Kara looked back at her and said, “Hey, Bree,” then she giggled and turned back to resume her make-out session.
Pete approached from behind Briana and yanked Kara off the guy. He pushed her behind him and stood to face The Asshole.
The Asshole towered over him by a few feet and looked menacing, his jaw clenched and neck bulging.
“What’s your problem, Ginger?” Asshole yelled.
“You are,” Pete retorted. “You shouldn’t be taking advantage of Kara when she’s had too much to drink.”
“Shut up, Pete,” Kara shouted clawing at Pete’s back. “This is none of your business.”
“Why don’t you listen to her, Ginger?” Asshole said.
“Kara, just let me handle this. You deserve better,” Pete said to her over his shoulder.
Kara’s face turned red. She started to beat on Pete’s back. “Don’t tell me what I deserve.”
“How ‘bout you kick rocks and leave us be?” Asshole stated, trying to reach around Pete to grab Kara.
Then everything seemed to happen at once. Colin, Kent and Rich finally noticed what was going on and ran over to assist Pete. Pete knocked Asshole’s hand away from Kara, causing Asshole’s face to turn a bright shade of red. Kara continued to pound on Pete’s back.
Briana watched in horror as Asshole reared back, then punched Pete square on his jaw. The impact caused Pete to fall back, toppling Kara over. Pete turned to the side in order to avoid falling on top of her.
The other guys grabbed Asshole and held him back as Kara and Briana rushed over to Pete. He sat up and looked dazed, but other than a red mark on his jaw, he was fine.
Kara stroked his jaw. She looked into his eyes and started to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Pete. I should have listened to you.”
Pete pulled her to him and held her as she cried. Briana got up and walked away to let them have some privacy as the guys hustled Asshole out of the backyard through the gate.
“What the hell was that?” Roni asked. “What happened?”
“That guy got too rough and hit Pete, so they escorted him out,” Briana said, trying to play off the situation.
Nicole came running over. “Is Pete okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t think Kara’s going to be able to work tonight. Pam lets you serve sometimes, right? Do you think you’d be able to cover for her tonight?”
“Sure,” Nicole said with a shrug. “I don’t have any plans after this.” She glanced up as the guys walked back through the gate.
Briana recognized the look of longing on her face, but didn’t have time to wonder what had caused it. She was just grateful that Nicole agreed to cover for Kara so Kara didn’t get in trouble. She thanked Nicole, then walked over to meet Colin, Rich, and Kent.
“Hey, guys, Nicole is going to cover for Kara at work tonight, so we need to get going. Can you keep an eye on Kara and Pete and make sure they get home okay?”
They all nodded. Briana gathered her things and told Nicole she’d see her in a few minutes at the restaurant. Before she made it to the car she heard Colin calling after her and paused.
“I really have to get to work, Colin. I’m going to be late as it is.”
“I’ll just take a second, Bree,” he said quickly.
“Okay.”
“When can I see you again?”
“Um, I work the next few nights, but we can hang out before work, or we can get together on my day off.”
“Great.” He smiled. “Give me a call tomorrow.”