I like the nice little scene between OC Nate and Jeff at the end of this chapter.
Daughters
Three Weeks Later...
Britta arrived in front of the door to woodshop, expecting to be alone because she had a plan; tonight was the night, she was going to seduce Nate...it didn't even matter if it all happened in the classroom, on his desk, tonight it was going to happen.
According to her beat-up Casio it was 6:56 PM, and she knew that Mr. Patterson was very strict about his office hours (7-8 PM Mondays and Thursdays, today was Thursday) and that showing up early would get her kicked out. Still, she waited.
She felt extra sexy today; she wore her skintight jeans over lacy red panties and a tight white tanktop, under which a matching red bra beckoned without any subtlety; Britta may have been a die-hard femenist, but only when it was beneficial not to be did she stray from her beliefs. She crouched down and waited, humming to herself.
A few minutes later she heard footsteps coming down the hall, soft, measured and quiet. She rose to her feet and expected to see her dream guy, but as the door opened she dropped her mouth and gasped.
"What are YOU doing here!" She uttered quickly at Annie, who moved to her side.
"Oh...just hanging out." She said coyly, lowering to take a seat beside Britta, "It's nice this time of night, I was just studying and I went for a walk."
"Yeah."
Britta took a second to glance over Annie; that little green dress with the red flecks...no stockings or bra, hair down and a little more blush than usual...Britta narrowed her eyes and focused on Annie, knowing why she was in the same place as she was.
"You don't say, Count of Monte...cristo" She looked at her watch; 6:59, "Speaking of hanging out, your thisclose to spilling out of the top of your dress, I can almost see your nipple when I squint."
Annie flushed red, "Oh my god!", but she realized the psyche out as Britta rose and ran towards the door, but Annie was seated closer and grabbed her leg, dragging her down. She used her body position to get leverage and rise, entering the slightly dimmed front room of the shop. She descended the steps quickly and made her way towards the lighted classroom. She got halfway across the floor before she felt herself dragged down by weight.
"Little bitch!" Britta yelled.
"Stripper-boot wearer!" Annie jested with Britta on top of her.
"Man-stealer!"
"Hey! No running!" a familiar voice sounded from the classroom. the girls regarded themelves for a second, before they continued jostling; this time Britta had gotten the lead, and she was now running, the rules be damned.
She stopped ten feet from the door and turned to Annie, exhausted and breathing, "Wait...Annie wait!" She said between breaths.
"Yeah..." Annie gasped.
"You and I are friends...and once more we're fighting over a man...is that what friendship is about!"
Annie looked to be thinking for a second, before she regarded Britta again, tears forming in her delicate eyes, "No...Britta...honestly, I feel horrible, always competing with you like I do...it's not right."
"You're right...it isn't." Britta assured her, and they leaned close to hug.
Annie pointed above Britta's left shoulder, "Is that a Yemeni women's rights protest!", and it worked, because Britta turned around.
"Where?" She asked, turning and seeing nothing, before she felt Annie brush by her, "Oh you little sociopath!"
It was too late for Britta; Annie got the drop on her too close to the door, and once she entered the classroom she closed the door behind her and turned the lock, hearing Britta crash against it with a solid thud!. She looked at Patterson, who regarded her closely.
Annie would cease to be Annie if she didn't have a plan; revealing skin and a bit of extra blush is merely the first facet of her plan. Mr. Patterson regarded her with a small smile as she stood with her back to the door.
"Good evening Miss Edison, what can I do for you?" He asked kindly, before looking back down to his desk and doing some more writing.
She walked over to the front of his desk and pulled a small piece of paper from between her breasts (this dress doesn't have pockets!) and unfolded it, "Well, I actually have a few design ideas for a bookshelf that I want to make...can I run them by you?"
"Yeah sure..." He answered as she slid the piece of paper over to him ('He kind of just touched my boobs!' *giggle*), and sure enough it was all there; a flat piece of thick wood, routered in the front, but with just a plain, square piece serving as the side partition.
