AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS HAS BEEN PLAGUING ME! I HOPE THAT YOU GUYS LIKE IT. EVER SINCE THE CHRISTMAS EPISODE I'VE BEEN DESPARATE TO WRITE ABOUT GEORGE AND WADE AS FRIENDS SO…HAHA. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT! - KRISTINE.
RATING: PG-13 (THERE IS SOME PRETTY CHOICE LANGUAGE IN THIS CHAPTER)
DISCLAIMER: AND HAVE ZOE CHASE AFTER GEORGE EVEN THOUGH THE CHEMISTRY IS SERIOUSLY LACKING? UH, NO.
POWER OF A WOMAN
- W - & - Z -
"Damn Wade you look like hell," George notes loudly as he plops down on an empty barstool.
Wade snorts and continues to wipe down the bar seeming as though he's just going to ignore George's insult when he suddenly pauses briefly to say, "I always forget is that better or worse than shit?"
George laughs and shakes his head. There are times when Wade catches him completely off-guard. He always thinks that he's probably the wittiest guy in the whole town. "Depends on who you ask, but seeing you right now I'd have to say worse."
"I reckon you'll change your opinion when I remind you that I'm the keeper of the beers in this joint." Wade says, crossing his arms across his chest as if to punctuate his point.
"Shit did I say worse? I definitely meant better," George jokingly amended. "Come on Wade we both know on your worst looking day you're still the best looking dude in this whole town."
Wade puts his hand over his heart and screws his face up so that he looks like a grandmother who just received a homemade gift from her grandchildren. "Oh Georgie I didn't know you felt that way about me."
"Well you know I have always had a thing for blondes." He replies easily as he gratefully accepts the beer that Wade poured for him. "It sure is quiet here."
Wade glances around the bar and for the first time realizes just how empty it is. Except for a few regulars in the corner playing cards and Shelly whose sitting out front texting a guy she met online from Mobile, he had been basically alone until George showed up.
"Something must really be eating you." George says when he notices that Wade has just realized how empty the place is. Usually that would have been the first thing that he bitched about the moment that George sat down.
Outside of Bluebell their friendship probably wouldn't have made a whole lot of sense to people. George is an overachiever. He always has been. He always will be. He lives by the concept that he can sleep when he's dead. Wade, on other hand, has always been more than okay with just getting by on his looks and charm alone. One of Wade's favorite declarations has always been that work's for suckers.
Their friendship began and blossomed all the way back during Pop Warner football. George was the quarterback and Wade was his wide receiver who'd pop anyone that felt justified to question George's ability, tenacity, or just him period. They came from different parts of Bluebell. They disagreed on a regular basis about everything from girls to college. And yet because of that friendship formed on the gridiron to this day they were still each other's best friends. When George was in New York City and having a particularly shitty day he'd call Wade. To his credit Wade always told him over the top tales about the citizens of their fair town as well as encouragement to stay away which provided George with the strength to make it though another day.
All of this being sad, nobody could see through Wade's bullshit better than George. So when Wade waves off George's comment and says that, "he's just a little tired or something'" George knows that something is actually going on with Wade after all.
He frowns over the top of his beer glass and shakes his head. "We both know that ain't fooling me. What's on your mind Wade?" When it looks like Wade might feed him another line he quickly adds, "I can call Lemon and after her badger you until you admit it."
Wade sighs noisily and stares at the bar. He obviously doesn't want to admit what's bothering him. He hates that George is so effin' good at reading him. He much prefers seeming like the enigma that the rest of the town seems to think he is. He drums his fingers on the bar for a second before finally looking up at George.
"You know you're kind of an asshole sometimes George Tucker."
"Same to you Wade," he shoots back before taking a tip of his beer. "I'm waiting."
"I like a girl."
George's eyebrows shoot up in surprise and he suddenly finds himself interrupting. "What's new about that? You always like a girl."
