Ororo felt that same heady excitement as she got ready in Anna Marie’s bathroom, which was formerly hers. They’d always gotten ready together whenever they had a girl’s night out, and she’d missed those sessions so much. Anna Marie added another six months to the lease once Ororo’s original one expired, and she was enjoying the apartment well enough, but she offered Ororo the chance to room with her if she had to move back until they both found better separate arrangements. It was a touchy subject between them when it came to Logan.
“Call him. Talk to him, sugah,” she nagged as Ororo made faces at herself while applying her makeup.
“There’s nothing to say right now that wouldn’t end up sounding weird.”
“Sayin’ yer sorry don’t sound all that weird t’me.”
“Why should I say I’m sorry first?”
“It’s called bein’ big about it. Ya shouldn’t have gone off on him like that.”
“He’s part of the problem I have with Selene and other people that I work with on every sale.”
“He ain’t ‘Selene and other people.’ He’s a nice guy, Tory.”
“And that’s another thing…he calls me Ororo now.”
“So? Ain’t like that’s a bad thing.”
“He always liked Tory before.”
“That’s ‘cuz it’s easier ta yell that out when yer gettin’ yer freak on,” Anna accused. Ororo spun on her, appalled, and threw her mascara wand at her as Anna Marie hugged herself, running her hands over her body emphatically. “’Oh, Tory, TORY! Call me Daddy, Tory! Take it all, Tory! You like it! YOU LIKE IT! UNNGGH!’”
“Must…kill…”
The phone rang, sparing Anna Marie’s life for another day. She snickered and ran to answer it, evading the tube of lipstick Ororo threw at her retreating ass. She squealed when she came back into the room with the handset. “Al’s on her way over!”
“Yay,” Ororo muttered as she finished putting on her earrings. She brushed back her hair from her brow and pulled the front of it back, letting the rest cascade down her back. She was in her little black number and it made her feel pretty. She smoothed lotion over her long legs, pleased that they were smooth enough to skip pantyhose and just wear her mule sandals.
“We’re stoppin’ at Monet and Everett’s, too, to check out the new baby before it’s her bedtime.”
“Ooo!” Ororo clapped. “Yay. I was hoping we’d see them this weekend.”
“Lil’ crumb snatcher’s gettin’ big, too. Looks like Monet’s been feedin’ her steak.”
“Aww.” Ororo felt wistful, but she nudged the feelings aside and zipped up her makeup bag.
She pondered her situation with Logan while she flipped channels, waiting for Ali to arrive. What they had was a fling. There was no other way to describe it. Maybe they were making things harder than they needed to be, or at any rate, she was. She was contemplating a move, they both traveled often enough with work to make it difficult to have a lot of time together, and all things considered, they were always pissed at each other. Ororo had been lucky that she grew up in a loving household. Her parents argued, but it was usually over predictable things that were resolved by the time her mother fixed their nightly bowl of popcorn and turned on “Happy Days” or “Hill Street Blues.” Her parents often said they loved each other, and Ororo remembered the gagging noises she used to make when they would kiss each other in front of her, but the memory warmed her now. They knew how it was supposed to be done. After they’d set that kind of example for her, Ororo didn’t want to settle for dysfunctional bullshit.
So that was it. A fling. Plain and simple. Something that had a beginning, middle and end that she didn’t have to fool herself into thinking was happily ever after. Logan was nothing like her father, that was for sure, and she wasn’t her mother by a longshot.
Anna heard Ali’s footsteps outside the door before she knocked, and she yanked it open to her friend’s happy squeal. They gave each other a rocking, stomping hug before both of them attacked Ororo. “ACK!” They grabbed her and jumped up and down. “I’m so happy we’re finally going out! You BITCH! Why’d you stay away so long?” Ali enveloped Ororo in a hug that almost hurt.
“Asshole,” Ororo sniffled. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.”
“Enough of that Lifetime movie crap. Let’s go! Time’s a wastin’, and there’s a blue Cadillac margarita with mah name on it.”