"Yeah it looks good...you can use the Ash because it's stronger, and knowing you it's probably for textbooks.", she did a giggle and blush, "But the partition...it's a little boring."
"What do you mean? It'll do it's job." Annie asked as she moved beside him and ducked down to look over his shoulder, 'Citrus, Pine, Marlboro Reds, sweat and vanilla fabric softener...yummy...keep it together, Edison!' She told herself while breathing him in.
The jury is out on the origins of this whole 'move'. Jeff calls it 'The Annie Edison covert over-the-shoulder boob reveal' and Pierce calls it 'Big Boobs' Big Move', but the nomenclature is of less significance than one thng; the group has wondered if she discovered it by accident that day she was studying for the debate with Jeff (as mainatined by Jeff, Troy, Shirley and herself), or if she knew all along the effect that it has on men and could use it whenever she pleased (as maintained by Abed, Pierce and Britta).
The real and honest truth? She discovered it by accident...but not on that day with Jeff. It happened with Professor Duncan when she wanted to help with the Duncan Principle but he said no and sat down...she leaned over his shoulder to beg, and...voila!
It certainly worked on Jeff; she can manipulate him now with such ease that it's no longer fun or exhilirating anymore. She looked down at the top of his head and expected to see it turned into her chest, but she was kind of sad when it wasn't. She made a pout that was invisible to him.
"We have some nice Victorian accents that are functional and will add a bit of style to the shelf, and you can paint them pink or purple." He said quickly, before turning his head gently to the left...'Oh look, boobs.' he thought inside his head.
She definitely noticed his glance (it wasn't exactly subtle); the move once again pays dividends. He rose from his seat and turned to face Annie; she was more than a full head shorter than he was, and she looked up at him with her best smile.
"So, uh...yeah..." He stuttered, "In two weeks when your hand is back to normal, you can come in and make this. I'll set aside a few pieces for you."
"Yay!" She jumped up and down, 'Come on girls, don't fail me now!', "But...oh..."
"What?"
"Well, I have day classes and I just got a job where I work three nights a week..." She started, looking down nervously before engaging him again, "Could I...maybe work on you...WITH you, when you have office hours? Just you and me?"
If Nate had been blind before, now he could see; the dress was no more revealing than what she usually wore, her makeup was stepped up just a little and she was always happy and cheerful, and it wasn't even that obvious Freudian slip...it was something she did when she said 'Just you and me?'; she seductively bit her lower lip as her chest flushed a shade of red...Nate knows what that means. He inhaled and regarded Annie carefully.
"Will there be anything else?" He asked her in a quiet voice.
"Umm..." Annie had never felt this nervous before, and that was saying a lot. She felt a wave of color flush over her entire body. A million butterflies fluttered in her stomach as he stepped close to her.
"Or we're you just hoping I would I lock the door and dramatically shove everything off of my desk?" He insinuated.
"...Kind of...yes..." She said barely above a whisper.
Nate sighed deeply, the disappointment in his tone was palpable, "That isn't going to happen."
"Why not!" She suddenly pouted and stomped her foot, "You've been flirting with me all semester and I'm right here!"
He laughed quietly at her; ah, sweet youth. "When exactly was this flirting happening?"
"Oh come on, the little looks...the way you showed me that scar on your hand..."
"Little looks?" He kept laughing, even though she probably didn't appreciate it, "It's not a big shop, sometimes you're going to be in my sightline...and yeah, okay, I'm just a man, and you're a very attractive young lady. I won't lie, I've found myself checking you and Britta out, sue me."
Annie blushed and looked to the ground, 'He thinks I'm hot!'
"And as for my injury...you just seemed so down after what happened, I wanted to show you that it's not as bad as you think it is. I care about you like I do all my other students, but...not like that."
"I see...", but she didn't see.
"You're a very wonderful, sweet girl, you have so much going for you, but I can't be with you."
