A/N I hope you are all well, this is a chapter I've been building to for a while, so it's been on my mind, I threw away the 6 hour time limit as it has a lot of strong personalities to include and I wanted to get to a particular moment.
The usual disclaimers etc. apply, I don't own Chuck, and I have no beta.
It's been a little tough to motivate myself to write as I've gobbled up almost every fic that's been updated recently. No I'm not procrastinating, it's research lol. I also just finished reading SC's magnum opus, just WOW.
If you're not already over there, please join us over at the Chuck Fanfiction Facebook page, all are welcome.
Chapter 9
Somewhere during their heavenly night, amplified by a seemingly immutable connection, Chuck and Sarah had been guided passionately to his bed.
He'd never been confident enough to take physical control in any of the bedrooms of the women he'd been with before, but as he joined with Sarah for the first time, feeling that burning desire reciprocated so completely. His confidence resurrected like a phoenix from the inferno they created. 'Making love' to the gorgeous blonde meant equality in its truest sense to him, neither claimed dominance over the other as they gave and accepted pleasure equally, their bodies and souls blending within the supernova of passion. He felt as though the cosmos was reborn with every touch, each tantalising kiss obliterating the previous universe in a perpetually ascending cycle and by the blonde's extremely vocal affirmations he knew she experienced that utter ecstasy too. The act itself transcended anything either of them had ever experienced.
After a wonderful couple of hours, their incandescent rapture gave way to the cool moonlit California night as they exhaustedly fell asleep, wrapped as tightly around each other as a Gordian knot.
The sound of Huey Lewis' "Power of Love" on Chuck's old clock radio woke the couple, the lyrics making them both smile sweetly as they opened their eyes. Sarah looked up from the restful position, her chin comfortably nestling into his collar bone and her body still thrumming with the remnants of desire despite the lure of sleep. She beamed up at him, sleepily disentangling her limbs and stretching her lithe form. The wide toothy grin she sent him was met with its mirror, Chuck's own smile crinkling his nose adorably.
"Hey you…" he said, his voice a little croaky from sleep.
"Morning, …sweetie." Sarah lifted herself up and kissed the end of his nose impishly before falling back to her previous pose.
"Sweetie?" he said, his brow rising in surprise at the new nickname.
"Yeah, is that ok?" she asked cheekily.
"…" he barely started to reply when she placed her fingertip on his lips, silencing what she thought by the glint in his eyes, would be a badly timed joke, he nodded instead and kissed her fingertip tenderly.
"Chuck, shut up and kiss me..." She giggled lasciviously, heat welling up in her chest again as she pulled herself above him, her lustrous golden hair falling down and tickling his cheek tantalisingly. She smiled at the wide-eyed adoration fixed in his eyes, it made her feel like she could survive on nothing else. The way his caramel eyes then traced across her eager lips, the slight blush creeping at his neck as his gaze flickered down toward her naked chest, his astonished and breathy "As you wish…" making her insides flutter agonisingly.
His lips locked languidly onto hers, as he growled deep in his chest and took her breath away again, he began testing her theory. Moving her hair away from her cheek with one hand, as the other traced across her lower spine, teasingly. He placed a hand on her long neck, reaching up from the pillow to re-join her in a heated kiss.
After a short, but amazingly intense tryst, the couple reluctantly left the wondrous cocoon of his bedroom and got up, showered quickly, and went to work.
The rest of Chuck's morning went just as he'd expected, Casey growled a lot, shouted about professionalism, and threatened the nerd's career a couple of times. Pretty standard fare from his boss. As far as the station knew, he'd been ill, so Casey was really just venting about the repercussions of last night's absence.
It really hadn't been Chuck's fault that the only available stand in was the ageing, and virtually drunk by 9pm, Roan Montgomery. Everything should have been fine, a script was in place, the footage had been pre-recorded, easy… It wasn't. The older man had fumbled his way through all the terminology, his inability to pronounce many of the basic terms causing laughter among his colleagues behind the camera and an 'on air' tirade towards them from the ageing broadcaster. Casey had been getting more and more drunken messages from the irate presenter all night and had been about to punish the crew when Chuck arrived and took the brunt of his ire instead.
