Bubbles and Speak
Mike spluttered and the drink that had been in his mouth had splattered across the table towards Munch. Munch took one hand and wiped his face, carefully wiping his glasses and putting them back on. Munch laughed, "It was a long time ago."
Bobby looked at Munch in suspended shock. Mike stared at his friend, not sure quite what to make of it. "Are you being serious?"
"Always." Munch replied, with an air of coolness that would give anyone pause for thought.
Mike looked thoughtful for a minute, glancing at Bobby and Munch several times before speaking again, "Wasn't she married then?" He asked, after a moment of silence.
Munch looked at Bobby and then back at Mike, "I try to avoid married women. I don't think she was when I worked with her."
"You're pulling my leg aren't you?" Mike asked, both hopeful and annoyed.
Munch shook his head, "Not this time."
Bobby watched as Munch and Mike began looking at each other, both seemed to be analysing the other; waiting for a move from one another. "How about we play pool?" Bobby asked, hopeful, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the two men.
"You know it's all in history, right?" Munch asked, sidestepping Bobby's neutral suggestion.
Mike leaned back in his chair and nodded slightly, "That's where it stays."
Munch couldn't stifle the smirk that lit up his face but he nodded as well. "Pool?" Munch asked, looking at Bobby at the same time Mike did.
Bobby nodded, cautiously. He wasn't sure their conversation had really ended. "Yeah, there's - uh - a table free."
"Right." Mike said, standing up, picking up his beer and taking it with him, knowing that the other two followed him without hesitation.
When they reached the table Munch looked at it thoughtfully and then turned back around to see Bobby standing behind him, "You know there is a flaw in your plan." He spoke, calmly, "Pool requires two players and there are three of us."
"It's alright." Mike said, sitting on what of the side chairs. "You two play first." Munch looked at Mike with a raised eyebrow and Bobby looked at him in concern but they both nodded in agreement.
"Let's set it up." Munch said, grabbing the equipment required to play the game, passing them to Bobby who quite expertly put them on the table.
-------------------------------
"How much has she had to drink?"
Megan looked at Alex, who shrugged in response. Both dumbfounded by the sight of Jo standing on Alex's coffee table singing 'We Are Family' out of key but she seemed to be enjoying it anyway. "I've got no idea."
"Somebody needs to tell her she can't sing." Carolyn told them, standing with the others and away from Jo.
"You see, that's the thing. She can sing." Katie said, "Normally."
"Jo, c'mon!" Alex raised her voice, hoping to get her sisters attention, "You're gonna have the neighbors round in a minute wondering why we're strangling cats in here!"
Jo shot her a look but she didn't stop singing. "We are family, hey hey hey, I got all my sisters with me..."
"Unbelievable." Jessie commented, sarcastically. "I can already your Mom telling her of a million flaws with her singing."
Alex and Katie laughed, that would be true. When they had been younger their mother had insisted that they sing in choirs and similar things because Maggie Eames had been a singer herself, so she felt that all her children should be involved, but it also meant that if they sang out of key they'd be in trouble.
"Right." Alex said, putting on her best cross voice. "Get down from there." She walked over to Jo and began tugging on her arm. Alex could hear Jessie laughing at them but she was relieved when Katie and Carolyn came to help her. Jo fought them off but they didn't give up so easily.
"Hey." Jo said, finally her singing had come to an abrupt halt. She looked at them but she wouldn't get down.
"C'mon Jo." Katie said, softly. "We're gonna watch your favourite movie now."
Jo stood down from the table and looked at her sister, incredulously. "Alex wants to watch Dirty Dancing?"
Jo looked at Alex, who reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, sure. I'll give it a go."
"Oh, you're gonna love it." Jo squealed in delight, wrapping her arms around Alex, obviously drunk. "It is the best film!"
Alex put on a fake smile and gave her sister a friendly hug. When Jo pulled away from her and looked at Alex, she nodded and couldn't keep the sarcasm from her voice, "Yay. I can't wait."
------------------------------------
Bobby had lost his game of pool to Munch so now it was Mike's turn to play. Mike looked at Munch whilst he held the cue. Bobby watched with fascination. The tense atmosphere of this game was proving to make it more interesting. Both men were taking it very seriously. Each move was being considered... and considered. Bobby knew it wasn't the game that was causing this level of concentration, it was the revelation that had been revealed earlier on.
This meant the game was personal and as a spectator Bobby knew it would be a fun game to watch, for him anyway. No words were being exchanged between the two players just scowling looks and studying each other, both whilst they are making their move and when they weren't.
For Bobby the match was also progressing slowly, time seemed to be slowly down for this men, although he suspected it was more so for Mike than Munch. He knew that Mike was probably feeling an irrational amount of jealousy and Munch was probably playing off it like energy. Bobby could've walked away there and then and no one would know, they were so involved in the game that they couldn't see beyond the table and their oponent.
When someone spoke it was if time regained it's normal speed. "Make your damn move." Mike ordered with a sigh.
Munch raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm calculating."
"This isn't mathematics, it's pool." Mike commented, pointing towards the pool table.
"Perhaps." Munch looked at his oponent, "It's a sport and with all sport there is a science involved."
