A/N: Hello fanfiction world! I'm finally back! After a writing hiatus that lasted over a year, I successfully completed some writing. It took A LOT to reach this point so I really hope you enjoy what I wrote. But, no more rambling from me. Let's get to the story at hand.
Music, laughter, and the sound of chatter swirled around him as sat at the bar. Numerous fifty inch flat screen televisions lined the walls throughout the place. Football, volleyball, and the national news being the choice of entertainment. Appetizers and full meals were plentiful. And there were no short supply of alcohol. This was Jake's first time being at The District Bar & Restaurant. Right away he noticed it was a popular spot for people of a particular age group. Given the way everyone conducted themselves and the atmosphere of the place itself, he believed that they were in their forties, like he was, or in their thirties. People of various ethnic backgrounds also filled the large, spacious place. Interacting with diverse groups of people always fascinated Jake. Growing up in a small town in Indiana, he wasn't exposed to certain things or people outside that rural area. Majority of the people there looked like him. Being a farmer or a factory worker seemed to be the only two career options. And leaving the area after reaching the age of eighteen was almost unheard. Except to Jake. It was a dream of his leave and never look back. Joining the Navy was his ticket of freedom and his opportunity to experience the world in any way he pleased.
Fast forward twenty plus years later, he could say that he experience the world in its entirety but in ways he never imagined. The world turned out to be a cruel, manipulative, and often heartless place to exist in. He was never oblivious to the fact that not everyone was a good person nor that life always went the way one may expected it to go. But becoming involved in B613 changed the core of who he was. He was forced to forget his previous life and dreams he envisioned for himself to protect the republic. To commit unspeakable actions to keep the country moving forward. And continuously feed into the naïve minds of citizens who weren't part of inner workings of the government. All for the sake of keeping America operating as smoothly and prosperous as possible.
None of it no longer matter now. The black ops organization his soul belonged to ceased to exist. He walked away from the woman he loved more than life itself to give himself the chance to find real love one day. Above all else, he had his life back. The pieces of it that were left and the pieces he hoped to rediscover again.
Jake heard a group of men who sat ten feet behind him loudly express their disapproval for what was taking place. Just like him, they were watching the football game. The Washington Redskins were playing the New York Giants. It was two minutes left before the end of the third quarter and the Redskins just picked up their third penalty within the last five minutes.
"The redskins got blown out of the water tonight. 49 to 6. Really hard to root for the home team for the rest of the season when they are playing like crap," a soft spoken voice said next to him.
He hadn't expect a woman to speak to him tonight. Not that it wasn't unlikely, he was just too wrapped up in his thoughts to care if one did or not. "No surprise there. They've been that way for the last three years."
"Hmm, good point."
Silence fell between them as they watched the quarter end. A series of commercials began to play and a few a people left to go home. Both of their attention remained on the television. Five minutes passed by and neither had spoken. Out the corner of Jake's eye, he saw her pull out her cell phone to reply to unanswered text messages. He, on the other hand, checked his watch to determine how much longer he would stay there.
It would take another twenty minutes before one of them broke the silence between them. "You aren't much of a talker, are you?"
Jake remained quiet as he debated what to say next. He waited until the football game went to a commercial break then said, "You know. I think we should be given some sort of pamphlet when we are born. An instructional manual. Titled, what not to do to fuck up your life. Best part about it that it'll contain common sense stuff. Like don't do drugs. Make your dreams a reality. Don't ever, under no circumstances, fall in love with someone you know you could never have."
"Ah," she nodded to herself. "Now it makes perfect sense."
For the first time that night, Jake turned his head to look at her. "What makes perfect sense?"
She looked back at him with a titled head. "Why a man like you would be sitting here at the bar, alone, when you could be mingling the droves of women that are in here tonight. You should be living up the bachelor life."
He turned his body to face her and instinctively straightened his posture when he fully took in how beautiful she was. "This is a role reversal. Usually, men are the ones saying almost the exact same thing to women they want to pick up." He leaned forward and lowered his voice "So, is that what you are doing?" Jake knew he sounded cocky, even arrogant maybe. But after the shitty night he was experiencing, he had nothing to lose. The likelihood of seeing this woman again was minimal anyway. So why not test the waters? Even if he was only doing it for a distraction.
"Hmm." She shifted on the wooden stool to face him in return and crossed her legs. The hem of her red strapless dress rising up her thigh an inch. Then she removed her hand that was cradling the glass she drank from and rested her cheek in the palm of it. Her eyes never leaving his. "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm not in the business of stroking a stranger's ego in attempt to get laid."
Her blunt response caused him to lean back away from her. "Ouch!" With his hand covering his heart, he let out a chuckle. "Talk about a straight shooter. Most women aren't like that."
A small smirk came to her lips. "Well, luckily for you I'm not like most women."
Jake loved the way her lipstick covered lips formed that smirk and the way her voice dripped with confidence. There were several responses Jake had in mind to her statement. But he decided it was best to not say anything. He just flashed her a brief smile, one that revealed nothing, before taking another swig of his beer.
Not knowing if she made him uncomfortable or he was being selective with his conversations, she conveniently went back to her previous inquiry. "You never answer my question, you know."
"There was a question? I thought it was a statement. Something about….," Jake rubbed his chin absent mindedly, "me getting out there and living the bachelor life."
