Deck Eleven
They'd grabbed towels, bottles, cups, and music to help pass the three hours they had to relax before the party. Sneaking through the gym and opening the door on the other side of it to reveal the low lit, balcony, loungers set out allowing them to watch the ship moving away from the island they'd failed to visit that afternoon.
"Hey" Sam peeped his head out to see Matt and Brittany sat wrapped up in each other "Not disturbing anything are we?"
"No, we just left that restaurant down the deck, thought we'd check out how the other half live" Matt laughed.
"Where is she?" Kate looked around asking.
"Probably licking her wounds somewhere, we haven't seeing her since this afternoon" Matt smiled.
"Mind if we…" Sam looked at the empty loungers, Spreading Mercy's towel on the furthest one away from them.
"No, of course not" Matt laughed, watching Stevie spreading towels for Kate and him.
"So" Mercy sat watching Kate pour drinks "What have you guys been up to today?" her eyes fixing on Brittany with the last word.
"Rebuilding a marriage" Brittany told her.
"Seriously?" Mercy looked at her shocked.
"Seriously" Matt giggled "She came to her senses after the beatdown".
"There was a beatdown?" Mercy sat up asking
"She got beaten up?" Kate asked at the same time smiling, everyone left those comments floating in the air.
"Well, I'm pleased for you two, so I think we'll leave that there" Sam snapped throwing himself down on the lounger, and fidgeting with the sound bar, smiling when music came out of it.
"Yeah, it's a surprise, but I'm pleased you guys are working things out too" Mercy smiled at Matt, he'd never done anything to her, but she was still on her guard, Santana had told her, if she said black, it was white.
"You used our word" Sam smiled "That was number 10" he laughed "Relax" Sam looked left to right before laying down and closing his eyes to take in the mood, they lay soaking up the alcohol, the last of the sun and the music for a long while in the silence of the night, listening to the waves, and getting their mood.
"I have a confession Mercy" Brittany sat up, disturbing the long silence "I knew Bree had taken that picture she sent, she got hold of my phone and set it, to mess with you, I guess. My fault really I told her about what happened between us and what Sam had said to me, to us, at the christening..." she looked at Matt
"Wait" Mercy sat up "What happened at the christening?" she looked at Sam and Brittany.
"He basically told me I was out of order for the way I spoke to you and the things I said" she looked at Sam "Sorry, I thought she knew"
"Sam?" Mercy looked at him.
"I just asked her not to mess with us" he looked at Mercy his face telling her he didn't think it was an unreasonable request.
"Anyway" Brittny butted in "I was pissed that you hated me" she frowned "But after I found out what she'd done I told her to stop, she deserved everything she got".
"Thank you for telling us that, but Sam and I are much stronger than she gave us credit for" she smiled at her "I mean there's people in love, people who love and then there's us, we're way past all that petty no trust stuff, she couldn't get to us even if she were an inch skinnier" she smiled.
"That's sweet" Brittany smiled.
"It's not sweet, it's true" Mercy laughed "I guess that's just something you know if you're with an Evans man" she grabbed Sam's proud hand.
"I second that" Kate grinned at Stevie.
"And it's something Matt's going to find out about being a Rutherford man too" Brittany laughed
"You know something I haven't done in a while?" Matt smiled at Brittany "Maybe something I haven't wanted to do, since my wedding day?" he looked at Sam and Stevie "Sing, I haven't sang for a while, and right now I feel like I need to sing" .
"Don't ask me to join in, I have no tone" Stevie looked at him holding his throat.
"You do, stop it" Kate nudged him.
"We used to sing all the time at home" Sam laughed "We could never stop you, what happened?"
"The firm" Stevie told him frowning.
"Matt's got a good voice, I used to like everything he sang"
"Help me out if I mess up" he looked at Sam before he carried on fiddling with his phone "I guess Brittany did most of the talking today, so I want to sing this song to sort of say how I feel" he smiled at her "And I remember it's special for you" he looked at Sam before he started singing a rendition of 'Hold You Til We;re Old' by Jamie Miller Sam and Stevie smiled at each other, no way was Stevie not getting in on this.
