RIPP. Trying to find a fight in a bar in Texas is like trying to find water in the ocean. As they say, everything’s big in Texas, and that includes the ego of every male Texan sitting in the bar.

Austin and I had fought two guys in the parking lot after an argument in the bar. We started the argument, and did so knowing what we wanted out of it. We wanted to fight. We got our wish granted, and it ended up in a brawl in the parking lot. Dekk and A-Train stood back and shook their heads and watched for the majority of the time we fought, until the end of Austin’s mismatch. The girls stood well behind where we were as we had instructed them to.

Austin’s hand-to-hand combat lessons had paid off, and he won his fight handily. A-Train, upon the fight ending, was challenged by one of Austin’s foes friends. A-Train scoffed and laughed as he attempted to walk away, which the challenger really didn’t accept as being respectable.

It was at that point in time that he shoved A-Train while he was walking away.

It was a shove that changed A-Train’s mind from walking away to teaching the man a valuable lesson.

“You’re going to want to turn around and walk away from this, and I’m going to let you,” A-Train warned as he tugged against the thighs of his pants, loosening them. As he tugged on his pants he slowly spread his feet apart.

“Fuck you. You guys beat the shit out of Steve. I’m gonna whip your ass,” the man nodded his head and raised his hands into his best fighting stance.

“Listen. We didn’t whip anyone. That pretty fucker standing beside you whipped Steve’s ass – all by himself. And, to tell you the truth, Steve needed it. You see, he has an alligator mouth and a hummingbird ass. He needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. Now my best advice to you is to go home. This is over,” A-Train spread his feet apart a little wider than shoulder width.

“It ain’t over till I kick the shit out of you for what you did to Steve,” the man narrowed his gaze and clenched his fists as he raised them to his chest.

“You see, that’s where things are getting kind of cloudy for you. You’re obviously confused. You’re not going to win this fight. Not even if you get all your friends to join in. You see, I don’t think I can whip you. I know I can. Just go home. It’s probably best for us all,” A-train stepped forward with his right foot slowly.

“My Pappy always told me the guy that’s a runnin’ his mouth is the one that can’t fight a lick,” the man laughed.

“Well, I’m afraid to tell you that this time your father is sadly mistaken,” A-Train chuckled.

“You calling my pappy a liar?” the man growled.

“No. See? Here we go again with the cloudy judgment. I said he was mistaken. I didn’t call him a liar. Go home. Save yourself being disgraced in front of your friends,” A-Train said as he nodded toward the man that Austin had beaten.

In the time that A-Train had been talking to this idiot, the girls had slowly migrated to where we were standing. In their minds, the fighting was over. This talking, although it hadn’t lasted for long, certainly changed the pace of what was going on before it started. Five minutes prior, Austin was bending a guy’s arm behind his back and punching him in the side of the face while I landed a perfect one punch uppercut to an asshole’s chin. Now, everything had slowed down to a dull roar.

“I’m fixin’ to disgrace you,” the man laughed as he began to circle A-Train.

Bug slowly walked up behind A-Train and began to speak. Before she actually said anything, the man started running his mouth again.

“Probably be a good idea if you and those big titties of yours get back away from him so you don’t get hurt, little girl,” the man said as he stepped toward A-train.

I’ve been in countless fights in my lifetime. Being a boxer and a bare knuckles fighter, I’ve probably witnessed as many as I’ve participated in. I have never, however, seen anything like what happened next. It materialized so fast, if I wasn’t standing immediately to A-Train’s right, I’d have never seen a thing.

A-Train’s right foot moved slightly forward, and he struck the guy in the upper chest once with the palm of his right hand, causing the man to cough and bend at the waist. His left hand immediately swung behind the man’s head and gripped his neck as his right hand struck the man’s lower neck, directly above his collarbone.

Almost instantly, he released the man’s neck, and struck him violently on each side of the neck with the bottom of his open hands.

The strike to the man’s neck caused him to immediately go limp and collapse, all of which A-train was obviously prepared for. As the man began to crumble into the parking lot, A-Train caught him by his shirt and held him up. The entire fight was three lightning fast punches, and lasted for less than five seconds.

“Holy fuck!” Dekk screamed.

“It’s going to be tough, but try and stand up, so you can apologize,” A-Train said as he held the man upright.

“Come here, Bug. He won’t hurt you,” A-Train said as he turned around to face Bug, holding the man in his arms.

The man appeared to be unconscious, but his eyes were open. His lips moved as if he wanted to talk, but the connection between his brain and his motor skills seemed miles apart. He was on another planet altogether.

Bug walked up behind A-Train, stood at his side, and peered over his shoulder at the semi-unconscious man.

“Now, I know you can hear me. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Apologize to the girl,” A-Train sighed.

The man stared at Bug glassy-eyed.

“I’m going to count to three,” A-Train said.

“One…Two…Three. That’s a bad decision on your part, really. Like I said, I know you can hear me. If you try, you can talk. Austin, come here. Hold him while I light a cigarette,” A-Train said over his shoulder.

Austin stood and stared as if he were confused.

“Dude, you fucked Randy up bad, let him go,” Steve said as he approached A-Train.

“Steve, you’ll need to back the fuck up, right now,” the tone of A-Train’s voice sent chills down my spine.

Steve stopped and stood still.

