I'm Not Falling In Love, Til I Get A Little More From You Baby Oh, Get A Little More From You Baby

[raeghan]

Chapter: 1/?
Song: This doesn't really have anything to do with the story but i've been on a Maroon 5 kick all day and maybe it does work if you don't look too hard at it or you squint.
Word Count: 3,403
Summary: She remeats him at a bar and everything kind of goes by in a blur for her after that. Suddenly she's dating him even though she's sure that she can't stand him.


“Stop fidgeting, you look perfect.” Amanda tells Nora as Nora nervously tugs at her dress, pulling it down lower over her thighs.

“It’s too short and it’s too tight, I’m wearing too much makeup and my hair is too…I don’t know. But I’m not sure that I like it.”

Amanda turns and puts her hand around Nora’s wrist. “You have to calm down. You look hot. Now you’re going to have fun in here.” She nods her head towards the club. “You’re gonna find some guy and hook up and it’s going to be fun. Okay?”

Nora stares at her blankly. “Are you already drunk?”

Amanda bursts out laughing. “No, well maybe. No.”

“Then why are you trying to make me into someone that I’m not?”

“Because what you are is kind of boring and pathetic since Tom broke up with you.”

Nora puts her hand up. “He did not break up with me; I broke up with him…after he cheated on me with that stupid slut at his office.”

“Regardless, you’ve been dragging lately and I’m worried that you’re going to carry on like this forever and that makes me really, really sad.”

“I’m not going to be like this forever and personally, I don’t think that there is anything wrong with staying at home on a Saturday night and eating microwave popcorn while watching Lifetime.”

“How did you even say that with a straight face Nora? God.” She grabs her arm and starts to pull her towards that club where the guy watching the door lets them both in without question.

It’s very modern inside, the bar is covered in clear class and the stools are made out of metal. It seems cold and unwelcoming but it’s so hot inside since it’s filled to capacity. The music is loud and pulsing and she follows Amanda blindly to the bar and nods in agreement to whatever drinks Amanda has ordered.

They walk off to the other side of the room to scout out the men in the room. Amanda is desperate to set Nora up and Nora wants none of it. She’s fine on her own. She’s been with Tom since high school and now that she’s 24, she thinks that it’s probably a good idea to try things on her own.

“You should have sex with him.” Amanda full on points to a blond guy leaning up against the wall and Nora pulls her arm down.

“You don’t have to be so obvious. And loud.”

“You should get loud with him.”

“No.” Nora says. “He’s not even my type.”

“Then what is? And don’t say Tom because that guy was an asshole who cheated on you with a girl that wasn’t even that pretty.”

Nora shakes her head and finishes the sip on her drink. “Tom isn’t my type either I guess. I don’t know what is. I’ll know it when I see it.” She shrugs and turns towards the door. “Oh my god.” She stares at the door and Amanda looks around her.

“Oh my god. Oh my god.”

“We shouldn’t be freaking out about this.” Nora states. “I mean, he’s just a guy.”

“A really hot and talented and famous guy.”

“He is not famous. Not that famous anyways.”

“But he’s going to be. I heard that he was going to be on Oprah.”

“Just a rumor.” Nora murmurs as she watches Lee walk across the room, immediately being met with several different women.

He’s a rising star on the Chicago music scene. He’s opened for several big acts that have played in town and people outside of the city and state, people on the coasts with power and labels took notice. She knows that he’s currently in the middle of a bidding war with two labels, each of them begging him to sign with them and he’s living the high life getting everything for free while the labels try to buy him off.

He’s hot. Nora or any other girl shouldn’t deny that. Brown hair, tattoos, blue eyes, nice body. She just wishes that he had the personality to match it.

Amanda nudges her side. “You should try and get with him.” She jokes because even with her blind optimism she knows that’s probably an unattainable goal.

“No way.” Nora scoffs and makes herself turn away from him. “He’s a jerk.”

“How do you know that?”

“That’s how he was in high school.”

