FicWad

Beep, beep, beep! The loud, incessant beeping of our alarm clock just about scared me to death the next morning. Apparently, James hadn't bothered to check the volume on it before he set last night. James and I jumped up and both dove towards the alarm clock. James reached it first and clicked it off, at the same, he managed to pin against the bed on my back. I giggled, still feeling the same euphoria from last night, and wriggled under his body.

James kissed my forehead and then glanced at the clock, "You should probably get up, don't you think?" I made a face at the alarm clock. I probably should get up, but I didn't really want to. Seriously, why would I want to move when I was in a soft, cushy bed with the most beautiful guy in the world lying on top of me?

"But I don't want to get up," I complained wearily. "Can't we just stay in bed all day?" James smirked and pulled the comforter off of us, leaving us only the sheet for warmth. I started shivering instantly. Watching my glower, James said, "Aw, come on, Olive, you know you'd better get up. I didn't ever think I'd see the day when you would beg to stay in bed with me though. At first, I couldn't even get you in a bed with me."

"Maybe not," I confessed, "but you knew I wanted to, didn't you?" James' smirk widened, telling me the answer to that. Still pinned to the bed by James' warm body lying on top of mine, I said, "Fine, I'll get up, but you're going to have to get off of me first." James seemed to realize he had been lying on top of me for the first time. Blushing, he quickly rolled to his side and answered, "Right." Rolling my eyes at him, I started to get out of the bed. Halfway out, I suddenly stopped and pulled the sheet around my body. I felt self conscious enough having James see me naked during sex, so walking across the room naked was definitely not a good idea. I wished I had a robe or something around, but all our clothes had been tossed carelessly aside all over the floor during last night's episode. My lingerie piece were far across the side of the room.

"Um, close your eyes for a sec, okay?" I asked James. James raised an eyebrow at me and asked, "Why?" God, sometimes he was a little too inquisitive. Sometimes it would be nice if he would just do as I asked him. Sighing irritably, I replied, "You know why. Just shut your eyes before my self esteem goes down to a zero."

James slowly shut his eyes. Just to make sure his eyes really were shut, I waved a hand in front of his face. When he didn't move, I confirmed that he really did have his eyes shut. Carefully, I slid out of bed and hurried to the far side of the room to grab some clothes before running into the bathroom. As I started to shut the bathroom door, I caught James looking directly at me. I threw the sweater I was wearing over my private parts and chastised, "Holy shit, can't you just keep your promises?"

"I never promised to keep my eyes shut," James said, grinning at me. "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before. You seem to have it ingrained in your mind that you've got a shitty body or something, but seriously, you're the prettiest woman I've seem." Those words made me forget about being completely stripped down, and I found myself hesitating in the bathroom's doorway. I didn't see how James could say I was the prettiest girl he'd seen before.

"Are you being serious?" I asked him dubiously, "I'm not that pretty. I've got this goddamn scar on my stomach, my hair is ordinary, my body is average besides for the scars, and my face certainly isn't anything to die over." James sat up in bed, allowing the sheet to fall and expose his chest. Mm, he looked good enough to eat even this early in the morning.

"Olive, you should really quit doubting me all the time. Have I ever told you a lie yet?" James asked. I tried to think back to everything James and I had discussed. He was right; he had never lied. Still, it was a stretch for me to believe that he was really this committed to me. I guess the whole thing with Ray had made me feel pretty worthless. James continued, "I haven't lied to you and I never will. I love you, and that's all that matters. Okay, now go get dressed so you aren't late to the second day of your job!" James pointed to the bathroom with that silly grin still on his face.

Feeling a bit better, I closed the bathroom door and dressed in a dreamlike state. I pulled on a burgundy sweater and some simple black pants. It covered everything like James had wanted. The outfit certainly wasn't sexy or even attractive, but I decided that maybe I didn't want to look attractive anymore. James was the only guy I wanted and he already found me attractive...or so he said he did. Attracting attention from other guys was really something I could avoid.

Once I was dressed and had pinned my hair up into a high ponytail, I took a look in the mirror before heading back towards the bedroom. Shaking my head at my reflection, I still didn't understand what James saw in me. I still looked like the scared little girl who was convinced that the world was out to get her.

Stepping into the bedroom, I pointed towards the bathroom door and said, "Now you'd better get ready. You have to drive me to work unless you expect me to walk." Yawning widely, James shoved the covers back and crossed the room to grab some clothes. He obviously wasn't self conscious at all. But again, why should he be? He was perfect. There was nothing for him to be ashamed of. Me, on the other hand, had lots of things to be ashamed of.

I went out to the kitchen to wait for James before we left the house. I wasn't hungry, so I just went and sat on the couch instead of getting breakfast. There was an energy that was pulsing inside of me, fueling me for the day ahead. I wondered if sex always made people feel this way. If it did, I would certainly be doing it much more often! Last night had really been a lot better than I had thought it would be. It had sealed my bond with James and linked us together in the most intimate way. It had also showed me that our love for each other was true and pure. James really did love me regardless of what I thought. We were meant to be together. I had to admit that I was already looking forward to tonight.