As Casey made Chuck apologise once again for 'letting the team down', Chuck promised that everything would go smoothly tonight and shut up. Simply switching off and daydreaming about this morning's activity. He was relieved, and a little flushed when the big man finally growled at him to get out of his sight, which he did, quickly.
The nerdy reporter eagerly escaped to his desk and just got through the rest of the day. Looking forward to what he hoped would be an amazing evening with the two most important women in his life.
Sarah's day went by much more smoothly than the last few, Chuck's heroics had brought her company back from the brink and now it was just business as usual, making wonderful desserts for her customers. It was a fantastic change of pace from the stress of the last couple of days, and her mind floated gloriously through the day. Everything was just wonderful, she'd never felt so unbelievably free with her emotions and she knew the nerd was responsible.
Somehow the blonde managed to avoid the traffic from what sounded like a terrible accident on the I5 on her way home and Sarah remembered that Ellie would be waiting out there only a few miles away to save someone's life yet again. Chuck's sister seemed like an impressive woman, yes, their first meeting was a little embarrassing but it wasn't only for Chuck's sake that she wanted to have the doctor as a friend.
She absent-mindedly tossed her keys next to her door as she got home. Dropping her phone and purse on the couch. Ellie had just called her, to find out the location and dress code for the evening and Sarah hoped that her new friend would enjoy the change of venue Carina had selected. The brunette doctor had been impressed by the choice of club, knowing that "The Sound" was the definition of pricey and complaining when the blonde had said she was paying for the whole night. Drinks, VIP seats, the works… Zondra followed her home, they'd get ready at Sarah's place and the brunette lived way across town. When she arrived, the two women opened a bottle of wine and sat talking about anything but work.
The tall blonde put her phone back on the sofa, having texted Chuck earlier the time and place they'd meet. She was a little annoyed at the text she'd received a few minutes later, finding out that he'd have to meet her there, his boss making him complete his report first. After ditching work to help her yesterday, she knew that he really shouldn't try to get away early tonight and resigned herself to starting the night with just her friends. She could hear Zondra moving around in her spare room, the brunette humming to herself. Sarah had just showered and was sat on her sofa wondering if Carina had left her hotel yet.
As Sarah walked into her closet a little while later, her eyes scanned the kaleidoscope of dresses, throwing a few behind her onto the bed. She could hear Zondra voice happily singing show tunes in the shower now, the sound making her smile warmly. The brunette only sang when in a very good mood and it had been quite a while since Sarah had heard even a few notes from her friend, it worried her sometimes. She was lost in that melancholy moment for a second, and barely heard a knock on her front door. Looking at her watch, she walked quickly to the door and smiled again, worry for her other friend forgotten for now. Always running late Red.
Opening the door, a blur of vanilla scented crimson dove at her, wrapping her in a tight embrace and vibrating excitedly.
"Are you girls ready to party?" the tall redhead cried into her ear, slightly deafening the blonde. Sarah shook her head and bounced with her friend, not that she had much of a choice in the matter, with the grip Carina had around her "…it's been way too long Blondie."
"It has… and I'm always ready to party with you." The blonde eyed her friend warmly, smiling and stepping away, gesturing to the sofa.
Following her friend across the room, the redhead dropped down next to her "You know you both could've joined me in New York…"
"We've been busy, there was some trouble at work, and it's probably just as well neither of us left when you asked…" Sarah's eyes glinted wickedly "…I bet you painted the town, Red" Sarah chuckled briefly, having used the same line every time her friend visited, Carina's faux glare caused her to snort loudly. There was only two other people on the planet that could make Sarah feel so unashamedly happy, one had just finished singing in the bathroom, and the other was unfortunately stuck at work for the next, she looked at her watch, ninety-four minutes.
"I heard all about it on the news, and Zondra called me too, a couple of nights ago, man she sounded stressed, something about your computers and a moron called Skip. You know me, I hate computers, I prefer everything hands on…" the redhead smiled slyly, taunting Sarah's innate sarcasm.