Matt: They say you know, when you know, well, I know, I know that's true, never did, never did, as a kid but now I do, oh-oh, oh-oh
Rush of blood, to my head, swear to God, I wanna die inside this feeling, they say you know, when you know, well, I know, looking at you
Stevie: I know time can change us, break us, make us lose our minds
Sam, Matt & Stevie: I'll hold you 'til we're older, love you when I'm sober, be there 'til the air stops, pumping out your lungs
Kiss me like the first time (The first time), even at the worst times (The worst times)
Even whеn it hurts, I swear you keep me young, I'll hold you 'til we'rе, old, old, o-o-o-old
Sam and Stevie were thinking about happier times when their Dad used to close their Mother down when she started with her shit, by just putting a song on and just forcing her to dance in the middle of the room until she smiled at him, not that it took long, but they always danced to the whole of the song and as boys they'd sit pretending not to notice them dancing but taking in the love their parents were sharing. After that she'd be putty in their hands for at lest the rest of the night and even the next day, if they were lucky, it was only when they'd grown up that Sam realised that was their foreplay, and it worked like a charm for him in their love lives too. They'd both used this song on their wives last Christmas and it had worked like a charm, he pulled Mercy up to dance, smiling at Stevie doing the same with Kate, watching Brittany walking over to Matt, she'd been tearing up from the beginning of the song. Everyone was slow dance, Kate hadn't thought Stevie was going to take on the challenge, but he had, and she was more than impressed with his voice. They could barely see lights in the distance, the waves where hitting the back of the ship with some force but the music in the air mixed with the concoction of alcohol they had in their glasses was already making the evening special.
Sam: You can stay, you can sway, back and forth, I'd do it too, no, I, wouldn't know, how to let, let you go, if I won't need to, oh-oh, oh-oh
Cold sweat in the bed, swear to God, that I would die before I'd leave you, they say you know, when you know, well, I know, laying with you.
Stevie: know time can change us, break us, make us lose our minds
Sam. Stevie & Matt: I'll hold you 'til we're older, love you when I'm sober, be there 'til the air stops, pumping out your lungs
Kiss me like the first time (The first time) even at the worst times (The worst times)
Even when it hurts, I swear you keep me young, I'll hold you 'til we're Old, old, o-o-o-old...
"Here you are" Leon's face burst through the opening gym door stopping the singing.
"What's up?" Mercy asked concerned at the look on his face.
"Nothing's up, we've just been looking for you for about an hour, thinking you'd jumped or something" he laughed.
"Somethings up" Mercy looked at him, Amazing, Spencer and Briani following him out of the gym, slowly "What's happened?" she let Sam go and walked towards them.
"I need your help Mer" Leon confessed.
"With?" Sam stepped closer, unwilling for Mercy to get involved with anything dodgy.
"It's just that…" he looked at Grace.
Flashback
Leon
Mercy stood looking at her brother thinking about the day he came into her world, she'd been a spoilt brat up until that day, then it was all about what Leon might need, what they thought would be best for Leon, football for Leon, toys for Leon everything changed in her world, and she resented the hell out of that. But this second right here, had brought her back to the memory of that one day in summer, it must have been his second Summer, she'd been tasked with seeing him safely onto the slide.
"Take your brother out and learn him to slide down your slide" her Dad ordered
For some reason, on that day, she willing wanted to do that, maybe it was because she was getting out of housework, homework, the fact that the thing had been referred to as hers or something, but she remembered picking him up and running down the garden with him. He'd had a tantrum when they got to it, impatient to get to the top, then when she sat him on the top of the slide and sat behind him, he started screaming "Mer" he turned, his eyes telling her he was frightened as he called her name for the first time, holding his arms up for her to pick him back up.
"You scared bro" she giggled grabbing hold of him "Mer do it" she sat him on her lap, happy with her new name, and slowly slid down with him making it fun "Nice?" she sat asking him when they got to the bottom of it, she remembered him making her giggle for his favourite word popping out repeatedly. She was tired by the time they got called in for lunch that day and even after that he was still calling out for "Again"
End of Flashback
It wasn't very often that name came out, so she knew it must be something serious, Grace stood next to him bursting to say something, which usually meant Leon had found himself another great big pile of shit to step in "What is it?" Mercy asked nervously.
Grace looked back at her brother waiting for the punch line, it was obvious he wasn't about to divulge "Shit Lee, you're such a baby" Grace snapped at him "Briani and him got engaged today and he doesn't know how to tell Mom and Dad, he thinks he's man enough to have a wife and can't handle his parents" Grace laughed.
"Amazing, language" Sam looked at her disappointed, he wasn't really but if it kept her on her toes, he'd do it, plus this was such a tense time it needed lightening.
"You're engaged?" Mercy gasped looking from Briani to him and back "How long have you known each other?"