“What?” Amanda practically jumps on Nora and she spills her drink on the table. “You knew him in high school? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it wasn’t that big of a deal. He was older and it was a huge school. He didn’t know me. Everyone just knew him; not the greatest guy. Do you know that he got arrested?”

“That is so hot.”

“Irresponsible.’

“That’s your in with him then.” She yells and Nora rolls her eyes. “I was just kidding when I said that you should try with him but now it’s a possibility. Just open with ‘hi Lee, remember me…”

“He won’t.”

“Shhh. ‘Remember me, we went to high school together and you looked at me in the library once and my panties burst into flame.’”

“Ha!” Nora laughs and shakes her head. “I can’t do that.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because. I can’t have sex with him. Look at him, girls are hanging on him, I’d have to climb over them just to get to him and I can’t do that in this tight dress that you put me in.”

“You could at least try.”

“Can’t do it. Won’t do it. Now let’s stop talking about him.” She says with some finality and Amanda rolls her eyes but begrudgingly agrees to change the subject.

But for some reason it’s Nora who lacks the ability to stop talking about him and pulls up a seat to the table, orders another drink and starts in on him, studying and commenting on every move that she sees him make.

“He’s just so arrogant.” She says as she takes a sip of her drink. “It’s like he knows that he’s good in bed and he just wants everyone to know that. It’s gross.”

“Then why don’t you just ignore him.” Amanda says, clearly bored with this whole conversation that has been going on for far too long.

She should really stop. She knows that if she ever met him for real she’d hate him with ever piece of her soul. But she’s so taken with the idea of him right now. How imperfect he is to her and how perfect he seems to be with everyone else and maybe it’s the two drinks that she’s had but she makes up her mind that hooking up with him is something that she would be interested in.

“Because…..I want to know that he’s good in bed.” She says as she puts down her drink and starts to cross the room to him.

Nora gets close to his table and then has the overwhelming desire to turn on her heels and run the hell away because he’s being swarmed by girls and she can’t compete with them. But then suddenly, like there was some sort of great plan put in place by someone higher up that has nothing better to do then call skanks away from a guy, they all get up and leave him so he’s alone at the table.

“Do I know you?” He calls out to her and she looks around like he’s talking to someone else and he nods to her. “You just look familiar. And beautiful.” He starts to flirt.

She takes a step towards the table and that comes pretty easily so she takes another. “We went to high school together.”

He looks her over. “I don’t remember you.”

She pulls on the hem of her dress trying to cover more of her leg and wonders where those skanky girls went because she’s sure that she would fit right in. “I was a sophomore, you were a senior. I developed let. I don’t expect you to remember.”

He looks her over again, this time more closely and she crosses her arms over her chest. “I feel like I would’ve remembered you.”

“That’s really charming and slightly creepy.”

“I didn’t mean it in a creepy way. I’m just saying that you’re hot.”

“I’m going to guess that you probably think that I should be flattered by that or something. I’m really not.”

“That’s fair I guess, I like a challenge.”

“I’m not a challenge. I don’t want to be challenged by you, you don’t….you’re not that important.”

“Wow.” He takes a drink and sighs through a laugh and she finds it beyond annoying that she’s amusing him. “I like you. I’m sorry that I don’t remember you….” He shakes his head and sticks out his hand and it takes her a moment to realize that he’s formally introducing himself and asking for her name and she feels her face turn red in embarrassment and give him her hand. It completely disappears in his larger, rougher one.

“I’m Nora.”

“Nora.” He releases her and she drops her hand to her side. “I’m sorry that I don’t remember you. And I’m also sorry that I don’t believe you.”

“What?”

“I don’t believe that I went to school with you.” He shrugs. “Anyone could say that.”

“Why would anyone say that and lie about it?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m telling you the truth. Do you want proof?”

“I would love proof.” He leans back in the booth and watches her and she rolls her eyes.

“Fine. You got arrested and suspended in your junior year because Mr. Pierce, the principal, caught you with  drugs on you and I don’t know, you sweet talked someone and they let you back into school for your final year.”

