Nocturnal by Nathan Field Page B

felt the air constrict around me.
    Beauty and the Beast.
    Not only did the businessmen start whooping with delight, but a few nearby diners glanced over, their eyes widening in horror when they spotted my scars. Like I was the reason their dinner had been disturbed.
    I folded my napkin and calmly pushed back my chair. Chloe and Maxine pleaded for me to sit down, but I was beyond caring. I calmly walked over to the offending booth.
    The muscular businessman met my gaze squarely, but his friend couldn’t fix on where to look, his nerves already shot to pieces. They were both in their thirties, and judging by their chunky watches and tailored suits, doing very well for themselves.
    “Good evening, gents,” I greeted pleasantly. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you’ve been making fun of me.”
    The muscular businessman’s response was predictably aggressive. “Yeah, because your face is putting me off my food. So why don’t you sit back down before I lose my Kung Pao Chicken.”
    He dug his chopsticks into a mound of fried rice and shoveled it into his mouth, pretending to have forgotten me already. The avoidance behavior suggested he wasn’t quite as sure of himself as he first appeared. 
    I shook my head slowly. “I’m afraid not. You threw down the challenge, and I’m accepting. There’s no avoiding a fight now.”
    He looked up, really studying me this time. I sensed his mind ticking over, re-assessing what he was dealing with. “Don’t make this into a big deal, okay? I was just making a joke, probably in bad taste. I didn’t mean anything by it. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my dinner in peace.”
    “Sorry. You should’ve thought about that before you opened your mouth.”
    “Look pal, I’m trying to apologize…”
    “–Save your breath,” I cut in. “I already told you, you’re not walking out of this restaurant without a fight.”
    The muscular businessman snorted with laughter, looking to his friend for support, but he was too busy inspecting the tablecloth for stains. His expression turned grave. “No way, I’ve got too much to lose. I’m a senior vice president – I can’t get into fights with every asshole who can’t take a joke.”
    I laughed. “You’re not fooling anyone. Why don’t you just admit that you’re a big fat coward? You know it, I know it, and now your friend knows it. He’s going straight back to the office and telling everyone that you were afraid to fight a smaller guy. You’ll be the joke…”
    Just then, the businessman stood up and tried to take my head off with a lumbering right hook. I’d anticipated the move, and was already leaning back, bringing my left forearm up to deflect the punch. With his face wide open, I threw a straight right that landed on his nose with a satisfying crunch.
    Blood spurted from the businessman’s nose, and he gave a small groan before his body slumped back into the leather booth. His eyes fluttered and then closed.
    The businessman’s friend had turned white as a sheet. Before he could find his voice, I reached across the table and set a hand on his shoulder, pressing him back against his seat. “That’s the end of it, okay? Wipe the blood off his face, and when he wakes up, leave.”
    He nodded, his shoulder trembling under my touch.
    I walked back to my table, flexing my smarting knuckles. The violence had been brief, but a handful of diners turned their faces away from me, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before news of the incident spread. 
    Returning to my seat, Chloe and Maxine were staring at me with open mouths
    “Sorry about that,” I shrugged.
    Chloe was the first to exhale. “Well, he did ask for it.”
    Maxine laughed. “Wow. Did you break his nose?”
    “I hope so.”
    While the girls peppered me with questions, I noticed Bruno coming back from the bathroom. He glanced over at the businessmen’s booth, where the muscular businessman was slowly coming around.
    Bruno chuckled when