-1CHAPTER THREE
"Alright you two, get outta here." Mr. Sinclair bellowed from behind them. Michael took off his work gloves and glanced down at his watch..
"But it's only 10:00pm, sir?" Michael informed him, confused. They were supposed to work until 10:30pm.
"Are you arguing with me, Baldwin?" Sinclair asked threateningly. Lauren glared at Michael, letting him know without words that this was one time when a little ass kissing was acceptable. She wanted to get the hell out of there, her feet were killing her!
"No, sir. Not at all." Michael assured him.
"Good. Now, hurry up and leave before I change my mind." he ordered, walking back towards his office and shutting off the light before heading out the door.
"Well, that was nice of him." Lauren said sarcastically as she took off her safety goggles and rubbed the bridge of her nose in relief.
"Yeah, if he wasn't so eager to get out of here himself you can bet we'd be workin' till 10:30pm on the dot." Michael said, taking off his sweat soaked work top and tossing it into the employee laundry cart. Lauren admired the sight of his finely toned muscles flexing underneath his wife beater shirt.
"Well, now you have enough time to take me out for a drink before my curfew." Lauren said suggestively, dragging her eyes up from his chest to meet his skeptical gaze.
"I thought you'd be anxious to go meet up with Randy?" Michael taunted.
"Danny." Lauren corrected him.
"Whatever." he shrugged, feigning disinterest.
"He always goes to bed at 10:00pm. Says he needs to rest his vocal cords or something," Lauren explained distractedly, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. "Anyway, I wanna go with you." He looked at her quizzically, trying to come up with a reason to turn her down. He had a feeling Ms. Fenmore could become addictive.
"It's against company protocol for male and female coworkers to fraternize outside of work." he informed her casually, knowing full well she didn't give a damn about the rules.
"Well then, I guess it's a good thing I'm not officially a GM employee." she said mischievously.
"You're underage," he reasoned ineffectually. "Hell, I'm underage."
"You're not an attorney yet, Mr. Baldwin. Might as well live on the wild side while you still can." Lauren said coyly. "Besides," she grinned, slowly reaching down into her cleavage and watching with satisfaction as his eyes followed her movements. "That's what fake ID is for."
Well, he certainly couldn't argue with that.
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"Moe's Tavern," Lauren read the yellow neon sign above the bar's entrance as they stood outside in the warm summer night air. "The joke almost writes itself." Michael chuckled at her remark.
"You said you wanted to get a taste of Detroit's nightlife, well it doesn't get more authentic than this." he teased, then grew serious when he saw the look of apprehension on her face. "Hey, we can always go somewhere else?"
"No, no. This place is perfect." Lauren reassured him, taking his hand in her's. "Come on, let's go have some fun." she smiled, pulling him into the crowded bar. It was time to shatter a few stereotypes.
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"What can I get you?" The lanky bartender asked distractedly as he wiped up a spilt drink on the bar's surface.
"Um, can I get a Bud Light?" Lauren asked casually, hopping up onto an empty bar stool. Michael sat down beside her cautiously. He was no stranger to underage drinking, but he had never been into the whole bar scene. This was Tom's territory.
"Draft or…" the older man behind the bar looked up for the first time and obviously liked what he saw.
"Bottle please." Lauren ordered flirtatiously.
"Well now, pretty lady. I'm gonna need to see some ID." he informed her lasciviously.
"You know, if you wanna find out my name you could always just ask me." she replied coyly, laying it on thick. Michael shifted in his seat uncomfortably, catching the bartender's attention. He looked at Michael suspiciously when all of a sudden a look of recognition crossed his face.
"Hey, I know you!" he bellowed. Michael glanced around nervously. He knew he shouldn't have come here. "You're Fisher's boy!" Lauren looked at Michael curiously.
"Not really." Michael mumbled, but the man kept on talking.
"I haven't seen your old man here in a while. Any idea when he'll be coming around again?" Michael didn't like where this conversation was headed.
