AUTHOR'S NOTE: We're back with more Who Dares Wins. I hope you're all having a good start to the weekend :)
MESSAGE FROM AUTHOR: To Geochilli, my esteemed reviewer, I present this text. I tried to contact you three times through PM a few weeks ago, but you didn't reply. Hoping you'll see this message, I'm posting here. I want to say that I appreciate your feedback and that you engage with my story. However, the way you portray my characters always in a negative light is not acceptable to me. Your reviews always lead down the line of scathing attacks against me, accusing that my characters always have malicious and sinister intentions, to the point they're extreme douchebags, which is not true. I keep blocking you because of that reason. Chuck Bartowski in WDW is a soldier. He's always teasing; it's like a reflex for him. Banter and teasing are just a part of military culture. It's constant and pervasive, and in this love story, it's no different. You seem to have the wrong impression of Sarah too—she's not a girlfriend who likes to stay cooped up at home and hates being subjected to Chuck's playful exchanges. As a soldier in the same army and regiment as Chuck, she cherishes the moments when they can let their guard down and enjoy some playfulness during their downtime together. Sarah reveals in Chapter 21 that the teasing—though always flirtatious—exchanges between her and Chuck are her favourite part of their dynamic. If you missed that, I'm sorry, but it's not something I can control. For a deeper understanding of Chuck and Sarah's playful dynamic, I suggest revisiting Chapters 8 and 9. Observe Sarah's reactions during those moments. Is she playing around and enjoying the exchanges, or is she serious and uncomfortable about them? Because of the absence of visuals and sounds, the reader must be able to differentiate between the playful and serious moments in the story…
If you overlooked the extract from Ch21, here it is again:
For Sarah, she considered a sense of humour and the ability for two people to not take themselves seriously to be extremely important. She also thought two people just having fun together was a vital necessity of any sexual encounter. Factoring in her work, which was the most stressful job in the entire world, her ability to just have fun with Chuck was everything that she never knew that she needed until she met him.
"That sounds nice. And I might drown you while we're there," she couldn't help but add in.
Chuck winced. "That's not nice. I suddenly don't feel safe enough to go to the pool with you anymore," he joked.
Sarah laughed. "That's tough because I'm already bursting with excitement to go swimming with you," she said with glee.
Chuck nodded, suppressing laughter.
I guess if we are going down the route of spinning everything my characters say and revealing incorrect sinister intentions, then Sarah must be an evil, wicked witch here because she is seeking to intimidate and murder Chuck because she wants to drown him in the pool?
As for Chuck's actions LAST CHAPTER, they were wrong, and he way overstepped the boundaries of fun. For the first time in the story, he was a douche to her. He already knows it too because he apologised profusely, which turned into a great relationship-building moment. You were right about that one, but I inserted it into the story to build on their relationship to get them closer, and that's what happened. None of my characters are perfect. None of them will EVER be perfect. They are human beings and human beings often make mistakes. Chuck made a mistake here, trying to joke at an inappropriate time, but he fixed it within SECONDS and built their relationship. He owned his mistakes and didn't hide from them. Instead; he exposed himself and how he felt to his lover to show how seriously he views their relationship despite the gags they have with each other. If you don't see that, again, that's your problem. I just don't appreciate waking up to such harsh, unwarranted criticism of what I wrote.
Who Dares Wins
Chapter Fifty-Six: The Team Unwinds
Hereford
Thursday, 29 November, 2007
16:00 hours (4pm)
Red Team arrived outside Jim's pub in their vehicles, parking seven cars and a motorbike wherever they could find spots.
Once parked, they reconvened outside the public house.
"Who's buying first, then?" Cole asked, glancing around at his teammates.
"Not me, laddie, nor for tomorrow will I either, because I bought you all bacon sarnies!" Chris said with conviction.
Scoffs broke out.
"I'm honestly shocked he can remember so much in his old age," Big Dan teased.
Chris shot Big Dan a glare. "Keep it up, laddie, and you and I will be falling out!"