"Yeah, I'm not touching that comment… The computers are fine though …now. Skip might not be around much longer if Z gets her way though." Sarah watched her friend wince.
Carina snickered suddenly before sobering slightly "That's really good... the computers, not Skip. We all know how much you love your Kingdom. Z said you asked Chuckie boy for a hand." Sarah sent her friend a suspicious look, it being apparent by her suggestive tone that Carina still expected a rise from her.
"I'm here on time…for once, why aren't you both ready?" the redhead declared loudly, jumping up and trying to drag Sarah from her seat, towards the bedroom.
"No you aren't…You just heard Z in the bathroom, and I was trying to decide on an outfit before you arrived." The blonde retaliated, pouting a little as she pulled her arm free and stood still.
Carina stopped in front of her, turning and looking over her shoulder towards the bedroom with a wide grin "Well come on, let's get Cinderella ready." Carina pulled her arm again, moving the stubborn blonde. "…she's got some balls to get to."
That last suggestive comment finally got Sarah to laugh "Balls? I swear Red, if you say anything like that in front of him tonight, I'll kick your ass back to San Francisco" Sarah shook her head defiantly at her best friend, laughing again but pushing past her friend and disappearing into her bedroom again.
"As if I would…" Carina grinned wickedly for a heartbeat "…now you go and make yourself beautiful for Prince Chuckles, I need a drink." Her sickeningly smug grin was almost literally wiped off her beautiful face by a well-aimed pillow flying through the door.
"His name's Chuck, not Chuckles, by the way." Sarah called as she playfully appeared again, pouting and feigning true annoyance at the retreating woman.
"I remember." Came the redhead's voice from the kitchen a moment later, followed by her impish grin appearing at the door. "Forget coffee, where do you keep the good stuff? You know that I hate to fly…"
"Carina, we both know it only takes a couple of drinks to get those legs in the air..." Zondra called sarcastically as the bathroom door opened, causing the redhead to gasp and feign annoyance, all the time giggling to herself.
The brunette crossed the room confidently, a towel wrapped tightly around her.
"Hi Z…" the redhead gripped Zondra in a tight hug, her watch catching on the towel as she retreated.
Both women froze immediately and Carina began releasing the snag, the two friends chuckling at each other as Zondra rearranged the towel tighter and gave the redhead a playful warning. "At least buy me a drink first Red…" Zondra chastised her willowy friend "…not everyone likes to have the girls on show."
"But its Girl's Night Out…" the redhead quickly retorted, making them all laugh and Zondra to push her away playfully.
It was a little after nine when Carina found Zondra back in the bathroom, Sarah had finally chosen her outfit and was getting dressed in her bedroom. As the two women stood applying their makeup, the redhead looked over, her face serious. "So, Chuckles? What do we know about him? Where's he from?" In her eyes, the geek had come out of nowhere and swept her usually cautious friend off her feet. Sarah had been the most important person in her life for years, a sister she'd always wanted. She had looked out for the blonde ever since high school and remembered some of the stories Sarah told her when they'd shared a room. Jack's travesty of a life. The idea of someone like him coming along and stealing more than the blonde's heart, had jumped into her head when Sarah had first mentioned the nerd. It concerned the usually fearless redhead.
The brunette locked eyes with her in the mirror and replied "He's a reporter here in town, did a fluff piece on the Frozen Kingdom for his station. He's also REALLY good with computers, he's the one who fixed our network for us. Saved us millions of dollars. Sarah's taken to him like he's the second coming."
Ignoring an obvious double entendre, and merely snorting, Carina continued "Could he be playing her? I mean, we both know Blondie likes her hero types."
"Chuck might be a hero to her right now, and rightfully so, but they were goners the minute they met. I could see it in both their eyes. Come on Red, have you ever seen her this happy?" Carina looked away and didn't reply, just listening to Sarah hum tunelessly from the other room "Anyway, he's not the type, too much of a boy scout, wait 'til you meet him. The guy's just a lanky geek that makes our friend laugh. Lucky her…" she went back to applying her eye shadow, a wistful look in her eyes.
