Chinese Takeout Ch. 05

"Well, better move on, Tunes, gotta grab some food." Keith nodded at the other two. "Roo, Drop, good meeting you guys." They nodded back, sat back down.

"Good seeing ya, bro," Tunes grinned, slapping Keith's shoulder. "Blue." He gave me another nod. "I'll drop over before I go, Round Out, saw Joker come in, you looking for him?"

"Yeah, bringing Blue over to meet him and Jen."

"Okay bro, sounds cool, be good to catch up with Joker, haven't seen him for too long either. Nice meeting ya, Blue."

I smiled back shyly, tucked in close to Keith, holding Keith's hand as we threaded down the aisle towards the counter. I saw someone I knew, that guy Seth, sitting with a couple of other guys and a girl. Danielle? From Kitty Kats? He was looking our way, not saying anything. Looked like he wanted to though. I gave him a wave, a smile. "Hi Seth. Hi Danielle." I knew one of the other guys. He'd been with Seth at Kitty Kat's. What was his name?

"Hi Blue." Seth grinned, gave me a small wave.

Danielle grinned a big shit-eating grin. "Hi Blue, how are ya' Round Out."

Beside me, Keith looked around, looked startled for a second. "Hey, Seth, how are ya man? Danielle, looking as good as ever." A little surge of jealousy ripped through me. Just for a moment. But I knew I didn't need to be jealous. Not the way Keith looked at me.

"Round Out... doing good man, real good." Seth looked pleased, even more pleased when Keith reached out, took his hand, slapped his shoulder.

Keith glanced at me. "You guys met?"

I grinned. "Yeah, on my way to Quebec's with Olaf last night. Olaf introduced us."

Keith raised an eyebrow. I giggled. For once it was me surprising Keith. "Met Danielle as well, she wanted to hear all about how you and me met." I giggled again as he raised an eyebrow. Danielle's grin grew larger still.

"Kitty Kat's huh, what'd you think of that place?"

"It was interesting," I smiled, eyeing him, thinking of that girl dancing on the bar. Thinking of doing that with Keith. Danielle giggled.

"I gotta hear about this later," Keith was grinning. "Hey Seth, meeting Joker, you seen him and Jen?"

"Yeah, sure have Round Out, they got a table over there by the window." He gestured. Keith looked, waved. I saw a big guy with lots of hair and a shaggy beard wave back.

Keith grinned. "Thanks man. Hey, you coming next Sunday?"

"Couldn't keep me away, Round Out." Seth grinned. Gestured with his head at the two guys he was sitting with. "Greg and Steve were wondering if they could come along for the ride, told 'em I'd ask." I remembered Greg now; he'd been with Seth at Kitty Kat's.

Keith looked at them. I followed his look. They were sort of like clones of Seth. Young guys, early twenties maybe, eager, enthusiastic. They looked tough, way tougher than those rice boys that the Chua bitch hung out with but not tough and mean like those Satan's Slaves. Not tough like Keith or Olaf or Meek or Quebec. "Hey, it's a fun run, not an official Club run, no harm in you guys coming for the ride, you've been around for a while, right? You already met a few of the brothers? Seen you guys round here 'n there."

Greg nodded. "Yeah, know Olaf and Meek and Goblin 'n we rode a few times with Noodle 'n Romeo."

"Watcha riding?"

Greg grinned. "Sportster, Iron eight eight three."

Keith looked at Steve. "You ride that old V-Rod Muscle, right?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"Those'll do it," Keith nodded. He looked them over again, slowly. "Yeah, Seth. You bring 'em along on the run, anyone asks, you can say you cleared it me with, okay. Why don't you guys come along after the run, we're doing a barbeque, we can have a chat, maybe introduce you to a couple more 'a the brothers. I'll call around, let 'em know you're coming." He eyed them for a long moment. "You guys remember, you're my fuckin' guests 'n Seth asked if you could tag along. No fucking around on the run and mind your fuckin' manners at the barbecue, clear? Includes you, Danielle, no fuckin' stripping at the barbecue, okay, you come, you fuckin' behave. None of that kittie kat shit, we good?"

"Yeah, we're good. That'd be great Round Out, thanks man." Greg looked like his day'd been made. Actually, all three of them did.

"Appreciate that, Round Out." Seth looked like he was on Cloud Nine or something.

Danielle nodded. She wasn't smiling now.

"See ya next Sunday then, Seth. Greg. Steve. Danielle." Keith nodded, turning away.

"Bye guys, bye Danielle." I followed, smiling, not feeling quite so much the outsider. They were already talking away animatedly as we moved on.

