Chapter 1: Good Deeds
What an odd thing to see.
A girl not dressed in the rags or the ghetto clothes that are so uniform in the area. Not that Johnny minded. He'd be lying if he said he didn't like seeing the many sexy curves that the girls around showed off.
But, taking the girl in, he knew they didn't have that.
He spotted her the moment she walked in and his eyes trailed her from the side when she walked past him. How could anyone in this dump miss her entrance?
Curves as plentiful and hot as anything, with a big juicy booty. She was dressed like a good girl, a rich or middle class girl, with her little fitted blazer and jeans that weren't cut at the bottom of the asscheeks. But apart from that, the girl had class, it just showed. Yeah, that had to be it.
She stood out. In good ways and bad. Any fool could see she didn't belong here, that she was in the wrong neighborhood.
She grabbed a stool in a quiet area where there weren't a lot of other people around, and asked the bartender for a drink. Johnny saw the guy reach for Modelo beer and hand her a bottle. Whatever it was that had his eyes on her, meant that others did, too.
He watched a Young G leave his crew at one of the benches where Miss'tique danced and approach her with all the swag in the world. He didn't have to live in the neighborhood let alone be the Boss' second to know this wasn't going to go down well. He started moving closer, with the pretense of chasing after the bartender, but the intent of listening in.
"Yo girl, why you in here by yourself?"
"Just want a drink or two before I head home." It was Johnny's first time hearing her voice.
"Shorty, you too cute to be alone."
"Umm… Thanks," she said dryly.
"Where you from? You waitin' fo' someone?"
"Just here for a drink."
"That's cool, but I bet we could have more fun if I sat down wichu."
The girl barely gave him a look as he spoke. She was clearly put off. "Look, I mean no disrespect and I hate to be rude, but like I said, I just want to have a drink and not have to be friendly to anyone for a day. Okay?"
"That's cold. You think you better than me?"
"No. I just want to have a drink."
Johnny watched the Young G reach under his purple shirt. Knife, gun. Didn't matter. He had to step in. He stood on the other side of the girl as she looked straight on. Typical response from an outsider: ignore the issue and hope it goes away.
"Bitch, you know who you talkin' to? I'm—"
"—About to be demoted to cannon fodder if you don't shut the hell up and back the fuck down," Johny warned, staring down the other man. He could tell the girl was glancing up at him, but his eyes were trained on the other man beside her.
"Aayt, aayt. Sorry, my bad," the Young G said before he returned to his table like a shamed dog, and his companions welcomed him with laughter and hollering.
"Thank you," the girl said, a smile played on her full lips and her deep brown eyes looked up at him.
"Mind if I sit down?" he asked, already taking a seat. He'd leave if her answer was anything but what he wanted. "I only want a drink. You don't even have to be friendly."
She eyed him cautiously for a second. "Well, won't the other guy get mad?" Ah, close enough. He'd stay.
"Nah, don't worry about him. He's done."
"If you're sure," she said, tipping the neck of her bottle toward Johhny to add to her point. Her eyes went back to the wall the stools were in front of, and down to the rim of her beer every now and then. She really didn't want anyone around her, but Johnny Gat couldn't help himself. She was just… just so.
They sat in silence for some time, while Johnny studied her as skillfully as possible without being noticed. She seemed to be deep in thought. Every now and then, when she looked to be concentrating the most, her brows would nit, like she was pissed off or something. He suddenly felt as morose as she looked.
Just then, her eyes snapped to his. Maybe she'd felt him looking. Whatever the case, she didn't seem mad no more. She smiled.
"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked her, hoping to draw her into some sort of conversation, away from whatever shitty place her thoughts were drowning in.
"No," she gave him another small smile. "Is it that obvious?" Nope, she really wasn't from the area. Sarcasm had no business in this place unless you were one of the higher ups.
He returned her smile and signaled the bartender to pour him a double. "Where you from?" She looked at him askance, and bit her bottom lip. As unintentional and innocent as that may have been to her, it did a lot for a hot blooded man. But he was reeled quickly by the realization that she probably didn't want to answer. It was too personal for someone from the suburbs. He pegged her for a suburbs girl. "Don't worry," he said coolly, "you don't have to tell me."
