Chapter Fourteen: A Night Out at the Club

Once they hit the main road, they turned right and Tomishiro opened the bike up. They flew past small houses and open farms. Soon they came upon a familiar truck and passed it, then the other one. They came to a crossroad. Tomishiro slowed up slightly and turned left onto a winding road. He took the curves quite fast with them both counter- balancing the bike though them. Jackie saw a set of tail lights up ahead of them and pointed. Tomishiro nodded and opened the throttle until they passed by a stunned Shou. Another curve and a slight hill and they were there. Shou pulled in behind them a few seconds later. Tomishiro parked the bike and shut off the ignition. Jackie got off and pulled the helmet off. "I missed that so much, thank you" she said smiling. He sat there on his bike, looking at her with an unusually pleased look on his face. " The last woman I had been dating wanted me to sell my bike and buy a car, something fancy and expensive. I told her no and rode off. I left her standing in the rain and never thought about her again. I will not give up what's mine for anyone except for one person, you" he explained. Oh wow. I would never tell some one I cared about to do anything like that. It would only cause friction in the relationship" she said smiling shyly. He smiled back.

Shou, Han, Mina, Kiki and Kaya climbed out of Shou's car and walked over to the couple by the bike. "Man Bro, that was the fastest I ever saw you go with a woman on the back. Weren't you scared, Jackie?" Shou asked. Jackie and Tomishiro looked at each other and busted out laughing. Mina joined in. "What's so funny?" he asked perplexed. Mina wiped her eyes before responding. "My dear cousin races cars and motorcycles. She's a bonafide member of the Screaming Eagles Racing Team - Team Wolfpack. She is the Wolfpack Women's Team Captain and current Champion" Shou stood there thunderstruck.

"What do you have under the hood of your car, a slightly worked four banger with about four to five hundred horsepower stock?" she asked him. Shou nodded. "Mine has between nine hundred to one thousand horse power stock, no mods" she stated and pulled up a video of her car on her phone and started playing it for him. It showcased the interior, exterior and under the hood. "What the hell is that?" he asked. "That is my four twenty six Hemi Challenger Hellephant and it has never seen tails before." He handed the phone back and she started another video and handed it back to him. He watched in stunned silence as the monster roared to life at the starting line. The tires smoked and the beast rocketed forward the car crossed the finish line in under six seconds. The driver stopped the car, climbed out and removed their helmet. The shocked look on the men's faces said it all when they saw it was Jackie herself. "Shit, that isn't a car, it's a beast!" Shou exclaimed. Han was looking over Shou's shoulder and said, "I've heard of the resurgence of the muscle cars in America. I have never seen one outside the movies and you can't believe everything you see in them. Now I do."

The pickups arrived and everyone else climbed out smiling. "That was incredible. You guys were flying" stated Saiya, "Well everyone's here so let's go inside." They all headed inside and as Tomishiro had said, it was definitely slow for a Friday night. Jackie said, "Now I see what you mean by business being slow. This would be the death of any night club in the States. You would draw in a lot more business just by remodeling the interior, get a better sound system, more upbeat music and maybe a few video monitors. And what I had mentioned before about having a teen club during the off hours, starting around three in the afternoon to about seven pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Sundays from eleven am to five pm for the ice cream social. I could do a complete work up another time for you." Shou was showing a keen interest in her ideas, "Like what would you change first off the top of your head?" Jackie smiled as Tomishiro brought her a coke. "Thank you. Well like I said, popular music, not this slow stuff. Get rid of these booths, they take up too much room. Put in standing tables and smaller tables with two to four chairs each. Brighter paint colors, strobe lights. You want people up and dancing, dancing leads to more drink sales. And that kitchen, how much of it is used constantly? In America, most clubs only use a couple of deep fryers, a grill, one freezer and a couple of refrigerators. Close off the kitchen from view, just have a small ordering window. That deck, get rid of those big tables and just have a few chairs and benches with side tables. Put up lighting and speakers out there. This will add more dancing area and give smokers a place for themselves" she explained as she moved around the club. Mina and Komiko agreed. Shou hugged her. All her ideas made so much sense. We could start with your ideas now and have it completed by the time of the competition" Han said.