It took us ten minutes to get to the counter. Every second table someone seemed to know Keith. We'd pause, Keith and whoever would chat, he'd introduce me as Blue, his Ol' Lady. They'd look at me, nod, smile; I'd nod and smile back. I lost track of the names right away. There were just too many of them. One thing I was sure of, Keith was showing me round, introducing me. They'd all remember who I was, they'd know I was Keith's. Know I was Round Out's 'Ol Lady.

We met four more of Keith's SBC brothers. I did try to remember their handles, failed miserably. There were just so many names and they came one after the other.

"What about Joker?" I asked. "Is he expecting us or anything?"

Keith grinned. "He knows the game, told him I was bringing you. No worries, he ain't in no hurry, not today."

That was a relief. But I was getting hungry. Breakfast had been a while ago. At least the menu on the wall about the counter was easy to read. I was busy checking it out when Keith patted my butt. God, every time he did that I just wanted him.

"You hungry sweetheart, want to order?"

"Yes please." I giggled, looked up at him. "I'm starving."

Now he grinned. "Okay, let's do it. You know what you want?

"Yeah, an omelet."

"Seriously? That's it? An omelet?"

I laughed. "And an English muffin and coffee. I'm dying for another coffee."

"Me too." He led me up to the counter. "Hi Mitch, what's good today? Don't want food poisoning."

"Bite me, Round Out, it's all good." She laughed at him. Grinned at me, peered at my jacket. "Hi ... Blue, what'll you have? The asshole you're with can wait his turn."

I laughed. "Tomato and spinach omelet with a side order of salad and one English muffin, no butter, and a large coffee, black, no sugar."

"No wonder you're so slim sweetie. Now, what's the asshole with you having?"

Keith laughed. "Same as always, Mitch, the ribs breakfast special 'n a large coffee, double cream no sugar."

"Oooooh," Mitch said, "that cream, it'll kill you Round Out."

They both laughed. Mitch rang it up, Keith paid, got a ticket back. "Be ready in five, maybe ten minutes," Mitch said. "You enjoy yourself Blue. ... NEXT ... come on, shake your ass, dude, shoulda made up your mind before you got up here, there's a queue here donchaknow 'n there's some hungry mothers behind you ..."

"Okay, let's go siddown with Joker and Jen." Keith smiled at me. Anxiously? Huhhh...? Keith. Anxious? "Joker and I, we go way back, Jay-Lin. High School together, went into the Army together, he's a bit ... he's ... " He shrugged. "You'll see, just take him as he is, okay, he's a real brother ..."

"And you guys go way back." I smiled up at him. "Don't worry about it Keith, I'm good." I had another question though. "Why's everyone we talked to up this end of the Café? Who're all those guys down the other end? They're dressed real different." They were. Up this end, everyone was in black or brown leather, denim jerkin things, old jeans or leather trousers. Down the other end, they were far more brightly colored jackets with names like Dainese, Spidi, Alpinestars, REV'IT, Joe Rocket and more. They were a lot different to the leathers Keith and I wore. The guys wearing them mostly looked younger as well. In the center of the Café, it seemed to be a bit more of a mix.

Keith grinned. "Wondered if you'd notice. It's the great class divide. Harley riders and bikers this end, Rice Rocket riders the other end, euro trash in the middle."

"Euro trash?" I mean, I got Rice Rocket, that was obvious, but what the heck?

"Guys that ride European motorcycles. Beemers, Ducati's, Moto Guzzi's, there's a coupla others. Guys that ride Triumph's, that's a Brit bike, there's not that many round here but they kinda qualify to sit with the Harley guys."

"Like that AJS in your workshop? And that other one, what was it?"

"Yeah, that's right." His grin lit me up. "You remembered those, sweetheart? That other one, that's an old Norton Commando, real old classic bike that one. That'd qualify for sure if anyone around here rode one ... Hey Joker, Jen, this is Blue, also known as Jay-Lin."

"Hi Blue, we've heard so much about you." Jen was standing up, hugging me. Tall leggy blonde was my first impression, a lot older than me. Late twenties? But a big friendly smile as she looked at me. "He's already got you your jacket huh? Fast work, Round Out. Punch made it for you?" That last was directed at me.

"Yeah." I smiled back. "This morning before we came here."

Jen laughed as she sat down, patting the chair next to her. "Okay, Round Out's pulling out all the stops here, how'd you swing that with Punch, Round Out?"

Keith grinned, one arm around Joker's shoulder as he sat down. "I begged. But hey, you know Punch, he came through."

"Yeah, he always does." Joker spoke for the first time, slowly, watching me. "Nice to meet ya Blue, gotta say, you're not what I expected."

I giggled. "Why does everyone that knows Round Out say that? You should've seen Danielle's face last night. And heard her. She thought Olaf was pulling her tit." Yeah, that was what she'd said.

Jen laughed. "You met Danielle?"

"Yeah, Olaf took me in to Kitty Kat's to help him on the way to Quebec's gym."

