Chain Reaction 3.1.14: Work Related, Part Two

     I found a bar.
     Okay, so it's always been here, but what I mean is I found a place that doesn't make me think of Darrin.
     How do you get over someone? Get under someone else.
     This is getting ridiculous. It's been weeks since I last saw him. In the meantime, I've started peeking out my windows, hoping to see a squad car going by, thinking that somehow Darrin got my address. It wouldn't be hard for him to do. He probably already has it, those other times just catching him off guard.
      I sigh. New place. With strange lighting.

      No one at the bar really interests me, though. All they want to do is complain about their lives, and I don't want to listen to complaints. I'm trying to stay positive!
      Then she walks in.

      I know who she is! She's a SimTuber, just like me. Well, she's a hell of a lot more successful than I am. Her name is Ivy Stewart, and she runs a channel named 'Climbing Up the Walls.' I'm a fan.
      She's even prettier in real life.

     I must be creeping her out because she looks at me and says, "What?"

      I smile. "Sorry. I'm not trying to be weird. I recognize you from your channel. I'm a big fan."
      She sits back, smiles, and relaxes, eating up my compliment. "Oh. Thanks."
      "My name's Mike."
      Her mouth drops. "Oh my maker! You're Mike from 'Ask Mike'!"
      I'm floored. "You know me?" You've gotta be kidding! This is great!
      "Yes!" She laughs. "You're hilarious!"
      I shrug. "Thanks. I just... be myself. I've always been a geek."

     We sit here and talk. She orders a drink. I pay for it. We talk more. She mentions a song I've never heard of, so she plays the video for me on her phone. Then she decides to see if they actually put it in the jukebox in the corner and if not--what songs do they have on it? Eh, it's something else to talk about.

     "This is so weird! I had no idea you were from around here."
     "Well, uh, I'm actually from across town."
     She backs her head up in surprise. "Why would you choose to come to this dump then?"

     I look around. "You know, it is a dump. Like a radioactive wasteland with the weird lighting setup."
     "Oh my maker, I know. I've thought so many times how I should help them, but then, I figure if they wanted help, they'd ask."
     "Maybe they have to have multicolored lights to hide the fact that the food looks terrible. Too bad the lighting doesn't help the taste."
     She laughs, and I feel really good. "So why come so far?" she asks again.
     Sigh. I guess I'll have to tell her. "It's somewhere I never went with my ex."
     "Ah," she says in understanding. "How long were you together?"
     I wave my hand downward. "Eh, forget him." I quickly change the subject. "Say, how would you feel about doing a collab with me?" I tense up. I was really hoping to ease into this question.

      But she looks totally at ease now. "That would be great, Mike."
      "Great! What should we do?"
      "No idea. Not right now anyway. How about we meet for dinner in a few days after we've had a chance to come up with something?"
      Wait... Did she just... ???
      I blink. "Yeah! That'd be awesome."
      We agree on a time and place, and she explains she has to go.
      But I still can't decide whether or not she asked me out. Either way, I'm on cloud nine for the rest of the afternoon. I go home, take a bath, fix myself some healthy dinner, and then I get up to wash the plate.

      And then a police car, the kind they give detectives, drives very slowly past my house. I think it really was Darrin. I get a quick rush of adrenaline... and then a huge downhill slide when he drives away.
      Damn him! I was having a good day. For once.
     I get out my phone.

Was that you just now?

     I couldn't help it. I have to know for sure.

     My phone does nothing. I stare at it for probably five whole minutes. Nothing.

     Thirty minutes later...

Yes 

     Another adrenaline rush. I almost drop my phone because my hands get sweaty.

     I'm supposed to work tonight. I make my own schedule, but I usually stick to it. I want to do right with Aunt Em as my boss.

     But I can't sit still! I have to get out of here. I need a club with loud, thumping music. Hopefully that will drown out my thoughts... emotions... crazy ideas.

     Damn him. 

      It used to be a great thing when we were friends and even better when we were dating that we think so much alike. Of all the clubs in Eden, he had to pick the same one.

     Plum it all. He is such a good dancer. I really should just grab a barstool and sit in a corner, secretly watching him. Instead, he pulls me in like a magnet. Like that overused 'moth to the flame' cliché. I guess the magnet one is just as bad.

     This is bad. I want to grab that bun on the back of his head and shove my tongue down his throat.

     He sees me, stops dancing for half a beat, smiles, and then goes right back to it.

     Okay. So he wants to play games now.

     I have a seat at a nearby barstool, a variation of my earlier voyeuristic plan. Turning my head slightly, I see him back up as he dances, and he leans back against the bar, smiling.

    "Are you following me, Mike?" He's drunk. Or tipsy at least. I can smell it on him.

    "Well aren't you one to talk? At least you admitted that was you earlier."

    "When?"

    "Driving by my house."

