"Okay, Rory," I said, with a sugary-sweet, fake smile. "It seems like I'm stuck here till you say what you need to say, so what can I do to help you?"
"I told her I was here with my girlfriend."
"And you need me to smile, and wave, and pretend to be that girl for a second? If it'll make you leave me alone, I'll do it." I looked around, trying to see if any sad girls were staring at us. He let go of my shoulder and wrapped a big arm around me, hefting me up against him.
He spoke close enough to my ear that I could feel his warm breath. "I don't need you to smile and wave," he said. "I need you to kiss me."
Right when the words sunk in, I turned and tried to squirm out of his arms, but he held me tightly.
"Fuckin' kiss me," he said, through stiff lips, as I resisted.
"Hell no," I said. I twisted out of his arms and ran off in the direction of the booth. I didn't even look back to see if he was following me or not. I didn't care. He wouldn't dare pull that shit in front of Addie and Drake, so I knew I'd be in the clear once I made it to the booth.
I rounded the corner to the private booth, assuming there'd be a ton of people sitting there just like when I left. I opened the door to look inside. There were couches lining three sides of the booth, and not a single person was sitting on any of them. I stared at the empty couches, feeling a bit confused before deciding to check the door to make sure I was in the right place.
I opened the door and looked on the outside to find the words Great White painted on it.
"Didn't anyone ever tell ye not to run from the pooka?"
It was Rory, and the sight of his massive form coming down the hallway startled me.
I gasped. "Huh? What?" I asked numbly.
"The pooka. Don't you know yer not supposed to run from him?"
I forced a laugh. "Who's that?" I asked.
"Me," he said, coming to stand in the doorway.
"No one's in there," I said, throwing a thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the booth.
"I know," he said.
"I was just headed back out to find Addie," I said, trying to get around him.
"Ye owe me a kiss first."
I huffed. "Oh please. You're little girlfriend can't see us back here, and also there's the little fact that, after all the things you said earlier, I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last guy on the face of the earth."
He smiled at me and used a fingertip to move a piece of hair that had fallen across my forehead. "Yer beautiful when yer angry."
I scoffed at him. "You're twisted. I'm not into dysfunction, nor am I into drama. Neither of them do it for me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back onto the dance floor to find Addie." I ducked around Rory and ran down the hall. He tried to reach out to stop me, but just then, a waitress came past us, and he relented.
It only took me a few minutes to find Addie and Drake on the dance floor. Tom and a few of the crew were standing near the edge of it watching the action. I decided to hang out with them for a few minutes since I didn't see Sean and I hated to be a third wheel with Addie and Drake on the dance floor.
I enjoyed a drink with Captain Tom and the boys before they decided to go back into the booth. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I was charmed by Tom Kelly, and could now see how Addie could get past the whole pirate thing with Drake. If I were twenty years older, I would have run off with Tom Kelly, gold tooth and all.
"Hey, Miss Megan, are you coming to the booth with us?" Tom asked.
"I don't think so," I said. "I see my friend over there. I'm gonna dance for a little bit."
"We'll keep an eye on you from up there," he said, gesturing to the booth, which overlooked the dance floor. He squeezed my arm sweetly. "You know where to find us if you need anything." He turned and followed the other guys to the hall that led to the booths, and I made my way through the packed club in Sean's direction.
I passed Addie and Drake, and smiled at how cute and happy she looked but kept walking. Sean and his friends had a table, and I sat at it for two songs while he danced with a girl named Viv from his office. I had another drink while I was there and was feeling really loose by the time Sean and Viv made it back.
"Heyyy!" I said.
"I see you met Nick and Noah," he said as they approached.
I stood so I could speak to Sean without yelling. "I'm ready to dance. Do you want to get back out there, or do you need a break?"
"I'm done," Viv said, moving to sit down in an unoccupied chair.
"I'm good. I don't get tired, girlfriend," Sean said smiling. He truly loved to dance and didn't care who he was with as long as he had a partner. The DJ was amazing, and it was impossible to stop moving once I got out there. Sean and I had been dancing for at least three or four songs—long enough for me to work up a little sweat, when the DJ's voice came over the mic announcing that there would be a freestyle rap contest in one hour, and that any rappers who wanted to participate needed to sign up.
The words freestyle rap contest had a place near and dear to my heart because I'd actually won one of those. It was the summer right after we graduated high school, right before Addie left for New York and my family moved to Miami. We were still living in Jensen, and there was a rap contest at one of the clubs there.
I wasn't a talented freestyle rapper, by any stretch of the imagination, but I knew about the contest a week in advance, so I wrote and memorized a rap that had lyrics like something I'd make up on the spot. I practiced it for a week, memorizing it forward and backward, and carefully planning delivery and choreography. Addie helped me with the whole scheme.
When the DJ paused to make that announcement, I took a break from dancing with Sean and went over to see what Addie was up to.
"Did you hear what that DJ said?" Addie said. Her eyes were wide with excitement.
