Girls Night Out
By Shaddyr
Rating: PG-13She sat in the smoky, ill lit lounge watching some poor off-key shmuck who thought he could sing and glanced disinterestedly through the book on the table before her. How did she let herself get talked into this?
Earlier that day, she’d received a call from Kay, an old college friend. Let’s go out Kay had said -remember the old times. Now she sat at a table with a bunch of women she hadn’t seen in 15 years regretting that she’d ever answered the phone. They were all talking about husbands and ex’s, children and alimony, jobs and carpools - things she couldn’t relate to in the slightest. Okay, perhaps she had one thing in common, but she doubted any of them could possible have a day at the office like hers. She rolled her eyes as Alicia, Kay’s college roommate, started complaining about her tyrannical boss and the unbelievable hours of overtime she’d been putting in.
I’ll give her tyrannical, Parker thought darkly, trying to envision Alicia dealing with Mr. Raines. It brought her a brief moment of amusement. Then the waitress came into her line of sight and she flagged the woman as a drowning man flags a rescue boat.
"Hit me. Please," she said, and the waitress gave her an uneasy look. Parker just forced a smile and threw a twenty on her tray. "Just keep them coming without my having to ask and there’ll be a big tip in it for you." The waitress nodded, wide-eyed, and placed another double shot of vodka in front of her. She picked it up and knocked half of it back, relishing the slow burn as the alcohol slid down her throat. Much better.
Returning her attention to the book, she examined the selections it presented her with. Kay had insisted she do at least one song on this girls night out at Karaoke. Not likely she thought to herself. Anne Murray? Guns’ n’ Roses? Bee Gee’s? She wouldn’t be caught dead singing any of this stuff. Actually she wasn’t about to be caught singing, period.
A smattering of applause signified that the present tortured soul was finally through and it was time for a new voice to come up and set her teeth on edge. An hour more, she swore, only another hour, then she was ditching out no matter how much they protested. She was absently flipping through the pages when the name of a song caught her eye.
"So Em? Have you decided yet?" asked Maureen, the bubbly one of their old college crowd. She hadn’t changed.
"Hmmm," replied Miss Parker noncommittally.
Alicia leaned forward and gave her an entreating look. "Hey. We’ve already done 2 songs each. If you don’t put your name in the rotation soon, you might not get a turn."
"That would be such a pity," she muttered quietly, eliciting a sigh of frustration from Kay.
"Em! You have to sing one song. And don’t give me that line about not being a singer! I used to live down the hall from you don’t forget - I heard you in the dorm when you thought no one else was around."
Parker rolled her eyes and gave in. "Okay, okay! I picked one. Now stop hassling me!"
Maureen raised an eyebrow , then whispered sotto voice to Kay. "Why’d we invite her, again?"
Parker stuck her tongue out at Maureen as Kay answered. "Because no guy ever recovered from one of her sarcastic zingers.. and 15 years later, all of us still want to know what the ‘M’ stands for." Kay studied Parker’s face carefully. "So? Are you drunk enough for us to pry it out of you yet? We want to know. What the hell IS your first name anyway?"
Parker favored them with a ‘get-real’ expression as she slammed back the rest of her vodka. Replacing the glass in front of her, she spoke. "What makes you think that if the 3 of you couldn’t manage to find out in the four years we went to school together, that I would have the vaguest interest in telling you now?"
Alicia looked triumphant. "I TOLD you guys she wouldn’t tell. If she wouldn’t ‘fess up at the kegger after the Rose bowl our freshman year, she’s not about to now."
Parker winced at the memories, or at least vague impressions that went along with the kegger that Alicia spoke of. It was the first and only time she had ever understood the term ‘alcohol poisoning’ in a personal way, and she had forever sworn off Zambuca as a result.
She was saved from a trip down the memory lane she didn’t wish to revisit by the Karaoke host. The woman asked that anyone who had not yet had a turn singing bring up their song list and get in on the rotation before it began again. Feeling akin to the frog who jumps out of the pan and into the fire, Parker went forward to hand hers in.
* * *
Jarod walked in the rear entrance of the hotel and smiled at the security guard taking a smoke break there.
"Hey, Jarod," the man acknowledged him with a nod.
"How are you tonight, Tim?" he asked, stopping to chat for a moment.
"Not too shabby. Happy it’s a Thursday I must admit. At least I won’t end up throwing a bunch of loud mouth drunks out tonight. Things are always mellow on a Karaoke night. What cha been up to?"
"Oh, a little of this and a little of that," Jarod replied evasively, a twinkle in his eye as he thought about the trap he was going to spring the next morning. It had put him in a very good mood. "Karaoke night? That’s when people come in and consume large amounts of alcoholic beverages and proceed to sing old songs very badly, yes?"