Had any other outsider been so blatantly prejudiced against him, depending on the circumstance, he would have blown them up, left them, or at least had venom in his voice as he spoke. But it wasn't her fault. And it wasn't like the gangs or this area inspired any trust. "Snowview," she finally answered, doing a poor job at hiding the hesitation.
So she was a suburb girl. "That's pretty far East. A good hour and a half from here."
The girl took a sip, trying not to giggle. "If you say so."
"You don't know where the hell you are, do you?" Johnny observed.
"Heh," she beamed, an actual big smile that reached her eyes. "With my sense of direction, North might as well be up." Johnny mirrored her smile; it was infectious. "Oh, I mean, I know North isn't up; I just lack any sense of direction, whatsoever that North might as well be up."
Johnny laughed a little, and then a little more when he noted that he hadn't expected her to be goofy. It was cute. Charming, even. "Sure, sure." He took his shot in one heavy gulp. "So left is East, right is West—" she shook her head and pouted, "—down is South."
"Oh, stop it."
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied obediently, chuckling into the refilled cup. "Took the ferry?"
"Yeah."
"How'd you end up in this dump, anyway?"
She took a big sip from her beer before explaining. "I took the ferry thinking I'd enjoy the new views; I've never been in this part of the state. Anyway, I was driving around and after a while I thought it was a good a time as any to grab a drink or two." Another sip; a few more and she'd finish it. "So I drove around some more until I found this place. Thought it was a sports bar at first."
Johnny laughed, one of those quick, short laughs. "Must have been surprised to find it full of strippers and shitty T.V.s."
The girl shrugged. "I don't mind."
He didn't mind either. Especially when he imagined her doing the dirty things the strippers did to customers in the back- not that he'd hit the girls in this place; they were far too used for his tastes. He wondered briefly if the girl was like the song said, the ultimate dream girl: a lady on the street but a freak in bed. Yeah, she looked like it.
"You know how to get back?"
"I'll just look it up on my phone." Oh sure, because phones always took off-limit areas into account.
He doubted he'd get a chance to tap that sweet round ass of hers. For one short instant, he felt sorry for the girl, which was so very unlike him, but it was enough to make up his mind. This would be his good deed for the year. Hell, maybe even the whole damned decade.
"Fucking A." Johnny leaned over the counter and grabbed a clean napkin from a short stack that set next to an old bowl of olives. "You got a pen?" he asked the bartender nearby. He then began sketching a map that told her what the best, and safest, way to get back to the ferry was. When he finished, he slid the napkin to her and tossed the pen back to the bartender.
"Your phone's not gonna tell you what areas will get you shot on the spot." She raised a quizzical brow. "That guy you just turned down, he's in the Saints. I'm sure you know what that is."
"Really?" she asked, mouth a little agape. "Oh, wow… Thanks."
Suburb girls couldn't really stomach the area like the bitches in the city. "Yeah. But it's not just the Saints. You've got other major gangs here in the city, and some of them will kill anyone they don't recognize on their turf. Anyone. You're lucky you made it here in one piece." Her brows raised, alarm and surprise clear on her face. What he'd said wasn't entirely true. Sure, there were some areas that would get her shot on the spot if nobody recognized her, but most would take advantage of her especially if she looked like she had no business being there. No way in hell the city wouldn't take advantage of her.
"I, I had no idea… Thank you. Seriously."
"Follow this road 'til you get here," he said, pointing to a particular intersection on the makeshift map, "then take this out for about twenty minutes until you hit the highway. That way's faster, but I doubt you'll make it home. So take this. You'll find the docks straight out of fifty-five."
She took the napkin as soon as his fingers left it, folded it neatly and tucked it in a pocket of her jacket. "I really appreciate this."
"You gotta be careful around here. Not everyone's gonna be as nice as me," he replied earnestly yet nonchalantly.
"I'll keep that in mind," she promised, with timid grin on her face. She glanced at her phone, and so did Johnny, getting a good enough look to see she had a shit ton of missed calls and texts.
