015. BREAK IT

"This is, like, a date then? You're actually on a date?"

Rory squirmed in her seat over Benny's question. "Yes," she hissed back. "Now would you stop asking that?"

"Sorry! I'm just shocked. You keep trying to convince us that he's some asshole on our night out - even though you made out with him, like, a hundred times - and now I catch you two walking home and giggling after a romantic dinner!"

"It wasn't romantic."

"But you were giggling. Please don't tell me you're going to tell me you're in love tomorrow or something."

Her jaw went slack. "Benny!" she cried, playfully shoving his shoulder. "What the fuck! Don't put that out into the universe!"

"You're on a date without trying to con a guy. Anything can happen, Roro."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just, please, don't be weird. He's my boss now. I can't ditch this one. I will still have to see him even if this night goes horribly wrong."

"Shit. I didn't even think about that!" Benny burst into a fit of laughter. "You're going to fuck your boss!"

"No, I'm not! He knows my rule!"

"Yeah, okay, sure. Like that's going to stop anything," he snickered. "Ten bucks says you guys fuck tonight."

Rory extended her hand. "Deal." She shook his hand. "Easiest ten bucks I'll ever make."

"Careful now, Roro. Don't jinx yourself."

Opening her mouth to reply with a snippy comment, she was silenced by Harry's return. At least he brought drinks. She needed alcohol after that conversation.

"Did I miss anything good?" Harry asked as he took a seat.

"No," she was quick to respond, forcing a smile. "Just catching up a bit."

Spotting the way Harry casually draped his over over Rory's shoulders caused a goofy grin to spread across Benny's face. "Yeah, I heard all about your night." His amusement increased as Rory's eyes narrowed at him. "Did you enjoy yourself, Harry?"

"I did." Harry took a sip of his drink, surprised that his answer was honest. "I'm hoping it will be the first of many."

If Rory didn't think Harry was lying and pulling an act in front of her friend, her cheeks would have reddened from his comment. But she already let her guard down one too many times tonight. Plus, the thought of exposing such a thing in front of Benny - who was enjoying his torturous teasing far too much - was enough to force the reaction away.

"You know," Benny gestured to the two of them from across the table, "You two would make a very cute couple."

"Are you not working tonight?" Rory suddenly asked, hopeful to steer the conversation far away from talks of their dinner, "Shouldn't you be doing your job or something?"

Benny shook his head. "Night off. Here for pleasure."

"Oh! Well, then who are we planning on pleasuring tonight?"

"Ethan. He's..." Benny looked over his shoulder, towards the crowd. "Wait. I have no idea where he went. But he's one of the guys working on the bar tonight."

"Wait, what happened to Lisa?"

"It fizzled."

"Weren't you just with her last night?"

"Yeah! That's when it fizzled!" Benny's eyes roamed the small crowd once more. "Ah, there he is! Excuse me, love birds. I'll be right back!"

Rory drained the rest of her drink and licked the remaining taste off her lips. "Sorry about him," she said once they were alone. "He gets a kick out of teasing me like I'm his little sister."

"That's alright. He's funny - I like him. Besides, he's right, you know."

"About what?"

Harry leaned closer. "We would make a cute couple."

"Yeah, well, sorry to break it to you, Harry," she mirrored his action, "But that's never going to happen."

"You sound so sure of yourself, Bambi. It's quite adorable to hear you talk thinking that you're right."

Rory rolled her eyes; there were not enough dinner dates possible to ever make him bearable to her. Oddly, she was thankful for his arrogant personality. The moment she found herself slightly weakening at the knees for him, he said something that reminded her how much she despised him.

Now, it was time for a little game.

"Remember how I promised I would show you my tricks?"

"Which one, Bambi?"

"My dirty, dirty one?"

"You mean the one when you put your legs behind your-"

Rory swatted his chest with the back of her hand. "No, not that, you perv. The kind that got you and me in this little predicament to begin with." She looked over her shoulder. "See that guy in the suit? Brown hair?"

Harry nodded.

"Give me five minutes. I would tell you to sit here and look unhappy but you look that way naturally."