“Anyone could’ve known that.”

“But it’s true.”

“Yes but anyone could’ve known it. It’s probably on Wikipedia.”

“I did not read your Wikipedia page.”

“Well, whatever, I still don’t believe you. I need more.”

She’s quiet, thinking about something to say and he nods.

“Alright, well while you’re thinking I’m going to get to talking to some girls that will be charmed by me.” He starts to get out of the booth and she has one thought.

“Miranda Jenson.”

He stops and leans forward, narrows his eyes at her and the raises his eye brows to tell her to go on and she takes a deep breath, knowing that she now has all of his attention.

“She was in your grade, the sweetest girl ever, like, make your teeth hurt sweet; swore up and down openly that she would remain a virgin until her wedding day. We all thought that she was going to marry Doug Easton, you remember him? Really nice, smart, star of the track team, she was going to marry him and then they’d move into a house in town and raise their kids and all that.”

“What’s the point of this?” He says, acting like he’s bored, like he doesn’t already know the point.

“The point is that during senior year she suddenly hit a rebellious streak and decided to throw a party while her parents were out to dinner. It was stupid, everyone knew that because you can’t have a party while the parents are at dinner, you have to wait until they’re out of town with no chance of them coming back at the wrong time, she was book smart but completely unschooled in teenage stuff. Anyways, her parents came home early and he father caught her….and you in their bed. Let’s just say her virginity didn’t make it to her wedding night.”

He smiles, remembering the memory and Nora wrinkles her nose.

“Still…you could have heard that somewhere.”

“I didn’t though. And you know that I didn’t, why don’t you just accept that I went to school with you?”

“Do you know how many women have come up with some line about how I knew them in high school and I asked them out and they…I don’t know, had something else to do and they never made it and I should ask them out now to make up for it. I have to be careful.”

“First of all, you think that I care enough about you to research you? That’s a little cocky of you. You’re not all that. And you’re really offended by a line? I would’ve figured that as long as she was female you’d be down with it.”

“Am I not fulfilling your expectations?”

“You just fell short, I’m a little disappointed.” She says dryly and he laughs.

“I do like you.” He says as he looks up at her. “I like you but I don’t know what you’re doing here.”

“What do you mean what I’m doing here? I just came out tonight with a friend.”

“No, what are you doing here, talking to me.”

“I just thought that I would come over and say hi.” She chickens out on her whole, getting with him for a one night stand idea.

“Hmmm.” He hums and thinks about her answer. “So, you said hi, now should we get out of here?”

“Excuse me?”

“Let’s go. My place is just up the street.”

“Wait, what, are you kidding me?”

“No. Let’s go. You had a drink tonight? I can pay for that.” He stands up next to her and she looks him in the eyes, shining blue and bright with excitement about what he thinks is going to happen tonight.

“You think that I’m going to have sex with you?”

“Yeah. Don’t act like you don’t want to.” He gives her a lopsided smile and her mouth drops open.

“You’re an ass.” She scoffs and starts to turn away but he grabs her hand.

“What are you running from?” He asks softly.

“I’m not running.”

“Come on. I know girls like you.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Sure I do. Sweet, innocent girl coming out to a club for, I’m guessing, only the first or second time in her whole life because she doesn’t like the scene of it. Something must have happened to make you act like this. What was it?”

She bites her lips and averts her gaze from him and sighs. It’s all too dramatic for her. There wasn’t supposed to be feelings involved with this.

“My boyfriend cheated on me.” She admits quietly and he ducks his head down to make sure that he can hear her. “It’s so stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. I’m just sorry that happened to you.”

“Yeah, it’s whatever.”

“Why are you here with me?”

“I guess I just wanted…I don’t know…something. Someone, alright? I just wanted to make him jealous.”

“But why me? There are tons of men here that would gladly help you with that, some of them are probably not even douches.”

“I just thought that with you it would be personal.”

“What do you mean?”