"Uh, I don't know. He's been drinking at home a lot more often lately." Michael revealed. The look of fear that came over his face then startled Lauren.
"Well since you're here, you can take care of his tab." he said, turning to leer at Lauren once again. "Then maybe I'll consider serving you and your pretty little friend here." Michael took out his wallet and slammed it down on the bar, diverting the man's attention away from Lauren once again.
"How much?" He asked in frustration and Lauren could tell this wasn't the first time he'd been forced to clean up his father's mess.
"Sixty three dollars." he replied, far too quickly. Lauren had a feeling the prick had just pulled that number out of thin air. Michael glanced down into his wallet despairingly.
"I only have fifty." Almost a week's worth of pay. The bartender glared at him disapprovingly.
"I guess that'll do for now," he conceded , holding out his hand for the money. Michael gave it to him reluctantly and the bartender smiled in mock appreciation. "Now, will that be two bottles of Bud?" he asked, reaching down behind the bar and placing a couple of cold beers in front of the two teens.
"Yeah, that's right." Lauren addressed the man, far less pleasant this time. He uncapped the bottles and pushed them closer to the edge of the bar.
"That'll be four dollars." he said, smiling pleasantly. Lauren wanted to wipe that smug grin right off of his disgusting face. She felt Michael tense up beside her.
"I uh, I don't have any money left." he admitted, a look of embarrassment crossing his features.
"Don't worry about it, it's on me." Lauren said reassuringly, reaching into her purse and pulling out a twenty dollar bill. "Besides, I owe ya one for getting you in trouble with Sinclair." she added, smiling at him to try and ease his discomfort.
"Thanks." he mumbled, not looking at her.
"Come on, let's go sit somewhere else." she said, snatching her change out of the bartender's hand and glaring at him in disgust. She grabbed her beer and started walking away, Michael had no choice but to follow her.
"Is this seat okay?" Lauren asked, sliding into a corner booth near the back of the bar.
"Yeah, it's fine." He said miserably. The light above the table was broken and Michael welcomed the darkness.
"You're not gonna sulk for the rest of the night, are you?" Lauren asked teasingly, taking a swig of her beer in a decidedly unladylike fashion. "Because you promised to show me a good time."
"I'm off the clock, it's not my job to keep you entertained." Michael replied gruffly. Lauren didn't respond, just sat there peeling off the label of her beer distractedly.
"I'm sorry." Michael apologized after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
"Don't be." she said, offering him a weak smile before taking another sip of her beer.
"I wouldn't have pegged you as a Bug Light kinda girl." he said, trying to lighten the mood and forget about Tom Fisher for a while.
"Well, I wasn't crowned Queen of the Kegger for nothing." she smiled proudly.
"Wow. Homecoming Queen I could see, but Queen of the Kegger? I'm impressed." he said, amused. "Though I must say, you aren't exactly living up to your title." he teased, motioning to the almost full bottle of beer in front of her.
"Is that a challenge, Mr. Baldwin?" Lauren asked coyly.
"Only if you want it to be, Ms. Fenmore." he replied, his voice taking on a seductive quality that made Lauren's insides melt. She quickly pulled herself together and brought the bottle to her lips, her eyes never leaving his.
"You're on," she said, tipping her head back and finishing off the rest of her beer in one gulp. "Bartender!" she called out, motioning down to her now empty bottle of beer. "We're gonna need another round over here." Michael just shook his head at her in wonder.
"It's 10:50pm ya know." Michael informed her reluctantly. "We should probably start heading out soon."
"Chicken." Lauren taunted, playing with the neck of her bottle.
"What?" Michael chuckled, confused.
"You're afraid that little ol' me is gonna drink you under the table." she teased confidently.
"Ha! In your dreams." He shot back. "You may be the Queen, but honey, prepare to meet the King."
"Yeah well, we'll just see which one of us ends up spending the night with their head in the thrown." Lauren challenged. Michael just gazed at her, amusement and desire in his eyes. She smiled back at him, reaching across the table to take his hand in her own. She was surprised when she felt him flinch.
