The Gamble by Kristen Ashley
“Well then, what does shitfaced really mean?” I returned.
She considered this, head tipped to the side then grinned somewhat crookedly and proclaimed, “You got me there.”
“Ha!” I cried and she and I both laughed.
I was right when we left the pizza place. My Colorado adventure wasn’t turning out half bad and it was getting better.
The Dog was fun. It was well off the main drag out in the middle of nowhere. You had to know it was there to find it which meant it was almost entirely populated by locals.
And it was populated. Even for a Thursday it was busy, nearly jam-packed. The music was loud and the beer was cold. It was great.
Arlene, my taxi nemesis, had hit Mindy and my table around forty-five minutes after we arrived. She introduced herself and without invitation sat herself down at a stool at our small, high, round table. She was older than me I guessed by about fifteen years or so. She was short, very round but had the daintiest feet and hands I’d ever seen. She had close cropped hair that looked permed and it was colored a peculiar shade of peach that I thought was supposed to be strawberry blonde but missed the mark by quite a bit.
And she was hilarious.
“What other words do they have?” Mindy asked, leaning into me.
I was educating them on English English versus American English, I’d been doing this awhile and they thought it was fascinating.
“Um…” I mumbled, sucking back more beer, of which I’d lost count how many I’d had, I swallowed, dropped my hand with bottle to the table and stated, “Rubbish.”
“Trash, you said that one already,” Arlene told me.
“Bunged up!” I cried.
“What?” Mindy giggled.
“Means you have a stuffy nose.”
“Love it! Bunged up!” Arlene said on a near shout.
“They also say ‘head full of cold’ when you’ve got a cold,” I shared and then carried on. “Pants are underwear, trousers are pants. Vests are called waistcoats, tank tops are called vests and robes are called dressing gowns!”
“We speak the same language at all?” Arlene asked and I smiled at her.
“Not much,” I answered. “But it works anyway, though never, but never, tell someone you were rear-ended. Ever,” I advised. “They don’t say that but what they think when you say it is very rude because they aren’t thinking of cars at all.”
We all laughed uproariously as if this was the height of comedy.
“I like you,” Arlene declared, grinning broadly. “Never thought I’d say this in my lifetime but I may even like you better than I liked Anna and she was a hoot.”
“Anna?” I asked, wiping a tear of laughter from under my eye.
“Max’s wife,” Arlene replied.
I stopped laughing, her words hitting me like I was a cartoon character standing at the bottom of the cliff and the anvil fell on my head.
I didn’t get the chance to crawl out from under because, shockingly, Mindy was suddenly yanked violently from the table.
“Hey!” Arlene exclaimed, hopping off her stool and I turned.
A tall, good-looking, dark-haired boy-man with scarily bulging biceps that did not look attractively powerful, just scary, had his fingers wrapped tight around Mindy’s upper arm.
“Big, bad Max moved you out today, did he?” he sneered in Mindy’s face, giving her a shake.
I hopped off my stool too as Arlene rounded on Mindy and the man.
“Damon, leave her be,” Arlene ordered.
“Fuck off, Arlene,” he clipped at Arlene and her upper body drew back in visible affront.
“You eat with that mouth, Damon Matthews?” she demanded to know.
“This ain’t your business.”
“Well,” I got up close to them and declared quietly, “it’s mine.”
He swung to me and gave me a head to toe. “Yeah? Who’re you?”
“I’m Nina Sheridan,” I announced like I was saying, “I’m SuperGirl.”
Damon was not impressed. “So?”
“She’s Max’s woman,” Arlene proclaimed and this wasn’t taken favorably by Damon.
“Fuck,” he muttered low, his eyes narrow and not leaving me. “That asshole gets all the sweet pieces.”
“What’s going on?” Becca arrived before anyone could say word one to his rude comment and Damon swung to her.
“You fuck off too, bitch.”
“Did you call me a bitch?” Becca shrieked, instantly beside herself with fury and I got closer in an effort to defuse the situation.
“Listen, Damon –” I started but he jostled Mindy and began to move away.
“We gotta have words,” he told Mindy, ignoring me.
“Damon, I told you, we’re on a break for a week,” Mindy said softly, planting her feet, twisting her arm in his hold and he stopped and glared at her.
“Funny, you get nailed in Denver and we’re suddenly on a break.”
Mindy went solid, Becca went solid, Arlene went solid.
I, on the other hand, saw red for the third time in my life and moved.
“Take your hand off her,” I insisted, having got right in his face.
“Fuck off,” he bit out, right in mine.
“Take your hand off her!” I yelled.
He leaned into me and clipped, “Fuck… off.”
I got more in his face. “Take it off. Now!”
He took it off and shoved my shoulder, shouting back, “Bitch! Fuck! Off!”
I went back on a foot and, so furious at what he said to Mindy not thinking that, boy-man or not, he was bigger than me and his biceps were scary, I lifted both hands and pushed with all my might against his chest.
He went back two long paces and I shouted, “That’s it, asshole, move along!”
Without delay, he took two steps forward, his arm went across, down and then swung out and around, backhanding me viciously, his knuckles connecting with dazzling accuracy at my cheekbone.
