Jake Me

by Sabrina Stark

  I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. It was fifteen minutes until midnight. Where was Jake, anyway?

  I glanced again at the table of rowdies. Tank was raising his glass in salute to the guy sitting across from him. He took a long, deep drink and slammed the now-empty glass onto the table. That's when I noticed something. The guy across from Tank had no drink. Had he given his to Tank?

  Utterly disgusted, I turned away, only to see a welcome sight appear at the entrance to our balcony – Jake, finally.

  Chapter 53

  As he squeezed in beside me, I glanced at his shirt. It was a shade or two lighter than before. "Hey, is that a new shirt?"

  "Forget the shirt." He frowned. "Where's Bianca?"

  "Forget Bianca," I said. "What happened with Rango?"

  "Not much," he said. "We had a nice chat in the parking lot, and he agreed to move on. Problem solved."

  I gave him a dubious look. "You were gone a long time."

  "Not that long."

  "And you had to change your shirt."

  He shrugged. "Sometimes, conversations get messy."

  I narrowed my gaze. "How messy?"

  "Messy enough." He glanced around. "Now you tell me, where's Bianca?"

  "She's in the ladies room."

  His jaw tightened. "She was supposed to stick around."

  "As my baby sitter?"

  "No," he said, "to keep a watch out."

  "For what?" As I talked, I reached down to pull out my cell phone. I checked the time. It was almost midnight. Recalling what Jake had said earlier, I lowered my voice. "The fight you mentioned, that's done with, right?"

  Jake leaned back against his chair. "If it is, no one told me."

  My heart sank. "So it wasn't the thing with Rango?"

  He grinned. "Sorry."

  I made a sound of frustration. "So who are you fighting?"

  "Why? Worried I'll get my ass kicked?"

  At something in his expression, I couldn’t help but laugh. "Should I be worried?"

  Just then, Bianca appeared at the entrance to the balcony. She glared over at me. "There you are."

  "Yes," I said. "Here I am."

  She was frowning now. "You were supposed to meet me in the ladies room."

  "I was not," I said.

  "You were too," she insisted. "And I waited there for like a half-hour."

  "You are such a fibber," I said. "You weren't even gone a half-hour."

  Her lips pursed. "Well it sure seemed like a half-hour."

  Jake turned toward Bianca. "You were supposed to stick around. Remember?"

  I made a sound of frustration. "Oh for Pete's sake. I don't need a babysitter."

  "See?" Bianca said. "She didn't want me here." She gave me a look. "Go ahead. Tell him."

  I turned to Jake. "I didn't want her here."

  "See what I've been putting up with?" Bianca said.

  Jake gave her a no-nonsense look. "You're being paid to put up with it. So come on. Tell me what we've got."

  With a long-suffering sigh, Bianca claimed a chair opposite us and said, "I confirmed with Trey. He's good to go."

  I looked around. I hadn't seen Trey. "Good to go where?" I asked.

  Jake turned to me. "If you want to hit the ladies room, this would be a good time."

  Even for Jake, something about this whole thing seemed off somehow. I narrowed my gaze. "What's going on?"

  "Just a favor-trade," he said. "Not a big deal."

  "What kind of favor-trade?" I asked.

  "A fight for a fight." He grinned. "Don't worry. I've got this."

  "I'm not worried," I lied. "But I'm not going anywhere either."

  Jake blew out a long breath. "Alright. You wanna stay? Just promise me two things."

  "What?" I asked.

  "One – that you remember something." He leaned his forehead against mine. "You're the only girl I want."

  I felt myself swallow. "I am?"

  "You know you are," he said. "And anything else? It's just bullshit. You know that, right?"

  In spite of the tender sentiment, I felt my eyebrows furrow. "What's the second thing?"

  "That you''ll sit tight and don't move. At least not 'til I get back."

  "Back from where?"

  "You'll see."

  "I'll see what?"

  He reached out to stroke the side of my face. "Now come on. Just say it. Two simple words. 'I promise.'" His voice became a caress. "You know you want to."

  Like I could deny him anything. I gave a dramatic eye-roll. "Oh fine. I promise."

  Jake turned to Bianca. "If she moves," he said, "I'm holding you responsible."

