Angel Girl

by Christine Michelle

  “Man, are you rusty, or what?” I taunted him some more.

  “Just caught off guard, won’t happen again, Slick.” Quick grumbled with a smile still on his face. The use of my old air hockey nickname brought an even bigger grin to my face. He started calling me that when we were kids, because I was the queen of sneaky trick shots he never saw coming.

  While my nickname was sort of complimentary, his was not. I laughed as I said, “okay Target, whatever you say.” He earned the moniker because I told him he made the perfect target. I focused on nailing him with the puck and the damn thing sailed home every time. He cackled at the use of his old nickname. Yes, cackled, like an old crone from just about any pre-nineties Halloween show. Of course, his cackle, and my amusement in response to it were my undoing. His next puck soared right passed me into the goal and I groaned just before he started his own version of a victory dance. We each had our own little style for the point-by-point victories, and something special for the winner at the end. Quickshot tucked his knees and waggled them back and forth like the pro football players sometimes do when they score. That motion came after him miming a sick jump shot. Yes, my dear friend liked to mix all the cliché sports victory dances in one to celebrate his glorious goals.

  “Suck it, Slick!” He called out while I laughed.

  “I have something she can suck,” some jackass called out. I ignored it and shoved the puck back into play. Quickshot and I traded scores and victory dances over the next 15 minutes too much hooting and applause from our audience each time. There were catcalls about how the victory dance, mine in particular, should involve stripping. The rest of the guys were all in agreement and I’m sure some of the women here would have been all over seeing the show Quickshot would have put on if he had to strip off too. Neither of us was willing to oblige though. Our air hockey challenges were sacred. We wouldn’t be tainting it with grown up bullshit. Plus, neither Quick nor I were interested in seeing the other nude. That hadn’t happened since we were young, and our parents thought it was adorable to bathe us together. That all changed the day I pulled on the worm between Quick’s legs to try to save him, only to hear him howl in pain. Yeah, that was a sufficient end to bath time shenanigans.

  “If I sink this one in I win, Slick!”

  “Well, Target, I wish you the best of luck,” I called to him as I tipped my head to Keys. Oh yeah, I wasn’t above using a little distraction to ensure the win. She took the hint and bent down next to the table seemingly examining something on the floor. While in that position her shirt billowed out a bit giving a glorious look at her apparently very enticing cleavage. Quickshot tapped the puck, barely getting the damn thing across the table, and I reached across, slapping it home before he knew he’d been had. Keys stood back up, giggling as I jumped up and down.

  “Wallace!” I yelled out to get his attention off of Keys’ tits.

  “What?” He called, snapping out of the boob coma as he saw the score displayed. The final score that gave me the win. “Ah, fuck, Slick! That was dirty.” Keys and I both doubled over laughing.

  “On your knees, Target!” I called out as I rounded the table to where he stood.

  “Fuck, really?” I could have sworn the tips of his ears grew red.

  “You betcha. Also, thanks for the twenty bucks.” I claimed my money and pointed to the floor. Quickshot got down on all fours and I mounted his back, held on to his shoulder for balance with one hand, and used my other hand to loop up above us in circles like a cowboy on a bucking bull. According to kid rules, he had to circle the table before this particular victory dance was finished.

  “I wouldn’t have made you do this part,” he groused.

  “Sure, pal. Whatever you say.” A little louder I whooped, “Giddy-up Quickshot! I have a victory lap to complete!” Then I grinned big as the guys lost it with ruckus laughter. “Who is the best damn air hockey player EVER?” I shouted.

  “You are,” he growled as he continued to move around the table.

  “I couldn’t hear you,” I teased.

  “You’re the winner, Slick. The best air hockey princess ever!”

  The guys closest to us who happened to overhear his admission doubled over in laughter. Roars of laughter alerted everyone else who hadn’t been paying attention before to our antics. “Hey, Quickshot, that’s not what we mean when we tell you about the bitches we had riding us!” Grim, one of the new local Aces High Enforcers called about above the uproarious din in the room, only inciting a fresh round of laughter.

  “I hate you right now.” Quickshot grumbled as he finally finished the lap around the table.

  When we made it back to our starting point I hopped off, slapping his ass with a loud pop as I did. “Come on, Quick, I’ll buy you a drink for being a good sport.” When I went to head towards the bar my father and Sweet were standing there with huge grins on their faces, having obviously enjoyed our performance. I smiled at my father and then turned back to see Quick was otherwise occupied being tormented by some of the guys. Keys came up by my side then, still laughing.

  “You two are hilarious. That was crazy fun.”

  I laughed with her. “Yeah, we had an amazing childhood together. Here,” I handed her one of the twenties. “You earned this.”

  She took the money and stuffed it into one of her impossibly tight pockets. “Thanks.” She grabbed her boobs. “Every time I think they’re a curse they go and prove me wrong again.” We both laughed at that.

  “You need someone to hold those for you?” Quickshot asked as he walked up, catching her gesture. “If so, I volunteer for duty.”

  “I just bet you do,” Keys flirted back, her cheeks pinking up again.

  “You owe me a drink, Jamie.” Quickshot stated without taking his eyes off of her.

