Chapter Nine; Part Two
I settled back to watch the movie, enjoying being with ‘my people’. Oh, I knew that was more fantasy than reality, but it was nice to be surrounded by Asians. Even better, people had no compunctions about yelling things at the screen, so it was more of an interactive experience than if we’d gone to an American cinema. I booed lustily every time a bad guy came on screen, and I whistled with enthusiasm for my girl, Michelle Yeoh. When Donnie Yen tried to put the moves on her after realizing who she was, well, I almost lost it then and there. The two of them were favorites of mine, and so damned good-looking. The only thing that would make it even better would be if Tony Leung Chiu Wai were in the movie as well. Maggie Cheung, too. Oh, and Jet Li, of course. That would be a dream come true.
“Wow, she’s really good,” Ted commented, whistling through his fingers as Michelle executed yet another complicated maneuver. We enjoyed the rest of the movie in a very vocal manner.
“What’s the second movie?” I asked, stretching at the end of the first. I was fading slightly, but I knew I’d perk up for something good.
“Irma Vep,” Ted said, glancing at the paper in his hand. It was a poster for the evening, but I didn’t know where he had gotten it. “Maggie Cheung is hot in black leather.”
“Yeah, but I don’t like the flashing lights.” I shrugged. “It’s up to you. We have to at least go to the concessions so Tamara can make her move.” Ted laughed and playfully socked me in the arm. We grabbed our jackets from our seats so they wouldn’t be stolen. Ted grabbed my hand and marched me into the lobby. I saw the two girls who’d been dissing me in the bathroom standing in line for popcorn. I nudged Ted in the side and nodded at the girls. He hesitated before taking me over to the line and standing a few people behind them. He radiated so much personality, I was surprised the people in front of him didn’t get singed. He pulled me closer to him as the two girls turned; I was meanly glad to see the expression on their faces when he draped his arm around my shoulders. I snuggled against his chest, tilting my head up so I could look seductively at him. That was enough to spur Tamara to walk over to us.
“Teddy! It’s so good to see you!” Tamara squealed, nudging me out of the way. Even though she was ninety-five pounds soaking wet, she packed a mean elbow. I moved to the side so I could enjoy the show. The other girl was watching, too, as well as a half dozen other people. Tamara raised on her tiptoes so she could plant a wet one on Ted’s lips. He pulled back quickly, smiling down as he did. I stifled a laugh at the sight of red lipstick smeared across his lips. “Oops, I marked you.” Tamara used her finger to rub sensuously against Ted’s lips. By the looks of the erection building in his pants, he wasn’t totally adverse to her charms. Like a snake honed in on its prey, Tamara noticed Ted’s reaction as well.
“Tamara. It’s been a while.” Ted held his arms slightly in front of his body to protect himself from Tamara’s advances. I suppose if I were a good person, I would extricate him from the situation. However, I was enjoying myself much too much to do that, so I watched Ted suffer without doing a damn thing. “This is my date, Margaret Wang. Margaret, this is Tamara Huang. Her friend is Natalie Wu.” Two more big-shot families in the Taiwanese community. Big fucking deal.
“Wang? Are you related to Andrew Wang?” Tamara asked sweetly, knowing full well I wasn’t. Andrew Wang was perhaps the most well-known business man in the Taiwanese community, and I was sure Tamara knew his family history by heart.
“Nope,” I said cheerfully. “I am related to Peter Wang, however. Does that count?” Tamara’s mouth dropped open at the name of a notorious criminal in Taiwan. He was on their top ten most wanted list and had been for fifteen years. He was well on his way to becoming an urban legend over there. “He’s a second cousin once removed or something like that.”
“Oh, how interesting.” Tamara looked as if she wanted to say something far less banal, but good breeding stopped her. Of course, she hadn’t display the same taste in the restroom, but she hadn’t realized I was there, either. She turned back to Ted, subtly blocking me from Ted’s view. To her shock and my amusement, Ted reached around her and pulled me to him. I didn’t mind, and it gave me the opportunity to show Tamara my pearly whites.
“Have you seen Lucinda lately?” Natalie blurted out, earning a dirty look from Tamara. I understood Tamara’s frustration as it was hard to work somebody over if he were distracted by the name of his former fiancée.
“Nope, not for a while,” Ted said easily, placing his hand on the small of my back. He began caressing the skin there, much to the discomfort of Tamara and Natalie. I, however, was becoming turned on. “Except when I go to my parents’ church, obviously.”
“She misses you a lot,” Natalie continued, seemingly oblivious to the growing ire of the alpha female named Tamara. I might have to reassess my conclusion that Natalie was the follower because she was sure stomping on Tamara’s toes. Maybe she was a loyal toady of Lucinda’s and was only hanging out with Tamara because Lucinda wasn’t available. This was better than any Chinese soap opera, and I didn’t even have to pay to watch it. I waited to hear what Natalie would say next. “She cries about you all the time, you know. She’s even seeing a therapist to understand why she messed up so badly when she was with you. She’s really trying, Teddy.”
“I’m glad for her,” Ted said politely. He turned to me and said, “Margaret, do you mind if we skip the second movie? I have the sudden urge to blow this joint.”