*
The visit with Monet went as Ororo would have predicted. Ororo draped her shoulder with the “urp cloth” that Monet offered her and held the baby, rocking her and gently patting her back.
“Ooh, someone smells sweet,” Ororo crooned. Therese gurgled and smacked her lips, teething her little gums against Ororo’s neck. “She weighs a ton!”
“I know,” Monet beamed. “She’s already regained her birth weight, and she slept four hours last night.” The proud mother had circles under her eyes and she was still wearing her maternity jeans, but she looked so happy that Ororo wished she were in her place. “I’m glad I took another two months of leave. I hate being away from her.”
“She still nursing?”
“Hell, yes. The kid gets that appetite honest from her papa.”
“Bless her heart.” Therese fidgeted and crammed her fingers into her mouth, indicating she was hungry. “She’s fussing. Want her back?”
“Here.” Monet offered her a binkie. “Give her a minute. I need to get myself a quick snack, and then I’ll feed her.” The baby took the binkie as a peace offering, chewing it noisily while Ororo cradled her, rhythmically patting her diapered bottom.
“You don’t like babies or anything,” Ali mused, chuckling.
“You hear your auntie Al talking smack about your auntie ‘Ro?” Ororo sniffed. “Don’t trust that crazy lady over there.”
“Every auntie this child’s got on her mama’s side’s crazy, that ain’t nothin’ new,” Anna argued.
“Hmmph.” Monet came out of the kitchen with a small plate of Triscuits.
“Want any?”
“Nah. We’re gonna take off and have something at the club. Wish you were coming.”
“I need sleep more than a white Russian right now. But remember me when she starts teething.” Therese waited until her mother managed to get one cracker into her mouth before she squalled around the binkie and spit it out.
“On that note,” Ororo decided, waiting for Monet to sit down before she handed her back the baby and the cloth, “we’ll take off, sweetie.” She kissed mother and daughter on the cheek and the three friends let themselves out.
“Where’s Everett?”
“Hiding at his brother’s, watching the Eagles game.”
“Nice.” They climbed into Ali’s car and headed to the club, managing to park in the crowded back lot just as someone pulled out of the space. Before they even stood in the line, Guido hailed them over and let them inside the rope. He beckoned to the cashier to stamp their hands. Ali hugged the enormous bouncer eagerly.
“What’s up, Mr. Clean?” She rubbed the top of his shining, bald head. He snickered and smacked her butt.
“Bout time you dragged your skinny ass in here, Beverly Sills. Get settled in and get a drink now before we run out of the good stuff. There’s a shot special.”
“Meh.”
“Mike’s Hard Lemonade?”
“Nah. Lemony anything makes me phlegmy. I’ll get my drink on after my set.”
“Say hi to Cain. He’s been watching the door all night for ya.” As if on cue, the huge bartender caught her eye from the counter and nodded, grinning. She smiled and waved, keeping her eyes on Cain but talking out of the side of her mouth to Guido.
“Don’t encourage him, damn it. It’ll give him the wrong idea.”
“Bullshit. You’re the one with the wrong idea, blowin’ the guy off.”
“He’s. Not. My. Type.”
“Ain’t got enough felonies or baby mommas lurkin’ in his closet, huh?”
“Hush up, you.” Ali smiled extra widely for Cain and was subtle about stepping on Guido’s foot as Cain turned away to fill some mugs at the tap.
“C’mon,” Anna nagged. She dragged her toward the table that Ororo snagged, planting herself on the stool to save it. Just as Anna went to join her, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She met Lila’s mock glare and emphatic tap of her watch.
“Do you KNOW what time it is?”
“It’s all good,” Ali told her cheerfully.
“All good she says…oy.” Lila slapped her forehead. “Must…stop…fist of death…”
“Where’s Neil?”
“He just finished the sound check a few minutes ago. Might’ve been nice if you were here.”
“I had to rally the troops. You remember Tory and Anna?”
“Your better halves. Hi.” She shook their hands and whistled. “Do your mothers know you’re out dressed like that?”
“Out past curfew, too,” Anna chimed in.