"You know," Johnny started after a minute, "the big dude was right. Why did you come to a place you've never been?" Not like she seemed the type to be suspicious of, but it still seemed off. "Shouldn't you be gettin' ready for a party, or club, or something? It is Friday."
She brought up her left shoulder for a halfass shrug before answering. "I'm not really a clubbing sort of girl. I, I mean don't get me wrong— I love dancing as much as the next girl, but I still prefer to stay home."
"And yet you're out here," Johnny pointed out, shifting a little so he was facing her more.
"Just because I'm a homebody doesn't mean I don't like partying or going for a drink," she corrected.
"By yourself."
"Eh, I'm an introvert," the girl grinned for a second, seemingly more to herself than to add to her point.
"And that makes driving some place you never been a good idea?"
"I like doing that. Helps clear my head."
"From?" Johnny asked, not thinking. Not really caring either, since he could see where this was going. In fact, he should have known from the start. Women and their drama. At least there was one thing that transcended area and status.
"Nothing important."
"Now I know you're lying. Always know when a good woman lies. Too obvious."
She laughed. "It's nothing, really. Just stupid drama. Boring, typical. Nothing big like gangs living down your street."
"More like owning chunks of the city," Johnny said. Gangs didn't just live in one spot or another. Sure, they had hang outs, hide outs, cribs; but they didn't live in any one place. They owned. They were.
The girl shook her head, but her full lips stretched into a smile. That got his blood pumping. She may have smiled out of pity but fucking hell if Johnny couldn't imagine those lips wrapped around his junk. "I can't even imagine what that must be like." She then leaned in and lowered her voice, "honestly, do you ever get a little scared of it all?"
It was Johnny's turn to grin. The damned girl was clueless. "The moment you're scared, is the moment you're dead." That much was true. She didn't need to know that not only was he not scared by anything in the god damned world, but he loved, absolutely loved making trouble for the other gangs, whether it was blowing their cargo or their brains up. It was kind of fun literally scaring the shit out of people.
She pursed her lips and looked at the wall thoughtfully for a moment, looking as if she was beginning to understand the realities of the area. "Makes sense," she said, nodding, and downed the last contents of the bottle.
"You know," Johnny began, trying to lure her into sticking around for another round. Maybe, just maybe, if she got enough drinks in her, he'd get to tap that sweet, innocent ass of hers after all. "For someone that didn't want to be nice tonight, you sure seem friendly."
She laughed aloud; probably loud enough for the other patrons to turn to look at her but Johnny didn't bother confirming this. "Maybe you just make good company," she said, she hadn't looked at him when she said this, and instead set her gaze on the empty bottle she was holding, but Johnny could see a little playful smirk on her face. Well damn if his odds weren't looking better by the second. Where was a bookie when you needed one?
After setting her bottle down, the girl signaled the bartender to pay, who came over as quickly as he could after cleaning up a biker's spilled drink, and pulled out her phone to look at the time. "Well, I came here for the views, and the sun's about to set on the shore outside the bar. That's my cue." She paid her tab, even leaving a tip.
Johnny was seeing all kinds of oddities today; it had to be the first time a big biker like that actually drink enough to get wasted, and that someone other than show offs or people like him left a tip was astounding. Like he needed more proof she wasn't from the area.
When she hopped down her barstool, she turned to him, and though it would be easy to steal a glance are her chest, Johnny turned on what Aisha had once called his 'fine gentleman self' and focused on her eyes. Well, maybe a quick peek at her cleavage. So much for being a gentleman.
"Thank you again for all your help," she said, tucking her phone into her back pant pocket, "If you ever find yourself across the lake, I hope we run into each other. I'll tell you which restaurants to avoid or what places are actually open after midnight. There aren't many, but still." Her smirk returned, and Johnny couldn't help but chuckle at her joke. When anyone laughed around here it was usually at the expense of someone else… Not like right now.
She gave him one last smile before she was out the doors. And just as quickly as she'd arrived, she left him staring after her. But Johnny had never been one to back down so easily. Not when he really wanted something. And he really wanted her.