Alright, so this story is a little something I've been cooking in my head for a little bit (thanks to the one and only Thay who made a great manip and gave me the idea), and I decided to work it for this year's IBOQ. I wrote it late into the week, maybe rushed it… and given the tension all around these days, I kind of forced out too, so if it looks that way, I apologize and promise to do better for the next update. But anyway, it's based on the movie Just Go With It, and even if I took some liberties with it, it will turn around the idea of the movie. With that said, I hope you enjoy this short prologue and that it makes your day a little better.

Just Go With It

It was going to be a good night…

Or at least, that was the thought running through Robin Locksley's mind as he confidently walked out of his office, the latest of his contracts in his hands, signed and about to be delivered, and a cheeky smile plastered all over his face.

If anyone would see him in that moment, the first thought that would have invaded their minds was that the man was too confident and too full of himself to have them bothered, and maybe they would be right, as Robin was in most occasions, too wrapped up in his own bubble to be aware of the way others perceived him.

But because there was nobody there who could see him other than the only person who really knew him and saw how he was more than what he appeared to be, none of those thoughts were aimed in his direction…

No, what he got was a sideway glance and an arched eyebrow as soon he stopped in front of her desk and placed the papers on top of the ones she has been working on.

"Tonight it's going to be a great night, can't you feel it in the air?"

Running the tip of his tongue over the edge of his teeth, the blue-eyed man smirked, watching as the brunette who acted as his assistant and pretty much his right hand when it came to his engineering firm, eyed him over.

She didn't look as pleased as he felt, which was really not a surprise to him given how she has been acting as of late, but he still watched for a sign in her that would let him know that she was just too engrossed in her work and not that she was having one of her ill-humored days.

He was almost sure it was the first, because she didn't roll her eyes at him and instead, she just adjusted her eyeglasses, the ones he would often tease her for being too big on her face, and grabbed the contract he just handed her over to inspect it.

"It's three o'clock, Locksley, on a Tuesday, so it's far from being close to 'being a great night', or at least it is for us normal human beings."

Scoffing at the lively tone she used on him as she meticulously scanned the papers over, Robin sat on top of her desk, knowing for sure now that it was okay for him to do that because apparently, Regina was acting more like herself than what she did the day before… which was a bloody improvement considering she has been unusually ill-tempered, all day long.

It has been bad, as he wasn't used to having her being edgy and in a mood, so he liked her better like this.

"Well, how about we call it early today and make it so we do have a marvelous night?"

"Nah, I still have lots of things to finish. But you go, I mean… tonight is your Gala, isn't it?"

Robin gave a smirk as he stretched his back, because yes, that night was the gala, the one where they were going to inaugurate the latest building he designed. "It actually is."

Regina hummed, lacing her fingers and tilting her chin up towards him. "Then you definitely need to go and get prettied up, uh?"

Scrunching his nose, Robin chuckled because yes, this was his normal Regina, teasing and lively, but because he didn't want to comment on how he liked her in good spirits, he just let the comment pass by.

He did however, turned a little towards her and beamed with an idea. "Why don't you get all prettied up as well and come with me, I wouldn't mind the company." And to be honest, he was sure she could use the distraction…

He knew she wasn't having the best of times and yes, more than his assistant, he considered this woman a good friend, probably the closest thing he had to a constant in his life and he hated seeing her go through the ordeal she was living in that moment.

But, as if being insulted, the brunette snarled her lips, pushing her back against the office chair and narrowing her eyes. "What? No way. First of all, I hate those fancy things, second, you would ditch me as soon as you saw a pretty woman that tickled your fancy and what would I do by myself in a place full of snobs?"

Lifting his hands in the air and doing a double take because he would never, Robin scoffed. "Well… you are a snob yourself so you should know how to mingle. Besides, I would never ditch you…"

"Bullshit, and you know it, and I am not a snob."