The redhead didn't look convinced but accepted Zondra's almost psychic reading of people, with a tight smile. Zondra pushed on, lowering her voice "…Red. She's happy, let's just go have some fun"
"Ok, ok, Jeez…you don't have to tell me twice" Carina pouted childishly before smiling again, her playful mood returning along with an impish grin.
It actually hadn't taken long for Sarah to choose her outfit, it was her hair that baffled her. The short black strapless Versace number that Carina had bought for her after a trip to Milan, last Christmas subtly showed off her natural curves and would blow her boyfriend's mind, but a decision on her hairstyle eluded the beautiful blonde. Eventually deciding to tease him a little, she began pulling the golden locks into a high bun. She left thin wisps to fall free, framing her face, but the whole look focussed attention on her long neck. Remembering the way he'd fervently kissed every inch of it and eagerly hoped that he'd repeat that rapturous experience very soon. His firm kisses and agonisingly long caresses had driven her wild before they'd even reached his bed.
"Ok Blondie times up, let's get you in your carriage." The redhead called from the bathroom, dropping her lipstick into her purse. Leaving the bathroom and dramatically dropping onto the sofa, giving Zondra a moment of peace to finish applying her lipstick.
Hearing Carina call from the other room, Sarah quickly put in her earrings, giving herself a few moments in front of the mirror for the flush to leave her neck. A short while later she span around, looking at her reflection carefully, she was done.
Seconds later the three women were grabbing their purses and heading to the lift. They were on their way.
A few miles away, Chuck was just pulling into a parking spot, an old blues song starting on the radio. He wasn't in the mood for songs about loss tonight, so he flicked the switch and settled on a more upbeat indie track, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat as he waited.
The nerd really wanted to spend the night alone with his stunning girlfriend, but he knew it had been a long time since Ellie had been for a good night out. There were so many times when hers and Devon's shifts just didn't align, like tonight, where he'd had to cancel and head to work for an emergency. Chuck wouldn't begrudge his sister any chance to de-stress, no matter how much he wanted Sarah to himself, her friends were along for the ride anyway. Ellie jumped into the passenger seat a few moments later, and they left the complex, passing the nearby gas station quickly and pointing his car onto East Olive Ave.
As they turned onto Cahuenga, Ellie chimed up "So… about last night, I didn't know you had someone over. Sorry. It's about time though…" the brunette stated, breaking what had been a peaceful silence and making Chuck snort at her immediately playful tone.
"Yeah…" he breathed out dreamily, a sudden warmth growing in his chest.
"Sarah said earlier that some of her friends would be coming tonight." The doctor continued, her green eyes glinting in the streetlights of Franklin Ave, "I'm glad, with Devon at work I don't want to be a third wheel…" her excitement began to grow as they turned onto Highland Ave, their destination fast approaching "…have you met her friends yet?"
She turned her emerald eyes back to him, wondering if he'd returned from wherever his mind had wandered and heard her question, he answered distractedly "I've met one of them, her CFO, Zondra Rizzo, she's kind of scary" the nerd winced.
Knowing her brother's nerdy tastes, Eliie chirped in quickly "Michael Myers, or Norman Bates scary?"
"…More like Dolores Umbridge" that got a dramatic shudder from his Harry Potter loving sister, chuckling a little he continued "…I'm sure she's not THAT bad, but the way she looked at me when we were waiting to do Sarah's interview… she was like a lioness on the plains of the Serengeti, that cat scared me. All Sarah told me about her other friend, is her name is Carina, she's the one that picked the venue for tonight."
"Remind me to thank her for picking such a nice place. I've always wanted Devon to take me there but it's so expensive." The brunette was almost vibrating in anticipation by now, despite her pensive tone.
The nerd glanced across briefly shaking his head "El, you're both doctors, I'm sure you make plenty."
Ellie narrowed her eyes and huffed "…yes, we're comfortable, but we want to buy a place soon and wasting a few hundred dollars on a single night out just doesn't sit well with me. I do wish he was coming tonight though."
