The Game

Let me respond to my reviews:

meadows-I guess Elton figures he can do what ever he wants. But, I promise, Col will get what's coming to him!

KPRESS-Keep reading, hon...it's gonna get wilder!

Yusari-The marriage clause just adds to the drama...it was necessary. Oh, by the by, I didn't do anything to BDSM Bill that he didn't ask for first.

SexySadie-Thank you...you're so sweet. But, who reminds you of your own true love?

Slick's is a figment of my imagination...I hope.
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I shook my head; “You’re gonna what?”

Elton grinned, “You heard me…I’m going to accept the marriage contract.”

I was so shocked that I chugged half of the contents from my beer bottle before I was able to speak again. “WHY?”

“Because I want to…I love you, remember?”

“You’re joking, right? Do you not remember the conversation we had earlier? Someone, who distinctively looks and acts like me, said that marriage wasn’t an option without love.”

“I love you, dummy. What more do we need?”

“Yeah but I’m not sure if I love you back.” I managed to say before we were interrupted. Mama-san brought us fresh beers and hauled off the empties. “Besides, we’re in America…they can’t do something like this without talking to us first. This is a joke, right?” I pleaded.

He stared; “You have no idea, do you? Haven’t you been back to see your parents lately?”

I drew circles on the table with the tip of my finger; “Umm…not recently, no, I haven’t.”

“Oh…shit, I’m handling this totally wrong. Look, do you remember what you said at school about our moms getting together and creating a contract? When you made that comment, I thought you knew and was just trying to play it off. I had no idea that you really didn’t know.” He reached over the table and captured the hand that had been dancing restlessly over the table. He rubbed it softly but it fluttered in his hand, like a bird that wanted to escape. I pulled my hand free.

“Look, let’s table this discussion for later. Way too much has happened and my mind needs a break. Do you want to go next door and shoot a couple of games of pool or cricket? I’ll buy the first round.”

Elton shook his head, “You’re doing it again, you know. Why do you change the subject when you get uncomfortable?”

I signaled for the check, “Ask me later…it’s a long story and I’m not in the mood to rehash bad memories.” Mama-san brought the check to the table and waited as Elton pulled his credit card from his wallet. She moved towards the register and we stood to follow her. Elton pulled a five from his wallet and dropped it on the table for the tip. We approached the register as she finished running his credit card and handed it to him. I smiled and bowed slightly before we walked out the door.

We went to Slick’s, the local bar hangout for those who were old enough to drink. Neil was at the door and waved us in without charging the cover. Neil was a friend that I helped out a long time ago when he had woman troubles. We used to work together as bouncers and it was then that I introduced him to Shannon; they were happily awaiting the arrival of their first baby. I went to the bar to order the beers and Elton moved to find an available pool table.

After a couple of games, Elton got tired of losing and suggested that we find an open dartboard. We plugged in enough quarters and got a game of cricket going. Elton won the first couple of games before I settled down enough to get serious.

I was on a roll; I managed to pull a hat trick and won a free beer from the bar. I stood at the line to make another shot; I was shoved from behind and the dart flew wildly off to the side. I turned to confront the person who shoved me: it was Col.

“Well, fucking well…what do we have here?” he sneered at me. He reached for me as he tripped over his feet; he was stinking drunk. I shoved him off me. “I thought I forbade you from going out with this loser,” he leered.

I sensed as Elton tensed from Col’s words but I gestured for him to let me handle it. “I thought I told you to leave me the hell alone. You hurt me when you said what you did today.”

“Aww…did your feelings get hurt?” he slurred as he tried to pull me into his arms. I shrugged his hands off my shoulders and tried to back away. “Don’t you pull away from me, you bitch! You’re just a fucking tease!” he shouted as he grabbed my shoulders roughly and forcefully pressed his lips against mine. He reeked of beer and cigarettes. I clamped my lips together as I attempted to stop the kiss from deepening. He bit my lower lip hard enough to draw blood and I gasped at the pain. He forced his tongue into my mouth and I gagged. I shoved Col hard and broke the kiss. I dragged my arm across my lips and turned my head to spit out the saliva he had left behind.

“You are fucking wasted, you ass! Just leave me the hell alone and maybe we can talk about it later when you’re sober.”

