Chapter 13 #2
“Some girls don’t know what feels good. I have to show them, even if they resist.”
“Resist?” The woman moved back enough to look Victoria in the eye. “That’s such a guy thing to say. Forcing it. But you’re obviously a woman, so maybe, just maybe, you should go hang out with all the other womanizing 304s here.” She stepped out of Victoria’s arms and said, “No, thanks.”
Victoria was stunned. Not at the fact that she’d been rejected, it happened, but by the way the woman’s attitude had turned so suddenly. “‘Even if they resist,’” Victoria quoted herself. Fuck, she wasn’t going to take the woman by force. What the hell?
With a confused sigh, she grabbed her jacket from the coat room and headed out the front door. It was time to check out Venus Rising.
It was a short drive to the bar, but the parking lot was quite full already on a Friday mid-afternoon. She had a couple of hours before she had to be at work, so she had time to check the place out, have one drink, and then go back to that diner before heading to work.
The outside of Venus Rising looked a little worse for wear, but there was a new paint job and an attempt to create an inviting entryway. Luckily, she got there early enough not to pay the cover.
“Hey, Vic,” someone called.
Victoria looked up. “Tillman, how’s it hanging?”
“Good,” Tillman said and moved her jacket off the bar stool next to her. She motioned with her head at someone behind the bar.
Aw, shit. It was Lauren. “Understood,” Victoria said and sat down.
“Get you something?” the familiar voice asked.
Victoria turned. She was going to play it cool. “Grapefruit spritzer?”
“You got it,” Lauren said. When she brought the non-alcoholic drink, she said, “It’s on the house.”
“Thanks.” Victoria put a generous tip in the jar.
Lauren reached up, rang the tip bell, and then smiled. Victoria turned away and sat with her back to the bar, watching some women play pool and others dance.
“Shit, these women look so young,” Victoria said. “I was their age when I used to come here.”
Tillman laughed. “Yeah, it’s a different game in here these days.”
“How old are you, if I can ask?”
“Thirty-one. Just turned.”
“Thirty-seven,” Victoria said and then scoffed. “Not just turned.” Maybe she was getting too old for this shit. This prowling around, sleeping around shit. It was tiring. “Hey, Tillman, question for you.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s a 304?”
“No clue,” Tillman said with a shrug.
Victoria looked around and saw that the basic layout was the same. The pool tables still took up the front space. And the dance floor was behind that. The smell was pretty much the same, too. Stale beer and funky. “Hey, do they still have that back patio?”
“Yeah,” Tillman said. “It’s open but too friggin’ cold to go out there.”
“I may take a peek before I leave.” She pointed to one of the security cameras. It was pointed right at the bar. “When did they get those?”
Tillman looked up. “I don’t know. I feel like they’ve always been there.”
Victoria grinned as she shook her head. “They haven’t. I could tell you some tales.” A question popped to mind. She turned and said, “Barkeep?”
Lauren bugged out her eyes to keep from laughing. She came over.
“Question for you.” Victoria pointed to one of the cameras. “We’re upgrading our cameras at work. Do these have audio capabilities?”
“Yeah,” Lauren said. “I can show you the system. It’s in that storage room behind the bar.”
Victoria hesitated.
“I won’t bite,” Lauren said with a laugh.
Victoria burst out laughing and headed behind the bar.
“It’s a wired system,” Lauren said and showed Victoria the various connections, including the wire for the audio link on the main board.
“It’s only one-way audio. We can hear what they’re saying but can’t communicate with them from here.
” Lauren then showed her an app she used to monitor the cameras while away from the system.
“Thanks for the help,” Victoria said. “I’ll tell my boss about this.”
“And,” Lauren said low, “I wanted to let you know that I got my first spanking last night.”
“No fuckin’ way.”
“Yes, I took your advice,” Lauren said as they pretended to look over the surveillance system. “It was really good, and she’s open to more exploration. In fact, this morning she showed me this flat-sided hairbrush and said she wanted to try that on me.”
“Fantastic,” Victoria said. “I’m glad you found the courage to speak up.”
“Oh, and uh, by the way,” Lauren said with a grin, “a 304 is a hoe. Type those numbers on a calculator, turn it upside down, and it spells the word ‘hoe’. Did someone call you that?”