“Austin?” A-Train raised his eyebrows as he looked at Austin.

“Hold this prick up. I need a cigarette,” A-Train said as he held Randy up by the front of his shirt.

Reluctantly, Austin walked up behind Randy and slid his hands under his armpits, holding him from falling. He was beginning to regain full consciousness as A-Train pulled a cigarette from his pack and lit it. As Randy became more aware of his surroundings, he began to struggle with Austin.

“You see. This is always the problem with certain people,” A-Train took a long drag from the cigarette and clenched it in his teeth. 

As he rolled his shoulders and popped his neck, he raised his hands, palms open, to the height of his shoulders. With lightning speed and tremendous force, he drove both hands into Randy’s neck, causing him to go limp again.

“Dude what the fuck? He wasn’t doing anything!” Steve screamed.

“You’re correct, Steve. I counted to three earlier,” A-Train paused as he exhaled smoke.

“I gave him an opportunity to apologize, and he did not. I will allow him another opportunity in a moment,” A-Train nodded at Steve and reached for Randy’s shirt.

“I’ve got him,” A-Train said as he clenched Randy’s shirt in his hands.

Austin released Randy from his grasp and stood back. Shane, Kace, Bug, Manda, and Vee all stood ten feet to the side of A-Train and watched in awe of what was happening. The entire event had only taken a matter of two or three minutes, but was excruciating to watch.

“Randy, you need to apologize to the girl. I will count to three again. Tell her you’re sorry for being an inconsiderate asshole. One…Two,” as A-Train released Randy’s shirt with his right hand, Randy opened his eyes and mouth.

“I’m…” he blinked his eyes.

“Sorry,” he said as saliva dripped from his mouth onto the parking lot.

“Tell her why you’re sorry,” A-Train said as he took another pull from the cigarette that dangled from his lips.

Randy blinked his eyes and stared up at A-Train.

“Use your imagination,” A-Train said as he bit the cigarette in his teeth and took another drag.

“I…I uhhm. I’m sorry…I was. I’m sorry I was disrespectful,” Randy labored with his speaking.

“And? Will it ever happen again?” A-Train said as he exhaled smoke.

“It uhm. I. It won’t happen again,” Randy said.

“Bug?” A-Train said over his left shoulder.

“Uhhm. Yes?” she smiled as she stood behind A-Train and looked over his shoulder.

“Satisfied?” A-Train asked.

“Very,” Bug smiled.

A-Train pulled up on Randy’s shirt, holding him erect, steadied him, and released him. Initially, Randy stumbled, and then he slowly walked to Steve.

“You’ll feel funny for a minute or two, but you’ll be fine,” A-Train assured him.

As Randy walked away and A-train turned to the crowd that stood behind him, everyone stared. Well, everyone except Bug. As A-Train turned around, she took a few steps back. As soon as he was facing her, she jumped into his arms and hugged him like a rabid spider monkey.

“That was so awesome. And sexy. What did you do to his neck?” Bug screeched.

“Knife hands,” A-Train smiled.

Huh? Knife what?” Bug asked, her arms still firm around A-Train’s neck.

“I’ll show you some time. It’s a good way to gain control of a situation,” A-Train replied as he held Bug in his arms.

Vee walked to my side and slipped her arm around my waist.

“You see what’s going on don’t you?’ Vee asked as she looked up and puckered her lips.

“What’s that?” I asked as I kissed her.

“Someone’s got a little crush on your boy Alec,” she said.

“No. She’s just…” I began to say.

“She’s just about all over his ass,” Vee laughed as she nodded in the direction of A-Train and Bug.

“And now that you boys are all done fighting, what was the other thing we were going to do? Oh yeah, the other “F” thing. Fuck,” she smiled.

“Vee’s got a stomach ache. We need to get the hell out of here. It’s been a long day,” I turned to the crowd and announced.

“You’re full of it, Ripp. We know what you’re going to do,” Kace giggled.

“Well, you guys do whatever it is you want to. It’s still early. But we’re leaving. I need to make up for some lost time. Austin?” I said over my right shoulder.

“Yeah boss?” he responded.

“Look after Manda until the end of the night,” I raised one eyebrow and stared his direction.

“Got it, boss,” he responded.

“A-Train?”

“Semper fi,” he bellowed, Bug still dangling from his shoulders.

As Shane pulled his hood off of his head, he pressed it to his shoulders with his left hand and smiled. Kace stood beside him holding his right hand and shaking her head. If there were ever two people that were meant to be in my life - and in it to a degree and depth that had the ability to fuel me to improve my life from a relationship standpoint, it was Kace and Shane.

“Have fun, Vee,” Kace giggled.

As I walked by Shane, he held out his clenched left fist. I clenched my right hand and drove my fist into his.

Brotherhood.

Family.

Friends.

As we walked to the car, I took a deep breath in through my nose and smelled the sweet Austin summer air. All of this was new to me. New friends, a new relationship, and a new chance at living a trouble free life. I had a chance at a new beginning, of sorts. With each step toward the car, I realized my nightmare was truly over. I would be in charge of my life from here on out. I could make it as good or as bad as I wanted to. I looked down at Vee as she squeezed my left hand in hers.

And I wondered if I’d fuck this up or make it work.

Naaah…I’m Mike fucking Ripton.

I. Got. This.