Quite the College Career Pt. 04

The crowd cheers. Brendan gives a little wave. Wes hands him a box. Within the box are small, incredibly stupid, trophies Alex and I came up with for the costume contest winners. The winning band gets a cash prize and a meeting with the record company. Maybe next year we'll have something better.

The first two categories were no-brainers for the two us. "And the winner of the funniest costume is... the chick magnet!" Some applause as the guy comes up, magnet still entrenched around his shoulders, and grabs the trophy. Him and Brendan pose for a picture, no idea who the hell is taking it.

"Well done, well done," I say, clearing my throat. "And for the most creative... the half-man, half-woman!" Far louder cheers this time, as the most technically impressive of the costumes wins this one. If we had an overall winner this one deserves it, let's be real. They pose for a picture with Brendan, and he gives their hand an extra shake. I'm sure he's impressed as any of us. Now to the tough one. Alex and I had a fierce debate over this one, because some of these girls went above and beyond anything we could have cooked up in our wildest dreams. But for us, it came down to who surprised us the most, who really put themselves on the line and put on the sexiest display.

And for me, there's a pretty good heap of guilt mixed in, not that I let Alex know that.

"And the winner of the sexiest costume... the Kinky Cats!"

The loudest cheers of all, and who could blame them? Let's be real, any of our top three (the Cats, Alice, Harley #5) could have won and I think we would not receive much in the way of complaint. The three girls come on to the stage, taking their time as they walk to Brendan. They drape themselves all over him for the picture. Brendan, ever the professional, keeps his face the same as he did for each other winner, even when the masked girl gives him a quick peck on the cheek as they walk away with their trophy.

"And now, the moment we've all been waiting for..." I open up the slip of paper. I'm so sure it's Kate's Cross, so sure that everyone was as blown away by them as I was, that it takes me a moment to realize their name's not written on the paper. I glance at it, do a double-take, and try to recover into the mic to keep anyone from hearing my confusion or dismay. "Spiderflame!"

Alex jerks his head, looks at me, stunned. There's applause from the crowd, restrained, except for a few large whoops from the back. The band jumps onto the stage and crowds around Brendan, grinning. The applause continues, abated to my ears, until the band leaves the stage. Brendan grabs the mic from the back of the stage and nods at Alex, who raises the volume, gives Brendan a thumbs up.

"Alright everyone, can't thank you enough for coming out tonight. It was a hell of a show, can we have another round of applause to all the performers and everyone who put on a costume for our enjoyment?" Lots of applause, whoops and cheers. "Alright," Brendan continues, "Party's not done yet! We got some of the best food trucks in town right outside with heaters to keep you warm in line, we got music and drinks in here! Thank you for coming to the Nipley!"

He screams the name into the mic, the people cheer in response. Alex turns the music back up, as close to club music as Brendan would allow played in his establishment. With the stage clear, the packed crowd begins to disperse some, lots of people moving outside to grab some food or head out. Plenty remain before the stage, turning it into a dance floor. Alex and I lean back in our seats.

"What the fuck man, I thought the girls had it," Alex says. I shake my head. "Same bro. What the fuck."

Wes and Drew, no longer needed at the stage, make their way back towards the bar. I wave them over to the sound booth.

"You guys alright?" I yell over the music. They look beat, but they each nod.

"Haven't worked a crowd like that in a long time," says Wes. "Don't know if this place would survive another costume contest."

"And we had our backs turned the whole damned time, missed the show!" Drew yells. "Tell me you boys filmed it at least." He stares in disgust at the blank looks on mine and Alex's face. "Fuck you guys, I need a smoke." He heads to the front door. Wes laughs.

"Forget about him, he'll be fine in about five minutes. Just needs to get laid." He stretches. "Gonna check in with Brendan back at the bar. You boys keep holding it down out here." He walks off, and I glance at Alex.

"You alright?" I ask. His face his downcast, eyebrows knit together. "Just really thought the girls had it man." He glances towards the stage. "Haven't seen them come out of the green room yet. Mind if I head back there?" I shake my head.

"Try not to hook up with Lisa this time." He gives a half-hearted smile at my half-hearted joke, leaves the sound booth. I glance around the Nipley. See some of the girls from the costume contest scattered about. Harley #5, cloak back on, is dancing with Harley #2 (...maybe #3). The Naughty Nurse is talking to a guy and looking extremely put out. And then, just a few feet from the booth, Jasmine and Alice are chatting. They somehow look even better up close, out of the blazing stage lights.