Tim guffawed, then took another drag on his cigarette. "Well, yep, that pretty much covers most of ‘em. But I been in there already tonight, and there’s actually a few gals who ain’t half bad. And they ain’t half bad either if ya know what I’m sayin’!" grinned the big guard with a lascivious wink. "Definitely worth goin’ in at least for a look." The man chortled again, then crushed out his cigarette. "Well, I gotta be gettin’ back. See ya later."
Jarod watched the amiable man saunter away, and considered his words. He was in a celebratory mood, and since he’d been meaning to check out Karaoke anyway, he decided that he would go for a little while. Perhaps he’d even treat himself to a pint. Only one. A grimace unconsciously formed on his face as he recalled his first experimentation with alcohol. He hadn’t realized it was possible to feel so awful and live through it.
He went up the corridor, turned the corner and walked into the bar. It was fairly quiet and a bit smoky, but it possessed an inviting atmosphere. Yes, this would be just the thing he thought, and settled down at a table against the wall near the back .
He didn’t have to wait long before another performer came forward. The woman gave an off-key rendition of a song about love gone awry. It really wasn’t too terrible, he thought. If she would just breath properly and project a bit, her voice would actually be quite nice… and so he sat there, enjoying the ambiance, the singers and the pint he ordered when the waitress finally made her rounds. A very enjoyable and relaxing evening.
He noticed on a table beside him a binder with song selections in it, and grabbed it to have a look. There were a few songs he knew. Perhaps he’d take a jab at this - he never knew what the next pretend might hold, and one day it might even call for him to sing. Fishing out one of the little papers in the pocket of the binder, he jotted down the name and number of a song. He was just about to write his name at the top when a scent caught his attention.
He looked up as a woman walked by him, and he felt his mouth drop open. It was dark, but there was no mistaking the gait of the figure strolling between tables away from him. It was Parker. The scent that had alerted him was ‘Poison’ - he’d bought it and sent it to her half in jest the last Christmas, but he never dreamed she would actually wear it.
He shuddered as he realized how easily it could have all ended right there had she recognized him, had she glanced his way, had he not been looking down to fill out the slip right at the moment she passed by - he crumpled it into a little ball and stuffed it in his pocket. Another time.
He watched her walk to a table where several other women sat and settle into a chair, back towards him. The sudden impulse to bolt quieted somewhat, but even though his very healthy sense of self-preservation was screaming to leave, he decided to stay a little bit longer. He was rather curious as to what had brought her out to a little pub in Dover. A few seconds later he had his answer
"Thank you, Carl," came the cheerful voice of the Karaoke hostess as she took the mic from the latest singer. As the man walked away, the hostess glanced down at the papers before her, then looked over at the group of women near the front. "We have a new singer in the rotation folks! Come on up here, Parker, and show us what you’ve got."
Jarod just about choked on his beer. A patron at the table across from him gave him a worried glance as he spluttered, but he never even noticed. Parker was singing? He watched as she got up, looking flustered, being cheered on by the friends she was here with - that was something he was going to have to find out more about, too. Parker had friends she was going out with that he didn’t know about? He had some homework to do on his favorite huntress. He leaned forward in anticipation, very glad the lighting was so poor. She was looking right his way and couldn’t see him. This was going to be ironic and entertaining all at the same time. He couldn’t believe his luck.
* * *
Parker stood in the glare of the single spotlight illuminating the stage. What the hell am I doing? came the inquiry from the controlled, pragmatic side of her mind that ruled most of her waking life. As the music began, she looked down on her cheering friends and realized she felt exhilarated, almost .. happy. Now she remembered why she liked hanging out with these women so much back during those crazy college days. They always made her step beyond the control, look farther than the next pessimistic thought and have fun. It had been so long since she’d just gone out and had a good time, she couldn’t even remember it. To the utter glee of her old chums, she grabbed the mic out of the stand, planted her feet in a cocky stance and with hand on hip, posed with an attitude. Their shrieks of "GO, EM, GO!" made her crack a smile, then she tossed her head to flip her hair around, ran the fingers of her free hand through it then raised the mic to her lips and began to sing,.
I hate the world today
You're so good to me
I know, but I can't change
tried to tell you but
you look at me like maybe
I'm an angel underneath
innocent and sweet
Yesterday I cried
You must have been relieved
to see the softer side
I can understand
how you'd be so confused
I don't envy you
I'm a little bit of everything
all rolled into oneWith a gleam in her eye, she strutted across the front of the stage, free hand on hip, and belted out the chorus.