"About three years, I mean, we met about three years ago, started going out about two years ago, we want this" Leon told her.
"I can't say I'm not surprised, three years ago, where the hell have I been?" Mercy looked at Sam. "Knowing Mom she knows already" she laughed.
"You've just wasted another surprise 11" Sam whispered in her ear "Congratulations" he stepped past her to hug Leon, deciding to hug Briani too, Mercy stood watching everyone congratulate and hug them before she took her turn.
"So, Mom and Dad" she stepped back, showing the worried look on her face "Might you want to wait until you get home to tell them?"
"I'm staying here for two weeks, well in Jamaica, we've got to tell Briani's parents" Leon grabbed Briani's hand "Sort some stuff out".
"My advice, make sure there's a crowd, don't give Dad the opportunity to cuss, that's all I've got" Mercy giggled "Lucky for us" she looked at Sam "We were almost famous when we tied the knot, they were grateful to get rid of my constant borrowing".
"You're not getting married are you?" Sam looked at Grace.
"Not yet" she grinned, grabbing hold of Spencer's hand.
He'd never say it out loud but everyone knew Sam had a soft spot for Grace, she was more or less the age his sister would have been, had she survived, and in a lot of ways he treated her as such. Today as he watched her swanning off to be with her boyfriend he could only smile at the memories of the eight year old he'd met that day at her parents house, it hadn't taken much to talk her around. They'd had lots of conversations but right now just one came to mind.
Flashback
"Sam" a eighteen year old Grace walked onto the patio with cold drinks in her hand.
"Amazing" he turned smiling at seeing her coming towards him with just what he needed.
"Mercy said you might need this right about now, and I wanted to run something by you".
"Run it on by" he laughed at him being her choice "But you know whatever Mom and Dad say is going to be the ultimate answer?"
"Of course, but it doesn't hurt to have the right words and well, you do that for a living don't you?"
"I do" he laughed.
"Here's the thing" she sat on the chair beside him "You know how difficult it was for Lee to talk them into letting him sing" she looked back at the house "I want to go into Biochemistry, I find it really exciting work".
"So tell Mom and Dad" he turned to look at her "We'll help".
"That's the point, you know they won't let you, and it's really expensive, I'm on track to get the grades and I really want to apply but" she looked at the house again.
"Amazing, just do it, we'll talk about the detail after".
"I don't want to build my hopes up, I was hoping to have the conversation with them, before I applied".
"I suppose it's all pie in the sky, until you get the grades"..
"That's just it, I know I'm going to get the grades" she bit her bottom lip needing to work out this dilemma.
"Here's what we'll do" he grabbed here hand "We'll tell them together, tonight, before we go back"
"We?" she looked at him scared.
"We" he assured her
That evening she sat pushing her food around the plate waiting for the signal from Sam, he was waiting for her to start, the meal went by and she hadn't said anything "Hold up" Sam stopped Mom from clearing the dishes "Amazing has something she wants to say" he nodded at her to start talking, watching Mom sit back down.
"I... I" she looked around the table, smiling at Sam's waiting, encouraging face "I want to go to Michigan to study Biochemistry, I have the grades and that's really what I want to do, so can I?"
"Sweetheart Michigan?" Trevor asked.
"Yes Daddy, I've researched, and for where I want to be, that's the University I need to be in".
"It's expensive" he warned, looking at Andrea "But if that's what our baby girl wants, if you're serious about it..."
"I am"
"We'll try our best to make it happen"
"Thank you" she smiled looking at a clapping Mercy "Thank you" she mouthed to Sam
End of Flashback
And the fact that she'd not only pursued and accomplished that dream but gone on to build on that dream adding Spencer to her list of trusted friends was good enough for him, he didn't know it, or maybe didn't want to believe it until that second, but his baby sister had grown up, both of them, and it was time for him to really let go of all of that, and deal with his own responsibilities.
"But first this all-white party, it's the big event" Leon reminded everyone "I'll tell them after midnight".
"I guess we have something to celebrate" Matt grabbed Brittany's hand and went through the door.
"Celebrate?" Grace whispered to Mercy looking at them leave.
"Apparently they're trying again" Mercy told her as they all stood watching them leave "That's what makes marriages work" she grabbed Sam around the waist "Isn't it?"
"It is" he smiled kissing her nose "I guess we need to get dressed" he walked towards the door.
"And no more pranks like this afternoon" Leon warned "I need your support" he followed them all.