  “Okay, well I’m about to pee my pants after that laugh riot, so point me to the little girl’s room and I’ll hook you up on my way back.”

  “Sure, back by the tables, there’s a women’s only bathroom. Can’t guarantee there’s actually only women in it though.”

  “Yeah, I know how it goes.” I smiled at Keys and Quick before about-facing and heading to the bathroom. I found it, did my business, and was washing my hands when I felt a presence behind me. I glanced up into the mirror to see Sweet’s woman – pretty sure my dad called her Alice – standing there sneering in my general direction. She could be pretty if she’d stop trying so hard to look like a biker bitch. It didn’t work well for her. I smirked at the thought of Sweet replacing me with this wanna-be.

  “He’s mine! Doesn’t matter what kind of history you think you had with him. We’ve been together for two years now. I practically live at his place.” I just stood smirking at the woman as she tried to plead her case to me as if I cared.

  “Oh yeah? So, how are you enjoying the move to Georgia?”

  Her confusion was evident. “What? I don’t live in Georgia, you stupid cunt. You know damn well we live in Cedar Falls.” The bathroom door had cracked open, but no one came in while I was talking to her.

  I sighed. “I’m the stupid cunt?” My mocking words were also lost on her.

  “Obviously,” she granted while rolling her big blue eyes.

  “Well honey, he lives here in Georgia now. This big ole party everyone’s attending is to welcome him in as the new Prez of the local chapter. Since you said you ‘practically live with him’ I figured you must have moved down here too.” As predicted, her blank face said she was having trouble grasping the concept. It was, in fact, something I had given thought to last night when I was mulling over my options. Sweet moved to take over the new chapter, and he didn’t bring anyone with him when he came to settle in. “He moved here, and left you behind. I get how that can be confusing. Here’s what you need to know though. What Sweet does is his own damn business. What I do is mine, and no two-bit club whore is going to walk in on me in a bathroom and think she can tell me how to run my life. If Sweet wants you here, he’ll let you stay. If he doe
sn’t, I imagine he’ll let you know what you can do with yourself. I could give a fuck either way, because that is most definitely his business to handle.

  “What I do give a fuck about is that you will stay the hell out of my presence no matter what he decides about you. This is your one and only warning. Approach me again, for any reason, and I will fucking end you. I don’t care whose girl you think you are.”

  She laughed. “Whatever bitch. You’re just mad because I had his cock in me last night while you were all alone with your group of dikes.”

  Okay, that was a punch to the gut finding out he was with her last night after all, but she would never see that anguish on my face. “You heard what I said. Stay the fuck away from me.”

  I turned to leave only to collide with a solid form. I didn’t miss how the whore blanched when she saw whom I walked into. “My cock most definitely didn’t go anywhere near your used up snatch last night, or any other time since well before the new year, Alice. I was done with you before I ever came down here. Had I not been done yet, you just sealed your own fate by pulling this bullshit. Worse, you came in here and threatened Aces High royalty.” The girl’s face went three shades whiter.

  “What?” She managed to gasp out.

  “You know Ghost?” Of course she nodded her head. “Mhmm, well, this is his daughter, Jamie.” She looked at my tank top that had my road name stitched into it just above the fox logo.

  I winked at her, and pointed to the name. “Road name. If you were a true biker bitch, that should have sunk in from the beginning. My birth name is Jamie Murdock. I wasn’t going to tattle on your bullshit, insecure stunt though. I can fight my own battles. Unfortunately for you, that’s out of the question now though.”

  “You should have been prepared to tell me or Ghost about this.” Sweet thought he was going to chastise me in front of his whore, apparently. “No matter though,” he turned it around when he got a good look at my face. He instead turned back to the woman who was looking a little green around the gills now. “You are hereby banned from this chapter of Aces High. I’m sure once I speak to Ghost that will be a complete ban from all chapters under the Aces High banner.”

  “What?” There were tears in her eyes now. “You can’t. After all we’ve been through? Sweet, we had two years together.”

  “You were one of the women I was fucking during that time, nothing more, Alice. You knew that. And don’t try to play like those two years were spent together in relationship bliss. You were a once in a while fuck when I was bored. Considering you weren’t the only one, that wasn’t all that often. You knew it then, and you sure as shit knew it when I put you in your place after that stunt yesterday. Now, get the fuck out!” He ended on a shout.

  “But how will I get home? Your Prospect brought me here.”

  “Guess you better figure that out for yourself. I certainly didn’t fucking bring you here. You came uninvited, unwanted, and with the intention of causing trouble. How you get back is not my fucking problem.” He’d been texting during the showdown and I knew whom the recipient must have been when a prospect showed up and asked what he could do.

  “Get her the fuck out of here. No special treatment. See her to the property line and see that she doesn’t make her way back here. Permanent ban.

  The prospect flinched at the words. Permanent bans weren’t something that happened often. “Sure thing, Sweet.” The prospect grabbed Alice by the arm and started pulling her along like an insolent child. “Get your hands off me!” She shouted at him.

  “Shut up,” the prospect warned. “Keep making a scene and a permanent ban may be changed to never seen or heard from again.”