I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way* * *
Jarod sat at the back of the little pub, gawking through the smoke and discovered that his jaw was once more hanging open, rendering him as a total moron to all who might be looking. He lost the struggled to close his mouth and thought his eyes might bug out when Parker started swaggering up and down the stage, her mini skirt riding up on her hips, doing this little - oh my, there it went again. Wasn’t it illegal for someone to move like that in public? Boy, it was getting hot in here.
* * *
Parker was thoroughly enjoying herself and the reaction she was getting from a number of the men in the bar. Doing her best sultry look, she slipped softly, seductively into the next verse of the song.
So take me as I am
This may mean
you'll have to be a stronger man
Rest assured that when
I start to make you nervous
and I'm going to extremes
tomorrow I will change
and today won't mean a thingOnce more she poured it on, and belted it out.
I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way* * *
Jarod thought about the words - not in a particularly coherent way, but he was able to analyze the content to a certain degree. He realized that of all the songs he’d heard, all the music he’d immersed himself in, he couldn’t think of a better song for her. Then she started doing that hip thing again and all semblance of higher brain activity escaped him entirely..
* * *
Just when you think you've got me figured out
the season's already changing
I think it's cool you do what you do
and don't try to save meThis time, she stood at center stage, the mic in one hand, the other flung up over her head gesturing wildly in time with the beat, hips swaying, gyrating in rhythm to the music, reducing most of the men in the place to drooling heaps, and belted out the final repeat of the chorus. She was loving every minute of it
I'm a bitch, I'm a tease
I'm a goddess on my knees
when you hurt, when you suffer
I'm your angel undercover
I've been numbed, I'm revived
can't say I'm not alive
You know I wouldn't want it any other wayThe applause was thunderous, with several men jumping to their feet in an impromptu standing ovation. Kay jumped up and hugged her, Alicia and Maureen were hooting with laughter and they were all grinning like maniacs.
"You still got it, girl!" Kay whispered as Parker returned the unexpected hug, enveloped in a shroud of comfort she hadn’t even realized how much she missed until it was there again.
"Kay, I have missed you guys so much!" Parker whispered back, then drew out of the hug, attempting to maintain some sense of decorum, even though they all knew. But they knew her too, and they accepted it and understood. They were her friends after all.* * *
Jarod sat at his table, attempting to compose himself and noticed that there were a few other guys around, trying unsuccessfully, to do the same thing. He heard a few comments about different portions of Parker’s anatomy, and grinned. None of these guys knew how lucky they were that SHE hadn’t heard their comments.
He took a deep breath and sipped his beer. There was another girl up there singing now, but all he could see was Parker. Her face upturned into the spot light, rich alto voice, and those legs… he took a deep swallow. Better to try not to think about them too much.
He could see the four of them, giggling and chatting and it made him happy to see Parker with a smile on her face. That didn’t happen nearly often enough. Finishing his beer, he quietly made his way out the back, and headed for the elevator. He felt reasonably safe about remaining in the hotel for the night as it was obvious Parker was here for personal reasons that had nothing to do with him. As he waited, he saw Tim sauntering through the lobby.
"Hey, Jarod," the big security guard greeted him.
"Tim," Jarod gave him a smile and a nod.
The man leaned up against the wall and cracked a grin at him. "So you check out the dame in the bar?" he asked with a friendly leer.
"Oh, yes, I saw her," Jarod affirmed, feeling his cheeks flush at the memory of that skirt moving on her hips..
Tim noticed the other man’s discomfort, and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, I think m’boy here has a little bit of the hots for the dame in the killer heels. Well, why doncha go offer to buy her a drink? Yer not such a bad lookin’ guy.. she might just want ya."
Jarod looked blankly at Tim for a moment, then as the utter absurdity of the idea took hold, he couldn’t help but snicker, much to his friend’s confusion. The elevator chose that moment to arrive and the door’s opened with a ‘ping’.
"Tim, I’m afraid you might be exactly right." He stepped onto the elevator, a silly grin plastered on his face. The doors closed leaving the rather puzzled security guard to shrug his shoulders then making his way outside to do his rounds.
* * *
It was 4:30am, and the girls had just left Parker’s place. Kay told her since she’d driven to Dover to meet them, they’d see her home. She had acquiesced when Maureen insisted on driving her car. Parker knew she’d had a few too many, but she had planned on just crashing at the hotel. Alicia had piped up about always having wanted to see this place the produced a tough broad like Em, and that had been it.
They’d gotten back to her place around 1:30 am, ordered pizza, had a few beers, and talked about all the fun times. She’d even dragged out her scrapbook, and they’d all poured over the pictures, the little notes she’d made beside them, and the little mementos she’d included.
