It was an amusing sight, to say the least. Gorgeous girl, desperate guy, trying so unbelievably hard to win her over. But, it wasnโt working. She wasnโt taking the bait; or at least she wasnโt as desperate for some action as he was. But regardless, it was hilariousย watching her suffer in silence. He could tell the poor girl wanted any excuse to escape the situation, and when he caught eye-contact with her, he could see the plea for help in her eyes, even though he was a decent distance from her.
Nicky chuckled, shaking his head as he picked his glass up from his booth and slid out, starting to walk towards her. It was a very common thing for him to do - save damsels in distress who had been preyed upon by creepy guys. Many people heโd run into had forced him into situations where he had to play boyfriend, so it didnโt phase him doing it again. As he reached the pair, he slid his arm around Ericaโs waist and pulled her in close, eyes meeting loverboyโs across the table before he gave Erica a kiss on the cheek.ย โHey, babe. Hope everythingโs alright here. Sorry I had to slip out for a bit there, had some phone calls to deal with. But now my attention is all yours for the night,โ he spoke, charming and confident, and he could see her suitorโs demeanour physically deflate as heโd been emasculated just by a simple action.ย โSorry, guy. Didnโt catch your name? Are you a friend of Ericaโs?โย
had she not been in such an awkward predicament, almost failing to remember how one should function when face with such circumstances, she might have snapped at the new arrival. she still hadnโt looked over, her attention unfairly forced upon the boy with skinny jeans far too tight for his legs, and a half un-buttoned shirt to show off... she supposed they were meant to be his physical assets? no. god, no. there was nothing to see, nothing to admire and she had tossed away any sort pleasantries she would have originally provided to anyone she had never met before. but with this teenager masquerading as a young adult, her speech had died in her throat in what had felt like an instant. one young, drunken boy to her right, grasping her wrist-- his hold was so uncomfortably tight that she was inclined to bark aloud; out of pure curiosity, wanting to know if anyone cared or would give her even half a momentย to lend a hand and bear regard for what surely seemed to onlookers an uneasy situation-- hell, or even for her ownย wellbeing...
no. of course no one noticed. the club was as packed as ever and sheโd have to deal with this on her own, that much was clear--
... had she not been so entirely engrossed in trying to escape the interaction she had been lassoed into, perhaps she would have noticed the presence of another person just behind her left shoulder sooner.ย the warmth of another body near pressed against hers was enough to tell erica that one: she was either in a great deal of trouble, or two: someone had taken pity on her and the situation she was currently in. though for as much as she wished to believe it was someone courageous and kind enough to whisk erica away from the droll, repetitive, invasive and superficial conversation she had been stuck in for the last ten to fifteen minutes, or thereabouts, she had never truly seen herself as much of an optimist.
she made the decision not look back at the newcomer to their little gathering. not yet, at least. not until a strong arm snaked its way around her waist and somehow fit with the curves of her figureย in such a snug way that had erica been a hopeless romantic or something of the like, she might have commented that the embrace alone was so close to resembling true affection and love that had she not already been on her guard and about as sober as a tack, erica might have smiled warmly and leant into the crook of the other manโs shoulder.
as it was, however, she had yet to lay eyes upon the man responsible for saving-- well, there really was no better word for it, was there? --her from the clutches of the less than desirable young boy whoโd been trying with all of his might to entice her into bed with him. the initial look of bewilderment interwoven with a flash of disdain and disgust should have been enough to deter him, and yet:
sighing and shaking her head in irritation at the younger boyโs obliviousness, now (she doubted sheโd ever actually bother to remember his name beyond tonight) that someone else had shown him up and most importantly, validated her own discomfort by showing her affection without begging and pleading for permission to do so, erica tossed her head backward to study whoever it was sheโd been lucky enough to catch the attention of across the room and recognised nick, standing almost flush up against her. and, she imagined, had she been in any other circumstance while at bliss, she might have snapped at the man for pulling such a crass move on her. however, with the circumstances as they were...
never mind all of that now. it was a bold and noble enough gesture to make oneโs way over to help her out-- for many reasons and factors, erica had to commend him forย that.
it was safe to say that the beautifully chiselled and toned man wasnโt someone she was expecting to lock eyes with tonight. it was tough to determine or remember whether or not erica had actually taken the time to have a proper conversation with nick before. at the very least, much unlike her initial conversation partner, he had allowed her some personal space in his embrace, only winding a gentle arm around her waist to keep her steady so as to avoid erica sinking to her knees in feeling the rather obvious relief that heโd chosen to be somewhat of a good samaritan, and intended (she hoped) to pluck her out of such an unpleasant and awkward conversation. and, to keep the faรงade up (so she guess), nick planted a chaste kiss to her cheek.
so he had seen. that would be something interesting to remember, erica silently noted, with every intention to bear that thought in mind until she could write it down in an easily accessible place.
well, that was that. she thanked whatever otherworldly figure had offered her an escape for allowing this manโs attention to be brought to her when she needed to think up a non-violent method for retreating from the younger boy, for letting her line of sight travel upward, meeting nickโs-- and finally, praying to any and all sorts of deities that her acting in support of what she could only assume was intended to be a masquerade as a couple would at the very least be considered passable. โyou took forever,โ the brunette simply replied to the man, with a hint of mock offence, twisting around to deliver an light, open-palmย โthumpโ to his chest while her right eyebrow and the corner of her lip quirked upward, intent on merely delivering a light taunt. ... rather, what she could approximately imagineย lighthearted banter and teasing to sound like when shared by two people that were in a relationship.ย โi was wondering when youโd show up again.โ
a fake one, erica reminded herself-- but it wasnโt a story she could backtrack on now, at least, not now that nick had taken the chance to (hopefully) help her out of this mess. regardless of what was real and what wasnโt, the next logical step was to sport a happy expression, cuddle up close to nick and return the peck to the cheek he had given her, though she made sure to kiss the side of his face directed away from the other boy, which gave her the perfect opportunity to whisper an offer to him as swiftly as possible-- all the while doing her darndest to try and give off the impression that they were, indeed, involved.ย โget me out and iโll buy you drinks all night. swear it.โ the woman muttered under her breath, though surprisingly enough most each word was sufficiently clear that the gist of what she was saying could be understood.
never mind that right now. sheโd pay for his drinks as long as he managed to succeed in her request. with one palm splayed across nickโs chest, still, half-embracing him and presenting with the sort of body language that insinuated sheโd know him for a very, very long time. at his words, however, the woman couldnโt help but cant her head to the side, immensely curious as to why this man had thought deposing of the man bothering her worth his time-- why she was worth his time. and how was she meant to say anything to get her away from... this. god. she needed to focus on something else-- but how could she, when questions were being asked?ย โah... this is-- jared, sweetheart,โ god, the use of a pet name felt so strange, and odd. really, though, it had to be better than enduring another few hours of jaredโs recounts of his personal life. โitโs his first time at bliss. and, no. i am afraid we do not know each other. it was just tonight that we met.โ
