Ink Pt. 01

I knew before it even started that it was going to be a horrible night. The only reason I was even invited to the bachelorette party was because I was the groom's sister. And as the designated driver for a party that had rented a limo? That was the title Ally had given me when I told her I didn't drink.

"Don't worry Rhett, you can be the DD!" she had giggled. Then we left in a limo, driven by an overweight man who looked like he was done with the world.

I wasn't trying to be a stick in the mud, but my big brothers soon to be bride was not my people. Her friends were not my people. They were the kind of girls who watched reality TV in a non-ironic way and never read a book, or anything at all unless it was a tabloid about the newest celebrity gossip. Their clothes all had brand names and their shoes cost as much as a house payment. I could not fathom that, not at all.

We started the night at a drag club, which actually wasn't that bad. Not until Ally happened. Everyone knows Ally. Not my future sister in law Ally, but a girl like her. We all know one. Beautiful, bigger than life, 1000 watt smile, always has to be the center of attention. The thing about girls like Ally and drag queens? They don't mix well. The queens are there, in their element, in their club, being who they were born to be, and along comes a loudmouth rich girl who thinks she can take the stage for the night. Not only were the queens not having it, their patrons weren't either.

We left there pretty quick once it was clear we were no longer welcome. That set the tone for the evening.

I already stood out. I was the only one not in a dress, not in pink and not wearing something dick related. No headband with lightup penis's, no penis tipped straw to drink out of, no blow up dick belted around my waist. The crude and crass toys got bigger as the evening wore on. Bar after bar, we were asked to leave when the drunk socialites got too rowdy and ridiculous, trying to dance on the bar and be 'common' as they called it.

I sat back and watched them, hating my brother for most of the night. Not a soul knew I was with them until I left with them when they were asked to leave. For that, I was thankful.

It was past midnight when Ally asked the driver to take them to the rowdiest bar he knew about. We had been to half a dozen of the more upscale places already and been kicked out of all of them. She wanted a place to let loose where no one would care.

At first he refused, then Ally handed him two $100 bills. So he drove us into another part of the city with fewer street lights and scarier looking businesses and people. The little bar he stopped in front of made me queasy. There were motorcycles out front and neon signs in the window that shouted the brand names of beers, but no signage about it being a bar or what it was called.

"Ally," I began, but she was drunk. She opened the door and whooped loudly, swinging her pink feather boa over her head like a lasso.

The driver put a hand on my arm. "It's ok. This place looks rough, but these bikers are almost all cops. She'll get her adventure with zero chance of real danger."

"Oh. Awesome, thanks."

"Sure. Good luck with her."

I followed Ally and the other girls in with a sigh.

The first thing I noticed was that it was a lot bigger than it looked. It looked like a hole in the wall next to a warehouse, but the warehouse was part of the bar. There were pool tables, dart boards, three separate bars, a stage with a band. It was huge and it was pretty full.

The bikers looked at our group warily and a little grumpily. A nuisance they were going to have to deal with. Ugh. I sat down at a small side booth to watch Ally and her friends parade around and get drinks. Be loud, get attention. Some of the men smiled and jollied them along, but most of them pretended they weren't there.

I looked down at my phone and sighed again. Less than 3% left on my battery. I had spent too much time reading on my app. I was going to have to sit this one out.

The girls ended at a pool table with a group of bikers 'teaching' them how to play pool. Teaching had a lot of touching involved.

I looked around the room and my eyes stopped on a man at the bar who was watching me. I felt myself blush and I looked away immediately, but then almost immediately glanced at him again and he was still staring.

The man wasn't my type, not even remotely. I had a type and it was a very narrow type. In highschool, my boyfriend and I had started as bitter rivals for the highest GPA. We turned into a thing and we were pretty happy. We had a lot in common, from books, to life goals, to where we wanted to live someday. He was also a youth pastor. We didn't share ideology, I was more of an agnostic, but I supported his goals completely. We had kissed and made out a lot, but never more. One night it almost went too far, we were pulled back from the brink by accident. My brother had come over late because he had been drinking and didn't want to drive home. My apartment was a few blocks from where he had been.