She blushed as tears began to form in her eyes, "Another guy I like playing the age card, oh this is just...so...", and she began to cry.
Her tears weakened his resolve, and he moved to put his hand on both of her shoulders to comfort her, pulling her eyes into his, "No, no...the age has nothing to do with it...I'm 31 and you're 20, that's not too bad...if I was in a position where I could date it wouldn't matter if I was 50 and you were 18."
"Really?" She had the waterworks going full steam now, "Then why! Do you not date students or something?"
"I do not have a policy that forbids me from dating students..." He assured her, but still she continued to cry.
He exhaled and breathed back in, facing her again; he was so much taller than she was, "Look...you're awesome, beautiful and sweet...and if the situation was any different than it was, then I would totally go out with you, but I can't...I just don't have the time in my life to date anyone right now...do you understand?"
Annie didn't understand; this seemed totally cliche, but then again, with the way that his sad, blue-grey-green eyes were staring down at her, she knew that he was telling the truth. Even through tears she nodded slightly.
"HEY!" They both turned to the door, hearing Britta's knock at the door threatening to bowl it over before Patterson saw what was going on.
"You'll be good...if I was in college and I had class with you, trust me, you would be on the hit-list." He said with a laugh, "You'll find someone."
"...Yeah." She sobbed, before straightening her posture.
"Alright, good..." He sighed before resuming his seat, "I guess that's Miss Perry outside...tell her to come in."
"So you can just say yes to her, just like all the other guys I like!" Annie flared up with sudden vitriol and anger. Patterson moved to her and stood in front of her, placing a hand on the side of her face.
"Annie, I promise," And he raised his other hand like an Eagle scout, "I will tell her what I told you...not in the exact same words, but the message will be the same."
"You promise promise?" She said sweetly; deep down he felt the grip on his resolve weakening...but no, he had to stay true; for the girls...
"I promise promise. I'll see you when you want to make your shelf." He said as he stepped in front of her and wrapped his arms around her in a soft, gentle hug. She leaned into his shoulder; he could feel the gentle wetness of tears bleeding into his shirt.
Britta had a flurry of hateful curses ready to scream at Annie once she left the office, but all of them quickly left her mind once she saw Annie crying as she closed the door behind her, her dark mascara starting to slightly run down her cheeks.
"Oh, sweetie..." She rubbed a comforting arm on her shoulder, "I'm sorry."
Instead of responding, Annie left the woodshop in a hurry. A part of Britta wanted to leave as well and feel sad for her friend and comfort her while she cried; another part of her said 'Screw you, Annie! First Vaughan, then Jeff, and then you decieve me to ask Nate out before I can and he shuts you down. Britta...for the win!'
She couldn't abandon the mission.
She walked to the door and poked her head in, seeing Nate writing something at his desk.
"Whatcha working on?" She asked...ugh, that sounded childish.
"Ah, Britta, come in..." He said calmly, "I'm just working on a review for this Avant-garde exhibit I attended last weekend for the school paper, nothing that can't wait. What do you need?"
Britta, normally so cavalier, strong and forward, suddenly felt her knees beginning to tremble in the presence of Mr. Patterson.
He was sort of like Jeff; take Jeff, substitute his All-American J. Crew good looks for the (equally effective) bad-boy rockstar look, add a dash of ink, a touch of class, a helping of brains and an air of intrigue while subtracting a large amount of pretension and braggadocio and you would have the man sitting at his desk before her.
What was she thinking? He was nothing like Jeff!
But she did know one thing; she had better pull it together, or else she was have another "Jeff Winger, I love you..." situation on her hands. She drew a deep breath.
"So that '67 Camaro...that's a pretty hot car. I wouldn't mind checking it out sometime, I'm a bit of a gear head." She said shyly, plying her hands behind her back in a feminine way; she knew that Annie had probably come on way too strong, which any man of quality will almost always rebuff...seduction takes a little bit of subtlety and nuance; like cracking a safe with a stethoscope instead of blowing it open with nitroglycerin. Annie would learn eventually. He looked at her and smiled.
