West Richland Tavern.

[feistyphoenix]

"I can't wait to see it, in the morning."

She thought he'd left already and took her dress over her head. But when she turned around he was still standing in the doorway.

Well shit. She used the dress to cover herself but it didn't matter, she was sure he'd seen...well everything.

Great.

"Sorry Rex."

 

[wombat9966]

Troy had carried Kari up to her room and waited on Rex.
"Go home and come in around ten tomorrow Rex. We have all had a busy night and we could do with a sleep in."
He motioned for Hannah to lock the door then opened the car door for her.
"Your chariot awaits Mistress."

 

[merryohmd]

Rex barely heard Troy as he was staring at Tess' nude body. He could not help himself, she was exquisite. He had never been a gentleman so the thought of looking away just never occurred to him. When Tess covered herself, Rex decided to leave. "Troy, I'll just sleep here tonight. I was already sleeping when you all got here. I'll be fine. I'll lock up when you leave. See you in the morning." He turned an took another long look at Tess. She was so beautiful. And like Hannah, probably had a knife somewhere within easy reach.

 

[feistyphoenix]

Tess flushed red and looked down. She couldn't move to close the door because she'd have to drop one hand and expose herself...again.

"Uh, Rex?" she was hoping he'd snap out of it.

 

[merryohmd]

Hearing Tess call his name jolted Rex back to reality. "Uh, Tess I knew you were but beautiful but...oh should I get the door?" Rex stammered hoping she would do something beyond his wildest dreams.

 

[feistyphoenix]

"Damnit, might as well get it out of your system." she dropped the dress and put her hands on her hips.

"Let me know when you're done," she said sarcastically.

 

[merryohmd]

"Fuck - oh shit. Goodnight" and Rex pulled the door shut. He let out a long breath and leaned against Tess' door. "Well that was interesting" he thought "maybe she just had too much to drink - great tits!" Rex headed down the stairs. He hoped Tess did not hate him for staring, open mouthed like an idiot.

 

[feistyphoenix]

Tess rolled her eyes after Rex shut the door. She really needed to get a lock put on that thing. She thought about him staying for the night in the Tavern with her and the twins, it wasn't very comforting since he had very little self control.

She felt like a baby sitter and it was annoying.

She kicked off her heels and put on her shorts and tank top. As she pushed in the drawer on her nightstand she saw the slip of paper DJ had left earlier. She hadn't looked at it before since she was rushed to get ready.

She hadn't been fair to him she knew, she picked up the paper and unfolded it. It was his number. she debated calling him, just to talk. It would be lame, he'd never buy her sincerity on the phone; not after she'd basically ignored him.

She made up her mind and crept downstairs, it was so dark she didn't see much of the new work that had been done.

Tess stood behind the bar by the phone and debated for what seemed like an hour before she dialed his number and let it ring.

 

[raiguy]

DJ was just getting through with playing the piano when the phone rang. He was grumpy enough as it was due to a piece he was writing not working out, and now for someone to be calling at...3am. He sighed before looking at the number. He stretched and then clicked accept.

He waited the few seconds for the phone to connect before saying,"Hello?" He didn't know the number, so had no idea who was calling him.

 

[feistyphoenix]

"DJ? Hey, it's um Tess." she felt like an idiot.

"I'm really sorry for calling so late," she twirled the cord around her fingers and her hand, "I just wanted to tell you that it's not you. I mean, It's not your fault for the way I acted earlier. You were really great, and I just..." she put her hand on her forehead and leaned on the bar. What the hell was she thinking doing this?

"I just wanted you to know it wasn't your fault and i'm really sorry," she said quickly, "and I know it's super late but if you want a night cap you're welcome to stop by. I feel like I owe you one."

She waited for his response impatiently. She hoped he didn't think she sounded like as big of an idiot as she felt.

 

[1millionsecrets]

Hannah made her way back to the car and leaned back.against the passenger door. Her green eyes glared up at the stars, she was lost in though, standing there in silence.

 

[raiguy]

DJ inhaled sharply when Tess introduced herself. "Shit," he whispered. He had just settled that issue, chalking it up as something that would never happen again. He thought for a moment, partially to collect his thoughts, but also to dig at Tess a little bit.