Sam & Mercy
Their clothes had been delivered to their cabin, Sam stood open mouthed, having just donned his casual white silk shite and skinny white jeans, watching Mercy put on this slinky white dress revealing her under boob, hips, and her breasts popping out over the top, he wasn't about to let her go out like that, and he really didn't feel like being nice about it "What the fuck is that?" he asked when his brain finally engaged again.
"It's my dress" she turned to look at him.
"Where's the one I brought you this afternoon?"
"I changed my mind" she looked back at herself in the mirror.
"Well, you can change it back again, get that other dress on" he snapped.
"Babe" she walked towards him.
"That" he pointed at the bits of dress that covered limited parts of her body "Is going nowhere".
"If you want if off, rip it off" she smiled at him, willing him to do it.
"Babe" he frowned at the challenge "Take it off" he stood watching her put her shoes on "What are you doing?"
"If you're not going to rip it off, we have a party to get to".
"Are you testing me?" he chuckled in disbelief at his wife "When have I ever said it's alright for you to go out like that?"
"So now you're telling me what to wear?" she stopped to look at him.
"I just asked you not to wear that" he pointed at the so called dress "I don't feel comfortable with men looking at you in that".
"So, this is about you?" she sniggered in disbelief "I told you rip it off if you want it off, you might find a surprise".
"Surprise?" he smiled "Mrs Evans I do believe this is number 12" he walked towards her "You are bringing those surprises today, I feel like I'm 22 again" he pulled her to him, kissing her as he ripped her dress off from the back "We got to be quick, we've got some catching up to do".
"This is my present to you" she pushed him on the bed.
Thirty minutes later they were singing to each other as they got ready for the party
If we met in another life (Met in another life) if we met on a different street (Oh)
Would you still be walking this direction? Would we still be walking at the same speed?
Would we still put up a fight? Would you still make time for me?
I hope so (I hope so) I hope so, oh, oh, oh, oh 'Make The Most' by Lonr & H.E.R.
"Then there's you" he kissed her head.
"Always and forever" she smiled up at him, grabbing his hand to leave the cabin, this time she had put on the three quarter length white cotton dress with drop shoulder sleeves and slits up both sides on the legs, a white belt with gold buckle holing the dress against her waist
"That" he pecked her lips "Will do nicely" as she stepped into her white Stuart Weitzman Platinum's kicking the look off beautifully.
Brittany, Matt & Bree
"Do you want to the go to the party?" Matt stood at their cabin door asking Brittany.
"I'd prefer it to sitting in with Bree all night" she kissed his lips "We've got a few minutes I need to talk to her".
"Do you need me to disappear for a while?"
"No, she needs to know I'm serious" she watched him push the door open and stepped in ahead of him.
"Where have you been?" Bree jumped up asking her.
"With my husband" Brittany snapped back "Listen Bree, we need to talk" she walked further into the room and sat on the couch.
"What's happened, have you told him?"
"Told me what?" Matt asked.
"Listen Bree" Brittany looked at Matt but didn't answer him "Matt and I are going to mend our marriage, so I won't be seeing you again once we leave the ship".
"You're finishing with me?" Bree gasped.
"No" Brittany told her firmly "We were never in a relationship, we were in an arrangement, we no longer want that arrangement, so we don't need you anymore, there was no contract, no promise, nothing".
"I know but…"
"Look, I told you all that stuff about Sam and Mercy from back then because I thought you were a friend, I didn't think you were going to use it to get at them" she clasped her fingers "So when you sent Tina that picture of you and Sam the other night I wasn't happy, because I knew she'd send it to Mercy" she looked into Bree's eyes "Then even after I told you to stop you carried on when we got here, that's why she broke your fucking nose, and you deserved it, I told you not to mess with them".
"What you told her to break my fucking nose?" Bree got up angry.
"No, I told you to leave Sam and Mercy alone" Brittany shouted at her.
"What so special about them, that bitch thinks I'm something off the bottom of her damn shoe" she shouted.
"She doesn't even know you" Brittany shouted back at her.
"That's the point" Bree screamed "Why do bitches like her always get the best men, and I have to sleep my fucking way through life?"
"That's what you chose to do Bree" Brittany snapped at her.
"I really don't need to get involved in this" Matt looked at the two of them "But Sam's a solid friend, we go way back" he looked at Brittany "And from what I know a solid man like Sam, deserves a woman like Mercy, she didn't take anyone from anyone, they chose each other".