  "Me?" Bianca said. "Why me?"

  "Because you know the drill," Jake said. "She doesn't."

  "What drill?" I asked.

  "You'll see," he said.

  "Will you stop saying that?" I asked.

  He grinned over at me. "You got it."

  Almost before I could process what was happening, he pushed back from his chair and strode out of our balcony.

  I turned to Bianca. "Where's he going?"

  She didn't answer, which as it turned out, wasn't such a big deal.. Because it took like five seconds for me to see exactly where Jake was headed. It wasn't far. But it wasn't good either.

  Chapter 54

  Almost before I could process what was happening, Jake was standing just inside Tank's private balcony.

  Oh my God. I whirled toward Bianca. "Don't tell me the fight's with Tank?"

  Bianca reached into her handbag and pulled a small, black electronic device. "Okay," she said.

  I gave her an exasperated look. "Okay what?"

  "Okay, I won't tell you."

  "Well that was helpful," I muttered as I turned back toward Tank's balcony. So far, things looked relatively friendly. In fact, Tank was smiling. That was a good sign, wasn't it? Maybe there wouldn't be a fight after all.

  Glass half-full, right?

  But then, Jake said something that I couldn’t quite make out. Tank's smile faltered. Around the table, the rest of his group became oddly still. The two guys exchanged a nervous look.

  Confused, I turned toward Bianca and felt my gaze narrow. She was holding that electronic thing up to her ear.

  "What's that?" I asked.

  She put a finger to her lips and whispered, "Audio."

  "Of what?"

  With a subtle motion, she pointed toward Tank's table.

  "So you can hear them?" I asked.

  She gave me an irritated look. "Not if you keep yammering."

  I leaned toward her and positioned my head close to hers. Sure enough, I could hear their voices loud and clear – louder, in fact, than when they'd been practically yelling earlier. Fearful of missing a single thing, I dragged my chair closer and squashed my head tight against Bianca's.

  She made a sound of annoyance. "Do you mind?"

  "No," I said. "Do you?"

  "You know what?" she said. "You two deserve each other."

  "Thanks." I said. "Now, be quiet. I want to hear this." I shifted my gaze toward Tank's table, listening as I watched.

  Jake gave Tank another friendly smile. "Oh c'mon," Jake said. "I'm your biggest fan. Be a sport, will ya?"

  For someone who was just complimented, Tank looked decidedly displeased. "Go fuck yourself," Tank said. "I'm not gonna sign your ass."

  I pulled away to give Bianca a questioning look.

  She waved me off with a quiet, "Shhh!"

  I lowered my voice to just a whisper. "But I didn't say anything."

  "Yeah, but you're distracting me," she hissed. "I'm trying to work here."

  Silently, I leaned my heard toward Bianca's and returned my gaze to Tank's table, where things were becoming more tense by the moment. Jake was grinning at the blonde who was still cozied up to Tank.

  "How about you?" Jake asked. "You wanna sign my ass?"

  She giggled. "But I don't have a pen."

  Tank turned to glare at
her.

  She bit her lip and cozied up tighter against him. In a move that looked way too practiced, she tossed a long, blonde strand over her shoulder. "It doesn't matter," she said in a voice that was hardly convincing, "because I've got all I need right here."

  Tank sat straighter in his seat. "Got that right."

  "Bummer," Jake said, turning to the brunette. "How about you? Are you getting everything you need?"

  At this, I felt a wave of conflicting emotions – confusion, amusement, and in spite of his earlier comments, maybe just a little jealousy. Was this why he didn't want me to watch?

  The brunette gazed up at Jake. "Aren't you that Jake guy?" she said. "I just love your videos." She gave him a sultry smile. "Hey, can I see your abs?"

  "I dunno," Jake said. "Can I see yours?"

  Suddenly, Tank slammed his fist down onto the table. Glassware rattled, and one of the girl's purses tumbled to the floor.

  Still seated, Tank glared up at Jake. "Mother fucker!" Tank said. "I don't care who you are. You think you're tough? You think you're funny? Well fuck you, you fuckin' fuck."

  Jake flashed the brunette a smile. "I guess he fuckin' told me."

  A snort of laughter escaped the brunette's lips.