The next day, Brandt asked me to marry him, he was so eager. I had felt something was wrong though and it didn't take long to realize that it wasn't about love. He wanted to marry me so that it would be ok for us to have sex. We talked about it and decided that while we cared about each other and we had a lot in common, we shouldn't get married just so we could have sex. We would still date and see where it went, but it seemed like that had been some sort of roadblock. We stopped dating and a month after we made it official, he was engaged to a girl who had been considered promiscuous back in highschool. It had been a confusing time for me, but I got over him quickly.

In college I met another boy through mutual friends. He was easily the smartest boy I had ever met and we hit it off great. He had no religious ideologies but we never ended up in bed. We dated for a whole year before he decided he was going to do a European tour with a backpack before starting his life. We split up, saying if things were right, we'd find each other when he got back. A month later, I got an e-vite to his wedding in Barcelona, a girl named Viola.

Soon after that, I became a professor's assistant and as you can imagine, things went as you would expect. He was cute for an older guy, and not really much older than me. We had made out like highschoolers and I was about to go all the way with him. He was smart. Too smart for his own good. I would have never found out he was married if I hadn't accidentally run into them while meeting my father for drinks near the airport.

I didn't make a scene, just nodded at him, then introduced my father when he asked who I was staring at. Introduced him as my professor and the man I used to be an assistant to until I dropped the position to focus on labs. After that, I never went back to his class, just had a friend get my things. I didn't want a stupid excuse. He never tried to call or explain though.

Now I was single again, but I wasn't sweating it. I had a new job, I was doing well. My degree was already paying for itself. I was happy.

I didn't need some wannabe biker trying to come on to me on the most miserable night of my life.

I glanced up again and he was listening to the guy next to him talking.

He didn't look like a cop. Not at all. His hair was shoulder length and pulled back off his face, showing off the tattoos on his neck. Those weren't regulation. When he picked up his mug, I could see ink on his hands as well. Surely he couldn't be a cop? Maybe he was undercover? Why would he be here though?

He turned and looked at me again and I quickly looked away. I watched Ally and her friends getting groped by men who weren't even really even pretending to be teaching them to play pool anymore. I noticed as I looked around that there weren't very many women in the bar. The few I could see weren't hanging on men, or even with them romantically as far as I could see.

"Friends of yours?"

I jumped and turned, looking up at the man.

"Ummm..."

"They don't look much like friends of yours."

"Oh... no. Not so much."

I thought he was going to offer to buy me a drink, I was all ready with my response.

"Let's dance."

"I'm the DD, I'm not... oh... umm... no one is dancing? There is no dance floor?"

He laughed and took hold of my hand, pulling me up. He put his arms around me right there next to the table and swayed with the music. I craned my neck, looking up at him, embarrassed. "Family?" he asked quietly.

"Not yet. Soon."

"Thought so. Your brother make you come?"

"Step, yeah,Pretty much."

"You old enough to be in a bar?"

"Does it matter if I am the DD?"

"Not gonna kick you out, just asking."

"I'm old enough... just short."

"Those your step-brother's old clothes?"

"No!" I answered, horrified. Then thought about it. The flannel had been my step-brothers and it was way too big for me, but I loved it. The t-shirt had been my ex's. I felt my face heat and I went to pull away.

"Easy, I was just kidding around. Mostly. Mostly noticing that you don't fit in with that lot. What's your name?"

"I should go check on Ally," I mumbled, pulling away from him. I hurried to the pool table and glanced behind me. He was standing at my table with his head cocked, watching me.

"RHETT!" Ally squealed. "Oh, isn't she just cute enough to eat?" she said, hugging me close, then turning me to the man who had just been standing with his arms around her and kissing on her neck.

"She's a doll. Come on back over here babe. Let me show you how to sink one from the corner."

"Rhett, this is Lou. He's teaching me to play pool!"

"Lewis, babe. Come on. Hey kid, if you go to the bar, Mike'll get you a pop or somethin'."

"Ally, are you almost ready?" I asked softly, not liking Lewis at all. "Ben is probably hoping for a call, making sure you made it home safe."

"He's fine! I told him I wouldn't call him till tomorrow! Don't you want to come play pool with us?"

I looked around. Her friend Liz was sitting on the pool table next to this one, her legs wrapped around a man as they sucked face. Her friend Michaela was leaning against another man who was leaning on the wall with his arms around her. Bonnie was in a man's lap and it looked like she was sucking on his neck as he groped her generous breasts.

