Party Animals

From behind his desk, Jack watched as Sue and Lucy signed away about their upcoming party. Sue and Lucy had been invited to a shindig hosted by a mutual friend to celebrate the engagement of his daughter. They relayed back and forth about their outfits and jewelery selections.

He grinned as Lucy started into this guy she was bringing with her and he looked down at his work for a second. As he looked back up, he just managed to catch the end of Sue saying she didn't have a date. He smiled inwardly at the fact that she wouldn't have another man with her, talking to her, holding her…

"Jack!" Lucy called suddenly. His eyes snapped up at the sound of her inquisitive voice. "Do you have any plans for Saturday?"

"Not again…" Sue moaned quietly, earning a small smile from Jack.

"Do I look like sloppy seconds to you?" he asked smartly, but with a wide betraying smile.

"No! This is Lucy's idea. I'm alright with going by myself. It's Lucy!"

"Oh, c'mon," she moaned to her friend. "You can honestly tell me you don't mind going to an engagement party all alone with no one to talk to all night? I'm going with someone. I'll probably be dancing most of the time. You'll be bored. And besides, Jack knows a little sign language. You'll have a good time with him!"

"Please stop talking about me as if I weren't here," he chided softly. Sue chuckled while Lucy rolled her eyes. "Hey, I don't need this abuse! In one breath, you need my help; in the next, I'm being treated like I'm invisible!" he joked. Sue couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside of her.

"Anyway…" Lucy interrupted sharply. "I was the one bashing you, not Sue. Don't hold it against her and come to the party. Sue, can you at least manage a please?"

"Please," she said snidely. Jack snorted. She sighed and looked at him sincerely. "Please come to the party with me?" she asked softly. He looked up at her big eyes and he felt his heart melt instantly.

"Alright. What time is it? Is it casual or formal? When do I pick you up?" he asked, trying to conceal how ecstatic he was to be accompanying Sue to this party.

"Oh, you don't have to pick me up. Lucy and I were going to go-"

"Excuse us, Jack, won't you?" Lucy butt in, taking Sue by the arm and promptly leading her out of the office to a small unoccupied interrogation room. She immediately locked the door behind her and sat Sue down on one of the chairs.

"Am I being interrogated?" Sue asked in confusion, earning a stiff glare from Lucy.

"Sue, Jack is offering to go with you, pick you up… For God's sake, he'll probably bring you a corsage! He's the sweetest guy known to any of us; let him pick you up and spend the evening just with you. Don't be a fool. Go with him!" she said forcefully. Sue's cheeks took on a slight pink hue, but it passed and she nodded submissively to her friend before getting up and going back to the office.

"Jack," she called softly as she walked in. He looked up leisurely from his paperwork with a well concealed smile. "It starts at six in the evening and it's about twenty minutes away. I'll be ready by half past five. Does… that work for you?" she asked shyly, unaware of how much Jack was enjoying her discomfort.

"Sure. I'll be there for five-thirty exactly. You, uh… didn't mention attire."

"Well, our friend said dress-up, so formal, I guess. I'm wearing a dress."

"Oh, then I'll do my best to make sure we don't show up in the same thing." Sue chuckled as Jack smiled at her before nodding. "Deal," he signed.

Saturday arrived quickly and around two, Sue sat in her room, staring at her reflection in the vanity. She sighed and gazed behind her to the dress hanging on the back of her door. It was hunter green satin with a flared skirt whose hemline fell just below her kneecaps with a halter neck and curve-hugging torso. She tried to tell Lucy that she didn't feel comfortable in it, but her friend insisted that she buy it since it looked like it was meant for her.

With a small sigh, she moved to the kitchen to find that Lucy had left already to get her hair done. Another sigh followed as she gazed into the fridge to make herself something to eat. Her appetite didn't seem too eager to eat anything, but she knew that supper wouldn't be served until late evening. She moved things aside until she found small container of cottage cheese. With a spoonful of jam in it, she went over and sat on the couch, Levi right behind her. As she ate her food, she stared at Levi.

