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X ... she's got the look
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"IF NO ONES CALLING IT, I WILL." chrissy smirked as she held her cards. "bullshit."

"chris, i'm not bluffing this time!" bobby groaned as he placed his cards down, in protest. "i really did place 4 2's down."

it was thursday night; the day after bella's interview. after bella's interview, the group of friends decided to head to the couple's van nuys apartment to hang out together. they wanted to be there when bella got the call about her interview to either congratulate her or console her. after 2 rounds of poker, a pizza, and now a round of bullshit, there was no sign of any phone call.

"i'm afraid we're gonna need proof." bella giggled as she took a swig of the budweiser she was holding.

bobby sighed and picked the cards from the pile, which were in fact, 4 twos. the group began to
laugh as chrissy scoffed in annoyance. "y'know the rules, christina." bobby laughed as he handed chrissy all the cards in the pile.

"i'm gonna get you back." chrissy said as she organized the cards in her hand. "jenna, you're up."

"okay, i have 2 threes." jenna said, placing her cards in the middle. "tommy?"

"4 fours." tommy said. "bella?"

"1 five." bella said, placing her card down and grabbing some chips. "john?"

"2 sixes." johnny said as he placed the cards down. the table went quiet as bella turned to her boyfriend, who was taking a swig of his banquet. "alright, what now?"

bella looked around and tried to hold her laughter in. "um, babe? that's bullshit." bella smiled as she softly bit her lip.

the table erupted into laugher as he rolled his eyes as he grabbed the cards in the pile. "wow, this is historic!" tommy laughed as he drank his beer. "johnny lawrence never gets caught bluffing."

"well he just did." jimmy laughed. "and his girlfriend called it."

johnny jokingly tossed a bottle cap at jimmy as the rest of the table continued laughing. "watch your ass, jimmy." johnny said as he pressed the bottle up to his lips. "you could be next."

as the game continued, bella fidgeted in her chair as she continued to stare at the phone, waiting for it to ring. she took deep breaths as she played with the beer bottle in her hands. chrissy noticed her anxious demeanor and put her cards down.

"bella, hon." chrissy said. "take a long deep breath and relax. they're gonna call and i guarantee you, it will be good news."

"you never told us how the interview went." bobby said as he reshuffled the cards.

"it went well, i think?" bella sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "i think i did pretty well; now was it well enough to get the job? i don't know."

"eliza seriously thinks you're gonna get it." jenna said as she opened up another beer. "she said that out of everyone that they interviewed, you were the one that had their shit together the most."

"yeah, yeah." bella laughed. "i was so close to spilling my guts out in the conference room."

"but you didn't and maybe that influenced their decision." johnny said. "don't overthink it so much."

as bella walked to the fridge to grab another beer, when the phone began to ring. the apartment went quiet as bella's heart sank. she opened up the beer bottle and took a swig of the bottle. "can someone get that, please?" bella sighed as she placed the bottle down.

chrissy stood up to answer the phone while bella continued chugging down her second beer. "false alarm; it's your mother." chrissy said as bella felt a bit of relief. "she's asking how it went."

bella grabbed the phone and placed it up to her ear as she began to speak with her mother. while bella spoke to her mother, bobby distributed the cards for another round. "this thing's really making her anxious, huh?" tommy said as he picked up his cards.

"i've never seen her this terrified." jenna sighed as she pressed the beer bottle up to her lips. "all day today, anytime a phone rang, her face would get very pale."

"she was fine when she got home. after a while, she took a shower, then grabbed a bottle of wine, drank about half, and knocked out." johnny said.

"don't tell me; she got wasted again." chrissy said as she picked up her cards.

"again?" jenna chuckled.

"every time bella's under pressure, she gets hammered." bobby laughed as he set aside his half empty beer bottle. "remember spring break of '87?"

"that was right before midterms." jenna said as she took a swig of her beer.

"long story short; jimmy had a party in malibu and because she was stressed about the exams, she decided to "relax" and got drunk, and drunk bella isn't the easiest to handle." chrissy laughed. "she drank a few and smoked a joint so she was pretty much out of it by the time johnny took her home. thank goodness her parents weren't home."

