July 2012
At the beginning of July, the group attends a party at Shirley's to celebrate Andre's birthday.
Shirley has decorated the backyard with strings of colored lights and lanterns in the trees above and everything is bathed in a kind of happy glow that glimmers on the glass of Jeff's beer bottle. He still feels a bit out of place at family gatherings such as these, so Jeff leans against the wall near the sliding door, listening to the tinker of laughter and music and Shirley scolding her sister-in-law in the kitchen.
In the middle of the yard, surrounded by picnic tables and plastic chairs, Elijah and Jordan attempt some sort of dance that vaguely resembles the robot, and Britta and Troy both laugh as they shuffle and spin awkwardly, not really caring that their movements are out of sync. While Pierce checks the quality of the beer sitting chilled in iced buckets, Jeff checks his watch.
It's been fifteen minutes since a suspicious whispered conversation between Annie and Abed at the drinks table and fourteen minutes since they disappeared inside. He doesn't care that he's excluded or that their faces were really close – whatever, he couldn't be any less bothered, unless of course they were kissing again which would be detrimental to the group – but seriously, what the hell were they doing? He's not aware of the breath he's been holding until Annie wanders through the open door and he exhales heavily in what feels like…relief?
"Jeff, what do you think?"
She twirls around in a pink dress so pale it's almost the color of her skin and under the lights she's luminescent, which is ridiculous because Jeff Winger doesn't think things like that.
"Um, yeah." He smiles as her gaze flutters to the floor and yep, there's definitely a bit of a blush happening there. "Why did you change?"
"Oh, we watched Dirty Dancing last night and Abed thought the party was the perfect moment to re-enact it. You know how he gets sometimes."
"You're going to re-enact Dirty Dancing. With Abed. In this tiny backyard?" he asks, and takes another swig of beer.
"Yeah, well, try to at least." She starts fussing with the bodice of the dress, seeming to struggle with how low it sits against her breasts and holy crap, look away look away.
"Why? You don't have to indulge him, Annie."
Annie grips his forearm as she leans forward, glancing over her shoulders as if she's about to tell him a secret and he feels himself leaning in too, intrigued. "It's this thing called fun, Jeff. You should try having some once in a while." She steps back, a satisfied smile grazing shiny pink lips. "And Abed looks so handsome dressed like Patrick Swayze! Wait till you see."
"Surely you need someone strong and muscular to lift you rather than Abed who looks like a pencil," Jeff says with a throaty scoff. "We all know they're easy to snap."
Annie just blinks at him for a moment. "Are you implying that I'd be heavy to lift?"
"Okay, now you're being delusional."
"Oh Jeff," she says, patting his chest. "Abed is much stronger than he looks. Trust me."
Jeff doesn't know whether the suggestiveness in her tone is real or imagined, but he doesn't like it. It irritates him like nothing else. Just as he opens his mouth to respond, Abed appears from the house dressed in a tight black t shirt and pants. He's still wearing his usual scuffed sneakers which don't really complete the look but that doesn't seem to matter when he snakes his hand around Annie's wrist and moves in close to her ear.
"Nobody puts Baby in the corner."
Jeff feels his grip tighten around the bottle when Annie flushes and giggles, the sound girlish and giddy. He watches them move to the dance area where Britta and Troy each give them high-fives before Abed takes Annie by the hand and spins her around, completely absorbed in his new persona now. With the speed of the movement Annie's skirt billows upwards and Jeff can't tear his eyes away from her thighs and how temptingly long her legs look, surprising for someone so tiny in height. It's only when he nearly chokes at the glimpse of skimpy black panties barely covering the curve of her ass that he decides to go chat with Andre grilling burgers at the grill.
That's fun, right?
It's safer for his sanity, that's for sure.
They spend a few minutes chatting back and forth about the new grill that Andre recently purchased and the importance of buying the right kind of beef for hamburgers, when Andre stops to take a swig of beer, his eyes drawn to the dance area.
"Are those two…you know?"
Jeff frowns in the pointed direction of Andre's spatula. "Annie and Abed?" He makes a noise somewhere between a scoff and a laugh, shaking his head all the while. "No."
"Huh."
The grill sizzles and smokes.
His smile fades slightly and he tries to play it cool when he says, "Why do you ask?"
Andre shrugs and resumes flipping the burgers. "I'm just surprised that she hasn't been snatched up. I mean, Shirley speaks highly of her and the boys love her when she babysits and well, look at her man. It can't be long until some dude realizes what a catch she is. Right?"
Jeff glances back at Annie now being lifted in the air by Abed, her face shining as she gazes down at him, her hands gripping his shoulders tight.
He downs the rest of his beer too fast then, his party spirit diminishing immediately.
"Right," he says flatly, and looks away.