I laughed. "About the rap contest? I know. I knew you'd get a kick out of that."
"You're doing it, right?"
I laughed, but Addie didn't.
"You're kidding, right?"
"No I'm not kidding. You should enter. I know you could win with that song from graduation. I know you remember it."
I laughed again, but stopped when I could see that she was totally freaking serious.
"Addie, that was like four years ago."
"Don't act like you don't still have it memorized. I still have all those Nelly songs memorized from middle school."
I definitely still had it memorized. I could easily recall every word.
"Even if I did have it memorized, that doesn't mean I would do it. That's mortifying. It's probably not even a cool song anymore."
"That is a big pile of malarkey. That song was the bomb—still is. And you'd look super hot up there doing it in that outfit. You would totally win."
I laughed. "I can't even believe you're serious right now, Addie."
"I can't even believe you're not going to do it," she said, exasperated. "Don't you want to win that contest? Don't you want a little taste of the glory?"
I cracked up. "You're hilarious."
"I'm signing you up."
"Don't."
"Don't what?" Drake asked, just tuning into the conversation.
"Megan's a very talented freestyle rapper, and she could win that contest he just announced," Addie said.
I gave Drake a pleading expression. "Can you please distract her until this contest is over?" I asked.
"Can you really rap?" he asked, smiling broadly. "I think you should do it. You'd have a cheering section."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I'm not a rapper. I just have one rap memorized."
"Yeah, but she's amazing at it, and it only takes one to win."
"What if he tries to make us have a tiebreaker or something?"
"He won't," Addie insisted. "He already said each rapper gets one minute and it's based on crowd response."
"That's not a selling point for me. Crowd response is a nightmare. What if nobody cheers?"
"They will. They'll clap o
n sheer merit of that dress, but I think you're forgetting how awesome you are at that rap. Pleeeease do it." Addie pulled on my arm. "Please!"
"She won't stop until she gets her way," I said to Drake.
He just closed his eyes and shook his head as if trying to deny Addie would just be a waste of my time.
I was secretly glad she begged me to do it because I didn't want it to seem like it was my idea, but truth was, there was a part of me that thought I could win that contest.
Chapter 3
I was excited about the rap contest at first, but the closer it got to time, the more I regretted saying I'd do it. We were supposed to meet by the DJ platform fifteen minutes before the contest, and by the time I went over there, I was giving some serious thought to backing out.
The club was packed, and I knew nobody would notice or care if one person scratched before the contest, but Addie was so excited about it that she took charge of seeing that I went over there. If it hadn't been for her, I would have no doubt backed out.
There were six other people in the contest. Five of them were black, and all of them were males, so needless to say, I stuck out like a sore thumb in the holding area. Some of them had already begun "warming up" by playing around and spouting off freestyle rhymes during the music that was playing.
They interacted with each other like they'd met before, and I just stood along the side with Addie, avoiding eye contact so they wouldn't invite me into their little jam session. If I used my one and only original rap during the warm-ups, I'd have to pull out of the contest for sure. Instead, I just stared at the tile floor and used the beat to go over the lyrics I had written years ago. I mouthed them, smiling at how easily I remembered.
"All right, do y'all have any requests for going in a certain order, or should we just draw straws?"
"I wanna go last!" about four people yelled at the same time.
I wasn't one of those people. I just kept my mouth shut and looked around to see what would happen.
"We'll have to draw straws then," the DJ said. "Except for the girl."
My eyes popped up to meet his and he smiled down at me, shrugging.
"There's got to be some perk to being the only girl, right?"
"Right," I said, smiling.
"I'll let you decide when you want to go and then make the rest of them go by alphabetical order or some shit."
"I'll go last then, I guess."
Really and truly I wanted to go first to get it over with, but I figured since so many of the others wanted to go last there must have surely been some sort of advantage.
"All right so Megan Richie goes last. The rest of y'all can go alphabetical by last name."
The DJ told us the contest would start after the next song and that he'd talk for a second between each person to introduce the next contestant. We were told to write down our name and where we were from, along with any other tidbit we wouldn't mind sharing as he introduced us.
For the contest in Jensen, I went by the name Meg E. Meg, but I felt too embarrassed to write that down this time, and just wrote my first and last name like a doofus, even though the rest of them probably had hardcore rap nicknames.
I couldn't let myself care about that. I was already in this thing, and had to do my best to stay positive. Addie left to go back to the booth where she could watch the contest with the rest of them, and I stayed behind the DJ platform with the other contestants.
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, listening to the first few contestants. The DJ had some cool beats, and I knew I wouldn't have a problem finding one that was the rhythm I needed for my rap.
The other contestants were all good. I could tell that at least a few of them had raps memorized like me, but there were a couple who truly seemed to be improvising, because they got tripped up, or missed a few beats while they were thinking about what they'd say next. I knew I was better than at least a few of them, and that was really all that mattered. All was well as long as I wasn't the worst, right?
