A/N: Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I've been crazy busy. Just a quick note, I realize that they're pretty OOC (mainly Jo) in this chapter, but that's because they've drinken a lot. Especially Jo.
"Two beers, please," Alex asked the bartender, holding up two fingers.
"You waiting on a date?" the bartender questioned, grabbing the beers from underneath the counter.
"No, man, just a friend," Alex said regretfully.
"Ah," the bar tender declared knowingly. He placed the beers in front of Alex.
"Hey! Alex!" Jo shouted from across the bar, making her way through the crowd. "There you are," she greeted. She was obviously a bit tipsy already.
"Are you drunk?" Alex inquired, laughing a bit.
"Only a little," Jo protested, a smile still wide on her face. "Um, one beer, please," she asked the bartender, who looked in her direction with a surprised look on her face.
"Quite a pretty friend you were waiting on," the bartender teased Alex, making Jo blush.
"Aw, you called me your friend?" Jo turned on Alex, faking shock. "You shouldn't have."
"Shut up," Alex groaned. "I already bought you a beer, and I'm beginning to regret it."
"Oh, you don't mean that," Jo cooed, ruffling his hair. Alex was clearly not amused.
"Exactly how much did you have to drink?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"I don't know, four, five beers?" Jo estimated.
Alex laughed. "What, were you at a bachelorette party before this?"
"Nah," Jo stated. "Just broke up with Jason."
Alex choked on his drink. "You – you guys broke up?"
"Yeah," Jo said sadly, tracing the rim of her beer with her finger. "I don't know, Alex. It's just – I mean – he was such a good guy, you know?" she looked up from her beer and made eye contact. "I thought, if it was gonna work out with anyone, it'd be with him. He was so perfect. If I can't date him, who can I date?" she asked him. Her eyes were so earnest and innocent, and she sounded sincerely distraught. As girly as it sounded, Alex could practically feel his heart break at the sight. She really thought she was going to end up alone, didn't she? Someone like her, who was so smart and determined (and hot, Alex thought subconsciously), honestly thought that she was going to spend her days living with fifty cats. He just should've told her that: that she was so intelligent and strong-minded (and maybe he would've left out "hot") and that of course she wasn't going to end up alone. But he didn't.
"Maybe you don't need someone perfect," Alex blurted out. Jo looked at him.
"Um, aren't you supposed to tell me that I do deserve someone perfect and that Jason was just a jerk?" Jo asked, but Alex ignored her.
"I mean, you're not perfect, Jo," Alex explained. "You're whiny, and self-centered, and you think everyone's out to get you."
"Um, thanks?"
"I mean, you've got your strong points, too," Alex said begrudgingly, not exactly wanting to get into that territory. "But, do you really want to be with someone perfect when you could be with someone just as flawed as you?"
Jo stared at him for a bit, not quite sure what to say. "But, where would I possibly find someone as screwed up as me?" she questioned. Alex didn't answer. Jo sighed and took a big gulp of her drink. This was going to be a long night.
A half-empty bottle of beer in his hand, Alex fought to open the door to his apartment. "Jo!" Alex called. "Jo, I can't do it!"
"Oh, my God. You are so drunk," Jo countered playfully, grabbing his keys and trying to open the door herself.
"Hey, you are, too, Princess," Alex responded, watching her fumble endlessly with the keys.
"Okay, I give up!" Jo giggled, sliding down to sit on the floor. Alex joined her.
"You are such a sissy," Alex teased, taking his keys back and stuffing them into his pocket. "What are we gonna do now?"
"I don't know," Jo slurred. "Let's play a game."
"A game?" Alex questioned. "What game do you wanna play?"
"Truth or dare," Jo responded immediately, her eyes widening in delight at the thought. "Oh, can we please play truth or dare?"
"Okay, okay, fine," Alex relented. "I've just never played truth or dare before."
"Never?" Jo said, shocked. "Never, ever, ever?"
"Never, ever, ever," Alex confirmed, shaking his head lightly.
"That is, like, physically impossible," Jo stated. "How did you get through being a teenager without playing truth or dare even once?"
"Some of us weren't teenage girls at one point in our lives," Alex explained. "Some of us were sitting in juvie."
"Oh, right," Jo remembered. "Whatever, stop being such a downer-pants." Alex raised his eyebrows at the nickname. "Truth or dare."
"Uh, dare," Alex answered hesitantly. "No. Truth. Actually, dare. Yeah. Dare," Alex decided.
"Alex! You never pick dare. You always pick truth," Jo scolded him. "I guess you really never have played this game before."
Alex laughed. "Fine. Truth."
"Hm," Jo thought, trailing off. "Shit, now I have to think of a question." Alex rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. "Okay, I've got one." Alex looked at her in anticipation. "Actually, forget it."
"No, wait. What was the question?" Alex asked, now genuinely curious. He was definitely far less drunk than Jo, and, although he knew it was wrong, he wanted to know exactly what a less discreet Jo was thinking.
"Nope, I can't tell you," Jo said, pantomiming zipping her lips.
"Aw, c'mon, Jo, you can't do that. That's not fair," Alex pouted. "Please? Pretty, pretty please?" Jo broke down laughing.
"Fine, fine. Why – why'd you kiss me?" Jo finally asked, the playfulness from her eyes having seemed to disappear.
That certainly was not a question Alex was hoping to hear. "I – uh, see, it's, uh, like this – "
"Because it's all I've been able to think about, you know," Jo admitted, refusing to look into Alex's eyes. "It's just running through my mind constantly, and I can't get it to stop. It's so frustrating and goddamn inconvenient, but Alex?" Jo said, finally making eye contact. "I really liked that kiss, you know. And I really like you." The last part came out as almost a whisper, as if he wasn't really supposed to hear it.
There it was: the confession he had been waiting to hear for weeks, even months now. And she was completely trashed.
Perfect.
Thanks so much for reading. Please review!