"If you'd shut up for a second Mr. Big-Time Lawyer I'll tell you why it's different." Wade replies.
George throws his hands up to signal that he not only didn't mean any harm, but is also all ears, and then he motions for Wade to continue.
"What makes this different is that I like a girl who doesn't see me as anything other than a pain in her ass," Wade murmurs.
It embarrasses him to no end. He's never been like this before. In fact, Wade can't remember a single time in his short life when he actually pursued a girl. Usually his good looks and cocky grins did all the work for him. Girls always just chased him. They flirted and he decided whether or not he was willing to give them the time of day. Even in the case of Tanzy she'd come for him, getting married had been her idea, and everything else had always been him appreciating the ease of their relationship. The most work he'd done to keep her interested was buy a case of beer.
So now him trying so hard to get Zoe Hart to glance his way was driving him insane. If she weren't so damn impossibly imperfectly perfect, he probably would have quit by now. In fact he'd tried. When it seemed clear that she thought George was the better man for her, he'd tried to accept that. But for some reason the sight of in those short shorts of hers and the way she smoldered that night during the heat wave made it so that there was no way he could turn his attention to another girl. Nope, Zoe Hart had piqued his interest and it seemed like he couldn't rest until he succeeded in piquing hers as well.
He found himself making a point to wake up early enough to meet her in Lavon's kitchen for breakfast because just getting to banter with her for a few minutes made it all seem a little easier to handle. Well that is until later when he spent entire shifts wondering why she didn't seem him the way he saw her.
He runs a tired hand across his face as he lets out a soft sigh, "This has never happened to me before."
"Shit you don't think I know that. I've watched girls make absolute fools of themselves in hopes of catching your eye. I have listened to your grief since we were fucking like 7 year olds about not needing to chase a woman so believe me I know." George replies not bothering to hide his shock.
There was a time when he was living in New York City and he used to stress that Wade would go after Lemon. It was wrong and insecure of him. Still he knew how charming his best friend was. If there was a guy who could make Lemon laugh in high school, it had always been Wade with over the top jokes and stories. So the thought that maybe they'd find solace in each other when he was gone was a recurring nightmare. In fact, if he hadn't known that Wade struggled and did his best to never be alone with Lemon he might have actually brought it up to his best friend. Never would have mentioned it to Lemon because she would have gotten high-pitched and horrified as though that was the most far-fetched idea, George could have come up with.
"Who is it?"
"No one," Wade mumbles quickly because he isn't ready to share that information with anyone just yet. Hell Lavon thinks he knows but doesn't for sure and that's only because he serves as an audience for their every interaction.
George stares at him for a second trying to think of what woman he's seen Wade even talking to recently. Within seconds his eyes are widening because the answer has been right there in front of him this entire time. He leans forward and slugs him in the arm. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that you were interested in Zoe?"
"Shhh," Wade shushes as he nervously glances around the bar hoping that nobody has heard George. The last thing he needs is for the entire town to be in his business.
"Fine I'll ask you quietly. How did could you not tell me?"
"I don't know," Wade answers but even to his own ears it doesn't sound convincing. The look George shoots him reiterates that he isn't going to accept that answer so he adds, "Because you seemed pretty damn interested yourself."
"It's just because she's from New York," he tries.
He's questioned his behavior since the day that Zoe arrived in town. It wasn't like she was the first pretty woman to be interested in despite the fact that he never hid his relationship with Lemon. Still she was the first one that he had actually pursued a relationship of sorts with. He'd meant for it be friendship, but that night in jail when Wade pointed out that it was anything, but he'd realized that he had been leading her on. And so he figured it all had to do with the fact that she reminded him of the kind of guy he could have been. He could have been a high-powered attorney that had it all figured out. And now he is a small town attorney who has some things figured out. Whether or not that's enough has yet to be seen. Still when he looks at Lemon and he remembers just how much they've been through to get to this point, whatever flirtation he'd been initiating with Zoe seems futile and meaningless.
