Obsessed (5 page)

“Yeah, it looks like there's not much around it. Kinda all by itself,” I said.

“Whatever, girls,” said Jenn. “Probably some weirdo trying to get us alone out in the middle of nowhere. Let's just have a good time and forget it. We're gonna meet plenty of guys tonight.”

“Yup, that guy gave me a crazy vibe. Whatever,” said Brooke.

But, I could tell she was curious, and Jenn was obviously still affected by him. I thought about my decision to remain open to all possibilities. There was no reason to forget him. I folded the little card in half and slipped it into my purse.

***

James sat in the corner nursing his beer. Most of the brothers were here tonight. The place was called Barney’s Fillin’ Station. It had been an E.G. stronghold for years and the default place to go when all the day’s business was done. The owners were on the payroll and the beer was always cold.

“You see those jerk offs, Ice?” said Trace, a wide-shouldered biker of about thirty. “I don’t think they know where the hell they are.”

He was talking about a group of four college boys who had wandered in earlier in the evening. They were quiet at first, but they were starting to get a little too comfortable as the night wore on. The brothers from the E.G. watched them, mostly amused at first, but they wouldn’t stand for any disrespect.

“They just look like some frat boys,” said James. “They’re just too damn stupid to know where they’re at.”

“Yeah, well, if they don’t quiet the fuck down real soon, they’re gonna find out where they’re at. And when they do, I don’t think they’re gonna like it,” said Trace.

“Why’s everybody so calm tonight?” said James.

“Are you serious, man?” said Trace. “Nobody’s much in the mood to party after what happened earlier. Damn, Ice...it’s just, Keith was a brother long before me or you was around. I think everybody’s just wonderin’ how that coulda happened.”

“Piece of shit was a traitor,” said James. “We should be celebrating gettin’ his ass out when we did.”

Trace shrugged his shoulders. “I guess, man, but-”

“No buts about it, son, now go get the rest of them boys riled up. If the Prez walks in here and sees this place lookin’ like a church on Sunday morning, he’s gonna suspect you all aren’t down for the cause.”

“You’re right, brother,” said Trace. “I guess you ain’t a real one per-center unless you go out and raise a little hell after a day like today.”

James kept an eye on the college boys as he finished his beer.

***

“Is this it?” said Brooke. She was squished in between us in the back seat of the cab.

“481, Breakwater. Just like you asked for, ladies.” said the driver.

We exchanged uncertain glances as we got out of the car.

“Wow! Look at all the motorcycles,” said Jenn. “There must be a hundred of them”

They were lined up in rows all over the place. Each of them polished and sparkling under the building’s exterior lights. I could see a blue and gray patch affixed to some of them.

“I think this is like...a biker bar,” said Brooke.

The sound of loud rock music poured from the front door. I had the feeling that we should just go home. I think, if you asked either of the other girls to be honest, they would tell you they had the same nervous feeling. But none of us were sober enough to act on our good instincts. It didn’t matter anyway, the cab was long gone.

“Let’s do it, girls!” I said. The liquor was controlling my words, but I took some pride in not being the timid one for once. “Unless, you’re too scared of some little motorcycle club.”

I pushed Jenn playfully and she ran after me. “C’mon Brooke! Let’s go!”

***

It was just after one in the morning when the three pretty young women stumbled through the front doors of Barney’s Fillin’ Station. James watched as they laughed and nudged each other. They all looked around the room with big eyes and spoke in hushed whispers.

“I knew they’d show up,” said a voice from over James’s shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Those three bitches from the bar downtown, I knew curiosity would get the best of ‘em.” It was Eric, a young guy the MC sometimes used to lure new women out to the bar. He wasn’t a member, but he was useful.

“Yeah,” said James. He brushed Eric off, but the dark-haired girl in the middle had his attention.

***

“Oh shit,” said Brooke as we made our way over to an empty table near the jukebox. “Look at all these people!”

There were hard-looking men and wild-looking women as far as the eye could see.

“Damn, these are some real bikers,” said Jenn.

A faint scent of oiled leather tinged the bar. Most of them were wearing dark vests with blue and gray patches. Some of them had other symbols and words, too. Things like “1%er” and “Fear None” were proudly displayed on their fronts and backs.

“Some of these guys are sexy,” said Jenn.

“I know. They look like bad-asses. Are we even allowed to be in here?” said Brooke.

They each had long since forgotten about the pretty boy from the bar downtown.

“Yeah, look at those guys. They don’t look like they’re part of it,” I said, pointing to a small group of guys near the bar. “We’re probable okay.”

“Oh my God! Look...look!” said Jenn.

I followed her eyes into the dark corner. It took me a minute to realize what was happening. There was a girl straddling a guy in the corner and it looked like they were having sex.