"Bree, you're talking like…" Brittany looked at Matt "We were never an item, you've always known that I love my husband, you know the score here Bree, I'm not arguing with you, I'm not interested in your motives, I didn't ask you to go after them, but if you choose to carry on going after Mercy, you better know that what happened today was nothing, she was calm because her parents are about" she warned her "I can't get any deeper in this shit, we have Finn to think about"
"Yeah, I guess you finally do" Bree cut her eye at her, sarcasm dripping on every word.
"We don't have time for your shit, we have a party to get to" she walked through to the bedroom, grabbed her clothes, and going in for a shower.
"Am I coming to this party?" Bree asked Matt.
"You can do what you want, but you're not coming with us".
"You're loving this aren't you?"
"Is that supposed to be funny?" he looked at her for a while before shaking his head "She's my wife, you know that right?" he grabbed his outfit and went into the bathroom, Bree sat on the bed listening to their giggles for a while trying to figure out what she was going to do next.
Flashback
She'd run away from home to Phoenix just five years ago, being an only child, when her mother got ill with Cancer she was tasked with looking after her. It was hard enough watching her wither away to nothing, as she skipped treatments she couldn't afford, and try as she might Bree's part time job wasn't keeping up with anything. Her step-father was less than useless in the situation, his drink problem helped no one, and as her Mom got worse so did his drinking.
At first it was shouting, she didn't even think anything of it at the time, she was angry at the situation, so she figured he was just angry at the situation too. Then one day she'd had enough, her banks burst, she shouted back at him, accused him of being useless, which wasn't a lie, but of course he was offended enough to hit her. That started a long line of abuse from the man, she was stuck in the situation forced to look after her sick mother and become a battering post for this man that claimed to love her mother.
The story is so familiar to everyone, abuse and pressure soon turned into depression, followed closely by wrong choices, and by the time her Mom passed she was well on the path of destruction. The breaking point for her, was when she woke up one morning naked, with her so called step-father laying, just as naked, beside her, she couldn't believe she'd gone there, a couple of days later she packed everything she could and left, she'd never looked back.
She was looking for love, through a lot of different sexual partners, when she met up on Brittany and Matt, they got her tested, brought her some clothes, took her to their home, and offered just the right amount of love, she felt like they were family in such a short space of time, but nothing lasts forever.
After just six months of the high life, she could stop sleeping with random people for change, she'd found some people she could get on with, that gave her a roof over her head and loved her unconditionally. She should have known this was coming, Matt had become distant a while ago, kicked her out of bed sometimes and even failed to come to bed at times and the air between Brittany and he had changed for the worst. She'd played on that because if Brittany wasn't getting love from Matt she was there to give it, and now after all that effort she was being rejected again.
End of Flashback
"Have a good night" Brittany stood in the mirror patting at her hair.
"You too" Bree smiled at them "I'm meeting this guy at the bar anyway".
"Good for you, but stay at his or use the pull-out when you get back alone" Brittany told her, flicking her hair off her shoulder before grabbing Matt's arm and they were gone. Brittany knew she was being harsh, but with Bree there was no other way, if there was any hint of weakness, she'd work on it, and right now she had too much to lose.
Flashback
Three in a bed wasn't something that Brittany had ever seen for herself, she had been infatuated with Sam for like a month or so, mainly wondering what things would have been like for them. She'd noticed him her first day on set, all the girls had, but she was the one that had got to get a drink with him, everyone had seen her go off with him, she knew that, so she was already on a mission, it had only been a few hours many years ago, but they'd connected in a way she'd never connected before, he seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say.
She'd taken a lot of shit from the other dancers because he'd dropped her like a led balloon, and to be honest, she didn't even know why, she wasn't buying that story about that dark haired short girl he stood at the door talking to, she really didn't look like his type. To tell the truth about her turning up at the wedding, it was all about closure, she was as confused as everyone else, when the girl she thought he'd left her for, started kissing the blond she'd been sitting next to.
It just so happened, this one night while out drinking trying to forget the life she wasn't destined to have, she met a woman, that had never been her thing, or at least she hadn't thought it was, but they clicked in exactly the same way she'd clicked with Sam and that left her tingling all over with excitement.
"Hi" the woman sat herself in the chair next to her at the bar "You look how I feel" she smiled "Let's see if we can't brighten each others night"
"How do you mean?" Brittany looked at her, half shocked half excited at the meaning of the look the woman was giving her.
"Two of whatever she's having" the woman held her hand up for the attention of the bartender.