Big Dan smirked.
"Dan's only speaking up to distract us from making him buy a round for a change anyway 'cause he never buys one," Chuck said.
Without hesitation, Cole's hand shot out, pointing in agreement towards Chuck, as the others nodded in unison, affirming Chuck's correctness.
"I can't say that you're mistaken, fella," Big Dan said, holding his smirk. "So, seeing as you've rumbled my game, I guess I've no choice but to buy the first."
Chuckles erupted as Jamie said, "He's always winding all of us up anyway, and he's never the designated driver because he bought a bike for that reason as well, so he should buy the first!"
Jamie's quip elicited an even more significant response from his teammates, who laughed even harder.
Sarah soon pointed at John Murray. "And because he's always pissing me off every chance he gets, he's buying the second."
"Wasn't the punch enough?" Bryce asked with a smile.
Sarah turned to look at Bryce, her glance determined and in no mood for any bullshit today. "Do you want a punch as well?"
The boisterous laughter intensified as Bryce remained silent.
"Sarah's taking on half of us today!" Jamie chortled. "Even Chuck's getting it with shower gel thrown at him!"
"Here we go…" Chuck said, shaking his head before he put his head in his hands.
Everyone snapped to look between Chuck, Sarah, and Jamie in a query about Jamie's revelation.
"Did I just hear right in that Chuck's already getting things thrown at his head?" Big Dan said, raising a hand to his chin. "Things are developing fast! They aren't supposed to be out of the honeymoon phase yet!"
Sarah glared at Big Dan. "Make one more comment!" she warned.
"Oh, I intend to, Sarah, because we're off-duty now and unlike John, if you come at me throwing any form of punch, you'll get it straight back much worse than you can give out to me I promise you that," Big Dan warned, holding her sharp glance without feeling remotely intimidated.
"Yeah, you won't hold back, but then you'll be dealing with me."
Just as Big Dan turned his head to look at Chuck and saw him scowling, Chris's commanding voice interrupted. "And rather than our whole team fall out, let's leave it there and not throw any punches just because we're angry at a joke. Getting wound up over a joke isn't worth any of us losing our lives when we're on ops holding grudges against each other because we don't like what someone has said. Dan's already offended me since we got here, but I'm not looking to go punching his face in, so neither should you," he said, finishing by looking at Sarah.
Sarah nodded, huffing out a sigh. "I just want him to leave me alone."
"Then, out of respect for you, I will. But tomorrow is a new day," Big Dan said.
"Good, so if we're finished tearing each other's faces off, let's do what we came here for and head inside," Cole said.
Everyone nodded as the team of eight entered the pub, four weeks to the day since their eventful day at the same establishment.
The public house provided a comforting ambience that embraced the team as soon as they entered.
They stood still for a moment, savouring the moment, before big grins spread across their faces.
The calm, familiar surroundings of the pub were a sanctuary after the chaos of the past month.
The team made eye contact with Jim, the affable landlord, who shook his head in regret at the sight in front of him.
"Jimbo!" Bryce called out endearingly as he joined his teammates in moving towards the bar.
With Red Team observing, Jim's anxiety grew, his head shaking in anticipation of the unknown—for he always expected the unknown with Red Team!
"I'm not serving you in here while you still need your bloody guns!" Jim suddenly shouted, causing pubgoers to turn to look between the landlord and Red Team. "Outside!"
With enthusiasm and energy, Red Team shared boisterous laughter in response to the landlord's declaration.
"Don't worry, Jimbo, fella," Big Dan said with a nod. "That's all taken care of, and no one will trouble us again."
Jim did a double take, glancing at Big Dan for a moment before looking at the rest of the team. "You better not be having me on!"
"It's the god's honest truth, Jimbo, fella," Big Dan said as Red Team stopped at the bar. "We took care of the problem as easy as this," Big Dan said, clicking his fingers. "I even managed to do some bartending myself, fella!"
Red Team snorted at Big Dan's remarks, though Jim remained suspicious in their presence.
