oh such grace
oh such beauty
and lipstick and callous
and fishnets and malice
oh darlin'
you're a million ways to be cruel…
-Ok Go, "A Million Ways"
CHAPTER TWO
So that was how Frankie and Eddie's met – she mistook him for a Chinese food delivery guy, and he took every opportunity to tease her about it. It was pretty obvious that Frankie had wounded his precious male ego, and he was trying to make up for it by making jokes, like he always did in uncomfortable situations. Not that Frankie was completely innocent either. Eddie was right, in a respect. She had made up her mind about him the moment she laid eyes on him, just like she does with everyone. Like I said, no one in the world would have put them together in a relationship, especially after that catastrophic first meeting.
Normally a simple misunderstanding like that one would've been laughed off. The problem was that both Eddie and Frankie had such strong personalities, and neither of them were used to someone challenging them. That's exactly what they were to each other – a challenge.
They were a challenge to the rest of us too. After that party I got stressed out, because I didn't want my best friend to hate the guts of my fiancée's brother, and Charlie agreed with me that they would probably be spending a lot of time together in the future, especially considering Charlie was planning on Eddie as best man and I was planning on Frankie as maid-of-honor. Even beyond that, we were convinced that if both Frankie and Eddie would just drop their tough-guy exteriors, they would eventually come to at least tolerate each other, if not like each other as friends. I was the one who came up with the idea of forcing them into a situation together without either of them being aware of it. Charlie was wary at first, but I convinced him… (ladies, you know what I mean.)
So we tried again, this time, with the intention of forcing them to get along, whether they wanted to or not.
"Francesca Darcy," Frankie answered her phone, rummaging around on her desk for a file that she couldn't for the life of her find.
"Hey, you're a hard woman to get a hold of," Jane's voice came over the line. Frankie sighed. "I tried your cell a couple times, tried your secretary once but she wouldn't let me through, so I had to call back and lie and say I was your gynecologist with test results…"
Frankie smiled despite herself. "Sorry about that, it's been a really hectic day, I asked Lisa to help preserve my sanity by not taking any calls," she explained.
"It's alright… I won't bug you for long, I just wanted to see if you're free tomorrow night."
Frankie reached over to her palm pilot to check her calendar. "I am indeed free tomorrow. Why, what's up?"
"Would you want to go out for dinner with me and Charlie?"
Frankie frowned. "Why would you want me to come along?"
Jane laughed. "Oh, excuse me, I kinda like spending time with my best friend, but that's clearly my fault."
Frankie smiled again. "Sorry, I just figured that kind of sounds like a date… I wouldn't want to be a third wheel."
"It's not like that at all… Charlie wants to get to know you better. I mean, I can't just leave him with the impression that he got of you at the party."
Frankie groaned and rubbed her temple. Just when she had started to forget about that idiot Eddie Bennett, Jane had to remind her… the thought of him and his irritating grin still made her blood boil. "Don't remind me. I'm sure I made a terrible impression on everyone there, even my own friends."
Jane giggled. "Well then come to dinner with us, it'll give you a chance to redeem yourself, at least to Charlie anyways."
"Alright, fine. What time?"
"I'll pick you up around 7, and then we'll meet Charlie at the restaurant."
"Sounds good. See you then."
"Hey man, what are you up to tomorrow night?" Charlie asked after heaving a large wooden beam onto the growing pile. Eddie grunted as he heaved another beam right next to it, then reached up and rubbed his shoulder.
"I dunno… why?" The two started walking back over to the truck where they were moving the beams from, Charlie adjusting his gloves.
"Jane and I were thinking that it'd be fun if you came out to dinner with us."
Eddie frowned. "Just the 3 of us?"
"Yeah… Jane wants to get to know you better… and personally I think that's a good idea, because frankly, the impression she got of you at the party was less than flattering."
Eddie's lips curled into a smile as he remembered the party, and Frankie Darcy. She had been irritating, but he had to admit it was fun to irritate her, and easy too. He took one look at her and knew exactly what buttons to push. The surprising thing was how much she had fought back. He didn't think she'd have it in her. He looked at his brother, seeing that it was clearly important to him. Eddie sighed.
"Alright, fine… we're not going to some frou-frou restaurant, are we?"
Charlie winced, and Eddie groaned before lugging another beam onto his shoulder, nearly taking Charlie's head off in the process.
"Sorry, man, she wanted it to be 'nice'…" Charlie pathetically tried to explain. Eddie didn't say anything, just walked over to plop the beam back down again.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'll be there."
