Shifting Grounds

Bill slightly nodded, making me feel I was missing half the story. “There’s always more beneath the surface,” he muttered, not talking to anyone. I thought about asking what Bill meant, but the way he watched the trucker told me he already had the ending figured out.

Still trying to hold onto whatever pride he had left, Jake tossed out another cheap shot about the trucker’s truck, but the punch behind it was gone. The crowd caught it instantly. Even Jake felt the slow, quiet sinking that happens when you realize you picked the wrong man and you’re left trying to save face.