Sweet and Sour

Chapter 8 - She said stop

Warnings: Drinking, some noncon kissing/groping with minor character

It had been three weeks since the phone call and Bucky had not been back to the bakery since. Neither had any of his men.

You knew you should be relieved. You had been uncomfortable having such close association with a mob boss and being on the periphery of his world, you couldn't get used to being followed or having watchful eyes accompany you everywhere you went. You weren't confident schmoozing in high end restaurants or being someone's arm candy. This was a clean break, it was over.

But...you missed him. You didn't want to admit it to yourself, but you did. You missed looking up as he came in and finding his smile in the doorway. You missed the way he looked at you, gazing at you intently as you spoke to him. You missed the fluttering in your stomach when he joked with you, the jolt of electricity when you passed his card back and your hands grazed. You missed his shocking blue eyes, the way a single glance from them made you feel like a deer in headlights.

You had thought about texting him. But what would you say exactly?

Hey! I know I rejected you but can you come back to the bakery and flirt with me?🙂

Hi! I'm sorry I said no to the date – I'm a big coward and I'm scared you'll think I'm unsophisticated and boring (and maybe slightly scared of your job? Idk) xx

I know you hate me and I get it but can you just come to my apartment for a few hours and lie on top of me?

You sighed as you adjusted the cake stands and began to wipe down the counter.

"That's it" Wanda snapped.

"What?" you asked.

"You. You haven't stopped moping and sighing since that call. And as you're not going to call him, we are going out tonight. No arguments" she said sternly.

You scoffed. "Out where? I'm not in the mood Wa-"

"I just said, no arguments" she interrupted, folding her arms. "You're going to put on a tiny dress and we're going to get drunk and dance and maybe hook you up with a hottie. This place is closed tomorrow for Pepper to do her audit so we don't need to get up for work - no excuses".

You roll your eyes, knowing full well she'll wear you down eventually so you might as well give in now and save yourself the bother.

"Fine..." you huff. "But you're buying the first round..."

"Good" she sang triumphantly. "Let's get you cheered up..."

*

Later that evening you strolled into a nightclub at Wanda's side. You liked dancing but clubbing wasn't really your scene, still - it felt good to be out and getting your mind off things. You were wearing a blue dress, one of your favourites. Not too revealing but it highlighted your best features and you felt good in it. You wore heels, they were a decent height – but still comfortable and not the ridiculous type you couldn't walk in. Wanda had styled your hair and you'd both gone to town on her impressive make-up collection, carefully accentuating your eyes and lips. You both drew a few admiring stares from men as you strolled in which caused Wanda to shoot you a wink.

You hadn't been here before, it was somewhere Wanda had heard about. It was busy – but not too packed. The atmosphere was lively and buzzing, a mixture of people dancing and splayed over the seating areas enjoying their drinks. There were a lot of handsome guys here, none quite as handsome as Bucky (you couldn't help but think), but still easy on the eye.

There was a VIP section in the far corner, roped off and protected by a couple of burly bouncers. You couldn't see much due to the angle of the seating (you supposed privacy was a VIP perk) but a throng of beautiful girls dressed up to the nines were being ushered inside.