The bathroom door opened and a sleepy James walked through the door. He pushed his messy blonde hair out of his face and gave another wide yawn. I stood up and took his hand as we walked towards the door. Noticing the yawn, I stated, "Someone's sleepy! What's got you so tired? Did you not sleep well or something last night?"

As we stepped through the apartment's hallway on the way to the elevator, James smiled at me, "I kept thinking that last night was a dream and I would wake up and you'd be gone. I guess it wasn't a dream though, hm?" I grinned back up at him, "I guess not." The two of us traveled down the elevator until we reached the main floor of the apartment. To my delight, the red-headed woman wasn't standing in the lobby. Instead, there was an old man there instead. Definitely an improvement! After all, it wasn't like James was going to be attracted to an old man or anything.

The two of us crossed the parking lot, entered the old truck, and then headed off towards the Tatou Super Club. I gave James the directions to the club to keep us from getting lost. I also told him the directions so he wouldn't get pissed off trying to read the map like last time. Arguments were something I wanted to avoid.

A few minutes later, James pulled in front of the club. He hesitated for a long moment before parking there though. A group of girls wearing the least amount of clothing that they could get away with were swaggering up towards the entrance of the club. A couple of guys immediately ran up to them and started talking to the group members like they had been friends for their whole lives. James' eyes were focused on the girls and he had completely forgotten about parking. At first, I thought he might be looking at the girls because he was attracted to them. But when I looked again, I saw that James was looking at them through narrowed eyes and that his jaw was stiff. For some reason of the other, he didn't like these girls.

"Uh James?" I asked, trying to bring him out of his reverie. "Don't you think you'd better park? I kind of need to go in now. It's almost eight." James jerked out of whatever paralysis he had been in. Abruptly, he twisted his head around and looked me up and down. Having no idea why the hell he was looking at me like that, I asked, "What? Do I look bad or something?"

"No!" James replied really quickly. "You look great. That outfit is much better than the one you were wearing yesterday." Suddenly, I knew what this was all about. James didn't want me looking like a hooker and attracting a lot of guys while I was at work. I still didn't understand why he thought these kinds of things since I wasn't very pretty, but for some reason, James seemed to be convinced I was actually quite pretty. Saying I looked good in this boring sweater and black pants was obviously a lie. At least I didn't have to worry about James messing around with other women while I was at work though. He would be spending all his time with a bunch of guys - no girls.

James finally unlocked the door, pulled me close to him to quickly press his lips against mine, and then said, "Okay, go on to work now. Good luck today. Remember, if there's anything you need, ask Marty. Also, if you ever see anyone suspicious in there, get the hell out as soon as possible." God, and I thought I was paranoid! Resisting rolling my eyes at him, I nodded and jumped out of the car. Without looking back, I hurried through the entrance to the club and got ready for a long day of work.

~ ~ ~ ~

I glanced up at the clock above the counter. I only a half an hour of work left. That was good. I really couldn't wait to get home tonight. It sort of felt like I was walking in a dream today. Nothing was going to crush my bad mood. Marty, the bartender, placed an arm on my hand and said, "Hey Olivia?"

"Huh?" I asked, looking over at him. I was currently washing dirty glasses and using some cleaner on them to get them all polished up. For some reason, Marty looked a little nervous as he scratched his chin. There was no doubt that he had resemblances to Ray, but his personality was so meek and gentle that I had long forgotten the resemblances. Thinking that whatever Marty wanted to say to me was important, I put the glass I was currently cleaning aside and turned my full attention to Marty. He was staring at his shoes and looked almost awkward.

"I'm going to the Caribbean for a month in two weeks," Marty told me. "My cousin is going to take over my job while I'm gone. He's slightly younger than me, but he's done this before. I'm pretty sure you guys will get along. This whole thing is okay with you, right?" My heart fell when Marty said he was going to be gone for a while. I really liked having Marty around. I felt protected and safe in this noisy place with a guy like him around. Unfortunately, I didn't get to make the decision about whether or not Marty was going to go on vacation or not. I just had to make the best of the situation.

"Yeah, I don't mind," I replied even though I did mind a bit. "I'm sure your cousin is nice." Marty gave a sigh of relief and squeezed my shoulder in a friendly manner, "Thanks Olivia. I figured you'd be okay with this. I've been looking forward to this vacation for a really long time. The last time I got a break from this job was over six months ago."

A throat cleared from in front of the counter and Marty and I quickly shut up. Turning my attention to the man standing before the counter, I was about to ask him what he wanted to drink, but somehow, my words got lost in my throat. The guy standing there behind the counter was smiling at me in a way that meant you were obviously interested in someone. A feeling of thrill and fear went through me. I wanted to say something flirty and seductive, but my words got lost.

Rolling his eyes at me, Marty took over the order, "Hey man. What do you want to drink?"