I heard Brooke suck in a quick breath of air when she recognized it. “Oh shit, look at them,” she said. “They don’t even care.”

All three of us were covering our mouths, trying not to giggle.

She was straddling him on a bar stool and they were face to face. His dirty jeans and leather riding chaps were pulled down to the floor and her short skirt was pulled all the way up over her hips. They bounced together in rhythm, his hands on her waist, and hers on his shoulders.

“This place is crazy,” said Jenn, finally. “Should we try to get a drink?”

Just as the words left her lips one of the guys from the small group I saw when we came in, walked up to us.

“Hey girls, why don’t you come over and drink with me and my friends?” he said. He had the look of a drunken frat boy.

“No thank you, we’re fine over here,” I said.

His smile disappeared quickly and he took a slightly more threatening tone. “C’mon, you three didn’t come in here to drink alone. Just come with me, I’ll introduce you to my friends.”

“Nah, we’re biker chicks, man,” said Jenn. “Can’t you see? We’re not interested in college boys.” We all giggled as he turned and stomped back to his table.

“Biker chicks?” I said. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too,” said Brooke. The idea made us laugh hysterically.

“Look, I think you made him mad,” said Brooke. She motioned toward their table.

The guy was gesturing wildly to his friends and glaring at us.

“Geez, I guess he has a tough time dealing with rejection,” said Jenn.

“Yeah, and maybe a tough time handling his alcohol...the pussy,” I said. We were overcome with the giggles at that point. Jenn, Brooke, and I all shook with laughter and hung on to each other for support.

“Oh, shhh, shhh, he’s coming back!” said Brooke. We did our best to stifle the laughter, but our faces gave us away.

“Is something funny to you skanks?” he said.

“Whoa, take it easy, we’re just having a good time,” said Jenn.

“I don’t give a fuck. Me and my friends don’t like being laughed at.” His face was bright red.

“Dude, why are you so angry? Just go sit down. We’re here having fun, you should go do the same.”

“I don’t need some dumb bitch to tell me what to do,” he said.

“Well, I’m telling
you
to get the fuck away from us!” Jenn had raised her voice considerably and some of the bikers were starting to look.

I grabbed Jenn’s arm. “Hey, quiet, okay? People are starting to look.”

“I’m not doing anything except telling this douche bag to leave. Do you wanna have to deal with him all ni-” she cut herself off. She looked over my shoulder and her eyes got big.

I turned around to see three large bikers standing just to the left of the frat guy.

“What’s the problem over here, folks?” said the one in the middle. He was tall and broad with strong, defined shoulders. His dark scruffy beard contrasted brilliantly with the steely blue of his eyes.

“Oh, uh, no problem,” I said. “We’re sorry if-”

“Yeah, there’s a problem,” said the frat guy. His friends had come over to join him. “These cunts think they can sit here and laugh at us. And what fuckin’ business is it of yours anyway?”

The bikers remained eerily calm. The noise in the bar dropped as everyone stopped to watch.

“I don’t know. Is it our business, Icy?” said the one on the left to the one in the middle. A menacing grin crossed his lips.

The one in the middle took a step forward. He leaned in close to the frat guy, who was only now realizing the terrible mistake he had made. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” The way he said it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“Uh, yeah...no, I think there was a misunderstanding, I mean…” he said.

“A misunderstanding?” said the one they called Icy. He raised an eyebrow at the other bikers. “What do think, just a misunderstanding boys?”

“Yeah, that’s all. We were just leaving,” said one of the frat guy’s friends. They were all visibly shaken and sweating.

Icy seemed to think about it. They waited nervously. Finally he said, “That sounds like a pretty good idea.” They let out an audible sigh of relief. Then, he continued, “But, before you go, a couple of my friends are going to have a little chat with you, ya know, to make sure we never have any future
misunderstandings
.”

Before they could plead their case any further, a group of bikers swooped in and dragged the boys outside. The bar patrons returned to their business like nothing ever happened. The music was at full blast, the conversations were in full swing, and the public sex was back on. The three bikers turned back to their business without so much as another word.

The three of us sat at the table looking at each other. Outside you could hear the faint screams and harsh sounds of a beating taking place.

Jenn mouthed the words “oh shit.”

Brooke said, “Let’s get outta here, quick.”

I watched the bikers walk away. I had the strong urge to follow.

“Katie, what are you doing?” said Brooke.

“I’ll be right back, I just wanna thank them.”

“Are you crazy? We need to get the fuck away from these people. Don’t you hear that? It sounds like they’re killing those guys out there.”

“I’ll be okay, just real quick.” I turned and walked after the bikers before they could protest any further.

I walked up behind them and tapped him on the shoulder. “Uh...Mr. Icy…” His vest felt gritty under my fingers.