What We Search For (13 page)

“I’m happy with whatever.”
I said.

“Sure why not! I’ve taken
a few days off to welcome you here so let’s do it. It’ll be fun!” Amanda
agreed.

“Yay!” Rachel cheered, as
she made her way from the couch to the kitchen to put away her empty bowl. “I’m
going to have a shower then. I’ll leave the door open for you James!” She
laughed and dashed down the corridor.

I looked over at Amanda
who seemed to be studying a fingernail with a slight crease showing on her
forehead. “When should we head out? I’ll probably need a shower too after all
our walking.” I said, Amanda looked up from her study.

“Oh definitely.” She
replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“Real mature.” I replied,
poking my tongue out in reply. She smiled at that, and I flashed her a grin.

“Probably not for a couple
of hours, we’ll need to get ready anyway, so that will take some time.” She
replied, I leaned towards her and she looked up at me, getting closer until I
was staring her in the eye a hands distance away.

“I’m just glad you didn’t
buy that dress.” I said, as I pecked her on the nose, “Your ass might not have
fit through the door.” I added, as I laughed and hopped out of her reach.
Jumping off of the couch.

“You…!” She yelled,
chasing me around the room. She caught me and locked her arms around me. We
wrestled and she moved us back towards the couch. Pushing me down, she fell on
top of me.

She looked into my eyes,
and I noticed a playfulness that swept across her face. Suddenly she buried her
hands into my side. Throwing myself backwards I tried to escape. Not able to
move I returned the gesture. She squealed as I found the best spot.

“Stop! Pl-ease!” She
stuttered and gasped, as she laughed. Wrapping my arms around her gently, I
kissed her softly on the lips and smiled at her.

“If you say so.” I said,
still smiling. She was still on top of me. My heartbeat increased as I watched
her.

Looking down at me, she
smiled in return and our lips met once more. Our kiss lingered as her hands ran
across my shoulders and down my back. I held her close as I ran my hands down
her sides and across her hips. The shower door opened and Rachel walked into
the room wearing just her towel. She glanced at us and smiled.

“Should I give you guys
some time alone?” She said, laughing. Turning around she walked to her room.
Amanda smiled and slowly got off of me.

“I better go get ready if
we’re going out, I’ll have the next shower.” She said happily as she stood up.
My heart was still beating furiously.

Amanda finished her shower
and I went to have mine. She smiled coyly as she passed me in the corridor, and
I returned the smile.

We were ready to go.
Amanda hadn’t lied. The girls had taken far too long to get ready but when they
each emerged, I was stunned. Seeing these two beautiful ladies dressed up was a
sight to behold.

I had seen Amanda dressed
to go out before, but not like this. Both wore short dresses. Amanda’s was
black, and Rachel’s was red. Each in heels with their hair done to perfection.

In comparison I was almost
under dressed in my dark navy jeans and white button up shirt. I was going to
be the envy of every man in the club if I was walking in with these two
beautiful women on my arms.

“Wow-ee!” I called out and
whistled. “Rachel you look amazing!” I said, and trailed off as I looked at
Amanda. “Not bad.” I added dismissively. Rachel laughed as Amanda’s mouth
opened in shock. “You’re such a smart ass!” She yelled, as she took off a heel
and launched it at me. Dodging I laughed gently,

“I’m sorry, I had to. You
look fantastic.” I said seriously. Amanda narrowed her eyes waiting for me to
say anything else. When I remained silent she nodded her head in satisfaction and
retrieved her missing shoe, elbowing me in the side as she passed.

Tonight could be
interesting,
I said to myself as we stepped out of the taxi. Making our way to the line, I
noticed it wasn’t very large yet as it was still relatively early. Instead of
lining up however, each of the girls went up to greet the bouncer by name, and
we walked straight in.

It never left a nice taste
in my mouth when I skipped lines, but my extreme dislike for them helped
balance my feelings. Once inside I realized just how big the place was. It
wasn’t packed by any means, but there were still people everywhere.

The music was pumping. It
looked like my first night out in LA was going to be a good one. I ordered
drinks for the three of us and we sat down at a booth to enjoy ourselves.
Amanda and Rachel shared gossip to which I nodded and smiled, and we ordered
more and more drinks.

Rachel stood up suddenly,
and grabbed at both Amanda and I. “Dance time!” She proclaimed, as she dragged
us out to the dance floor. It was a circular floor in the middle of the club
designed so everyone sitting could see what was going on in the middle. I had
to admit it was pretty cool.

Dancing was never my
strong suit, but I knew how to have a good time. We danced together as the
place filled up, and the girls decided it would be funny to dance around me.
Amanda in front and Rachel behind. To my shock and enjoyment they rubbed
against me without a care.

Looking around I could
tell I was drawing attention. Having these two ladies appear to be all over me
didn’t seem to bode well for some of the jocks of the LA scene.

It wasn’t long before the
first attempts were made to draw them away from me. Not wanting to ignite
anything I continued dancing, and let the girls deal with their new ‘friends’.
Rachel clearly wasn’t interested in one guy who had come to talk to her and was
doing everything but telling him flat out she wasn’t interested. Unfortunately,
he didn’t seem to be getting the message.

Amanda was faring better
as she spoke to a short stocky guy in a t-shirt that was far too small for him.
His heavily greased hair did not move at all. He soon gave up and moved on to a
new ‘target’.

Returning my attention to
Rachel I could see the guy was becoming a problem. He was now holding her arm
while looming over her as he spoke. I heard, “Come on baby! Just one dance
that’s all.” The guy was trying to convince her.

“I told you no. I’m not
interested. I’m dancing with my friends.” Rachel said, while motioning to
Amanda and me.

The guy looked over and
saw me watching the exchange. He was clearly drunk. His eyes were watery and
didn’t appear to be focusing too well.

