Long Blonde Hair, Sky Blue Eyes Pt. 09

"They went to the restroom a few minutes ago. Check there; it's down that hall on the right."

Abbie had walked up. She tried to start a conversation, but he turned his back and hurried toward the hallway. "That was rude!" she proclaimed, and Cassie suddenly caught on.

"KJ!" she called to her husband, who was in a group about ten feet away. He frowned and she loudly said, "Hallway to the restroom!" He nodded his understanding and started that way.

Erik saw the three men waiting outside the restroom, talking through the door they were trying to force open. His phone buzzed in his pocket; he figured it was Annika but couldn't stop to talk that close to the men. His pistol was in the hand behind his back when he loudly asked, "What are y'all doing?"

All three turned toward him, grinned, and Demon taunted, "Well, here's the lucky cuck! Let's take him with us and let him watch us teach these hot pussies what a great fuck feels like!"

All three grinned and took a menacing step toward him; they stopped short when the 9mm appeared in his hand. "I've got a better idea. Let's all walk down the hallway to the end and go down the stairs. Keep your hands above your shoulders and walk!"

Damon refused to turn around and struck a menacing pose, as if ready to attack. "Fuck you, cunt! You won't pull the trigger on unarmed men! I'm gonna fuck you up!"

He took a step toward Erik, who thumbed the safety to fire and replied, "Oh, you're carrying, the three of you are high on crack, and I'm sure the women in the locked restroom will testify you were threatening them, so I'll take my chance on the investigation. 'It was self-defense, sir; they were threatening my fiancée and her friend, and then they threatened me! I had no choice but to kill them - you see how big they are, and that one is named Demon because he's so mean, Sir!'"

Erik grinned. "So you have a choice, Demon: follow my directions, or come at me and die like a dog in this dirty hallway! After I expend the first five bullets on you, I'll use the other twelve to light up your butt buddies! Then I'm the only witness."

"Come on, Man, he's got the upper hand here. Let's get down to the street and work this out," Ron cajoled. Damon might have been sky high, but his brain momentarily kicked in; he turned and started down the hall muttering curses.

"Hands above your shoulders, or I shoot you in the spine and leave you a cripple, Asshole!" Damon's mutterings grew louder, but his hands appeared well above his shoulders.

"Stop at the door! Ron, open it, step outside into the street, and wait; then you, whoever you are, and then Damon the Debutante."

When all three were in the street, Erik circled around them until he was in the middle of the street facing them. He saw Damon's right hand was inching down toward the gun in his jacket pocket, and said, "Yeah, do it! Draw that gun, asshole. It'll look good in your cold, dead hands when the cops get here."

Damon muttered something, and the other two stepped sideways, spreading out to make it harder for him to shoot all three. The unknown man's hands started dropping too, and Erik laughed. "Y'all think this is some western movie and I'm holding a six shooter?"

Erik tightened his grip, and a red spot appeared on Damon's nose. Immediately, red spots appeared on each of the men. "Nah, I've got a seventeen-shot Sig, and my posse is behind me. So, you two go ahead and draw; this is one gunfight the bad guys aren't going to win!"

They stood facing each other for a few seconds before Ron said, "We're outnumbered and outgunned. Let's save it for another day." A voice behind them ordered, "On your faces, hands stretched above your heads." They complied, and a van drove out of the alley, followed by Ron's Escalade.

"You can go on inside now, Erik. We'll take it from here. Remember to check tomorrow's newscast; I suspect the Escalade that drove off the high causeway high bridge will be the lead story. Assuming they even find the car in the channel.

"Keep your hands above your head, but roll over, Assholes! We're gonna take your weapons for a few minutes, but don't worry; we'll return them later, so they'll be in your possession when they pull your bodies out of the water."

More figures in black appeared out of the darkness. Their weapons were pulled from their jackets, they were rolled back over, and their hands were zip tied behind their backs. When pulled to their feet, Damon started yelling for help, and got clubbed in the neck for his troubles. His unconscious body was drug into the van, the other two were tossed in, and the van and Escalade pulled away.

Erik holstered his weapon and quietly said, "A man can get shot hiding in a dark doorway." KJ stepped out the door and stood on the sidewalk.