“Stick around long enough and I’ll give you a spanking.” Lila didn’t make her preferences a secret, and they were diverse. She winked one kohl-lined eye at her and smiled with plum-stained lips. Ali snorted.
“Don’t come on to my friends.”
“There ain’t no rings on their fingers,” Lila shrugged, but she wrapped her arm around Ali’s neck in a semblance of a headlock. “You know you’re my one and only, anyway, snookums.”
“Nice try.”
“Well, I have to try,” she shrugged, kissing Ali’s cheek and smacking her ass, taking a page from Guido’s book. “Get ready. Then get your ass up there.”
Ororo and Anna ordered their drinks, which Cain said were on the house, and they made the rounds on the dance floor while Ali chatted with Lila and Neil. The DJ mixed his last set with nineties oldies and house music that Ororo was grateful for; she could only have so much Gaga shoved down her throat. It felt nice to cut loose, but she was lonely amidst the crowd. It was the kind of night that would have been nice with Logan at her elbow, sharing tequila and limes with her, feeding each other soft tacos and watching the sunset. The memory made her ache.
Men stared approvingly at the short black dress and the assets it revealed, its halter cut showing off her shoulders and toned back. The flirty black sandals took her legs from sexy to criminal, forcing every male eye in the bar, and even a few female ones, to glance up, up, and up. A young man with spiky hair asked her to dance, and she declined politely, even though he was relatively cute. It wasn’t like she would be cheating even if she’d accepted…would it? But when Ororo mulled it over, if it were Logan in the bar, and if another woman flirted with him, staring at his ass, bought him a drink, then she’d want to tear her ass up.
It felt good to go out and still feel desirable and attractive, especially in the wake of her divorce. If Victor didn’t want her, then no one else would, either, an ugly thought that nagged her for months. It took a lot of soul-searching to believe in herself again, and Ororo didn’t want to settle for being a wallflower.
“Does your pop know you’re out in public half-nekkid like this?” a familiar voice accused behind her. Ororo grinned and spun on Monica and her fiancee, Luke, thrilled to see them. She hugged each of them tightly and stood back, admiring how nice they looked.
“Someone’s glowing.”
“We’re in a good place right now, sister. Guess who saw the little strip turn blue?” Ororo clapped her hands over her mouth, then removed them to applaud.
“Shut. UP!”
“You’re going to be an auntie again,” Monica chuckled. Ororo reached over and punched Luke’s shoulder.
“Look at you! Not the least bit sorry, are you?” Luke laughed and rubbed his superficial injury.
“Ow… Nope.”
“You’re the first one we’ve told,” Monica confessed. “We’ll get a special delivery right around Valentine’s Day.”
“Wow. That’s…wow.” Tears sparked at the back of Ororo’s eyes, but she shook it off. She hugged Monica again and said, “I’m so thrilled. This is a happy time.” She eyed Monica’s glass that she’d set on the table. “That better be a damned 7-Up.”
“You know it!”
Monica made the rounds, and Ali and Anna took turns squealing over the news, followed by much hopping down and floods of questions. The night had a happy glow that it lacked before, even though Ororo grew wistful as it passed.
*
Ali and Lila rounded up their night with a long set that had the crowd on their feet. By the time she finished, she was glistening with sweat and dying of thirst.
“Bottled water,” she croaked at Cain when she made her way to the bar. He eyed her sweat-slick skin and the way her damp, strawberry blonde hair clung to her neck. Ali wore black like Ororo did, but she chose a flirty handkerchief top that left her back bare, and a pair of low-rise, boy-cut jeans that she’d “tattooed” with different patterns using a Sharpie pen. He enjoyed her untamed, wanton look as she leaned over the bar, handing him her five and reaching for the drink and her change. She grinned up at him. “How you holding up?”
“The natives’re gettin’ restless,” he muttered.
“Man up, pal.”
“How long are you guys staying?”
“We’re closin’ the bar, bud! Ororo’s only in town for the weekend, even though we’re trying to convince her to make it permanent. Give her the puppy dog eyes and tell her why she has to stay.”