Some of them rapped the full minute and were cut off by the DJ, while others finished well before the time ran out. The guy who went directly ahead of me was good. He left the platform to a loud round of applause, and I took a deep, calming breath, knowing I'd be going up there any second.
The DJ called me up, and I nervously ascended the stairs to his platform. There was enough room for me to stand comfortably behind the turntables, so I stopped and looked over at him. He smiled and gave me a mic before looking into the crowd with a big smile.
"Give it up for our last and by far hottest contestant, Miss Megan!"
The crowd cheered. Two sections were especially loud, and I knew the one to the right was Addie and her pirates in the booth and the one on the left, on the dance floor, was Sean and his group. I could clearly hear Sean's voice yell my name, and I smiled and waved into the crowd. It was really hard to see on account of the spotlight but everyone cheered at my gesture, which made me smile even brighter.
"Ain't she sweet?" the DJ said.
The crowd cheered again, and I just kept right on smiling uncontrollably.
"Thank you," I said, testing the mic for the first time.
"Get on out there," he said.
I looked at him like I didn't know what he was talking about and he gestured for me to go around to the front of the platform. I just assumed I was going to stand behind the turntables with him, but I hadn't seen what everyone else had done. I walked around the front of the turntables and stood on the front of the platform, totally exposed. My skirt was full and extremely short and I knew for a fact that people standing under me could see my drawers, but knowing how short my skirt was, I wore a pair of boy shorts on purpose. It was still a pretty revealing dress and I walked onto the front of the platform to tons of catcalls and whistles.
My little brother, Steven, who'd just turned 16, was a huge rap fan. When I say huge, I mean he spoke like a rapper in his every day life even though he was a skinny, white rich kid. Because of this, I'd been exposed to countless hours of street slang, and was confident I could replicate his swag.
"Y'all ready to do this?" I asked, into the mic, looking and acting as gangsta as I could.
The audience erupted when I spoke. Not because of what I said, but because of the way I said it. I channeled my little brother, and said it with all the attitude of someone who knew what they were doing up there. I was extremely nervous, and hoped against hope it didn't show.
The DJ started to play a beat, but it was wrong for my song, so I looked over my shoulder and shook my head, and he switched to another track. The second one didn't work either, so, not wanting to settle for something that didn't have the right feel, I shook my head again. The third track was the one, and I smiled at him and started bobbing to the beat.
The crowd cheered, and I used the first few measures to dance, pretending to think about what I was going to say. I held the microphone at the top like a real rapper and put it to my lips. The beat I chose was slightly slower than the one I'd used in the past, but I knew it would sound good.
The trick was to present it with as much attitude as I could muster up. I looked over at the ones who'd already taken their turns, who were now gathered on the side of the platform, watching me. I reminded myself that I had to make it stretch for a full minute, and not to rush the delivery.
"Here goes," I thought.
"Baby, I'm the realest,
I'm the one who came to kill it.
Dem otha dudes look like chop steak,
And I'm about to grill it.
I'm rhymin',
I'm shinin',
You lookin',
You crazy.
I'm workin',
And grinding,
Just like,
Patrick Swayze.
Go head,
You can watch me,
I'm up in the,
Spotlight.
I will not,
Sit down,
Yeah you know,
That it's my night.
My daddy,
He told me,
Girl you just,
Go get it.
Just hand me,
A mic,
And you know,
That I spit it.
Ya'll talkin',
Bout bitches,
Well guess what,
I am one.
How long can,
I rhyme,
Well you know,
I jus begun.
Yeah—
My,
Opposition,
Is pushin',
Up daisies.
My flow,
Is hypnotic,
No ifs ands,
Or maybes.
Just look,
How I go,
Yeah you know,
I'm outrageous.
I see y'all,
Heads bobbin',
I know,
I'm contagious."
I was quiet for a few beats, and danced a little bit, just as I had done the last time I performed the song. I was still out of my mind with nerves, but the crowd response gave me the confidence I needed to finish up. I continued moving to the beat, smiled, and lifted the mic to my mouth again, waiting for the right time to come in.
"I can rhyme,
I can shine,
It's my time,
Lookin' fly.
Bitch, you frontin',
Don't test me,
I'm outta my mind.
My haters,
Are flippin',
Cuz my flow's,
Like sex, y'all.
My rhymes,
Are so sick,
You gon need,
Pepto Bismal.
Sometimes,
When—"
I cut off when the buzzer went off, indicating my time was up, which was great because that was almost the end anyway.
The DJ instantly made a sad moaning sound into his mic, as if he was really disappointed that I had to quit.
"Awwww, I can't believe that shit just came out of this bitch, can y'all?"
The whole place cheered.
I heard my name coming from different directions, and I assumed it was Addie and Sean. I could barely see past the spotlights, and I squinted into them trying to see anyone I recognized, but had no luck. I glanced back at the DJ and gave him a smile before returning behind the turntables to stand beside him. I was still shaking with adrenaline as I walked.
Steal My Girl Page 2