It's a Thursday afternoon when Jeff wanders through the mall, a few bags swinging in one hand and an iced mocha in the other. Mall visits had always been a pretty enjoyable way to spend the time - buy some new outfits and maybe flirt with the sales ladies if he was in the mood - but since the incident with the Dean last year, he feels unnerved by it all, almost like someone is watching him, ready to jump out and strike at any moment. Now he's on constant alert and can't really relax, always stealing glances over his shoulder expecting, well, the worst.
He's pretty sure he has some kind of Dean-related PTSD.
He's just about to check the area behind him for the fifth, maybe sixth, time when he notices Troy and Abed outside Best Buy. They're standing in front of a giant potted fern that takes up a huge amount of space in the middle of the walkway, both gesturing back and forth, seemingly over the DVDs in Abed's hand.
"Hey guys," Jeff says with a grin and wanders closer.
"Jeff!" They both speak at the same time and turn to look at each other before giving a resigned sort of shrug.
"More movies?" he asks.
"I've decided to run with the theme of the moment: summer vacation. This week we're watching Meatballs, Wet Hot American Summer and National Lampoon's Vacation." Abed holds out each DVD as he reads them.
"Yeah, it's movie night." Troy says, as if that wasn't obvious already. "You should join us."
"I don't know, I-"
"Annie will persuade you when she arrives in…" Abed quickly checks his watch. "Two minutes."
"Annie's here?" Jeff wonders, and the quick scan he does of the surrounding area is honestly beyond his control.
Abed nods. "She told us to wait by this potted plant."
"Yeaaahhh…I kinda think it was the next one."
"No, it was this one." Abed points to the fern behind them. "The graffiti on the side says 'Bite me' and it reminded me of Britta."
"Oh yeah," Troy says with a laugh and coyly drops his chin to his chest.
Jeff doesn't have time to dwell on that particular reaction because Annie approaches them with the usual skip to her step and an eager wave, and Jeff's gaze immediately narrows in on the bag from Victoria's Secret in her hand.
"Hey Jeff." She smiles widely, shifting her purse strap higher on her shoulder as she takes in the bags in his hand. "Oooh, what did you buy? No, let me guess, let me guess. Overpriced hair products and a new shirt?"
Jeff smirks. "Wow. You got me pegged."
Abed nods again. "Yes, she does."
"For your information, I bought two new shirts and some face cream."
"It's like I don't know you at all!" Annie smiles, teasing. "Are you coming with us to lunch, Jeff?"
"Sure." He shrugs. "Nothing better to do."
"Cool. Cool, cool, cool. Next you can convince him to come to movie night."
While Jeff and Annie fall in step towards the food hall, Troy and Abed walk slowly behind them, chatting animatedly about National Lampoon and Clark Griswold and his uncanny resemblance to a much younger Pierce.
"Abed, I just don't see it."
They walk in silence for a minute or two before Jeff's intrigue gets the better of him and he points to Annie's bag. "So, Victoria's Secret, huh? I didn't know they sold books, pens and colored note cards."
"Sure, because that's all I ever buy," Annie says, rolling her eyes. "You're aware that those things don't define me, right? That I like sexy lingerie just as much as the next woman."
"Sexy?"
She smiles and whispers low, "Yes, sexy," shaking her head a little. "Shocker."
He clears his throat, hoping to shake the mental image of Annie in tiny scraps of pastel colored lace clouding his concentration. "O-kay, so anything else you need to buy?"
She looks at him with narrowed eyes, almost like she wants to call him out on the croaky crack of his voice, or that she knows damn well he's trying to change the subject, but then her expression brightens, like she's shelved the idea away, thank god.
"Yeah," she says. "I'm looking for a new dress. Something special and a little different than usual. Black maybe?"
"Black? I don't know Annie, that really doesn't sound like you. I'd guess you're more of a purple. Or maybe something with a floral pattern or whatever, I don't know."
"Every woman should own a little black dress, Jeff."
"Oh, is that in the handbook?" He grins and shrugs when she rolls her eyes. "What's the occasion?" he asks.
It's a long enough pause that he glances over, fleetingly at first, to see her fiddle with the strap of her purse. Her hesitation makes him nervous for some reason, which is ridiculous because -
"Annie's got a date."
She spins awkwardly. "Abed!"
Abed tilts his head, staring at her blandly, seemingly unaware he's just broken some sort of roommate code while simultaneously giving Jeff the equivalent of a punch to the gut.
"What?" he says. "You do. Was it a secret?"
"No, it's just...I don't know," Annie stutters a little. "My story to tell."
"A date, huh?" Jeff says, trying to keep his voice steady and not as high pitched as his insides suddenly feel because this is the last thing he expected. "Anyone we know?"
"Um, Britta set me up with one of her brother's friends. Do you remember Blake? You met him at that party a few months ago."
Blake. Thirty. Tall. Black hair. Wore tour t-shirts from concerts he wasn't even alive to see. Probably read the douchebag 101 manual on a daily basis.
"Blake?" He frowns and taps at his chin a couple of times, really laying his faux confusion on thick. "Nah, I can't remember. What's he like?"
