Nikki wiped the cloth over the polished wooden counter that was her bar. If she had actually been paying attention, she might have started to worry about wiping the polish right off of the bar, but, she wasn't paying attention to her rag, wiping the same spot, over and over and over again. Her eyes were fixed intently on a guy and a girl on the other side of the room from where her counter lay. Her expression kept changing from shooting daggers into the guy's back and eliciting concern over the girl's features.
If he makes one wrong move... Nikki let the unfinished thought dangle in her mind. Kelly had broken up with Shane a few weeks prior, but Shane kept following Kelly around like a lost...not puppy dog. Nikki bit her bottom lip in thought. Shane was more like a Doberman Pinscher. Extremely loyal with few, but a raging ball of fury with everyone else. Nikki wasn't exactly sure where Kelly fit in on that scale yet, but as Shane hadn't made any threatening moves towards her, well, Nikki couldn't really do anything until he did. She hoped it didn't come to that.
Nikki's eyes finally fell to the motion of her right hand and she immediately whipped the rag away from the bar. She swore as she leaned down to eyeball the counter, but a sigh of relief left her lips. She hadn't completely wiped the polish from the counter, but she couldn't deny that it was a bit thinner. Maybe Jimmy had something that could fix that. She made a mental note to ask him the next day.
Sparing one last glance towards the uncomfortable couple, and not noticing anything awry, she grabbed a bucket of used glasses and disappeared into the back to wash them for business the next day. It was pretty close to closing time and, with the exception of Nikki, Shane and Kelly, there were only two other occupants in the Cannery, both fishermen who had just paid their bills and were getting ready to return home for a few hours of sleep before heading back out to sea.
The rush of the water spewing forth out of the faucet drowned out all other noise and Nikki quickly scrubbed the glasses clean, before setting them on the racks by the sinks. It wasn't until she shut off the water that she heard raised voices coming from the main room. "Shane!" Nikki angrily mumbled under her breath. She threw down the towel she had been drying her hands on and stormed furiously into the barroom.
Without missing a beat, she took in the scene as she moved out from behind the counter and across the room. Shane had apparently taken advantage of Nikki's absence to corner Kelly, which was exactly how Nikki found them. Shane had Kelly's wrist held in a vice-like grip, as he was threatening her in a low voice full of anger. Nikki grabbed Shane's collar at the back of the neck and, with a strength that even surprised herself, she ripped him away from Kelly. Shane, not used to this kind of treatment from Nikki, of all people, quickly regained his balance and swung around to confront Nikki, only to find her standing between him and Kelly.
"Get out of here, Shane," Nikki said threateningly. Nikki had folded her arms over her chest and was looking at him with a look that plainly expressed her current hatred of him. Nikki watched as Shane's lips curled away from his teeth and she was struck by how much he resembled a rabid dog. The look he shot at her was pure venom, but Nikki refused to back down. Kelly was her friend and she wasn't going to leave her to face Shane alone. "Don't make me ask you again."
Shane, glaring back and forth at Nikki and Kelly, seemed to be weighing the options in his head. Finally, he straightened up and stalked towards the exit. He turned to look once more at Nikki and Kelly, before a sick smile crossed his features and he spat on the barroom floor.
"Shane Pierce!" Nikki screamed at his retreating backside. She could feel her skin flushing bright red in anger, and she started across the barroom floor after him. Kelly grabbed her arm to keep her from following him. Nikki turned to snap at Kelly, but stopped at Kelly's expression.
"Don't," Kelly said quietly. "I'll clean it up." She stared vacantly at the door that Shane had disappeared through. Finally, Kelly's head dropped down and she took a napkin from the bar.
"You don't have to do that," Nikki replied, moving to block Kelly's way. Kelly just moved wordlessly past her. She knelt down to clean up the spot from the floor and when she was done, she sat down at one of the bar stools. Nikki just watched her silently. What did Shane do to her? "At least let me give you a ride home? I don't want to risk you running into him out there."
"Okay," Kelly said.
"Let me finish cleaning up here and then we can head out." Nikki walked over to the door and opened it. She peered out into the darkness, making sure there was no one hanging around, especially a certain dark-haired individual who could set Nikki's blood to boiling. Seeing nothing, she closed the door again and locked it firmly behind her. She gave Kelly a quick smile while she moved about the room putting chairs and bar stools up. She covered the pool tables and put the darts from the dartboard safely behind the bar. She was putting the alcohol away, the last thing she had to do, when an idea struck her. Turning to Kelly, she put two shot glasses on the counter with a bottle of fiery liquid next to it.
"How about one on the house?"