"I know that it sounds like a lot of work but what you don't keep you sell and that helps cut costs as well" Mina added. " How do you know so much about this stuff?" Tomishiro asked. Mina replied, "My father worked at a night club in California. It was a very popular hotspot. When the owner decided to open another one in New York City, he offered my dad the job as overseeing manager of design and operations. The clubs bring in about a half million in profits a month." All Shou could say was, "Geez." "Well enough of all this business talk,. Let's party" Kaya said. "Is there some way I could connect this to the sound system?" Jackie asked, pulling out her phone and a USB cable. Han showed her where the port was for the sound system. Jackie queued up her dance music playlist. The first song came on and the three girls cut loose on the dance floor. They were soon joined in by the others. The few people sitting around the bar turned to look over at the dance floor. Some of them left but others joined them on the floor. One of the people that had left, returned bringing more people with him. "See, I told you. That music was for relaxing, not dancing. Not everybody wants to just relax after working. Sometimes they just want to escape their boring, everyday lives for a while" Jackie said. Tomishiro had to admit she had been right. He motioned Han and Shou over to a table.

As they sat there, they looked around. More people were coming in. "If we make the kitchen smaller as Jackie suggested, we could have the room for a smaller lounge for those that want to have a relaxing drink. But yeah, I can see this working out big time" Shou replied. "And from the sale of the unwanted items, we could put the money back in towards the new sound equipment" Han agreed. That decided it for Tomishiro as well. They were going to do it. They got up and rejoined the dancing. Jackie had seen the guys go off and talk. Now they were back and enjoying themselves. She went over to the bar and ordered herself another cola. The bartender was more than happy to serve her but when she went to pay, he refused and explained, "When the boss brings family in, he takes care of the bill later." Jackie smiled and thanked him. As she was drinking her soda and watching Tomishiro dancing, a man came over to her. "Excuse me, but could I buy you a drink?" he asked her. "No" was her response. "Ahh, come on beautiful, I just want to get to know you" he said placing his hand on her backside. She tensed up to strike but before she could, there was a familiar voice from behind them, "Remove your hand before I do it for you." The man turned to look at Tomishiro. "Find your own woman. You have plenty to choose from" the guy said belligerently. "I said get your hand off of my wife now!" Tomishiro ground out. The man raised his hands and moved away. Tomishiro made to go after him but Jackie stopped him with a gentle hand on his chest. He looked down at her and his face softened. "It's okay. He's just had a few too many shot of liquid courage. Let's get back to the others, your sisters are looking a bit worried" Jackie said and winked up at him. He smiled back at her wickedly before pulling her into his arms and kissed her. She realized she was between a rock and a hard place as the guy was watching them closely. If she were to retaliate, it would make them liars and who knew what kind of trouble it would cause. Jackie was going to make Tomishiro pay for his underhandedness. She kissed him back and was satisfied when she heard him groan. That sound made liquid fire race through her veins. He pulled away slowly and looked into her eyes. They heard a door slam and looked over to see the man had left. "Why did you kiss me back?" he asked, studying her flushed face. "I had to or make you out to be a liar if I retaliated. That man was watching us and wasn't about to give up so easily unless he believed that we are a couple. Besides it was your fault for telling him that I was your wife" she replied back with a note of irritation in he voice. He backed her up against the bar and pressed his body into her. She felt the obvious effects of her kiss. Her face flamed. "I think I like that form of retaliation better, it was very enjoyable. And one day you will be my wife" he whispered in her ear and then lightly planted a kiss on her neck. Her knees tried to buckle but he held her in place with his body pressing her against the bar.

"Stop, I'm not ready for this" she whispered. He gave her one last kiss and let her go. He had seen the slightly dazed look in her eyes before he let her go with a smile. Her mind might be telling her that she wasn't ready but her body gave her away. He slowly stepped back from her and as soon as she could, she walked away from him and back to the dance floor. Saiya had seen the whole incident and stared at her brother with keen eyes. He ran his hand through his hair and grinned sheepishly at her. Shou and Han had seen what transpired as well and gave him a thumbs up. Jackie was so flustered that she just stood in the middle of the dance floor looking lost. Saiya went and got her another soda and then led her out onto the patio.