"Oh, we only spoke briefly but he seemed nice."
"And Britta says he's asked about Annie ten times since the party."
Annie jumps at Abed's sudden closeness. "Yes, thanks Abed," she mutters, and rolls her eyes.
"Ten times huh?"
Her smile is small and modest. "Apparently."
Nodding for no reason, Jeff sips on the last drop of his drink. "So…are you excited?"
"Sure."
"Wow, Annie. That was convincing," Jeff says with a smirk, her lack of reaction making him feel better already. "Look, you don't have to go if you don't want to. Britta will just have to suck it."
"I know I don't have to, Jeff!" Annie huffs and starts swinging the bag in her hand. "But I want to go. It'll be really nice to go on a date again and Britta and Shirley have been pestering me for a while now. I just…I guess I don't understand why everyone thinks I should be out dating a new guy every week."
"Not everyone," he mutters under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"It's because you're a beautiful young woman at her sexual peak and it's normal for you to be dating."
"Abed!" Annie gasps scandalously and doesn't know where to look, red scoring high on her cheeks as Troy nods his agreement.
Jeff spots a trash can and throws in his empty cup with more force than necessary. "So, where are we heading for lunch?"
Two nights later Jeff is watching re-runs of Family Guy. He's cracked open a six pack and his pizza should be arriving any minute so he's expecting the knock on his door. What he's not expecting is the beautiful woman behind it, standing there in a purple dress, a pair of silver heels swinging from one hand. He's momentarily dazed by how gorgeous she looks - even though she's stunning pretty much all of the time - and finds himself trailing his eyes down to her polished toes and then back up to her face, flushed and full of apprehension.
"Annie?" he says, blinking at her for a second. "What…I thought you had a date tonight."
"I did. It was horrible. I'm never letting Britta set me up ever again. Ever!"
Concern floods through him, like his stomach actually drops for a second, and he tugs on her arm to pull her inside. "What happened? He didn't-"
"Oh no, nothing like that. He was just so…" She shakes her head and makes a throaty noise in exasperation. "Every time I tried to speak he just wouldn't stop talking about himself and then he started to criticize Britta and I just…" She pauses briefly to look down at her wrist where his fingers have curled, his thumb rubbing in an absentminded comforting caress. "Um…"
Jeff follows her gaze, dropping her arm fast and running his hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry. I'm not interrupting am I?" Annie bounces lightly on her tiptoes, glancing around his apartment, a little nervous now. "I was outside your door when I realized you might have a date too…"
"Just my monthly date with a thin crust," he smiles. "You hungry?"
Her lips twist thoughtfully to one side as she considers. "I could eat something."
He leads her to the couch and offers a beer, trying to wipe the look of surprise off his face when she doesn't hesitate to crack it open and take a long swig. The sight of her arched neck undulating as she swallows is not the kind of image he needs right now, especially not when she's looking so beautiful and mature and different to anything he's used to.
He actually really digs Annie in her prim colorful cardigans and short skirts and the blouses that reveal without revealing too much but this...this is something else completely and his pulse is really liking the change.
"So," he starts slowly. "Not that I mind you being here, obviously, but why didn't you just go home?"
Annie sighs, preening and thumbing the delicate folds of lace edging the skirt of her dress. "As much as I love living with Troy and Abed, sometimes I just need somewhere to run, you know, to avoid a hundred questions and the daily detailed accounts of the adventures of the Dreamatorium. I just…after my horrible date I didn't feel like dealing with them and…I thought of you." She winces, like she didn't mean to admit that. "I'm sorry, is that weird?"
He shakes his head without thought and her answering smile makes his stomach drop. He tries not to think about the fact that she came to him first or the feelings it evokes, despite the fact that the only time people ever came to him for help was when they had to pay for the privilege, and even that was a long time ago now. But Annie wanting his company just because is entirely new and nice and something he could get used to and shit…it's still nice.
There's no other word for it.
"Do you like Family Guy?"
"Sure," Annie says, settling back into the couch and curling her feet to the side. "Stewie's my favorite. I like to imagine all babies talking with a British accent."
Jeff laughs, grabbing a beer and extending his legs to rest on the coffee table. They sit in comfortable silence, watching TV for a few minutes until the pizza arrives. After setting the box on the coffee table, he grabs a slice and Annie does too. He has to stop from grinning too wide as he watches her wind the melting cheese around her finger, leaning back to dangle the string of cheese into her mouth before taking a hearty bite. She turns to him and munches with a cheeky satisfied smile, licking her lips and the grease from her fingers.
"Giggity! Giggity!"
"Jeff!" she splutters in surprise.
He smiles and they turn back to the TV, filling the room with occasional laughter as they eat. During one set of commercials, Jeff turns to study her in the silence.
"So, I have a question." She looks surprised and wipes the corner of her mouth, gesturing expectantly. "What happened to the little black dress that all women should have?"
Annie flushes and starts playing with the strap. "Um, well, you were right. It wasn't me at all."