I jump up on the hood, careful not to do any real damage.
“Here’s how this is going to go, buttercup. You are going to get in this truck that screams that you have a small penis, and you are going to leave this bar. If you don’t, I’m going to take my time busting out all of your windows. And if you think I’m kidding,please I beg you to ask anyone here who knows me. I think they’ll all be more than glad to tell you just how crazy I really fucking am.”
He stares at me for a moment, and I think he’s going to have something smart to say, but instead, he pulls his keys out of his pocket and says, “Okay, okay. I’m going.”
I turn my attention to the guy he was about to throw hands with. “Anything from you?”
All he does is shake his head.
I jump down off the hood and walk back inside with all the onlookers following me. These people should all know better. My mother normally runs this place, and she doesn’t take any of that shit.
And she wonders where I get my crazy from.
***
“Honey, I’m home!” I call, walking through Beau’s front door.
It’s so late I figured he’d be asleep, but when I texted him to tell him I was closing up, he sent me a thumbs up, so I assume he’s still awake.
Walking into the den, I find him sitting in the dark, playing on his phone.
“Hey, you,” I greet. “Man, you would not believe the night I had.”
“I saw the night you had.”
“What?” I ask, flipping on a light.
“Jamie got a video of you breaking up a fight and then threatening to bust out some windshields.”
“Jamie was there? It was so busy I didn’t even see him.” I walk closer to him, and I see the stressed out look on his face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Jo, did we not just talk about you being more careful?”
“What do you mean? I wasn’t in danger or anything.”
“Really? You getting in between two guys who were ready to start swinging wasn’t putting yourself in danger? What if one of them wanted to teach you a lesson, and they followed you to your car when you got off?”
“I don’t know,” I stammer. “I would have handled it.”
“Jo, I get it. You’re a badass, but do you really think you could have taken on two full grown men like that?”
“There’s a baseball bat behind the bar and a gun back in the safe,” I say.
“Really? Are you just going to carry them with you all the time?” He questions.
“Beau, where is this coming from? You know who I am. You know that I am not one to back down from a fight.”
“I’m not asking you to back down, but maybe don’t go barreling in head first either.”
I feel all of my defenses start to rise. “I don’t need you to protect me,” I tell him. “I’m a big girl. I’ve been doing it on my own for many years. I can handle myself.”
“From what you’ve told me–or not told me–it seems like maybe there were some things you couldn’t handle yourself.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” I tell him. “Nothing happened. I’m here. Safe and sound.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then, what’s the point?” I’m basically shouting now.