“I ain’t good at puppy dog eyes,” he argued as he filled a pitcher with Heineken.
Ororo wanted to argue with him. He always gave Ali that exact look, and it drifted over his face now. She wanted to pity him, but it was up to him to step up and get her attention.
But Ali got her second wind once she hydrated herself, and she was off. She dragged her friends onto the dance floor, and they stayed there through several sets. Ali was in rare form. She flirted incessantly, much to Ororo and Anna’s amusement. Occasionally Lila followed her lead, and they resorted to their old routine of dancing with each other somewhat provocatively, just for the attention.
“Girl’s a mess,” Monica tsked.
“Yep,” Anna agreed as she sipped her rum and Coke. “Gonna be hatin’ life in the morning.”
“We’re gonna get going,” Monica piped up. “My feet hurt and I’m tired out.”
“Get used to it,” Ororo reminded her gently. She kissed her cheek, pleased that she’d had the chance to catch up.
“Don’t overdo it,” Monica cautioned. They left just as the last few stragglers made their way in for the night.
The girls stayed til last call, and they filed out into the lot after a last trip to the rest room.
“Let’s get a taco,” Anna suggested. “And Ah’ve gotta sit down again. Mah dogs are barkin’.”
“Shit! I left my purse inside,” Ali claimed. She started back toward the door. Ororo tsked.
“Don’t take too long!”
“It’s got all my shit,” Ali told her helplessly, throwing up her hands. Her face beseeched them to be patient. “I’ll just be a sec.” She tottered back in, buzz still intact. Ororo and Anna sighed, shaking their heads.
“She’s killin’ me.”
“Tell me about it. Better yet, don’t.”
Ali sweet-talked Guido into letting her back inside. “Ya know I don’t give anyone special treatment, right?”
“Who said I’m just anyone?” she pouted.
“Make it quick.”
“Pushover,” she teased. Ali made a quick pass of the pool room and stage. No joy. She checked the coat check desk and came up pouting. “Where is it?” she hissed under her breath.
“Whatsamatter?”
“I can’t find my purse.”
“Where did ya leave it?”
“I’d have it if I knew that.” Cain set down the glass he was drying and came out from around the bar, still wearing his short apron. He was sweating and there were dark triangles in amusing places on his dark tee. His face was flushed and his eyes looked tired. “When’re you getting outta here, big guy?”
“When they let me. Gotta reconcile my drawer, put everything away and clean up.”
“Lackey.”
“Brat.”
“I’ve gotta pee.”
“Al, we’ve gotta close up!” Guido kicked out two more stragglers who were having their last smoke on the patio. One of them whistled at her, but she ignored them. Not finding her purse put a dent in her sense of humor.
“Gimme a minute.” She headed back to the johns and ran into the first stall to relieve herself. The bathroom floor was scattered with bits of torn paper towel and damp toilet paper squares that landed in the backplash, plastering it to the tile. “Ew.” Ali didn’t want to know the horrors the floor had seen or imagine what she was stepping in.
“Cain?” Put this on your cleaning list,” she slurred while she washed her hands. She didn’t hear him answer her, which perturbed her. Ali exited the bathroom and decided to head for the patio. On her way out, she bypassed Guido, ducking past him while he spoke with the DJ. Ali reached the outdoor smoking area and searched around for her purse, cursing that the overhead lights had been turned off, leaving only the dim glow of the street lamps that shone from the back end of the parking lot. The patio was shadowy when it was poorly lit, and Ali shivered.
“Damn,” a voice murmured, scaring her out of her skin, “lookin’ good, mami.” Ali spun on its owner, hand planting itself against her chest.
“Shit! Don’t do that! It’s not nice to sneak up on people,” she scolded. The man smirked, enjoying her discomfiture. Her annoyance lifted a little when she noticed that he was striking, dark-eyed, dark-haired, and a tall, lean drink of water. Her pulse raced with the way he stared at her, but she was still on edge at being surprised.
“Whatsamatter? Lost somebody?”
“Lost something,” she clarified. “My bag.”
