Bitch Fightin’ Aint Right!

“So, princess, you found your college boy,” Tobias says as he drags the chair out next to me and sits down.

“How do you know he’s a college boy?” I ask. I don’t give him the pleasure of looking at him.

“You can tell by the clean jeans, the small hands, and the shitty baseball cap that he’s wearing for the first time tonight.”

“Oh, says the fashion police.”

I turn to look him up and down. I would never admit it to him, but he looks shit-hot in whatever he wears.

All he has on are a pair of black worn jeans and a black T-shirt with a white small American flag on the chest and a large one on the back. He’s also wearing his standard cap.

But damn, he looks hotter than any guy in here. The only thing I’m not so sure about is the brown boots.

He smiles and his blue eyes fix on me. I get lost in them for a second and I can swear we connected, like an invisible connection of some kind.

I can’t explain it, and it freaks me out that I had it with him. It throws me off guard, and I smile awkwardly when he lowers his eyes to the drink in his hand.

As the others all gather around the table, Tobias shifts closer to me to make room. His strong leg brushes against mine as he talks to Lee, who is sitting on the other side of him.

It feels nice having his body so close, and I crave more. I bite in my lip as I watch his legs next to me, spread all manly as he sits holding a beer in his lap. Then my eyes go to his crotch.

~Don’t even go there, Ella! You hate him, remember?~

My drunken self shrugs my rational voice off as I try to muscle in on the conversation between the two men.

“Who’s your woman of choice tonight?” Lee is asking Tobias. “You have Lynn over in the red corner and Deena over in the blue corner.”

Tobias laughs and breathes in heavily. I lean on his leg, and he looks shocked by my invasion.

“Or,” I say, “maybe someone new will take your fancy?”

“Ohhhh, a new contender over here?” Lee laughs.

“Not really,” I add. “I was just joking. I wouldn’t touch him with yours.”

Tobias smirks and puts his hand on mine, which is still on his knee. I look down at his strong hand as it smothers mine. His rough, hard-working touch feels nice against my soft, moisturized skin.

I don’t believe I have ever met a man as manly as him in all my twenty-three years.

We break apart when Tanner leans in between us.

“What’s going on here?” he questions.

We both shake our heads.

“Don’t give me that shit, Ella. You better save yourself for me. I don’t do sloppy seconds from my younger brother.”

“Oh, you know you’re the one, Tanner,” I laugh, and he winks at me playfully.

Nothing more is said about the hand thing, and I head outside for some air. All that weirdness between Tobias and me has me a little freaked. I’m sure it’s just the alcohol, though—on both our parts.

I’m ready to go to my bed now, but the guys are still going strong. At least I don’t have to be up tomorrow, unlike them.

“Hey there,” says a female. When I turn, it’s that hard-looking one who has her sights on Tobias.

I smile while trying to remember my self-defense. I imagine she would take no mercy if she wanted to rip my hair out.

“Hi, are you okay?” I ask.

“I see you’re with Toby and Tanner,” she says.

“And Sara and all the others,” I add.

She leans closer to me and bows her head. “Well, bitch, I’m here to warn you to stay away from Toby if you want to keep that pretty face of yours.”

My eyes widen. Why would she even think him and me were anything?

“What makes you think I would want him?”

“Come on, we can all see it. He’s been sniffing around you all night and glaring at you when you were talking to that guy on the dance floor.”

“Well, speak to him, not me. And why the fuck are you all watching me? Don’t you have anything better to talk about around here?”

My anger overrides my fear. Who does this desperate bitch think she is? Whether I want to get with Tobias or not, it’s my choice, not this hussy’s!

“Well, if I want to do anything with Toby, I will.”

It must be the alcohol confidence talking as I am sure as hell that if this girl wanted to take me out, she could.

“Oh yeah? Do you want me to take this warning to the next level, bitch?” she shrieks, her voice rising as she squares up to me.