They'd sat talking about their lost loves, feelings and questioning if anything was worth the hurt, after a few drinks, some music and laughter they agreed nothing was worth it and got slowly intoxicated together, the next morning Brittany woke up naked in Marley's bed, feeling happy about where she was just then.
"Oh" a male voice invaded their morning kiss "Can anyone join the party?" he asked.
"Sure" Marley smiled calling him over without asking Brittany's permission "This is Ryder, my husband" Marley told her, she lay watching him get into bed, the two of them bringing her to a new high, she liked it, very much. They introduced her to the scene, she was a single woman, free to do anything she wanted, but after a while she craved the love and she walked away from that trio in search of love.
She met Matt who was very much the life and soul of the party, when he wasn't snorting stuff up his nose he was very passionate and attentive, but when he'd had some of that stuff he'd enjoyed the company of women and alcohol. It might of been that she'd wanted to please him, or just totally misread the signs but she introduced a random into their relationship early on and although he loved it when he was high, he walked around looking disgusted when he wasn't.
He'd complained about the random thing a few times, so when Bree came into their lives she thought it was the perfect solution, some stability for them, but around the same time she began to get tired of it all, unsure what to put in it's place as a substitute. When he finally told her he was sick of the situation, she was up for ending it, but she just didn't know how she was going to tell Bree, she knew her story, they both did, she wasn't just losing bedpartners she was losing a home, family, everything. So to hear she'd ventured out to find this guy, was uplifting for her and maybe a sign to Matt that he was being taken seriously.
End of Flashback
Bree was more excited than she liked to let on about going on this date, she hadn't been invite to the party, after her performance this afternoon she knew she wouldn't have been anyway, and although her nose was busted and the bruising around her eyes was starting to show, she'd come for a break. She'd expected, no praying for Brittany to be telling Matt she was leaving him, or for him to leave, so the two of them could make a life together, what a way to find out all those whispers of I love you in bed weren't real.
She'd gone out to the bar after they'd left earlier, to find something to dull the pain of her throbbing nose, it was like darts shooting through her head and now her heart, was feeling the same pain, she sat at the bar watching people she didn't know singing, lucky for her she hadn't run into any of those people Brittany knew either. Amidst all the hurt and pain she was trying to figure out what she was going to do with her life, where she wanted it to go next, and sipping on he cocktail until she was looking at the bottom of her empty glass, when she heard this voice singing her life.
I had it all planned out, I had a big idea, cause all the stars aligned, but now they've disappeared
Showed my cards to you, guess when you win, you lose, my lesson's learned, sometimes it hurts
When you love somebody it's not enough. it's not enough, you give it all you got and they'll give you up they'll give you up
No matter what you might see, some things aren't meant to be, cause when you love somebody, it's not enough, it's not enough
Maybe I went too fast, or did I wait too long, did I slip out your hands, did I say something wrong?
Cause it plays on my mind, and I can't think of a time, when you would hide it, but now I recognize that
When you love somebody, it's not enough, it's not enough... 'When You Love Somebody' by James Smith
She sat listening to this man's words, mesmerised that someone knew what she was feeling outside of Brittany, when the song finished she clapped like everyone else and went back to her empty glass to order another drink "Hi" she turned at the voice behind her, shocked to see the guy off the stage stood next to her "Sorry I couldn't help notice that the song spoke to you too".
"Did it?" she looked at him suspiciously.
"Yeah, I could see it in you're eyes".
"What do you know about my eyes?" she laughed at his ridiculous.
"I know you've just had a disagreement, I'm guessing you're the woman that got beat down by no other than the Mercy Evans" he smiled "Actually I know you are, I saw you before".
"So did you want a picture?" she hissed at him.
"No" he smiled "I came to speak to you because you'd been touched, in the face, by the Mercy Jones" he laughed "I'm joking" he held his hand up at her not so impressed face "I wanted to buy you a drink and maybe lend a listening ear" he held his hand out "Joe".
"Bree" she smiled "And the drinks are included" she laughed "But, I'd love a communicating ear, someone to have a civil conversation with would be nice".
"Civil" he pointed at himself "Communicator" he smiled.
They sat talking for the longest time, about everything and anything reminding her of her first meeting with Brittany, by the time they parted company there was a dinner date on the table, he'd heard everything about her life and he hadn't run yet, but then his was almost as shady, having been abused at a young age, they were like two lost souls coming together. Tonight was the test of everything they'd both said in that conversation, was there really something there or had he bailed out.