Before Victoria could answer, Lauren burst out, “Oh, fucking hell,” and ran out of the storage room. Victoria had no clue what was happening, so she moved from behind the bar toward her seat.
“Brianna,” Lauren said directly to Tillman, “you will not start anything. Jasmyne’s walking up with Bobbie.”
Tillman positively deflated right in front of Victoria’s eyes. “I’m not the one who starts shit, Lauren.” At Victoria’s obviously perplexed expression, Tillman said, “Jasmyne’s my ex. Very recent ex. Like in a month ago ex after two years. She’s a spoon.”
“A spoon?”
“She likes to stir up drama.”
Victoria almost choked. She pressed her lips together behind a fist, trying not to laugh.
“There may be fireworks,” Tillman said.
“Yeesh.”
“Hey, there,” someone on Victoria’s other side said. Victoria turned and came face to face with a very attractive thirty-something woman wearing a very tight sweater and a cheeky smile. “Haven’t seen you in here. New to Indy?”
“Kind of,” Victoria said and gave the woman’s body a once-over. Signal sent.
The woman touched Victoria’s arm. Ahh, signal received.
“You here alone?” Victoria asked.
“Yes,” came the quick answer.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Victoria asked, maintaining eye contact.
“Yes,” came the equally quick answer, and within minutes the woman received her drink compliments of Victoria’s wallet. Lauren rang the tip bell again, but it was Lauren’s smile that Victoria had really wanted and got.
Victoria was just about to ask the woman her name when someone barged into the bar and, with a booming voice, said, “This is a lesbian bar, asshole.” Victoria’s eyes grew wide because the very loud announcement was directed right at Tillman.
“What the fuck?” Victoria said to no one in particular.
“It’s okay,” Tillman said quietly.
The woman who had spoken was masculine and big-boned, with short, slicked-back hair. She wore black jeans and a tight white t-shirt that did nothing to flatter her flabby torso.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Brianna?” the woman asked from across the room. “Oh, wait, my mistake. It’s Brian now, isn’t it?”
Tillman’s breathing had changed. A quick glance confirmed Victoria’s suspicions. Tillman was fuming.
“That’s your ex?”
“No, that’s Bobbie,” Tillman said with a laugh. “Jasmyne is the bitch hanging off her arm.”
Victoria looked again. A femme woman with a tight red dress and heels hung onto the arm of the bigger woman. Damn, she was hot. “Wow.”
“I know,” Tillman said.
“What’s the problem, Brianna?” the big woman taunted. “Not man enough to say anything back?”
By now, the entire bar was silent. The only exception was the music playing over the speakers. Lauren looked ready to bolt over the bar. The security woman stood passively at the door, arms folded, as if enjoying the show.
Tillman grunted and stood up, but Victoria was faster. “Hey, I’m starving. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Sure.”
Victoria leaned over to the woman she’d been flirting with and said, “Maybe next time?”
“Sure,” the woman said.
Without a backward glance, Victoria led the way to the front door. The back of her neck prickled. She knew without looking that all eyes were on them.
“Look at that,” the big woman taunted again. “There’s two of them. Fucking infestation. We don’t want your kind in here. No men allowed.”
Victoria was pissed when she heard some of the women voice their agreement. The security guard simply turned as they left and watched them walk to the parking lot. Enlightenment had not made it to Indiana, apparently.
“That was a lot,” Victoria said.
“Were you serious about getting something to eat?”
“Yeah. Rose’s Diner okay?”
“Love that place,” Tillman said, her voice softening a bit.
They walked toward the parking lot in momentary silence until Tillman started laughing.
“What’s up?” Victoria chuckled, not knowing why.
“You got some game, man,” Tillman said. “That woman was totally going to let you take her home. I’d have put cash money on it. Bobbie messed it up. You were about to score.”
“She was cute, too,” Victoria said. “The woman. Not Bobbie.”
Tillman grunted, stopped walking, and threw an imaginary object on the ground. She stood tall and said, “Flag on the play. Cliterference. Ten-yard penalty.”
Victoria burst out laughing. She clapped Tillman on the back and said, “Oh, yes. We’re going to be good friends, Tillman.”
“Ah, maybe not,” Tillman said, suddenly serious. “I still have to tell you the tale of a little girl who knew all along she was a boy.”
“Cool,” Victoria said. “Over grilled cheese. I’ll meet you there.”