"Oh hell yes!" was said in stereo by both guys as they stood in the entrance of the restaurant/bar Oceanic that had been recommended by Dean's beach bunnies.
The smell of fresh seafood was only part of the appeal. The 2 pool tables in back had Dean seeing dollars, and the multitude of gorgeous women in daisy duke shorts and tanks had both guys shifting uncomfortably in their jeans. A dance floor at the other end of the restaurant was packed with couples swaying to a live band that was currently playing an excellent rendition of "Life Lesson's" by Lynyrd Skynyrd that had Sam and Dean bobbing their heads in rhythm. A mammoth outdoor deck was covered in tables and chairs overlooking the ocean that looked like it had a few spots still available.
"I never thought I'd say this," said Sam, "but boy am I glad you're an unstoppable flirt. This place is awesome."
"See it's about time you saw the value in my killer charm, bitch." Replied Dean who looked like he hit the jackpot, lottery, and big six all in one.
"Seat yourself." Sam read off the sign posted at the hostess station. "Let's grab one of those tables outside before they get full."
"Lead the way McDuff." Dean said to busy trying to watch the band, the action at the pool tables, and all the hot girls at once.
Smirking at his big brother's glee Sam weaved his way around the bar towards the outdoor seating. Finding a table overlooking the water he grabbed a seat and reached for one of the menus perched in between the napkin holder and the rail. Watching Dean grab the other menu and scanning it quickly he said "What do you say we get a peck of steamed oysters, a pound of crab legs, a pound of the steamed shrimp, and a bucket of beer."
"Dude how much do you think we can eat. I mean I know you're a bottomless pit, but that's a lot of food." Dean said staring at his brother increduously.
"Not really man." Sam said laughingly. "You'd be amazed at how little meat there is in crab legs, and I can eat a peck of oysters by myself. Jess and I used to start like this at an oyster bar in Stanford and we'd always end up ordering at least one more pound of crab legs, and possibly another peck of oysters."
"Sound's like your girl new how to have a good time?" Dean said glad to hear more about the girl that made his brother so happy. "You up to telling me how you to met? I mean what kind of magical voodoo did you do to get a girl that hot to go out with your dorky looking ass."
"I'll have you know I am very charming when I want to be." Sam mocked "I was after all taught all I know about wooing women from you, so if I suck then I guess it would be your fault after all."
"Whoa there little doggie. Your lack of grace with the ladies is all your own. I tried to drag you away from those stupid books to go to a bar and you always fought tooth and nail." Dean joked right back.
"See that's because I knew those books would get me that full ride to Stanford and there I would meet Jessica. See total plan." Sam said. "Anyway I met Jessica my freshman year in the library. Oh shut up." Sam said looking pointedly at his brother who he knew was about to make an inappropriate comment. "She was working at the library for a work study, and I needed some help with some reference material for a paper, and the rest was history. "
"God only you could hook up with a girl that hot in a library." Dean replied shaking his head at his baby brother's luck.
"Hey don't knock it till you've tried it jackass. How'd a macho man like you meet and obviously intelligent girl like Cassie then, jerk?" Sam flung right back.
The waitress arriving to take their order momentarily interrupted Dean. Dean deferred to Sammy's suggestion and they sat back and waited for their beer and seafood to arrive.
"So seriously, I told you how I met the love of my life. Fess up Dean how did you meet Cassie?" Sam inquired looking at his brother with sympathy.
"Hey, who said Cassie was the love of my life?" Dean asked still trying to play off the importance of the beautiful girl that broke his heart.
Sam just stared at Dean willing him to see that for once there was no judgment or recrimination in Sam's eyes. Just understanding and a desire to get to know his brother again after the 4-year separation.
"Yeah, yeah who am I kidding?" Dean said with deprecation. "Well genius we didn't meet in a library." Then muttering so softly Sam had to strain to here him he said. "We met outside of one."
"What! Oh man you are so busted." Sam said laughing so hard he almost fell off his chair.
Dean couldn't help but laugh along with him. "There does seem to be a pattern doesn't there? Now if we only knew how dad met mom we could get some conclusive proof."
That thought made both guys start laughing even harder, and they were still gasping for air a few minutes later when the waitress came back with their bucket of beer and 3 pounds of seafood. Setting everything down and then making sure the boys didn't need anything else she quickly left to go take care of the rest of her tables as the restaurant was filling up even more.