“Need help looking for it?”
“It’d be nice if someone offered.” Her voice was disdainful; she figured Cain would have made more of an effort, but he disappeared. She knew he had work to do, but he would have better luck hustling her out of the bar for the night if he’d help her find what she came back for in the first place. She mentally rolled her eyes. Men…
“I can help you find what you’re looking for,” the stranger suggested. He gestured for her to walk ahead of him, and she smiled pleasantly as she continued to scan the seats around the patio and the outside bar.
She never expected his rough hands at her back, shoving her. “What the f- LET GO OF ME!” His fingers snapped around her wrist, spiking her adrenaline, and her muscles tensed. Her buzz evaporated in an instant, but she was still off-balance, and he quickly took advantage of it.
“Saw you dancin’ out there. All freaky an’ shit.”
“LET GO!” Her cry was hoarse and desperate. She struck him, which amused him at first.
“Like it rough, mami? We can play rough!”
“I’m not playing with you, you freak!”
“You can be my freak…” He was barging into her space, pushing up against her, and she smelled vodka and Red Bull on his breath. Her heart hammered, and his hands began to hurt, chafing her skin where he continued to grab her arm. He shoved her toward a partition with even worse visibility than the rest of the smoking area, and she continued to hiss out warnings and call out for help.
“CAIN! CAAAIINN!” she screeched, forcing out the first name that came to mind. Guido worked security at the door, but she figured if he hadn’t heard her, he might be at the front door. “CAAAIN!” she half-sobbed. Her admirer sneered, then slapped her with his open hand, making her reel. Her lip quivered and she fought to get away from him, raking his forearm with her long nails, kicking out at his ankles with her high-heeled sandal, but she accidentally kicked it off.
The back door burst open and Cain barreled out of it like a locomotive, nostrils flaring and eyes wild. “AL?”
“CAIN, GET HIM OFF ME!”
“No you didn’t! The hell you did!” Cain barked, rushing at the man who was still trying to hold her down. When he realized Cain was serious, he loosened his grip, then straightened up.
“The fuck, man? She’s a tease!”
“NO, SHE AIN’T!” Cain roared. His voice boomed over the thin strains of music still playing in the bar’s kitchen, drifting outside, and Ali realized that was why he hadn’t heard her before. “GUIDO! GET THE FUCK OUT HERE!”
Guido ran outside, no less lathered than his friend, and his eyes narrowed behind his thick glasses. “What’s goin’ on out here?”
“This asshole put his hands on Allison.”
“I didn’t…want him to,” she sobbed.
“Sshh,” Cain ordered, stepping between Ali and her attacker, shoving her protectively behind him. He jacked the man up by his shoulder, driving him back against the partition. He shouted in his face directly. “She’s smaller than you, ya fuck! That make ya feel like a big man? I’m a big fuckin’ man myself! Wanna step ta ME?”
“Shit!” he yelped, holding up his hands. Cain rammed him back against the wall.
“How’s that feel?” Cain mastered the urge to drive his fist through his face. “Sneakin’ up on a woman,” he sneered. “Pussy.” He shoved him away, then sent him flying with a kick to his ass. The man stumbled and fell, nearly faceplanting in the gravel. Guido looked just as pissed.
“Hope you like goin’ ta court, buddy,” he told him, offering a false, tight smile as he lifted him up by the arm and dragged him back inside. “Trespassin’ on public property after hours, creatin’ a disturbance, harrassin’ the patrons…” he ticked off the list, his voice growing lower the farther away he got. Ali dissolved into gulping, angry sobs.
“All I did was come out for my purse,” she insisted, limping over to her abandoned shoe. She sat on a nearby bench and shoved her foot into it, then winced.
“Whatsamatter, Al?”
“I twisted my ankle. He shoved me.”
Cain hovered over her protectively, stooping down to look it over. His touch was gentle as he lifted her foot to look it over. “Can ya move it?”
“Yeah, but it hurts like a bitch.”
“Sorry, kiddo.”
“Why? You didn’t do it,” she said bitterly.