"Is he having me on?" Jim asked through narrowed eyes, glancing at the rest of the team.
The synchronised head shaking of Red Team showcased their shared opinion as they all agreed in perfect harmony.
Jim finally relaxed, trusting the team more than he did Big Dan. "Right, then I'll serve you in here. But if there's any trouble…"
"There won't be, Jimbo, fella, I can assure you," Big Dan said.
Jim nodded, his tension finally lifting.
"But if any Russians come looking for us, we're not here, ok, fella?" Big Dan asked, smirking.
"BLOODY HELL!" Jim cursed and flung his hand to his temple, feeling the anxiety wash over him again.
Like most of the rest of the country, Jim had watched and read about the incident with the Russian mafia in London and because he'd not seen Red Team around in a few weeks, he'd suspected they had some involvement despite the public reporting that it was a police surveillance unit.
Jim's loud shout caused numerous customers to look at him as Red Team burst into laughter at the landlord's anxiety.
"He's winding you up again, mate!" Jamie chortled. "Do you think we'd leave behind any mess that might impede our drinking?"
Jamie's remarks increased the laughter as Chuck said, "Jamie's right, mate. You know I wouldn't lie to you. We tied every loose end up and we're back to normal. We'll even show you we have no sidearms on us."
Jim relaxed again, knowing Chuck was the least teasing member of the team. "You'd better not be lying to me, mate, or I'm closing shop and moving to Tenerife!" Jim warned.
The team shared further laughter at the barman's fear before Chris said, "Right, let's all show him where our sidearms should be and then get our drinks because I'm dying of bloody thirst!"
Red Team nodded in unison before indicating to the barman where their sidearms would typically be holstered, effectively resolving the issue.
Jim, finally relaxed, asked, "Right, ok, same as usual then?"
"Yeah, fella, and I'm paying for this one," Big Dan said, nodding.
"Bloody hell!" Jim laughed. "That's a first!"
"He's turning over a new leaf, mate!" Jamie chortled. "We're making sure of it!"
"He'd better had be as well, otherwise he's barred while you won't be!" Jim said, shaking his head as he got to work on serving Red Team their drinks.
Jim and Jamie's remarks caused the team to share the laughter while Big Dan smirked.
With a deep breath, Cole released the tension from his shoulders and let out a satisfied sigh. "God, this feels good! No more tension and finally back to normal."
"Yeah, and Jimbo's enjoying it more than us, fella!" John Murray laughed.
The latest comment caused Red Team to chuckle again.
Red Team was soon served their drinks, and Big Dan handed over the money for the round.
"You should probably check that to make sure it's real, Jim, because Dan's tighter than a duck's arse," Sarah said.
Red Team roared with laughter at Sarah's comment, which intensified when Jim narrowed his eyes and rushed to inspect the banknote, holding it up to the light to check for watermarks and security features.
"He fucking did as well!" Big Dan said, snorting.
The sound of the team's laughter rose to new heights, mingling with the rustling of paper as Jim placed the banknote into the till.
Taking hold of his cold beer, Big Dan felt a sense of camaraderie as he looked at his teammates on either side of him. "Right, fellas and ladies, let's get this first one down us!"
With eager hands, the team picked up their drinks, brimming with excitement.
As Chuck held his drink, he scanned the group and saw Jamie eyeing his drink. "You know, I was thinking, with how long Jamie's gone since he last had a drink, maybe we should make him adhere to an alcohol-free stance moving forward."
Everyone paused their actions and turned to look at Chuck, soon muttering their agreements.
"That's not a bad shout, fella!" Big Dan said, raising a hand to his chin as he held his pint. "And don't worry about it going to waste, because I'll be having his!"
"You can fuck right off!" Jamie laughed his laughter like a battle cry, strong and defiant. "I'll murder every one of you without a second thought if you try to stop me from having this drink!"
Jamie's remark brought out further laughter from the team.
"Cheers," Chris MacDonald said, looking around his team.
"Cheers," Everyone but Dan replied, while Dan said, "Up yer arse."