"Levi, what do you say to a night off, hmm?" He lifted his head to her. "Jack will be with me and I'm not sure if there'll be loud music or anything. Do you think I should be alone with Jack tonight?" she asked softly. A tear stung at her eye, but she kept them at bay. "Should I ever be alone with Jack?"

Levi barked, jumped off the couch and headed to the telephone, drawing Sue's attention to the red flashing light. She sprung up and moved quickly to see the caller I.D. and nearly didn't answer when she saw 'J. Hudson' on the display. With a deep breath, she picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" she asked, reading the display.

"Hey, Sue. Listen, I don't know what they'll have, but from experience, reception hall food is crappy. Do you want to grab a bit before we get there." He paused for a moment before continuing. "We can arrive fashionably late."

"That… sounds good. Yeah, sure. So, I'll be ready for five instead?"

"Sounds good to me. We can find somewhere to eat near the hall."

"Great. Just nothing too saucy. I don't want to walk in with stains all over my dress."

"Here, here… only… not a dress."

Sue chuckled and told him she'd be ready on time. He made some kind of warning threat, but laughed and reassured he'd wait for her if she wasn't. Then, they hung up to go get ready. Sue made her way to the shower and was back out a short while later, chick, shaved and shampooed. With a nervous grin, she went to her room and put a dozen or so rollers in her hair, smiling as she remembered how Jack preferred her hair down. A couple curls would transform her straight 'do to something a little nicer to go with her dress.

Sue traced her eyes in a pale green liner and put on just a dash of luminous silver powder to her eyelids with a little mascara. She spread a thin coat of pale burgundy lipstick on and glazed it with a pot of lip gloss. With her dryer set to high heat, low power, she removed the wetness from her hair until it was just damp. A couple spritzes of hairspray, a comb through and a little more heat sealed her hair in bouncy waves of blond. She peeked at the clock and read four-thirty.

By the time she finished debating if she should put on her dress or not, she realized that Jack would arrive in ten minutes. She pulled the dress on and fought the zipper for a few minutes before running out to discover Lucy still wasn't home. Grunting, she pulled out her large purse and transferred her essentials to the small clutch that went with her white pumps and shawl. A second later, Levi came running in.

"No, Levi!" she yelled just seconds before he jumped up on her. "Good boy. The door?" He barked once and she grunted as she gathered her shawl and purse and slid on her shoes before answering.

Jack was dressed in a crisp suit of black with, oddly enough, a deep green silk tie. They chuckled a moment before she let him in. He patted Levi while he stared at her admiringly.

"Ready to go?" he asked. She sighed.

"Almost, but can I ask you a favor?" she whispered. Closing her eyes against the heat rising in her cheeks, she blurted it out. "My zipper's stuck; can you help me?" He chuckled softly and promised her he'd be a gentleman. She held her breath as his warm hands brushed the skin at the small of her back. All too soon, the zipper was zipped and his hands were gone, leaving her to wish he wasn't quite so honorable.

"Now, are you ready to go?" he asked softly, to which she nodded her head.

The restaurant they found was small and quaint with simple chicken and fries platters. They scanned the menu six times over, but it was the only thing they could find that didn't come with some thick sauce, gravy or topping. So, a double order of chicken and fries was placed and they chatted amicably for a few minutes before the food arrived. The meal was a simple affair, a few friendly words exchanged between every few bites.

"So," Jack asked quietly as he placed his napkin on his plate when he finished. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah! I hope they have dessert over there. I can't help it. I love sweets."

"Well," he whispered, draping her shawl over her shoulders for her, "I certainly know the way to your heart. Sweets are your weakness, hm?" he smirked.

"Embarrassing to admit, but yes. Introduce me to a pastry or cake buffet and you have me in the palm of your hand," she chuckled, turning a very pale shade of pink. "Metaphorically, of course."

"Of course," he reassured her, his voice dripping with sarcasm that she couldn't detect from his expression. They stepped out of the front door, Jack having insisted on paying for both of them, and literally crossed the street and walked back inside into the reception hall.

