violet at dominic's

I pulled up to Dominic's with hands in my pockets, a little high from Molly's weed and sweaty from my speedy walk.  The bar sat on top of a restaurant and the stairs were outside, a crowd of wannabe gangsters standing at the bottom smoking cigarettes and talking shit.

"Violeta Esperanza," one of them said with a Spanish accent.  We made eye contact and I realized it was my no-good ex-boyfriend, Andy.

"Andres Baez."  The name made me want to hurl.  "I haven't seen you since **significant life event**."  

The men in his group laughed.  No doubt they were going to give him shit later for what I'd said.  "What brings you back to our side of the tracks?  You musta dumped that white boy cuz I know he wouldn't let you hang out in the hood."

I rolled my eyes.  "Oh fuck off.  As if I'd let that prick boss me around like that."

"Oh, I see how it is, he broke up with you."  My eyes narrowed and he laughed in my face, so much that I finally grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him up against the wall.  

"You shut your fuckin' mouth, man, or I'll knock your teeth out."

He choked on laughter, only shutting up when I raised a fist, ready to punch him.  "Okay, okay, chill woman!"  His hands raised to shield his face and I smirked, glad he was still scared of me.

"I need you to give me 2 grams on credit," I said in a low voice, still holding him against the wall.

"What makes you think I'd do that?"

"Cuz you owe me.  And I'll pay you back tomorrow."

"Fine, but get the fuck off me," Andy said, pushing me away.  I let go of him so he could reach in his pocket and pull out two little baggies of white powder.  I reached for them but he held it away, hiding his hand behind his back.  "You've burned me before, Esperanza."

"That was then.  Things are different now."

He seemed doubtful but gave me the drugs anyway.  I plucked the cigarette from between his fingers and took a long drag off it, then smiled and walked away.

"You're welcome!" he called after me, and I responded by flipping him off.

Up the stairs and through the heavy glass door, I was immediately hit with the familiar scent of grease and liquor.  The decor hadn't been updated since I first started going there as an underaged delinquent.  But the crowd seemed much more mixed nowadays, patrons ranging from fake ID age to mid-40s.  

I walked to the bar and ordered a drink, looking around for a familiar face.  Taking the glass in my hand, I walked towards the back of the room where an illegal poker game was going on.  There's where my people were at.

"VIOLET!!"  It was my BFF of all time, Tiffany.  She had been sitting on her boyfriend's lap as he played, but upon seeing me ran up and tackled me in a hug, clearly drunk.  "You haven't come out in forever!  We missed you!"  

As I gazed at the people around the table, I highly doubted any of them besides Tiffany missed me.  Especially her boyfriend.  He and I butted heads a lot.

"Deal me in," I ordered, sitting with my drink and throwing in a few dollars.  My nose started itching so I only played a hand before excusing myself to the bathroom for a couple of lines.