A few light chuckles met Big Dan's remark as the team savoured their first sips of their beverages.
The team's enjoyment of their drinks was clear in the contented sighs that escaped their lips.
"That's lovely, that is!" Big Dan moaned.
Everyone nodded.
Because it was lovely.
"I take it you'll all be here regularly again now then?" Jim asked.
"First, he wants rid of us, now he wants us to stay!" Cole chuckled rowdily.
Cole's teammates shared his laughter as Chuck said, "I think a round of drinks on the house will encourage us to come more regularly."
"An excellent shout, fella!" Big Dan said. "I wholeheartedly approve of that motion. See to it, Jimbo, fella."
The rest of the team followed Chuck and Dan's lead, chiming in with their own muttered remarks.
However, Jim laughed his head off, amusing Red Team. "You must be joking! Every time I see you lot, I nearly have a heart attack! And anyway, I never charged you for a round of your last drinks when you were here last!"
"HE REMEMBERED!" Jamie roared suddenly, erupting in an immense laughing fit.
The rest of Red Team reached the same state as Jamie, falling into each other where they sat at the bar in warm spirits.
Once the laughter calmed, Jamie took another mouthful of his beer, moaning in glee as he did. "I know I said I didn't want to get pissed, and that I wanted to put Emily first, but I have a good mind to go back on it and get lashed!" Jamie chuckled, taking another mouthful of his drink.
"She's behind you right now, Jamie," Cole said, glancing between Jamie and behind his friend next to him.
Cole's sudden announcement caught Jamie off guard, causing him to sputter and spray his drink all over the bar, choking as he did so.
"Oi!" Jim said, glaring at him.
Once Jamie could speak again, he said, "He's having me on! But I'm not falling for it twice, Cole, you twat!"
With Jamie's remarks delivered, he started laughing his head off again, taking hold of his drink and glancing at his teammates.
"She's behind you right now, mate," Chuck said, his serious expression and tone left no doubt that he was not joking.
Jamie stopped laughing again as he scoffed and shook his head. "As I told Cole, I'm not falling for it this time, mate!" he laughed again.
"Jamie, they're really telling you the truth," Sarah stressed.
Jamie narrowed his eyes, stopping laughing again. "I swear to fucking god if this is another wind-up, then I'm having all of you!"
"Jamie, stop talking, and turn around, fella," Big Dan urged.
Jamie's anxiety finally took over, and he felt the cold sweat bead on his forehead as he tightened his grip around the pint glass in his hand.
However, he was still reluctant to turn around, knowing the team had already got him on this trick once before.
"Turn around, Jamie," Chris urged.
Jamie held his breath—as did Red Team—as he built up the courage to turn.
Jamie's heart pounded in his chest as he turned slowly, fighting against his fears.
It took him what felt like an eternity to find Emily, who was standing just one foot behind him.
The realisation that his teammates were telling the truth caused his heart to sink in fear. He was no longer worried about being the target of a prank, but dreaded what Emily may have heard.
"Hi, gorgeous," Jamie said, his voice trembling slightly, and his palms sweating.
Red Team's laughter was like nails on a chalkboard grating on Jamie's nerves.
Jamie shot a quick glare at his laughing teammates before turning his gaze back to Emily.
"Planning on getting pissed, were we?" Emily asked.
Jamie chuckled. "I didn't mean it!"
"I'm sure you meant every word, Jamie," Emily said, holding a belittling glance.
"Marital problems already, Jamie?" Chuck teased, feeling glad to get almost instant revenge from Jamie's earlier remark in their barracks.
Jamie shot a glare at Chuck as Red Team chuckled at his joke, with Jamie soon doing the same.
He then looked back at Emily.
"But at least I heard you say that you wanted to put me first for once, so I'll forgive you," Emily said.
Jamie erupted in laughter, knowing he was off the hook.
He stood, moving to embrace Emily.
"I've missed you loads, and the Red Alert is over now, so we'll have lots of time to ourselves. We've all got four days off!" Jamie said.