"I think we both know what he'd think of the place though… He'd say it was 'Awesome' and you know it." She glared at him briefly before he continued "You need to stop being so practical sis, relax. Just remember not to worry about tonight though, I've got it covered…" Chuck placed his hand briefly over his wallet before returning it to the steering wheel.
"Don't you know? Sarah's paying for everything tonight, she wanted to send a car for us, but I told her you'd pick me up" Ellie eyed him curiously, seeing him just smirk a little.
"Oh, is she now?" he answered enigmatically, eyes never leaving the road.
"Didn't she tell you? Are you sure you're OK with it?" Chuck glanced briefly at his sister, his brows lifting nonchalantly.
"No she didn't tell me, but I'm not surprised. Why shouldn't I be OK with it though? I've got my beautiful girlfriend, the most amazing woman I've ever met, no offense sis, waiting for me, and I'm spending the night meeting her closest friends? If she wants to pay, I'll pay next time. No big deal…" He shrugged and looked back at the road.
"You know brother, I sometimes forget you're not like most guys. Most men would either be offended and get all huffy, or try and milk her for every cent." The older woman watched his profile warmly, a proud glint in her green eyes.
"Men are such bastards." He chuckled, feigning disgust.
"Ok, are you done?" Ellie cut in, snickering a little and slapping him on the shoulder playfully, Chuck turned the car around the final corner and spotted a massive queue in front of the club.
Pulling up to the kerb on Las Palmas, they got out and took a ticket from the valet, heading to the front of the queue as Sarah had said. Once they'd passed the raucous crowd, the siblings stepped up to the doors and gave their names to the large doorman. As he ushered them through the ornate doors, the doorman gave Ellie a flirtatious wink to accompany his broad smile.
A wall of sound hit them full force when the large oak doors opened before them, the deep bassline of a tune neither of them had heard before thumping through their bodies and vibrating their senses. They turned past a couple of large leather booths and rounded a corner, the venue opening up before them, the pulsing beat building to a powerful crescendo that had a the dancefloor on their left bouncing to a frenzy.
Chuck guided his awestruck sister though the crowd, searching the room impatiently, his eyes struggling against the kaleidoscope of strobing lights. He could feel her vibrating with excitement from a few feet away, and was eager to and get his sister a well-earned drink. Stepping down and away from the raised bar and finding his stunning blonde girlfriend standing only a few feet away, her angelic profile dancing in the starry reflections of the overhead mirror balls.
Sarah faced slightly away as they approached, sipping on a drink and leaning against one of the large leather seats. The lighting mixed with her black dress hid most her body, but her bare shoulders and long neck shone like a star to him, just as she'd planned. She turned suddenly, somehow sensing his presence and locked eyes with the nerd, drawing a broad smile from them both. Nudging the tall redhead that was dancing beside her, the beautiful blonde signalled her guest's arrival. Almost as one, Zondra, Sarah, and the redhead, who Chuck now realised must be Carina, turned to welcome the siblings. Sarah hugged them both warmly, kissing her boyfriend's lips quickly and settling her arm around his waist. She nestled happily against Chuck's side and rested her cheek against his, her lips tracing against his jaw as she smiled, the feeling of warmth made her stomach flip excitedly. Ellie cleared her throat behind them and pulled them back to reality, reminding Sarah to introduce them to the others. Zondra nodded "hello" to Chuck and subtly gestured with her drink, before reaching over and shaking Ellie's hand. Carina ignored Chuck's handshake and grabbed him, Sarah and Ellie in a tight hug, his sister giving the redhead as good as she got. The beautiful redhead stepped back and called the barman over, getting everyone to order while guiding Ellie into the booth to sit in between her and Zondra. It didn't take them long to get past all the usual small talk and begin enjoying the wonderful music and ethereal atmosphere of the club.
A few drinks later, Ellie was sat chatting loudly to Zondra, a half empty mojito sat in front of her and a large pineapple drink in the other woman's hand. The two women found themselves watching over the slightly inebriated group protectively. Carina had disappeared a few minutes earlier when a tall, dark haired man asked her to dance.
