On the Ropes

by Christa Cervone

  My curiosity gets the best of me so I step back outside to see who’s making such a scene. My mouth just about drops to the ground when I see Salem standing there, arms crossed against her chest, and seething in anger. She doesn’t look like her typical, glamorous self. There is no makeup on her face and her hair is up in a ponytail, even her clothing is toned down to sweats and sneakers.

  “Salem honey,” I interrupt her tirade, “what’s the matter?” After getting a closer look, I can tell she’s been crying because her eyes are bloodshot and puffy.

  “Oh great! Just what I need… you,” she sneers at me.

  “You know her?” the bouncer asks.

  Ignoring his question, I turn towards Salem, “Why you pissed at me?” I hold my hands up, “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Where the hell is he?”

  “Who are you looking for?” I play dumb.

  “Don’t give me that shit. You know exactly who I’m looking for!”

  “You do realize you’re making a huge scene in front of hundreds of people, right?”

  “Like I give a shit,” she yells, as she looks at the crowd that’s growing around us.

  I know the last thing she needs to see is Blaine and Sydney together. It seems like she already has her suspicions and proving them right will only make her angrier.

  “I haven’t seen Blaine tonight.”

  “Don’t lie to me. He said he was taking you out to celebrate. I was there, remember?” she shouts.

  “Yes, I do remember, but he texted me about an hour ago. He said he couldn’t make it, that something had come up. I assumed that something was you,” I lie again.

  “I don’t believe you,” she shrieks.

  I shoot the bouncer a look. He tilts his head in understanding and disappears behind the curtain.

  Doing my best to distract her, I offer, “Why don’t you let me take you home? You’re upset and you shouldn’t be driving.”

  “Ha! Nice try. This is just another one of your lame attempts to get in my pants.”

  The bouncer reappears nodding his head at me.

  “You wanna go in and take a look around, be my guest,” he says, holding the curtain open for her.

  “Gladly,” she huffs as she marches by him with her nose in the air.

  “Are you sure you wanna deal with her?” he asks me. “I can easily take care of her.”

  “Don’t worry about me, I can handle her. You found him right?”

  “All set. He’s nowhere to be found.”

  “I owe you, man,” I shake his hand.

  “Don’t mention it, brotha.”

  “I gotta go find her,” I push the curtain aside and make my way back into the club.

  The darkness of the club doesn’t help in my quest to locate her. The crowd has doubled in size since Adrian and I arrived. People are dancing all over the place, bodies grinding to the beat of the music, and I’m standing on my toes trying to see over the crowd. I know the bouncer said he’d taken care of Blaine, but I want to make sure they don’t mistakenly run into each other, especially if Sydney has reappeared. Salem doesn’t need to be hurt any more than she already is.

  When I finally find her, she’s standing at the bottom of the stairs near the VIP section, watching the sailor twins seductively dance with one another. Several cat calls come from the audience. The blonde takes her top off, exposing her large breasts and the red, white, and blue tassels covering her nipples. In one sweeping motion, she makes the tassels twirl in one direction and then the other. She stops her movements, turning to her partner and slowly untying the tie in-between the brunette’s breasts. Her actions are slow and exaggerated. The men in the crowd are going wild as she loosens one knot, then turns to the crowd.

  “Take it off, baby!” someone shouts.

  She moves her index finger back and forth while shaking her head.

  I finally catch up to Salem. “See… what did I tell you? He’s not here.”

  I watch the expression on her face change from anger to sadness. Her bottom lip begins to quiver and her beautiful blue eyes well up with tears. “Why does he always do this to me?” she cries, burying her face into my body.

  I’m stunned when she actually clings to me; gently, I run my hand up and down her back in an effort to comfort her. “It’s gonna be okay, Salem. Let me take you home now,” she nods her head, still not showing her face as I step away from her. Lifting her chin with my thumb and index finger, I give her a small smile. “Wait right here. I just need to tell Jimmy and my roommate I’m leaving,” my heart begins to race at our closeness. I want nothing more than to take her into my arms, kiss her tears away, and make all of her troubles disappear. What has gotten into me?

