The Wave

Loser Weeper

Sarah was beyond frustrated as she sat up on the mat.  Ti was smiling so big she was contemplating going back to spanking his ass, despite how old he was now.  Neo's expression, however, gave her pause.  She was looking at Michael like she had seen a ghost.  What the hell was that about?  She then groaned as she watched almost all her co-workers slapping Michael on the back.  Damn, they really had wanted her to go down.  Assholes.  Her scowl deepened when her Lieutenant came over and knelt next to her, his eyes were almost sparkling with obvious humor.

"Now that was entertaining," he finally said with a slight smirk.  "Did he really do this to get a date out of you?" She growled and he then laughed at the confirmation.  He thumped his hand down on her shoulder. "That is absolutely priceless.  I'll give him props for figuring out exactly how to accomplish the damn near impossible."

"I'll go out on that date, but he isn't going to like who he picks up!" she snapped in frustration.

Antonio rolled his eyes, "I'm going to tell you this for your own good, Sarah.  Stop being a pain in the ass.  Go out, have a good time for once.  This job eats you up and you have got two boys on top of that, you could use one fun night out.  You're going to burn out if you don't let loose every once in a while.  That pride of yours isn't going to keep you warm at night."

Sarah glared at him then sighed heavily as she shifted her eyes back to where Michael was standing with the others.  It wasn't like she had to go out with him again, and she damn well didn't have to sleep with him.  "I hate it when you are right," she finally muttered.

"That's the girl I hired," he chuckled before straightening and extending his hand to her before he easily pulled her up off the mat.  "You'll be the talk for a while.  Most of these people have been dying to see you get one upped."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Yeah well they can kiss my ass.  Just because I hit the mat hard doesn't mean I'm going to loosen up my standards or go easier on them."  She then grinned, "And by the way, I don't need a man to keep me warm at night.  I have a fleece blanket that does the job just fine."

Antonio rolled his eyes, "You're hopeless."

As she moved towards Neo, she had to come to a stop as Mark stepped into her path.  "Damn, I can't believe how that turned out."  He tilted his head to the side, "So you have to go out on a date with him, huh?"

Her face felt like someone had poured kerosine over her head and set it ablaze.  How did that little detail get out in the first place?!  She exhaled forcefully as she looked up at him, "Yeah, that was his prize if he won the match."

"Well, if you'd have gone out with me a few times like I've asked, you'd be off the market, and he wouldn't have bothered you in the first place."

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes at him as she met his gaze finally.  His blue eyes were slightly narrowed, as if he was genuinely annoyed and not just teasing her.  A less observant person might have missed that, but Sarah was good at what she did because she was observant.  She stilled slightly, "You're not seriously upset that I'm going out on a date with him by compulsion."

"Why would you even agree to this in the first place?" he countered, evading the question.  "I'm wondering if you really did want to go out with him and you're just saving face."

"Mark, that's absolutely ridiculous!" she snapped at him, feeling a small ping in her chest as that was closer to the truth than she wanted to admit.  "And what I do isn't any of your business anyways. If I wanted to go out with you, I'd have said yes, the million times you asked.  I like you as a friend only and that isn't ever going to change."

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Neo moving in front of Michael.  His posture straightened a bit at whatever she was saying to him before he leaned closer to her as he responded to whatever she had said to him.  Mark shifted on his feet, snapping her full attention back to him.