Um.
I didn’t think that was good.
“Don’t tel her what to do,” Al y entered the fray, she was up and moving around the table.
Fuck.
That definitely wasn’t good.
“You stay out of it too,” another of Jackie’s friends disengaged from the pack, getting ready to confront Al y.
Indy was up and tense, so were Jet and Roxie.
I didn’t figure Lee, Eddie and Hank would pat me on the back for getting their women into a catfight at a strip club even if it was against a bitch, bimbo, skank-from-hel .
“Ladies –” Stevie tried to play peacemaker and I had the fleeting hope that Stevie’s quiet magic would work.
“Shut up, homo,” Jackie sneered at Stevie and she barely got out the “mo” part of “homo” when I lost al thoughts of peacemaking and worrying about my friends.
It was then that my head crackin’ mamma jamma snapped into place and I moved.
I took Jackie by the wrist, swung it in a wide arc, spinning her around. I ducked, positioning myself and her, I bounced her off my back and she went flying into the tables.
She crashed, as did the tables and al of our drinks (and a number of empties) to the floor.
I watched Jackie struggle amongst the overturned tables, her arms and legs pumping, soaked with appletinis, cosmopolitans and rum and Cokes when I felt my hair being tugged backwards.
I reached back, grabbed both wrists of the hands that were in my ponytail and whipped one of Jackie’s friends around to my front. I felt another girl grab at me but I stayed focused and planted my feet, dropped one of her wrists and flipped her on her back using what had become my signature move. She landed with a thud of flesh on flesh, right on top of Jackie and both women grunted in very unladylike ways.
Then I dealt with the next one who was pul ing at my shirt.
I tagged her with a calf in the back of her knees, she teetered, I gave her a nasty shove in chest and she landed on Jackie and the other girl with a high-pitched screech.
I spun around and confronted the last two, lifting my hands and wriggling my fingers at them. I was too focused to notice that everyone had stopped to stare. Everyone, even the strippers.
“You want a piece of this?” I taunted and jumped forward once. They jumped back, bitch-pouty looks gone, their eyes were wide with fear.
I smiled at them and came back around. Jackie’s friends were up and were helping Jackie up too.
I pushed forward, shoved her friends out of the way and grabbed onto Jackie’s sweater, taking a bunch of it in both of my fists. I advanced, forcing her backward until she was at the stage. I leaned in and she had no choice but to arch her back over the stage.
“Stevie come here,” I yel ed, my face in Jackie’s, her eyes wide and freaked out, my hands not leaving her sweater.
“Girlie, I’m here,” Stevie said quietly from my side, “you can let the skank go.”
“Apologize,” I snapped at Jackie, not listening to Stevie.
“I… I’m sorry,” she stammered, not taking her eyes off me.
“Not to me, you stupid bitch, to him. Apologize!”
“Holy crap,” I heard Indy say from behind me.
“You got that right, sister,” Jet muttered from behind me too.
Jackie’s eyes moved to Stevie and she repeated her apology.
“You ever gonna use that word again?” I asked when her eyes came back to me.
She shook her head (and hair). I moved back, pul ed her up with me and then pushed her away from me so she staggered back into the stage.
“Am I ever going to see you again?” I kept at her.
She shook her head (and hair) again.
“Go!” I clipped.
She stood frozen.
I took a step into her. “Move!”
She moved, her friends moved, they moved as fast as their high heels would take them. I watched them go until they disappeared.
I straightened my back and cocked my head to the side quickly as I turned back to the room. The whole place, not just my posse but everyone, was staring at me.
Smithie was close, standing by Daisy, arms crossed, eyes on me.
Fuck.
We were going to be ejected, I was sure of it.
“Sorry, I’l pay for any damage,” I said to him.
“Shit, bitch. I’m thinkin’ about askin’ you to make that a regular feature at Smithie’s.” He shocked me by saying.
“Hot babe kicks ass. They’l line up to see it.”
“Fuck yeah!” Shirleen yel ed. “Girl, you are the shit.”
“Righteous,” Al y shouted.
Jet started clapping. So did Tod. Roxie did too. Indy joined in and then so did everyone else including the audience and the strippers. Daisy gave a whooping shout and Stevie hugged me.
The bouncers righted the tables and Smithie shouted,
“Get these bitches some drinks!”
I was about to sit down as the applause died away when I caught Zip and Heavy’s eyes.
“You do a man proud,” Heavy said to me and the look on his face echoed his words.
Zip nodded.
I smiled and my pug wiggled in close, proud of me too.
I sat down and ordered another cosmopolitan.