"We shouldn't be doing this." Michael warned, pulling his hand away.
"What's a few drinks between friends?" Lauren reasoned.
"We're not friends." he pointed out. "Hell, we barely even know each other."
"Well, let's change that." she pleaded.
"Trust me, Lauren. You don't want to get mixed up with a guy like me."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" she said determinedly, reaching under the table and placing her hand on his thigh. She shuddered when she felt his hand clamp down on her own.
"Don't." he hissed, but she could tell he didn't really want her to stop. From the moment they had laid eyes on each other, there had been something between them. Something Lauren had never felt before and she felt confident that Michael didn't have this kind of connection with every student apprentice who waltzed into the plant.
"Let's get out of here." she said hurriedly, standing up and holding her hand out to him in a silent plea. They needed to be alone. He looked up at her reluctantly, desire clearly evident on his face. He wanted this, but something was holding him back. He stood up slowly, coming to stand in front of her.
"Lauren look, I…" he started to say but she reached up and grabbed his face in her hands, pulling his lips down to meet her own. She had intended to kiss him hard and fast, but the moment her lips made contact with his, she was overwhelmed by how right it felt and she wanted to savor the moment. His hands found their way into her hair and he pulled her even closer, tentatively moving his mouth over hers in a gentle caress. Lauren slowly ran her tongue along his lower lip, trying to gain access into his mouth. He was more than happy to comply, parting his lips as she did the same. She moaned softly as his tongue caressed the roof of her mouth, the sound sent Michael's pulse racing.
"When you two kids are finished groping each other, I've got your beers here." the bartender interrupted them. Michael and Lauren broke their kiss, both trying to get their breathing back under control as they continued to gaze at one another lustfully.
"Actually, I think we're gonna take off now." Michael informed the bartender, smiling at Lauren fervently. She licked her lips in nervous anticipation, she couldn't wait to get out of this bar and back into his arms.
"Well, who's gonna pay for these drinks?" the older man asked, obviously annoyed. Lauren grabbed hold of Michael's shirt sleeve and started pulling him towards the exit.
"Why don't you put it on my tab!" Lauren yelled back, giggling as Michael wrapped his arm around her waist and bent to kiss her again. Mouths fused together and arms intertwined, Michael and Lauren made their way to the front door , bumping into a woman and nearly knocking her over in their rush to get out of there. Michael tore his mouth away from Lauren long enough to mumble out an apology.
"Yeah, thanks a lot." the blonde girl said angrily. "Get a room. And while you're at it…Oh my God! It's You!" she shrieked in horror. Everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing to see what all the commotion was about. "What the hell are you doing here?" the girl continued to shout. Michael looked like a deer caught in headlights.
"Could you please calm down?" he pleaded with her quietly.
"Calm down?! How the hell can you expect me to be calm around you?" she spat out angrily.
"Michael, who is she?" Lauren asked, still glued to his side.
"Who am I?!" the blonde repeated, addressing Lauren this time. "I'm the girl that this creep tried to rape on prom night, that's who I am!" she declared, glaring at Michael in disgust. Lauren felt him flinch at her words.
"Amber, what's wrong?" a tall, muscular guy moved to stand beside the angry woman, rubbing her shoulders in a comforting gesture. Her boyfriend, Lauren surmised.
"He's Michael Baldwin! The one I told you about, the one who tried to hurt me!" Amber bellowed, pointing at Michael as angry tears welled up in her eyes. The girl's boyfriend glared at Michael, enraged. Lauren barely had time to move out of the way before the guy tackled Michael to the floor and started punching him in the face.
"You sick son of a b!tch! Why don't you try picking on someone your own size, huh?!" Amber's boyfriend taunted as he continued to beat the crap out of Michael. Lauren was alarmed when she saw that he wasn't fighting back.