"I can show you the car," He started, "if...that's all you really want to see."
"You know what I mean..." She answered.
"Britta...I..." He started, before stopping, "Did you talk to Miss Edison when she ran out of here crying?"
"No, we're close so I will later...But forget her..."
"Look..." He rose to his feet, "If this was eight years ago, I would probably have said 'yes!' to the both of you and then we'd all end the night together in my bed, but now...my life is just too crazy."
"That's a new excuse." She scoffed.
"Trust me, I wish I could give you the full details, but take my word for it...this..." and he motioned up and down his body, "Is a mess, I just can't involve anyone else in it right now, it's my mess to sort out."
She looked down and colored, a single, solitary tear fell from her eye as he rose and walked towards her; stupid Nate and his stupid 'You want me but can't have me.' attitude...it totally makes him hotter, and he probably realizes it.
"That's what I said to Annie." He said soothingly; he was now standing close to her, "Annie is a real sweetheart; kind, smart, cheerful and beautiful, any guy would be lucky to have her."
"Great, more Annie love..." She said sarcastically, "There's not enough of that at Greendale."
He paused and took a breath, "And you...you're sexy and complex and passionate...and also very beautiful...Any guy would be lucky to have you as well." He said, his voice taking a sudden heft, "But me, I won't tell you why, at least not yet...I just...can't. I'm so sorry."
She looked into his eyes and smiled a crooked smile; dammit, last-ditch play, "Who says we have to date and move in together and get married and have babies like the typical bourgeosie model? We can keep it casual...casual and fun."
He stepped back slowly, reading her like a book, "You say that, but you don't really mean it."
She looked back at him, saying nothing because she knew her defeated look said what she needed it to say. Whenever Britta didn't get what she wanted from a man, she knew she could always fall back on the casual sex play...and then use that sex as a weapon to eventually strongarm him into a relationship, but for the first time ever, it didn't work.
"I wish it could work...with either of you, really...but..." He said the beginning of a speech, but Britta turned and left his office, following Annie's quick exit out of the woodshop. Nate sat back down at his desk and looked at the ceiling, uttering a disheartened sigh.
Britta, her eyes welled up with tears, found Annie, crouched beside the woodshop door, her knees tucked to her chin and her head lowered. She heard soft, muffled whimpers every few seconds, but she looked up once she heard footsteps.
"I'm so sorry Britta!" Was the first thing she said as she rose to her feet, seeing that her friend was also crying; honestly, she expected Nate to go out with Britta...but here Britta was, like her...tears welling up in her beautiful blue eyes, crying over some boy.
"It's okay, Annie." She said as the two friends exchanged a warm embrace, "But I have a proposal..."
"What is it?" Annie spoke into her shoulder.
"That from this day forward...you and I promise to never let a guy get between us ever again."
They pulled apart, their faces close together, "Deal!" Annie agreed, and they locked pinkies. Britta pulled her in again for another close hug.
"Kiss her!" They both turned, shocked to hear a familiar voice coming at them from down the hall. they both made 'ugh!' sounds as they saw Jeff approaching them, but his smile vanished when he got closer to them and saw the tears in both of their eyes.
"That's it, I'm kicking his ass..." He said with resolve as he walked past them towards the door, but Britta's hand on his arm stopped him in his tracks.
"No...it's our fault, not his...please." She said, her voice full of pathos and drama, "Why are you here, anyways?"
"I just want to talk to him about my grade and see if he can reverse his decision..." He began, "I haven't cut anyone's fingers off in the last few weeks and I've been working hard."
"Well he's in his office." Annie answered. Jeff nodded at her and walked into the door.
When he was in the shop Annie turned to Britta again, "Britta?"
"Yes Annie?"
"This really sucks..." The tears were gone from her eyes, but not her voice.