"Okay college boy, you're the expert. What's the best way to eat everything?" Dean said looking at the food like a starving man who didn't know how to eat.
"Well I like to take and oyster put dunk it in the cocktail sauce put it on a cracker and then put a hot pepper on top. The important thing to remember about oysters is to not chew too much. Just chew enough to swallow the cracker. Here this one's all fixed, try it and tell me what you think?" Sam had demonstrated as he gave the instructions to Dean and then handed him the finished product.
Shoving the whole thing in his mouth Dean followed the instructions, chewing for just a few seconds then swallowing. "Oh man that's good" Dean said once he could speak after taking a swig of the ice-cold beer. "Good and spicy, and the oyster just glides down your throat."
"Jess taught me how to eat seafood. I swear she was part mermaid with her love of the ocean and seafood." Sam said as he finished off and oyster for himself. "The crab legs are much easier then the whole crab, unless it's a soft-shell crab, but we can get to that later. You basically take the metal cracker and gently crack the leg down the length. Try not to press too hard, or you'll end up with shell embedded in the meat. Then twist a little and pull apart." Sam once again demonstrated showing Dean the piece of lump crab he had easily extracted from the leg. Dipping it in the melted butter he once again passed it to Dean to try first.
With a moan of approval after trying the succulent crab Dean grabbed two and began to scramble to get them open as quick as possible.
The table was silent for the next little bit as both men ate and drank with gusto. After finishing off the last bite Dean leaned back in his chair and sighed in fulfillment as he watched Sammy finish off the last oyster. "Hey Sammy?" Dean queried softly.
Looking up and seeing the serious yet peaceful expression on his brother's face Sam replied "Yeah."
"Will you tell me now why your eye's bled?" Dean asked gently wanting to know the secret that caused his baby brother so much pain.
Staring into Dean's eyes Sam realized that Dean would never condemn Sam for his inaction in saving Jessica's life. "I dreamt it." He replied quietly. "Before she died, even before you showed up. For a week every night I woke up seeing Jess on the ceiling. I thought it was just stress from exams and the upcoming law school interview. I wanted to be normal so badly I didn't even bother to consider the possibility it was anything else. Whether I wanted to admit it to myself or not I knew what was going to happen, and I did nothing to stop it." Unable to still look at his brother the guilt once again ate at Sam's soul.
"Sammy look at me." Dean said after a few minutes of silence. "Pick up you head and look at me damn it!" he said a little more forcefully. When Sammy finally raised his head Dean's heart stopped at the pain and guilt in his eyes. "I know telling you that it's not your fault won't do a lot of good, but Sammy it's not your fault. You had no reason to think those nightmares were going to come true. We both know stress can cause irrational fears to come to life in our dreams, and after what happened to mom and our family it's only natural that it happening again would be your biggest fear. Whether you can believe this or not, I want you to know that I believe it. I'll believe it enough for both of us until you can believe it for yourself. I promise."
Staring at his brother Sam once again found his control slipping. "What did I ever do to deserve him" he thought, and then said, "Thanks Dean, right now that means more then you will ever know."
"Good." Was Dean succinct reply. "Now let's go win some money playing pool, so we don't have to deplete all our resources going fishing tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Sam said pulling himself together. "Those 2 college guys at the table on the left look nice and arrogant to me."
"See college boy that shining of yours is working fine, because you just read my mind." Dean smirked as he got up from the table and signaled to the waitress that they would be back and to not let their table go.
Two hours later the guys were 500.00 dollars richer, and looking forward to their fishing expedition in the morning. Sam had made the reservations earlier that day when they had gotten back from the beach and while they were excited the early morning call of 6:00am meant that they were going to turn in early tonight.
After they got back to the motel they set the alarm for 5:00 and both boys crashed like they'd gone on a 48-hour rave with no rest. Tomorrow was going to be a good day.
Whoo Chapter Three done. To all those author's I never reviewed I am sooooo sorry. I tell you since I started writing I review everything I read now. Now I don't mean to be desperate and needy, but I don't have a single review on this story and it's starting to bother me. Please please please please review. Otherwise no chapter four. That's right people you're making me do it. No more updates till I find out whether or not it's worth updating. Come on I live for reviews and it only takes a second I promise.