I blinked, and Bruiser had slammed him to the ground and was on top of him. Standing up, Bruiser tossed the man over his shoulder and carried him out of the club as if he were his son.
People started to watch the commotion. Jeb followed Bruiser outside, and by that time Channing, Kemara’s husband, had come back to the table, found out what happened, and went outside, as well.
“Are you okay, Alise?” a visibly shaken Tameka asked.
“I’m a little shaken up, but I will be alright,” I said, taking a deep breath and finally a long-awaited drink of wine.
“There’s always one that tries to mess up a good night,” Jayne said, shaking her head.
“I bet he wishes he hadn’t after Bruiser got hold of him,” Kemara chimed in.
Jayne began joking about the way the man wailed when Bruiser slammed him. We laughed. Yet, none of this sat well with me. It was funny, but not funny at the same time.
“I don’t know what I would have done if he didn’t step in when he did. That man was a lunatic,” I said.
“Hell, with that crazy motherfucker making threats to bother you again, you may need to hire Bruiser as your personal bodyguard. I know I’d love to have him personally guard me, whew,” Jayne said as she fanned herself dramatically. She leaned in close to my ear and added, “You know Bruiser looked good as hell when he took that man down.”
“Calm down, sis. I don’t need anyone to guard me,” I replied. “I refuse to allow a crazy person to have me running scared.”
I wore a shield of bravery but shook internally. No one ever looked at me with a crazed look in their eyes like that. He didn’t look logical or sane at all. He definitely didn’t look like he gave up easily. I feared he would come back looking for me and catch me alone and defenseless. For all I knew, I could have landed myself in the crosshairs of a serial killer.
I couldn’t tell my friends that I was scared, but I was afraid of this man’s obsession with me. Every time he came to the club, he had to make himself known. He approached me and gave off this weird vibe as if we were already a couple. I didn’t like the thought of giving up even a little bit of my independence, but maybe it was time for me to hire a bodyguard.
“With the way the world is these days, I might look into getting some security,” I said, both to appease my friends and to quiet my grim thoughts.
“I’m just saying, Bruiser… He’s the man for the J-O-B,” Jayne repeated, dramatically snapping her fingers.
Tameka joined Jayne and pleaded her case, too.
“Okay, I’ll check into Bruiser’s company and see if he has someone that can go with me to my events and see me home safely on those nights,” I relented. That was as far as I would go. I would much rather buy a gun and defend myself if need be.
“That’s all I’m saying,” Jayne said, sounding relieved.
“If you have crazed fans at this level, wait until you hit number one on iTunes,” Tameka said.
“Well, let’s just drink to you hitting that number one spot soon!” Kemara said encouragingly, and that was something I would happily drink to.
?
1:16 a.m.
I packed my things and said my goodbyes to Tameka. Kemara and Channing had already gone home. Jayne had planned to come to my house for the night but got a call from Ned, and that was that. I tried to talk her out of it, but she ran out of the club before I could
count to five. I made it to my car with security watching me, but I forgot my charger, so I had to run back inside.
“Hey, give me a second, and I’ll walk you out,” Bruiser said when I reached the door again.
“I’m good, Bruiser. Goodnight.” I was exhausted and didn’t feel like waiting. I continued on, exiting the door, heading to my car.
“Alise, I said wait. I’m going to walk with you to your car.”
I had parked in one of the parking spaces close to the doorway. I didn’t think I needed anyone to walk me the short distance, but I only said, “O—kay,” and continued walking. While talking with my friends at the table earlier, I had convinced myself to be scared of my own shadow, but I was a big girl. I refused to live in fear. I could take care of myself.
I was a few steps away from the building when I was jolted to a halt. I looked down at my arm that Bruiser’s large hand had tugged to get me to face him.
“What’s up with men grabbing me tonight?” I asked, glaring at him with a confused look on my face. It wasn’t that he touched me. Most times, I welcomed that from Bruiser. It was that the way he grabbed me made me think he was the man from earlier.
He loosened his grip a little, but he didn’t let me go. “Alise, you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. Someone could be out here waiting for you. That’s why I asked you to wait for me.”