"I can come over there, that won't be a problem. I could use a drink right now. The music I've been working on is not turning out the way I thought it would, and it's be frustrating me to no end," he said finally, knowing they would need to have some form of interaction to hopefully sort their problems out.

"We just need to talk. I don't like being bolted on with no explanation. Even if it's just something to slightly address the problem, I feel like we need to figure it out. If you don't want to do that, then we can just have a drink and I can leave," he said quietly, wondering what would happen, as he pulled shoes on and walked to his car.

"I'm on my way now. I'll be there in about 10 minutes," he said, before saying bye and hanging up. He wasn't trying to be mean, but he just wanted to meet with her, face to face, instead of prolonging it over the phone.

 

[feistyphoenix]

She suddenly felt incredibly insecure as she hung up the phone and regretted even calling.

Fuck.

Now he was on his way. She put her head in her hands and stood there for a minute just wondering why she was doing what she was doing. She took several deep breaths. She couldn't get out of it now.

She poured a shot of whiskey and downed it.

She sat her glass down and pulled out a second for him when he got there.

Fuck it all, she took a second shot. Maybe it would help her relax.

She ran upstairs and checked on the twins, they were in their respective rooms and she checked a couple more rooms and found Rex passed out. Good, at least he was behaving himself.

She saw headlights sweep across the front door of the Tavern, must be DJ. She pulled her hair up, she felt like a mess...a far cry from the sex bomb she had been when he first saw her.

"Whatever." she thought and she padded back downstairs and unlocked the door.

 

[raiguy]

DJ stepped inside once the door was opened. Even in pajamas, Tess was beautiful. She shrugged, knowing that would be the case. He smiled before closing the door behind him and heading to the bar. He chuckled, seeing the shot glasses lined up, before moving to get a shaker. He filled it with ice, before pouring sour mix into it, and an equal measure of whiskey. He slowly shook the shaker, before pouring it into a glass.

"Sorry, I've never been a shots kind of guy. If you'd like a whiskey sour, there's plenty in here for you," he said, setting the shaker down and moving around to the stool next to Tess. He took a drink, before looking at her. "I know I don't have much of a right, but can you give me some sort of explanation to what happened? We just need to put this to rest, so we can move on," he said, trying to keep it relaxed and friendly.

 

[wombat9966]

Troy looked at Hannah and wondered if she was okay. He was waiting patiently for her to get in the car but did not want to disturb her. Besides he was enjoying looking at her. Under the street lights she looked beautiful and while she was looking at the stars he was able to see her face in an unguarded way. Her green eyes sparkled and her face glowed without it's usual glower. To Troy she was a vision.

 

[feistyphoenix]

"Sure, why not?" she sighed and filled her glass with the whiskey sour. She usually drank it straight but at this point she didn't care. She downed the whole thing in one shot.

"I get the feeling you want more than a sex partner." her gaze settled on him as she moved around the back of the bar to put her glass away, if she kept drinking like this she was really going to get herself in trouble.

"Giving you what you want is just my job description." she looked up from the sink as she set her glass in, "I really can't afford to blur the lines between clients and personal relationships, I'm assuming you already knew that though," she didn't really know what other sort of explanation she owed him, unless it was about her flashback, which she wasn't sure she could share with him without freaking out again and probably annoying him.

 

[raiguy]

DJ looked at her, keeping his face unreadable. He hadn't wanted anything, but was open to whatever would happen. He was all about going with it, letting the feelings dictate the situations like these. He took another gulp, before setting his glass down.

"I wasn't really looking for anything. Just going with it. that's what I do. It's what I do when I write my music, DJ for clubs, and develop relationships," he said, downing the rest of his drink suddenly. He looked around, smiling.

"Looks like you'll need a DJ soon, if you are wanting to have a dance area. If you talk to Hannah, let her know that I can DJ, and probably at a better rate than most other DJs, at least from my experience," he said, smiling.

"Tess. No pressure. We go from here. My only problem is I need a place to stay. I haven't eaten in 14 hours, and that alcohol is going to hit me soon," he said, sheepishly. He didn't drink that often, and especially on an empty stomach, alcohol got to him. He had lost a few friends to drunk driving, and had made a promise to never do it.