In a moment, I see I am not the only one who thinks so.

2 guys sidle up to them, pretty big, pretty drunk. Could still be in college, maybe a little older. They attempt to strike up a conversation with the girls. Alice and Jasmine are polite, but not encouraging. I can't hear what they're saying over the music, but the body language is pretty clear. I glance back to them over the next few moments while I continue to scan the rest of the floor, make sure everyone is more or less behaving themselves. Look back to Alice and Jasmine. They look past the point of politeness, and much closer to annoyance. Neither guy seems to be catching the hint. One of the drapes his arm over Jasmine's shoulders. She ducks out from under his arm with a strained grimace. The rebuke cuts through the guy's drunkenness, and a flicker of something ugly crosses his face. His buddy, unaware of what's going between him and Jasmine, focuses on Alice. When she partially turns from him, he seizes his opportunity and gropes her ass. She screams and jumps away from him.

Now, in this instance, I recall Brendan's speech on security, for what it was. Bouncing 101. "Boys, you're not the biggest guys I've ever seen, but you look like you can handle yourselves, which is 90% of the battle. Our crowds are pretty chill, but should we need to get someone out of here, I will stand by your judgement every time. Try not to get physical, try to talk them down. Let them know if they leave peacefully they're good, if they keep it up they're never coming back. Watch for sucker punches or their buddies trying to sneak up on you. Just about every time, whatever's going on will pass without incident. They'll chill out and go to the bar, or they'll leave. If you have to throw them out, flag me down and I'll back you up. You boys know what a full nelson is?"

See, I never found out, because at that moment Sue called Brendan over and we never got the rest of the speech. If I'm being honest, I have never been in a real fight in my life. Played plenty of sports and got in a few little tussles, but nothing real. Now I'm seeing Alice stare at one guy in shock, Jasmine looking at the other in fear. They're backed up against the wall and have no easy way out. Shit. I look over to the bar, Wes, Sue, and Brendan are dealing with a crowd 3-deep at the bar, and I can't catch their eye. Shit.

Just then, Jasmine looks at me, catches my eye. Makes a silent plea. Shit.

Before I know what I'm going to do or going to say, I'm between the girls and the guys.

"That's enough boys, alright?" I say, with a calm I don't feel. "Everyone's having a good night. Don't fuck it up."

"Only one who's fucking anything up right now is you, bitch," the angrier-looking of the two, the one dealing with Jasmine, says. "Fuck off."

"I've been watching from the booth, and the ladies behind seem to be uninterested. Leave them alone."

"What, you her boyfriend?" The second guy says. I feel a flare of annoyance.

"I work here dumbass! If these girls don't want you groping them, then back the fuck off."

"This bitch came on the stage without panties and pulled some dude's hand to her ass, and you're talking like she doesn't want it?" Says the second guy, incredulous. "Fuck you bitch, and get the fuck out of my way."

I brace myself. "If she wants it, she doesn't want it from you. You two are done, get the fuck out.' The first guy laughs. Puts his drink down on a nearby table. Folds his arms. He has at least 40 pounds on me. "Make me. Cunt." His buddy laughs, starts to pull out his phone.

With a deep breath, I get in the first guy's face. "Get out. We fight? It does-" He pushes me. Hard. I stumble back, one of the girls yelps. I feel one of their hands on my back. This big-ass smug motherfucker has this grin on his face, the grin of every douchebag who has come before him and will follow him, and I'm not in the mood for it. I also suck at fighting. Couldn't tell you the right way to throw a punch if you paid me.

So, I tackle the guy.

He's surprised. The grin disappears the moment before I make contact. With form that would make my high school coach proud, I lower my shoulder, wrap up, and drive the prick into the ground. He runs into some tables and chairs on the way down, and the resultant clatter is quite audible over driving the music. The people closest to us scream. The other dumbass with the phone is yelling "Oh shit! Oh shit!" as we tussle on the floor. I'm not even hitting the guy, I'm just trying to keep him from clobbering me until my backup arrives. It will arrive, right?

The guy has the weight advantage, and having lost the advantage of surprise he's able to get the upper pretty quick. He lays a decent punch to my ribs then shoves me off him. Thanks to the adrenaline I don't feel it too much, but what I feel is not great. I scramble to my feet just as he reaches his, and I put up my hands.

