You’ll see. Once I pay off that cop in Nashville, I’ll be able to get another trucking job, and everything will be right with us again.”

“You keep saying that, but why the hell did you have to go and bust his head anyway?”

“Hey, quit squeezing my balls, will you? Like I keep telling you, it just happened.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You and your barroom brawls.” I let out an extravagant sigh, knowing what his doofus brain didn’t, that he’d never get ahead of that beef.

Enjoy the fun of a noir story as greed, lust, alienation, and jealousy propel morally flawed characters toward their doom. And the best part is June’s short story is free online for everyone to read Just click.