She smiled broadly. "Good memory. It's nice to know you were actually pay attention. Most men aren't like that."
Her last statement drew a genuine laugh out of Jake. Something he did not expect to do tonight after ending everything with Olivia. "I do. Most of the time."
He finally laughs, she thought. "Well, you are really great at it. But anyway." She became silent momentarily, though she continue to hold his gaze. "How come you are isolating yourself right now? There's no fun in that."
Her piercing gaze became too much for Jake in that moment. He had to look away. It wasn't her eyes that was putting him on edge again. It was her question. A question he knew she meant no harm by since she was unaware of how it triggered his memory.
Jake made eye contact with her once again as she drank the remaining purple liquid from her glass through a straw. "Who said I am?"
She lifted her head. "You could have stayed home if that's what you really wanted. I don't know. I'm just making assumptions."
"Honestly? I needed to clear my head. I didn't care where I ended up or if I even talked to anyone tonight. Home is the last place I wanted to be."
"Because the silence would be a painful reminder of how things really were."
"Yeah." He smiled sadly. "I guess you can say that." Jake wasn't one to display and/or express emotions. Sharing anything this personal with this stranger truly surprised him. Partly because he had no desire to share his problems with anyone. He felt that he burden others with it. But the bigger reason he felt that way was due to the last woman he opened up not appreciating that part of him. At least, that's how he felt about it.
"I understand more than you know. So, say no more." Deciding to no longer pry, she signaled a bartender over. When the bartender reached them, she handed over her credit card to the short, blonde hair woman. I'm also paying the tab for table twelve," she informed before the bartender disappeared.
"Good, because I was not going to share anymore boring details of my life," Jake informed jokingly.
She grinned at his remark. "Oh, someone is quite the jokester I see."
"I am from time to time."
"You should keep being that way. It works well for you," she replied before giving him a playful wink.
The blonde hair woman returned with the credit card, a receipt, and a pen. The woman Jake spoke with for the last fifteen minutes jotted her signature on the designated line then handed the receipt and pen back to the bartender. She mouthed a thank you before standing up. Placing her credit card back into her black clutch, she spoke to Jake again. "It was great chatting with you handsome stranger but I have to get going."
"Well, it was a pleasure having a stunning woman like yourself take the time to talk to me."
"Anytime. Now, if you want mingle with some more great women for the rest of the night, table twelve would be the right choice." She turned her back towards the bar and pointed in the direction of the table she spoke of. "Quick heads up by the way. The one with the long jet, black hair is a lesbian. The one with the auburn hair is married. And there is one who is very shy but a sweetheart. She and the other two are also single so make sure you go introduce yourself."
"And what about you?" He had no interest in her friends. Although, they were just as attractive as she was and he was sure they were good people considering they were her friends. But the brief light hearted conversation he had with her made Jake curious to know more.
She looked down at Jake with a warm smile on her face. "I'm as single as they come until otherwise."
"Hmm, fair enough." It was now time for Jake to signal over a bartender for him to go home as well. "But I don't want to hold you up any longer. Enjoy the rest of your night."
"You do the same." She patted his shoulder gently then headed to the table her friends occupied.
Jake handed the bartender, a different one from earlier, a twenty dollar bill. While he waited for his change, he couldn't help to stare at the woman across the room as she said her goodbyes. He really enjoyed what he saw up close and from a distance. The red dress complimented her flawless, golden brown skin and her hips. Her black heels drew attention to her toned legs. Her curly hair, which was pinned up, left her neck exposed. Jake began to wonder how her skin would feel against his lips. However, the thought was a fleeting one because he frown immediately. It was a known fact that she was beautiful but he was only fantasizing about her because he couldn't have Olivia. The one woman he truly wanted to satisfy with his lips, hands, and something else.
"Here you go," a guy with a thick accent announced, cutting through Jake's thoughts. An interruption he appreciated.
"Thanks," Jake replied as he retrieved his change from the bartender then gave a tip. He stood up and put his leather jacket back on. Watching her put her coat on as well, Jake realized that he never got her name. Damn, he said under his breath. I should have at least gotten her name.
A series of waves were exchanged among the friends before the nameless woman made her way to door.
Jake remained in place as his eyes stayed on her. She maneuvered through a few tables, successfully avoiding a three men who immediately noticed her as she passed by. It wasn't until she was pushing the door open to make her exit that Jake's legs started to work. As he briskly made his way through the room, he hoped to catch her before she disappeared into the night.
A/N: This is currently a one shot. That's why the title is lame and the summary is short. I have several ideas for this if I decide to write more. As for my other stories, I'm working on them. I promise I am, including one that I'm still co-writing with a friend that I'm over the moon excited about creating. I do plan to write more one shots in the future as well. I can't give a time table as to when I will have more writings completed. But I can promise that it won't take a year again lol. Between having severe writer's block and going through some personal things, updates and new works will be slow to come by. So please, bear with me. I look forward to writing and sharing more stories with you all. I've missed this so much. But until next time, let me know what you thought about this one shot. Also, what are some things you would like to see happen this season?
P.S. I'm really over Olitz in EVERY capacity imaginable. I think I'm going to enjoy reading fanfics more than actually watching Scandal this season lol.