0 for 2

Sadly, this will likely be the last bonus for awhile, so enjoy it :) don't worry though, you'll still get the three posts a week for sure!
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I debated most of the day Thursday whether or not to go to happy hour.  I finally decided to at least stop by and say hi.  I hadn't had a chance to talk to Kinsley, and I wanted to hear how her date with Damien went.

As usual, I was the last one there.  I snuck a chair in between Kinsley and Alex and turned to her.  "Well?  Tell me about your date!" I said.

"Hello to you too," Kinsley replied with a laugh.  "It was good.  We went out to dinner and then just wandered around downtown a little.  It was really laid back and he's pretty much the nicest guy I've ever known, much less gone out with.  It was kind of weird, but nice."

"Yay!" I squealed, earning me a side-eye from Alex.  "Oh, knock it off," I said to him.  He laughed and went back to talking to Christian.  "Are you guys going out again?" I asked, turning back to Kinsley.

"Actually, he asked me to that comedy show on Saturday.  He said you and James were going, right?"

"Yeah, we are.  I'm glad he asked you!  James told me he was planning on it but that was before you guys had even gone out the one time, so I didn't want to say anything, just in case," I said.

"Just in case she got really drunk and was obnoxious and blew it?" Lauren broke in from Kinsley's other side.

"Except I didn't blow it.  How many weeks until I live it down?" I asked.

"Try 'months'," she responded, making a smug face at me.

"Girl, I love you, but sometimes I want to smash your face," I joked.  Luckily, I have a pretty high tolerance for people poking at me, and I was used to Lauren doing it regularly.

We moved on to quizzing Lauren about her love life, and she confessed to making out with a coworker while out for drinks after work.   "I would totally hook up with him," she admitted, "but he seems to actually take that stupid 'no fraternization' policy seriously."

"Is he a supervisor?" I asked.

"Yeah, not in my department though.  He still seems like a rule follower."

"How much of a rule follower can he be if he made out with you after work?" Kinsley quipped.  We worked on talking Lauren out of trying to hook up with him for awhile.  When it became obvious we were banging our heads against a wall, I decided it was as good a time as any for me to go home. 

On Friday my last two clients cancelled and I got out blissfully early, even after completing all my paperwork.  I ended up having Cassie over for dinner.  She was job searching because her headhunter friend informed her she was being vastly under-compensated.  She had known her pay was low and benefits not the best but hearing it from someone who knew the field was the kick she needed to start looking.  She stayed until I managed to yawn her out as well.  I fell into bed, excited for the next day.

I slept in on Saturday and it was awesome.  I met Kinsley at the gym, and we did a little lifting and then I went to a yoga class.  I made it home around 4, with a ton of time to kill before I had to start getting ready, so I cleaned.  Just in case...

At 5:30, I got in the shower.  I was wiggling into my skinniest of skinny jeans when my phone pinged.  It was a picture text from John.  I was surprised.  I hadn't heard from John since he was out here and we had dinner.  I opened the message and saw two tiny baby goats.  It said, "These little guys were just born last week, and I thought you'd enjoy them."  His parents had a farm, and the baby goats had always been my favorite.  The message was perfectly friendly without any weirdness.  I was relieved and quickly texted him back.

I finished getting ready.  I straightened my hair and decided to do a little bit of a dramatic eye.  Satisfied with the results, I looked at my phone.  No response from John.  It was 7:30, and James was supposed to be picking me up at 7:45.  I am chronically early, and I swear I hate it most when I have to sit for 15 minutes waiting for someone to pick me up.  Especially for a date.  I sat on my couch, flipping mindlessly through TV channels and wondering if my sky high heels were a poor choice.  Luckily, I didn't have to wait long.  The doorbell rang at 7:40.  Another early bird.

I pulled open the door with a smile.  "Hi," I greeted James, who looked perfectly sexy in a casual button down and dark jeans.  His eyes widened just a little when he saw me, and he smiled back.

"Wow, hi.  You look good."  He kissed me on the cheek.  "Sorry, I know I'm a little early, but you look ready."

"I am, I'm always early," I said with a nervous laugh.  Seriously?  Am I really going to do the nerves again?  I felt jittery and unsettled.  I took a deep breath and we walked out.