Sarah playfully wrapped her fingers through Chuck's hair again and kissed him languidly "This is nice…"
"Mmhmm" he admitted "…I'm not usually good with PDA, especially in front of my sister, but if we keep doing that, we're gonna see how long it takes for this place to throw us out."
Sarah snickered a little and removed her hand, placing it comfortably on his shoulder instead "What do you think about this place?"
"I've actually been here before." Sarah's eyes widened in surprise. Chuck didn't seem the type to frequent this scene, he definitely wasn't a player and she remembered him looking far more comfortable in the restaurant where they'd had their first date. Seeing her reaction he quickly explained "I did a piece for the station on their custom sound system last year." Sarah relaxed against him as he continued "…it's actually really cool. See, those lights up there" he pointed instinctively to the ceiling "they're linked through a massive server system in the basement to the DJ booth over there. The server uses artificial intelligence to read ahead in the music and automatically decide on the perfect sequence of lights…" he noticed her slightly amused expression and immediately shut up. "…Sorry. Nerd, remember."
Sarah shook her head again and traced a finger across his cheek. "I'm happy that you love your job. I love mine, so…"
"I don't know about love it, it's not what I originally wanted to do when I grew up but…" the nerd eyed his sister warmly as she laughed at something Zondra was whispering into her ear. The returning Carina stared at the two brunettes and pouted childishly, their laughter apparently aimed at her again.
"What did you want to do?" Sarah asked, genuinely surprised by his sudden change in tone.
"It doesn't matter now…" he watched his sister jump up and hug the redhead apologetically, muttering something in her ear and then dropping back onto her seat, dragging the taller woman along with her and signalling for another drink.
Sarah leaned her cheek against his and saw a faraway melancholy flash briefly in his eye. "You really love your sister don't you?"
He pulled back and comically placed his hand over her lips, making her gasp "Ssshhhh, don't say it so loud, she'll hear." The blonde just sat, giggled into his fingertips.
Carina watched the nerd from the corner of her eye, her tall beau had disappeared quickly when she'd called him out on his wedding ring and she'd danced alone just out of sight, spying on the nerd and her friends from a distance. She really hoped that Zondra's sixth sense rang true, that Chuck WAS as open and honest as he appeared, and not like the cheating ass she'd just ran off. His sister, the doctor, had already told them some funny and heart-warming stories about her life, and from the way the green eyed woman opened herself so quickly to the group, Carina knew the brunette was a genuinely kind hearted, and funny woman that would be a wonderful friend. Chuck had yet to prove himself so completely. She hid her suspicion and played her party girl role expertly, standing up and quickly grabbing Chuck's arm at the start of the next song. She'd literally jumped at a chance to test him, or at least keep him honest. "Come on Chuckles, you haven't danced yet. Use your feet. I won't bite…much" she said, looking directly at Sarah.
"Is she serious?" the nerd asked a mildly annoyed Sarah, she'd been running her fingers wonderfully along his side and enjoying the heated gaze fixed on his face as they talked. He sipped a little from his whisky nervously "…I can't dance." He pulled his other arm from around the blonde's shoulder and tried to stand as the redhead held out her hand impatiently, Sarah's hand had perfectly wrapped around his own as he stood and she held on lovingly. He realised that he didn't want to lose that simple connection for even a heartbeat and stood staring at the redhead defiantly.
Before releasing his hand, Sarah leaned forward, her cheek against his and whispered "I'll be right here…" she moved her hand down and held his bicep tightly before staring at Carina and mouthing "Behave"
"Oh, come on Blondie, I'm not gonna break him, I might bend him a little though, hurry up, this is a great song." When Sarah didn't let go, Carina smirked cheekily at her friend. "…don't make me tell everyone a teenage Sarah story." She watched her childhood friend's eyes flash in surprise. "Ok…So in our senior year I had to save Blondie here, from the attentions of Dick Duffy." The redhead began tauntingly. "…prom was coming up. And…"
"My braces and bad hair saved me from that asshole." Sarah retaliated childishly, causing a surprised Chuck to almost spit out the last of his drink, he looked at her incredulously. "…yes, I had an interesting look back then, let's move on."