"Good… I'll pick you up around 7, and then we'll meet them at the restaurant."
Eddie stopped in his tracks, Charlie almost running into his shoulder.
"What do you mean, 'them'?" he asked carefully. Charlie's eyes widened slightly, but then returned to normal.
"Her. I meant her. We'll meet her at the restaurant," he answered before walking back towards the truck. Eddie watched him go, hands on his hips.
"So… explain to me again why I didn't just meet you at the restaurant?" Frankie asked as she and Jane rode in a cab together. Jane had had to come all the way down to Frankie's work building to get her and then go all the way back across town to the restaurant, which was only a few blocks from Jane's apartment.
"We'd already made the plan… I don't know," Jane said, shrugging. Frankie just shook her head and laughed, pulling a compact mirror out of her purse to check her makeup. "So how come you had to work late?"
"Oh, just this client who has us jumping through all kinds of hoops… it's a little frustrating, actually, but I can't just tell my boss that I don't want them as my account anymore, I was the one who landed the account in the first place." She put her compact away and turned to Jane as best she could in the backseat, holding out her arms. "How do I look? Am I dressed okay?" Jane glanced at her outfit of plain black pants with a red blouse underneath a black jacket.
"You look fine. Why are you asking me how you look? You know the restaurant we're going to even better than I do," Jane pointed out. Frankie rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well… the last time I went into a social situation with you I was a bit over dressed. I just wanted to make sure that I actually do redeem myself a little tonight."
Jane giggled and touched Frankie's elbow. "I can assure you that Charlie didn't pay a bit of attention to how you were dressed at the party, and he probably won't notice anything tonight either. You could walk into that restaurant in heels and a bustier and he probably would barely notice."
Frankie raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that I'm not attractive?"
Jane rolled her eyes and swatted her on the arm. After a few minutes they pulled into the restaurant, Jane checking her watch for the millionth time as they exited the cab.
"Why do you keep checking your watch like a mad woman?" Frankie asked, pulling her black trench coat closed for the short walk to the restaurant in the brisk Chicago fall air.
"No reason…" Jane drifted off. Frankie scrutinized her. She was up to something – you didn't know someone for over 20 years and not notice when they were acting weirdly. Jane led the way into the restaurant, and they checked their coats before heading over to the maitre'd.
"Yes, we have reservations for 7:15, under Bennett," she said. The maitre'd checked his book before nodding and motioning for them to follow him. They were seated with menus and the waiter was off to get them a couple of glasses of wine when Frankie noticed that there were four chairs around the table they were sitting at.
"Jane, why are there…" she started, but she didn't finish her question, because it had become glaringly obvious. As she was asking the question she happened to glance in the direction they had just come from, seeing Charlie heading towards them… with Eddie walking right next to him. Frankie glowered at her supposed best friend, who smiled innocently.
"Oh wow, look who's here, Frankie…"
"Jane, you little-" Frankie started to mutter under her breath, stopping when Charlie and Eddie got to the table.
"Hey look, Eddie… it's Frankie." Frankie tore her gaze over to Eddie, who was looking at her in a way that suggested that he wasn't much happier than she was at the recent turn of events. Frankie rolled her eyes.
"Let me guess… you guys told both of us that we would be having dinner with the two of you just to get us into the same room to force us to get along? Nice try, Jane, but this isn't the Flintstones," Frankie stated, her voice sounding bored as she crossed her arms over her chest. Jane pouted.
"C'mon, Frankie… it's just one dinner," she pointed out. Frankie let out a scoff, noticing that Charlie was attempting to strong-arm his brother into sitting down. He finally managed to succeed, probably just because Eddie didn't want to attract attention by slugging his brother in the middle of a posh restaurant. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Eddie looked pretty good… he had doffed his stained T-shirt and ripped jeans for a pair of khakis and a clean button-up, though his curls were still in an untamed mop on top of his head, and she could see the calluses on his hands from where she sat across the table.
"Okay guys, here's the deal…" Jane said once Eddie and Charlie were seated. "Eddie, you are Charlie's brother, and future best man. Frankie, you are my best friend, practically sister, and my future maid-of-honor. If you guys don't get along… well, this whole wedding ordeal is going to be unnecessarily difficult. And I don't want anyone turning my wedding into a shouting match, so unless you want to deal with a real Bridezilla, I suggest you guys find some sort of way to get along, so at least you're not verbally assaulting each other constantly."
"Not only that, but we think that if you guys could stop pretending like you're so tough in front of each other, you might actually become friends," Charlie added. Jane winced as both Frankie and Eddie scoffed in unison.