This time, at least, I managed to relax gradually throughout dinner--without the help of alcohol.  I had one glass of wine and drank it slowly, determined to not have a repeat of last time.  As I relaxed, we were able to move into the easy conversation that came so naturally during our non-date times.  That helped me relax even more, and by the time we were walking down the block to go to the comedy show, I felt much more like myself.

James grabbed my hand as we walked, and I stepped a little closer to him.  I was glad I went with the sky high heels, or hand holding would have been a challenge.  He had to be at least 6'1" and our arms didn't match up at all.  It was worth the little bit of extra effort, though.

When we arrived, we were shown to a table near the front.  Kinsley and Damien were already there.  We ordered drinks and chatted with them while we waited.  We had about a half hour before the show started, so we had a little time to kill.

About 5 minutes before 10, Kinsley and I went to the bathroom.  When we came back, I saw a new glass of wine sitting on the table in my spot.  I raised my eyebrows at James.  "Looking for trouble?" I asked him.

"You seem perfectly sober to me," he said with a shrug.

"Oh, trust me," Kinsley said, nodding sagely.  "It starts that way.  The drunkeness comes on fast."   I didn't have a chance for a rebuttal, because the show started.

James and Damien's friend was good.  I actually liked him better than the main act, who relied a little too much on racist and sexist jokes for my taste.  Regardless, the show was fun and I was surprised to see it was close to midnight when it ended.  We stayed in our seats, letting everyone else file out.  Charlie, the comedian, found our table, and James and Damien both stood to hug him.  We congratulated him on a good show.

"Thanks for coming guys, it means a lot.  Do you want to go downstairs for a drink before you take off?  It's been so long."

James looked at me.  "Sounds good to me!" I said, not quite ready to go home.  Kinsley and Damien agreed as well.  They went to find us a table while James and I went to grab a round of drinks for everyone.  We were waiting for the drinks when someone slung an arm around James's shoulder.  "What's up, little brother?" he boomed in a very loud, very drunk sounding voice.

James turned in surprise.  "Jordan," he said evenly.  "What a surprise."

"Hey, I came out to support Charlie.  He was my friend too, at one point."  His attention turned to me.  "Who's this pretty little thing?" he asked, his eyes traveling slowly down my body, pausing at my chest and my hips before continuing on their way.  When he hit my feet, his gaze made its way back up, pausing again at hips and chest.

I felt dirty just being the subject of his lecherous gaze, and it was all I could do not to cringe as his eyes met mine and he smiled hungrily.   I was seriously uncomfortable, and I shifted subtly closer to James.  James, either sensing my movement or feeling uncomfortable himself, slid a protective arm around my waist and pulled me closer still.  "This," he said coolly, "is my date, Olivia."  He turned towards me.  "Olivia, this is Jordan, my brother."  I studied his face as James introduced us.  He looked remarkably like James, but there was something cold and hard about the lines of Jordan's features.

"Nice to meet you, Olivia.  Now, how did my boring little brother get a girl like you to go out in public with him?"

I held his stare.  "Actually, you should really be asking me how I got your brother to go out in public with me," I retorted smoothly.  I felt James chuckle next to me.

"Well, if you get bored with him and want the real deal, you should give me a call," he said, smiling.  But the smile didn't reach his eyes, and his eyes weren't on my face.

"Cut it out, Jordan," James said.  "We should get back with the drinks."  Jordan eyed up the drinks that were sitting on the bar waiting for us, and grabbed the Jack and Coke that James had ordered for Charlie.  He took a long drink, then smirked.

"What's wrong little brother?  Worried I'll steal another of your girls?  Don't worry, this one doesn't seem too interested.  Too bad, the things I would do--"

"Don't talk about her like that," James said firmly.  "I'm not dealing with this shit."  He turned back to the bar and ordered another Jack and Coke.  He shifted so I was between the bar and him, away from Jordan's salacious stare.  The bartender, clearly annoyed, took his time.  Jordan leaned up against the bar next to us, but he didn't say anything.  When the drink came, James threw down a $100.  "Sorry for the trouble," he said to the bartender.  We grabbed the drinks and walked to find Kinsley, Damien, and Charlie.  Thankfully, Jordan didn't follow.