I jerked to the side and bent double, my hand going to my face, my hair flying then settling around me, my eyes blinking away stars.
I was still blinking away stars when I heard Mindy cry, “Max!” and then Max’s gravelly, frighteningly furious voice order, “See to Nina.”
Then I straightened as I felt Arlene’s hands on me and I watched Max do with one hand what I had to do with two. He planted his palm in Damon’s chest and Damon went flying. Max stalked after him and did it again and Damon went flying again.
“This ain’t your business, Maxwell,” Damon snapped, trying to evade Max’s hand but, as if it was a magnet and Damon was steel, Max’s hand hit his chest again and Damon was propelled back, right toward the door.
“You okay?” Arlene asked me and all I could think to say was, “Max.”
“Come on!” Becca shouted, grabbed my hand and Mindy, Becca, Arlene and I rushed to the door Max hustled Damon out of.
We were followed by a slew of people.
I didn’t notice because the minute we hit the parking lot and shuffled between two cars to get to the open area I saw Max’s fist connect with Damon’s face and Damon went down to all fours.
“Enough?” Max asked calmly and Damon’s head twisted up to look at him.
Then he rose to his feet, lifted his fists and said what I was guessing were two of the very few words in his vocabulary, “Fuck you!”
He lunged forward swinging, Max ducked away but righted with a powerful upper cut to Damon’s ribs and Damon went back several paces.
Max followed him and landed two more blows, left then right, both to the ribs again then another one to the face and Damon went back down to his hands and knees.
“Enough?” Max repeated, towering over him.
Damon was coughing and he lifted one hand to his ribs then he pushed to his feet.
“Damon, boy, stay the fuck down,” a man urged.
“Come on, Maxwell,” Damon taunted stupidly, wriggling his fingers at Max.
“
“Fuck that,” Damon said and lunged again, lifting a fist too slowly, Max easily deflected it then landed quick blows to Damon’s belly, both of them causing Damon to expel painful-sounding “oofs”. Then Max caught him under the chin and Damon flew back and fell down to his behind.
“Stay down!” another man shouted.
“Enough?” Max asked, standing over him.
Damon kicked at Max’s feet but Max casually stepped away.
“Dick!” Damon spat, saliva flying from his mouth, blood dripping from his lip.
“I asked if you’ve had enough?” Max said to him.
“Enough of that twat, Mindy?” Damon sneered and Max’s body, loose for the fight, got tight.
“You’re the dick!” Becca yelled and I looked to my left to see Arlene and another lady had hold of her and she was straining to get at Damon. I looked to my right to see Mindy, pale and visibly heartbroken, staring at Damon and Max.
I moved to Mindy and put my arms around her, she instantly leaned into my body, wrapped her arms around me and put her head to my shoulder.
“You’ve had enough,” Max decided on a mutter, turned away, dismissing him and his eyes came to Mindy and me and even though I knew he wasn’t mad at me the look on his face still made me shiver. “Jeep,” he clipped.
I nodded. “I’ll run and get our purses.”
“I’ll get them for you,” another lady said and took off.
Damon pushed to his feet behind Max.
“Max, he’s up,” a man informed him and Max, now two feet away from Mindy and me, turned around.
“Come back tomorrow, asshole, get all her shit. Don’t want her back,” Damon said to Max, swiping at his lip with the back of his hand.
Mindy made a funny, sad noise and my arms got tighter.
“Her name’s only one on the lease, Damon, figure you should get your shit out. I’ll be there, you give me the keys,” Max called back.
“I ain’t fuckin’ movin’,” Damon returned.
“Then you get home from work tomorrow, your shit’ll be in the snow,” Max told him.
“Touch my shit, we got problems,” Damon threatened.
“We don’t already got problems?” Max asked the obvious.
Damon glared at him then made another threat, “This ain’t over.”
“Damon, be cool, stand down,” someone advised but Max, apparently, had had enough.
He walked back to Damon and Damon tried not to appear to cower and mostly succeeded since he didn’t retreat but he still looked a bit scared.
“You mistreated what amounts to my sister and backhanded my woman, how is it in that scenario that you’re put out?” Max asked quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Mindy and me ain’t none of your business,” Damon shot back.
“There isn’t a Mindy and you,” Max returned.
“Your woman put her hands on me,” Damon accused accurately but he was beginning to sound like he was whining.
“She’s wearin’ heels, boy, but she’s five foot seven, you got five inches and at least a hundred pounds on her,” Max replied and I figured he was being a might bit generous with the weight but I wasn’t going to correct him, mostly because he wasn’t done talking. “And, lastly, she’s a woman. You don’t ever strike a woman in anger.” Damon continued glaring and Max continued speaking. “I’m feelin’ generous since you’re bleedin’, so I’ll point out you should learn a lesson from this. A man hurts your woman, you take yours from that man. You never take it from your woman.” Damon just kept glaring at him so Max asked, “You got me?”
To which Damon muttered, “Just fuck off.”