Oh yes she was, she just didn't know it, and mostly didn't act like it; but he knew how she grew up, and being of a humble background himself, he would always look at her as someone who has spent half her life going to country clubs, riding her fancy horses and all that crap. That she had a fall from grace and was basically disowned by an overbearing mother who freaked out when she ran away and married young to a man way below her social status was another thing.

But that was not the point in that moment, so he focused on the comment about him ditching her.

"I wouldn't ditch you, hell… I'm not even going with the intention of hooking up with anyone." At least not in that gala, maybe after the thing was done he could go somewhere else and maybe he could… but not at the gala.

If she went along with him, he would leave her at her door at the end of the night and then, he would do whatever he needed to do.

Arching an eyebrow and chuckling, Regina crossed her arms against her chest. "Right, that's why you are already wearing that ridiculous thing on your finger?"

Looking down to his left hand and realizing that yes, he was indeed wearing his old wedding band, Robin smiled meekly.

"You forget, Robin Locksley, that I know you better than anyone and I know you only wear that thing when you want to hook up."

Sucking on a breath because yes, after working close together for the last five years of their lives, this woman got him down to a T, Robin looked at her.

Now he could deny it and say he was using the ring because he wanted to present himself as someone stable and well put at the gala instead of… well, being him and the hot mess that he was, but why lie to her when she knew?

Because yes, she probably did, she wouldn't say it but she knew he has been so busy at work for the last month or so that he has been neglecting some of his usual escapades… and well, he was a man and he had needs and being single, he was in all his right to search for female companionship every now and then.

The only problem with the way he got his women and probably why Regina disapproved so much of his style, was because his methods were a little shady.

Why, because he basically lied to get laid… over and over again.

It was like this, when he went out looking for women, he did it by creating some sort of alter-ego, one of a married man who was in need of some comfort sex and nothing more.

He would go to a hotel lobby, a club or some event related to work and he would wear his wedding band and sit at the bar. Usually, he didn't have to do much because it was always the women the ones who actually approached him, trying to find out why was a guy like himself, (because yes, he cleaned up nice and didn't come off as intimidating) sitting all by himself, sulking, and that's when the lies started.

He would 'confess' how he was having marriage issues, be it because the wife was cheating or she was about to leave him and that created a sense of ease in the women.

Some would comfort him, offer advice, and others straight up offered a blow-job and maybe a quicky in the bathroom or the car; some of them even took him home or to their hotel rooms.

It was simple, a night of sex, with no attachments or drama and let alone any chance of putting himself out there and risking having his heart broken all over again; because these woman, much like himself, didn't want anything more than what they were getting.

Now, if you asked him, Robin wouldn't say that he was a womanizer or anything of the sort... or at least, he wasn't that much of a womanizer. He was more like an appraiser of women, he liked having them close and looking at them, and how they smelled and all of those nice things; but he didn't indulge in them as much as he would have liked or as much as he had done before.

If it was for him, he would pull his trick every week if he could, like he has done in the past, but now with his firm being on it's peak and maybe with him getting older and more mature, he would have these encounters more sparse out than what he has ever done it in his life and well, that night he needed to fix the dry spell on his sex life.

He deserved it.

"Well, you got me there. But I promise you I am not going to ditch you while we do the gala thing and that I will safely take you home before doing anything."

Pursing her lips, Regina shook her head. "No, you go and do your thing. Tonight Daniel is supposed to take the kids for the rest of the week and trust me, I am not going to waste my first night off in months by being social."

"Oh, is he now?" He asked, taking interest because as far as he knew, Regina's asshole of an ex-husband wasn't the best in taking care of his fatherly obligations, so that he was going to take their kids definitely grabbed his attention.

"Yeah, the key word here is 'supposed', he promised Henry but… well, you know how that usually ends up."

Licking his lips and nodding because yes, he knew, Robin set his eyes back to hers. "So if he ends up taking them, what will you do?"

"Why? What every single mother should do whenever the kids are away. I'm going to get cozy, grab a bottle of wine and watch some Netflix."