"I'm sorry, but I can't really imagine you as anything but perfect." He muttered automatically, the compliment earning him a beaming smile and a playful pinch of his backside, the gesture made him jump theatrically "Woman…" He called out quickly, before recovering, shaking his head and laughing at the disgusted look on Carina's face. "There was a guy called Dick in your class?" both women nodded sagely "…and I thought my parents were sadists."
"Oh yeah, guy thought he was a real chick magnet too." Carina continued quickly, ignoring the warning look Sarah threw her way.
"Ok, so how did you save Sarah?" Chuck's interest was piqued.
"Well, he used to try grab her ass, like every time he passed her in the hall" that got an appalled grunt from the entire group "…yeah he wanted her to call him 'Daddy', crap like that. I don't know why she didn't just use those long legs of hers and kick him in the head, like my dad's self-defence lessons taught us. Has she told you about our black belts in Aikido and Taekwondo?"
Shaking his head a little "Really?" the nerd looked proudly at his girlfriend, the beginnings of something more than just 'liking' Sarah glinting briefly in his eyes "…my already amazing girlfriend is secretly a kickass ninja too?"
"That's what you got from that Chuck" Ellie chirped up loudly from his other side, a frustrated smile on her face "I love you baby brother… but you're so clueless sometimes. She's telling you that if you ever hurt Sarah, they can both kick your ass." Zondra nodded and gave him a tight smile.
He turned to his girlfriend, his chocolate eyes glinting in confusion "…but how did Carina save you?"
"Ok, ok, enough about my past, just go dance already..." Sarah interrupted, and gently pushed Chuck out of the booth, giving Carina a terse glare and pouting a little. Carina had shocked her with how easily she'd opened up to the Bartowski's about her past, apparently forgetting her friend's reticence about the subject. Please no more Red… don't scare him away with any more of my baggage.
Chuck leaned heavily against the bar a few songs later, gulping in large mouthfuls of air, the tall redhead was a tornado on the dancefloor and she'd pulled him along like debris, his exhausted limbs thrown asunder in her wake and leaving him feeling worse for wear. He was relieved that she'd grabbed the rest of the group to dance, allowing him a moment to just stop and catch his breath. As he turned his back from watching his friends on the raucous dancefloor he was jostled by a tall, well-dressed man.
"Chuck Bartowski? Well I never." The man declared, offering a smug grin and pointing his arm drunkenly at his chest "Alan Watterman... Stanford?"
"Crap" the nerd muttered under his breath, thankfully drowned out by the latest tune assaulting his ears. "Hey, how are ya?"
"I'm great, I don't know if you heard, but I just made anchor on NBC, I've closed on an apartment and heading to New York on Monday. They're paying me so, much money that I'll be able to retire in like five years. I guess that's what being nominated for a Pulitzer can do…"
"Yeah…That's quite a pickle you've found yourself in Watterman" he mumbled sarcastically "…I remember we covered your nomination though. I'm happy for you…I am." Chuck cringed at the pompous man's sickeningly arrogant smile, suddenly needing to turn back towards his friends as Watterman began crowing again annoyingly. The nerd silently hoped Sarah would notice his predicament and save the nerd from such a self-indulgent moron. He blocked out the man's inane drivel for a moment as he eventually locked eyes with Sarah, his feminine messiah floating across the floor and heading his way. As she magnetically drew towards him, he finally overheard the patronising question he always dreaded whenever meeting one of his former classmates "…so what are you up to these days?"
Giving a thin lipped smile, the nerd responded "I'm at . Yeah… I'm their tech news guy."
"Wow that's… Great." the pompous man declared, his obviously patronizing tone irking the much taller nerd "…You had such dreams though. We all thought you'd be the first of us to get a Pulitzer but… Tech News huh?"
