The music was bumping and the dance floor was crowded. While she waited for Raq to make her way back from the bar with their drinks, Bathsheba watched dozens of people perform the synchronized movements of the latest line dance. She knew how to do the usual party favorites—the Bus Stop, the Cha-Cha Slide, the Cupid Shuffle, and the Wobble—but the new dances were beyond her. They were fun to watch but hell to learn.
She could feel Ice’s card burning a hole in her pocket. She wanted to pull it out and put it to use right away, but she didn’t want to appear too eager. If she were as indecisive as she was pretending to be, she needed to let some time pass before she acted on the offer she had been given.
She wondered what Ice had in mind for her. Did he want her to be Raq’s contemporary, or her successor? Did he want them to fight alongside each other or against each other? Raq was probably wondering the same thing. She hadn’t had much to say during the short walk from Pop’s to the club. Bathsheba was still trying to earn her trust, and it was already being tested. She needed to figure out how she was going to play this unexpected card she had been dealt and she needed to figure it out fast.
She walked the edges of the dance floor, trying to find an empty booth.
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
The question made Bathsheba stop in her tracks. The club was packed, filled with people she didn’t recognize, but someone had apparently recognized her. She slowly turned to see who had spoken, hoping against hope she wasn’t about to come face-to-face with someone from her past.
The speaker was a young woman who didn’t look old enough to drink, despite the colorful cocktail in her hand. Her clothes were too tight and too short, and either her heels were too high or her drink was too strong because she was unsteady on her feet.
“I do know you, don’t I?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
“No,” Bathsheba said, loosing a sigh of relief, “I can honestly say we’ve never met before.”
“Oh, my bad.”
“But keep trying, though. I’m sure there’s someone here tonight who can’t wait to get to know you.”
“Thanks.”
As Bathsheba slid into an empty booth, she remembered when she was young and yearning. She had made sure not to move too fast, but she didn’t think her young friend could say the same.
“Was Cinnamon bothering you?” Raq asked when she finally showed up with the drinks.
“No, she was just saying hello.” Bathsheba took a sip of her drink. Just a tiny one, though. Alcohol dulled the senses and she needed to keep her wits about her. “Cinnamon. Is that really her name?”
“Yeah. She has sisters at home named Sugar and Spice. They’re twins, but they aren’t identical.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Raq broke into a smile. “Yeah, I am, but I had you going for a minute, didn’t I?”
“That you did.”
Raq spread her arms across the back of the booth. “Are you going to take Ice up on his offer?”
Bathsheba tried to read her, but Raq’s poker face was too good. “I don’t know. What do you think I should do?”
Raq shrugged and reached for her drink. “What works for some people doesn’t work for others. You might like it. You might not. Everybody’s different.”
“It works for you, though, right? You seem to be doing okay.”
“I can’t complain.”
“So tell me how it works. Do you have a say in who you fight?”
Raq shook her head. “The promoters book the fights and the fighters fight. Sometimes, I don’t know who I’m going up against until I step into the ring.”
“How do you know what to expect?”
“I don’t. That’s what keeps things interesting.”
“How’s the money?”
“The money’s good, but you won’t get rich doing this, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“So even if I say yes, I won’t be trading my apartment in the complex for a penthouse downtown any time soon.”
“Not unless you know something I don’t.”
“I doubt that. You’ve been at this a lot longer than I have.”
“Are you thinking about doing this full-time or do you have a steady gig and you’re just looking for some excitement?”
Bathsheba trotted out her cover story. “I do some office work part-time. It’s a temp job that pays the bills, but it doesn’t excite me, you know what I’m saying?”
“Yeah, I know. I saw your face tonight when I was in the ring. I could tell you know how good it feels to prove yourself against someone one-on-one. But have you thought about what you’d say to your boss if you showed up at the office with a black eye and a busted lip? If he thinks your boyfriend is tuning you up, he might march you down to the police station and make you fill out a report.”
“I doubt it. Once he found out I prefer to date women, he stopped asking me questions about my personal life. But you’re right. If I show up with bruises, I’ll have to tell him something. What excuse do you use?”
Raq shifted in her seat. “I don’t keep office hours, so no one cares what I look like during the day. Besides, I haven’t had a black eye since I was fifteen and that one didn’t come in the ring.”
“How did it happen?”
Raq cracked her swollen knuckles. “My old man ran out when I was two. My mother had a string of boyfriends after he left. Her last one used to use me as a punching bag because I wouldn’t put out for him. That shit stopped right quick as soon as Pop taught me how to lay that motherfucker out. Ice heard what happened and set me up with my first fight. The rest, as they say, is history. What’s your story? Are your people from around here?”
“I grew up on Bradford Street, but we didn’t stay in one place long enough to call any of them home.”
“I hear you. Sounds like we both had it hard coming up.”
“No doubt, but a difficult past makes for a sweeter present.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Raq slid closer. “The day we met, you said I had to earn my time with you. How am I doing so far?”
“Well enough that you don’t have to ask.”
“That good, huh? Would you like to dance or should we skip straight to the after-party?”
Raq leaned in for a kiss, but Bathsheba stopped her by putting a finger against her lips.
“Why don’t we try the appetizer before we start in on dessert?” She pulled Raq out of the booth and onto the dance floor.
“You’re only delaying the inevitable, you know.”
“What’s the matter?” Bathsheba moved her body to the music, rolling her hips to the rhythm of the thumping bass line. “Don’t you think I’m worth the wait?”
Raq’s eyes moved hungrily over her. “I know you are. That’s why I don’t want to wait.”
Teasing her, Bathsheba stroked Raq’s earlobe and sensually ground her hips against her. When she felt Raq start to respond, she moved away. “What did you say in the ring? Next round.”
Raq grabbed her and pulled her to her as the music slowed. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said as her hands locked around Bathsheba’s waist.
Bathsheba ran her hands up the rippled indentations in Raq’s stomach and circled them around her neck. “I hope you do.”
Raq leaned back and gave her an appraising look eerily similar to the one Ice had given her back at the warehouse after Raq’s fight. Raq not only took her cues from him, she seemed to get her moves from him as well. He was obviously much more than her employer. He was her mentor and idol as well. Coming between them might be harder than Bathsheba had expected.
“Do you want me to come with you when you talk to Ice?” Raq asked.
“I haven’t made up my mind yet about meeting with him. How do you know I’ll decide to hear what he has to say?”
“You’d be crazy not to. Look around. No one else around here is hiring. And if I go with you, I can make sure he offers you a good deal. It won’t be as good as mine, but I’ll see to it he treats you right. Then I can take you under my wing. Look out for you. Show you the ropes. Make you my protégée. Isn’t that what they call it?”
“You’d do that for me?” Bathsheba stroked the back of Raq’s neck, feeling the corded muscles move beneath her palm.
“That and a whole lot more. If you let me.”
Raq’s voice deepened and her eyes went dark. She leaned in for a kiss like she had in the booth. Bathsheba backed away once more, but she knew she couldn’t put Raq off forever. She had to do enough to keep her interested, but how long would it take before Raq started asking for more?
“You mean to tell me I haven’t earned a kiss yet?” Raq asked.
“Ask me after we talk to Ice and we’ll see.”