“Kylie.” It was a statement. The man glanced at Jerry then back at her.
“Hey, Marcus. You didn’t go away for the long weekend?”
“No. I thought for sure you were gone. You’re so popular.”
The way he was checking out Kylie was pissing Jerry way off.If he doesn’t move his eyes from her tits, I’m gonna smash his face in.He clenched his fists in anticipation.
“I had too much to do. You ready for finals?”
“You look pretty. You always look pretty.” Marcus licked his lips, blinking rapidly.
The fucker has a death wish.“Who the fuck are you?” Jerry sat up straighter in his chair.
The guy turned his head and looked Jerry in the eyes. “A friend of Kylie’s. Who are you?” He hissed out the last question, and Jerry began to rise from the table.
“Jerry, this is Marcus. I should’ve introduced you. We’re in the same political science class. Jerry’s my real good friend.” Pink flushed up her neck, making Jerry smile.
His smile turned to a sneer when he addressed Marcus. “She’s with me, and I don’t like guys coming up to the table chatting with her and checking her out. You get my drift?”
Marcus narrowed his eyes and a hard edge tinged his voice. “I don’t like guys who have more muscle than brains telling me who I can talk to. You getmydrift?”
For a split second, shock punched Jerry in the gut.The guydoeshave a death wish.Noticing Kylie’s tight face, he reacted before she could say anything to him. With one punch, Marcus went down with a thump and a loud groan, blood spilling from his mouth.
“What the fuck, Jerry?” Kylie asked in a hushed voice.
A man ran up to their table and looked down at Marcus who was lying flat on the floor. The fellow was in his thirties and wore a tie, so Jerry presumed he had to be the manager.
“What happened here?”
“He tried to grab her tits. I don’t go for that shit.”
Kylie jumped in. “He was bothering me, and he did accost me. If I were by myself, I would’ve been terrified.” Jerry smiled. She was a biker’s daughter; she knew loyalty always lay with the club.
Marcus stumbled to his feet and swayed a bit. “I didn’t do anything to her. I know her from school. This asshole got jealous and belted me.”
The manager looked between the three of them. “Well, sir, I have this man and woman corroborating each other and you don’t have anyone to back up what you’re saying.” He turned to Kylie. “Do you want to press charges?”
“Press charges? This is ludicrous!” Marcus removed the blood-stained napkin a patron had given him from the corner of his mouth. “I should be the one pressing charges against him.” He pointed to Jerry, who stared blankly at him.
“No, I don’t want to press charges. I just want to forget the whole thing,” Kylie said.
“Okay.” The manager looked at Marcus. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Marcus’s face turned dark red and he stared at Kylie. “You’ll be sorry for this.”
Loud enough for Marcus to hear, Jerry hissed, “Don’t fuckin’ threaten my girl. You don’t want me as an enemy.” He saw the guy’s eyes dart to the manager, but the man was already assuring patrons that everything was fine and everyone should go back to their tables. Marcus glowered at Jerry then walked toward the exit.
With the excitement over, diners went back to their own lives, and soon everything was as it had been before Jerry had decked Marcus. Looking at Kylie, he smiled broadly.
“I’m so glad you did that. I’ve been wanting to do it for the last few weeks.” She grinned at him and he laughed his ass off, causing a few patrons to glare at him.
“Who was that fucker?”
“Some guy who came up to me at the spring festival. I don’t know if you remember him—I barely do—but we were eating when he came up to me. Anyway, it turns out he’s in one of my classes, and he’s been creeping me out ever since. All he does is stare at me. He came to my room out of the blue, and he seems to always be lurking around. I think he wants to go out with me, but he rubs me the wrong way.”
Jerry could see the trepidation in her eyes as she talked about the jerk, and he didn’t like it one bit. He had half a mind to finish what he’d started, and he was pretty sure he would before he headed back to Pinewood Springs. No one messed with Kylie.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you anymore.” He reached over and grasped her hand.
