The slap just had to come during a lull in the normally boisterous music. Everyone stopped and stared as Zack felt his chin snap to the left with the force of the blow. He grimaced; hurt more by the surprise of the sudden attack than by the actual pain of it.
“You are _the most_ arrogant, shallow, egotistical, chauvinistic pig of a man I have ever met in my entire life, Zack! I hope you catch something that makes your balls rot off!”
“Wow.” Rubbing his jaw, he blinked down at the fuming woman who up until now had been his flavor of the month, and tried to think of something more constructive to say.
Rationally, he knew he ought to defend himself somehow, but words failed him in the face of such complete despise. Erica was looking at him like he was the proverbial piece of shit stuck to her shoe, and he took a step back, half-expecting another swat before she was done. It was obvious that what ever had happened, this relationship was pretty much over. He couldn’t find it in him at the moment to feel bad about it. The woman was a lot less attractive when righteously pissed.
“That’s all you’re going to say? ‘Wow’?! What the hell did I ever see in a walking muscle bag like you.” She stamped her foot, firmly the center of attention for the entire club. “Really! I must have been out of my mind! Ten days! Ten, Zack! Didn’t you even think to call me?! And don’t tell me you didn’t see me because I sure as hell saw you! Who was she? Huh?”
With increasing speed, his brain slowly caught up with where Erica had obviously started this rampage. Last week, shopping with some of the guys down at the mega mall in Sector3, he had thought he had glimpsed her out of the corner of his eye that afternoon. At the time he hadn’t been able to double-check, being far too involved with the woman trying her best to give him a tonsillectomy behind a pillar in the food court.
Running into May had been a complete surprise. He hadn’t known she’d been transferred from her usual store to the one on the 5th level of the mall, but she seemed really happy to see him, and honestly he had been pretty happy to see her too. It wasn’t until he was picking up his shirt from the floor of her room the next morning that he had pondered whether or not that really had been Erica he had seen. Now he had his answer.
“She was an old friend!” He offered lamely, “And this is the first day I’ve had off since then, work’s been hectic!” Not that Zack expected to be believed, or that he was telling the whole truth.
He _had_ been working like a dog, but this was officially day two of his three-day pass. Sephiroth’s apology for making him work 60 hours in a normally 40-hour week. What could he do? Admit that the first thing he had thought to do when release from the hell that was his office was to call May back and ask for a reprise of their unexpected tumble from the week before? Zack almost smiled at the memory of exactly how pleased she had been to see him, and bed him, a second time.
Now there was a relationship on the up and up.
“We’re _through_ Zack! Don’t even think of trying to call me tomorrow and apologize! I’ve had it with you. You and all the other SOLDIERs, the lot of you are oversexed pea-brained mutants!” And with that, she stormed out. The club’s other patrons standing silent in her wake, staring at the door, and back at him with bemused expressions.
Sourly, Zack wondered if he ought to sell tickets, given the number of times he had probably given the regulars here a free show. Shaking the mood off with a shrug and a smile, he turned back to the bar where Stan stood waiting for him. Friendly bartender he might be, but he was also well versed enough with Zack’s private life to feel confident in giving him a ‘what did you do this time’ look.
“I didn’t do anything!” Zack slouched onto the stood and accepted his drink. The fact that Stan had dubbed it his ‘breakup special’ didn’t bode well for his batting average lately.
“Men who don’t ‘do’ anything don’t generally get slapped silly.” Stan leaned against the bar with a laugh. “Come on, give, tell me your story of woe.”
Glancing up at the clock, he wished Erica could have waited just another hour or two before raining on his good time. Now that he was officially labeled ‘bad boyfriend’ none of the available women in the club would have anything to do with him. Not until tomorrow, at any rate. He grinned at the short attention span exhibited by many of the club’s regulars. To be fair he was right there with them, barely able to remember names, much less who was dating who.
“Alright. Maybe it wasn’t nothing.” He conceded. A night chatting with Stan wasn’t so bad. The guy was good company when not being run ragged by the twenty-somethings ordering cheap beer. Zack downed his drink and let the bartender mix him another. “I think she caught me making out with the girl from Secrets&Silk at the mall the other day. I didn’t know she was going to be there!”
“The girl from the lingerie shop? Or Erica?”
“Erica. Well I didn’t know May would be there either, but that was a pleasant surprise.”
“Please tell me you weren’t groping her in the store, that’s too kinky even for me.” Stan retrieved a bottle of water and gulped it between chuckles.
Zack rolled his eyes. “Give me some credit. No we bumped into each other at the food court, and got into this discussion about what she missed about me, which lead to us finding a secluded spot to refresh our memories as to whether we were compatible or not...”
“And are you?” Stan grinned, “Compatible?”
“Definitely.” He allowed himself a smug moment. “I met up with her when she got off shift and reminded her about the rest of me back at her place. I think she was pretty happy with the review session.”
“You do seem good at that. But if she was so good why did you split with her in the first place?”
“As I recall, it was before that three-month deployment last year at Junon.” Zack scratched his chin. “Neither of us was big on waiting. When I got back I just lost touch with her, is all. No hard feelings.”
“Yeah,” the bartender served up a tray for one of his waitresses. “I don’t think you’ll be able to say the same in a year’s time for poor Erica.”
“Poor Erica? What about Poor Zack!” He pointed to the already fading handprint on his face. “That hurt you know.”
“Oh please, I’ve seen you get hit with a table and walk it off.” Stan opened his mouth to continue the tease when something caught his eye in the back of the room. Zack moved to turn and look, but a hand on his shoulder caught him. The bartender was staring at him as if pondering pulling him over the bar and into the trapdoor beneath.
