Chapter Three
Natalie had gotten through the majority of her editing as she tried to concentrate, it was so hard though considering what was on her mind and it was that damn teenage kiss and the fact that the boy she had kissed back in the day was now a man, a very handsome man at that and she was gonna be hanging out with him tonight, she still couldnt believe it..
The summer of 2004
"your mom is Roxy right" John had said as they walked..
"Oh god dont tell me you have heard about her too" she sighed with embarassment, leave it up to her mother to still be able to embarass her even when she wasnt present at the moment.
"My dad's a cop" he said with a shake of his head, maybe bringing up her alcoholic mother wasnt such a good idea when trying to talk to her, he thought to himself..
"then of course you know who she is" she said with a shake of her head..
"yeah well atleast your mom lets you live your life" he began..
"if you call getting shit faced and having me take care of her all weekend then yeah" she said sarcastically..The mood got awkwardly quiet between them..
"so how about them Yankees" he finally said to change the subject and she looked at him and then laughed, like really laughed and he flushed with embarassment..He really had no idea how to talk to girls..
"You know im surprised your even talking to me" natalie said after she finished laughing..
"whys that?" he stopped walking now and she stopped too..
"I dunno, its just..." she swallowed hard..
"Your the most interesting person i know" he said quickly and then he too swallowed hard..
"Im interesting?" she said in shock..She found herself to be as plain as they come and quite a bit awkward as well, atleast thats how it felt in school, she was never the cheerleader type, more of a loner really..
"i dont mean that in a bad way" he quickly said as she smiled, he actually looked nervous and well that made her relax more..
Natalie made her way past the front desk where maria sat, she perked up some when she saw natalie.."are you leaving already Miss natalie" she asked with shock..
"yeah i um have some things to take care of" she lied as her eyes landed on the door where John could be seen coming in, apparently it wasnt lost on maria either.."I'll see you tomorrow" she said quickly not wanting to be questioned as to why that man was around again, John stopped at the door as she came to it..
He still couldnt get over how much she had grown up, she looked absolutely gorgeous even in her work clothes that consisted of a form fitting blue suit with a white button down blouse.."work ok?" he asked as she stepped outside and smiled nervously..
"Yep, how about that drink" she just wanted to make small talk, maybe if she did that all night it would be over sooner then later..
"lead the way" he grinned as she got to her car and she stopped when she saw a motorcycle parked next to her..
"You drive that thing?" she said in shock as he grabbed his helmet..
"Maybe i will give you a spin sometime" he said as he put his helmet on and the thought of riding behind him on a motorcycle, god it was exhillirating but for now she got to her car and began to drive..She couldnt believe how much he had grown, i mean he still sort of looked like the John she remembered but even better now plus his confidence level was a bit alarming, he wasnt shy little john anymore and well that in itself was intimidating.
There is something about the sight of a man riding a motorcycle, something so primal, so male, so well hot, she couldnt help but watch him through the rearview mirror as she drove, this was it, she was going to have drinks with him, her stomach began to do sumersaults at the idea and she tried to calm her breathing, it was just a harmless drink, she didnt know why she was getting so worked up about it..
Natalie couldnt wait to grab a drink once they got to Rodi's, it was just a small bar on the outskirts of town, a place she use to frequent when she had first moved to town, now not so much. JR really wasnt the bar type, he enjoyed his cocktails in luxury and she had gotten use to that too, so this was definitely a change for her and surprisingly a nice one, she hadnt realized how much she missed this until now..
"now this is more like it" John said as they entered the small bar and he looked around..
"its definitely less flashy then the club" she said with a nervous laugh..
"well no offense to the other place but this is definitely my kind of bar" he grinned as they both walked up to the bar.
The bartender Mac smiled big as they got up to bar.."somebody pinch me cause i think i may be dreaming" mac began as he looked at Natalie.."I cant even remember the last time i saw you here young lady!"
"Hi Mac" she said with embarassment..
"You know the pleasure is always mine darling" he grinned and then he glanced at John.."whose your friend"
"oh um this is John, he's an old friend from AC" she said with a flushed face..