"I told you he's in love with you and he has just blatantly claimed that you're his in front of everyone. Now it's just a matter of time as to when you will get married" Saiya stated. "What do you mean, claimed me? Jackie asked taking great lungsful s of the cool fresh air outside. She looked at Saiya with with narrowed eyes. Saiya laughed out loud until she saw the hard glare on Jackie's face. "Don't tell me that they don't practice that age old custom in America? Girl we have to talk. It dates back to ancient times. When a man wants a certain woman to be his wife, he displays his interest in her for everyone to see including her. He will threaten any other man that shows an interest in his intended. He will kiss her in public. He will trap her against anything suitable so that she can't escape his attention. He will even leave his mark on her showing his claim" Saiya explained, pointing toward Jackie's neck, "You're as good as engaged and you had better get used to it because my brother is not known for giving up on what he wants. If you were to go home he would just follow you there." Jackie looked stunned. "You mean to tell me that they still practice that ancient and barbaric custom to this day?" she asked. "Yes it is" said a deep, familiar male voice said from behind her. Jackie tensed up and slowly turned around. He was standing there with Han, Shou, Komiko and Mina. "It's called an act of possession and that wasn't even the first time he has displayed it. Remember when you were waiting in line for the lavatory on the plane?" Mina reminded her. "Oh and that wasn't even the first time either. While we were waiting at the airport in Seattle, he did the same thing. Just ask Lea, she saw the whole thing on her phone. Like I had said, an act of possession" Komiko stated.

Jackie's face was turning redder by the moment and Tomishiro interceded. "Could you please excuse us? I think Jackie and I need to have a serious and private talk" he said firmly. He suddenly had concerned look on his face. The others went back inside to give them the privacy to talk. "I'm sorry that I'm pushing you so hard but I care about you very much. I'm also sorry that everyone is meddling in our personal business and making matters worse, they just want us to be together. I didn't realize that you didn't know that we still practice that old custom here and I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that. Could we maybe start over? Perhaps with a first date and take things at a comfortable pace for you?" he asked with his hands in his pockets. She sat down on the top of the wall surrounding the patio and looked at him. "I want to ask you some questions and I want honest answers" she said and he nodded in agreement. "Saiya said that you're in love with me. Is it true?" she asked him. He stood there, hands still in his pockets and looked her directly in her eyes. "Yes I am, very much so" he responded never breaking eye contact. Still staring down at him she then asked, "Since when?" He smiled as the fond memory washed over him. "When a DVD arrived a little over six years ago. I had thought it was the DVD that I had ordered online. I opened it up and watched it. It was a compilation of videos of you and Jet and the rest of your family. It had been sent by one of your family members, I think it was your Great Grandfather. After that, when another DVD arrived, I grabbed it and watched it. I looked forward to seeing your smiling face, having fun with your family and just being who you were. I watched every video that had been sent to us after that, especially if you were in them. The next Fall, another one arrived and I sat down to watch it. You weren't the same person. You weren't smiling. You were angry and tried avoiding the camera. Some were shots of you fighting, racing and getting involved with the police. I had become angry that some unknown force had taken the joy out of your life" he stated. "Was that around the time after what that asshole did to you?" he then asked her. Jackie just nodded, her throat tight with raw emotion. He moved and stood next to her, his hands still deep in his pockets. He had said some very powerful things to her and it took a few moments for her to be able to speak without her voice cracking. "Now I will tell you a few things about me that you need to know. I am still a virgin and am saving myself for that one very special person. I appreciate and value honesty, strength, compassion, intelligence, loyalty and leadership. You have all these qualities in abundance but I haven't known you for very long. You have snuck into my life, bullied me, teased me and turned my life upside-down. I need time to get to know who you really are. Can you understand this, be patient and live with it?" she said. He turned his head to look at her and replied, "Yes I do understand and I will give you time to sort out your feelings. I'm truly sorry that I have pushed you so hard and for that I apologize." She ßmiled at him and placed a light kiss on his lips.

They went back inside and joined the others. "Is everything okay?" Mina asked. "Yeah. We just needed to get some things straightened out. It's called starting over. No claiming or pressure from anybody" he said, looking directly at Saiya, "just letting nature take its own course. Now let's party!" And that is exactly what they did until two in the morning. They all went home THe same way they had all arrived.