Author's Notes: You want quick updates, I'll give you quick updates.
Thanks: Thanks for the reviews! Always interested to see what everyone else thinks.
- J
Skinny Double Dirty Chai
Chapter 4
Something is wrong, but Paige can't quite put her finger on what it is yet.
She's sitting at the table joking with Johnny.
That's good.
Her beer is cold.
That's good.
Mike is over at the bar, after much urging from her and Johnny, trying out his undercover dating strategy.
That's good.
He's comically failing at it.
That's just hilarious.
Suddenly, she realizes what's been bothering her for the last half hour.
This music sucks.
Paige stands up, and swiftly crosses the floor to the old jukebox, needing to take control of and fix this situation immediately. She can only put up with Jakes' Bob Dylan reggae shit for so long.
Unfortunately, Jakes seems to be guarding the box, leaning menacingly against the machine. He's keeping any brazen souls from challenging his choices through body language alone.
Paige, however, isn't scared of Jakes. She bounces right up to him, and lightly pushes him aside so she can study the selection, and notices that the Asian woman he had been flirting with earlier is nowhere in sight.
"What's wrong chocolate Jesus? Couldn't close?" Paige grins, flipping through the selection of songs, "Was she an atheist?"
"Nah, she's apparently got a kid. She offered to take me home, but I passed. Girl doesn't need another unreliable guy in her life." Jakes says. "I'm surprised you're still here though. Didn't I see you talking to Phil earlier? Where'd he go?"
"Home, I imagine." Paige says, disgusted by the lack of choices in front of her. How could she drink at a bar that didn't even carry the Sex Pistols in their music collection? It just seemed wrong.
"And you didn't go with him?" Jakes asks curiously.
"Nah, the night is young. Plus, I didn't want to miss the show of Levi getting shot down by Pocahontas over there." Paige points over to the bar where Mike is talking to a girl with two dark braids.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you, what's going on with you two?"
"What do you mean? With Phil?" Paige asks distractedly, still concentrating on the jukebox in front of her. Ooh, the Ramones. Yes, please. "Nothing. Same old, same old. I just didn't feel like it tonight."
"No, what's going on with you and Mike. Are you two hooking up or something?"
"Don't be stupid. Of course not." Paige laughs at the idea. First Charlie, now Jakes. This is getting ridiculous.
"Good. Because the kid's in love with you. So watch yourself."
"Shut up! He is not." Paige reaches out to give Jakes a light smack on the arm without even looking up from the machine.
Jakes just gives her a knowing look.
"He actually said something to you?" Paige is a little taken aback.
She wonders what Mike could have said, because Jakes looks really certain of this, and Jakes is the last person who would voluntarily get involved with romance rumors.
"He doesn't need to. The way he looks at you? It's the same look a junkie gives heroin."
"That doesn't mean he's in love with me. We're friends. Besides, he seems to be doing fine with the Judy Garland wannabe over there." Paige scoffs.
Seriously, who over the age of five wears pigtail braids these days?
"In the two minutes he's been talking to that girl, he has looked over here five times. And even though I look damn good tonight, I'm pretty sure he ain't looking at me." Jakes states, matter-of-factly
Sure enough, as Pippi Longstockings is looking through her purse (hopefully for a brush to fix that ridiculous hair), Mike looks over and catches Paige's eye. He mouths "save me" before turning back to Little Miss House on the Prairie with a fake smile plastered across his handsome face.
Paige can't help but laugh. Jakes gives her a warning look.
"Shut up." Paige says before he can actually say anything. "It doesn't mean you're right. Maybe he's just afraid those tentacles she calls hair are going to wake up and attack him."
"Someone sounds jealous." Jakes says simply.
"I'm not jealous!" Paige claims. "Look, even if the kid has a small crush, which he doesn't, it's understandable. He's just new to Graceland. He hasn't had time to build up immunity to my charms yet. Don't deny it; you're all a little in love with me."
Jakes laughs at this.
"Whatever. I'm telling you, that boy has got it bad. We're talking Shakespeare shit here." Jakes insists.
Even though Paige doesn't believe him, she's still disturbed by Jakes' claim. She is not the romantic type. Her longest relationship was a ten month undercover mission with a Columbian drug dealer, which had ended with her arresting him and pulling a kilogram of cocaine out of his rectum. Not exactly the stuff of fairy tales.
Paige scans the bar for more suitable female companionship for Mike. She's an excellent wing-woman, and Mike shouldn't be too hard to find someone for. He's handsome, smart, sweet, and once you get past his initial nervousness, he can actually be really funny. With fresh resolve, Paige decides on a new goal for the night. Get Mike laid.
"Look it's not a big deal. I'll just find him a new girl who does not look like she escaped from the Chesapeake tribe, and he can get it out of his system. Problem solved." She says resolutely.
Jakes just stares at her, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.
"Stop giving me that look! I swear to you Jakes, it's never going to happen."
"Yeah, alright. But remember, I've heard that before." Jakes nods along, clearly not believing her.
Paige has chosen enough music to last her another hour, and is now satisfied that she can return to the table where Johnny is holding down the camp. Having lost the battle of the jukebox, Jakes follows her back. Paige is glad he seems to have dropped the Mike issue. She doesn't need Johnny giving her shit about it too.
"So Paige, on a related note of things you swear will never happen; since you're not getting laid tonight, do you want to finish watching 'The Town' when we get home?"
"Fuck off, please." Paige chirps cheerfully as she plops down in her seat at the table. "And hell yes, I do."