What You Need To Know:
Aunt Rayleen was a Port Charles native and when she died, she left her house to Nadine. Since it is very large and the utilities can be costly, Nadine invited Leyla and Regina to move in with her and pay rent, and it works out pretty well for all three of them.
In addition to the house, Nadine got a room of her own above Jake's to use when she wanted some privacy.
Johnny is single and the head of the Zacchara family.
Claudia is his advisor and will be a watered-down version of herself in this story. Mainly because I'm not even going to try to top my Claudia in The Right Girl. Ha ha.
Lulu is a candy striper at the hospital and is in love with Johnny, but he barely even knows she's alive.
Like in TRG, Johnny owns a very nicely furnished apartment on the waterfront that no one else knows about.
This story picks up right after Elizabeth, Lainey, and Robin walk into Jake's to see Leyla dancing on a table. Instead of helping Nadine get her down and get her home, they left and the Girls' Night Out scene on the show where Nadine did tequila shots with them never happened.
Author's Note: I simply couldn't wait to put out this story. I have had it planned forever, since the very beginning of The Right Girl, to be honest, but wanted to finish that story before I started this one. I just can't wait any longer, so here we go. This is not a full-length story and is something of a romp. Not entirely serious, not entirely drawn out, and I expect it to be anywhere from 20-30 chapters long. If that.
This Is Your Song 1
.: Jake's Bar & Billiards :.
"Gina?" Nadine watched the cab pull out of Jake's and turn onto the main road. "Hey, it's me. Listen, I was at Jake's and Leyla was there. Yeah. She was absolutely trashed. No, I mean, like, dancing on tables, accepting 1 bills, trashed. Yeah. No, I got her down and put her in a cab and gave him the address. Yeah. So – yeah, if it's not too much trouble, just wait up for her, make sure she's okay. Yeah, she'll be home in about twenty minutes."
It was a cool night and she was only wearing a thin sweater over her camisole, so Nadine ducked back inside the bar. "No, my shift just ended. Yeah, I really needed a drink. Or two. If I don't come home tonight, don't worry about it. I'll probably be staying here, then. Yeah. Okay, see you tomorrow. Night."
She hung up and slipped the phone back in her clutch, then headed toward the bar. Coleman knew her by name and knew exactly what she drank, but he liked to surprise her sometimes and that was why she saw a fruity-looking concoction sitting by her favorite stool.
Nadine slid onto the leather and let her long legs dangle, swinging back and forth. "What is this?"
"Something called a nectarini," the bartender replied. "Came from my copy of The Girliest Drinks On The Planet. Enjoy."
She much preferred a cold beer or a good glass of whiskey (only the top shelf stuff; there was nothing worse than bad whiskey) but thought it was sweet that Coleman took it upon himself to widen her alcoholic repertoire.
The drink wasn't bad. It was sweet and smooth, smelled good and went down easy. Nadine downed it in a couple of gulps and pushed the glass away, trying to get Coleman's attention as he dealt with someone at the far end of the bar, in the shadows where she never sat.
Fruity, girly drinks were lovely in their own right, but after a tough day at work, she just wanted something good and strong and stiff. Maybe she'd splurge tonight and order some of the good stuff; she'd gotten her paycheck recently and had been good about not spending it, so she figured she deserved a little treat. Coleman made fun of her for liking the top shelf stuff and not being into the tequila or vodka or martini blends like most of the women that came to the bar, but Nadine never paid him any mind.
The man at the end of the bar that was monopolizing all of Coleman's attention finally moved away and headed back to his booth, and Nadine smacked her hand on the counter, hoping to get him to notice her.
"Hey! Coleman!"
"Be with you in a sec, kitten," he called back, reaching onto the high shelf for a bottle of Highland Park 25. She saw the label only when he had it in his hand and balked: she never would have guessed that he had that at Jake's. "You just sit tight."
Nadine drummed her fingers on the counter and watched him slosh the scotch into the glass, holding it up to the light to admire the dark chocolaty color. Satisfied, Coleman sauntered over to her and, much to Nadine's amazement, set the glass down in front of her.
"Enjoy, kitten."
She gaped at the drink, then up at him. "What – I didn't – you can't – Coleman, I can't have this."
He arched a brow at her. "Are you serious? It's the best in the house."
Color rose in her cheeks, but Nadine pushed the embarrassment aside. "I know it is, and I know what it costs – I can't afford this."
Coleman folded his arms on the counter and leaned toward her, his dark hair falling in his eyes. "Kitten, I know you're between boyfriends right now, and I know it's been a while since you've been in the saddle, but let me explain something to you."