  Sweet and I both knew the prospect was blowing smoke up her ass, but obviously she didn’t, and neither of us was willing to correct that belief. When they were finally gone, Sweet turned back to me.

  “So, you didn’t sound like you believed her.” It was both a question and a statement.

  “If you had someone who meant anything to you, no doubt, you would have brought them here with you before now. I don’t think she was even aware that you live here now.”

  The smile on his face was huge just then until he saw I still was not returning the gesture. “Jamie?” My name was a question on his lips, and apparently one he was afraid to put fully to words.

  I shook my head. “No. No explanations needed for me either. I understand what was going on with her, Sweet. I do. There’s still not really anything else to say right now.”

  Sweet’s face fell. “Jamie…” Hell, I could hear the break in his voice. “I thought we were headed in a good direction yesterday.” I said nothing so he continued. “Please, don’t do this again. I had no clue those morons would bring her down here. I haven’t been with her for a long while, and it was never more than just a casual hook up. You have to believe me.”

  “I do,” I said simply. “I also know your first inclination yesterday was not to push her away on my account. My dad says old habits are hard to break. I thought about that a lot yesterday, and figured he was right. Muscle memory is a bitch when you’re used to one thing happening and your body takes over before your brain can catch up. That was all well and good until I walked in here earlier with Quickshot to see the same woman massaging your shoulders by the bar. Maybe it’s habit, like my dad suggested.” I shrugged my shoulders, feigning indifference. “The fact of the matter is, you knew I was coming here today. If you seriously thought we were going somewhere with this thing between us, she wouldn’t even have still been on the property, let alone offering comfort with a public massage you certainly weren’t upset about receiving.” He cringed at my words, realizing how badly he’d fucked up, again.

  “I don’t want a puppy in my life I have to break in and re-train. I want the older dog that is smart enough to realize he needs the hand that feeds him. I want the one that’s loyal to the person who loves him, and respects how she will feel about another woman he’s been with hanging around and getting really friendly with his body for all to see. I have my own position within the MC world now, and being a woman already makes it that much harder for me to have a modicum of respect. How do you think it looks when you show your own crew that you respect me so little that you allow other women to climb all over you, kiss you, and rub you down in front of them while attempting to claim me in any way? It makes me look weak and unworthy. And it hurts too, but that’s my own cross to bear.” With that, I turned and left the bathroom. He didn’t come out after me, so I assumed he needed some time to digest.

  When I made my way back to the bar it did not escape my attention that Leanne seemed to be absolutely enthralled with whatever story my father was spinning. That charming bastard might just need a good warning off from me. I’d be damned if I sat back and watched him run through one of the best women I’ve ever known only to leave her high and dry and alone in the end. Nope, not going to happen. So, I sauntered right up beside them both and cleared my throat.

  “Jamie,” my father said while looking at me curiously. When I said nothing and continued to give him the eye he only smiled. “Did Sweet find you?” He finally asked.

  “Yup.” I answered and glanced very obviously between my father and Leanne while shaking my head, no. In response my dad’s smile only widened, but he persisted with the obvious conversation instead of the one we were having silently.

  “Did you guys talk it all out?” He asked as he glanced over my shoulder at something. Whatever he saw there had his smile slipping away.

  “Sure did. We’re on the same page now. Also, he banned his whore from the club for thinking it was cool to threaten me and lie to me while trying to stir up trouble.

  “If you got everything straight why does Sweet look like someone kicked his damn puppy?” The irony of that analogy was not lost on me in the moment.

  Shrugging my shoulders, I explained that I believed Sweet about the woman meaning nothing, but also that I wouldn’t be available to someone who cuddled up to “nothi
ng” while forgetting I was sitting less than six feet away. “Aw, Jamie,” my dad started in a disappointed tone.

  “No. I’ve been used, abused, and walked all over before. I won’t allow it to happen again. Not by anyone, no matter the history.”

  “Jamie?” Leanne called out to me with worry in her eyes. “Don’t project what those other assholes did to you onto someone else. I know we haven’t had a sit down chat yet about everything, but Tash has been filling me in. It doesn’t sound like this is the same thing. Maybe it’s time to take a leap of faith. If you fall, I’ll be here to help pick you up. So will all the other girls. But, Jamie, honey, if you keep on worrying that everyone will be like Mister Football you’re going to miss out on so much.”

  I felt the prickle in my eyes that signified hot tears were building up. “I know. This isn’t an easy month for me, you know that.” The anniversary of me losing my baby was actually the day I was torturing and killing Peety which is why that had been a sort of therapy. No one was responsible for my loss. It just happened, and that was probably the hardest pill to swallow. So, I’d made it Peety who was responsible and I took it out on him the other day.

  “Shit,” Leanne’s eyes went big. “Two days ago. I’m sorry, Jamie. I should have…”

  I stopped her apology. “No, I tried to be normal this year. It just… hell, it sucks.”

  “What exactly are we talking about?” My dad asked, concerned now.

  I couldn’t look him in the eye. “The baby I lost. The anniversary was a couple days ago.” My father paled visibly. Then, he jumped off the stool he’d been occupying, and pulled me into him. His warm embrace was going far towards helping me heal.