"Well look on the bright side."
"What bright side!"
"You don't see it, Annie?" She started, putting her hand on the side of her friend's face, "For the first time in your life, when you went after an older man he didn't reject you because of your age!"
She smiled slightly and straightened her posture, "You're right, that is a first..." She paused, "But at the same time...I'd almost rather he tell me it was because of my age instead of for no reason at all other than 'he can't'...I guess this means that I'm maturing."
"Sweetie...I know you are." They hugged again.
"Britta..." Annie asked again, this time into her shoulder.
"Yes, Annie?"
"This still sucks though...can we go and get a drink and talk about it?"
"Do you still have Caroline Decker's ID?" Britta asked, looking into Annie's deep, sad eyes. Annie nodded rapidly.
"Alright, let's go...I know a great place."
"Knock Knock..." Jeff said as he knocked on the door, finding Patterson working on the same review he was when Britta and Annie had just waylaid him. Patterson looked up at the door, before turning back to his review.
"What do you want, Mr. Winger?" Patterson said with exasperation. From day one, he and Jeff co-existed, but they definitely didn't like each other, and the incident with Annie's finger and subsequent automatic F did nothing to alleviate the tension.
"Hey Nate, I came here to ask you..." He stopped as he sniffed the air, "Whoa, it smells like sadness and despair in here."
"Have you ever had to reject two beautiful women, for seemingly no apparent reason, in the space of five minutes?"
"Actually..." Jeff looked into his memory, "You know what? I can't say I have."
"I feel awful about it, but it had to be done..."
"If I may ask...why exactly?" Jeff began, before looking at him slant-eyed, "It's not because you're...you know...", and he raised and lowered his wrist effetely.
"What? Oh god no!"
"I'm just saying if you are then that's cool, I have gay friends, its just how it is sometimes."
"I'm not gay Jeff, it's because..." Suddenly Jeff heard a vibration from the black coat that was hanging on the coat rack in the corner, "Excuse me for a second, I need to take this."
"Should I step out?" Jeff asked, himself now seated on a desk.
"No, no, it's okay, you can stay."
Jeff sat on the desk and tried not to eavesdrop, and though Nate had hid his mouth from Jeff's eyes, he could still make out a few sentences;
'Thank you so much.'
'Yeah, I'm leaving soon.'
'Send them in...'
He hung up the phone and placed it back into his pocket, before walking to the classroom door and opening it, then resuming his seat at his desk, regarding Jeff with his sad, cold eyes.
"So I assume you're here to talk about your default grade..." He spoke.
"Actually..." Jeff wanted to speak, but he was distracted by the sounds of small footsteps...two sets of small footsteps, running through the shop and towards the classroom.
Not a second later, two tiny, beautiful, raven-haired blue eyed little girls ran through the door and to the desk, "Daddy!" The bigger one yelled, jumping into Nate's chest while he sat in his chair. The other one, much smaller, was also able to join him; they were both clad in pink track pants and pastel shirts; the older one in blue, the younger in neon green, and she was carrying a blue stuffed bear at her side. A fan of black hair spread across his face and shoulders.
"There's my girls!" Nate responded joyfully, "How was Grandma's?"
"She taught us how to bake...umm...what was it called, Sabrina?" The smaller one asked the bigger one in a lispy voice.
"Chocolate Mousse!" She replied, her voice less lispy and slightly more polished. Jeff could only smile as he began to see his former rival in a new light.
"Well that's nice, I hope you saved me some, daddy had a bad day today." He said to the both of them, getting gentle kisses all over his face from his young girls, before he stood up and turned them both towards Jeff, "This is Mr. Winger...he's a friend of daddy's."
"Hey girls!" Jeff said, rising and lowering once more to shake both of their hands, but they wrapped him in a hug, and he suddenly felt warm and loved; a feeling so rare in his life.
"I'll be ready to go soon, okay?" Nate said when he had both of his daughter's attention again, "Could you both just wait outside for a second?"
