“Have you two met?” Kat then asked, pointing back and forth between me and Shanti.

Shanti eventually did look up at me but didn’t say anything, so I offered, “Yeah—Shanti brought me over here after I got this sweet Honeys swag.” I held up my jacket to show off the pin. I tried smiling at her to show her I really did appreciate it—because I did. How else would I have gotten this close to the action? My attempt brought out a hint of the warmth I’d seen in her at the merchandise booth—friendly eyes and a shy smile back.

Kat examined me, then Shanti, and raised a questioning eyebrow. Shanti looked away. The mood was getting weird again, so I blurted, “Roller derby looks amazing, and I want in. How do I do that?”

Before Kat could answer, we heard, “Hey! Forty-four! You bitch—you wrote this shit on my forehead?”

I couldn’t believe this guy was back. Dickface must’ve kept imbibing because he was senseless enough to step right up into Kat’s face and point his big dumb finger at her, his beer sloshing over his other hand.

“Whoa, bro. You wanted me to sign it, remember?” She didn’t look like she gave two shits about this guy.

“Oh yeah? Did I? I don’t remember asking you to write ‘Buzzkill’ on it, you c—”

Nope.

My hands were suddenly ramming into his arm and he stumbled sideways, his beer sloshing all over his shirt. It felt gratifying to finally let out some of my rage at this guy. Adrenaline bolted through my body.

“What the…?” Once he’d righted himself, he started coming back my way, but Kat stepped up beside me, hands on hips like fucking Wonder Woman. A few other fans and skaters had gathered around us too. I balled up my fists, ready for whatever was needed. Give me one good reason, asshole.

He hesitated and then threw his empty beer cup at our feet. I took a step toward him, crushing the cup as I did. Before I could take a second step, he mumbled, “Fuck you,” thrust up both middle fingers, and stalked away.

As she watched him go, Kat held up her fist toward me. I bumped it with my own. This felt like a serious win on so many levels.

“Dude, that was awesome,” Kat said, finally turning to me.

I couldn’t wipe the satisfaction off my face. “Yeah. That felt good.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Shanti folding her arms and looking away. What’s her problem?

Kat laughed. “Okay, back to business. You’re keen to join, huh?”

I nodded.