  “Don’t leave me,” she sniffles.

  “Aww sweetie, I’m not leaving you,” I gently touch her cheek, wiping her tears away with my thumb.

  “Can… can… I come with you?” she stammers, trying to hold back her tears.

  “Of course you can.” I take her by the hand and lead her to where Adrian, Jimmy, and Stephannie are sitting.

  Jimmy rises to his feet, his eyes growing wide when he realizes who is with me. “Hey guys. I’m sorry to bale on you, but I’m gonna take Salem home.”

  Jimmy looks confused. “Saint, can I talk to you for a second?” he pulls me away from Salem. She’s gripping my hand tightly, only letting it go when I become out of reach.

  “Dude, what the fuck!?” his eyes glance over at Salem.

  “Look, I can explain,” I look at Salem too; she’s trying to pull herself together, “but not right now. I promise, I’ll explain it all to you tomorrow. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

  His eyes say it all, he doesn’t believe one word I’m saying. “Did you plan all this?”

  “Plan what? To have Blaine cheat on his girlfriend, then have his girlfriend show up at the club where his mistress works? No Jimmy, I didn’t plan any of this. She just showed up, and I happened to hear all the commotion she was causing outside the club,” I’m trying to keep my voice down.

  “Okay, now that you say it out loud, it does sound pretty ridiculous,” he relents.

  “Believe me, if I really wanted to get into her pants, I could. I wouldn’t have to scheme.”

  “No doubt,” he still looks unsure of what I’ve told him. “Alright, be careful.”

  “Adrian. Adrian!” I say loudly, trying to get his attention away from the two sailors, who are now completely topless.

  He looks my way, annoyed. “Can I borrow your helmet?”

  “What?!” he lifts his hand to his ear.

  “Your helmet! Can… I… bor-row it?” I draw out my words.

  “Yeah, sure thing, it’s over there,” he points over to the corner.

  “Thanks. I’ll see you at home.”

  “Not if I can help it,” he smirks, his eyes not leaving the sailor twins.

  I grab our helmets and go back to Salem. “All set. Let’s get you home.”

  “You ride a motorcycle?”

  “Well, I certainly don’t ride around in a car with a helmet on my head,” I tease her, trying to make her laugh.

  A small smile begins to form at the corners of her mouth.

  “There’s that beautiful smile. I knew it was in there.”

  As Salem and I descend the steps from the VIP area, Kitten approaches us. “Leaving so soon?” she pouts. “I thought you and I were gonna get frisky tonight,” her eyes are filled with desire as she bats her fake eyelashes at me.

  “Sorry, babe. I’ve gotta take a friend home,” I glance over at Salem, where she’s waiting patiently for me.

  “Well, that’s too bad, Sugah,” Kitten purrs as she circles around me and grabs my crotch, “you and I could’ve had some fun.”

  I feel my cock getting hard as it pushes up against my zipper. “Maybe next time,” I whisper so that Salem can’t hear.

  “Next time,” she agrees, as she presses her body up against my back. I feel her hand slip int
o my pants pocket. “Meeoow… definitely, next time,” she whispers, gently biting my earlobe as she tightens her grip on my cock.

  “I gotta go,” I let out a heavy, staggered breath.

  “Bye, Sugah,” she gives me one last squeeze before she lets go.

  Taking Salem by the hand, I start leading her out of the club. But before I round the corner to exit, I look back over at Kitten. She blows me a kiss from across the room. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  “As long as we persevere and endure, we can get anything we want.”

  —Mike Tyson

  “Alright, here we are,” I announce, standing in front of my motorcycle.

  “I don’t see why we can’t take my car,” the fear in her voice is obvious as she stares at my bike.

  “We can’t take your car because I need to get home. You don’t want me driving your car home tonight, do you?”

  “I think I’m just going to call my friend, Daniela. She’ll come pick me up.”