    He laughs, which makes no sense. I guess it might to someone who's drunk. He scoots, or falls, over, bringing us even closer. "Oh that. Yeah. It's my job." His face is so close to mine. I could easily...

    He kisses me. Quickly. On the lips.

    Then he smiles, laughs, and goes right back to dancing.

    I want to bang my head against the counter. It's not fair! I'm so turned on right now I can't stand it! Why? Why does this have to happen to me?

     He only kissed me because he's drunk; I completely get that. But it still happened. It was like how someone might kiss their mom, but it was a kiss. And I'm excited and brokenhearted all at once.

     Damn him! 

     I watch him, and he comes back. The music gets somewhat quieter.

     "Since when do you wear skull and crossbones earrings?" And he's let his beard grow just a little more.

     He shrugs. "You're not the only one allowed to change."

     I decide he really is so cute when he's drunk. I want to dance with him, but that will definitely push me over the edge.

     He likes me watching him, I think. He keeps glancing over at me to check to make sure I still am.

     Yes, you as*hole. I still think you're hot, okay? And you're a jerk. You're a gorgeous jerk who can hypnotize me while he dances, and you broke my heart. I get up.

     It's not fair. It's not fair! Why does he have to do this to me? I even met someone. I didn't quite get to flirting, but I was working on it. Then he has to plumbing drive by my house while I'm looking out the window. It was like, 'Yoohoo! I'm still here! I still care about you!'

     Damn him. I think I've had three of these. Maybe five.

     I wanna dance.

     Music pumps into my soul, and Darrin's body moves like a siren sings. Everything is lights and music and Darrin. And me. I'm part of the everything.

     I dance like never before, just letting all inhibitions fly away like little birdies in the sunset. I don't need those birdies. I just need Darrin.

     I get closer, being reeled in. I'm hooked. And drunk. Yes, I am definitely drunk. I don't care.

     My arms wrap around Darrin from behind. He's surprised for half a second, but he quickly catches on that I want to dance. So we dance. My arms hold him, my lips near his neck, my nose turning in to smell his ear. He's just as turned on as I am. I had no idea I could dance like this. Neither did he. And we own this dance floor. It's for us. Just us.

     I turn him around, and we face each other. Then I do what I wanted to do and pull back his bun before pouncing and plunging my tongue into his mouth.

     Part of my brain knows this is crazy, but I'm not listening. All I want is Darrin. And he's kissing me back. We're dancing and kissing. And moving. And grinding. And I love him.
     We've turned around. He starts lightly pushing me back to the wall behind me, and I go willingly. Once there, he kisses me like a man possessed. No more dancing. Just tongues and hands and hips.

     I'm dizzy. What the plum did that bartender put in my drinks? 150 proof? I tip to the side. Darrin laughs.

     "Don't worry. I'll keep you... up." He laughs again. I don't care. Just kiss me, dammit.

     I don't know how long we stay like this. I don't care. But some part of my brain knows that time is passing.
     And I'm starting to come around. Darrin and I are sitting on a small sofa. I'm in his arms, and I turn my head and look at him.

     "What just happened, Michael?"

     Plumbing reality hits hard. I push up from him, and his arms drop off me. "We got drunk." Plum it all. 

     I stumble to the bathroom to be sick and to relieve myself. When I walk out, Darrin is gone! I panic for two seconds before I see him by the bar.

     "Are you okay?" He reaches out to steady me.

     "I'm still a little dizzy." But other than that, I'm great. Darrin loves me. He wants me. It's all going to be okay.

     "Mike!" He lightly shakes me.

     "Hm?"

     "Did you throw up?"

     "Yeah, but I rinsed my mouth." I feel his hand on my forehead.

     "Maybe you got enough out." It almost sounds like he's talking to himself.

     "I'm fine, Darrin." I lean forward and hug him.

     "Damn you, Michael," he tells me quietly as his arms wrap around me.

     I laugh. "I've missed you."

     He squeezes me to him. "I've missed you too." There's a very happy pause. "But we can't get back together."

     Crash! I'd swear I hear shattering glass, but it's all in my imagination. Maybe the bartender dropped something. "What?" I get out of his arms and take a step back. "Then what was all that about?"

     "That was... utterly crazy. Just... Damn, Mike. When did you learn to dance?"

     "Never mind that. Were you there just now? Or... whenever that just happened? I didn't imagine it. I know I didn't imagine it."

      He looks like he's fighting tears. "I know! But like you said, we got drunk. And crazy. We c-can't do this, though. I'm... a police officer. I'm a cop, Mike!" He typically doesn't say the word 'cop.' His hands cover his face, and he swears under his breath.

      "So you're saying that was all just a big mistake." My already-broken heart disintegrates into nothing but an empty hole in my chest. I know what he means: he's a cop and I'm a murderer--Therefore we can't get back together. Ever. "You know what, Darrin? I hate you! Plum off!" I stumble out to go hail a cab.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Next up: Mike's ?date? with Ivy.
Click here to go to 3.1.15