"Not likely," Frankie said at the same time that Eddie said, "Maybe when pigs fly." Jane sighed and looked at Charlie, who shrugged helplessly. Frankie rolled her eyes.
"Alright, fine… I can't speak for Mr. Bennett over there… but I will try my best to be civil for the sake of your wedding," she conceded. All eyes turned to Eddie, and she smiled smugly at him, glad that he looked like the bad guy in the situation. Eddie glared at her before rolling his eyes
"Okay, yeah, me too," he said gruffly. Jane and Charlie both beamed.
"Great!" The table sat in silence for a moment. Jane cleared her throat.
"Who needs some wine?"
"So let me get this straight," Charlie said, putting his fork down as he focused his attention on Frankie. "You are a junior partner in the biggest marketing firm in Chicago, and you only graduated from college 3 years ago?" Frankie felt her cheeks redden.
"Well, I mean… yes, in a manner of speaking…"
Jane smiled at her. "Ignore her, she always gets modest. She's the most successful 25 year old that Chicago has ever seen," Jane bragged for her.
"Wow… that's really amazing, Frankie," Charlie complimented her. Frankie shrugged it off, but she didn't want to seem rude, so she thanked him.
"So… Jane tells me that you work for your dad," Frankie said, changing the subject quickly. Charlie nodded, picking up his fork and taking another bite of his dinner.
"Yeah, actually, Eddie and I both work for his construction company, Bennett Construction."
"So are you guys going to be taking over the business one day?" she asked.
"Charlie is," Eddie answered. Frankie looked over at him in surprise. He'd barely said two words since the beginning of dinner. "Charlie's got the college degree, so he'll be taking over the business. I'm just the manual labor." Frankie cleared her throat, feeling slightly awkward for an unknown reason. She looked back over at Charlie.
"Where did you go to college?" she asked.
"I got my bachelor's in business at Chicago State University," he responded. Frankie smiled.
"That's great," she said. Charlie bobbed his head in agreement.
"Where did you go to school?" Eddie asked. Frankie was surprised to see that he had directed the question towards her.
"Oh, uh… I went to Northwestern, same as Jane," she said, slightly flustered. She saw Charlie and Jane exchange a look out of the corner of her eye, and she frowned at them. What was that about?
"So Frankie," Eddie started, leaning forward in his chair. "You have a boyfriend?" Frankie's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and she couldn't respond.
"I'm sorry?" she finally managed to get out. Charlie was glaring at his brother, who shrugged innocently.
"What? I'm just trying to get to know her better, and that's a part of getting to know her… so do you?" Frankie's gaping mouth finally closed.
"Well… no, not that that's really any of your business," she said, quickly taking a sip of wine. Her mouth had suddenly gotten very dry.
"Hmm… that's a shame," Eddie said, the sarcasm obvious in his voice. She narrowed her eyes, her embarrassment turning into anger. She was about to say something snappy in retort, but she noticed the frustrated looks on both Jane and Charlie's faces, so she didn't. She decided to go for banter instead of outright attack, plastering a smile on her face.
"What about you, Eddie? I'm sure a stud like you has girls just crawling all over him, right?" she asked sweetly, without a trace of her inner contempt. Eddie raised an eyebrow before responding.
"I have my fair share of dates."
"Let me guess… big blonde hair, bright red lips, and a night out to the local country bar?" she asked. She noticed Jane giggling behind her hand, and Charlie shooting her a death glare. Eddie smiled back at Frankie just as sweetly.
"Right on the money, sweetheart… now for you, I'm seeing guys named Cooper, Marshall, Wentworth, and maybe even Richie Rich, and a night out to see the ballet, with the poor sap falling asleep in his chair next to you."
This time Charlie joined Jane in trying to conceal his laughter. Frankie glared at her friend, who looked at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry… it's just that… didn't you date a guy named Cooper once?" Jane barely managed to get the question out between her laughs. Charlie laughed even harder.
"Hey, I know I'm lucky to go out with such rich, good-looking guys. After all, the poor bimbos who go out with Eddie probably count themselves lucky if he springs for a warm beer, am I right?"
"When you're right, you're right," Eddie agreed, leaning back in his chair. "My dates definitely don't go out with me because I can treat them to a night out on the town… I have other things to offer them." Eddie winked at her. She rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help a slight smile appearing on her lips, just as the sheer audacity of the man sitting across from her. She had to admit… it was kind of fun bantering back and forth with him like this. She'd never met a guy who could hold his own against her before.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold the damn phone…" Eddie said, leaning forward in his chair again. His eyes lit up as he looked over at Frankie. "Do I actually see a hint of a smile on your face? Like, an actual smile, not a 'nice-to-meet-you-I-plastered-this-on-this-morning' smile?" Now it was impossible to keep the smile from growing on her face.