“You okay?”
“No. He scared the crap out of me.”
“I know.”
“I’m still scared,” she cried, lips quivering. He took her hand in his large one and lightly squeezed it. His brown eyes were full of concern and sympathy, and being near him made her feel safe.
“I ain’t goin’ anywhere, kiddo.”
“Good.”
Cain let her hang onto him while she hobbled back toward the entrance, but her hisses of pain and impaired walk made him scoop her up gruffly instead, carrying her as though she weighed nothing. Cain brought her to the stage and sat her down, and Guido led a hysterical Ororo and Anna inside, letting them rush over to her.
“What the fuck happened out there? Ali, are ya all right?” Anna demanded.
“We heard you scream,” Ororo told her, sitting down next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You’re cold.”
“I was hot a little while ago, until I was out there long enough to stop sweating.” Her palms were icy, too, from her fright, something she didn’t want to admit to her friends. Cain had disappeared briefly, but he re-emerged from the kitchen with a makeshift ice pack that he made by filling a Ziploc bag. He brought over a chair and gingerly propped her foot up on it, then laid the bag over her now swelling ankle. “Bastard made me break a nail.”
“It could’ve been worse,” Anna scolded. “What were ya doin’ out there alone?”
“It’s my fault,” Cain told them, looking ashamed. “I shoulda done a last sweep out back. And yer gonna hate me, but guess where I found yer purse?”
“Where?”
“Back by the time clock. I found it when I went to open the safe. Lila must’ve left it back there for ya so no one’d mess with it.”
“Great,” she groused, sniffling. She knew her eye makeup probably looked like hell.
“That’s what I wuz doin’ before I heard ya yell,” Cain explained contritely. He still held her hand, and he was stroking it with his thumb. Ororo suppressed a smile when she saw Ali curl his hand in hers more tightly in response. “When I heard ya, I came runnin’. My heart about fuckin’ stopped.” Okay, Ororo thought, perhaps he wasn’t the most poetic guy on the planet, but he meant well.
“Thanks for coming.” Gratitude filled her voice, and her blue eyes glistened with more tears. Cain looked shaken.
“I’d never let anything happen to you.” His voice was husky and gruff, as though he couldn’t handle the thought of her getting hurt.
Cain walked them back out to Anna’s car. Ali held back a moment while Ororo and Ali climbed in. “Go ahead and warm it up,” she told them. “Give me a minute.”
“Might as well,” Anna sighed, but she understood and waved her on. Ororo’s lips curled as she fiddled with Anna’s CD deck.
Ali moved away from the car a few paces, still slightly wobbly. Her ankle throbbed.
“Get off yer feet when ya get home,” Cain nagged. “Go straight ta bed. If ya need a ride to the doctor or a prompt care clinic in the mornin’, gimme a call, awright?”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. Her eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, and her mascara was smudged, but he reached up and tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear where it tried to stick to her remaining lipstick.
Ali felt a frisson of warm calm fill her, but she asked him nervously, “I look like hell, don’t I?”
“Nah,” he lied, reaching up to wipe away a tear track from the corner of her eye. She leaned into his touch. His smile was boyish, coaxing one from her.
He wasn’t expecting her hug or the strength with which she clung to him. She smelled good; the scent of her shampoo and light, flowery perfume wafted up to him, teasing his senses, and she felt soft and pliant against him. Cain flushed, feeling heat rise up into his face; even his ears felt hot.
“Liar,” she scolded into his chest. His palm stroked her back, which was temptingly, dangerously bare and silky smooth. He cleared his throat and backed away, releasing her before he began to want what he knew he couldn’t have.
“G’wan, Al. G’night.”
“’Night.” She was strangely flushed, too, and she ducked quickly into the car. He watched them drive off, not leaving the lot until they were all the way out of sight. He waved at them, not realizing that Ali shared the same random thought that ran through his mind.
What the heck just happened here?
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This was originally the second half of the last chapter, but this seemed like a reasonable transition and breaking point. Sorry updates have been slow. Life has sucked.
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