Every Boy's Fantasy - PART TWO of Guns & Roses

Brewski's and Lettuce Wrapped Burgers

"Alright, I'll ask." Drew was chowing down on a burger and said around his mouthful. "Where the fuck did you learn to shoot like that?"

It was directed at Chris who was just dissecting his own burger wrapped in lettuce with his fingers, just tearing off little bite-sized morsels, and gave no shits about his eating oddities anymore in his life.

"Me?" He asked in surprise. It was him, Caleb, Andrew, Pete, Torin, Darren, and two of Torin's guys now around this little circle of chairs, he had shed his coat for the occasion and shifted a little in the cold. "Um, the Mariols." That wasn't shocking but still, Caleb swallowed and flicked a brow.

"Mikael?"

Chris laughed at that shook his head and popped another bite in his mouth. "No. His bodyguard Lucian when he was still there." Lucian was old-school Italian, had retired, but had been with the Mariol's for a hell of a long time. "He said he didn't like that I didn't know guns and was around them all the time."

Wise man. Drew just nodded and thought that over. "I remember Lucian. He's a good dude." High praise from anyone at all really who knew about it, and Chris just smiled.

"Yeah, he was a really nice guy. He died two years ago though." He could tell no one had known that. Honestly, that one had hit Chris kind of hard. Lucian had always been around, had always snuck them candy and junk food in the middle of the night, and more, he had spent a lot of time with that man learning how to fire a weapon. "He was like, eighty-something, almost ninety, so I guess, it was better than eating a bullet."

Torin nodded. "Yeah, well, Don't we all aspire to it?" He smiled at those dark eyes across from him. "I don't know if I wan't to live to be a hundred though. I feel like that's just too damn long."

Darren waffled a hand holding the burger. "I'd like to make it that long." He offered up and shrugged. "I mean, I kind of want to see what's going on by then. You imagine what tech will be like in eighty years?"

"I cant imagine shit." Pete muttered it. "For a man in his line of work, he did the impossible. I just try to make money, and save that all up for the kids, and wifey, and hope to God, ain't nothing I've done follows me home." He exhaled. "I figure, I've used up about eight of my lives, and I got one more left."

Caleb just looked at him with a mild smile. "Well, I'll tell you what, Pete. You end up taking a bullet, and I'll make sure your kids are just fine."

Pete beamed at him, perked right up, and extended his beer out, and they clinked rather merrily which made Chris just smile at them both. "Thanks, boss. You know, I knew I liked you the most for a reason."

They grinned at each other, and Chris just looked back at his burger.

It was weird to think of how real that was in the moment, considering they were all just out, having fun, and no one was doing a damn thing but just living it up, but, really?

At any time shit could go South, and Chris had no delusions left in his life about the kindness of strangers, or even the kindness of those you knew. Right then and there, someone could have rolled out the trees with a hand grenade, and he was pretty sure, no one, himself included, would be shocked to see it happening.

"Well, I'll tell you what." Torrin grinned at Pete. "If Caleb decides instead to pull an Alexander on you, Pete, I'll take you in next."

They laughed, despite the truly horrific transgression, and Pete just downed half a beer. "If Caleb decides he needs to smash me in the head next, maybe I'll have to accept that I'm doing something wrong."

It was funny in a morbid way, and Chris cleared his throat. "I don't miss Alexander at all." Those dark eyes flicked up and glanced at Torrin and Caleb both, and just flexed a humorless smile. "I really, really disliked him, maybe even hoped he'd be dead." He didn't sound the least bit reticent about it, and it made everyone sort of reconsider his level of sanity a bit. He came off so sweet and accommodating until he said things like, "Honestly," He took a bite and waffled a hand, "When I heard about the car bomb, at first I was sad. But then I thought about it and was a little pissed off, mainly because I was kind of hoping it would have been more of a BTK thing."