What Would You Do For Love?

A Night Out: Part 2

I came down the stairs and entered the living room to see Blossom and Butch talking. "Hi," I said as I approached them.

"Hi," he said, raising him eyebrows.

Blossom very discreetly walked out of the room and into the kitchen. "So, do I look okay?" I asked him. "You didn't tell me where we were going, so I wasn't sure..."

"You look great," he said coming up to me and taking my hand. "I just never seen you in a skirt before. It's very sexy."

"Blossom actually picked it out," I said turning away from him. I didn't want him to see the blush on my face. "I'm just glad it wasn't anything pink." I laughed at the thought, and he smiled at me. I felt awkward for a moment.

"So, are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Sure, where are we going?"

"You'll see," he said, as he led me to the door. When we got outside I was surprised not to see his motorcycle. "Brick loaned me the truck tonight. It's not as fancy as your used to, but it'll get us there and back."

"As long as the radio works," I said as he opened the passenger's side door for me.

"Don't worry, it does," he said as he closed the door. In less than a minute he got in the car and looked over at me. It made me a little nervous the way he stared at me. "I gotta tell you something. I was a little nervous about tonight."

"Really, me too," I said. "It's kind of our first date."

"Yeah," he said and started the car. The radio was blaring out country music. "Oh, shit, Brick, you're so damn lame."

I just laughed. "That's Blossom's favorite station." I reached over and turned the channel. "That's better." I had found the heavy metal station and cracked it up as Butch grove off. I had almost forgotten to put my seatbelt on. I quickly fastened it as Butch pulled out of our driveway and down the streets of Townsville.

"So tell me where we're going?" I asked as he pulled down a side street.

"Just a little place I like to hang out at," he said as he turned down an alley.

His explanation was cryptic, but it had me wondering. Now, I was really interested to see what kind of places he frequented. He parked the truck in a little parkway, behind an old brick building. It didn't look like anything was here, just some old buildings on the seedier side of town. He opened my door for me and helped me out. He put an arm around me and led me around the corner. Normally I would have been a little scared being on this side of town, but somehow I felt safe with Butch. He led me to a little place with a sign above the door that read The Crept. We walked in and I noticed there were very few woman in the place, only a waitress and an older woman playing cards and smoking a cigar.

"Hey, Butch," a guy with long hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a leather jacket said. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and about three hundred pounds. "Where ya been?" Then the man spotted me. "I think I know." The guy winked at me, which didn't go unnoticed by Butch.

"Alright, Harry, no flirting with my girl," Butch said, putting and arm around my waist. "This is BC, my date."

"Well, she's a pretty one," he said. "So you here to play some pool? We got a new guy bragging he came beat your ass."

"Oh, really," Butch said. "So who's this joker?"

"He's name's Randy. Claims to be some pool champ from Atlantic City. Says he won some trophies or some shit like that."

"That don't mean nothing," he said shaking his head. "Sounds like he's full of hot air."

"Yeah, he's in every night wiping to floor with everyone, and he's lookin' to take you on."

"Fine with me," he said looking like he didn't care one way or another. "First I think me my girl would like a drink."

"Sounds great," I said as Butch led us to a table. "I'm really thirsty."

"How about a beer?" Butch asked me. I looked a little surprised. I hoped he didn't notice. "I guess you never had beer before."

"Well, of course I have, but we're under age. Don't they card in these places?"

"Sure, they do," Butch said and pulled out his ID and showed it to me. It said he was 22. I just smiled devilishly at him, and here I thought I was the only one with one of those. I pulled out mine and Butch scanned the information quickly. "So you are a bad girl."

"Not really. I can only use it when we go to the city. Too many people know me here. You know, small town and all."

"So, you lived here your whole life?" he asked me.

"No," I said. "We were in Maryland for a while. That's where we met Dad. He was working as a research assistant. Bubbles got real sick with something. I don't remember what, but it got us kicked out of a group home. They tried to split us up, but Dad stepped in and took us all in. A few months later Bubbles got better and he adopted us, officially. We moved to Townsville when Dad got a teaching job at the University, and we've been here never since. So what's your story?"

"Well, me and my brothers have been on our own the last few months after our dad died. We met him in New York. We were in a gang back then. We were just kids, but Mojo liked us for some reason. He was a street hustler, but he had a good heart. He had to be to take in three low life kids from the streets."

"How did he die?" I asked. I almost regretted asking it, seeing the sorrowful look in his eye. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be nosey."

"No, it's okay. Mojo just hustled the wrong person and got killed. That's all."

"Sorry, you must have loved him a lot," I said sympathetically. Finally our drinks came. It lightened the mood a little.

"I guess so," Butch said taking a sip. "He wasn't the best role model for a kid, but deep down he was a good guy."

"It must be hard, living on your own and all," I said. I couldn't imagine at my age having to fend for myself. I didn't even have a job. It made me wonder what he and his brothers did for a living.

"We get by," he said and sat back in his chair.