Chapter Ten
“What the hell is going on?” Vandalia is seriously pissed off at the scene in front of her eyes. Greeley is on his feet, his back to a crouching Trip who is slowly rising. Mowgli is trailing Vandalia, but not nearly as concerned.
“She spit on me!” Greeley says indignantly, his cheek still wet with spittle. “She actually spit on me!”
“I was just showing him how feminine I could be,” Trip says coolly, dusting off her ass. “Greeley and I were having a philosophical discussion as to whether or not a woman can be tough and feminine at the same time. I was disagreeing with his point of view.” She is openly smirking, though Greeley is deliberately not looking at her.
“Vandalia, I don’t think you should have anything further to do with that bitch,” Greeley says, his lower lip thrust out. And they say women are the pouty ones.
“Excuse me?” Vandalia’s eyes all but disappear. “What did you just call her?”
“She’s a bitch!” Greeley repeats himself, too infuriated to realize that he’s going down in flames. Mowgli rolls his eyes, but stays to enjoy the show. “She comes off all hard and shit, but she’s nothing but a punk underneath. I was just telling her she can be strong and still be feminine, like you, when she got all psycho on me.” Opie sure waxes poetic when he’s pissed.
“I told him that he needed to broaden his definition of feminine and not be so goddamn narrow-minded,” Trip says sweetly, her tone syrupy. “Seems like Mr. Macho needs to have his ego pumped up on a minute-to-minute basis, and I failed to provide him such succor.” Mowgli hides a smile of his own as Trip trots out the psychobabble she devoured when she used to live on the streets. It never fails to surprise people who underestimate her that she is damn sharp.
“What the hell is she talking about?” Greeley demands, his nose out of joint. He looks to Vandalia for support who is less than thrilled with his Cro-Magnon behavior.
“I think we should go,” Mowgli says, finally interceding. “Vandie, thank you very much for putting up with this miscreant.” He busses Vandalia on the cheek. “I definitely owe you one.”
“You owe me more than one,” Vandalia retorts, kissing Mowgli lightly on the lips. “But I have to admit, it’s been intense.” They embrace as Trip goes to her room to gather her stuff. When she returns ten minutes later, the tableau is the same. She shrugs and moves towards the door.
“Nice meeting you, Vandalia,” Trip says over her shoulder without breaking her stride. “Wish I could say the same about your boy.”
“You ungrateful bitch,” Greeley roars, starting after Trip. He is deterred by a large presence in front of him—Mowgli.
“Let it go, man,” Mowgli counsels, knowing it’s a lost cause. No matter how enamored Vandalia had been by Greeley prior to now, she would have nothing further to do with him now that he’s shown his true colors. Vandalia is a feminine woman, yes, but one with feminist sensibilities. In other words, she doesn’t tolerate fools. “Talk to you soon, Vandie.”
“Where’s your car?” Trip asks Mowgli, jiggling her foot. She’s impatient to be on the move, not wanting to present a still target.
“Took a cab,” Mowgli says as he waits for her to unlock her car. “Thought I’d catch a ride from you. Give us some time alone.” Trip tosses her stuff in the back seat and slides into the driver’s seat.
“You thought I’d be out of there today,” Trip corrects him. She starts the engine and zooms away from Vandalia’s apartment. “Where am I going to stay?”