"Ummm, I think we should go. You are all pretty drunk and probably need to sleep it off."

"This kid is a complete fun killer, isn't she?" Lewis said sarcastically. "Why don't you go wait out in the car kid? Let her cut loose and have fun on her last night as a single woman?"

"That is an issue for me, seeing as she is marrying my brother. I mean it Ally, I am not going to sit here and watch you cheat on Ben with some loser. I will call him right now to come get me and let him see exactly what you are up to."

"What a cunt," Lewis said, putting his hands on Ally's shoulders.

Ally was scowling. "Are you really threatening me just because I am trying to have fun at my bachelorette party? Ben said you had a stick up your ass, but he didn't say how far up it went! Geez. You know what? Go for it. Call Ben to come get you! Come on girls we are going somewhere else! Not you Rhett, you can sit here and wait for Ben!"

"Seriously Ally?" I asked, exasperated.

She ignored me as she rounded up her coterie.

I went out to the limo, but Ally was right behind me. "I mean it! You call Ben and tattle when he comes and gets you!" she said, shoving me to the side so hard that I went down on the gravel.

They piled in the limo and I stood up and watched them pull away.

Fuck.

I reached for my phone, then realized I had left it sitting on the table. The man was at the door with his arms crossed and another man came storming out. "They didn't pay their tab!" he growled.

Just fucking great.

I went back in and handed him my credit card before going to get my phone.

"Need a ride?" the man asked.

I turned and looked up at him warily. "My brother can..."

The phone was dead.

FUCK!

"Umm."

"It's fine. I can give you a ride. Where do you live?"

"Off the plaza?"

"Fuck, that far?" he asked, but it was a teasing way.

"Umm. You don't have to. Maybe the guy at the bar will let me use his phone. I can call my ste-brother."

"It's no trouble. All I ask is to know your name? I mean, I heard the bitch call you Rhett, but that doesn't sound right?"

"It is. Her name is Ally. Allison. Umm, I am Margaret, but I go by Rhett."

"That's kind of cute. I'm Brock, but my brothers here call me Ink."

"Ink? For your tattoos?"

"Among other things. You want a ride?"

"Umm. I've never ridden on a bike?"

"I drove my truck," he grinned.

I stood there and tried to think for a moment. He was a cop. A good guy. I could trust him, right? I looked around and my eyes landed on the asshole who had been groping Ally. He was glaring at me. He didn't seem like a good guy to me.

"Umm... I think I will try my brother."

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug.

I went to the bar and added a large gratuity when he handed me my card and the bill. "Can I use your phone?" I asked hopefully after I handed it to him.

"Sure kid," he answered, then set his cell phone in front of me.

"Oh, I meant like the bar phone, like, the land line."

"That's all I got."

"Thanks," I managed and opened the keypad. I stared at it.

Fuck.

"Umm, actually, do you have a charger? I don't have his number memorized."

"Sure," he said and lifted the end of his charger, handing it to me.

I sighed and slumped. "Any chance you have one for apple?"

"Sorry kid," he shrugged.

Brock leaned on the bar next to me, looking down at me. "Plaza is a long walk," he said jovially, his eyes shining.

For some reason, after everything that had happened, his words, his tone, it hit me just exactly the wrong way. "I guess I better start then," I said angrily, then turned and went out the door.

I made it three blocks, hugging myself and shivering before an old truck pulled up next to me.

"Rhett? Hop in, I will take you home."

"I'm fine."

"This isn't a good neighborhood for you to be walking alone. And you are walking the wrong way."

"I am not!" I said angrily, but I looked around. Was I?

"Yeah, you are. City is back that way. It's cold and it's late and this is a bad neighborhood. Hop in. She's old but the heat still works."

"Do you have a charger?" I asked hopefully.

"Same one Mike had," he answered with a laugh.

"How do I know you aren't an asshole? Like Lewis?"

"No one is an asshole like Lewis, he has his own scale of assholeness."

I half smiled and looked around. The cold decided me. I climbed in. He turned the truck and started towards the city. "Thanks," I mumbled.

He shrugged. "That little temper, I almost let you walk. Couldn't let you though. Not in this place, not this cold, and not the wrong direction. Almost followed you from a distance though, just to see how long it would take you to realize."

"Sorry. Thanks again."