"Yes daddy!" The older one said quickly, before the two of them skipped joyously out of the room.
"The power's off, so they can't turn the machines on." He assured Jeff.
Jeff regarded Nate in silence for a second, "That's a twist I didn't see coming..."
"I can tell by your face." Nate answered with a proud, fatherly grin, "Sabrina, the older one, is eight, and Mishelle is six, and I love them both to death."
"It must be a lot of work."
"It is...but at the same time, I can't imagine what my life would be like without them." Nate gushed, yet another side he so rarely showed, "The only real downside is it can hold me back a little; that's why I can't get involved with either Annie or Britta."
"You're married?"
Nate grabbed his coat and held it at his side, "I was, until two and a half years ago. We were coming back from a weekend in Steamboat, just me and my wife; the kids were with my mother...the roads were icy and it was getting dark...and well..."
He rose and pulled the pant leg up slightly on his left leg. Jeff flinched as he saw a deep, hideous scar as thick as his pinky running vertically up his ankle, "My wife was driving, and this semi kind of side-swiped us...totally caved in her side and brought the weight of the engine onto my leg...he was drunk."
Jeff regarded the man in a new light.
"That scar runs from the top of my foot to a few inches above my knee...they had to use two of my ribs to rebuild my ankle. I was told I'd never walk again, but after fifteen months of physio I did, and I've been raising the girls by myself ever since."
Jeff gasped as he took it all in for a second, "I'm so sorry...but two and a half years...you should be able to date someone, they seem like sweet girls, I bet they'd love a new mother."
"I'm sure they would, but unfortunately I've found that the average girl isn't too thrilled at the prospect of dating a guy with two young kids, and my own standards are very high and discriminating." He said, "I can't expose them to just anyone...Annie is loving, but she's not ready, and Britta is ready, but she's not loving. It's as unfair to the two of them as it is to my daughters."
"But even still, why not? Just to see what happens?" Jeff asked.
"You don't understand Jeff." Nate said with a slight tone of frustration, "While you're out there trying to sleep with women, I'm trying to raise women...and realize, that if I didn't have them I wouldn't be dating Britta or Annie; I'd be dating Britta and Annie...simultaneously, probably doing other things with them simultaneously as well, but I do have them and that changes everything. What if I meet someone and it doesn't work? The girls get attached but we break up? What would that do to them?"
"But that's just life. People are incompatible and generally don't get along."
"That may be, but then if I can't date, what if I meet a girl and just bring her home and sleep with her?" Nate continued, "And the girls see her sneaking out in the morning...and the next weekend I do it again with a different girl? What kind of message does that send? That it's okay to give your body to a man for nothing in return? That's not how I want them to look at the world. I'm going to tell you a secret that only a few people know...You can't tell anyone."
"Okay..." Jeff said with unease. Since arriving at Greendale he had to get used to becoming something of a confidant for people ranging from Troy to the Dean. He was still only moderately comfortable with it, even with his lawyer skills; it was much different when you were guaranteed 5% of the settlement.
"I haven't had sex since my wife passed away...and I don't miss it."
Jeff had to actively tell his brain to not let his jaw drop; two and a half years? How is that even possible? It's not like Nate is an ugly or unpleasant man; he's very easy-going and attractive (though, Jeff still maintains, not as attractive as he is).
Jeff considers two and a half months a cold streak.
"Wow...are you sure you still know how to do it?"
"I cut a pretty wide swath through the Humanities and Psychology departments at school, for two and a half years I never slept with the same girl twice in a row...yeah, I think my memory is fine." He assured Jeff, "And who knows? In five years, Sabrina will be thirteen and Mishelle will be eleven, and they'll start wanting some space, and I'll be able to give it to them...I'll be thirty-six, smack in the middle of my prime, still with a good ten years left to find someone and make myself happy...but today; the now and the near future, is all about them and putting them first, even at the expense of myself."