“Bring it the fuck on,” I shout back in her makeup-caked face. My hands start to shake, but I refuse to let her see.

As predicted, her hands go to my hair, and I duck as I shove her hard into the wall. She gives me a solid slap across the face and her nail catches my cheek—those fake fucking plastic things are lethal.

“I’m gonna need an injection now for that,” I say more calmly than I feel.

It seems to enrage her further and I get another slap, but this time I repay it, not with a slap but a fist. I don’t bitch fight—you want me to fight, I’m gonna do it like a man.

Blood starts to fall from her nose, and I’m about to go in again when a pair of strong arms comes around my waist and I am lifted off my feet.

“Isobella, stop,” I hear Tobias shout. I know the arms are his because the small hand tattoo he has is fixed on my stomach.

“Put me down,” I yell, panting. I’m so fucking angry.

He continues to carry me away from the bitch and only sets me down on my feet when we are away from the bustle of the bar.

He spins me around to face him and puts his hands on my shoulders, holding me in place. He has me anchored to the floor with his weight.

“What the fuck just happened?” he asks.

“That crazy bitch! She was warning me off you, as if I would even fucking go there. What’s wrong with all you people?”

“Well, it looks like you give as good as you got.” His fingers rub over the scratch on my cheek as he examines my face. “What the fuck am I gonna tell your uncle?” He sighs.

“Some crazy bitch attacked me?”

He grins, then his smile drops as he turns to look at who is approaching us. I hear the clacking of heels and I fear it’s Deena again in her cowgirl-hooker boots.

“Toby, this bitch attacked me,” she screams.

“Deena, just fucking leave,” he shouts.

His loud voice makes me jump.

“Not until she apologizes,” she screeches.

“You will be waiting a long time, ho,” I shriek back at her.

“Isobella, shut up, let me deal with her,” Tobias says more calmly.

I nudge past him and stop in front of Deena. Her eyes look me up and down. I smile at the blood that is already starting to dry on her face.

I turn to Tobias. “I don’t need a man to protect me,” I say. Then I look back at her. “I am sorry, I’m sorry you’re a psycho bitch who can’t keep a man and blames every other woman for it.”

Her eyes widen and I see another slap coming on. Luckily, Tobias sees it too and pulls me away by the waist again.

“Will you get the fuck off me,” I shout to him as I grip his cold hands to release them.

“Come on, I’m taking you home,” he demands as he clasps my wrist and pulls me across the road to his truck.

“Get off me,” I yell.

He tightens his grasp as I try to shake his hand off.

“If I get a bruise there, I will be reporting you for assault.”

He opens the passenger-side door and literally lifts me into his truck. His body falls on top of mine as he thrusts me into place.

I have never been manhandled like this in all my life, and I’m sure when my dad hears about this it will be my ticket out of here.

“You are one feisty princess,” he says coolly as he slams the door. He rushes around to the driver’s side with haste and is in his seat before I can jump out.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” I ask.

“Because you will regret it in the morning. She’s not worth your anger.”

“She’s your girl, isn’t she? Why are you not defending her?”

“She’s not my girl. I was drunk once, maybe twice. I can’t even remember, I was so fucking drunk.”

“Nice,” I reply.

“Listen, you can’t judge me, not by the look of the things you were getting in your inbox this afternoon.”

“Hey, he’s not some random guy, he was someone I was seeing before I was shipped here.”

“Are you still together?”

“No. What’s the point? I can’t even call from this place.”

He grins, and I imagine kissing his soft lips again. “Do you have an OnlyFans account?” I ask.

He coughs as if I caught him off guard. If he’s an internet sensation, it isn’t unheard of.

“No,” he says abruptly. “Why, would you subscribe if I did have one?”

“Well, if I had internet I might.”

He grins and takes his eyes off the road for a few minutes as he looks at me. “Well, I draw the line at OnlyFans and wish lists.”

“Shame,” I mumble as I relax back into his truck.