Emily's mood perked as Red Team continued laughing in good spirits at Jamie's unlucky encounter.
"Sit down here and I'll get you a drink," Jamie said, ushering Emily to his former seat.
"Thanks," Emily said as she moved to take a seat. "Just not a beer."
Chuckles broke out amongst the teammates as Cole turned to look at Sarah and said, "It looks like you have someone to drink the same as you."
"I already did," Sarah said, turning her glance to her boyfriend. "At least Chuck has never left me alone and ordered shorts like me from time to time."
"You should order the same as us, then, if you don't want to be left out, shouldn't you?" Chris said.
"Beer hurts my stomach and gives me cramps. It's not worth it," Sarah said.
Some scoffs erupted amongst her teammates.
Emily, meanwhile, nodded and said, "It hurts mine sometimes, too."
"It doesn't hurt ours!" John Murray chuckled.
"That's because you all have cast iron stomachs while we don't," Emily said.
Cole got in on the exchange and said, "Sarah is an SAS soldier, just like us."
"She doesn't look it unlike the rest of you, who all look gritty being toned all over with broken bones," Emily said.
Sarah smiled at the compliment.
"Are you calling us ugly? Cheeky bitch," Big Dan joked.
Jamie paused from ordering Emily's drink to glare and point at Big Dan. "Oi! Watch your mouth with her or I'll join Chuck in filling you in!"
Laughter broke out amongst the team over Jamie's warning, identical in nature to Chuck's one just before they entered.
Emily smiled at Jamie for his defending of her.
Jim soon served Emily's drink as Bryce and John engaged in conversation.
"Seeing as though they're all going to be right bores tonight, do you fancy doing anything, John, mate?" Bryce asked.
John Murray nodded. "Aye, I'm up for that. We'll have a blast, unlike these wimps."
Bryce's head bobbed up and down in enthusiastic agreement.
"A night with the groupies, is it?" Big Dan teased.
"It's better than a night with kids," Bryce said.
Big Dan crossed his arms, glancing at Bryce seated next to him. "You know what, fella? I agree. But I'd rather not be single, so sometimes you have to compromise and put your family first. Eventually, if you have one, you'll have to do the same. Just don't drink too much 'cause we're all heading out for a massive one tomorrow."
"If you don't all back out of it," John Murray said.
"Have you ever seen me back out of anything, fella?" Big Dan said. "I mean what I say, and we're all heading out tomorrow to get wasted."
Big Dan's remarks led to laughter in approval amongst some teammates.
"I take it you'll be heading out for that tomorrow?" Emily asked, looking at Jamie.
Jamie nodded. "Yeah, but it's only one night. It's a warm-down from everything we've faced the last month."
"I don't resent that, Jamie. You all deserve it after everything I'm sure you've faced because I watched most of it on the news," Emily said with a reassuring smile.
Jamie smiled back. "We're just having one more round after this, then going our separate ways until tomorrow. I'm not sure if we have any plans after that," he said, then glanced around at his teammates. "Are there any plans for us after tomorrow?"
Red Team paused their activities to give the question some thought.
"Why don't we all head to the large indoor waterpark in Hereford?" Sarah suggested. "It's better than us always getting pissed and we can bring our families along."
Sarah's teammates mused on the thought, but Chuck reached his decision before anyone. "What a great idea, Sarah."
The lovers shared a warm gaze which was interrupted when Chris said, "There's no chance of my family tagging along, but if it's a team decision, I'll be there."
Groans erupted in complaint amongst Chris's teammates.
"Chris, why do you always have to ruin the mood?" Big Dan asked, shaking his head. "Sarah's shout is actually an excellent one and all of us heading to the pool with our families will be a great way to recover from how wasted we're going to get tomorrow."
Heads nodded.
"So that's our Saturday sorted," Cole said, glancing around. "A few hours at the waterpark, then we'll split and do our own thing."
Jamie joined his teammates in nodding, then glanced around. "What about Sunday?"
