“You’re lucky you didn’t break it,” I said as I stood up with it in my hand.
“Oh? Are we? Little girl’s got some balls, does she?”
They reminded me of wolves as they circled around me. One took a swig from a fifth of whiskey then handed it to someone else.
“Look, I’m calling the police. You don’t want to be here when they arrive.”
I held my phone up and turned on the screen.
Would they leave if I acted calm and not afraid? That was my only hope.
“Come on,” he said. “Let me get a taste of you at least.”
“No!” I shouted then attempted to walk past him.
He and the others stopped me, closing the circle.
“You’re not hot enough to fuck, but I’ll give you a little lick,” red-shirt said.
“Get her, Derek,” someone said.
“Don’t use my name, asshole!” he shouted angrily.
“Look, if you let me go on my way, we’ll call it a night, okay? No harm, no foul.”
“Like I said, let me get a little taste, and I’ll let you go on your way.”
He reached for me again. I pulled away. Someone behind me put his hands on my waist and said, “Settle down, honey, and it will all be over quick.”
I would never forget the darkness in his voice, or what happened next.
Out of nowhere, Austin King, star Running Back for the Buffalo State Giants, appeared in between two of the others, joining their circle.
“What’s up, fellas?” he said, putting his hands on the two shoulders next to him.
“What the fuck do you want, Austin?” Derek, in the red shirt, asked haughtily.
“Can’t you guys get laid back at the frat house? Do you need to be out here harassing young women like…” He looked over at me. “What’s your name?”
“Brooke,” I said in as steady of a voice as I could muster.
“You don’t need to be harassing a nice lady like Brooke. Not tonight.”
“What do you have to do with her?” Derek asked.
He and the others stepped back, surrounding Austin and myself.
“Do you really want to do this?” Austin asked in a cocky voice.
I stared at his body so fit, huge, and ready for anything.
“Let’s just go,” I pleaded.
“No,” he said, not taking his eyes off Derek. “These idiots need to learn a lesson.”
“Yeah?” Derek and the others laughed. “What are you going to do about it? There’s more of us than you, dumbass.”
“You need a counting lesson.”