  “Suit yourself.” I lean up against my bike.

  She searches through her purse for her phone. “Where the hell is it?” she sounds exasperated.

  “Where’s what?”

  “My stupid phone. I can’t find it,” she looks as if she’s going to start crying. “I really didn’t need this tonight. I have a huge exam coming up on Monday that I’ll probably fail now.” She suddenly dumps the contents of her purse onto the sidewalk.

  Holding my phone out to her, I offer, “You wanna use mine?”

  “Sure,” she mutters, taking the phone from my hand. But then, she just stands there staring at it.

  “Well, are you gonna call her or what?”

  “I can’t remember her freakin’ number,” tears begin to stream down her face.

  “If it’s that much of a big deal, we’ll take your car. I can drop it off to you in the morning.”

  “Really?” she sniffs back her tears as her big, baby blues lock onto mine. My stomach instantly does a somersault. What is it about her?

  “Yeah, come on.” I help her stuff her things back in her bag, then wrap my arm around her back to give her a soft hug. “Where’d you park?”

  Neither of us speaks as we walk to her car and I’m completely content with her curled up against me. Her breathing has returned to normal and she’s no longer gasping to catch her breath from crying.

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” she breaks our silence.

  “Do you want me to be mean to you?”

  She lets out a small laugh, “You know what I mean.”

  “Do you think I’d leave you stranded?”

  “Well, I haven’t been very nice to you. I just figure you’d rather hang out with your friends and celebrate your win.”

  “I can hang out with those guys anytime. Plus, I’d much rather chauffeur a pretty lady around.”

  “You can always come back after you drop me off, it’s still pretty early,” she suggests.

  “That is a possibility, but I’ll probably just go home. I’m pretty tired.”

  She comes to a standstill and begins rustling through her purse.

  “I can’t wait to drive this baby,” I raise my eyebrows at her as she hands me her keys.

  “You better go easy on her, she’s brand new,” she warns me.

  “She?” I laugh.

  “Yes, she.”

  “Did you name her too?” I’m doing my best not to burst out laughing.

  “No, I didn’t name her.”

  “Oh my God,” I’m trying to fit into the driver’s seat, but I’m practically eating my knees, “do you drive with your chest hitting the steering wheel?”

  “Hey, I can’t help that I’m short.”

  “You gotta be kidding me!”

  “What?” she asks.

  “You drive a standard?”

  “Yes. Why do you sound so surprised?”

  “I dunno, I guess I figured you’d drive an automatic like everyone else.”

  “No way,” she shakes her head. “Driving a standard makes you feel like you’re driving a race car,” her eyes light up.

  A big smile grows across my face at her excitement. “I’ve got the perfect name for her.”

  “Oh yeah… what?”

  “Cherry.”

  “Cherry? Because she’s red?”

  “No, because I’m gonna pop her cherry,” I throw the car into first and peel out of the parking spot.

  “Oh my God! We’re gonna die,” she yells, bracing herself. One hand is on the interior roof of the car while the other is gripping the handle on the door.

  “Hey, you’re the one who said the words ‘race car’,” I laugh. She looks terrified.

  We’re flying down the highway when Salem finally loosens her death grip on the door handle. “Do you have any idea where you’re going?” she turns her head in my direction.

  “Nope,” my eyes are on the road. I have no intentions of bringing her home right away; I want to learn more about her.

  “So, come on, where are you taking me?”

  “I really have no idea. I thought we could just drive for a while, unless you need to study?”

  “No, it’s not like I’m going to be able to concentrate anyways,” she silently looks out her window for a moment, then turns towards me, “So we’re just going to drive around?”

  “Yup. Don’t you ever get in your car and just drive?”

  “No. Why would I do that?”

  “To relax.”

  “Relax? If I want to relax, I’ll go to a spa.”

  I chuckle, “Well, that’s where you and I differ. I have no desire to have some dude give me a Swedish massage or a facial.”

  “The spa that I go to has only female masseuses.”

