was no way Allie would make out in a stall of the men’s restroom.
“Yeah, go get some coke from your car.” Mike stuck his hand on Allie’s crotch, over her jeans, and started rubbing. Allie pawed his hand away. “I’ll rub it into your pussy,” Mike purred.
Allie pulled her head back, shocked by the way he had used the word pussy . Even Marc, after months together, hadn’t used that word. “Kissing’s fine for me now,” she temporized.
“What do you mean kissing’s fine? We can’t just spend the afternoon kissing.” Mike leaned forward and sucked on Allie’s earlobe. He was humming. “Do you have really dark nipples?” He reached for her breast. “That’s the thing I love about black girls, those really dark nipples. Like eating melted chocolate.”
Allie blocked him with her forearm. Desire was fizzing away like spilled water on a hot sidewalk. “Well, my mom’s Chinese,” she answered, “and I’ve got a white grandfather on either side, so I’m not that dark.”
Mike squared his shoulders and leaned into her. “Are you black or not?” He had dropped the soothing purr.
Allie looked at Mike and wondered what was wrong with her that she had thought she was interested in him.
Before she could say anything, Mike said, “You’re not fucking black and that’s not your dad who owned that restaurant. One fucking lie after another!” He took her head into his hands and whispered into her ear, “And I don’t know where you got this coke or how you plan on selling it without a scale and without knowing how to fold a simple envelope, but you know what? You sold me about six grams of coke. Not three! Dumb fucking not-black chick!” Mike released Allie’s head, patted his breast pocket, and walked away through the dining room.
Allie stood for a moment, unsure of what her next move was. Then a flutter in her gut told her to get back to the car, back to the coke. She followed Mike out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk.
When each of them was at their own car, Mike turned around and looked at Allie. “Give me the rest of your coke,” he said, and he took two steps to the Prelude and put his hand on the passenger-side door.
“That was all I had,” Allie said. “The whole scale thing was made up so I could hang out with you. I think you’re really, super cute.” A complete lie now that Mike seemed angry and ugly. (Allie couldn’t help but think how Wai Po would be disappointed in the number of lies that had been slipping out of Allie’s mouth as easily as the air she breathed.)
“Lemme see. Open the car.” Mike’s eyes were prickly. He barely blinked.
“Yeah, okay. Just a second.” Allie was shaking as she fit the key in the door. When she got in, she hit the button on the automatic lock, then stabbed the key into the ignition. Mike pounded on the glass as Allie jerked the car into reverse, trying to get the clutch and gas synchronized. Mike leaped at the car, and even though Allie saw him do it, the thunderclap his body made as it landed on the low roof of the Prelude startled her and she let out a raspy scream.
Allie burst out of the parking lot and onto Fairfax Avenue. Mike’s legs hung cartoonishly down the side window. Just as she started to speed up, the legs disappeared. Allie watched through her rearview mirror as Mike landed solidly on both feet in the breakdown lane. He ran after the car for only a moment before stopping, throwing up his right fist, and cursing her with words she couldn’t hear. Allie pulled up close to the VW Bug in front of her, tailgating, and then quickly lost sight of Mike.
Chapter 4
A llie drove down Fairfax with her eyes continually flashing in the rearview mirror. She didn’t see any red trucks and she didn’t see police cars. Her hands had a palsied tremble and her heartbeat was so strong she thought she could hear it over Prince, whose voice was making the whole car feel like it was vibrating.
When she hit Wilshire, Allie turned
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