(Now) James: The Challenge

A short bonus with James's perspective.
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I was insanely irritated that I got stuck at work late that night.  Jordan fucked up a security consult and of course he was out of town, so I got to clean up the mess.  When I finally finished, I looked at my watch.  A little after 12.  I was near Liv's house, but it was awfully late.  I didn't want to wake her up if she was sleeping, but I wanted to see her.  I decided I'd try.

I didn't think she was going to answer, but she picked up just as the 4th ring started.

"Hey," I said.  "I know it's late, but I'm finally done.  I'm near your neighborhood so I thought I'd call to see if you were still awake.  Since you are, can I swing by?"  I was already starting my car, ready to head over to her place.

"No," she replied.  "I'm sorry."

"Busy?" I joked.  Maybe she had been sleeping.  I probably shouldn't have called.

"No.  But you're wonderful, and you deserve better than a girl that's in love with someone else." 

"I deserve..." I repeated, confused.  "What?"

"I'm sorry," she said again.  There was finality in her tone.

"Liv--" I tried to interrupt before she hung up. 

"Goodnight, James." And then the line went dead.

I sat in my car for a few seconds, staring at my phone.  Then I shook my head and pulled onto the street to head home.  I wasn't shocked by this, but I guess I didn't think it would happen like this.  I'd been expecting things to wrap up soon ever since Kinsley's birthday.  Any idiot should have been able to feel the sexual tension between Olivia and Brody.  He didn't even try to hide it, even though she was clearly fighting it.  Between that, her initial reluctance to go out with me at all, and what had happened with Jordan, I was honestly surprised that we had made it this long.

Thinking about Jordan increased my irritation.  Even after growing up with him and watching the alcohol try to eat him alive, I was seriously shocked to walk down that bar hallway and see him holding Liv against the wall.  Maybe I shouldn't have been.  I don't know.  And maybe I should have done more about it, but Liv seemed hell bent on brushing it off.  I got no information from Jordan.  He just acted like it wasn't a big deal and he didn't do anything wrong.  I knew that that meant nothing, but Liv never brought it up again, so I just left it alone.  Still, I don't blame her if what happened contributed to her decision.

Really though, I can't even be mad.  I was never expecting anything serious with Liv.  In fact, I went out with her for the first time for all the wrong reasons.  I initially asked her out because I thought she was hot and she seemed really down to earth.  When she turned me down, I just wanted to go out with her more.  I've always been hooked by challenges.  I think it's what makes me enjoy my career so much.  When she turned me down, she turned into a challenge.

I wasn't expecting to run into her again so soon, much less twice.  After she had turned me down for the third time, I proposed that she meet me for one drink, and if she chose to leave after the one drink, I'd never ask her out again.  I knew she wouldn't be able to resist the chance to get me to back off.  So really, we both went out for the wrong reasons that first time.

I'm not sure what I expected, but I definitely wasn't expecting to have such a good time.  She was brilliant and funny in her own subdued way, and when she told me she'd go out with me again, I was a little surprised that I wasn't completely uninterested now that the challenge was gone.  I definitely wanted to go out with her again, but it's not like I was looking for a commitment.

When we went on our first actual date, I was a little surprised by how obviously nervous she was.  It was a far cry from the confident girl that had told me the terms of our first meeting and chewed me out for buying her drinks.  It was endearing, even if it threw me for a bit of a loop.  It also added to her mystery, which sucked me in.

Through the first few times we hung out, I couldn't get a good read on her, because at times she seemed into me, and other times she was completely distracted.  After seeing her interact with Brody at Kinsley's party, I understood why.  And to be fair, she warned me.  I just didn't listen.

I think Jordan expected me to be incredulous or upset when he called me Sunday morning to inform me that he had run into Liv and Brody while he was doing a security consult at a bar.  Or in his words, "That hot girl you were boning and some arrogant fuckhead."  I wouldn't call Brody an arrogant fuckhead (though that is surprisingly eloquent for Jordan), but I knew exactly who he meant.  It took everything I had not to laugh when he told me that the "arrogant fuckhead" had punched him in the face.

Of course, he wouldn't tell me why--he just made it seem like Brody took issue with his presence and punched him out of the blue.  I was certain that wasn't even close to what had happened.  I felt bad for the owners of the club.  It's not usually good news when your security consultant nearly gets knocked out, even if he deserved it.  When he texted me the picture later, I was glad I didn't have to hold back my laughter.  Two black eyes and his nose was definitely broken.  Especially impressive given the fact that Jordan probably has close to 6 inches on Brody.  I guess the arrogant fuckhead knows how to throw a punch. 

I also wasn't surprised when Liv called me on Sunday.  I guessed that she wouldn't be the type to just leave someone hanging.  Since I wasn't upset, I hoped my joke about the situation would put her a little more at ease, because I also figured she was probably pretty nervous.  It seemed to confuse her, but she talked to me easily enough.

I was actually more interested in hearing about Brody punching Jordan, but I let her get through her "It's not you, it's the other guy," speech before asking about it.  When she told me what had happened, I groaned.  What an asshole.   I hated having to apologize for Jordan's behavior, because I hated that Liv had to see the worst side of him, and more than once.  And honestly, I felt guilty that Brody had managed to do what I should have done the first time.  I was impressed that Brody would stand up to someone Jordan's size and it further confirmed what I had sensed at Kinsley's party.  Not that Brody was a small guy, by any means--Jordan was just that big.  Liv deserved someone that would put himself on the line for her, not someone who was still afraid of his big brother. 

We ended up talking for nearly 20 minutes.  She still sounded bewildered when we hung up, but I figured it would wear off by the next time we saw each other, assuming that Kinsley and Damien continued seeing each other.  I wondered how Brody would act around me now.  Hopefully there wouldn't be any issues there.  I decided I'd just try to be careful to not run into them until a couple weeks had gone by, just in case.