I stared.
Guess I was wrong about the big, dangerous night out with the girls.
She turned back to Indy.
“Few months ago, you stun-gunned me.”
Daisy, Al y and I looked at Indy. Indy’s face registered recognition.
“Uh-oh,” Al y said.
“Uh-oh is right, bee-atch,” the woman said, not taking her eyes off Indy.
The negative power force enveloping us ratcheted up a notch.
“Who you cal in’ a bee-atch?” Al y asked, hand going to hip.
Okay, so we’d reached ground zero in a serious Holy Shit Situation.
The woman moved into Al y’s space.
“I’m cal ing you a bee-atch, bee-atch.”
I was thinking that wasn’t the right answer.
“Why don’t I get you a drink?” I put in, trying to defuse the Holy Shit Situation.
“Don’t want a drink,” she answered, not looking at me, “Ain’t no one disrespectin’ me. You hear what I’m sayin’?” Her ringlets were bouncing around while she was shaking her head and I didn’t take this as a good sign.
“I’m not the one who charged over here, getting into people’s faces. That’s disrespect. Y o u hear what I’m sayin’?” Al y flashed back, hair bobbing around her head and somehow the Holy Shit Situation escalated.
“Ladies,” I tried to cut in just as the woman’s fist came forward in a jab.
I ducked, she missed me and hit Daisy right in the eye.
I lifted up and stared.
Daisy staggered back a step on her rhinestone encrusted, ice blue, platform go-ahead.
Then she steadied herself.
“Uh-oh,” Indy, Al y and I said in unison.
Then Daisy pounced.
It was fair to say at that juncture that mayhem ensued.
Al y jumped on the pile of arms and legs on the floor, which consisted of a rol ing Daisy and the black lady. The black lady’s friend came up and shoved Indy and they got in a tussle. Other people either watched or thought it might be fun to join in and started shoving and punching each other. I stood in the middle of it al , opened my purse, pul ed out my stun gun and switched it on. It started crackling and hissing which I figured meant it was ready to rol .
I wasn’t wrong.
I leaned over and touched it to black lady number one.
She let out a squeak and went slack. Then I touched it to black lady number two, with the same result, except she was standing and she hit the ground like a dead weight.
I looked at the stun gun, then looked at Indy.
“Rock ‘n’ rol !” Indy shouted, putting her arms up, forefinger and pinkie extended in the famous rock ‘n’ rol double devil’s horns.
I switched off the gun, shoved it in my bag and then I helped up Daisy and Al y. I grabbed Indy’s arm, turned tail, and ran, dragging Indy along with me.
I chanced a glance backward at the growing brawl to see Al y wave at Darius.
He was grinning.
We got in the Mustang and Al y burned rubber.
We were a couple of miles away when Indy said, “I think I tore Tod’s dress, he’s gonna have a shit fit.”
“That ain’t nothin’, Sugar, I think I might get a black eye, and worse, I broke a nail.” Daisy said.
There was a beat of silence.
“That was righteous,” Al y said quietly.
“You got that right, sister.” Indy replied.
*
We dropped Daisy first, then Al y took me to Eddie’s. We idled at the curb, me in the front seat, al of us looking at Eddie’s house. The lights were on.
looking at Eddie’s house. The lights were on.
“Damn, shit, fuck,” I whispered.
It was definitely a multi-curse-word moment.
The outside light went on, the front door opened, then the security door opened. Eddie stood inside the opened door wearing jeans and a plaid flannel shirt, feet bare, shirt unbuttoned, chest and abs partial y exposed, hair a sexy mess, face unreadable.
“Holy crap,” Indy breathed from the backseat.
“Fuck, shit, damn,” I whispered.
I was wrong, this was a multi-curse-word moment.
“I don’t know whether to feel sorry for you or stun gun you and take your place,” Al y said.
“I think he’s going to cuff me to bed the next time,” I said.
“Lee tried that with me, it doesn’t work,” Indy offered.
Um… eek!
“I think you best mosey on up there, pa’dner. He doesn’t look like he’s gonna wait much longer and I’m not sure you want to know what he’l do when he’s done waiting.” I got out of the front seat and Indy got out of the back and our hair was forced to get out with us.
I hugged Indy.
“Thanks,” I said into her ear.
“It was a blast,” she said into mine.
I leaned over, my dress rode up, I pul ed it down just before disaster struck and waved at Al y. She blew me a kiss.
Then I walked up to Eddie.
He stood aside and let me enter.
“Hey,” I said as I walked by, surprising myself by sounding cool instead of freaked out.
His eyes did a ful body scan. Then, slowly, he shook his head.
Okay, I was done with being cool.