“What? You’d rather dance
with this idiot?” He said directly to me. Ignoring the remark, I stepped a
little bit closer but not trying to provoke. It was bothering me he hadn’t let
her go yet.

“Yes that’s right. I’d
dance with him over you every day of the week. Now let me go.” She said, as she
tried to pry her arm from his hand. His grip remained firm as he looked from
her to me and back.

“No way! This lanky guy?
Come on, dance with me babe.” He said, as he moved between Rachel and me.

Amanda was paying full
attention since the greasy guy with the child sized shirt had left her alone.
She made her way over to me and was beginning to understand what was going on.
She stepped over to where Rachel stood.

“Let her go you dick!” She
said angrily. Rachel was still trying to get free. Enough was enough. The guy
was becoming a hassle. Walking over to him, I put my hand on his shoulder.

“Come on man, she said no
already.” I said seriously.

He turned around, and in a
flurry he swung at me. His fist connected to the side of my head, and luckily
brushed upwards instead of connecting with its full force. Still stunned, I
fell backwards and landed on my ass. The hit had hurt like hell, and my eyes
were instantly filled with water while my head spun as I tried to shake it off.

I heard screaming and
yelling all the while I sat on the floor. My head and ass in pain. There was
activity all around me and I could hardly focus on anything. Still shocked from
being struck so suddenly, I barely noticed Amanda and Rachel were next to me.

They were saying something
and trying to help me up. My head started to clear slightly and their words
became intelligible. “Are you okay?” They were saying as I stumbled and just
managed to make it to my feet. The girls took my arms over each of their
shoulders and did their best to support me with hands on my sides.

“I’m okay.” I
mumbled.

Not much time had passed
since I had been hit. There were people everywhere on the dance floor and the
guy who hit me was still there with a smug look on his face. He had been pulled
off of me by people all around us, but no bouncer had seen the altercation.
People were starting to let him go and he looked like he was ready for more.

“Come on, lets go sit down.
I’ll get you a glass of water and some ice for your head.” Amanda said, as the
girls led me off the dance floor.

“Hey!” I heard shouted
from behind us. I groaned as I didn’t want to deal with the idiot, let alone
get in a fight with him. Sure he hit me, but I was the better man and could
walk away. “I’m talking to you!” I heard over my shoulder. He was coming after
us.

“Leave us alone!” Rachel
said, as we continued walking.

“Not until I get that
dance.” He said, now standing right behind us.

He was one persistent
fuck. My head hurt like hell and I was getting pissed off. I didn’t want to
fight in front of either of the girls so we kept walking, until a hand latched
onto my shirt and pulled hard. My top button popped off, and I heard a ripping
noise. Turning around and letting go of Amanda and Rachel I looked him in the
eye. “Mate. Leave us alone. She doesn’t want to dance, and I don’t want to
fight. Piss off.” I snarled.

This time not turning my
back to him, I walked backwards with my hands held in front of me showing him I
had no desire to fight.

“Mate?” He laughed, “You a
fucking Aussie? Mate?” He said, as he accentuated and slurred the word. “You
trying to steal our girls?” He added. It seemed he wanted any excuse at all to
show off his manliness.

“Yes, I’m from Australia,
and I’m not stealing anything. Just leave us alone.” I said as maturely as
possible. It didn’t work. He looked from Amanda, to me, to Rachel, and
lingered. He made no effort to hide what he was looking at.

“Come on baby, one dance.”
He said, reaching out once more for Rachel. She backed up and stood behind me.
I grabbed the guys arm pulling him towards me and then pushed him away causing
him to stumble off balance.

“I’ve told you multiple
times. Leave us alone. She’s not interested!” I said, but it seemed words were
no good. He recovered from his stumble and rushed me.

He threw his right fist at
my face as hard as he could. I extended my left arm forward and upwards using
my forearm to catch his punch, and change its direction. He stumbled at the
lack of contact as I grabbed his punching arm with my left arm, and locked it
in place. I pulled him towards me and kicked out his front leg which he was
using for balance. He fell hard on his ass, as it met the concrete floor. He
landed awkwardly and hopefully painfully, and I ushered the girls ahead of me.

We made it off of the
dance floor, and Rachel found the nearest bouncer to tell him everything that
had happened. She pointed out the guy and the bouncer called over his radio for
assistance. They converged on the trouble maker and escorted him off of the
premises.

Finding an empty booth in
the back we sat for a while as each girl tried to look after me with ice for my
head and a glass of water. They frequently asked how I was until I managed to convince
them I was fine.

“That was really cool how
you knocked him over at the end though.” Rachel said.

“Something I picked up
when I was a bit younger. I used to do some martial arts. I hate fighting
though.” I replied.

The bouncers found us and
asked us a few questions, ensuring I was alright then returned to the floor.
Our night had been great except for one idiot which always seemed to be the way
of things. Thinking back I realized I had been that idiot before, but in a
different light. Sometimes alcohol gets the better of us all, and our actions
are no longer our own.

Amanda and
Rachel were determined to not let our night end like this.  After asking
further whether I was alright, we finally made our way back to the dance floor,
this time with no troubles.

Plenty of guys
were hitting on them, but each could take no for an answer. I even ended up
talking to one guy who was speaking with Rachel. Apparently, he had seen our
earlier troubles, and was one of the guys who held the annoying drunk back from
jumping on me after he had knocked me down. Troy was his name. He seemed like a
good sort.

“I appreciate
you stepping in to stop that jackass from earlier.” I was saying, “A fight is
not really my idea of a good night!” I added, rubbing my head where I had been
hit.

“Don’t worry
about it. I’m sure you would have done the same if the roles were reversed.
Besides, he really was a dickhead.” Troy said with a grin.