Harry watched with intrigue as she walked to the bar and positioned herself directly beside a gentleman waiting for his drink. When all she did was wait for the bartender to acknowledge her presence, Harry was left confused. Was his little Bambi playing a game with him? Surely this couldn't be the dirty tricks she had been referring to.

As she turned her head and said something directly to her target, Harry noticed the way the man lit up with amusement. He wasn't surprised by the reaction; he knew there were plenty of things his Bambi could say to make someone respond in that way.

The two continued to make conversation, slowly inching toward one another. Rory placed a hand on his chest and leaned forward to whisper something in his ear. That certainly made his eyes bulge out and his skin flush. But she only laughed and played with the collar of his shirt, tilting her head to the side. For the next few minutes, Rory repeated the same pattern. She would whisper something into his ear, make his skin flush, and then watch his reaction.

Pulling away from her target, she turned to the bar and collected two drinks. Just as Harry thought she would continue toying with the guy, she kept her distance. Harry thought the move was odd until he noticed a blonde female join his side and kiss him on the cheek. Rory smiled and said something to her, pointing at her outfit, before leaving the two alone.

"Here's that drink I promised you," she said, joining Harry on the couch and handing over one of the glasses.

"Is this drink an offer so I forget that little failed mission of yours?"

"Who said anything about failing?"

Rory put down her glass and raised a hand to her cleavage. Before Harry had the chance to ask what the fuck she was doing, she reached into her bra and pulled out a handful of bills.

"Ninety bucks? Not bad. But," her hand dipped under the material of her dress again, "Hold on," she said, biting her lower lip to concentrate as she searched. "There!" Rory dropped two cufflinks onto the couch cushion.

"I'm confused. That's it? That's all you do?" Harry looked up from the small pile of recently collected treasure. "You just talk to guys and lift money off them?"

"Not always. Sometimes I go home with them." She paused and took a sip of her drink. "But that guy had a girlfriend and I'm on a date with you... so it would be kind of weird if I just left with someone else."

"No one could be stupid enough to not notice you doing that."

"You think so?"

"Oh, I know so, Bambi."

Rory grinned in response to his arrogant confidence and moved closer to him. "Men are stupid," she stated. "I make a little joke and start a conversation, take interest in what they do for a living, make them think they are smarter than me... add in a little touch to distract," she ran her hand along the inside of Harry's thigh, "Usually I'll lean in closer to whisper something dirty and watch as they unravel a bit. It gets their guard down. Plus, now I just look like an easy fuck to them and that always makes the ones with a significant other give in. Because now I'm their fantasy for the night."

The hand not busy on the inside of his thigh went to his collar. "I like picking the guys in nice suits because aside from the fact that I know they will have money on them, their egos are so easy to manipulate. Especially when I ask them to repeat very slowly for my dumb little brain to understand what on earth they do for a living!" Her fingers toyed with the buttons on his shirt. "They'll try to impress me by talking about their money or where they've been around the world and I pretend like it's working on me. Sometimes during their big brag fest, when they talk about places in Europe or their private islands, I'll mention how amazing that must be and drop hints that I've never been. Do you know how many times I've been offered to be flown somewhere? And how their eyes light up when I act like it's the nicest thing someone has ever offered me and suggest I'll do anything to repay their kindness?" 

Holding his gaze, Rory leaned closer, her lips inches from him. "Men are stupid by nature. And men who become distracted by the mere thought of sex are even more. So, yes, they're stupid enough to not notice what I do. I go for cash and jewelry because that's easy to think you spent it or lost it throughout the night." 

Abandoning her touch completely, Rory reached for her glass. "There's more to it, but I'm sure you get the idea. Questions?"

"Why did you pick Kip? He's far from one of those suit-wearing douchebags you go for."

"Oh, come on, Harry. I said I'd show you my tricks. I'm not giving away all my dirty secrets." Rory looked down at the small business card in her hand. "Never took you for a frozen yogurt guy," she said, handing it to him. "You might want this back. One more visit and you get a free froyo cup!"

To say he was impressed would be an understatement - even if stealing the card from his front pocket was an amateur move. "Did you learn that trick in one of your textbooks?"

"Don't be a sour puss. You know, life would be a whole lot easier if you just admitted that I was smart."

"You are."