Jen threw her head back and laughed. "God, I wish I'd been there. Round Out said you were in High School. Saint Bernadette's? You weren't wearing your uniform were you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was."

Jen was laughing so hard she had tears trickling down her cheeks. She was trying to say something but she couldn't.

Joker raised an eyebrow, still looking at me with that disconcertingly piercing gaze. "So what'd you think of Olaf?"

"Scary," I said, very firmly. "Very very scary and he was really nice to me."

Joker nodded, grinned for the first time. "Yeah, Olaf's like that."

Keith looked serious now, his arm still around Joker's shoulders. "Olaf and Joker and I go way way back Jay-Lin, we were in the Army together, same unit over in the 'Stan, did three tours together, Joker and me and Olaf and Quebec and Tunes. Went through a lot of shit together didn't we, Joker."

"No shit, man, the 'Stan, that place was something else." Joker shook his head, he and Keith sharing a look. "You've been through that shit together, you got a bond, something you don't understand 'less you been through it yourself. Thicker than blood."

Jen reached across the table, punched Joker lightly. "Lay off that shit, Joker. We're here to have fun and meet Jay-Lin, 'kay? Don't be telling war stories now, save that shit for when you guys go drinking without us, okay."

Joker laughed. "You got it Jen. But seriously, I wanna hear what went down at Kitty Kats."

I grinned. "Well, every guy I ran into thought I was a stripper. Until Olaf or Meek put them right. I got tipped twenty bucks on the way out the door."

"Huh?" Keith looked a bit shocked.

I giggled at the look on his face. "Yeah, but Meek and Olaf scared them off. I gave the tip to Meek to buy a beer with after he finished work. Him and Olaf, they thought it was funny." Well, so did I now. I'd been a bit indignant at the time, but now it made me smile.

Jen was laughing again. "Jesus Christ, I wish I'd been there," she managed to say. Her laughter was infectious, Joker was chuckling. Looking at me and chuckling. Keith was looking at me and grinning, shaking his head.

"Number 64" the speakers said, "Number 64."

That was us. "I'll get it," I said, standing, taking our ticket from Keith's hand. I'd already noticed that it was always the girls going to get the orders from the Counter. Not the guys. Unless they were by themselves. No way was I going to embarrass Keith by letting him get our order when he was with me. I knew he'd been going to, I'd seen him start to move but I was faster. I gave him a little smile. He smiled back. I didn't need him to say anything. That smile told me I was doing the right thing.

Ticket in hand, I threaded down the aisle. I liked this Café. It was humming, friendly, social. Camaraderie. That was what it was. Most of the guys here looked pretty scary, a lot of the girls did too, but once I kind of got past the scary factor, there was an atmosphere of camaraderie. Testosterone loaded camaraderie mind you. A lot of them seemed to know each other, exchanged greetings, slapped each other on the back, hugged each other, pushed past each other; joined the tables of people they knew. Just like we had. I liked that. I almost felt part of it except I didn't really know anyone except Keith. But they accepted me because I was with Keith and my boots and my gloves tucked in one pocket and my leather jacket said I belonged. I was the only Asian girl there, but nobody gave me a second glance.

At the counter, I swapped my ticket for the tray.

Then blinked.

I hadn't expected quite so much food. I could tell which was Keith's plate and which was mine, no problem. None at all. That gigantic oval plate loaded with a huge rack of ribs coated in hickory and hoi-sin sauce with a side of what looked like half a loaf of corn bread and four poached eggs was his. Definitely. Mine? A humongous tomato and spinach omelet with a side order of salad and one English muffin, no butter. My mouth started watering. I wasn't sure that I could eat it all but I was sure going to try.

"I'll bring your coffee over, honey," the waitress smiled, "just making a fresh pot." A second later she looked past me, her eyes widening.

"Hey slant-eyes, ah figure you can come back with me and sit on my face. Ah always wanted to see if gook pussy goes sideways." The voice came from behind me. Skanky breath and a wave of body odor came with it. Gross.

"Huh?" My heart jumped. Keith'd said nobody would bother me with that new jacket that said I was his. Who was this guy? I turned around, stunned, holding the tray with our order.

"Siddown before you get yourself in a shitload of trouble, Luther, she's with ..." The waitress was loud behind me.

"Fuckoff Mitch, mind your own fuckin' business...You heard me Mulan, come and sit on my face." His breath was even worse when I faced him. Waaaay gross. Jesus, he was huge. A bear of a guy, almost bigger than Keith. Unshaven, blood-shot eyes, tatty old denim jacket, not a Cut. Even I knew he wasn't a real biker. Maybe a wannabe. But really, just an asshole. A huge asshole. I was too shocked and startled to be scared.

