I debated putting this part in the story this early, but I had already written it to go here and couldn't think of something to happen before it. So here it is. Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Thanks again for all the reviews!

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Not quite ready to go home that night, Jack decided to drink away the memory of Karen's touch, along with the fear that he may never feel it again. He would also have a chance to talk with the other bachelors of the town, and he felt he needed a break from the bachelorettes. The dark, silent town was ominous, but as he got closer to the bar, he heard the sounds of beer taps and talking men. When he pushed the door open he was greeted by Jeff and Harris. They were sitting at a table with Kai and Gray, the other two men his age that he hadn't talked to. He ordered a beer from the bartender, and sat down with them.

"Come to forget girl problems, Jack?" asked Harris, taking a big swig of his drink.

"Ha, how'd you guess? You too?" Jack replied.

"Well, most of us. So who've you got your eye on?"

"Oh, well, I can't say, really… Just girls in general…" He cast his eyes towards his hands. He didn't want to say because Kai was sitting across the table.

Harris's eyes narrowed, as if he saw through Jack's lie, but then he said, "Lucky you. I'm interested in Ms. Maria, but I just don't know how to tell her."

Jack just nodded and turned to Gray and Kai. "I'm Jack," he said. "I'm fixing up the old farm."

"So I've heard," said Gray, turning his gaze away.

"Yeah, we've heard," said Kai. "So how's it working out for you?"

Jack was surprised by his friendly question. Perhaps he had jumped to conclusions when Zack had said something at the Flower Festival. "It's hard work, that's for sure. Things are looking up, though, I've finally gotten the field cleared and some extra money in my pocket."

A few more minutes passed, and then Kai excused himself from the table. He went behind the bar and kneeled down. Jack was curious about what he was doing, but before he could question it, Kai was up and out of the bar.

"Hey, Duke, did you forget Jack's drink?" called Jeff to the bartender.

"Nope, got a stubborn waitress," he replied, chuckling, and looked down behind the bar where Kai had just been. Kai must've been talking to the waitress.

Jack looked across the bar at some of the other customers. Zack was there, along with Ann's father, and a man he didn't know. The rest of the tables were empty, and an austere quiet hung on them. Suddenly, his beer was placed beside his arm. He looked up at the waitress to see, low and behold, that it was Karen. She was glaring down at him.

"Are you following me, or something?" she asked, defensively.

"Can't a guy get a drink?" Jack said. He wanted to say more, be a little angry, but her green eyes were already working their magic.

"Yeah, but you can't go around knocking people over and invading their space."

"What?" Jack stood up. The whole bar was now watching the two. "The beach is not just your space, and I apologized for running into you."

"Well I just find it odd that you keep showing up—"

"And I find it odd that every time I talk you, you go out of your way to be rude."

She was silent for a moment. "I—can't help that—"

"Oh, yeah? I'm sure you can't. Well I can't help being nice, so maybe you should just not say anything, rather than be so rude."

"Maybe you deserve to be treated poorly. I've barely even talked to you before, and here you are yelling at me!"

"I've tried to get you to talk to me, but you just ignore me and tell me to go away!"

"If you had any idea…! If you knew…! You should just leave me alone!"

"Well then I guess I was wrong about you."

"Wrong about me?"

"Yeah, I thought you were worth getting to know!"

She stared at him, her eyes bulging with anger. "Duke, get me a shot!" she said, red faced, and plodding to the bar.

"Get me one, too," Jack said, following her, infuriated.

"Oh, yeah? Give me two," she said, turning to Duke.

"Three! I'll take three!" At that Karen whirled around. There was a red anger in her eyes.

"You think you can out-drink me, Farm Boy?" she whispered severely.

"Bring it on," Jack said.

And so it began. The people in the bar had formed a circle with the dueling drinkers in the middle. Every shot was cheered on. Duke continued to throw shots of liquor in front of them. With everyone Jack drank up, and stared intensely at Karen. How did this ever get started? He'd talked to her for the first time, with such tenderness, last night, and now here he was attempting to drink her under the table. He had said terrible things about her, and he didn't even know her. He wasn't really angry at her at all. Maybe a little hurt, but not angry. He'd come too far to quit now, though.

"You can hold your alcohol pretty well," Karen said after the fourth shot. She looked a little nervous, but that sly grin was still playing on her lips. Jack didn't say anything, but instead inhaled another shot, and slammed the glass down on the table. He was beginning to get blurry, and if he was counting correctly, there were two Karens now in front of him. There was no way he could out-drink two of them! Two more shots did him in, and he passed out looking into Karen's striking green eyes.

The next morning he awoke with a horrible hang over. The sun shining in through the blinds was yet again unwelcome. Remember to board up the window, he thought to himself. Every ray that hit his eyes sent a sharp pain through his head, where a intense headache was raging. He held his hand over his eyes, as he attempted to get out of bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" It was Karen. What was she doing in his house at this time of morning? He looked over at his clock and saw that it said 12:00pm.

"Oh no!" he said, jumping out of the bed really fast. Bad idea. His headache caused a dizziness that sent him straight to the floor. Karen was busy mixing something, so he was forced to pull himself up. "What are you doing here?" he complained.

"Knew you'd have the hang over from hell, felt sort of bad, thought I'd come over and help you out. Get back in bed; you'll get sick all over the place if you stand too much."

Jack did so, and remained silent. He pressed his pounding temples and vowed in his mind to never drink again. He gazed over at Karen, still not fully understanding why she was here and why she was being so friendly. Though the headache was a killer, he still wished he could jump out of bed real fast, put on nice clothes, and lick his hair down to look presentable. He wanted to impress Karen, but a drinking game, he learned, wasn't the best idea. He watched her mixing a gold looking substance in a jar. Her soft hands were firmly holding a stirring spoon, and she had pulled her hair back with a handkerchief to keep it out of her way.

When she finished, she walked over to his bed. "This is honey wine," she said.

Jack automatically shook his head. "Nope, no more alcohol," he said, his stomach feeling queasy at the thought of it.

"Relax," she said. Her green eyes caught hold of his. "This will give you enough of a buzz to forget the headache and still be able to walk a straight line."

Those sweet greens were overcoming him again. He nodded, and drank up. When he finished, he said, "Look, I'm sorry about all the things I said about you, and starting the drinking game, and all that."

"Oh no—"

"Yes, I never thought you were rude. I just didn't think before I spoke."

She shook her head. "I was rude. That's true."

"Well, why are you being so nice now?"

"Don't get too spoiled," she said, flashing that sly grin. "I just thought I'd help out a drinker almost as good as me. Besides, Kai isn't around to get jealous."

Jack's heart dropped. He hoped that maybe her change of heart was because she had become interested in him. Karen took the jar from him, and pulled the handkerchief off of her hair. Her brown locks fell around her face, framing it perfectly.

"Well, I've got to be off. You just rest until that headache is gone. Then feel free to do whatever."

Jack smiled at her, despite that the thought of her and Kai was ripping him up inside. She turned to leave without saying goodbye, but on a notion, she turned around and smiled at him.

"Okay, okay," she said, "I'll see you later."