  When Tank turned to glare at her, she clamped her lips shut and looked away.

  Seated across from Tank, the two other guys exchanged a nervous glance. One of them said to Tank, "Hey Tank, you, uh, want me to get rid of this guy?"

  Jake turned to give the guy a good, long look. "You can try," Jake said.

  The guy reached up to tug at his own collar. "I wasn't talking to you," the guy stammered. "I was, uh, talking to Tank."

  "Yeah?" Jake said. "Then you might want to use smaller words."

  At this, both girls burst into laughter.

  Tank jumped to his feet. With one sweeping motion, he upended the table, sending drinks flying toward the guys sitting opposite him. The guys scrambled backward amidst fallen chairs and tumbled glassware.

  On one guy's pants, I spotted a long wet streak that started just above his hip and ended near his right knee. The guy looked down at his pants, and then whirled toward Jake. "You asshole!" he said.

  "Me?" Jake said. "Not my fault you pissed yourself."

  With a sound that wasn't quite human, the guy started shoving his way forward.

  "Kip!" Tank said. "Sit the fuck down."

  Kip looked toward his chair, the only one that hadn't toppled over. "But—" He gave Tank a pleading look. "My chair's all wet."

  With one meaty hand, Tank reached across the upended table. He gave Kip a shove. Kip tumbled backward and landed wide of the chair. His ass hit the floor near a couple of fallen drink glasses lying amidst ice cubes and slices of lime. When the guy pushed himself back up, a giant wet spot covered most of his ass.

  "Shit!" the guy said. "My pants!"

  "Screw your pants," Tank said.

  "But they're dry-clean only," Kip said.

  "Shut up!" Tank roared. His nostrils were flaring, and his fists were clenched. Slowly, he turned toward Jake and said in a dangerously low voice, "Get the hell out of here."

  Jake held up both hands, palms out. "Hey, no problem, buddy."

  Through clenched teeth, Tank said, "Buddy?"

  "Buddy, Buckaroo, whatever. I'm going, alright?"

  Tank was practically quivering now. "You'd better."

  Jake flashed the girls a smile. "Hey, you girls wanna come with me?"

  "Mother fucker!" Tank roared, and then charged.

  I stifled a gasp.

  Tank was on Jake in an instant. With two meaty arms, Tank grabbed Jake and picked him up in a bear hug. He slammed Jake onto the floor and dove on top of him. Tank's fist flew back and slammed against Jake's face.

  "Oh my God," I breathed.

  Tank was going absolutely nuts. "Not so funny now, are you now, mother fucker?"

  On instinct, I pushed myself upward. Bianca grabbed my elbow.

  I yanked against her. "Let me go!"

  She gave my elbow a good, hard yank. "You go over there now," she hissed, "and you're gonna ruin everything. Remember, you promised."

  Frantically, I glanced toward Jake. A crowd of gawkers had formed between us, making it maddeningly hard to see what was going on. But what I did see was enough to scare me half to death. Jake was on the ground, and Tank was standing over him, with a foot on either side of Jake's waist. Tank leaned down and grabbed Jake's shirt. He yanked Jake upward until their faces were just inches from each other.

  Jake's face was bloody, but he was still grinning.

  Tank wasn't. "You think you're funny, mother fucker?" He gave Jake a hard shake and giant shove backward. Jake slammed against the rails behind him. He stumbled sideways, hit the ground, and rolled over onto his stomach.

  Watching, I jumped to my feet. Again, Bianca grabbed my elbow. "Wait," she said.

  "How long?" I said. "'Til he's dead?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Oh, he's gonna love hearing that." Her gaze shifted toward Jake. "Look," she said. "It's almost over."

  "What?" I said. "How do you know?"

  "Just watch," she said.

  Chapter 55

  Slowly, Jake got to his feet. His nose was bloodied, and his shirt was torn. He reached up to rub a streak of blood off his face. He wiped it onto the front of his shirt.

  Around him, the crowd grew quiet as if holding its combined breath.

  Was Jake okay? He looked okay. But was he really?

  No. Obviously, he wasn't. Because for some stupid reason, he gave Tank a cocky grin and said, "So that's a 'no' on the ass-signing?"

