He brought me back to life; A Captain America romance; Book one.

Chapter 15; Girl's day out

"And then he says that it must be because Bucky is such a good teacher and that If it were me, I wouldn't be worrying about going on dates! I mean what the actual fuck is his problem!" I'm pacing my small living room, fuming. The dull pain in my shoulder adding to my irritability. Nat is lying on the couch trying to suppress a smile. "But, how did Bucky seem? You should go out to dinner with him. Forget Steve. If you're adamant that you're just friends then why not just go out with Bucky?" She asks, genuinely confused.

"I just don't like him in that way, Nat. Bucky is so sweet but I can't date him." I drop down onto the couch beside her and bury my face in a pillow. "Date him? I'm just thinking you should get a good boinking, finally. Might chill you out a bit." I let out a muffled laugh and groan. "Shut up, you." I sit up and she jumps off the couch and goes to the fridge. "Here." She hands me a bottle of beer. "If you're 100% sure you're not gonna de-stress the way I want you to, we should at least get a little tipsy instead." I sigh. "I just don't know why he was so mad at me." I drain the beer and Nat hands me another one, automatically. "REALLY?" She asks, sarcastically. "What?" I look at her with raised eyebrows. "Jesus, it's like talking to the wall. He's jealous Ellie." I spit out my beer. "He is not!" Nat wipes her wet face on her sleeve and continues; "Um, yes he is! Why else would he be acting like that with you."

I pause. "No. No that can't be the reason. We're jus-"

"If you say just friends one more fucking time!" Nat interrupts and I shrug. "Look, either you have it out with Steve or get over it and move on. You can't keep going on like this. You're a beautiful, strong woman and I know you've had a really bad experience with relationships but you need to put yourself back out there." I nod, taken aback by Nat's words. I'm not ready. What am I supposed to do?

"Okay." I say, quietly. Nat looks at me expectantly. "Screw Steve Rogers!" Nat moves her eyebrows up and down, smirking. "Oh for God's sake, not like that." We both giggle. "Jesus, maybe you should worry about getting yourself laid instead of me. Nympho." She gives me smouldering look and downs her drink.

"Okay, here's the plan. Tomorrow we go shopping and get the most incredible outfits for the party and have a girl's day out. I'll ask Maria to join us, she's coming to New York for work and will be at the party anyway." Nat stands up and stretches. I open my mouth to speak. "And don't you even think about saying you're not going to this party. You need to let your hair down and have some fun." I sigh, defeated. But I suddenly feel really nervous. Why in the hell does Tony think it's a good idea to have a party days before a terrifying, dangerous mission where if we fail, we ultimately destroy the planet! This is crazy!

Besides, I haven't been to a large gathering since before my mom died. "It'll be fun!" Nat gives me a hug and heads to the door. "Be ready for 10 in the morning okay?" I give her a sarcastic thumbs up and she rolls her eyes as she closes the door behind her.

Ugh, a party with hundreds of strangers is the last thing I need right now. I lie on my bed and wrap myself up in my duvet. Why was he so angry about Bucky? Was he jealous? He can't be. Maybe he just doesn't want another Avenger to ask me out knowing it might cause trouble. God, I wish I could stop thinking about him. It's never going to happen and to be honest, seeing him so angry like that, I think we are better off just being friends.

Is he jealous? I smile inwardly and drift off to sleep.

***

I yawn, loudly, as the coffee machine comes to life. "Morning, Sam."

"Hey, El. Oh, pour me one of those, would ya?" He sits on a stool at the counter and looks through his phone. "What's the plan for today?" He asks and I cringe, inwardly. "Girls day out- shopping and fun, fun, fun." I reply, sarcastically, hugging my coffee mug. Sam laughs and looks at me; "Not your thing?" I shrug; "not really, but Nat insists we get out of here and get some new clothes for the party tomorrow." Sam scoffs, "A party... that's the last thing we need before a huge mission- but that's Tony for you. I guess he sees it as a bonding exercise. You know; like how sports teams go on retreats before a big game?" I grimace. "Yeah, that's the exact same thing..." Sam laughs, once, and goes back to his phone.