"well any friend of Natalie's is a friend of mine" Mac smiled politely at him.."what can i get you kids, the first drink is on the house" he grinned big..
"I'll take a beer, whatever you have on tap" John said as natalie swallowed hard..
"I'll do the same" she said as she fidgeted some..
"coming right up" Mac smiled as he began to pour the drinks.."so your a big shot now huh darling, you cant come by and say hi" he joked and she turned even redder..
"yeah i was thinking the same thing but you know with being royalty and all" John smirked..
"Oh i like him" Mac laughed as he handed them beers..
"Not royalty" she said with a smile as she rolled her eyes..
"Pretty darn close to it, and i even got word that your marrying that hot shot Chandler" Mac laughed..
"Oh boy, i should of guessed" natalie laughed..
"You know i still love you darling" Mac laughed.."even if i am the low man on the todem pole"
"Mac! Stop, your making me feel bad" Natalie shook her head..
"you know when i first laid eyes on this young lady i knew a fire cracker when i saw one" Mac said as he looked at John..."i knew that this girl was gonna go places in life"
"well then that makes two of us" John grinned as he sipped his beer..
"Ok ok... enough about me" natalie said with embarassment.."How have you been Mac"
"well besides missing you" he smirked.."Life is good, the bar is coming along, too bad all of those ritsy clubs are popping up everywhere"
"i was thinking the same thing, its a nice place you got here Mac and i would choose it over any of those clubs" John said as he tipped his glass towards Mac..
"Oh now your just buttering me up young man" Mac grinned.."You know natalie here use to come by alot, do you see that pool table over there" he pointed as John looked..
"Oh god, not the pool table stories" Natalie blushed even more as she sipped her beer..
"Oh you had to know it was coming darling" mac smirked.."she literally beat every poor soul in here one night, it was one for the record books, if only i knew we had a pool shark among us" he laughed..
"Oh really?" john raised an eyebrow..
"Its not hard to beat a bunch of drunk guys" Natalie said quickly..
"Oh dont be modest" mac smiled and then looked at John.."she is one hell of a player, dont under estimate this one"
"I'll keep that in mind" John smiled..
"well you two kids have fun, i should probably get back to work" Mac smiled as he walked off..
"he's a cool guy" John said honestly..
"mac is the best and he's right, i was here alot" she said as she sipped her beer..
"why did you stop coming" John asked as they both leaned against the bar..
"I dunno" she shrugged her shoulders..
"Im assuming that Chandler doesnt dig places like this" John said with a raised eyebrow..
"he just...he just has different tastes thats all" Natalie began..
"expensive ones" John said as he glanced at the rock on her finger again and she nervously fidgeted.."How did it happen?" he asked..
Natalie sipped her drink.."how did what happen?"
"How did you end up here, i mean one day you were in AC and the next your gone" John began and she blinked in shock..
"I honestly didnt think you would notice" she said honestly..
"Not notice? I mean it wasnt a secret that i had a huge crush on you back then" he began and she swallowed hard now as she glanced at her beer..
"it was kind of hard to tell with you running from me every chance you got" she said as she took a huge sip..
"Yeah um" he said nervously now as he ran a hand through his hair.."awkward times remember, but i dont really remember you trying to talk to me" he began..
"well cause you were always running off" she said as the room began to get hot.."hey how about some music, i wonder if Mac updated the jukebox" she wanted to desperately change the subject as she began to walk over to the music box, John followed her..
Natalie got to the juke box and flipped through a bunch of songs.."I hope i didnt make you upset back then" John began as she tried to act nonchalant..
"we were like 16, its no biggie" she said as she stared at the box in front of her..
"yeah but still" John began.."to be honest it wasnt just you, i um..lets just say that i didnt know how to act around women"
"its fine really, were all grown up now" she said quickly as she kept her eyes on the music in front of her..
"You know i would of done things differently" his words caught her off guard as she looked at him now.."You know, i wouldnt of run so much, especially after" he began and her eyes got wide and she quickly looked back at the juke box..