Her cheeks bloomed red again, and Nadine tried her best not to bristle. This was a game that she and Coleman played, always trying to needle the other, and it wasn't his fault that he was so damn good at it.
"When a guy buys a gal a drink, it's very rude of her not to accept."
Her lips parted in surprise, and a moment passed before Nadine could even formulate a response. "Coleman, I…thank you so much, but I can't let you buy me-"
The bartender let out a laugh and straightened, running a hand through his hair to push it back. "No, no, kitten, you've got the wrong idea. That's not from me, it's from the gentleman right over there."
She was turning around instantly. "What gentleman?"
"There are very few that stop by here," Coleman drawled, unabashedly pointing in her fellow patron's direction, "but he's sitting right over there. Giving you the cutie eye, too, kitten. Make a note of that."
Nadine wasn't even aware that he'd withdrawn and gone to the other end of the counter because she'd just laid eyes on the man that Coleman was referring her to. He sat back, alone, in his booth, drink in hand, and smirked at her as she gaped at him.
She'd never seen him around the bar before, and she couldn't stop staring. Her first thought was that he was some sort of low-life pervert who had only gotten her that expensive drink (the kind he'd never be able to pay for) so that she'd sleep him and that he'd cause a scene if she resisted and she'd probably have to call the cops, but that thought faded the more she studied him.
He wasn't like most of the other men at Jake's. He wore jeans and a sweater like most of them did, sure, but he was different. His boots were leather and uncreased, so clearly he didn't work a lot or use them roughly, and the silver buckle was still shiny and bright under the lights. His jeans were dark-washed and looked new and expensive. She could see the scribbled logo on the sleeve of his sweater indicating that it was an original Armani crewneck. Over the navy sweater he wore a black blazer, and that extra bit of unrequired fanciness was what separated him from the other shlubs that she normally met here. His hair looked tousled in a careless sort of way, but Nadine knew better: he probably used a couple hair care products to achieve that effortless, windswept look.
He was watching her give him the once-over, damn him, and was still wearing that deviously smug little smirk. Her blatant female appreciation didn't bother him one bit, and his stare was so penetrating that it felt like he could read her mind, like he knew she thought his hair was just made for her fingers to tangle in, that his dark eyes were mysterious and sparkly, that his lips were full and that little grin he wore was just oh-so-sexy.
Without turning all the way around, Nadine wrapped her hand around the glass of scotch, mainly because she suddenly realized she needed something to do other than just stare at that dark-haired hunk that just wouldn't stop smiling at her.
His eyes flicked to her hand on the glass and his smile widened, and the next thing she knew, he was getting up and walking over to her.
Her heart started to race, and her grip on the glass tightened. Shit. She was the worst in these types of situations: she never knew what to do or what to say or how to behave when she was within a two-mile radius of an extremely hot guy, and before long, said extremely-hot-guy just got bored and wandered away to find a woman who wasn't a total klutz inside and out.
Oh, it was the worst.
He was walking over to her – swaggering, really, and it was damn sexy – looking totally at ease and totally confident, and why wouldn't he? The world turned 'round for hot boys like him. He was probably the sort that was fairly used to getting whatever he wanted, but why he wanted to come over and talk to her was a complete mystery.
Nadine lifted her glass and held it in her lap as he approached, his dark eyes still twinkling as he came to stand in front of her, one hand braced casually on the counter.
Realizing that she was supposed to say something, Nadine tamped down her nerves and smiled. "Hi."
"Hey." He drummed his fingers on the counter and tilted his head, suddenly looking downright mischievous. "So I've been thinking…"
She took a small sip of the scotch when he paused and found it absolutely delightful.
"…That you and I should have sex."
…And then she promptly spit it out.
He'd been watching her for quite some time.
Johnny wanted to be able to say that he wasn't watching her in some sort of creepy, stalker-ish way, but there was really no other reason for how keenly he was aware of her, or how well he knew her habits.
Nadine Crowell, New York native, recently promoted senior pediatric nurse, was absolutely gorgeous. And he wanted her.
He had to be fair: he didn't give her much thought the first time he saw her at Jake's with a couple of the other nurses she worked with. She was pretty enough, nothing special, and he hadn't really been aware of her until one rainy evening at the bar. He was sitting in a booth with two of his top guards when she came into Jake's, absolutely soaked through. Most women in that state would have been grouchy and put out, but not Nadine.
