One Creep’s Tooth

An Alleycat Crew Short

Have you ever been hit by a tooth? That’s weird, right?

Kim had driven three hours to a warehouse on the outskirts of Frederick, Maryland for a Rave Nation event. The promoters called them illegal raves, but that was mostly marketing. They always pulled the proper permits. Kim only knew about the event because her older brother’s father-in-law was the one who issued them.

She came alone. None of her friends wanted to make the long drive just to have a few drinks. Kim wasn’t there for the booze anyway — she was there for the show and the experience.

Massive trailers had been backed into the warehouse, their sides and roofs folded open to reveal a DJ booth, massive speaker stacks, laser arrays, and two fully stocked bars. A giant LED dance floor stretched down the center of the building, while elevated platforms hung from the ceiling. A small skate park had been set up on one side, and a beanbag lounge occupied the other.

Kim sat at one of the bars with a sparkling water and cranberry, scanning the dance floor for a group she could join. She was bouncing to the beat and smiling toward a cluster of college girls in IUP shirts when a big guy boxed her in against the bar.

She spun around, hoping he’d take the hint and leave. Instead, his hand landed on her back.

Before she could react, the guy was suddenly yanked away.

Three gym bros now stood where the creep had been.

“Leave her alone, fatso,” the biggest one barked.

He introduced himself as T-Pump. Kim was about to thank him when his hands landed on her… he was just a bigger creep. He crowded her and ordered her a shot of absinthe. She told him she didn’t want it and wanted to leave. He ignored her and crowded in closer, draping his massive arm across her body.

“Excuse me,” a calm voice said from behind her. “Ma’am, would you like me to escort you out?”

Kim turned to see a man of average height and build. He had one hand extended toward her, palm open. He didn’t look creepy. He looked kind.

“She’s not interested,” T-Pump said dismissively, turning her back toward the bar. “Get lost, peewee.”

“I don’t think she wants to be touched,” the smaller man replied. “Ma’am, my name is Seth. If you need help, just nod.”

T-Pump spun around and threw a punch.

Kim barely had time to flinch before Seth caught the man’s fist mid-swing.

“Don’t do that,” Seth said, shaking his head like he was disappointed in a child.

“Honey, don’t hurt them,” a fit, pretty brunette said from behind Seth.

Kim’s eyes dropped to Seth’s left hand. A simple gold wedding band sat on his ring finger.

She nodded.

“Please step aside,” Seth said calmly. “I’m escorting this young lady out.”

What happened next didn’t make sense.

T-Pump’s elbow shot backward and clipped Kim’s chest before he lunged forward with a massive right hook. But everything moved in slow motion, except for Seth. He moved like he was on fast-forward.

He redirected T-Pump’s arm, pivoted, and drove the heel of his left hand into the bigger man’s jaw. T-Pump spun like a top before collapsing in a heap. Something small and white flew out of his mouth and hit Kim in the belly.

She looked down.

A tooth was stuck to her mother’s favorite white silk blouse, leaving a small red dot.

By the time she processed what had just happened, the fight was over. Seth had already put the other two gym bros on the ground with the same eerie efficiency. He stepped over them like they were minor inconveniences and offered Kim his hand again. The brunette stood beside him. She noticed the red dot.

“Can we get some ice water, please?” the woman called to the bartender. She grabbed a salt shaker off the bar and turned to Kim with a calm smile. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We can get that out.”

Kim was still staring at Seth and the security guys who had finally shown up while the woman worked on her blouse.

“Rub some Woolite directly on the spot and wash it as soon as you get home,” she instructed.

Kim looked down. The bloodstain was gone.

“Holy shit,” she breathed. “How’d you do that?”

“Come on, Marcy,” Seth said, suddenly stepping closer. “Let’s get her out of here.”

Marcy nodded, but Kim hesitated.

“What?” Marcy asked.

Kim glanced at her now-clean blouse, then over at the dance floor pulsing with lights and bodies, and then down to the three men Seth had rendered no longer a threat.

“Can we dance first?” she asked hopefully. “Please? I drove all this way.”

Seth and Marcy both laughed, lighting up their eyes.

Kim clasped her hands together. “Please?”

Marcy smiled and held out her hand.

“Sure.”

Kim took her offered hand but hesitated again, smirking.

“Wait,” she said. “If I put the creep’s tooth under my pillow tonight… what does the Tooth Fairy bring me?”

Marcy didn’t miss a beat.

“Probably a note that says ‘even I have standards.’”

Seth chuckled. “Or return to sender.”

Kim grinned. “You were supposed to say ‘two new friends.’”

Marcy laughed and looped her arm through Kim’s.

“Well, I can’t say for sure,” she said with the kindest grin. “But I think she can deliver on that request.”

Author’s Note

*It makes me laugh when I see a jerk mouthing off to someone in a bar or getting too handsy with a woman. You know MMA fighters exist, right? Men and women who are trained to end a fight with a creep in the blink of an eye. Maybe try not being a creep… or a jerk. Or you might meet Seth.

**Also… do you have any idea how hard it is to NOT write Kash and Calynn? They are my drug of choice and this alley cat is going through withdrawal.