"Come on!" I yell, with bravado I do not feel and an overwhelming sense of stupidity. The dude grins again, moves in. Something behind me catches his eye, and he steps back with his hands up. Probably saved himself some damage, because as he does Brendan and Wes fly by me, each grabbing one of the guy's arms and almost knocking him to the ground, before dragging him to the door. I follow, and so does his phone buddy.

"Didn't do nothing bro! My boy didn't do shit! This little frat motherfucker started it!" I look at him, offended by the frat comment. Brendan and Wes ignore him, don't stop dragging the guy until they're out the door and past the crowd around the food trucks. Most of the noise in the parking lot stops as people turn to watch the show.

"You lay a hand on one of my people?" Brendan asks. "Get the fuck out of here, you're never coming back." The guys stays quiet, unlike his friend, who continues to film.

"My boy didn't do it, it was this pussy motherfucker who started it!" He yells, pointing at me.

"He wouldn't start shit, shut up you fucking dweeb," says Brendan. "If he fought, it's cause you two dumbasses were starting shit in my establishment. I won't have it. You're both gone." He's breathing heavy, ready for a fight. Drew trots over, cigarette in one hand, takes his spot next to Brendan and Wes. The only one who's talking is the guy with the phone.

"I got this all on film bro, we're going to our lawyers. Fuck you." Brendan's about to respond when a different voice cuts in.

"Did you film it when you grabbed my ass, or when your creepy friend wouldn't listen to us when we said 'no.'?" Alice has followed us outside. "Or when he kept putting his hands on my friend when she kept trying to get him off her?" Her voice is loud, and there is not a member of the sizeable crowd who isn't listening in.

"Man fuck you," says phone guy, though his phone isn't up anymore. Brendan points at both of them.

"You put your hands on women and you fight my staff? You have 5 seconds before I call the cops. You're still here then I'll make sure both your asses wind up in jail." The guy I fought with doesn't say a word, just turns and walks away. His buddy follows with a string of epithets aimed at me, Brendan, the Nipley, and women in general.

"Wes, make sure they leave, will you?" Brendan asks. Wes nods, and Drew joins him as they watch the two move toward their car. Brendan turns to me, puts a hand on my shoulder. "You good?" I nod. "Alright. Come on." He walks over to Alice, calling out to the people around the food trucks. "Sorry about that folks. All is well now." There's some applause, and shouts of approval. Brendan stops in front of Alice.

"Ma'am, I'm truly sorry for what happened. My goal was just to get them out of here. Did you want to press charges?"

Alice laughs, shakes her head. "No. Been down that road before, not trying to do it again. Besides, I was 'asking for it,' right?" She gestures at her outfit. Her demeanor's tough, but her voice waivers as she says those last words.

"Fuck no you weren't," says Brendan. "I don't care if you were walking through there with your tits out, no one can just cop a feel. That was shitty, I hope Erik was able to step in before it went too far." Alice looks at me, for the first time we make eye contact. My stomach flips. She seems to be appraising me.

"He did," says Alice. "Thank you, by the way. Thank you both."

"You need to thank Brendan and Wes," I say, "I was two seconds away from getting my ass kicked."

"Yeah," says Brendan, looking like he wanted to say more. "Yeah. Alright, if you guys are fine, I need to get back inside." We both nod. Brendan looks at me. "Take a minute, then when you're ready, we got more work to do."

"I'll be there," I say. Brendan nods and walks inside. I hear a car driving by, I turn in time to see the two guys driving out in a beat up old sedan. We lock eyes, I get flipped off.

"Fucks," says Alice. I glance over and see her eyes following the car out as well.

"You really alright?" I ask her. She sighs. "Yeah. Not the first time a guy's just grabbed my ass, unfortunately." She looks me over. "Definitely the first time they've gotten tackled for it though. How're you?"

I laugh, then feel a sudden surge of exhaustion, the adrenaline coming down. "I'm good. Probably gonna be sore in the morning. He popped me pretty good in the ribs." Alice winces. "I'm really sorry."

"Not your fault," I say. The door of the Nipley slams open, and a slender figure comes running out. Once she's in the light of the parking lot, I see it's Jasmine. She runs up to us.

"Are you okay, Mack?" She asks Alice. Then she looks at me. "How are you?"

"I'm good," I say, not missing the opportunity to stare into her eyes for a few extra seconds. "Those guys are gone now."

She looks around. "Thank you so much for stepping in, but I'm sorry. I can't believe you actually had to fight them."

"It's really okay," I say. "Just glad you guys are alright."