Rory's eyes lit up.

"For a Bambi."

Rory was thankful for Benny's return - something she didn't expect to think after his little performance earlier. But it wasn't his company she was thankful for. It was the tray of drinks he had in hand.

"A little tasting menu!" He announced, setting it down. "Courtesy of the fine piece of ass behind the bar."

"Is that what I should call Ethan now?" Noting the numerous shot glasses filled with different coloured liquids, she asked, "Are those all for you or are you going to share?"

"Now, now, Roro... don't get your panties in a twist. There's one of each kind for each of us."

Harry noted the nickname Benny used. He heard him call her Roro outside and now it was used again. However, Harry was quick to recall the anger she had when Tanner, her well mannered ex-boyfriend, called her Ro at the apartment. And she didn't roll her eyes in a teasing way back then.

"This one is..." Benny looked down at the piece of paper. "A Buttery Nipple! Cheers!"

Rory never ordered, let alone drank, anything like this. But it was free, already in her hand, and she wanted to get drunk. And most importantly, it was free.

Without a second thought, she knocked back the shot. "Not bad. Looked like pee but it tasted pretty good."

"Oh, gross!" her friend complained over the description. "Thank god you said that after we took it!"

Harry wrinkled his nose from the taste. It was evident he wasn't a fan. However, Rory was just glad he was playing along instead of uttering his true disgust of the taste.

Benny handed out another sound of shot glasses filled with red liquid. "This one is the Redheaded Slut!"

"Cheers!"

Licking her lips, she gave a nod of approval. "I like that one."

"From experience," Benny said as he handed out the next round, "I know you can always count on a redhead!"

Harry chuckled. "What's this one?" he asked, looking at the light blue liquid.

"Blue Balls! Cheers!"

A smirk crossed her lips. "Just like what you'll be having tonight!"

"Next we have Cum Shot!"

Rory picked up on what Benny was doing - he was trying to win the bet. He was clever to pick drinks that all had sexual innuendoes; she had to give him that. Getting her drunk and thinking about sex might work on any other night. But she had too much at risk to fall for such a trick.

"Pussy Lickin' Good!"

The rush of the various types of alcohol was coursing through her. She knew that only meant her hangover in the morning would be horrendous but - at least for now - the many fruity drinks made her feel good.

"Oh my god! I love this song!" Benny jumped up from his seat. "Let's go dance!"

Taking his hand, she looked over her shoulder at Harry. "Are you coming?"

"I'm good. You have fun."

"Fine, be that way, old man!"

Harry watched as she made her way to the center of the dance floor. It was easy to spot her due to the small number of people that surrounded them, but he already knew how easy it was to spot her in a crowd.

Swaying her hips to the beat of the music, she belted out the lyrics to the song blasting through the speakers. Harry couldn't help but smile as he watched her be spun around by her friend and lean her head back to let out a laugh.

Rory danced as if no one was watching. And Harry couldn't take his eyes off her.

It was easy for him to admit that he was mesmerized by her. However, he was quick to blame not only the feeling but his admission on the alcohol he had consumed. Even though on most days, he drank twice as much.

Alcohol had to be the reason for his sudden insanity.

"Dance with me!" Rory pouted her bottom lip, extending her arm.

"Rory-"

"Just one song! And then we can go!"

Taking her hand, he allowed her to pull him towards the dance floor. Harry had to be drunk. There was no other possible way to explain how he gave in to her so easily.

"Come on, old man," she teased, "I'm sure you have some moves in you!"

Harry wanted to bitch and complain about what he was getting her to do and how he wished the song would end faster. The words died in his mouth the moment her backside pushed up against him, easily distracting the thoughts right out of his mind. Vanilla intoxicated his senses. Resting his hands on her waist as her hips swayed to the beat of the music, he found himself hoping the song would never end.

But the song did end. Then another ended. Then another. And neither of them made any indication that they wanted to end things and head home. Rory didn't mind, she was happy to have him as a dance partner. Turning her head to the side, a smile spread across her lips as his gaze met hers.

Rory was able to sense his move before he could succeed and pulled her head back. "Don't even think about it, Harry," she teased.

"What do you mean, Bambi?"