Chuck furrowed his brow for a moment, then looked around the team. "On the Sunday before we all got called in for the lockdown, Cole and I were going to head out together."
"No surprises there," Big Dan muttered under his breath.
The team laughed but stopped when Chuck continued, "How about Cole and I hosting a barbecue at my place late Sunday afternoon? Adults only?"
"I always knew he didn't like kids," Big Dan joked.
Chuck joined his teammates in laughing for a moment at Big Dan's latest quip.
Once the amusement calmed, Cole said, "It's a great idea! Chuck and I will go shopping together on Sunday for everything we need, but you'd better all be bringing some alcohol, otherwise, your invitation is hereby revoked!"
A few additional chuckles broke out, and then Bryce said, "I'm up for that."
"Aye, me too," John Murray said.
Sarah nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she met her lover's gaze.
He smiled back until their glance broke when Jamie said, "I'll speak for the rest of us in saying we're all up for it as well."
Everyone nodded.
"That just now leaves fitting in our payback against those gentlemen in Blue Team, and we're sorted 'cause I don't intend to return to the base before we've wiped the smugness from their faces," Big Dan said with conviction.
The sound of Big Dan's teammates' unanimous agreement echoed through the pub, causing a ruckus.
"So, how are we getting them back then?" Sarah asked, glancing at Chris.
The rest of Red Team joined her in looking at their team leader in search of an answer, who was finishing the rest of his first pint of Guinness.
Putting his pint glass back down on the bar counter, Chris said, "As I said, it's a surprise."
Groans erupted amongst Chris's teammates as John Murray pressed, "Come on, fella! You can't do this to us. You know we can't contain our excitement!"
"Yeah, and besides, we need to know what it is so we can allocate the time to fit it in," Chuck said.
Everyone nodded as Big Dan said, "I always hate it when he has a surprise for us because he never fails to not have us all exploding in suspense. He's a sadist."
The nods continued as pressure mounted on their team leader as Cole said, "If he doesn't tell us, then we'll forget about his plan and make one of our own!"
The nods intensified as the team continued to glance at Chris, sensing he was about to burst under the pressure as Bryce said, "So, what plan should we make ourselves, then?"
"Ok fine!" Chris said commandingly. "Seeing as I won't get any peace until I've told you spoilsports about it, I've no choice but to reveal it. On Saturday night, after they've clocked off the base and headed to a pub, we'll hire some escorts for them."
The atmosphere at the bar was electric as Red Team embraced their team leader's plan.
"Ok, Chris, we very much approve of the first part," Big Dan said. "But don't keep us all bursting in suspense! Tell us the rest."
Red Team silenced their hysterical chatter by listening to Chris.
"We'll hire two escorts to send in to chat up two of their lot and convince them to head back for a good time. Once they fall for it, and they will, we'll ambush them and arrive at the location where the escorts will have tied up two of them and be performing light BDSM on them. We'll take extensive pictures of their extracurricular activities to share around the base," Chris said with a rough chuckle of excitement.
Out of nowhere, the pub exploded with an immense noise as it rose to a crescendo as Red Team passionately debated the merits of Chris's idea.
"You're a legend, Chris, mate! It's boss!" Bryce shouted, his excitement at the idea immeasurable.
The rest of the team voiced immediate agreement, feeling the same as Bryce.
"And one of those gobshites is going to be Joe Lewis, even if I have to pay most of it myself!" Jamie chuckled.
"Yeah, and the other one's Kyle Rogerson because I'll gladly pay for that," Chuck said.
"So will I!" Sarah said, in determination.
Big Dan looked around at his teammates. "Fair enough. So Kyle and Joe it is. We'll get them on Saturday night. We all know the pubs and bars they hang out anyway, so we'll do a recce of them first and once we know where they're at, we'll send in our surprise."
Excitement continued as Red Team shared chuckles, while Emily merely shook her head at their actions.
"It will probably cost us about twenty-five quid each. I'm expecting all of you to chip in!" Chris warned, glancing at his team.
