Bad Girl Blogfest

Today is the Bad Girl Blogfest, hosted by The Write Runner so after you're done with mine you should check everyone else's!

This scene is from one of my WIPs, A Dangerous Mind. This is also a continuation of the Bar Scene Blogfest.Enjoy!



After the fist fight Li and his minions showed up every night to Mr. Chen’s club, Stir. I watched them for a reason to pick a fight, but so far they behaved. Mr. Chen assured me they were just there for the club’s protection from the other gangs, but I didn’t believe him.

I watched Li sit in the lounge area with two beautiful Asian girls on his arms, girls I mentally dubbed as cupcakes, and the other members of the Dragon gang around him. Bai, the guy who stabbed me, seemed to be in charge, which was weird, because Li could beat Bai. Normally pecking order in gangs was arranged by skill. But obviously their gang didn’t work on that principal, because Li was just their lap dog.

I leaned over to refill a grungy looking girl’s Screwdriver, and my side screamed in pain. The spot where Bai stabbed me was shallow, but it still hurt like nobody’s business. He couldn’t even stab someone properly. I would keep that thought to myself though. I wasn’t that stupid. I took another shot of whiskey to dull the pain, and felt it burn all the way down.

“Alcohol is bad for you,” Li said from behind me. He barely had an accent, and sounded like he was raised in the United States.

I pretended he didn’t catch me off guard and turned around. He was sitting at the corner of the bar, looking yummy in a tight black shirt and pants. His cupcakes had left, and the other members of the gang were spread out through the club.

“So?” I said.

“Jade, can I get a refill?” That was Josh, asking for yet another refill. I rolled my eyes, and poured him another.

Mr. Chen wandered out from his office and looked around. I poured some refills, and made drinks for the patrons sitting out in the dining area. I even made Stephanie’s customer’s drink twice, even though she’s a terrible waitress and a useless human being in general who didn’t know how to properly ask for liquor specifications, until Mr. Chen walked over. He looked nervous.

“Jade?”

“What?” My side was killing me. Damn Jim for taking my painkillers away. I can handle them. I think. The last time I had a problem with drugs, “Uncle” Jim tossed me on the wagon. He and Caroline raided all of my stashes and threw them away, and threatened all the dealers with jail or worse if they sold me drugs. I was barely allowed caffeine.

Quitting cold turkey was hell.

As a consequence, I wasn’t allowed any painkillers stronger than Ibuprofen for my stab wound. It was fine until I started to walk, or lean over, or drive, or bartend.

“You’re being a little surly with the customers.”

I glared at Li, who had an amused expression on his face. “That’s on the account of someone stabbing me in my side.”

“Take some painkillers then,” Li said, still looking amused. I wanted to fake a punch to his smug face, so I would have the satisfaction of seeing him flinch, but we would both know I wasn’t serious. I thought I wanted to meet someone better at wushu than me, so I could have a challenge, but this wasn’t fun anymore.

“I’m not allowed. I like painkillers too much.”

“Not allowed?” Li said, raising his eyebrows. “I didn’t think anyone could stop you from doing what you wanted.”

Mr. Chen melted away into the crowd at this point, content to let Li bear the brunt of my wrath. “Yeah well, Jim has my better interest in mind, so I listen to him. Usually.”

“If you meditated, you could use your chi to remove the pain.”

“I do,” I replied. It wasn’t a lie. I meditated every night. Or tried to. Mostly what I did was think about what I was going to do the next day. “Inner peace isn’t exactly easy to achieve. If it was,” I gestured at the club full of people. “I would be out of a job.”

Li laughed and I actually laughed with him.

“When I see that guy who stabbed me, I am going to punch him in the face,” I said, wiping down the sink in front of where Li was sitting. “Just so you know.”

Li nodded.

“So, what do you want to drink?”

“I hear the regulars say you’re good at making them up.”

I loved making up drinks on the spot. I perked up a bit. “What sort of alcohol do you want?”

“I don’t care. Make it green, like your eyes.”

I grinned at him, and mixed Midori with Sprite, voldka and gin. I shook the entire thing together and poured it into a martini glass. “I will name this drink Zen. If meditating won’t bring you inner peace, maybe this will.”