"Oh, geez!" Mike sighed again, looking at Munch but he did find it funny, not that he'd show it. "C'mon! Make you move!"
Munch looked at him, twirling his cue stick in his hand as if he was purposely annoying Mike, "I will when I'm ready."
"Oi." Mike groaned. "I'll be over there." He pointed to the seat next to Bobby and quickly walked over to it. Sitting down whilst his cue stick rested on the floor and was leant against the wall.
Bobby looked at Mike and then smiled slightly, "You know-" Bobby started, kindly, "-It was a long time ago."
Mike twisted his neck and looked at him, "What was?" Mike asked, playing dumb.
"Never mind." Bobby knew what Mike was doing, he didn't want to talk about it so Bobby let the subject drop. Mike turned away from him and kept his eyes on Munch as he played his shot, finally.
"There." Munch said, smiling slightly. "Happy now?"
Mike stood up and walked towards the table. "Deliriously."
--------------------------------
He had a tension headache the size of a state. He knew he shouldn't have one because it was ridiculous but he couldn't help the way he felt. He'd known about the husband but to think she was with Munch... no, he didn't want to think about it would do his head in for life. Unlocking the front door he walked in quietly and heard the remnants of a song about having the time of your life. Confused, he walked into the living room to see that a DVD was playing but the women had fallen to sleep on each other, on the sofa and on the small chairs.
He hadn't realised that a girls night in was so exhausting but then he saw the empty bottles of wine, several, and realised that it was probably the alcohol that had done it. As he looked around the room he noticed an absence. Confused he quickly checked to see if she was there and when he realised she wasn't he quickly walked around the house to see her.
He felt relief when he saw her in the kitchen. "Hey." He whispered, not wanting to wake the others up.
She turned around and smiled at him, "Hey, I thought I heard you come in."
He walked over to Alex and stood next to her, smiling a little but holding back. She frowned a little but then she just covered it up by smiling as well. "How did it go?" He asked, pointing towards the living room.
"It was good. As you can see they're all asleep now."
"You're not tired?" He asked, knowing she was, he could see she was.
She shrugged, "I didn't drink enough I don't think. I'm in here because the film wasn't really very good."
"Oh, so, the film sent them to sleep." He said, nodding with a small smile on his face.
She laughed, quietly. "Yes." Crossing the distance he'd kept between them, she wrapped her arms around his body and rested her head on his chest. Without hesitation he used his own arms to pull her as close as humanly possible. "Did you have a good time?" She asked, not moving and not looking up.
He nodded, "Yeah, sure."
She frowned again although he couldn't see it. "Yeah?"
"Hmm." He mumbled an answer and that just deepened her frown. She pulled away from him and gave him a soft smile.
"Let's go to bed." That got a more enthusiastic response from him. He nodded and grinned. She laughed a little and then they walked out of the kitchen. She stopped and turned back towards her living room to switch the TV off.
When they reached her bedroom he finally spoke up, "So you and Munch?" He asked.
As she closed the door she pulled a face that he couldn't see, it was oh-my-god-he-knows-about-that-what-does-he-want-me-to-say-it-happened-years-ago. She turned to him and smiled, shrugging, "What about it?"
Mike paused for a moment, the words he was going to say suddenly seemed inappropriate. "I, uh, didn't know he was your type."
Giving him a confused smile because she recognised the jealousy but she didn't expect it, "He's not."
Now he looked confused, stumbling over himself for a second, "What?"
She looked at him, walking over towards the bed but standing at the opposite side of him, "He's not my type." He waited for her to continue with an explanation, "Look it happened years ago." She sighed, "Joe had not long died and Munch happened to be-" She paused, trying to find the right word, "-there."
"It was a one night stand?" He asked, for clarification.
Alex snorted, "Are you jealous?"
"No." Mike answered, too quickly.
"Over something that happened 8 years ago?"
"I'm not... No."
She watched him for a moment and then she nodded, "You don't need to be jealous about it. It didn't mean anything then and it certainly doesn't now."
"I'm not jealous!" Mike denied again but Alex just smiled at him.
"That's okay." She said, "I know you are. I know I would be."
Mike frowned, "What?"
"You see, you've got this huge reputation for being a bit of a ladies man... If I was to meet one of these-" She paused, watching him, "-ladies, I would be jealous too."
"I'm not jealous!" Mike continued to deny.
Alex shot him a look, "Uh-huh."
"I'm not." Mike insisted, "I've got no reason to be." Still standing at opposite sides of the bed, Alex smiled and just looked at him with an amused but determined expression on her face. Mike looked at her for one more second before sitting down at the bed and sighing, "Fine, I was jealous."
Victory, Alex smiled and sat down on the bed too, closing the gap between them and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze. Smiling she said, "I love you too."
Finally, a smile crept on his face and he twisted so that he was facing her and without hesitation he gave her a kiss that was deepened within seconds. Without thought to who was in her living room, they began tugging at each others clothes, desperate to get them off so that they could feel each others skin. The best way to get ready for bed.
-------------------------------
What do you think? Good? Bad? Anything missing? Please leave me a review. :)