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"Oh, Johnnie..." the brunette purred into his ear.

He flicked his gaze over to her before reverting back to blankly staring in front of him. He downed his fourth beer in a row. He had moved onto beer when lack of funds made it necessary to switch from the whiskey shots that he had been downing previously.

"Are you even paying attention to me," the girl sidled up next to him whined. She continued toying with the ends of his hair, lightly grazing his neck with her fingers.

He let out an annoyed sigh. "Look, don't you have some other guy to fuck with?"

This didn't seem to faze her in the slightest, in the fact it seemed to egg her on. She placed a wet kiss right under his ear. His face took on a slightly disgusted look, but she either didn't notice or just didn't care.

"Why don't we go back to your place?"

"No" was his short answer.

"Okaay, we'll go back to my place."

He finally snapped his attention to her, giving her a scowl. "Don't you ever give it up?"

"I'm trying to, but you won't go anywhere more private..." she ran her hands up and down his chest suggestively.

He sneered at her, "You're really that easy?"

"Only for you, baby."

He gave her a smoldering look, "Well, in that case my car is parked right outside."

"Well, why didn't you say so, handsome?"

He chuckled. "You're a nasty bitch." He slid out of the booth and made his way out, without a second glance back at the girl that he had just met.

The chill air struck him and he hugged his denim jacket a little closer to himself. He peered up into the full moon above, illuminating everything in it's path. His thoughts turned back, as they so often did, to the girl that he had been vainly trying to forget. Her smile, her big eyes, her funny hair. He fumbled with his keys when his sense kicked in and told him that it was a very imbecilic idea to attempt to drive in his current state.

"Shit," he muttered to himself. He walked back up to the entrance of the bar and picked up the pay phone. What is his phone number? He took a half hazard guess and dialed up after depositing his coin.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Big Bri, my man!"

"Bender?"

"Million dollars for the right answer."

"Are you alright?"

"Great. Just great...never better."

"It sounds like your senses are impaired."

"Nah, man, I'm crystal clear."

There was slight hesitation on the other end of the line. "You need a ride?"

John didn't answer.

"Hey, I'll be there in a few minutes...wait, where are you?"

Still no answer.

"Ok, Bender do not go anywhere!" Brian hung up the phone quickly, hoping that he knew where his drunken friend had phoned him from. He grabbed his keys and dashed out of the door.

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She looked at him, not being able- and not wanting to- control the smile that beamed.

"I can't believe that we just did that," she breathed looking back up at the ceiling.

He smirked, "You had a good time, then, huh?"

She turned into him, letting him wrap his arms around her bare waist and pull her body back up to snuggle against his.

"Yeah, I had a good time. What about you?"

He shrugged exaggeratedly. "It was alright..." She took on a scandalous look, eliciting a very broad grin from him. She smacked his chest and he caught her wrist in one of his large calloused hands.

"It was the best, cherry," he whispered to her huskily.

"You can't really call me that anymore, can you," she said softly.

"Sure I can, we'll just pretend that every time is the first time..." he shot her a wolfish smile and she blushed profusely. "You know, we may never be able to stop working on this reoccurring virginity problem you seem to have." He looked up and raised his shoulders, "We may just have to start working on that again, right now -"

"Now?" she asked incredulously. "We only just finished for the real first time."

His lips descended upon hers and she lost herself in him, running her hands through his hair...

"We're here."

The abrupt stopping of the car resulted in John's head banging against the window, waking him up. He rubbed at the burgeoning bump raising and tried to shake himself from his dreamlike state.

Brian turned to face his friend from the driver's seat.

"How's it going?" He had a nervous edge to his voice, clearly afraid to push too far.

"Fine."

"Right. Bender, you can't keep on like this."

John let out an impatient sigh.

"Like what?"

"This...this new chronically drunken state that you've worked yourself into."

"You don't know what you're talking about." He didn't return his gaze.

"I know that you're mad at Claire and that you're really upset -"

"-you don't know shit," he cut him off.John looked at him, seeing the hurt cross his face and he took in a deep breath. "Look, I know that you're just trying to help. Thanks for picking me up tonight..."

"And last night, and the night before, and the night before..."

John put a hand up, stopping his on-coming lecture. "Dweeb, I don't need to hear it right now, ok? Everything is fine. Hunky-fuckin-dory! Mr. Rodgers couldn't be happier than I am, OK?"

The two sat in silence, each staring out of their respective windows.

"What are you gonna do?" Brian asked tentatively.

"Well, usually, you open the door first. Then you get out of the car and go inside..."

"I meant when Claire comes back."

He avoided his gaze, not answering.

"Bender, she gets back tomorrow."

"Yeah? I lost track of time."

"You know that I'm picking her up from the airport, right?"

"So?"

Brian studied the man next to him. He looked so broken, not knowing that the harder he tried to hide it, the more painfully obvious it became.

"See ya later." He reached down and pulled open the car door, shutting it behind him. He stumbled slightly on the way to the front door.

Brian resigned himself to a long night ahead and got out of the car, locking it. He followed in his friend's shadow. He stood next to the spot where John had stopped, slingingJohn's armover his shoulder, the other man's weight making him sway slightly.

John Bender's head lulled forward and he closed his eyes.

"I don't think that I can ever get her back..." he remarked defeated.

"You will," he reassured trying to steer him forward. "You just need to sleep this off first."

John cocked his head to the side, examining his current anchor.

"Really, man. Thanks."

Brian's smile was cut short at the sounds of his unlikely buddie's sudden profuse vomiting. Yep, this was gonna be a looong night...

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