"That's fine, but it doesn't erase the fact that she's cried over you and not me."
"She's cried over me?" George asks feeling guiltier than he thought possible.
Wade refuses to meet his eyes as he explains, "Lavon found her watching some old movie and balling her eyes out. She seemed to snap out of it pretty quick."
He nods, but doesn't say anything. He feels a lot like Wade. This is the first time in his life that he's really broken a girl's heart and it makes him feel like he got punched in the stomach.
"Stop making this about you," Wade replies when he sees the tortured way George has decided to stare into his beer. "You know she's practically turned my whole world upside down."
"Shit Wade that's the power of a woman," he isn't the least bit surprised when the look he earns from his blonde best friend is one that just borders on being mocking. "You can laugh, but we both know it's true."
For a second Wade just stands there thinking that George is even if he doesn't have it in him to admit that out loud. Nobody, certainly not a man, has ever had the ability do this to him before. "She did tell me she wanted a rain check for a beer so that's somethin'."
"You know should make a gesture. I know that what works for me. I understand that something like that might be a little out of your comfort zone, but girls love gestures."
"A gesture?"
"Yeah you show up at her place with a bottle of wine and suggest that you two ring in the New Year together or something."
"I don't know…" Wade says unconvinced. "What if she has plans?"
"Lavon's out of town until after the National Championship. Rose is going to same party as Magnolia. The practice is closed. It isn't like there's anything else for her to do. She doesn't have a car." George points out because there's no way in hell he's about to back down now. "A gesture will prove whether or not you've actually got a horse in this race."
"I'm working," Wade says waving his rag at him for emphasis.
George scoffs loudly. "We both know you refuse to close on New Year's Eve. You'll be out of here by 8:00 at the latest. Now pull your head out of your ass and make a damn gesture Wade."
"You know you're a real pain in my ass sometimes Tucker," Wade states as he grabs George's empty glass off of the bar.
"Good because you've been a pain in mine since Pop Warner."
George glances at his watch and lets out an anguished groan. He's going to a New Year's Eve party with a few of his and Lemon's couple friends. It's the last thing he feels like doing when Auburn is playing Virginia in a bowl game, but shit it means something to her so it means something to him. He stands from up his seat and starts to pull his wallet out of his jacket pocket when Wade shoots him a look that makes it clear he isn't going to accept his money for one beer.
"Who's throwing the New Year's Eve party this year?" Wade asks knowingly. Events like that used to be part of the reason that he refused to get in a relationship.
"Rick and Kelly."
"Well…" Wade can't even hide his smirk. Rick is one of those boisterous Alabama fans that has been known on occasion to nearly drive George to fight or at the very least drink more than is acceptable for a nearly 30-year-old successful lawyer. "Have fun with that."
He bites his lip trying to suppress a smile but fails miserably. "Screw you. I'll call tomorrow to see how the gesture went."
- W - & - Z -
AUTHOR'S NOTE: THERE IS A SECOND CHAPTER IN THE WORKS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THIS COULD EASILY SERVE AS A STAND ALONE. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK. I THINK YOU'D LIKE THE SECOND PART. THEN AGAIN I REALLY LIKED THE FIRST CHAPTER OF GIVE IN TO ME AND THEN I FEEL LIKE I RUINED IT WITH THE NEXT CHAPTERS SO…HAHA. ANYWAY I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RESPONSE. IF THERE IS LIKE NONE THEN I'LL RECOGNIZE THAT THIS WAS PROBABLY TERRIBLY AND LEAVE IT SOLO. HAHA. THANKS IN ADVANCE. YOU GUYS ARE SIMPLY THE BEST! - KRISTINE. P.S. HINT ABOUT THE SECOND CHAPTER MATT DAMON AND ROBIN WILLIAMS WILL MAKE AN APPEARANCE. HAHA.