A man stood over Suzy, invading her personal space as she backed away as far as possible without falling off the stool. He looked greasy with long straggly hair, a dirty top, stained pants, and covered in old faded tattoos. I’d seen the motherfucker here before and it never ended well. He always creeped woman out and someone always tossed him on his ass after he had one too many.
“Excuse me,” I said as I stood behind him and waited for him to turn his attention toward me.
“What?” he asked without turning around.
“The lady doesn’t want to talk to you.” I squeezed my hands into fists and tried to keep my temper down for Suzy’s sake.
“I didn’t ask your opinion.” Her eyes were wide and she slowly shook her head at me. I’m sure the anger was clearly evident on my face. I felt like I was breathing fire at this point.
“Get the fuck away from my girl or it won’t end well for you.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stood there, unmoving. If it weren’t for the Suzy I would’ve laid the motherfucker out by now, but she didn’t seem like the bar fight type of girl.
He squinted at her and looked pissed off, but what the fuck did I care? “I don’t see your name on her, dick.”
“What’s going on over here?” Bear said behind me as I grabbed the bastard by the collar getting ready to pound his fucking face into a bloody mess.
“This asshole is bothering my girl. I think he needs to be taught a lesson.” I tightened my grip on the material that hung from his body.
I could see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. I knew Bear would seal the deal and the fucker would move on without me having to punch his fucking lights out. “Sorry, guys. You should be more careful about leaving your property unattended. Next time it may not be here when you get back. Would be a shame for something to happen to this beautiful creature.” The fucking bastard smirked.
My fist landed against his face before I realized what I’d done. The fucker deserved far worse than a punch to his jaw. He was a sleazy ass motherfucker bothering someone that obviously didn’t want to be touched. “Get the fuck out of here! Now!” I yelled as he lay on the floor holding his jaw.
“Let’s go, asshat. Time for you to leave.” Bear picked him up and pulled him towards the door with his feet dragging across the wood planks. “Don’t fucking show your face in here again if you know what’s good for you.”
I shook my hand as pain shot through my fingers. I knew I’d feel that punch for a couple of days, but it was worth it to lay that scumbag out and get him away from Suzy. “Are you okay?” I asked her as I flexed my fingers but studied her face.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for saving me, again.” She smiled at me and looked at my hand. Her smile faded as she saw the way I moved my fingers. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, bastard had a boney ass jaw is all,” I said shaking out the last pain in my knuckles.
She reached out and held my hand. “Sandy, can we get some ice over here?” she asked over her shoulder as she stroked my fingers and rubbed my knuckles with her soft, warm hands. I wanted to close my eyes and relish in the feel of her skin against mine. I wanted to touch her. I ached to kiss her, but this wasn’t the place.
“Really, that’s not necessary. I just want to make sure you’re okay, Suzy.” I didn’t stop her from touching me. I could feel the heat from her skin even after her fingers had moved onto another part of my hand. My hands always hurt from working for hours on designs, so the fist to the jaw didn’t help them feel any better. I touched her cheek with my free hand and she moved into my touch and searched for the contact. “You are okay, right?”
“Yeah, that guy was creepy, but he didn’t hurt me. Thank you for coming back when you did.”
“Sorry, I should’ve paid attention and shouldn’t have left you. I didn’t offend you with being possessive and calling you my girl? ”
“Oh, no. I’ve never had anyone say that about me, ever.” Her lips turned down as she concentrated on my hands. How could no one ever call her ‘my girl’?
“Hey,” I held her chin and forced her to look at me. “Every girl should hear those words in her lifetime.” I didn’t smile, I wanted her to know I was dead serious.
“Yeah, well, I haven’t.” She let go of my hand and turned away from me, pulling out of my grip.
I don’t think I ever used those words when speaking of a woman except Joni. A sharp pain hit me square in the chest as I thought of my ex, the only woman I ever loved. I had a reaction to Suzy like I did when I met Joni and seeing another man bothering her made me see red. I wanted to protect her unlike I had with Joni. I cleared my throat and shook my head trying to rid myself of my lost love. “Well, it’s not too late for it to happen. I didn’t think I’d be sitting in a bar tonight talking to such a beautiful woman, but here I am. Your story has yet to be written.”