"Oh my god i love this song" she quickly used the music as a distraction, she honestly didnt want to rehash that kiss again..The music began to play loud as she sipped her beer and he did too.."so how do you like being a cop" she quickly changed the subject as they stood by the juke box..
"it's alright, my old man use to be a cop, so it only made sense" John began as she nodded..
"is he retired now?"she asked..
"No..he passed away a few years ago" he said as he took a big sip and she swallowed hard, it wasnt the answer she was expecting..
"Im uh...im sorry to hear that" she said as she sipped her beer..
"its been quite a few years" his voice trailed some and he shook it off.."is your mom in town too?" he asked..
"yeah Roxy came down a few years ago, she actually owns a small motel across town" she said as she fidgeted with her cup..
"wow, well good for her" he said as they both stood there awkwardly.."and you had a brother, right?"
"yeah rex is here too" she said as she looked every where but at him, she suddenly felt a bit panicky, as if someone would see her there and it would be in the tabloids in the morning..She began to walk over to a booth as he followed..
"what did he end up doing with his life, working at the paper too?" he asked..
"Oh god no" she laughed as she took a seat and he followed.."Rex just kind of does his own thing right now"
"sounds intriguing" he raised an eyebrow..
"More like probably illegal" she laughed as she shook her head..
"well good thing i am off duty" he smirked and she smiled a little too.."so you uh excited for the big day"..It took her a minute to realize what he was asking and she quickly looked away from him..
"sure" she drank back her beer quick, he was surprised at her reluctancy, she almost seemed upset about the marriage happening and well that intrigued him even more..
"its a big step to get married, even more so when your fiancee is CEO and President of a rival company" he said quickly as she blinked a bit in shock..
"so you do read the papers" she said quickly..
"ah you know i pick them up when i can, i was kind of surprised to see that stuff about rival companies" he began to pry a bit..
"you know you cant always believe what you see in the paper" she said dryly..
"Your the editor of one" he challenged her..
"my point exactlly" she laughed a little.."Chandler enterprise wasnt at odds with my uncles company, it was more of the late adam chandlers doings" she shrugged her shoulders, she hated talking about all this business crap, half the time when JR would talk about it she would just pacify him with nods of her head, honestly none of it made since to her..
"yeah but its sort of a big deal with two huge companies coming together" he continued to drink his beer.."before we know it there will be one mega company that runs the world" he said with a dry laugh..
"you know you could be onto something here" she laughed..
"hey im just saying what i read" he smiled..
"again with the papers" she rolled her eyes playfully..
"sorry i cant help it but enough about that" he leaned on the table..
"so are you still living in AC?" she tried to keep the topic light..
"couldnt think of a better place to live" he said and then he looked around.."no offense this place seems alright" he shrugged..
"lanview aint so bad, i guess i just got tired of the big city" she said honestly..
"yeah AC can do that to you" he nodded his head.."its changed alot though, do you remember Paul's pizza?" he asked and she smiled..
"how could i forget, they had the best pizza ever" she said honestly..
"yeah well old pete retired and then sold the place" he began..
"No way, i always thought he would work there until he died" she shook her head..
"Same here but now its some clothing shop" he sipped his beer..
"wow, what about Arnold's bar, is that still there?" she asked as she continued to drink..Talking about AC was making her miss the place, more then she thought was possible.
"Yep Arny is still tending to the bar, now he may just stay there until he dies" John laughed..
"well its good to hear some things havent changed" she smiled..
"You havent" he began.."I mean, not really anyways"
"why would i" she asked with confusion..
"Oh i dunno, maybe the fact that your related to the Buchanans" he said with a shake of his head..
"yeah its um kind of different then when i was in AC, thats for sure" she said honestly..
"yeah but you seem to have everything you want and thats all that matters in this world, right" he said as she faked a smile.."You know what, enough of this small talk, i say you show me just how good of a pool player you are" he raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the table..
"Oh i dont play anymore" she shook her head, she couldnt remember the last time she played..
"Bullshit" he laughed.."One game, arent you curious to see if you still got it" he smirked..
"oh is that a jab" she stood now..
"You up for a little challenge" he stood too..