"The bar is awfully slow tonight," Damien commented, as we set down the drinks.

"Not really.  We ran into my brother," James replied shortly.  Turning to me, he said quietly, "I'm sorry, he was way out of line."  I shrugged and squeezed his hand.  He slipped an arm around me and I relaxed a little again.  

Charlie left about an hour later.  I got up to go to the bathroom.  Kinsley was leaning close to Damien, deep in conversation, so I didn't even bother asking her to go with me.  When I got to the bathroom, the women's bathroom door was open and an employee with a mop was cursing in the doorway.  I stopped, and she looked up at me.  "Sorry," she apologized.  "It's flooded.  If you go out and to the left, then all the way to the back, there's a little hallway and there's a staff bathroom back there you can use." I thanked her and followed her instructions back to the other bathroom.

The bathroom was down a dimly lit, narrow hallway in the very back corner of the bar.  I felt a little creeped out just being back there, because it was so poorly lit and super quiet.  But the bathroom was clean, empty, and not flooded, so I wasn't going to complain.  As I was washing my hands, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.  I pulled it out as I was walking out the bathroom door.  It was John, texting back.  I was opening the text when I became aware of a body in front of me.  I looked up to see Jordan standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking my way.

I sucked in a sharp breath, suddenly anxious.  He was standing comfortably, arms at his sides, wavering slightly and smiling that hungry smile.   I had noticed his size earlier--he was even a couple inches taller than James, and definitely burlier--but now he looked positively gigantic.  I took a deep breath and lifted my chin.  Heart pounding, I stepped forward.  "Excuse me," I said coldly, moving to the left.  He leaned against that wall, his eyes traveling my body again.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, flashing an easy grin.  A very familiar easy grin.

"Yes.  Please get out of my way," I repeated.

"That just doesn't sound like much fun to me," he slurred.  He was really drunk.  And I was getting really nervous.  There was literally no one back in this corner of the bar, and I had no idea how likely someone was to come back here. I clenched my fists to keep my hands from shaking and stared him down, not speaking.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" he asked, moving a step closer to me.  "I like 'em feisty."  It took all my strength to not step back.  I held his gaze, even while my stomach turned back flips.  He took another step forward and now I could smell the stale whiskey on his breath.

"You need to move," I said loudly.  I stepped quickly back to the right and attempted to slip past him, but he grabbed me tightly around the forearm and backed me up against the wall, slamming my arm hard into the cold concrete behind me.  Tears of pain sprung to my eyes, but I blinked them back, swallowing hard.  He held my throbbing arm so tightly in his huge hand that I felt like the bones in my forearm were grinding together.  His other hand slid across my hip before settling at my waist.  He smiled expectantly and leaned down towards me.

"Now what?" he asked, leering at me.  I was close to panic at this point.  I tried to lean away but I was already up against the wall.  His thumb slipped beneath the hem of my shirt and brushed lightly across the bare skin above the waistband of my jeans before hooking underneath it and sliding along my hip bone, grazing the top of my underwear.  I felt a wave of nausea and gritted my teeth.

"Now you've had your fun, and you will get out of my way," I said defiantly, willing my legs to stop shaking.

"Oh, my fun is just starting," he replied.  His thumb, still hooked under my waistband, was moving towards the button of my jeans when a heavy hand came down on his shoulder.

"Let go of her," came James's voice.  Even without being able to see his face, I could tell he was barely controlling his fury.

"Little bro!  Came to watch the fun?" Jordan asked, not taking his eyes off me.

James ignored that.  "Let her go before I break your fucking neck," he growled.

"Don't be so dramatic, I was just talking to her," Jordan said, letting go of my arm and allowing his hand to fall from my hip.

"Get the fuck out of here," James instructed.  Jordan rolled his eyes but moved to the side.  James walked to me, his eyes scanning me to make sure I was okay.  Jordan was behind James now, but James wasn't looking at him.  When Jordan didn't leave, James said, "Go!" and started to turn.  Jordan turned and meandered down the hall.