“My boyfriend, sorry…” She shakes her head and rubs her hand over her forehead. “My ex boyfriend Tom, he went to high school with us too and he always used to talk about you like you were a god or something. He wanted to be just like you with your guitar and the girls and…I don’t know. I figured that with you and being kind of sort of famous…”

“I’m on the cusp of being famous.”

“Okay.” She rolls her eyes. “Sure, with you being on the cusp of being famous then everyone would know about this, including him and it would hurt.”

“Wow, look at you scheming.”

“I wasn’t scheming. This wasn’t pre planned or anything, I didn’t sit around my apartment and think of ways that I could get back at him. I just saw you and figured that maybe it would work. Wouldn’t kill to try but now I’m just going to forget about it.”

“You wanted to make him jealous?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s do it.”

“Do what? No. What are you talking about? I’m not sleeping with you.”

“I’m not talking about that, although I am a little bummed out and am hoping that you’ll change your mind but I’m not talking about that. I’m saying that maybe we could pretend.”

“Pretend what?”

“Pretend that you’re going out with me and I’m going out with you. Just for a little while.”

She turns her head to the side and then back to him. “What?”

“Wow, I thought I made it pretty clear. I would pretend to date you and you would pretend to date me and we could make him jealous.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I want to help you out. Maybe I’m a good person.”

“Or….”

“Or maybe I need you to help me out a little bit.”

“I knew there was a catch.”

“It’s just a small one. See I have a bit of a reputation.”

“People think that you’re a manwhore.”

“Yes, that one. I’ve picked that one up and I don’t know why.”

“You don’t know why? Maybe it has to do with the company that you chose to keep.” Nora nods to the girls that were sitting with him before they started to talk.

“Alright, it might have something to do with them but that’s where you would come in. You’d be my girlfriend and then people, women, we should both know that women make the world go ‘round, wouldn’t think that I was such a raging asshole and they might not hate me.”

“That’s crazy.”

“I can’t be successful if people think I’m an ass.”

“John Mayer pulls it off pretty well. Chris Brown. Kanye. They’re all doing pretty well.”

“I don’t want to just do ‘pretty well’. There’s more. And I need help.”

“You do know that if we do this you’re not going to be able to hit on other girls.” She taps his chest to get him to look at her again because his attention was caught by a girl in a short skirt that has been walking by.

“I know. I could be a good fake boyfriend.”

She rubs her fingertips across her temples because she’s getting a headache.

“I can’t believe that I’m actually considering doing this.”

“Consider it, say yes.” He holds her arms and she can’t make up her mind. “You should decide pretty quickly because I don’t like waiting and I’m about to make a bee line for those women over there.”

“You are such a jerk.”

“But I’m an honest jerk. Points for that?”

She closes her eyes briefly and makes her decision. “Okay. Fine, let’s do that. I’ll agree to that.”

“That’s great.” He holds her hands and bounces up and down on the balls of his feet. “We can start now, let’s leave together.” He starts to pull on her hand to get her to move towards the door but she digs her heels into the floor.

“Wait, I can’t…I have to tell my friend and…I don’t know how far this thing is going to go, I don’t know what I want from my ex. How long is this going to last?”

“As long as we need it to.”

“This is hands down the stupidest thing that I’ve ever done.” She says as she starts to follow him out the door.

He turns back to her with a laugh. “The night is young and this relationship is new, there is still plenty of time for you to do something stupid. I meant what I said when I told you that you are beautiful by the way.”

“I bet you say that to every girl.”

“Maybe I think that every girl is beautiful.”

“If only that were true.” She shoots back and he laughs, she starting to really like the sound, and keeps walking with her following him closely behind; so closely that she bumps into him when he suddenly stops walking.

“Oh wait, we should probably just agree on one basic thing before we really start this thing.”

“What is it?”

He puts his hands on her shoulders and leans in, his forehead hovering just above hers.

“Don’t fall in love with me.” He says seriously before his lips spread out in a wide smile and she laughs loudly, her head tipping back and pushes him away.

“Deal.”

“Swear it.”

“I swear that I won’t fall in love with you.”

Famous last words.