He hauled Guy into a hug with a wicked-hard backslap that made me wince.
“How the hell are you, Stone?” He was yelling in Guy’s ear.
Guy whapped him on the back even harder and yelled, “How ya been?”
I wanted to scamper away. My attitude in school was to let these guys duke it out and walk silently around them while they did.
When they released each other, Tommy glared at Guy. “Look, I’ve got some business with Jimmy Patterson here. So how about we get together sometime later and catch up?”
Guy’s grin spread across his teeth but not his eyes.
“Oh, I’ve invited myself to lunch with you and Jimmy.” His eyes became slits as he challenged Tommy. “Somebody’s gotta protect Jimmy from the welcome committee.”
Tommy shifted his weight from foot to foot and grimaced, as if Guy’d backhanded him. Then he shifted back into a solid stance and glared at me.
“We don’t need you for our little talk, Stone.” Tommy’s eyes had shifted back to Guy.