"Get off of him!" Lauren shouted, hitting the guy on his back and trying to pull him off of Michael herself, but she wasn't strong enough. She glanced around to see that no one else was making a move to break up the fight, instead they all seemed to be enjoying the show. Frantically, Lauren grabbed a beer bottle off of a nearby table and quickly smashed it over the guy's head, knocking him out cold.
"Jason!" Amber cried out as she saw her boyfriend fall to the floor. "You crazy b!tch! You two deserve each other!" Amber yelled up at Lauren as she desperately tried to help her boyfriend regain consciousness. Lauren ignored her, rushing to Michael's side.
"Michael! Are you okay?" She gently ran her hands over his face. He was conscious, but barely. He was bleeding pretty badly, his upper lip was split open and Lauren feared that he may have broken his nose. "Come on," she grunted as she wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him to his feet. "We better get out of here before the incredible Hulk over there comes to." she whispered to him, quickly leading him out of the bar and out onto the street.
"Give me your keys, okay?" she asked him gently. She could see that he was drifting in and out of consciousness. "We need to get you to the hospital."
"No! I'm fine." he insisted, his voice was hoarse from the beating.
"Like hell you are! Now come on. Give me your car keys so we can get out of here." she insisted, moving one hand down to gently root through his pocket. Michael pushed her away and stumbled backwards a bit.
"Just go on, get out of here! I don't need your help." he shouted angrily before losing his balance, almost falling to the sidewalk before Lauren reached his side and helped him straighten himself.
"Would you cut the macho bullshit and hand over your keys before Jason comes out here and kicks both of our asses?" Lauren demanded, frustrated by his unwillingness to cooperate. Michael glared at distrustfully and she could see that the area around his eye was already beginning to swell. Finally he conceded and reached behind him to retrieve his keys from his back pocket.
"Fine," he said, handing her the set of keys. "But I just want to go home, no hospitals." he insisted and Lauren knew he wouldn't back down.
"Okay," she agreed reluctantly. "Now come on, let's get you home."
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Michael had drifted off to sleep by the time Lauren pulled the car up in front of his apartment building. Luckily he had been able to give her directions before nodding off. She killed the engine and Michael awoke instantly.
"Home sweet home." Lauren declared softly. Michael just grunted in response, looking up at the building to see if the lights in his apartment were still on. They were. Lauren reached out and gently ran her finger along the side of his face, but he flinched and pulled away.
"How are you going to explain the bruises to your parents?" she asked, trying not to let his actions upset her. Michael laughed bitterly.
"Gloria probably won't even notice." he said simply, Lauren assumed that Gloria was his mother.
"What about your dad?" she continued.
"He's not my dad!" Michael snapped at her and she looked away, fiddling with the buttons on his car stereo. "I don't know where my dad is." he added, his voice softer this time. She looked up at him then and saw the apology in his eyes. She nodded slightly and offered him a weak smile.
"I should probably go, and you need to get some rest." Lauren said, unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning over to undo his as well. "I'll just help you up to your apartment and use your phone to call for a cab."
"No!" Michael said abruptly, a look of panic on his face. "Take my car." he offered.
"What?" Lauren just chuckled. "Don't be silly. I'll just take a cab."
"No, I'm serious." Michael insisted. "It's late and you're way past your curfew already, it'll be easier for you if you just take my car." Lauren stared at him, baffled.
"Are you sure?" she asked, sensing that this generous offer of his was just a ploy to keep her out of his apartment and away from his family.
"Positive." he assured her before slowly reaching down and opening his car door. Lauren moved to help him; but he held up his hand, halting her movements. "I'm fine, Lauren. I can make it up on my own. I think you've saved my ass enough for one night." he smiled at her warmly and she felt relief wash over her. "Now go on, get out of here."
"See you tomorrow?" She asked, turning the car's engine back on and watching as he slowly walked backwards towards the apartment building's entrance.
"Yeah," he nodded solemnly. "Tomorrow." With one last fleeting look, Lauren pulled away from the curb and sped off down the street, wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into.