Jeff was bored. All he was doing was chilling in his living room watching whatever passed for entertainment on TV. A part of him was distressed that this was what he was doing on a Saturday night. But only a small part of him felt that way. The rest was more concerned with the level of boredom he was experiencing.
He did another round of channel surfing in the hope that he'd find something that interested him. But nothing was holding his interest. As he passed over the latest Real Housewives marathon he started thinking about the group, and wondering what they were doing tonight. At this point he was almost bored enough to willingly hang out with Pierce. He picked up his phone and decided to see if any of them were free. As he pulled up his contact list he found he automatically went to Annie first. It's just because her name starts with an A and is at the top of the list, he thought (glossing over the fact that technically Abed's number came before Annie's.)
Jeff: hey annie
Annie: Jeff, hey.
Jeff: what r u up to?
Annie: Nothing much. Troy and Abed are seeing Prometheus.
Jeff: u didn't want to see it with them?
Annie: Not really. I'll probably see it on DVD. What are you up to?
Jeff: not much. just bored.
Annie: And?
Jeff: and what?
Annie: Jeff, you obviously texted me for a reason.
Jeff: and…I wanted to see if u wanted to be bored together.
Annie: See, was that so hard?
Annie: LOL
Jeff: funny. what do u want to do?
Annie: I'm low on cash till I get paid on Wednesday.
Annie: Why don't you come over and we can just hang out.
Jeff: ok.
Jeff: I'll be over in a bit.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Come on in." Annie gestured her arm like a game show host as Jeff walked into the apartment. "Do you want anything to drink? We have tap water."
"Wow, you guys really are living the high life." He grinned as she rolled her eyes at him. "You have anything stronger then water?"
"Um…there might be some beer in the fridge. Or you can check the no-no juice cabinet for something stronger." She stopped as she visible shuttered at what she had just said. "I meant the liquor cabinet. Troy just calls it the…it's over there," she pointed in an exasperated voice.
Jeff kept the jokes to himself as he went over and started searching the cabinet. There was an almost empty gallon bottle of Rubinoff vodka (probably something Britta brought over if he had to guess), a bottle of red wine, the bottle of Serbian rum Pierce brought over to the housewarming party, another bottle of rum that featured a parrot with an eye patch and a peg leg, and a bottle of scotch.
Jeff took out the bottle of scotch, surprised to see it there. He couldn't recall ever bringing over scotch to casa Antrobed before. He looked at the label, seeing that it wasn't a brand he usually drank. "Since when did you guys become scotch drinkers? If you want I can school you on an actually decent brand."
"No one here drinks it," Annie said as she searched through the kitchen cabinets.
Jeff walked over and put the bottle on the kitchenette counter as Annie turned around holding two glasses. "If no one drinks scotch how did a bottle of it end up here?"
"I bought it."
"You bought it? Why would you buy scotch if you don't drink it?"
"Because I know you like it. So I thought you'd like to have a bottle around."
Jeff stared at her, at a loss for words over what he had just heard. "You bought me liquor?"
Annie shrugged as she took the bottle and opened it. "Yea. I was at the liquor store last week getting wine for a pasta recipe and I saw a pretty cheap bottle, so I picked it up in case you wanted some when you were over."
Jeff looked at her, not sure how to feel about this. "That's…that was nice of you." He frowned as he glanced at the bottle.
"What?"
"I don't know. It's just weird that you'd think to buy a bottle of scotch specifically for me."
"Jeff, its just alcohol. We're both adults who drink. I just thought you'd like it if we had some around. You don't have to freak out over it."
"I'm not freaking out."
"Or is it because it was me who bought it? Little innocent Annie is buying alcohol."
"Annie, I'm just surprised that you bought liquor specifically for me. It has nothing to do with…"
"With what?" She leaned on the counter as she looked at Jeff. "With what Jeff?"
"With…look, I wasn't trying to insinuate anything. I honestly was just surprised at your thoughtfulness."
Annie still frowned slightly, since she knew there was more to this argument then Jeff was willing to admit. But she decided to let it go, rather than getting into another fight with Jeff that was sure to go nowhere. "Ok then." She looked at the bottle as she picked it up. "I've never had scotch before. How much do you put in a glass?"
"Generally you measure by your fingers. Two fingers worth equals a shot. I usually have two shots worth in a glass, but you're welcome to have less if you've never had it before."
Annie poured four fingers worth of scotch in Jeff's glass, and then poured the same amount in her own. They clinked their glasses together before taking a sip. Jeff laughed as Annie scrunched up her face like she had just bit into a lemon. "Blug. How can you drink this stuff?"
"It's an acquired taste."
"It burns."
"Yea, it'll do that."
Annie braced herself before she took another sip of the alcohol. While she still shuttered, her face wasn't as contorted as it was during the first sip. "Ok, it's a little better."
"See, you're getting the hang of it. Soon you'll be able to drink single malt like a pro. That's how you can tell who's a real woman. One who can appreciate a good scotch."
Annie looked up at Jeff as he took a sip, catching what he meant by that. Smiling to herself she took another sip, this time not even shuttering.