"Lame." He blurted out, even if it was going to be interesting to see her the next day at the office all relaxed. "I think you should come to the Gala with me."

"And I think, you should take that stupid ring off and socialize like normal people do. I mean how are you ever going to find a decent woman if you go out of your way to attract the kind that gets a kink out of sleeping with 'married' men? How are you going to settle down like this?"

"You know why. I don't want to settle down."

And he really didn't.

Actually, the thought of it terrified him because he has been there, settling down, about to get married only to have everything blow up on his face in the worst possible way.

He has known the pain of seeing his soon to be wife having sex with who was supposed to be his best mate, on her wedding dress, and in the church they were going to marry, and even though years and years had passed after that, the devastating effects of such a shock was something he couldn't take off of his mind.

That's why he did things his way now, why he pulled up the fake marriage thing and why he wouldn't let any woman have anything other than sex from him.

It was like he once heard, for every situation in life, you were being presented with two choices, evolve or repeat, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to repeat just yet.

"Well maybe you should, you are getting old, Locksley, look at all that grey in your hair."

"Old? I'm not old, I'm actually in my prime, and just so you know, women like my hair the way it is."

"I bet they do." She said mockingly and yes, her mood was definitely better than it has been all week long.

That's why he wanted to take her to the Gala, because she needed, hell… she deserved to have a nice night out. But he knew her, and she was not going to go no matter what he said. No… she was stubborn like that.

"No, but seriously, Robin, you should really take that off. I think it's time you put yourself out there. And I'm not saying you need to go and find someone to marry or even get serious with, but someone you can maybe see more than just once, like take her out, and date her and I don't know… be happy with."

"Why would I want that when I have you, I see you everyday, and I take you out…"

Scoffing, Regina frowned. "No you don't."

"But we eat together, monday through friday."

"That's not what I mean and you know it, so don't play dumb."

Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, Robin leaned a bit towards her. "I'll do it when you do it, I'll date someone when you do. Deal?" He said, because he knew she was not going to do such a thing.

Not when she had such a shitty marriage on her back that she recently just escaped from.

"I basically just got divorced, Robin, so hell no I don't want to date. This is my time, for me and I won't ruin it by getting another man. You on the other hand, you need some stability in your life, someone to be lame with and watch Netflix and take to these stupid Galas, don't you think?"

Flashing a playful smile her way, Robin slid off the desk and placed both hands on top of it, his eyes sparkling and searching for hers. "Well, I'll go and do some Netflix and chill with you, if you come to the Gala with me tonight. We can settle just fine-"

Cringing as he knew she would because he used his flirty tone on her and she hated that, Regina rolled her eyes. "Um, no, thanks for the offer though."

"Your loss." He said, straightening up and chuckling at the way she was back at reading over the contract.

"I think it's more like your loss, Locksley, because I do a very nice Netflix and chill."

He bet… he thought, but instead of going there, he cleared his throat and ran a hand down his face. "Leave all that for tomorrow, go home early and get the kids ready, I can imagine they are not even packed, especially that girl of yours."

"Hmm, she's definitely not, so yeah I will go as soon as I'm done with this. Have fun at your gala. Oh, and don't put too much cologne, you sometimes overdo it."

Smiling even though she was not looking, Robin nodded. "Alright, see you tomorrow." With that said, he walked out, leaving the office and heading straight towards his car.

It was later in the evening, when he was all dressed up and looking mighty fine if you asked him, that he looked at the wedding band and thought of Regina's words.

It was a weird thing, something that has been swirling on his mind ever since the moment he left the office, and sure… maybe he didn't exactly know what it was; but when he was about to enter the building, said feeling made him act out and he took the ring off to put it in his pocket, the distinct feeling that maybe Regina was right and that he needed to put himself out there taking a hold of him.

Because yes, maybe it was time already to move on and find his someone.

What he didn't know, was that at the end of the night, he would mess up so bad, that he would have no choice than to ask for Regina's help, and that would be when everything in his life would start to change...

TBC?