“No, we’ll talk now…let’s go. You’re coming with me.” He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and tried to drag me out of the bar. Elton tried to stop Col but was punched in the face for his efforts. I struggled to free myself from his grip. I pulled away from Col as hard as I could; I heard as the material of my shirt ripped apart. Col stared stupidly at the piece of material in his hand. He started to reach out for me once more and I drew a foot back and kicked him in the groin. He dropped to the floor. He curled up in the fetal position and tried to yell. I leaned over and dragged him off the floor by the collar of his shirt.

“You asshole! I thought you knew that I don’t like to be dragged around like an old blanket you plan to toss in the trash! How dare you treat me like that!” I screamed in his face as I swung my fist towards his chin. It connected hard and snapped his head back. I felt as my knuckles popped and the skin split wide open; blood slowly coursed down towards the back of my wrist. Someone grabbed me from behind and tried to spin me around. Without a backward glance, I kicked back and connected with a kneecap. The man who tried to grab me crashed to the floor and dragged me down with him. I landed on my belly and the stranger landed on my back and knocked the breath out of me.

I saw Elton’s feet as they moved towards me. The friend of the stranger who crushed me on the floor dropped him to his knees with another punch to the face. All hell broke loose and the bar erupted into a huge fight. The bartender yelled for us to knock it off and that he planned to call the cops. Neil tried to wade in and help but several large guys blocked his path. I managed to wiggle out from under the guy who had me pinned to the floor. As I dragged myself away from the group by my elbows, I felt a large hand grab me by the back of my jeans. I was heaved off the floor and slammed against the jukebox. I bit back a scream as pain flared hugely across my lower back. I managed to duck to one side as a fist flew towards my face and I ended up on the floor once more.

Neil finally managed to get to the spot on the floor where I lay and writhed in pain. He scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder. He shoved his way through the crowd and ended up close to the bar. The bartender grabbed me from Neil and gently placed me on the floor, behind the bar. I looked around the side of the bar and saw the parking lot had become awash with ruby and sapphire flashing lights. The door soon became crowded with uniformed officers. One by one, people who had been involved in the fight were taken outside. Some gave statements while others, many of whom had been in the center of the brawl, were led away in handcuffs. I cringed when I heard a familiar voice shout, “I don’t give a good God damn, Neil, where the hell is she?” Terrific…Johnny Boy.

I slowly turned and peeked over the top of the bar. Johnny Boy had always been an intimidating man. At six foot five and two hundred and seventy-five pounds, he was very hard to miss in a crowd. His cowboy, hell for leather attitude helped him with his law enforcement career but I would always remember the arrogant bully I truly knew him to be. We shared mutual friends, and enemies, that went to the same college I did. We dated for a year but it had been doomed for failure. He and I were too much alike in intellect and arrogance; our relationship was based purely on sex and domination. I was relieved when I found out he was messing around behind my back and had been able to end the relationship on terms I could deal with. It hurt me deeply but it was a necessary evil. He saw me and stalked towards the bar. I gingerly stood and faced him with silent defiance. He shook his head in anger and frustration.

“I thought I told you that your ass was going to jail the next time I found you in the middle of a ruckus. Why in the hell can’t you stay out of trouble?” I just glared at him. “I mean it…you tell me what the fuck happened or you will spend the night in a holding cell and the dykes in C block can pass you around for a pack a cigarettes.”

I snorted; “Oh give it a fucking rest. That shit didn’t get to me the last time you became ‘involved’ in an altercation I was in the middle of and it won’t work now.” I stared at him hotly and dared him to deny any of the words I had spoken. Our glares crashed against each other and everyone in the immediate vicinity felt the tension level increase. Neil moved towards me in a protective stance; I pushed him away. I did not need anyone getting between this angry cowboy cop and me. He grabbed me roughly by the arm and pulled me towards the door. I tried to pull away but stopped short when the pain flared in my back once more. He turned when I hesitated and he stopped. The expression on his face softened briefly as he noted the amount of pain I was in. He sighed and he dropped his hand from my arm. He gestured towards the door and we moved outside to his squad car. He opened the back door, helped me in and we drove to the police station.