"So, Rhett, How old are you?"

"How old are you?"

"Thirty two. Why so defensive?"

"It's not a normal question. You wouldn't have asked Ally or any of them, you only asked me."

"They aren't under five feet and walking around in tomboy clothes like a ten year old."

"Is that why you asked me to dance? You some sort of pedo creep?" I asked, my anger rising again.

He barked a short laugh. "You do have a little temper, don't you? Mike wouldn't have let you in if you weren't of age and he can spot a fake ID a mile off. And you are adorable. And even your loose clothes can't hide those nice tits."

I turned to him, my mouth open in shock. "Rude!"

He shrugged. "May as well be honest, right?"

"Is that why you asked me to dance? To try and feel me up?"

He laughed again. "Naw. I asked you to dance because you were expecting me to ask you if you wanted a drink. It threw you off. Enough so that you never thought to say no."

"Is that a cop trick?"

"Cop trick?" he laughed. "Do I look like a cop to you?"

I felt fear spike through me. He wasn't a cop? I was letting some random guy give me a ride?

"That... wasn't a cop bar?"

He laughed again. "Mike is a retired cop, got out when he was given the choice to step down or be outed for being dirty. The rest of us? No. We aren't cops. None of us. Why would you think we were? Did any of us look like cops?"

"The driver said... he said it was a cop bar!"

"In that neighborhood? Really? I think he was fucking with your rude friends. Hoping they got taught a rough lesson. You can loosen up Rhett. You look terrified now. Just because I am an ironworker and not a cop doesn't mean I intend you any harm. Calm down. What do you do?"

"I am a financial advisor to businesses... " I answered warily. I was eyeing the door handle and calculating my chances of getting out of the truck at the speed we were going.

"That sounds... awful. Stuck at a desk all day? No thanks. Seriously Rhett, no one is going to hurt you. Calm down. Where at near the plaza?"

"The loft apartments off Gregory. Skyview."

"Nice neighborhood. Nice place. Loft huh, so you live alone?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I have a cat. He lives there, but he isn't really... a pet. I just feed him. I think he thinks he owns the place and I just come around to give him food. Like a servant. He came wandering on off the fire escape one day and just stayed."

"So why keep feeding him?"

"I kind of like having him there. And I leave the window open sometimes, he has never tried to leave. So I feed him and he does his thing, leaves me alone."

"I have dogs. Two pitties. Ricky and Lucy. Both blue pits."

"Like...pitbulls?"

"Yup."

"Aren't they... you know, like super mean?"

"Do not tell me you are one of those!"

"One of what?"

"Dogs are dogs. It's the people who are bad, or good. A dog trained to be bad will be bad. Pits are the sweetest, most loveable dogs in the world unless you train them to be bad. You want to talk about bad dispositions, get a chihuahua. Those little fuckers would destroy the world if they weren't the size of rats."

I found myself smiling despite myself. "The names are cute," I said, changing the subject."

"My parents' names. I know what people assume when they hear them, but really. They were my parents' names. I got them right after my folks both died. Helicopter crash. They were touring the ozarks on one of those bubble helicopters with four other tourists a few years back. Freak accident."

"Sorry."

He shrugged. "Wanna stop and get a bite? I could go for a 'moons over mihami'. My treat."

I half laughed. "Ok."

I sat across from him at the Denny's and looked him over again. It was lighter in there and easier to see details. His meticulously trimmed scruff meant to look like he didn't care, but he knew exactly how good it looked. His brown eyes that sparkled when he smiled. His black hair turned out to be brown and his dark tan turned out to be not very dark at all. It was just the way the shadows and dim bar lights had hit him. I also noticed a LOT more tattoos under his white button down shirt that was just a little too tight on him. Like he was showing off his well muscled chest.

He looked across at me and grinned again. "You aren't the usual type of girl I pick up."

"You pick up a lot of girls?" I asked.

He grinned again, knowing exactly how hot his smile was. No, I didn't like guys like him at all. "Yeah, but not usually from Mikes. I usually head to the city. One of the clubs."

"Find girls like Ally?"

"Oh hell no. No. My type is usually more working class, less real housewives. Less... whatever you are. What are you?"

"Boring. Tonight was the one and only night I would have ever been seen in a club or bar or whatever. Can't say as I have been missing much."