"Don't get cocky, I'm not smiling because of you," she said. She jerked her head towards Jane, who was still laughing beside her. "I'm smiling because Jane just snorted."
"Hey! I did not!" Jane protested.
"Don't worry, you don't have to lie… I know that I'm funny and charming, not to mention devastatingly handsome," Eddie said cockily, leaning back against his chair again and rubbing his hand across his chest. Frankie let out a loud laugh.
"And oh so modest too, right?" she added.
"Of course."
Frankie laughed again. "You are the cockiest ass I've ever met," she said, though her words didn't have the bitter tinge that they'd had at the party.
"Strangely appealing, isn't it?" he said with another wink. She looked at him incredulously.
"Alright, alright, enough, to your corners, both of you," Jane said, still giggling.
"I do believe I won that round," Eddie said, pretending to buff his fingernails on his shirt. Frankie scoffed.
"Keep dreamin', buddy," she said.
"Oh… I will." He winked yet again.
"Would you quit winking at me?"
"I'm not winking at you." He winked again.
"Yes you are! Cut it out!"
"Cut what out?" Wink.
"That!"
"What? I'm not doing anything." Wink. Frankie shook her head, wondering when exactly she'd turned into a 6 year old.
"Fine. Be a child. That's fine with me," she said, lifting up her glass of wine. She drained the glass, then reached over to the bottle and filled it up again. Not to be outdone, especially by a woman, Eddie drained his glass as well, filled it up again, and then drained it again. Frankie laughed.
"This is wine, not a beer bong," she pointed out. He smiled and lifted his glass to her.
"Alcohol is just alcohol to country folk like me."
A little while later, after dinner was finished, Charlie made the decision for all of them to go to a bar a few blocks down, because – surprise of all surprises – they were actually having fun as a group. Eddie and Frankie had been at each other the entire night, but everyone could see that both of them were enjoying it. The bar was one of Charlie and Eddie's favorite hangouts, and Frankie cringed slightly when they first walked in. It was a sports bar, with TVs playing sporting events in every corner and sports memorabilia hanging all over the walls. They made their way to the bar, and Frankie cringed slightly when she realized her expensive boots were sticking to the floor.
"Ladies, allow me to take your coats," Charlie said, taking Jane and Frankie's coats. Frankie watched as he walked over to the wall and hung her $300 designer trench coat up on a peg. She was making a move to go take it back when she felt a hand on her arm.
"What can I get you to drink, Frankie?" Eddie asked. She hadn't realized how close he'd been standing to her… or how tall and broad he was.
"I don't know… what do you people drink in a place like this?" she asked with her innocent smile that had been spreading her lips all evening. He smiled back down at her.
"Not wine, that's for sure." He turned to the bartender and handed him a few bills, but Frankie couldn't hear what he'd ordered. When he turned back around she saw 8 shotglasses sitting in front of him on the bar. Frankie raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's in those?" she asked. He didn't answer, but handed her one of the shotglasses. She looked down at the amber colored liquid. "How do I know you're not trying to kill me?" she asked. He laughed.
"Oh trust me, Frankie, if I wanted to kill you I'd have to be a lot smarter than to put something into your drink."
Frankie laughed as well. "That's true, very true." He lifted up one of the shotglasses, and she lifted up hers, and they clinked them together before leaning their heads back and downing them. The liquid burned down her throat, and she coughed.
"Tequila… nice," she said. Eddie laughed.
"You're not as classy as you seem, Ms. Darcy. I can sense a little bit of trashiness in you."
A/N: Wow, thanks to glabolah, mudpie7386, k8bob8, and Willow-41z for all the reviews! Keep it up! I wanted to mention to allof you... it was pointed out when I posted this story over on fictionpress that I tend to put sentences involving actions after dialogue that was not said by the same person. For instance...
"Would you want to go out for dinner with me and Charlie?" Frankie frowned.
"Why would you want me to come along?"
(The first line of dialogue was said by Jane, the second by Frankie.) So I've been trying to catch that as much as possible, because I know that can be confusing. So, for this example, I changed it to this...
"Would you want to go out for dinner with me and Charlie?"
Frankie frowned. "Why would you want me to come along?"
So if I miss some, or if it's still confusing, or if it doesn't flow well, let me know. :) Thanks everybody! Keep reading and reviewing!