"We are," says Alice (Mack?). "I'm McKenzie by the way. Most people call me Mack."

"And I'm Jasmine," says her friend. I almost laugh looking down at her costume. She chuckles, self-aware. "Yeah, I know. After my mom showed me Aladdin when I was a kid, I was her every Halloween for about five years. Thought it was so cool that I had the same name as a Disney princess."

I laugh with her, all but in love with her smile and her laugh. She holds out her arms, putting her costume on display. "I went ahead and upgraded for this year. Me and Mack thought we would do sexy Disney this year. What'd you think?"

Mack strikes a pose as well, and I soak up the opportunity to look both over again. They're gorgeous, all there is to say. "You both look amazing," I say. "Definitely better than the originals."

Mack scoffs. "Tell that to the judges. Who paid them off, huh?"

"Ha... yeah." All the response I can muster at the moment.

"Can't say I blame them," says Jasmine. "Those cats put on a show. You did too. I probably could have done more."

"Those judges had a near impossible task," I say. "Everyone looked phenomenal. But I will say, you two look even more amazing up close." They both laugh, say thanks. A sudden, somewhat awkward, pause.

"Look, I have to get back to work. I hope this didn't ruin your night."

"It happens," says Mack.

"Just glad you were there," says Jasmine.

A smart man would, at this point, attempt to get some sort of contact information, or maybe see if these girls were busy later.

"Well," I say, suddenly tongue-tied. May have had something to do with the way Jasmine was looking at me, her eyes wide and an inviting smile on her face. "Hope to see you around."

"Bye!" Mack says, smiling. Jasmine echoes her, a bit softer. I turn away, see Wes and Drew walking by. Drew juts his chin at me in greeting.

"Got their plate number if anybody wants it," he calls out. The girls say thanks, wave. I follow Wes and Dave back into the Nipley.

"Thanks for the help guys," Wes grabs me in a headlock. "Of course, you badass you. Next time just grab us before you need to kick people out, helps save the furniture."

"Right," I say. "My bad." Drew slaps me on the shoulder. "You're good bro. Stupid to be walking away from those two, but you're good."

I look back, but Mckenzie and Jasmine are no longer there. Maybe next time.

Drew stays by the door, Wes heads towards the stage. I make my way to the sound booth, a little blue. The sight of two demonic clowns oddly makes me feel better.

"You got in a fight?!" Roxy yells. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good," say, getting annoyed at the same question over and over until she and Ruth, the other clown, wrap me in a tight hug.

"What happened?" Ruth asks. She pulls back from her hug, and any words leave my mind. Her bra never made it back on, and I'm left staring at deep cleavage just contained in a tight white button-down tied at her navel and with all but two buttons unbuttoned. Devil make-up aside, she's stunning. She catches my look and pokes me in the side with a grin - unbeknownst to her, directly where I had taken that punch earlier. The sudden stab of pain brings me back to reality. I give them a quick rundown of what happened.

"You took on two guys who were sexually harassing two women?" Roxy asks. "Fuck yeah!" She leans in with a kiss. "Nice work!"

"Thanks," I say, sheepish. Just then, Alex comes up, a black stain on his shoulder.

"Dude, I'm so sorry," he says. "Did you really have to throw a couple guys out?"

"Yeah," I say. "Brendan and Wes did the bulk of the work. You're good." I nod at the make-up stain on his shoulder. "How's Lisa?"

"Ah..." Alex says, looking at Ruth and Roxy.

"She's PISSED," says Ruth. "Says we threw it all out there for nothing, we're huge failures."

"That's bullshit," I say. "You guys kicked ass up there. Don't know how the hell those other guys won."

Roxy shrugs. "Who cares. We got up there, did our stuff. We've been ready for a while, just needed the extra push."

"Rosy's talking to her, she'll get over it soon enough," says Ruth. "I agree with you, Erik. We kicked ass."

"I enjoyed your follow-up performance too," I tell her. She wraps her arms around my neck and drags me down to her height.

"I thought I was horny after performing, but hearing you fought off a couple dudes to save those girls? I'm fucking dripping." She releases me and I look at her with a stupid grin on my face. "Come over to Lisa and Rosy's when you're off, alright?"

"Sure," I say. Roxy come close to me, breathes in my ear. "Whatever she told you, expect to double it," she says, just loud enough to hear over the music. She pulls away, turns to Alex. "Whatever Lisa is saying right now, she'll want you there too. I think we're heading out soon, we'll see you guys there, alright?"