"You were going to try and kiss me!"

He scoffed. "I was not."

He was.

"Mmhm," she hummed, unconvinced. "Sure you weren't."

She silently held that over his head for the rest of the night, while they stopped for drunk food with Benny and during their walk home. Although the arm around her waist was enough for her to not say anything about his kiss attempt, worried he might pull away.

As the two of them stood in the hallway outside her apartment in the early hours of the morning, Harry asked, "Aren't you going to invite me inside?"

"Nice try, Harry. You're still my boss, remember?"

"You're fired."

She rolled her eyes and let out a light laugh. "Careful now. With all these desperate attempts to get inside my apartment, you might give someone the impression that you enjoy my company."

Harry looked down at the message on his phone. As Rory raised the key in her hand to the lock on her door, Harry was quick to stop her.

"What if I do?" he asked her softly, placing his hand on her waist and turning her away from the door.

Rory was thankful the hallway light had not been fixed, as the darkness shielded the slight blush - which she blamed on the alcohol - that spread across her cheeks. "Then I would be concerned about how much you had to drink. You might actually scare me for once if you said something crazy like that."

"Rory," he said slowly, raising a hand to her cheek.

The feeling of his thumb lightly grazing the skin of her cheek sent a shiver down her spine. She felt her throat close up with the way his eyes fixated on hers. Rory didn't like the warm feeling she had spreading through her chest; it was starting to freak her out. 

Was it normal to feel like this? Was her heart supposed to beat this fast? Were her hands supposed to get this sweaty?

Oh god, she thought, please don't try and grab my hand right now.

This had never happened to her before. It had to be the multiple fruity alcoholic beverages she had consumed earlier - that was the only possible explanation.

Harry leaned closer at a tauntingly slow pace. Rory couldn't tell if he was trying to torment her, or if he was contemplating what his next move should be. She desperately hoped it was the latter; she feared her body wouldn't be able to recover if he was only looking to mess with her.

"Rory," he repeated.

"Yes?" her voice squeaked.

"I like your company."

She wet her lips. "Thanks."

"Do you like mine?"

"I don't know." It might have been the wrong time for honesty, but Rory was never one to fake her true feelings. "Jury is still out."

Worried he was going to pull away, she was silently surprised when he let out a quiet laugh.

The touch of his hand moved down to her chin, tilting her head up ever so slightly. "I want to break one of your rules, Rory."

She knew he was waiting for her to answer, give him some type of response or a sign that she agreed. With her breath trapped in her throat, she could only utter a meek, "Okay, break it," as his nose brushed against hers.

Neither of them knew who leaned in first, but they blamed it on the other.

When Rory was younger, she always squealed out an innocent "ew" anytime she saw two people in love kiss in front of her. And as she got older, when she watched romance movies or a moment between two love interests on-screen, Rory never understood that kiss. Specifically, why one of them would suddenly feel as if they were melting away in the arms of the other and how everything in their brain suddenly clicked that this person might be the one. It was a kiss for god sake - how could one simple act cause someone to think that way?

It never made sense to her.

Not until this exact moment.

Feeling his cell phone buzz in his pocket, Harry broke the kiss. Large doe-eyes filled with a haze of lust made him want to give in, but he knew he couldn't.

"Goodnight, Rory," he mumbled against her lips, kissing her quickly once more.

"Goodnight," she whispered with a voice so faint that she wondered if he even heard.

Harry took a regretful step back, creating a needed distance between the two. Rory was glad he did; she wasn't sure she would be able to follow through with her golden rule if he hadn't. More importantly, she would have lost the bet and owed Benny ten dollars if Harry tried for another invitation into her apartment. 

It took her a second to regain her composure. With ragged breaths and a heart beating so fast it threatened to burst from her chest, she turned to the door and put her key in the lock. A few attempts were needed before she was successful due to her shaky hands.

Once she disappeared behind the door, Harry made his way towards the stairs, wanting to get out of her building as fast as he could.

"Shit," he grumbled to himself as he stepped outside.

Harry blamed the alcohol for the feeling that the kiss caused in his chest. 

my writing feels so weird adfghjkl if you made it this far, thank you. i promise I'll try and make it better :( <3