When we arrived, he pulled me quickly past the booking area and away from the others who had been arrested. He led me to his office and slammed the door shut behind him. He kicked a chair in my general direction before he took his seat behind the desk. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He slid it across the desk and gestured for me to take a drink. I grabbed the bottle from the desk, spun off the cap and downed a healthy swallow. It burned a path of fire down my throat and heat exploded in my stomach. I put the cap back on and slammed it back on to the desktop. He reached across the desk and helped himself to a generous swallow as well.

“What happened tonight? Knowing you like I do, it must have been something, or someone, stupid. You ain’t leaving this office until you tell me what in the hell set you off.” He leaned back in his chair and took another pull off the bottle. He twisted the cap back on and dropped it back into the drawer. “You look like hell, woman. I imagine you want to go home to clean up and take something for your back. All you have to do is talk.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed; I had no other choice. I told him how I had started the night out with Elton and ended with my involvement in the fight. He shook his head in disgust. He picked up his phone and dialed the booking desk. When the officer at the other end picked up, Johnny asked a couple of questions, paused for an answer and he grunted his reply before he dropped the handset back on to the phone.

He spoke; “We have Col in the drunk tank so he can sober up. Are you going to press assault charges?”

I shook my head negatively; “No, I imagine the drunken and disorderly conduct should be enough…what are you planning to do with me?”

He opened his mouth to speak but the phone rang and interrupted his train of thought. He grabbed the phone and grunted a few times in response to the person on the other end. He hung up the phone and crossed his hands over his stomach as he leaned back into the chair. “When did you get engaged?”

I stared at him in confusion, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“There is a man at the front desk demanding to know where you are and he is identifying himself as your fiancé.”

I sighed once more and said, “Do you remember Elton? Our parents have drawn up a marriage contract but I’m not sure if I’m ready to accept it and settle down. Are we done here…can I go home now?” I asked as I stood. Johnny stood and walked around from the other side of the desk. He reached out and carefully grabbed the torn front of my shirt. He pulled the torn material together and dragged me into a kiss. I struggled briefly but it hurt too damn much; I gave up and allowed him to deepen the kiss but I refused to participate. After a few moments, he stopped, pulled back and stared at my face.

He shook his head ruefully before he said, “I am almost sorry that our relationship ended the way it did. Even when battered and bruised up, you’re still beautiful. I swear…I get hard when I just look at you. Do you want me to get rid of this Elton kid? It will only cost you one night of hot, rowdy sex; my style.”

I shook my head, “Uh-uh…sex your way involves leather, handcuffs and too much other twisted shit. Besides, my back is killing me and I’m not in the fucking mood.”

He laughed out loud as he turned me towards the door. He slammed his hand across my ass, hard, and my back flared up once more. I turned and snarled at him. He held his hands up in a defensive manner and said, “Yup…you’re still the toughest bitch I know. But, can I offer you some advice? Some men like their women soft, willing and open to any suggestion. Maybe, if you’d ease up and start acting like a real woman, you wouldn’t get into so much trouble. You don’t always have to act as if you have a chip on your shoulder and you dare any man to knock it off. Lighten up and start acting more…” he paused for the word.

“Start acting more what, you bastard?”

“Start acting more feminine…real men like it when women are amiable to their wants and needs.”

I turned back towards the door, “Get with the times…real women can take care of themselves without being pushovers. Guys like you want your woman to act two ways: a slave in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom. I’m nobody’s whore. You of all people should understand that.”

“Hey!” I turned back towards him. He had pulled his light windbreaker off the back of his chair and tossed it to me. “Put that on…I don’t want to hear that you got jumped because you were half naked.”

I shook my head but I took a moment to slip on the jacket. “Thanks…I’m leaving now.”

“Can I give you a little more advice? If you got something going on with this guy Col, deal with it now before it gets totally out of hand. And, if you’re serious about this Elton kid, get rid of the other garbage in your life. It’s already hard enough, being the person you are. The last thing you need is more trouble.”

I walked out of Johnny Boy’s office; I slammed the door behind me to show that I heard what he said but I did not have to like it. I slowly moved towards the front desk. Elton jumped off the bench he had been sitting on and moved to embrace me. I held up one hand to stop him; “Just take me home.”
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I'm not so hot at fight scenes...I don't remember much from my own personal experience.
Hang on and remember: you must be this tall to ride this ride.