It was beautifully decorated in aqua blue streamers and balloons with silver accents here and there and a large colorful banner congratulating the newly-engaged couple in a script font. The couple twirled on the dance floor to an instrumental-only melody playing over a massive stereo system. With the bass as high as it was, Sue could even pick up the beat and swayed to it gently. Jack smiled.

"Would you like to dance?" Even though the music was loud, she could read his lips and she smiled and nodded back to him in agreement. They made their way to the floor and saw Lucy and her mystery man. Jack and Sue stopped for a moment and were introduced to John Mantrone, Lucy's date, but John danced Lucy further into the crowd with a dizzying spin, making her laugh at the unexpectedness of the move, leaving Jack and Sue to chuckle.

He grinned briefly before taking her hand and pulling her against him in a sudden movement. The color both drained and flooded her face as she felt herself being held against his warm frame. He stared into her eyes and began to slowly swing from side to side. She smiled shyly and swung moved with him as he wrapped his arm around her face while his other clasped her hand and held it against his chest.

They danced quietly from side to side for what felt like only seconds while the songs started and stopped, him leading her all over the floor in improvised jives, rumbas and simple side-to-side dances. Suddenly, someone's voice boomed over the speaker that the buffet was opened for dessert. Jack stopped dancing and listened for a moment before smiling at Sue. She looked worried for a second, but his grin reassured her.

"The buffet is open," he explained quietly. A look of confusion swept over her face, but it only served to widen his grin. "It's a dessert buffet," he chuckled, signing the last words and smiling as her eyes lit up. She laughed softly at his smile and nodded her head. Then, something occurred to her and her eyes snapped to her watch.

"We've been dancing since we got here. That was nearly two hours ago, Jack!" she said in surprise.

"You didn't enjoy it?" he asked, feigning a hurt expression. Hers immediately fell, thinking she had hurt his feelings and was a breath away from apologizing repeatedly when he started grinning again. She stared at him with one of her "Okay-you-got-me" expressions and swat him lightly across the shoulder.

With ear-to-ear smiled, they made their way over to the line-up and scoped out the choices from afar. She bounced from foot to foot as they noticed new things. By the time they were through the line and buffet, they had three kinds of pastries, a small bowl of ice cream, a piece of chocolate cake and a point of banana cream pie. They found a small secluded table at the back of the sitting area and looked around to find the nearest occupied table was four spots away. Sue's fear of being alone with Jack had long since faded to nothingness, the way it normally did the second after she resolved herself to keep her distance from him.

"You have to try these éclairs," he said softly, holding it up to her mouth so she could take a bite. She laughed as she angled herself to try the pastry and avoid a mess, but it oozed out of the sides and onto her cheeks. Jack chuckled and wiped it off her face for her. He pulled back his hand, but she grabbed it and took the cream from his finger onto hers.

"Are you trying to jip me out of the best part?" she asked in mock furiousness before sucking the custard into her mouth. He watched silently and nearly cursed as her eyes rolled into her head at the flavor. "Here," she said softly, breaking off a piece of the pie onto her fork. "I'm telling you, I'm a huge fan of banana cream pie and this has to be the best kind I've ever tasted, next to my mother's, of course."

Jack smiled and , instead of taking the fork himself, he leaned in and opened his mouth over the tines of the fork in her hand. She giggled and held it steady as he fought the piece into his mouth, losing some of the cream to the tip of his nose. She laughed and leaned forward to wipe it off his nose and quickly licked it off her finger. He protested immediately.

"What can I say? I'm just faster than you."

"You can run, but you can't hide. I'll get you when you're least expecting it," he warned dangerously. "Here, try the cream puffs," he said with a tiny smile. She grinned back and tried to taste the puff in his hand, but as she leaned in, he twisted his wrist and she received a gob of whipped cream on the tip of her nose. She chuckled, somewhere between amused and upset before wiping it off herself. When she was off her guard, he wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled it towards his mouth to lick the cream off her finger tip.