"yet, she aced her exams." johnny laughed. "she crammed all the studying she could've done instead of getting drunk the weekend before and still managed to pass."

bella hung up the phone and walked back to the fridge and grabbed a cherry coca-cola. "another round?" she smiled as she sat back down on the table. "mom really scared me. i thought it was the supervisors calling."

"yeah, you went pale again." jenna chuckled as she ran a hand through her hair.

"okay, all this beer's making me wanna go pee." bella giggled as she stood up once again from the table. as she walked to the bathroom, the phone began to ring. she froze as she stood in the doorway of the bathroom. she felt her heart sink once again as she walked back to the table. "someone please pick it up."

johnny stood up and answered the phone, as she slowly paced. "yes, she's here. please hold." he said to whoever was on the other side of the line, then turned to bella, handing her the phone. "it's for you, baby."

bella felt her hands shake as she took the phone from her boyfriend's grasp and walked into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. the group sat around the table, in silence, waiting for bella. after 10 minutes, bella walked out of the bedroom with the phone in her hands.

"so?" jimmy softly smiled as he stood up from the table. "how'd you do?"

bella took a deep breath and placed the phone on the counter. "i got the job." she smiled as small tears formed in her eyes. "i got the job!"

the apartment was filled with cheers as bella ran into her boyfriend's arms, as he picked her up and spun her around, kissing her proudly. she was then congratulated by the rest of her friends.

"what did i tell you?" chrissy smiled as she embraced her best friend. "i knew it! i freaking knew it."

"we have to go celebrate!" jenna said as she stood up from the table. "let's go have dinner!"

"sounds like a plan." bella laughed. "now, while you all decide where to go, i'm gonna go pee because i drank 2 beers and i drank them
too fast."

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

"i'm sorry, but i simply cannot see how johnny made it through 2 plus hours in a discotheque." chrissy laughed as she took a sip from her glass of champagne as the table laughed.

"seriously, johnny lawrence? partying at studio 54?" bobby chuckled. "i would've paid good money to see that happen."

"how did you get into the club though?" jimmy said, turning to jenna and placing his arm around her. "wasn't it exclusive to where only vip's could go in?"

"alright, i'm a manhattan girl, born and raised, and my parents were both journalists. i was about 10 years old when this club opened." jenna explained. "they made a big deal about the grand opening so my parents, being responsible journalists, decided to go and check it out. after that, they became regulars, every date night; they would head to 54."

"i still can't believe we got in." bella giggled as she held the champagne glass between her hands. "it was the best way to spend my 20th."

"yeah, because not only did you get an internship; you also got some action." bobby laughed as johnny playfully nudged him as the rest of the table laughed and whistled.

"oh shut it." bella rolled her eyes as she sipped champagne. the laughter died down as bella continued to sip on her glass. "but for the record, it was the best sex i've ever had."

the table erupted into laughter and whistles as bella placed her lips onto her boyfriend's. "okay, before they get hot and bothered, and start doing it on the table, i'd like to make a toast." jenna smiled as she raised her champagne glass. "this one goes to bella, because although she was nervous, she never cracked under pressure and because of that, she is now product manager. i think i can speak for all of us when i say that we are beyond proud of you. to bella!"

"cheers." the group toasted as bella kept the smile on her face. she then turned to the blonde and pressed her lips with his once more.

"i'm proud of you, bella." johnny smiled as he pressed his forehead against bella's. "you deserve this, you really do."

"thank you." bella smiled as she placed her drink down on the table. "so, how are we celebrating later on tonight?"

"i already have some ideas." johnny smirked as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind bella's ear. "i bet i can top that night in new york, on your birthday."

"it's gonna be a tough one." bella smirked, biting her lip. "but i'd love to see you try."

"okay, can you guys wait after dinner to plan whatever you two wanna do in bed?" chrissy laughed. "we don't wanna loose our appetite."