Chapter Eleven
Brick
The first fist whooshed through the air, no more than an inch from my nose.
It’s already crooked, asshole. Aim somewhere else.
By the time the guy came in for a second try, I was ready. I caught his fist between my hands, stopping him dead in the air, and shoved back with all my might.
I won’t lie, it felt pretty good to see him go tumbling. His eyes shot wide, his mouth dropped open, and his legs flailed in every direction like he was a cartoon character falling off a cliff. By the time he crashed into the table behind him, bottles flying, I was practically slapping my knee with laughter.
“All right, douchebag,” I growled, “time to go the fuck home.”
“You want me to call him a cab?” Lilith called out from behind the bar.
I studied his dazed expression, trying to piece together how drunk he was. Some guys only started fights when they were three sheets to the wind, but the real assholes could come out swinging before they even touched a beer.
Then he belched and looked like he was about to toss his lunch. “Yeah, tell them we got a sloppy one.”
I wasn’t even sure how the fight had started in the first place. He hit on a woman, she said no, he tried to hit on her again, and I stepped in. Was that all it took these days? A real man could hearnoand go on with his evening unfazed, but this prick in the backward baseball cap and torn jeans was falling short of that standard.
“What the fuck, dude,” he muttered, pulling himself to his feet. “I should pop you in the jaw for shoving me.”
“You want to try again?” I asked, crossing my arms and flexing my muscles. “I’m down for another round.”
I hated how true that was, but it was true. My adrenaline was soaring through the roof, and my muscles were all twitching to attention. Without glancing in the dingy mirror behind the bar, I knew what I must have looked like—veins throbbing, eyes full of fire, and a wicked grin on my face.
I looked like I was ready to beat someone’s ass.
Luckily, that guy’s friends pulled him to his feet and ushered him away before I had to deal with the situation anymore. Once they were out on the street, I checked in with the woman he had been bothering. I offered her a couple rounds on the bar and told her just to holler my name if anyone messed with her again, but she seemed pretty unfazed by it all. As soon as the song switched on the speakers, she was back to laughing about a camping trip with her friends, almost like the whole thing never happened.
It was part of the charm of the Steel Rose. The people who came here were damn difficult to rattle, which was great for a guy like me who kept rattling people, even when I didn’t mean to.
Lilith was already waiting with an open beer for me when I returned to the counter. “Nice catch, champ.”
I shook out my wrist as though I had just caught a baseball. “Thanks, Coach.”
She let out a low whistle. “You weren’t kidding when you said you could fight, though. I’m still trying to figure out how you dodged that first punch.”
“It’s all in the feet. No big deal, though. It’s not like that’s the first guy I’ve tossed out of here.”
“And you always look like you’re ready to wrestle a bear after, too.”
I chuckled, imagining the kinds of bears I would actually like to wrestle. “Is it that bad? I just switch into fight mode, and it takes me a while to calm down.”
She pointed down at my fist, the veins pumping on the side as I clenched it hard. “No shit. Did I ever tell you about the boxer I dated? It’s not the same kind of fighting, I know, but it sure was something to watch him wail on a punching bag.”
“I’ve known a few boxers. They were all dedicated to their sport, the kind of people who wake up at the crack of dawn to jog and hit the gym. Most of the guys who fight like me just learned through experience.”
“Sounds painful.”
I took a swig from the beer, then held the cool bottle against my neck. “It is.”
“My guy wasn’t so dedicated. I should have taken it as a sign. I get up early every morning and jog. I should be finding a guy who can keep up with me.”
“You wake up early and jog?”
She laughed, cocking her head back. “What’s so hard to believe about that? It’s the best way to beat a hangover.”