  With a roar of defiance, Tank lowered his head and charged. When he reached striking distance, he let loose with a wild punch. Faster than fast, Jake slapped it down with his left hand and struck out with his right, punching Tank in the jaw.

  Tank's head snapped backward, but he lurched forward for another wild swing. Jake bobbed his head to the left, and the punch went airborne, sending Tank stumbling off-balance. With guttural curse, Tank swung again. Dodging the blow, Jake turned sideways, striking out with a fast punch to Tank's stomach. Tank doubled over, stumbled backward a couple of steps, and then charged again.

  The scene was repeated over and over again as Tank charged, punched, missed, and took another blow – some to the stomach, some to his face, and even one to his forehead. The crowd was going crazy now, some yelling, some screaming, and some placing what I guessed were bets along the side.

  I looked around, spotting absolutely no sign of security. How was that even possible?

  Finally, Tank staggered backwards, stumbled, and then flopped face-up onto the floor. Grunting, he twisted himself onto his stomach and pushed himself up to his hands and knees. He turned toward his companions and groaned, "What are you waiting for? Get him!"

  His two friends exchanged glances, and then Kip plunged forward, heading straight for Jake. He'd gotten barely within arm's reach when Jake's fist shot out, catching the guy square on the chin. Kip staggered backward, tripped over a fallen chair, and crashed into a cocktail waitress holding a tray full of drinks.

  The tray tipped, sending glassware and liquid tumbling over the guy's shoulders. "Son-of-a-bitch!" Kip yelled, shoving at the surrounding crowd as he tried to pull himself back up.

  A few feet away, the second guy sprang forward. Within striking distance, he swung out with his right fist. Jake bobbed his head to the side and then reached out with both hands to grab the guy's shoulders. Jake pulled the guy toward him, kneed him in the gut, and sent him flying with a wicked upper-cut.

  A couple of feet from where the guy landed, Tank was shoving himself off the floor. He staggered to his feet, glared at the crowd, and zeroed in on Jake. With a low, growling noise, Tank moved toward him as the crowd went absolutely insane.

  Just then, two huge guys wearing black T-shirts muscled their way into the mix. They'd barely reached the middle when the crowd began to boo. And I knew exactly why. Se
curity. Or at least that's what it said on the backs of their shirts.

  "Show's over," one the security guys yelled. "Now move it. You're causing a fire hazard."

  Some unseen girl near the back started chanting, "Let them fight! Let them fight!"

  To me, the chant seemed pointless. I mean, the fight was mostly over anyway, wasn't it?

  Apparently, the crowd didn't see it that way, because soon, the call was taken up by the rest of the gawkers, and ended only when the security guys, one on each side, grabbed Jake by the elbows and started dragging him off to who-knows-where.

  Tank, his stance wide and his look defiant, called out, "You're just lucky they showed up when they did, asshole."

  I felt my gaze narrow. Where were they taking him? Without thinking, I made a move to follow. Bianca grabbed for my elbow. I shook off her grip and pushed away from the table. As they hustled Jake away to who-knows-where, I followed alongside them, trying to make them stop.

  Finally, we reached a large set of double-doors that led into a private hallway. Halfway down the hallway, I gave Jake a desperate look. "You need me to bail you out or something?" I asked.

  Before he could even begin to answer, I felt a hard yank on my elbow. I whirled to see Bianca, looking like a girl on a mission.

  "Sorry," she told the bouncers. "My friend has had an awful lot to drink. She doesn't know what she's doing."

  "I do too," I said.

  "No," she said through clenched teeth. "You don't." She leaned closer and gave my elbow another yank. "Now, come on!"

  I was getting a little tired of this whole yanking business. I whirled to face her. "Will you stop that?"

  "No, you stop it," she said.

  Fearful that Jake and his captors were getting away, I turned back, surprised to see that all three guys had stopped moving. The two bouncers, who'd looked so fierce just moments earlier, were grinning stupidly at us.

  "What?" I demanded.

  "Nothin'" one of them said.

  I glanced at Jake, and I swear I saw him smile.

  Something about this whole scene wasn't making any sense. "What's going on?" I asked.

  Jake scratched his chin. "They're waiting for the fight."