Sue gasped when his lips closed briefly over her finger and his tongue momentarily touched her skin. He moaned against her digit and she felt it vibrate up through her entire arm to shake her very core. With a small smile of satisfaction, he leaned back and licked the tip of his thumb in exaggerated ecstasy. Air whooshed out of her lungs as he took another bite of his pastry as if nothing at all had happened.

"I thought you liked sweets," he said with a smile. "You're not eating," he commented innocently. She shook out of her reverie and smiled back at him with a reassuring nod of her head, picking up a mille-feuille and licking at the thick layer of yellow custard with the tip of her tongue. He concealed both the grin and grimace that curled inside him at the sight of her tiny tongue.

"Do you wanna dance some more afterwards?" she asked quietly. He cleared his throat briefly and looked back up at her. Big mistake. Her big doe eyes looked at him expectantly and he cleared his throat again.

"Actually, do you mind if I say I need to step outside for some fresh air? It's, uh… it's getting a little stuffy in here," he finished lamely. She nodded in accord and they emptied their plates before stepping out onto the small terrace.

The patio was deserted and the night air was cool. Sue tightened her shawl around her shoulders and smiled at the crispness of the fresh-scented breeze. Jack noticed it instantly and shrugged off his coat to drape over her arms. She felt the sheet of warmth envelop her and tried to protest, but he put a finger to her lips and shushed her before she could even utter a syllable. Then, without another word, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side for extra body heat.

Her perfume surrounded him and filled his head, hitting him like a shot of tequila. The smell was sweet and floral without being too powerful, almost like a flower-tinged baby powder. He leaned in a little more and inhaled softly, this time taking the smell of her shampoo with her fragrance. For the briefest of moments, he thought he felt his heart stutter a beat and he was sure he was having another heart attack, but he realized it was just that his heart was hammering madly in his chest.

Jack turned to look at Sue as she looked out past the rail opposite him. He panted softly and slowly brought his hand up beneath her chin, taking it between his thumb and index finger. She jumped subtly at the sudden contact of his skin against hers, his fingers warm and her cheeks cool. Her breathing came in small gasps until he removed his grip on her jaw. Only, when he did, his hand moved to tangle his fingers in the curly locks of her hair.

"Jack…" she whispered quietly, but he just smiled and shushed her again. With a fire blazing in his eyes, he leaned in an inch at a time. Air came to her more and more slowly until she thought she'd stopped breathing altogether. His lips were just centimeters away and she could feel his warm breath on her face.

"Sue," he said softly, looking her dead in the eyes. His lids slipped closed. "I love you," he whispered, opening his eyes to find Sue staring at him with a tiny growing smile. Without another second of hesitation, he sealed his lips over hers. She gasped the second his warm mouth touched hers and felt her heart flutter in her chest. His hands cradled her face gently and it felt like it had just a couple years ago, which seemed like decades, when they were at a law firm, late at night. Yet this time, the kiss didn't start as a cover and morph into more; it was passionate and warm and sincere from start to finish.

Sue's hands moved from his chest up his shoulders to tangle in his hair while Jack's hands slid slowly, teasingly down her back. His arms circled her waist and held her against him intimately, super heating the blood coursing through their veins while she held his lips securely to hers. With a squeak of surprise, she felt his hand drift just a few inches lower and come to rest just on the swell of her backside.

Tension rose inside of them and she felt herself turning to putty in his hands as he continued to massage her back while he kissed her deeper and deeper still. With Herculanean strength, she tore herself from his lips and stared at him, both of them panting hard from the intense embrace. She gazed deep into his eyes and a slow smile spread across her face as he stared at her in a state of semi-fear and shock. With a soft moan, she peppered a few soft kissed to his lips before resting her forehead against his.

"I love you, too, Jack," she mumbled softly. "And, as much as I would love to… see where this could lead this evening, I think we should avoid being only partially alone so we don't embarrass ourselves in front of anyone else. This could… potentially… become indecent."

"I must say, I like the way you think, Ms. Thomas."

-Fin-


End file.
