Part 3
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As he continued to kiss her, his other hand wove its way into her hair, holding her head in place as he softly plundered her lips. Ooh it was divine!
At that precise moment Donna's phone went off, making him jump away from her, startled.
"It's Nerys," she told him as she peered disdainfully at it, and pressed the answer button. "Hello Nerys! What is it?... Yes he did see me home... It went alright... Yes he did… I think so... Don't be daft!... You want to what?... Who with?... Did you?... Yeah, I can get in touch... When?... I should think so... No, I'll let you know if it's a problem... And you! Bye!"
"What was all that about?" he asked with concern, deeply miffed with his lost opportunity.
"Nerys wants us to go on a double date," she explained, pulling a face. "When I say us I mean James and me."
"What? What! With Nerys!" he exclaimed, clearly disgusted with the idea.
"Don't start, Sunshine," she snarled at him. "You wanted to experience being human. And that means going on a date."
"But... but I wanted to go on a date with you!" he spluttered, almost dancing away from her in his agitation.
"And you will," she patted his cheek with a consoling gesture, amused by his antics. "There'll just be two other people there at the same time."
"Who else will there?" he pouted sulkily and fiddled with his tie.
"Some bloke she met yesterday at a nightclub, called Oliver; he works in the City, in the money market," she explained. "He's only just phoned her to go out and she wants moral support; though she pretended she wanted to meet us again. I think she wants to know if James really was interested in me."
"Oh great!" he said sarcastically. "Not only are you asking me to meet up with Nerys but I'll get to socialise with another power hungry megalomaniac."
She kissed him lightly on the lips and he felt himself momentarily melt. "Yeah, you'd think you'd be used to it by now," she commented. "I'm off to bed, and I'll see you later... James!" She threw a smirk at him and disappeared through the doorway.
~o~
He grumbled through all of breakfast until she threatened to not go on any date with him whatsoever in the future; so it was with reluctance that he let Donna choose his outfit for their double date with Nerys. "I'm not being seen with a retro scarecrow," she had warned him, but she had allowed the glasses in the circumstances. "Got to maintain your alias, haven't we?" she had grinned at him.
He had huffed in reply, but he kept telling himself this was for the greater good. Or he could arrange for Nerys to be kidnapped by Jack if it turned out really bad. That idea lightened his spirits considerably. "Do I get to choose your outfit now?" he'd cheekily asked.
"Not bloody likely!" she'd laughed. "I might end up looking like a tart or Coco the Clown. I won't risk it if it's all the same to you."
"Never mind; your loss," he'd tried to say as seductively as he could. If things went well he might be able to persuade her to wear that corset on another date.
She'd swatted his arm in reply, and thrust the black shirt she'd picked out into his hands.
Suitably booted and suited, they met Oliver and Nerys outside a swish City restaurant. Nerys was dressed up to the nines and Oliver was exactly what you'd expect a City banker to look like. The waiter was showing them to a table that looked like it was uncomfortably near to the service doors, so the Doctor flashed the psychic paper, ensuring an immediately decent table. "How did he do that?" Nerys had whispered to Donna, "Oliver said this place was usually booked weeks in advance."
"Oh James knows people who work here," Donna had airily replied. "You'd be surprised how many places he can get us into."
"Nice!" an impressed Nerys had replied. Donna didn't miss Nerys' glance at his backside either as they walked to their table; not that she blamed her.
As the Doctor had feared, Oliver was trying to rustle up some sort of competition between them in the Mr Amazing stakes as they waited for their meal to arrive. "And that's when the whole ballyhoo appeared! Awfully good!" Oliver laughed at his own anecdote. Nerys laughed politely but Donna didn't get the joke at all. She managed a fake titter out of politeness. "He's a berk, a complete berk!" the Doctor leaned close and whispered to her.
"Aw, ain't that sweet!" Nerys had to comment when she saw his gesture, making him scowl in anger at her.
"Jealous!" Donna admonished her, and went to peck a kiss on his cheek. He immediately turned into her embraced, catching her unawares. She was about to say something to deflect him, but instead she kissed his lips.
"Such fun!" Oliver brayed. And for once they all giggled. So Oliver broke into a long tale of how they had chosen the wrong piste on his last holiday.
"Kill me now," the Doctor whispered into Donna's ear. "Or at least remind me why I thought this might be a good idea."
"Because you were curious about being human," she pointed out.
He was about to make some pithy reply when Oliver caught him off guard. "So James, what do you do to earn a decent crust? Academia doesn't pay well, does it?"
"Oh I don't need much cash where I travel; and my job is its own reward," he said brightly.
"Are you still keen on our Donna then, James?" Nerys sneered at him. "That bloke of her's not put you off?"
"Oh no! He seemed impressed with me I thought," he lied.
"You're an impressive person," Donna schmoozed him, grabbing his arm. "You both are."
"I hear he's stranger than Julian Clary," Oliver added. "How do you put up with him Donna? You should leave your job and grab yourself a real man."
"What? He's nothing like Julian Clary! And what am I? Scotch mist!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"Steady on old chap! I didn't mean it like that! You should.. erm.., you should take Donna here in hand." Oliver swept a look over Donna's body.
The Doctor didn't like the way this Oliver was leering at his Donna.
"Let it go, James," Donna soothed him, rubbing her hand up and down his sleeve.
He wasn't able to when Nerys and Donna went to the ladies toilet together; Oliver had leaned conspiratorially towards him. "Nerys tells me that Donna is quite a goer! Though I'd be wary of touching her after she's lived so long with a man," he stated.
"Why? I can't see that being a problem." The Doctor was beginning to feel more than a bit peeved with this upper class halfwit.
"The whole setup sounds highly dubious to me. Is he renting her out? That's what I wonder. Though if you don't want to have a go at her, pass her onto me. She looks like she can be such fun!" Oliver grinned at him.
The Doctor wanted to punch him on his smug, cosmetically formed nose! He spluttered a response as Donna reappeared. She recognised his expression of repressed anger and told him she needed to show him something by the fish tank at the bar. "Well, Spaceman? How has he upset you this time?" she half-whispered her question.
"Don't ever make me do this again! Just don't! I'd rather spend my evening with...a splinx ragitar!" he raged quietly.
"That bad?" she asked compassionately, having no idea what one was but had sussed it wasn't good.
"You don't know the half of it. Why can't we go to the pictures and snog on the back seats like normal people?" he demanded.
"You want that? Seriously? But I thought...you wanted...," she stammered in confusion. "And you don't call it going to the pictures anymore, unless you are Gramps!" She nudged his shoulder to emphasise her tease.
A loud cackle drifted across the restaurant to them, accompanied by Oliver's guffawing. "That's our cue to return and get on with this date," he sighed.
"Anyone would think you weren't enjoying yourself," she smiled. "Just for the record, I've no idea what he sees in her."
"Lovers' tiff?" Nerys greeted their return to the table. She sidled slightly closer to the Doctor. "Tell me, James; you seem to be a good bloke. Do you think you can get Donna to abandon her gay friend and come back to us?"
"Nerys! Shut up," Donna angrily muttered at her.
"What? He knows all about whatshisface, so don't pretend! If James sticks around we can do this more often," Nerys argued.
"That's a tempting thought," the Doctor answered drily. "But all that is up to Donna, not me."
"I say!" Oliver suddenly exclaimed. "Let's make a night of it down at the Raspberry Fool."
As the Doctor whimpered softly at Donna he found himself being coerced into going to Oliver's favourite night club. This really wasn't his idea of a date.