He smiled at Tess and waited, wondering if there was somewhere he could stay, even if it was on a couch in the lounge.

 

[1millionsecrets]

She felt his eyes, and spoke to him before she looked at him. "You ready?" Her voice soft. She met his gaze and opened the car door. Climbing inside quietly she closed the door behind her. She sat with her hands in her lap, biting her lip she waited, her wild curls poofing slightly.

 

[feistyphoenix]

"I bet I can find something for you in the kitchen. I mean, I'm not a great cook but I can make eggs if that's all we have." she turned and headed back there.

She saw a few servings of Hannah's pasta on the top shelf of the fridge. She dumped it on a big plate and warmed it up in the microwave. This was exactly how she usually cooked. She grabbed two forks and headed back to the bar with the plate, which was sort of hot. Alcohol made her bold, and stupid, or so her ex claimed. Asshole, she thought.

She set the plate down in front of DJ and handed him a fork. She took a couple of bites, pasta was her favorite when she was drinking. The carbs were so good.

"At least I fixed your hunger problem?" she asked, leaning over the bar toward him and taking another bite.

 

[raiguy]

DJ chuckled. "You did at that. And I have that lovely warm feeling from whiskey. Excuse me while I do something stupid," he said, before leaning in to kiss her and then pull back. He smiled and took a bite to eat, realizing this pasta was very good.

"My compliments to the chef!" he said, taking another couple bites, before savoring the pasta. He grew up on home cooked meals, and this was just reminding him of it.

 

[feistyphoenix]

She tossed her fork down on the plate.

"What the hell was that? You sit there and tell me you're just rolling with it and then you act like i'm your girlfriend. Just, seriously, stop it," she felt really bad as soon as she said it.

"Damnit, why can't I shut up about it," she waved her hand aimlessly," I don't even know anymore, just fuck it."

She realized this was the most she had said to him since they'd met.


"I'm not very good at any of this." she said quietly.

 

[wombat9966]

Troy drove back to his apartment and parked in his designated spot. Funny he thought, this was probably the first time a car had ever been parked here. He got out and then opened Hannah's door. He offered her his arm and guided her to the elevator and then up to his apartment.

Entering he put her car keys and his keys in the small bowl near the door.
"Do you need a drink or anything, or do you just want to go straight to bed," he asked her.

 

[raiguy]

DJ just shrugged, before pushing the plate away. "I wasn't acting like you were my girlfriend. I kissed you because I felt like it. If that's how you interpret it though," he said, pausing. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, before he exploded.

He shook his head before standing up. "Maybe I shouldn't have come. Maybe I just fucked everything up and couldn't leave well enough alone. Something about me sets you off," he said, pausing as he stood up, testing himself. He could already feel the food having an effect on him. It was a comforting feeling.

"I'm not whoever you are thinking I am. But I'm going now. I'm obviously going to fuck this up more than I already have. If Hannah needs a DJ, and you feel up to it, let her know that I'm open for it," he said. He walked towards the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket. This was the first time he was happy that he actually lived closer than he thought he did to the bar.

"I guess I'll talk to you later," he said, opening the door and stepping outside. He took a deep breath of air, blowing it out, trying to relax.

 

[feistyphoenix]

"Perfect." she chastised herself. She rubbed her hands over her face and felt like crying. She always fucked everything up. He was nice and she was being a bitch, overcompensating for the past. A past, she reminded herself he knew nothing about so it was unfair to him.

She opened the door and he was standing there, fuming. She thought about saying something but what if she pushed him over the edge and he did something horrible to her. She shook her head, the only thing she could do was apologize.

"DJ, i'm sorry. I don't do relationships very well. You didn't do anything wrong. I just..." she started to cry a little," I can't."

She brushed the very few tears away and went back inside.

"God i'm so stupid," she said as she heard the door again.

 

[1millionsecrets]

"Water." She managed timidly and retrieved her glass from hours earlier. Her lipstick stain still rested on its crystal surface. She filled it carefully and stood before him drinking it slowly. The way she held herself made her seem much like a wild animal. Easily startled, and ready for a fight.