OK, so some backstory... My best friend Laura has in fact been my best friend since we met in High School. From the first day of eighth grade when we were introduced we became inseparable. When it comes to looks and personality she's my polar opposite being under 5 foot, very outgoing, skinny, naturally straight blonde hair and she was a town kid.
I on the other hand, am around 5'6 with wavy brown hair and curves. I'm a born and bred country girl and I'm quite an introverted person, partially because we were always made to stay at home and work instead of socialising with friends and partially because I'm incredibly shy. Because if these facts I'm what I call a social scaredy cat.
Any who, fast forward 7 years later and Laura and I were still great friends. We did things together at least once a week and sometimes she brought along her boyfriend Zane for the ride. Zane had been dating Laura for around 6 months and I got the impression that there wasn't anything too serious between them yet. After spending a lot of time with him over that period I've was able to come out of my shell and laugh and joke with him.
I have a crude sense of humour and the things I say would make even a sailor blush, so I think that he was a little taken aback when I started to speak my mind and made wicked comments when he was around.
Zane ended up tagging along with Laura every time we planned something. I didn't mind though, I really enjoyed spending time with him. He would often sit next to me as soon as he arrived and we chatted until Laura dragged him off somewhere or came and sat on his lap. Ohh i'm leaving the most important detail out, Zane was hot as fuck!
Now to the night "The Incident" changed everything...
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I was just about done with my friday night shift at the pub as my phone pinged. It was Laura asking if I wanted to go out after work. It had been a shit of a night and I had customers complaining left and right about anything and everything. I honestly just wanted to punch someone but me being the professional that I clearly am, decided to wait and take it out on the copious amounts of alcohol I was about to consume so going out with my friends seemed like the only logical thing to do.
I finished my shift just after 9 pm and raced home to shower and get ready. Makeup was only minimal and my hair being naturally wavy meant that all I had to do was run my fingers through it and let it fall down my back naturally. I put on a pair of ripped jeans, a maroon fitted top and a black cardigan and I was out the door.
Any who, I arrived at the pub and found Laura, Zane and a couple of other people I didn't know too well crowded around a bar table. I said a quick hello as I caught Zane's eye and he beckoned me to come around to his side of the group. I squeezed my way in and he looped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him to hug hello. I was sandwiched between him and some random bloke I had met only once before so I leaned into Zane so I could give the other bloke at least a little bit of his space back . Zane's arm was still around my waist and I felt him running his thumb up and down my side. I had a teensy tiny little crush on him and I was hyperaware of his hand as soon as it touched me. I mean, how could I not be. He really was a good looking guy, tall, rugged with a whole hell of a lot of tattoos. Mmmm...(sorry, sidetracked).
I was enjoying the proximity of our bodies far too much but after about 10 minutes of our very close contact Laura came over and pushed herself in-between us. I took it as my queue to head the bar for something to wet my whistle.
I was in the mood for a shots kind of a night which of course meant that it was tequila and tequila only. I think I had about 10 in the space of 30 minutes so I went from being completely sober to unsteady on my feet pretty quick smart.
Have I mentioned that tequila turns me into a huge flirt, because it does! One minute I was standing at the bar minding my own business and the next I was on the dance floor. It was innocent fun at first until I started half dancing, half grinding on some random's crotch when a rough hand yanked me away from my dancing partner. I was surprised and a little angry to find that it was Zane that had man handled me like a cave man.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing? Who the fuck is that?"
"What the hell do you think you're doing Zane i'm just having a little fun. If you want to boss someone around go do it to your girlfriend!"
His face looked as if it were made of stone. The only resemblance of emotion was the muscles of his jaw clenching and unclenching as he wrestled with whatever thoughts were playing in his mind. I scooted around him and went back to the bar. This time it was just to get a bottle of water because I was actually a little rattled and thought it time I should head home. I found Laura dancing with some people I never met and signalled that I was heading home. She just waved and kept moving to the beat of the music. I took my water and headed out to wait for a taxi. The quiet outside helped to clear my mind of the affects of the alcohol when I heard the door opening from behind me "What the hell are you doing now?" Zane said as he came to stand in front of me. "Look, I was a little tipsy and just having a dance with that guy. What does it matter to you Zane? Just go back inside and dance with your girlfriend. I'm going home."
"Not alone you aren't. I'm coming with you and making sure you get home safe. I already told Laura that I was taking off."
"I don't need a babysitter thank you very much!"
"I don't care what you need. Here's a taxi, get your arse in the car." He demanded as he opened the door to the back seat.
I sulked like a child for the entire ride home and as soon as the cabbie pulled over at my stop I jumped out, expecting Zane to head back to his place once he saw me home.
That didn't happen though.