AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Closing our gap, she comes to view next to the blue railings—that is not the only thing I see.
A group of young guys appearing to be in their early twenties, start circling her, one by one.
The brown long-haired one in particular catches my attention. A lopsided grin plays on his face—and again that’s not the only thing boiling my blood—her half-eaten cotton candy is in his hand too.
I crack my neck, rotating my head sideways and charging in her direction.
“Not interested.”
“Are you hurt?” I whisper into her ear and rub her back as I make my appearance known.
“No, he simply thinks the sun shines from his ass,” she doesn’t bother covering her disdain toward him.
He flicks another piece of cotton candy, making a display. “You already thinking about my ass, pinky.”
“Get a grip. I’m not interested.” Lenny repeats the words I heard her say a minute ago.
He continues, “Let me spend an hour with you and we’ll see about that.”
I wonder if his conviction transforms in areas other than assaulting bystanders for fun. He should educate himself before he throws his garbage can of verbal fuckery into the air.
I’m starting to get pissed and I know the fucker is enjoying this way too much. “She said she’s not interested. I assume you’re not deaf, so move on.”
“What is it, bring your Daddy to supervise day?” The smugness is plastered all over his face. “Daddy, don’t worry, she even shared her candy with me.” Sharing, stealing I guess it’s all the same for uneducated kids. “Lend me your daughter for an hour, I’ll make it worthwhile.”
He’s bidding, like we’re in the middle of an auction and Lenny is the main prize.
I clench my fists at my sides, moving in front of Lenny to shield her from them, I don’t know if they have hidden weapons or not. There is no such thing too careful.
The triumphant grin crosses his clean-shaven cheeks as he winks at me, poking the bear from his dormant state, despite his dismissiveness which is infuriating on its own I remain calm.
He crossed a line.
He will not disrespect Lenny and treat her like an object.
I’m balanced around altercations like this, I’m focused.
At my age, I know the only solution without escalating things is to show the absence of fear on your face and ignore them. I don’t wanna be that guy who solves situations through violence. That’s not who I am. Unless they will come at me and force me to block and knock this motherfucker to the ground.
This is not how I want Lenny to remember this day. She will blame herself for it and that’s the last thing I want. It is not her fault jerks like him breathe the same air she does.
I swagger toward him, puffing my chest—my face is closer to his but my towering height gives me an intimidating advantage.
I grit my teeth.
And I don’t blink.
“Touch her or anything attached to her and you’ll get a touch of my fist. And I’m not someone you want to mess with, boy.” I look him dead in the eye for a long second before I grab Lenny’s hand and stomp to the stairs leading to the beach.
Bystanders pass us as I navigate us through the crowd. I’m on autopilot and I feel it blackening my vision.
She can handle herself. She did that on her own while I was gone. I fucking hated that predatory gaze that boy had on her. I know guys like him. That look is vile, bleak, and inhuman.
He would’ve hurt her one way or the other unless there was someone the size of me in his face. They are a crew. He’s the entertainer, the leader, the one making the shots. The others make sure to cage the victim in their circle like prey.
I was on time when I showed up; they hadn’t had the chance to form it yet. And being surrounded by dozens of people can also ruin a perfectly orchestrated plan.
“Dean,” her small voice calls me with an urgency.