"I knew you knew it was me following you, but that was so fuckin scary I almost pissed myself anyway! That's the security you talked about?"

A red dot appeared on his jacket above his heart, then disappeared; he snorted "Fuck!" "Yep, that's them. I told you they were good."

"So, do we stay up for the five am newscast?" KJ asked. "Not that it would be any loss."

"I guess that depends on Damon, but I'll get something from them before five, so we don't have to stay up."

"Damon the Debutante! I almost snorted at that. If he's still alive, I'll make sure that's his new handle around the league."

They sauntered back up the stairs and down the hallway. When they got to the main room, the murmur died down and everyone faced them. Annika broke loose from Hanna and ran into his arms, crying. "Are you alright?" she asked in a panicked voice.

"Sure; we just went outside for a breath of fresh air."

Johnny nodded toward Ro and Dave, who were smiling. Dave said, "When Annika and Hanna came in and told us about the three assholes threatening them and trying to break into the restroom before suddenly disappearing, Ro and I walked out on the balcony. While I'm sure you got some fresh air, it sure looked like you and your friends had a 'come to Jesus' meeting with the three before they got in Ron's Escalade and sped off, but we couldn't hear well and we were staying out of sight, so maybe we got it wrong."

"We might have mentioned that menacing women and threatening to kidnap them is against the law, and they should get off the island before the cops arrived, but, yeah, it was mostly the fresh sea breeze I needed a breath of."

"Right!" Ro smirked. "But don't ever ask me to go get a breath of fresh air with you!"

Erik shrugged his shoulders and said, "Don't be talking shit to women and trying to break down doors, and I'm sure that will never be an issue." He turned his head to the hosts and asked, "Kate, do you have another of those delicious stouts for me?"

She laughed and told him to follow her; she had a few cups left! The DJ turned the Cajun music on, and the excited chatter started up as he and Annika made a beer and punch run.

Amazingly, even after the adrenaline wore off, neither was overly distressed by the encounter, and Hanna said she was only relieved. Johnny remained concerned, but he hadn't been close to previous encounters, so this was new to him, and he kept thinking "What if?" The others knew from experience that was counterproductive and put if behind them with thanks that nothing egregious happened. Unless Damon, Ron, and unknown dude were pulled from the channel.

****

There was no mention on the morning news of a car wreck or bodies found, but Erik was almost sure there wouldn't be. The coffee with chicory was going to be an acquired taste, but the beignets made it palatable. They went for a walk along the seawall, visited the amusement pier and rode the rides that were open, walked further, ate lunch at Guido's, and returned to Miss Hattie for a nap before the Sunday Marti Gras Fiesta and parade.

Tonight's main event was a fire truck parade in memory of a firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty, followed by an umbrella parade that they joined when one of the Krewe opened a trunk full of brightly colored umbrellas. The 300-pound Polynesian offensive lineman carrying a rainbow umbrella while wearing a grass skirt and his football jersey easily won the 'Best Umbrella - Male' in the parade, and his extremely well-endowed wife won 'Best Umbrella - Female' for a purple/gold/green umbrella with fleur de lis on each panel, a grass skirt and bra top.

Kailani was quick to get out of her costume and into more appropriate attire for the 50-degree night, but Lilo partied on in his grass skirt. By previous agreement, the women all wore loose, bright midi- or maxiskirts and off-shoulder blouses with shawls. The men wore black jeans and shirts in carnival colors with colorful Brazilian Carnival hats.

Since it was Mardi Gras Fiesta, the entertainment was Tejano and Norteña, which the outlanders discovered is great dancing music. The outlander women adapted more quickly than the men to the accordion-driven songs, but Johnny, Erik, and KJ had their chances to show off, and they did. The Minnesota girls loved the music so much they decided there would be several songs mixed into the dance music at their wedding receptions, to which the grooms enthusiastically agreed.

To the relief of everyone in the Krewe, there was no high drama tonight. However, they still hadn't heard what became of Damon, Ron, and their running buddy, Q(winton), and the speculation passed for drama that night.

The increasing strength of the breeze, the declining temperatures, and wind chill in the 30s made for an early end to the fiesta fun. There were no parades or entertainment Monday, but the bars were all open and many had bands, so they planned to bar hop, dance, and have another early night to prepare for Fat Tuesday.