“What?” Zack tensed up, worried suddenly that Erica might have called the cops on him or something else absurd. “Jeez Stan, don’t scare me like that, what’s the deal?”
“Um, Penny’s just come in.” Frowning as if working something out very quickly, the man didn’t let go. “No don’t look. She’ll spot you soon enough.”
“Penny, as in the girl who almost got KOed by her boyfriend a few months ago and whom I haven’t seen since?”
“Yeah, that one.” Stan didn’t sound happy. “Look Zack, do me a huge favor, ok? Don’t hit on her.”
“I beg your pardon?” Zack tried not to fluster as he was casually predicted. “I know better than to be heavy-handed with former victims, thank you very much.”
“I know you, Zack.” Stan was still frowning. “You’re a prince charming when you set your mind to it. I’m just saying, cool it with her, all right? She’s different from your usual.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He blinked. “I don’t jump girls when their unwilling, but if she wants to say hello, let me buy her a drink, I’m certainly not going to ignore her.”
The bartender winced. “She’s coming over. Damn it Zack, just trust me this one time ok? She’s not your type! It’s just that-” Stan cut himself off mid hiss to serve up some drinks for another irate waitress.
“Don’t know what all the fuss is about.” Zack sighed.
A hand slid along his arm in a very friendly sort of gesture, almost making him jump out of his skin after the serious conversation he had just had. Turning, he didn’t have to fake the surprise he felt at the sight of the lovely blonde settling next to him.
Penny’s hair was in big loose curls, artfully piled and draped so that some playfully fell in front of her face, while the rest were gathered at the nape of her neck. The little black dress she wore was fetchingly complemented with the feathery scary looped around her neck. Chin deep in feathers, she smiled at him in a very attractive manner. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you. You’re Zack, right?”
“Depends on who’s asking?” He smiled and meant it, floored for the second time in one night by a woman’s look. If Erica had looked worse than usual, Penny looked a knock-out compared to their earlier encounter. Of course he hadn’t been able to guess much about her at the time, other than the blood and bruises. Selfishly, he was glad she had recovered so marvelously. It was one thing to have the ‘I’m so grateful to you’ conversation with a girl in stitches. It was quite something else to be shown a little gratitude from a gorgeous, and definitely single, woman. Minding the fact that Stan was giving him a less than friendly stare, he kept his thoughts firmly to himself and nodded at the open stool next to him. “I remember you. Glad to see you back on your feet.”
“Thanks to you!” She smiled at him again. A few more of those and angry-Stan or not, he’d be obliged to do something about it. Her face was almost heart shaped lovely, but otherwise she really wasn’t his usual type. Too thin, really; he wondered if her recent recovery had anything to do with it. She was probably just the ‘scrawny’ type in general he decided, but she carried it well. The heaps of feathers almost distracted him from her sadly petite cleavage, and while her waist was slender, so were her hips. He mourned the fact that he couldn’t check out her legs while sitting without being obvious about it.
“You’re Penny, right?” Zack managed what he hoped was a wholesome smile.
“Penelope Brown. Penny for short.” She nodded. “Stan I’ll have a double if you don’t mind?”
Zack narrowly avoided snorting into his drink. She too has caught Stan’s less than subtle looks and obviously she didn’t approve. Interesting. Considering the situation, he couldn’t see a problem with proceeding cautiously. They were two consenting adults after all and they could work things out as they went. He made a note to catch the bartender tomorrow and ask what the big secret was.
“So,” He tested the waters. “How does it feel to be back out in the thick of things? Your friends easing you back into life as a footloose and fancy free lady about town?” Looking around, he thought he spotted one of her pack mingling with some guys on the dance floor.
“Yeah, well, I don’t usually come to this club, but they’ve always loved it, and after I got back on my feet, I thought, well maybe I’ll get to see you at least.” Penny stirred her drink with the little plastic sword holding the olive, and then sucked it into her mouth with a popping sound. He glanced over to see Stan had since given up on them and gone off to help his staff. It was for the best. Penny was definitely hitting on him.
“So where do you usually go? When not dragged around by your girlfriends?” He inched a little closer, just a friend, trying to hear another friend better in a noisy club.
“Oh, around. You know.” She made an airy gesture. “Came here last weekend too, but you weren’t here.”
“Yeah I work weird hours.” He replied disparagingly. “Sorry I missed you?”
“You’re a SOLDIER right?” Penny brushed aside his apology. “I can tell by the-“ She gestured at her eyes. “Well that, and Stan told me about how you picked up Eddie’s car. I work in Shinra Building1 too, but you’ve probably never seen me.”
“No kidding!” Zack didn’t pretend to hide his interest, swiveling in his stool so he could face her. “What department?”
“Mail room.” She made a face. “Really glamorous, huh?”
“Hey whatever pays the bills.” He saluted her with his drink, and she raised hers to match. Her nails were professionally done and had three-color stripes on them, usually a turn off, but the long fingers weren’t bad at all. “You allowed to push the cart around? Or do they keep you in the back with the sorting of things into buckets?”
“Hmm a little of both, I guess,” She sighed. “You’re what, up on the fiftieth floor or something? Yeah I don’t ever get to go that high. Only senior mail carriers go up there.” Penny shrugged. “I do a lot of work at the counter though, for people who come down to pick things up or drop them off.”
“Do you?” Zack grinned. “Suddenly I foresee myself carrying my mail down personally a lot more often.”
“That would be nice.” Penny smiled right back.
Tossing the rest of his drink down his throat, he decided to go for broke. “Would you care to dance, Miss Brown?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” She hopped down from her stool with a delighted laugh and followed him into the crowd.
*****