"Go fuck yourself asshole, I'm with someone .., and I wouldn't touch you with a barge-pole if I wasn't, you smell like a skunk." I wasn't keeping my voice down either. Jesus, where'd all this confidence come from? Last week, before I met Keith, I'd have screamed and run. Really, I would've.

"Well fuck who you're with, and who the fuck're you calling asshole you little gook slut?" His voice was as loud as his breath was skanky. He started to crowd me. I had to step back, banging into the counter.

"Who the fuck are you calling a gook slut, asshole? I'm Chinese, not Korean." I was angry, not scared. Was he nuts? Hadn't he seen my jacket? Or was I nuts, standing their swearing back at some monster? Shouldn't I just drop the tray and run? Where was Keith?

The asshole teleported three feet away from me. I watched, relieved but also fascinated as his head jerked back; his body arched. The sound of a fist impacting his body came a fraction of a second later, a solid thump as Keith's fist sank into his side to the wrist, so fast I could barely see it. Keith's other hand was wrapped in the asshole's long greasy hair, snapping his head back, holding him up by the hair as his knees buckled.

"Who the fuck are YOU talking too, Asshole?" Keith's voice was a wolf's snarl. His fist blurred again, pile-drivered into the big asshole's gut. He would've doubled over except Keith's hand wrapped in his hair held him up. I watched, wide-eyed, my heart beating like a rabbits. I wasn't worried about Keith though. I knew he could look after himself. Not just that, he was looking after me.

The Café'd gone dead silent in an instant. Heads turned our way, watching. Joker was on his feet, moving towards us. Tunes and those two Satan's Slaves he was with. Those other SBC brothers I'd met coming in and that hang around, Seth, along with the two other guys with him, Steve and Greg, they were pushing fast down the aisle towards us as well, other bikers and their girls getting out of their way. When the Asshole didn't struggle, when the guys the asshole had been sitting with didn't move, when the asshole didn't fight back, they returned to their seats, sat back down again. Slowly. The way a pack of wolves sits. Alert. Watching. Intent.

So was I. Watching, that is. I wasn't scared, I was fascinated. I'd never seen Keith like this. Mind you, I hadn't know him that long either. He was scary though. Scary in a good way mind you, coz he was looking after me, protecting me. I felt good about that, knowing Keith cared so much for me.

"Her," the asshole gasped, "I'm talkin' to her, not you manOOOOOOPPHHHHH."

Keith's fist blurred again. The thump audible throughout the dead silence of the Café. The asshole sank to his knees on the floor, whooping for breath. "Read her fuckin' handle, asshole. What's it say?"

"Blue. Her handle's Blue... Baby Blue."

"Good ... very fuckin' good ..." Keith smiled at me, his voice suddenly gentle "Turn around, baby."

I turned my back to Keith and the asshole, still holding our tray.

"What the fuck does her jacket say, asshole? What's the fuck else does it say?" Keith shook the asshole's head like a rat's. A large rat.

"Round Out ... it says ... Property of Round Out."

"You know, I think we're starting to really connect here, dumbfuck... so who the fuck do you think you're talking to now?"

"Round Out ... Ah'm talking to Round Out." He didn't sound like he wanted to though.

"Oh yeah, you are, and you just called my Ol' Lady a gook slut didn't you? You just fuckin' dishonored my Ol' Lady asshole." Keith lifted him from his knees to his feet in one jerk. By his hair. The asshole half-screamed, a scream that was cut off as Keith's buried his fist to the wrist in the guy's gut. Again. Hard. I didn't feel sorry for him at all. Keith was in his face, his voice that wolf's snarl again. "You dumbfuck. ... You ever tried to pick your teeth off the floor with broken fingers? You want to try?"

The way he said it sent chills down my spine. I knew Keith would do it, that he'd break that guys teeth. And his fingers. Then make him pick the pieces up with his broken fingers. He would.

The asshole shook his head jerkily. No, no he didn't want that at all.

"See that jacket she's wearing, asshole," Keith was angry. His hand on my shoulder gently turned me round to face the other way. To face the entire Café. A sea of faces, all turned towards us, all looking at me. At Keith. At the Asshole. "Fuckin' read it out loud again asshole ... I want the whole fuckin' Café to hear you ... YOU CAN FUCKIN' READ CAN'T YOU? ... SO FUCKIN' READ IT, ASSHOLE!"

I shivered, scared now. He was just so intense, his expression so fierce. Keith's hand patted my shoulder, then stayed there, resting lightly. Reassuring me. Protecting me. His other hand was entwined in the asshole's hair. Not gently either. He shook the Asshole's head. I could see he was more or less hanging by the hair from Keith's hand. That must hurt. It made me realize just how strong Keith was too. I really wasn't feeling sorry for the asshole. I kindof hoped it was hurting him. Jerk.