Since it was cold and windy, they took a drive along the Gulf shore Monday morning. They didn't take the ferry to the Point Bolivar lighthouse, but they drove as far north as possible on Galveston Island and then headed south along the seawall. When it ended, they took FM 3005 to Jamaica Beach and on to Surfside. The whitecaps were kicking up and the waves were unusually large with the offshore winds hitting 30 mph, but the beaches were typically Texas. Yellow beach sand and sand dunes, and relatively dirty water, compared to places like St. Johns.

But it was "the coast" and they loved it there because, from April to October, it provided a respite from the unyielding Texas heat.

Late seafood lunch at Casey's Seaside Café, an afternooner, a nap, and it was time to get dressed for the 'pub crawl.' No dress code or coordination tonight, so Annika had sent videos and petitioned Mr. Tom for designs for herself, Hanna, and Cassie. He happily complied, and they were, as Mr. Tom intended, 'daring.' So daring that Hanna was inclined to wear tights and a camisole under the dress, even though it was the least daring of the three. They talked her out of it, but she insisted on taking a sweater that didn't clash too badly in case she chickened out.

Cassie was plenty daring, and Mr. Tom must have sensed that because her dress didn't have a lot of material to it, and her shoes had six-inch heels. He knew Annika well enough to push her limits but not exceed them. She was used to modeling his creations, but this wasn't a photo shoot; this was a real life pub crawl, and she was concerned about Erik's reaction to having this much of her long, lean body exposed in public places, with friends and acquaintances.

She needn't have. He was agog at her appearance, as Johnny was with Hanna's. KJ went nuts when he saw his business suit-wearing wife, whistling and cheering and yelling, "Yes! That's what I've been talking about! If you've got it, flaunt it!"

Johnny, eyes locked on his fiancée, exclaimed, "What he said!" Hanna blushed but strutted defiantly as she approached. Erik thought, "She really is a babe!" and then focused on his own.

"Damn, Woman! You're as luscious as one of those dang models!" he bellowed with a straight face, and then grinned.

"It's not too much?" she asked as she reached him. "Hardly! If anything, I'd say it's too little!" he teased, "Now do one of those spins for me!"

She did, and as expected, her panties showed when the skirt flared. "Are you wearing purple bloomers under that tennis skirt? 'Cause everyone is going to get a good look at them tonight!"

"It's not a tennis skirt, it's a skater skirt, and, no, those are my panties. French bikini cut panties so my legs will look longer!" she laughed at her joke, and then asked, "What do you think about the top?"

He grasped her waist with both hands, fingers extended and barely touching the top of the hip-hugger skirt, and still didn't touch the elastic band of the 'top,' which ended just below her ribs. A good six inches of tiny waist and flat belly were exposed between the purple skirt and green and gold striped top.

The holes for her arms were so large she couldn't wear a bra without it showing, and then there was a slit down the back that exposed skin from the neck to the elastic 'waist band.' So no bra, which meant her pencil eraser nipples poked the silky material of the top. He shook his head and looked around; the other guys were giving similar examinations to their women.

Cassie was painted into a gold spandex dress that was daringly low cut in front and stopped about six inches below her panties, although Erik wasn't sure she was wearing any. Oh well - he, and everyone else, would know for sure when she sat down.

Hanna's minidress was held up by an elastic band just above her C-cup breasts, the mounds of which were pushed up by some kind of shelf bra. Most likely it was built in, since her darker nipples were showing through the bright gold-colored satin. The dress hugged her waist, round ass, and thighs, ending six inches above the knee and six inches below her thong, the elastic band of which showed though the clingy material. With the same four-inch heels Annika was wearing, she looked like the hottest teacher in the universe. Or maybe a porn star.

As far as Erik could see, Mr. Tom nailed all three; he vowed to send a video of them with thanks from their three men.

Johnny looked star-struck, and KJ was trying to persuade Cassie to stay home, which wasn't a bad idea. But then the party bus pulled up at the gate and honked. It was only a few blocks, but the Krewe had agreed to ride the bus, so they were.

"Ladies, do you have your purses and all?" Erik asked, and then asked KJ, "Did you bring three baseball bats? I'm afraid we're going to need them tonight!" Which turned out to be prophetic.

