Same Night

Jackie was surprised at how good of a dancer Hyde was. Yeah, she remembered dancing with him at prom but she also remembered Kelso standing not even ten feet away dancing with Pam Macy but staring at her. Now that he had her undivided attention she realized he was a great dancer.

He was also much more attractive than she remembered. He looked like he was in great shape with broader shoulders and more muscular arms. His hair was shorter than it had been and looked darker and curlier than it was. She smiled up at him as he led her.

"So what have you been up to?"

"I've just been working. Partying. Hanging out. Same as I did in Point Place."

"That's cool," she replied, using his standby line. "So are you doing okay here?"

"I'm doing good enough," he nodded. "So you said you just moved here?"

"Yup. A month ago."

"Do you like it?"

"Yes. I really like it here. It's what I've always dreamed of."

He smirked down at her but didn't say anything.

"So why didn't you keep in touch with everyone?"

"I need another beer. You want something?"

She knew that he was avoiding the topic and she decided to back off. She was having a good time and didn't want to screw it all up by pushing too hard on such a stupid topic.

"Yeah, I'll take another one of these," she said holding up her glass.

"Long Island Iced Tea?"

"Yup," she nodded.

He nodded back. "I'll be right back."

Jackie continued to dance by herself as she waited for him to get back. She was already feeling pretty good and she felt warm from the alcohol in her system. Maybe she should have asked Hyde for a beer or water. Oh well. She'd just have to deal with a massive hangover tomorrow. It was her first night out in almost forever.

As she was dancing alone she felt two hands grip her hips tightly from behind. She was pulled against a body, her hips pressed against another set of hips. She looked over her shoulder at the guy behind her and realized it wasn't Hyde. She pulled away but the guy held on tighter.

"Stop. Let go," she insisted.

"Come on baby, we're just having some fun," he whispered in her ear.

Jackie could smell the alcohol on his breath and his thick meaty fingers were hurting her hips. She wiggled to get free.

"Let go of me," she demanded.

"Why don't we get out of here?"

"No! Now get your grubby paws off of me."

"Fine bitch," he spat before letting her go.

Jackie was in tears, both relieved that he let go but scared that he'd come back again. She saw Hyde walking up to her and she quickly wiped away the tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

Just the kindness in his voice and the genuine concern there had Jackie throwing herself into his arms. He set down the drinks he had just bought them. He wrapped his arms around her and she felt immediately safe. She buried her face into his chest as she let out the last of her tears.

"What happened?" he repeated.

"Just some asshole got grabby."

She felt him tense. She wondered if she had said something wrong. Maybe she was over-reacting about all of this.

"Who was it?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I didn't really see him. He just came up behind me and grabbed me. I'm sorry. I know I'm being stupid. Nothing happened," she sighed.

Before she could continue Hyde gently grabbed her face in both of his hands and guided her to look at him. "It's okay for you to be upset. It's not your fault."

With that he leaned down and kissed her forehead. Jackie was shocked at how sweet he was being. Sure she'd always known he was a good guy, no matter how much he talked about being uncaring, but how he was acting tonight was a shock.