"trust me it wont be a challenge" she laughed sarcastically..
"Oh i will let you know that i have some skills" he said as they began to walk over to the empty table..
"skills?" she laughed and then he did too, she was actually enjoying this, hanging out with him like this, it was nice..
"Oh dont knock it til you see Red" he smirked..
"You know that no one has called me that in years" she laughed..
"Oh i forgot your highness" he laughed..
"Oh just for that i am not gonna be easy on you" she laughed..
"bring it on Red, bring it on" he smiled.
Natalie was a bit surprised at how well he played, at first she was just fucking around but he was good, seriously good and soon they were in a heated game with their table surrounded by the small group of people in the bar.
They literally were neck and neck as bystanders cheered on, it was intimidating to say the least. She lined up her next shot, it was literally do or die time and she felt the sweat beginning to mist her body as she eyed the eight ball, if she missed this then she knew for sure it was over..
John was impressed by her, Mac definitely wasnt lying. He couldnt remember the last time he had such a challenge playing pool, hell even with Steele he could kick his ass swiftly without breaking a sweat but now it was something else, not to mention the sight of seeing her stretched over the pool table, her perfect ass in the air, dayum she was one hot girl, even more so now when she was concentrating so hard..
"come on Nat, show him who is boss" mac cheered her on from the sidelines..
"hey i thought you were on my side" John said to the man..
"sorry but she has you beat" mac laughed as John shook his head.
She stared at the table and then glanced up at John, he was staring at the table too but then he looked up at her and she quickly made her shot and then squeezed her eyes shut, it wasnt until she heard the loud cheers that she knew she had done it..
"thats my girl!" Mac said as he hugged her and John stood there with an astonished look on his face..
"sorry" natalie laughed as she looked at John and he couldnt help but laugh too, she was just too darn cute..
"You got me, you really got me" he said as he walked over and put his hand out to her.."good game Red"
"it feels pretty darn good to win" she said with a smirk as they shook hands but in that moment something happened, it was fleeting but there, like an electrical charge..
Quickly she let go of him.."so now what, another drink?" he smirked..
Natalie nervously fidgeted and then looked at her watch.."You know its actually getting kind of late" she began..
"Just one more drink" he said with a smile.."I mean you did kick my ass back there"
Natalie contemplated it for a moment.."Ok, fine...one more drink" she said and then he was walking up to the bar as she watched him, she would have one more drink and then head home, just one more..
One hour ,3 shots and 3 more beers later...
"Oh my god there is no way" she laughed as she sipped her beer, to say she was feeling drunk would be an understatement.."How could you of not seen that it was a dude" she continued to laugh..
"trust me the dude didnt have an adams apple" he laughed.."but he/she definitely was packing something"
"Oh my god that is priceless, the look on your face had to be hysterical" she continued to laugh..
"Im glad you find entertainment in my misery" he laughed as he shook his head.."Now its your turn, come on what is the most embarassing thing to happen to you"
"Um" she said as she got quiet and she couldnt help but remember the kiss from years ago, that was not only embarassing but mortifying as well.."I guess i really dont have anything" she lied as she continued to sip her drink..
"and your lying, i saw that look, what is it, come on, fair is fair" he slurred his words as did she..
"Really its nothing" she said as she went to stand and she swayed some as he caught her arm..He was so close, like literally his face was right in front of hers and she swallowed hard.."fine" she said a bit breathlessly.."when we were kids and on the beach that day, i... i um...i kissed you and you ran off afterwards" she said quietly as he held onto her arm..
"that was more embarassing for me" he said low as he continued to hold onto her arm..
"I dont see how that is possible" she tried to laugh it off as she stood there..
"I was a kid, a nervous one at that" he said honestly.."if i had a chance for a do over" he said as he mouth came dangerously close to hers..
"somethings you cant do over" she said as her mouth moved towards his..
The sound of a loud voice snapped her head up.."Natalie" JR yelled out..."what the hell are you doing" he yelled as he came over and Natalie and John quickly pulled apart, even in her drunken state she knew this was bad, very very bad...