"Damn it, Liv, I'm sorry.  Did he hurt you?"  He took my arm gently.  I hadn't realized I had been holding it close to my body protectively.  Even in the dim light of the hallway there was a swollen, red mark where Jordan had grabbed it, and my arm trembled in his hands.  "Shit," James breathed, running his hand over his short hair.  "Let's go."  He took my other hand and led me back through the bar.  "Kinsley and Damien left a few minutes ago," he explained once we got out to the sidewalk.

We walked to his car.  My legs were trembling and James seemed like a coil of nervous energy.  When we finally got into his car, he rested his forehead against the steering wheel for a second before turning to me.  "I am so sorry," he said, miserably.

"I thought you said you and your brother got along better now." I said wryly, breathing deeply to try to slow my pulse.

He started the car.  "We do.  You should have seen us before.  And when he's drunk, all bets are off."  He pulled carefully into traffic and continued, "When I walked into that hallway and saw him there, I was ready to rip his head clean off.  I can't believe he would do that.  He hasn't acted like that in a long time.  I feel terrible."

"James," I said gently, "It's not your fault.  I'm awfully glad you appeared when you did, though.  Why did you come down there?"

"I knew Jordan was probably wandering around somewhere so I figured I'd meet you over there and we'd go, since Damien and Kinsley were leaving anyway.  I got over the bathroom and saw that the women's was clearly not usable and the employee directed me back there."  He kept glancing over at me with worry.  I was still shaky but my heart rate was slowly returning to normal.

He pulled into my driveway and turned off the engine.  He looked over at me.  I forced a smile and said, "Well, so far we're 0 for 2 on actual dates."

He laughed, his face relaxing a bit.  "Maybe we should stick to casually hanging out.  Those two have gone well."

"Tell you what, how about you come over on Wednesday again?" I suggested.  "I'll cook dinner, I won't drink too much, and we won't invite your brother."  I continued to make jokes, trying to avoid showing James just how freaked out I was.

"Sounds like a plan," he said, smiling warmly at me.  He opened his car door and I got out too.  We walked up to my door.  He was watching me with concern again.  I unlocked the door and stepped in, motioning to him to follow.  "Can I see your arm again?" he asked.  I obediently held out my arm, and he tilted it towards the light.  The red was fading, being replaced by darkening bruises, and my knuckles were bruised and scraped where they had hit the wall.  The muscles in his neck and jaw tightened and he looked up at me.  His eyes were intense and stormy.

I stepped closer to him and rested my hands against his sides, my fingers sliding over the hard muscles hidden by his shirt.  He slid his hands up my arms, his shirt straining slightly across his shoulders.  "I'm fine," I reassured him.  "And I had fun for 98% of the date, which is good.  I'm just a little shaken up.  Please stop looking at me like I'm fragile and going to break." 

"I'm sorry," he said.  "I'm just mad at myself for letting anything happen, and furious at him for it.  I'm glad you're okay.  You're impressively calm about it."

"'Good in a crisis' is pretty much a therapist requirement," I joked, still trying to relieve the tension.  He chuckled.  I stepped in even closer and slipped my hands up to his shoulders.  I stroked the back of his neck with my fingertips and he shut his eyes briefly.  When he opened them, they were still flashing with intensity, but of a different sort.  He dipped his head down to mine and kissed me.  After the events of the last hour, I kissed him almost desperately, wanting something reassuringly normal.  When the kiss ended, I was disappointed.  I sighed and leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked, looking down.  "I mean, not like that, but..."

 "Thank you, but I'm okay," I replied firmly, even though I felt anything but okay.

"Okay, so....Wednesday?" he asked.

"Wednesday," I confirmed, my voice muffled against his chest.  I leaned back and tilted my head up, and he kissed me once more. 

"Good night," he said reluctantly, after he'd pulled away.  "Call me if you need anything."

"Good night James.  Thank you," I replied.  He smiled and left. 

I sat down on the couch and exhaled, feeling like I was breathing for the first time since I walked out of the bathroom at the bar.  Thinking about it made the shakiness come back, and I got up to get some water.  As I walked into the kitchen, I realized how tired I was.  I took a quick drink and then headed up to bed, but I only made it halfway up the stairs before the tears that I'd been fighting finally spilled over. I sat down heavily on the stairs and cried.