Maureen brought up the time Alicia and Parker had both like the same guy and they all howled as Alicia recounted how Parker had dumped an entire bottle of ketchup over his head in the student union building after finding out he was two timing them.
Kay reminded them about all the late nights in the library, and the gallons of coffee they’d consumed in the dorm lounge studying for finals.
Parker recalled the time they’d been on their way to a Stones concert in Philadelphia and her car had broken down, and how that bunch of football players from Delaware State U had seen their plight and rescued them. Alicia beamed and commented that the quarter back wasn’t so limber as he once had been, but he was still the captain of her team. They all giggled about that; Alicia and Joe, the quarterback, had been married exactly 6 months after that fateful evening.
Eventually they had run out of things to say, and they settled into the comfortable silence of old and true friends, the kind that requires no words. A little more slowly then when they were younger, they finally got their coats, said their good-byes, and despite Parker’s invitation, left.
"You know Joe, Em.. he won’t care if I was out all night, or if sleep all day tomorrow - he’s just gotta wake up beside me or he’s gonna have a rotten day," Alicia had explained while hugging her goodbye.
Parker sat on her couch flipping through her scrapbook, a little tipsy, a little bleary, but happy. She knew in the back of her mind that Monday morning at the Centre would fix that, but for now she just planned to enjoy it . With a finger she absently traced around the face of a football player she once dated. Quite unexpectedly, her phone rang and it cause her to jump a little. She smiled evilly. Only one person would call her at this god-forsaken hour, and for once, Wonderboy was NOT going to have the pleasure of waking her up.
"Hello?" she asked in her most sickly sweet voice. Oh, god, she had been drinking a little much tonight.
The momentary silence at the other end brought a wicked grin to her face. Gotcha!
"Miss Parker?" came the unsure voice of none other than Frankenboy.
"Jarod!" she drew his name out like a caress, immensely pleased with herself. "How nice of you to call. And what can I do for you this morning? Word games? Puzzles? Hey, how about charades? I used to love those when I went to college.." Oops, careful Parker, she admonished herself. "Or, better yet, maybe we can skip the games altogether and you’ll just move right along to giving me your location and I’ll come on down and get you myself!"
* * *
He really hadn't meant to tell her so soon, he'd wanted to savor knowing this little tidbit about her for a while before dropping it in her lap, but this was just too much of an opening. He took a second to glance around the room, and figured he could be packed and gone in 10 minutes. If he started his sting immediately, he could still be out of town hours before Parker could track him down. A very self satisfied smirk, the kind he knew Parker hated, formed on his lips.
"Well, now, Miss Parker, I'd hate to make you run all the way back to Dover just for me."
This time, the utter silence was from her side.
"What's that? Is your voice a little hoarse? I understand, that bar was a bit smoky after all. By the way, you really have quite the stage presence. That was.." he paused, took a deep breath, remembering, "that was some performance. I thoroughly enjoyed it."
There was still no sound at all coming from the other line. Jarod decided to press the issue. "I imagine you must be tired. After all, dancing like that.. I didn't realize you could move like that.."
"JAROD! YOU SONOFABITCH! I'm gonna KILL you!"
Jarod collapsed onto his bed in a fit of laughter, as he listened to Parker shriek at him. After a few seconds of that he heard a loud 'click', and spent a few more minutes trying to calm his snickers while he packed up his things. Oh yes, she certainly was not impressed about this. He decided right then and there he wasn't going to call her for at least a month.
Still grinning, he slipped his back pack over his shoulder, grabbed his carry-all with one hand, the DSA case in the other and left his room.
* * *
She glared at the phone she'd slammed down onto the table before her as if it were somehow responsible for the offending call. He'd been there. He was there the whole damn time! She sat cross legged on the couch, scrapbook forgotten, and buried her head in her hands. Oh. My. God. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life. A picture from the scrapbook beside her caught her down-turned eyes, and she reached over to grab it. Okay, she had to admit, there was at least ONE other time she had felt this embarrassed...
Despite his call, a smirk found its way back to her face. She thought for a moment, now that she was calm enough to do so, about his tone of voice when he talked about her performance. He'd sounded a little - well, almost flustered. Hmm. She might just be able to work with that. But she was still going to kill him.
Yawning hugely, she stretched, sighed, then uncurled from her position on the couch and carried the book back over to place it back on the shelf where it belonged. All in all, it had been one terrific evening, even if Sydney's experiment had tried to throw a kink into it. She made her way to the bedroom and flopped onto her bed, to tired to care that she hadn’t brushed her teeth or turned off the light. 'I'm gonna get him for this' was her last coherent thought as she drifted off with a strange half-smile on her face.