He'd watched her, captivated, as she grinned at the bartender and headed over when he tipped his head, and Johnny had been spellbound as she stripped one sopping wet layer off after another until she was seated on the stool in a pair of jeans and a graphic t-shirt, her long legs dangling two inches off the floor in a pair of bright yellow rainboots covered in little apples. She was self-possessed, confident, easy-going, and more than one head had turned at her lilting laughter, even more at the cute little snort that came out just before she could clamp a hand over her mouth to keep it in.
Since then, he'd watched her. He learned a lot about her just by hanging out in his booth and studying her whenever she happened to come in. She was good friends with two of the nurses at the hospital, one African-American one and the one Iranian one. She always had her tote bag with her, and it was a veritable arsenal of entirely useless knickknacks. She was always smiling and laughing, and when she wasn't, that meant she had a tough day at work and there was a twenty-percent chance she'd reward herself with a glass of the really good stuff.
Coleman never really had any of the best stuff, though. He'd seen her wrinkle her nose a little when he served her some not-quite-top-shelf scotch, and knew that the pretty nurse knew the exact same thing he did: that there was nothing quite as bad as bad scotch. After that incident, he'd spoken to Coleman and told him to reserve some bottles of the extra good stuff, on him, and just credit his tab if someone bought any. The next time Nurse Crowell had a rough day, she'd at least gotten something strong and stiff to help her forget about it.
He knew she had a room upstairs. She'd bought it about two months ago, which had confused him at first because he knew that her aunt had left her a rather large house on Birch street, which was the more upscale part of town, but then realized that she shared it with roommates and probably wanted her privacy.
Today looked to be one of those days. He'd seen her get her nurse friend off the table and send her home – admittedly, Johnny was sad to see her go; he was rather enjoying the show she was putting on from his booth in the back – and heard her tell her friend that she'd probably be spending the night. After downing the fruity little nonsense of a drink that Coleman had prepared for her, he'd seen her trying to get his attention, presumably to order something stronger.
And who was Johnny not to oblige? It was never his way to leave a pretty woman wanting, anyway.
Heh.
She was sitting at the counter now, talking to Coleman, and Johnny knew that any second now, she'd turn and look around for him. Sure enough, Nadine turned on her stool and followed the direction of the bartender's finger until her eyes came to rest on him, and Johnny made sure to send her a particularly lascivious smile.
To her credit, she didn't look away immediately. Instead, she displayed her natural curiosity – charmingly so – and gave him the once-over. It was thrilling, in its own quaint way, the way she was assessing him. Johnny wasn't at all unfamiliar with the feminine leer, being looked up and down when he was in pursuit, but there was something so sweet and innocent about the way that she studied him that it just proved all the more titillating.
Deliberately, and keeping her gaze the whole time, Johnny set his glass of scotch down on the table and got up. Her blue eyes widened just a little, as he knew they would, but he didn't mind. He knew from watching her that she was generally wary of men that approached her at Jake's. Since he knew that she didn't have a boyfriend, he presumed that she chose instead to err on the side of caution, which wasn't a bad idea.
She had her glass in her hands and when he approached he saw how tightly she gripped it. Hoping to put her at ease, Johnny flashed her a wide smile. It must have done the trick, because she smiled back.
"Hi."
"Hey." He clicked his nails on the counter and figured there was absolutely no reason to beat around the bush now that they had actually exchanged words for the first time since he first saw her months ago.
"So I've been thinking…"
She took a sip of the scotch and he wondered how she liked it, if the chocolate nose turned honey on the palate before finishing surprisingly sweet.
"…That you and I should have sex."
His smile only grew when she choked on the fine malt.
Oh, dear God.
She heard wrong. She had to have heard wrong. There was no way that the gorgeous man in front of her had proved himself to be a total ass within two seconds of conversation by propositioning her, a total stranger.
Nadine coughed out the scotch that threatened to settle in her lungs, lifting the back of her hand to her mouth so that she wouldn't spray him with spittle – even though he would have deserved it if he had seriously just asked her for sex.
Finished hacking up the pricey single-malt, Nadine cleared her throat and looked up at him. He was gazing down at her, his dark eyes twinkling, looking so perfectly drool-worthy that she forgot for a moment what he just said and stared up at him, absently taking another small sip of the scotch.
And then she remembered and choked on it again.
His eyes danced with mirth and she could tell he was having a hard time not laughing at her, which just irritated her more. She was still hacking up a lung when he rocked back a step, probably not wanting to press his luck at not getting spit all over that designer sweater, and pulled a card out of his wallet.
"Here." He held it between two long fingers, and she took it without even thinking about it. "My card. Give me a call if you're interested."
And with that, he pulled away, slipped his hands into his pockets, and sauntered out of the bar.