  “Oh really? Well then, maybe we should head to your spa. Do you think they’d give me a happy ending?”

  “Or you can just go back to Shikago’s and let ‘Hello Kitty’ finish what she started,” she responds coldly.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I had no idea she’d seen Kitten touching me.

  “Oh puh-leeze, I’m not blind. I saw her,” she looks at me with disgust.

  “Does it bother you that she was touching me?”

  “No. Why would it bother me? I have a boyf…” she stops suddenly.

  “Well, since you brought him up, why don’t you tell me what happened back there?”

  “There’s nothing to tell, really. We got into an argument on the way back to my place after the fight. Then we…” she pauses, smiling a little.

  “We what?” I ask impatiently.

  “We made up.”

  “Made up?” I look at her, puzzled.

  “Yeah, we… ah… you know…” she says bashfully.

  “Oh, you fucked him!”

  “Ugh. You’re such a Neanderthal,” she groans. “We made love.”

  “Call it what you want, doll. Make love, fuck, bumpin’ uglies, hide the salami, fornicating; it all means the same thing. So you fucked? I’m still not getting how you turned into stalker girlfriend at Shikago’s.”

  “First of all, I wasn’t ‘stalker girlfriend,’” she raises her index finger at me.

  “If you say so,” I bark with laughter.

  “If you’d let me finish my story,” she turns, giving me a look.

  “By all means, continue.”

  “He told me he wasn’t going to go out, that he’d rather stay home with me.”

  “Bullshiiiit!” I cough, covering my mouth.

  “Ha, ha, ha. You’re so funny,” she rolls her eyes at me.

  I can’t control my laughter at this point; I just love getting her going. “Okay, okay. I’m done. I’ll let you finish.”

  “Anyways, after we made love I went to take a shower. When I got out, he was gone. No note. No nothing.”

  “You’re fuckin’ kidding me.”

  “No! I’m not kidding. Now do you see why I’m so pissed?”

  “So he fucked and chucked you? Damn, that
’s pretty messed up, even to me. I would’ve at least waited until you fell asleep,” I try to make light of the situation.

  She turns her head to look out the window, and I hear her mutter, “Neanderthal.”

  “Would you stop calling me a Neanderthal?! I’m not the one who fucked and left you alone,” I say angrily. I’ve had enough of her calling me a Neanderthal. I’m the one who protected her ass when her dickhead boyfriend was doing “God knows what” with Mistress Sydney in the backroom.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take it out on you. You’re not the one I’m pissed at.”

  “So, does he do this to you often?”

  She winces at my words. I guess I just got my answer without her saying a word. She’s very quiet after that, just staring out the window as I drive, and the silence starts getting to me after a while.

  “Do you mind if I turn the radio on?” I ask.

  “No, go ahead,” she answers softly.

  I turn the radio on, pressing the buttons that she has pre-programmed. Button one, Lady Gaga is playing. I hit the next button, Justin Timberlake. Button number three, Katy Perry. “How can you listen to this shit?” I finally blurt out.

  “There’s nothing wrong with any of these songs,” she hisses at me while shooting a dirty look my way.

  “Where’s the Rock N’ Roll? Van Halen, Motley Crue, Metallica… anything?”

  “Really? You’ve got to be kidding me. No radio stations play that crap,” she shakes her head at me.

  “You wanna bet?” I look at her.

  “You’re joking,” she laughs.

  “No, I’m being totally serious. I’ll bet you dinner.”

  “Dinner?” she asks, cocking her head.

  “Yeah, dinner. You do eat, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I eat.”

  “Okay then, so if I find a rockin’ song playing on the radio right now, you have to go out to dinner with me.”

  “And if you don’t?”

  “Then this will be the last time you’ll ever have to spend any time with me and I’ll bring you home right now.”

  “Deal,” she holds her hand out and we shake on it.

  My hand hovers over the “Search” button on the radio. “Let me do it,” she insists, pushing my hand away, “you just concentrate on driving.”