The reception given the three women when they got on the bus was a harbinger of what was to come, both in terms of wide-eyed, appreciative men and envious women. These were friends, though, so there were compliments rather than crude comments, and the women's envy was focused on where they got those dresses, even though the other wives were wearing designer clothing too.

The Strand bars were nice but crowded. Fortunately, Dave Parsons had arranged VIP service at the three main locations, so they had tables and a server. They did create a stir entering and traversing through the crowds to their reserved tables, but rarely would a person see thirty-two couples like these, so that wasn't surprising.

Their group didn't include all the celebrities in the bars, either. Other locals included retired pro wide receiver Dez Bryant and his stunning wife, who dropped by to chat, as did St. Louis Cardinal Mike Carpenter with his wife, Mackenzie. For Annika, and most of the other women, the highlight was being joined by Tina Knowles, fashion designer and owner of the Miss Tina and House of Deréon clothing lines. She was also well known as the mother of singers Solange and Beyoncé Knowles, fairly well known in their own right, so her celebrity far exceeded anyone in the Krewe.

None the less, she recognized Annika and came over to chat. She was quickly seated by Annika, they talked about Mr. Tom, and she insisted that Hanna and Cassie show her their dresses as well. That resulted in two women standing to show her they were wearing House of Deréon, and then the other wives showing off their dresses and naming their designers. Miss Tina wasn't the only interested onlooker for the fashion parade, and each drew cheers catcalls - none more than Annika, Hanna, and Cassie.

Most importantly, upon learning of Annika's plans, she enthusiastically volunteered to mentor Annika and share wisdom gained from her own experiences, in return for Annika modeling some of Tina's designs. Annika's night was already made, and they were only at the first bar!

It takes someone with brass balls to approach the hot women a table populated by huge, very fit men, but they encountered more than a few. Most had balls inflated by drink or drugs, but some were just ballsy. When the first Krewe member - in this case, Nancy - agreed, the flow picked up. Seeing Nancy dancing made the other women restless, so husbands and fiancés took their beauties to the floor and the tenor of the night changed from chatting to showing off on the dance floor.

When partner swapping started, it got even more exciting; dancing and being flirted with by other handsome partners seemed to stimulate the gorgeous women, even though proper etiquette was (largely) maintained.

Erik and Johnny had never been with a crowd composed of the rich and beautiful before, and they were also stimulated. Days later, in private, they would reminisce about the differences in size and mass of their partners, which ranged from bounteous and bodacious bodies to lean and trim, yet they were unanimously beautiful, personable, and graceful.

Hanna and Annika had the same private conversation; being held in the arms of "normal men" was a very different experience than dancing with the tall and muscular athletes of The Krewe. As Hanna put it, "In my mind I was completely devoted to Johnny and I had no intention of cheating, but my biology kept screaming that making a baby with this big, powerful stallion was a great idea! I see why pro athletes get so much pussy - if one of them had pulled me into a closet and said he was going to bend me over and fuck me, I'm not sure my body wouldn't have celebrated!"

Annika admitted that her body reacted the same way, which was probably a factor in her letting Javon, a safety for the Saints and one of two single members of the Krewe, go a little too far when they were dancing. He was a local who they hadn't gotten to know well because he hadn't been riding with them and hadn't come to the party at the Parsons.

Cher, his date, was a knockout from New Orleans and a member of the Saints Cheer Krewe, but she spent too much time demeaning the Galveston celebration in comparison to the 'real one' in NOLA, and she was getting on everyone's last nerve.

When Javon started asking others to dance, she picked married men and showed them some moves that looked more like simulation of intercourse than dancing. One of those was Erik, who had been having a great time in conversations with others around the table and was in a mellow mood after four mugs of Crawford Boch. Her 'twerking,' or whatever it was, had the opposite effect she wanted, and they only had one dance before he retreated to the table.

As with the other couples, he and Annika had been dancing with Krewe members, and he had also danced with Miss Tina, at her request, so Annika had no compunction about accepting Javon's invitation. He was an excellent fast dancer; one of the best she'd seen who wasn't a professional, and they danced three in a row. With her dance training and experience in nightclubs as an eligible and highly sought-after single model, she kept pace and even challenged his abilities.