"Yeah..." Jeff agreed, nodding along. There was a short, momentary silence between the two of them.
"Anyways, I'm leaving so that means you are too, come on." Nate said, shutting the lights off as Jeff followed him out the door, which he locked, he then turned back to Jeff.
"You know, it's not too late for you to start becoming the person you want to be, either..."
"That's what I've been finding out since I've been here." Jeff replied, his voice sullen but at the same time hopeful.
"You've been doing some good work lately, and you haven't removed anyone's digits in three weeks..." He paused, "And I know you saw the way your friend had been looking at me; I know I don't exactly look like the type of warm-and-fuzzy guy you thought Annie would go for, and you were just trying to look out for her. If you do well on your final project, I'll give you a C for the semester."
"Cool, thanks..." Jeff began, but stopped. He had something on the tip of his tongue but wasn't sure if he should say it.
"No problem." Nate answered, with understanding in his voice...ah, what the hell? Jeff opened his mouth to speak again.
"Actually...and don't get me wrong I hugely appreciate this, but a B- would be better." Jeff prodded, knowing he was on dangerous ground as Nate narrowed his eyes, "A B- would keep my average high enough so that I won't have to go on academic probation."
Nate looked at him sideways. "Academic probation...? At Greendale? Wow, that has to be one of the saddest things I've ever heard. Yeah, sure, if your last project impresses me, I'll make it a B-."
Jeff wanted to hug Nate, but he held back; pending his work, his average was now saved and he had a reason to continue going to class, all he could muster was a kind and sincere "Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me until you've earned the grade, and definitely don't tell anyone." Nate said, and Jeff nodded in understanding, "Oh I almost forgot, come with me."
The two men walked to the storage area, where right in the middle of the room sat a squat, rectangular coffee table, stained in a rich and dark mahogany finish. A few drawers were built into the bottom and had been fit with porcelain handles.
"I finished Annie's coffee table earlier tonight...I hope she likes it."
"She will..." Jeff asnwered, before he grabbed it to take home.
"Could you bring it to her? I hoped that she would pick it up on Monday, but I don't think she'll be back."
"Sure..."
Jeff held the coffee table; it was fairly lightweight and the drawers were taped shut. He and Nate walked towards the door.
"By the way, could you maybe do me a small favor?" Nate asked again, "Only if it comes up, that is...since I am helping you out."
"Of course."
"I hear you're in some sort of study group with Perry and Edison?"
"Yeah, though it's less of a study group and more of a social club." Jeff lamented.
"Well then...if what happened between me and them tonight, you know, comes up..." He started, "Could you maybe help them see things from my perspective? They're both great girls and the last thing I want either of them to think is that I had to say no because of anything to do with them; truthfully, I'm attracted to them both, but it's just not the time. Again, only if it comes up."
"I'm almost certain it will come up." Jeff replied as they walked to the door of the shop, "And yeah, I'll try to explain the situation."
"Thank you, Jeff..."
Jeff's level of repect for Nathan Patterson had, in just ten minutes, gone from 'non-existent', to 'very, very high'. He won't try to hide it; he's fiercely competitive and easily made jealous, just look at what happened with Dr. Rich, but this was different; Dr. Rich was perfect...but almost too perfect, and part of the reason Jeff didn't like him is because he knows that no one can be that perfect without anything to hide...but Nate is different; he is a good man who has flaws and baggage, but who wanted to be better and was actually doing something about it.
They had a lot in common...except that when it came to Britta and Annie With regards to those two, Nate, unlike Jeff, was at least able to stick to his convictions.
As he carried Annie's coffee table out the door just ahead of Nate and his daughters, he stopped when he was outside the door and turned to them. He had to hold back a smile when he saw Mishelle perched atop his shoulders and Sabrina's tiny hand clutched in his right hand.
"Hey Nate." He asked.
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to grab a beer sometime?" He asked almost sheepishly.
"Sure Jeff." Nate replied with no hesitation.