Max’s back was to me so I couldn’t see his face but he didn’t speak and I suspected he was examining Damon to see if he was really that dumb. Deciding that Damon was indeed really that dumb, Max shook his head, turned and walked away.
“Here’s your bags.” The lady who ran to get them handed both to me.
“Thanks, um…?” I said, looking at her face.
“Jenna.”
“Thanks, Jenna,” I whispered, she nodded to me and I led Mindy to the Jeep.
The lights flashed as we walked to it and I knew Max was behind us. I helped her into the back, tossed our purses to the seat beside her, moved to the passenger side door and saw Max there.
“You okay?” I asked, looking at him but he didn’t answer.
His fingers and thumb caught my chin and he tipped my head up to look at me in the outside lights. His face, I noted, was no less scary and it got scarier when the entirety of it went hard and tight when he looked at my cheekbone.
“Max, I’m okay,” I whispered but I wasn’t. Now that the commotion was over, my cheek stung like crazy.
“Need to get ice on that soon’s we can,” he muttered.
“Mindy should stay at your place. That man is… I don’t trust him.” I was still whispering.
“Yeah.” He was still muttering. “She’ll stay with us. Get in, I’ll talk to Becca, I want her stayin’ somewhere else tonight too. I’ll be back.”
“Okay.”
He let my chin go and the backs of his fingers drifted along my jaw before he moved away and jogged to Becca.
I got in and turned to Mindy. “You’re staying at Max’s, okay, darling?”
“Yeah,” she said, looking out the window.
“Mindy, look at me, sweetheart.”
She didn’t look at me. “He hit you.”
“I’m okay.”
“He hit you. I saw it. Becca saw it. Max saw it. Everyone saw it.”
“Sweetheart, I’m okay.”HESHEHshehe
She started crying silently, I knew because her body was moving with her sobs and I crawled through the two front seats and got close beside her, pulling her into my arms.
Max got in and looked around his seat to us, his face, even in the shadows, I could see was still angry. Mindy didn’t lift her head or stop crying.
“I’m going to ride back here with Mindy, is that okay?”
His eyes went to Mindy in my arms, her face in my neck and he nodded.
“Buckle up, Duchess,” he said quietly.
I nodded back, buckled Mindy first, used the middle seat buckle for myself and held her shaking with tears frame all the way back to the Max’s house.
Chapter Six
Somethin’ Else
I was slightly jostled but I was comfortable, warm and mostly asleep so I didn’t let it bother me. I could also hear a tone which was familiar but I didn’t let that bother me either.
Then I heard a deep, gravelly voice quietly say, “Yeah?” but I didn’t let that bother me either.
I also listened when the voice went on, still quietly. “Yeah, she’s here but she’s sleepin’.” Pause. “Yeah, you want me to have her call you?” Pause while the sleep slid from me, it hit my consciousness that it was Max’s deep, gravelly voice, it was his bed and his body that were making me comfortable and warm and that the familiar tone was my mother’s ringtone.
Then my eyes flew open and I shot up to an elbow, my thigh still thrown over Max’s, my hand sliding up to his ribs when I pulled up.
Max’s clear gray eyes locked on me.
“She’s awake,” he spoke into my phone.
I started panting.
“Hang on,” he said to who I assumed was my mother then he held the phone to me. “You wanna talk to your Mom?”
I took my hand from his ribs and snatched my phone away. Then I sucked in breath and put it to my ear.
“Mom?”
There was silence on the line.
“Mom, you there?”
More nothing and then, “Neenee Bean, are you in bed with a man with an amazing voice?”
I closed my eyes tight then twisted, getting up on my bottom, my knees coming to my chest.
“Mom,” I said, opening my eyes.
“Holy cow, sweetie, holy… holy cow.”
“Mom, um…?
“I take it you made a decision about Niles without me,” she noted the obvious.
“Yes.”
“And, considering the situation as it seems, it was the right one.”
I closed my eyes again then opened them and said, “Mom, really, can we talk later?”
“He know about Niles?” she asked, indicating that she didn’t feel like talking later which was kind of her way.
“Who?”
“What’s-his-name who answered the phone.”
“Yes, he knows.”
“You work fast sweetie,” she remarked then asked, “What’s his name?”
I played dumb since Max wasn’t moving in order to give me privacy. “Who?”
Mom didn’t like me playing dumb, then again she never did so she nearly screeched, “The man who answered the phone!”
I started to throw back the covers and find my own privacy since Mom was in the mood to talk. But Max was of a different mind and his arm hooked around my waist before I could even get the covers back. Then I felt him at my back and his other arm went around my waist.
My neck twisted so I could give him a glare over my shoulder.
His response: he dropped his head and kissed my shoulder.
I pulled in breath.
“Nina!” Mom called.
“I’m here,” I replied, twisting back around.
“What’s his name?”
“Max,” I answered and felt Max’s arms get tight and his face went into my neck.
I put my hand over the phone, twisted my neck, his head came up and I snapped, “Will you stop? I’m talking to my Mom!”
He grinned and dropped his chin to my shoulder. I growled and turned away.
“…there?” Mom called in my ear.
“I’m here.”
“What’s going on? Are you okay”