"I'm happy where I am." The nerd said, his smile growing again as the angelic woman he'd idolised since the moment they'd met approached and covered the final couple of steps to reach his side. Seeing her eyes glint excitedly, he beamed back at her, suddenly ignorant of the inconsequential annoyance to his side. Sarah's slender hand luxuriously landed on his lapel, letting her fingertips trace their way from his shoulder to the back of his neck as she grabbed his curls and pulled him into a kiss, the motion silencing both men. "I'm ok with PDA, I'm soooo ok with Sarah and PDA" he thought. Chuck smiled into the kiss, as he heard Watterman gasp, make a quick excuse and hurriedly leave.
"Enjoy New York asshole…"
Carina opened her eyes to the flashing lights, and looked down from the ceiling, realising that the whole group had abandoned her, leaving her dancing alone as they retreated to their booth "Come back you guys…" Carina shouted loudly "…I need someone to dance with…" the beautiful redhead declared, just as the current song ended, much to the surprise and delight of a group of nearby guys, who began to puff themselves up and jostle each other to reach the, by now obviously tipsy beauty. She played along with the first two, dancing briefly with each of them but quickly tiring of their adolescent antics and the rest of the group were shot down one by one by either a terse shake of the head, or sarcastic snort from the usually far less picky redhead. Ellie chose that moment to reappear, saving the latest contender's pride and grabbed Carina, pulling her and an initially reluctant Zondra onto another part of the dancefloor.
A few songs later, the girls drunkenly hugged and sat down to get their breaths back again. Carina, as she had many times tonight, ordered them all another round of tequila.
Sarah watched her friends, relishing how easily they'd accepted the brunette doctor, there was something so inviting about the Bartowski's that endeared them to everyone it seemed. Even the usually surly Zondra danced and joked with the beautiful doctor, without complaint and made jokes at Carina's expense, which tickled the blonde immensely.
Holding her shot in one hand and running the other through the curls on Chuck's neck again, Sarah relished the luxuriously soft feeling, finding it was something she had quickly become obsessed with. She watched as the others downed the drinks in unison, the blonde wincing as she stopped and gulped down her own a few seconds later "…she's going to regret trying to keep up with Carina." Sarah gestured with the empty glass towards Ellie.
"Oh, I've learned never to underestimate my sister. She could drink even my boss under the table, and he's twice my size. I swear her legs are hollow." He looked over at his sister in awe.
Sarah giggled into his neck, his curls tickling her cheeks "This'll be fun then."
"Oh, yeah" he drawled, his own hand tracing small patterns along her neck tantalisingly, eventually he stopped and let his hand run along her side, landing on her hip.
An hour or so later Chuck picked up his phone, dialling Devon, by this point Ellie and Carina were stupidly drunk, it was time to get them home.
"Hey, Chuckster, is everything ok?" came the booming voice of the surgeon.
"Yeah, it's been a great night, sorry you got called in for that surgery. We're trying to get Ellie to leave now and get into Sarah's limo, but she's being difficult. Any advice on how you deal with drunk Ellie? I've never seen her let loose like this. She's actually pretty funny…" The nerd glanced back at his sister and chuckled.
The tall doctor laughed through the handset "I know, she's goes off on some real tangents."
From behind him, Chuck heard his sister declaring loudly to the group "Have you ever noticed, words taste like peaches?"
Zondra chirped up "Ellie, you've been drinking from my glass again."
"…oh, ok, never mind." She apologised, putting down Zondra's fruit drink and sticking her chin out defiantly "…to new friends" she gestured to them all, emptying her own glass this time. "…where's Carina going?"
They all shrugged and smiled at her.
Carina leaned drunkenly against the bar, her head was really fuzzy but it had been a fantastic night and she'd seen Chuck's devotion to her friend in his eyes all night. He was a really nice guy after all. Good for you Blondie.
A man appeared at her shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time tonight, she wasn't in the mood to play along this time, so she barely registered his introduction.
"Hi, I'm Bruce… Bruce Anderson." he smiled charmingly.
A/N2 I hope you made it all the way through, it was a bit of a monster this time. I needed to abandon my six hour time limit as I wanted to get the whole night in one chapter. I hope you're still enjoying my little story. Please R&R if you did. Stay safe.