Outstretching his arms, Big Dan said, "I'll gladly chip in with the cost if it means embarrassing them, fella."
"As will I!" the rest of Red Team shouted in unison.
The laughter and great spirits continued as Red Team basked in the excitement of the potential to get one over on Blue Team.
"Right, John, get ordering our second one, fella, and then we'll be off until tomorrow," Big Dan said.
John Murray nodded, then ordered Red Team's second round of drinks.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O
As Red Team exited Jim's pub, the sound of their laughter echoed through the street.
They'd only had two drinks, but for all of them, it was enough to enter them in fantastic moods ahead of everything that was to come during their lengthy weekend off-duty.
Cole glanced around at his teammates, sharing their great spirits as they smiled at each other. "Right, I'll be seeing all of you tomorrow!"
"We'll meet up here about four o'clock?" Big Dan suggested.
"Four sounds good," Chuck said.
Everyone nodded.
"Right then, I'll be loving and leaving you all, and I'll be seeing you tomorrow!" Jamie said with a smile.
"See you tomorrow, mate," Chuck said, grinning.
The team said their last goodbyes, then parted ways, with Chuck and Sarah remaining behind outside the pub as their teammates split off and entered their parked vehicles.
Now alone, the lovers locked eyes, silently communicating their building relationship.
Chuck's lips curved into a tender smile.
She smiled back, then asked, "Are you ready to head back to mine then?"
He shook his head. "First, I'm taking you out for dinner, and I'm paying because of my douchey behaviour earlier."
"It's okay," she said, smiling.
He shook his head again. "It's not. I took the joking way too far and hurt you because of my stupidity which I didn't intend. I'll never do anything like that to you again. I don't know what came over me."
"Your eight years in the army came over you," she said with a smile. "But you already apologised to me in my room and told me how you really feel about me. So you don't need to take me out, Chuck, it's okay."
"I want to," he said, gazing into her eyes.
Looking down at herself—dressed in beige jeans, a leopard top and a jacket—Sarah felt a wave of unease wash over her. "I'm not sure if I'm dressed enough to head on a date, and I've not had my hair done in more than a month."
Chuck gave her the biggest grin in all the time he'd known her. "Beautiful, you blow ninety-nine percent of people out of the water on any day you don't try. But today, in that," he said, nodding at her outfit. "You blow most of the remaining one percent away as well."
Sarah's face flushed crimson as she received his latest compliment, and she looked down to hide her embarrassment.
When she looked back at her lover, her face lit up with an adoring smile. "Then let's head out. But I'm paying for half of it, otherwise, we're not going anywhere," she said, leaving no room for negotiation in her tone.
Chuck nodded with concession as he looked at his girlfriend with affection. "It's only a short walk from your place. We can drive to your apartment, then walk to it?"
Sarah nodded, and with their teammates safely departed, the lovers melted into each other's arms, savouring the softness of a lingering kiss.
"I'll see you in a few minutes," Chuck whispered against her lips.
With a brief caress of his cheek, Sarah nodded and released her grip on him, but not before tugging at his hand for one last moment.
Letting go of his hand, they departed for their cars.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Next chapter, Chuck and Sarah go on their date, and then we'll conclude the night at Sarah's place! A quick point about Big Dan's teasing of Sarah. This teasing will soon reach its dramatic conclusion in a few chapters' time. The reason I'm having Big Dan do it so much, I will soon reveal. It may look like he's bullying her, but I assure you he's not. Just a few chapters left until the moment I've been building towards :)
FOOTNOTES: Because WDW is a niche fiction with a limited readership (it's my least viewed, followed, favorited, and reviewed per chapter story) where only a minority of Chuck readers enjoy this story, it's critical for those who do like it to stay loud and vocal about it with me. All I have to support and rely on in this fiction is you guys. I can understand those who don't review often. However, in a very limited audience fiction such as this, your feedback means all the more to me. It absolutely matters more! So I ask: please help me with that by leaving a brief review and I'll see you next chapter :)