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XIII ... nothin' but a good time
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"YOU WANT ANYTHING?" jenna said as she walked into bella's office. "a cherry coke or an energy drink? i know you've got a long night ahead."

"i'm good, thank you." bella said as she continued looking through some more files. "i'll see you later, hon." it was past 6:30 on a friday afternoon; on a normal friday afternoon, bella would be out driving around the busy streets of los angeles in johnny's bright red firebird, with the radio turned all the way up.

but, this wasn't normal for 6:30 on a friday afternoon. bella was up to her heels in paperwork regarding some new inventory coming in. she had been working on this all week and wanted to finish as soon as possible before moving on to something else. the thing was tonight, she and johnny were going on a date. she let out a deep sigh as she reached to grab the phone when it began to ring.

"hello?" bella sighed, grabbing a folder and placing some forms in it.

"you sound exhausted." johnny chuckled on the other side of the line. "how's it going, babe?"

"let's just say i'm knee-deep in paperwork." bella said, putting her pen down and rubbing her eyes. "and it's a good thing you called because that date we have on for tonight; i might be a little late."

"actually, i called to tell you the same thing." johnny sighed. "some guys and i are working overtime to finish installing this roof. we probably won't be done until later. you wanna just do this some other time?"

"we'll see what happens." bella said as she twirled the phone cord through her fingers. "i'll see you later. i love you."

"i love you too." johnny said as he hung up the phone. "i'll call you."

bella hung the phone up as she let out a frustrated sigh and walked to the filing cabinet, placing some files inside. she turned the radio on, turning up the volume being that she was the last person on the floor as the dj introduced the next song;

it's friday, la! that rough week is finally over and now it's time to party before monday comes around again! so whether you're heading home, having a drink, or still out there working, this one's for you.

a heavy guitar riff introduced the song, as bella turned up the volume a bit more as she recognized the familiar tune by poison. she roughly closed the filing cabinet as she sat back
down and finished up her last batch of papers.

the same guitar riff was heard from the radio that was in the back of a truck as a group of men gathered around an ice chest, drinking some water before going back to work.

not a dime, i can't pay my rent
i can barely make it through the week
saturday night, i'd like to make my girl
but right now, i can't make ends meet

bella tapped her pen to the rhythm of the song as she organized her papers into two separate piles. she signed off on some papers and placed them in a folder that she would file later.

i'm always workin', slavin' everyday
gotta get a break from that same old, same old

johnny opened up a beer and took a quick swig before heading back to help one of his coworkers. although it was late in the afternoon, the sun was still up and bright. he wiped some sweat off his forehead as he held the ladder, then climbed up to fix a side of the roof.

i need a chance just to get away
if you could hear me think, this is what i'd say

bella sang along with the song on the radio as she reached over go grab a paper clip, holding the pen in her mouth, and placing them in a folder. as the stack of folders grew, she grabbed them and placed them in a filing cabinet, not before kicking off her heels.

don't mean nothin' but a good time,
how can i resist?

bella smiled as she swayed her hips to the tune as she closed the drawer and walked back to her desk, plopping herself onto her chair. bella took a deep breath as she took a small break before starting her last batch of paperwork, which was a heavy load. as she sank back into her chair, she took a sip of water as she looked at her photos, preferably the picture of her and her boyfriend.

"agh, almost finished." bella sighed as she placed her water bottle aside and grabbed the last folder on her desk.

ain't lookin' for nothin' but a good time
and it don't get better than this

it was finally 7pm and the sun was starting to set. both bella and johnny were almost out from work, just in time. with the sun setting, it made it much easier for johnny and the other workers to finish up without having the sun beat down on them. the job was almost done when tony overheard a conversation between two other workers until they gathered all the guys around.

"let's just head home. we'll finish it monday." a worker named david said.

"are you sure?" tony said, grabbing his half-empty beer.

"we're almost done with it anyway." johnny said as he climbed off of the ladder.

"let's face it; it's friday night and i wanna leave just as much you guys do. so go home or go have a drink. i'll see you guys early monday morning to finish this up." david said as he got into his car.

they say i spend my money on women and wine
but i couldn't tell you where i spent last night
i'm really sorry about the shape i'm in
i just like my fun every now and then

bella walked off the elevator and out the door as she smiled at the sight of her boyfriend's car, waiting outside.

"hey beautiful." johnny smiled as he pecked bella's lips. "aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"honey, am i so glad to see you." bella happily sighed as she kicked off her heels. "how'd it go? did you finish?"

"the guys decided to leave early." johnny said as he started the car. "we're almost finished, but we just left it for monday morning. you?"

"after thousands of papers, i finally finished." bella sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and turned up the radio. "i could really use a drink."

"so could i." johnny chuckled as he headed to the closest bar.

i'm always workin', slavin' every day
gotta get a break from that same old, same old
i need a chance just to get away
if you could hear me think, this is what i'd say

"rum & cherry coke for the lady and a glass of whiskey for me." johnny said as he paid the bartender. "not bad for a date night."

"i know you wanted to go to dinner and i'm so sorry." bella sighed as the bartender gave them their drinks. "i'll make it up to you; next time, dinner's on me."

"don't worry so much, this is just as good as having dinner at that place i wanted to take you, if not, better." johnny smiled as he intertwined his hand with hers. "work caught up to us and it didn't happen, but at least, we're together now."

"you're right." bella sighed as she bit her lip before finishing up her drink. "i could definitely use a round of shots."

"on me!" the couple said in unison as they slammed a dollar bill onto the counter.

you see, i, i raise a toast to all of us
who are breakin' our backs everyday
if wanting the good life is such a crime
lord, then put me away

"okay, this round's on me." bella said as she handed the bartender a dollar bill. "you'll take the next round?"

"alright." johnny said as the bartender poured the liquor into small shot glasses. once the bartender served them their glasses, the couple each took their glass. "to the shit we put up with from nine-to-five."

"and to working our sorry asses off." bella giggled as the couple raised their glasses.

"cheers!" the couple said in unison as their glasses clinked together, giggling as some liquor spilled onto the counter before chugging their drinks down and finally slamming their glasses on the counter.

here's to ya.