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The after-church crowd continues to grow, an endless stream of people passing through the front doors, and Danny is missing. He's supposed to be checking IDs at the door. I continue scanning for him, and spot him in the center of the lounge, breaking up two men arguing.
“We need more vodka,” Lara hollers at me from the other end of the bar.
I nod, trying to keep a safe distance between us. “I’ll go get it.”
My heart is still racing as I head down the hallway toward the liquor closet.
Why the hell does she make me feel like I can’t control myself around her? I grab a bottle of vodka from the liquor closet and take a deep breath, feeling overheated and dizzy.
Pausing in the hall, I lean against the wall and close my eyes. I should be helping Danny break up the commotion in the lounge. I should be mingling with the guests. I should be mixing their drinks. I should be getting this bottle of vodka. I should be doing a dozen things right now, but all I want to do is just stand here and have this moment alone to breathe.
A loudbangfrom the opposite end of the hallway interrupts my stolen moment of peace, and turning toward the sound, I see the fire escape door at the end of the hallway propped open. That door should never be open, except for emergencies. What the fuck? As I turn to investigate, the voice of a woman shouting from outside the door forces me to move. I quickly trot down the hallway, and when I reach the door, I push it open wide. Just as I step outside, a shriek draws my attention to the right side of the alleyway.
The man from the party who whistled at me for his drink has Maddie pinned against the brick wall of the building. Her arms are splayed out against the wall, and the man is pressing his groin against hers as he licks her neck. Maddie is screaming as she wriggles her body violently, attempting to break her arms free.
Lara
I may be imagining it, but things with Jamie are unusual. Tense today. His expression when I bumped into him sticks with me, and I can’t shake the way he stepped away, as if he didn’t want to be anywhere near me.
As I finish mixing a gin and tonic, I realize vodka isn’t the only thing we’re out of. We’re almost out of gin up here. I need to tell Jamie before he comes back… and maybe I can catch him alone for a minute to figure out what’s going on with him.
It’s probably all in my head. It is crazy in here, and with the guys arguing in the lounge, he’s probably flustered.
My heart races as I weave through the crowd and enter the back hallway. The door to the liquor closet is open, Jamie’s key still in the lock. What the hell? Where is he? Probably got distracted. I’m here, so I reach inside to hunt for the gin, when I hear shouts from the end of the hallway. What the fuck? The fire door to the alley is wide open, and something’s going on outside. Probably just a couple of overzealous church fanatics with a little too much Sunday celebration.
I continue searching for the gin and locate it nestled in behind a line of tequila bottles. As I pull out two bottles, a loud shriek comes from the alley. It’s a woman. Not good. I put the bottles back on the shelf and turn toward the door, and dash down the hallway.
I come to the door and peer around the door frame to locate the source of the commotion coming from the right.
Jamie is standing behind a man facing the wall, his hand clamped around the man’s shoulder. As Jamie spins the man around away from the wall, I see the woman slither out from between the man and the wall and run away down the alleyway. She’s a petite girl with large breasts and a lean build, and she’s wearing one of our waitress uniforms. I don’t recognize her, but the man is the same guy who ordered a gin and tonic at the bar ten minutes ago. Who is he? And who is that girl in our uniform? What the hell is going on?
Jamie grabs the man by his shirt and pulls, popping open the guy’s buttons.
“You do not put your hands on a woman when she says ‘no.’ Do you understand?”
The man throws up his hands in front of his glossed-over eyes as he waits for the punch to land on his face. I continue watching, out of sight behind the door frame.
“I said…Do you understand?” Jamie snaps. He grasps the man’s shirt tightly with one hand and draws back the other, preparing to punch him.
The drunk man nods. “Yeah, man, okay, okay. I’m sorry!”
“What are you NEVER going to do? EVER?” Jamie growls, twisting the man’s shirt collar as he pushes him backward against the wall.
“T-T-Touch… a girl… when she says…NO.”
“Now. Apologize.”
“I already said I’m sorry.”
“Tell her!” Jamie snaps, pointing at the small blonde. Her shoulders are trembling and her arms are crossed in front of her as she shuffles back toward Jamie and the man who attacked her.
“I’m sorry!”
“NomeansNO,motherfucker!” Jamie yanks the man off the wall, but as the man spins around, he throws a punch that crashes into Jamie’s cheek.
Oh, fuck.
Jamie stumbles backward from the blow and catches himself before he falls.
